Planting in the Philippines 103 



ence in the matter, three catch-crops can be 

 grown advantageously with .coco-nuts. He 

 recommends "first a crop of corn, and subse- 

 quently two crops of mountain rice." 1 Accord- 

 ing to Mr. Lamb, the first year's catch-crop 

 should yield a profit which should go towards 

 paying the cost of clearing the land, and the 

 second and third years should yield sufficient 

 at least to pay the cost of cultivating the land 

 by covering the cost of keeping it clean and 

 under cultivation, which must be done in order 

 that the young trees may make their best 

 growth. 



The other day we were discussing with a 

 friend the * cost of importing good seed nuts 

 into the Bahamas, and our estimates did not 

 agree. Our estimate, however, was the more 

 correct of the two, for we valued them at four 

 cents or twopence each, landed at the estates 

 in the Bahamas, and even in the Philippines. 

 Mr. Worcester estimates the cost of good seed 



o 



nuts at one and four cents each, with two and a 

 half cents as a fair average cost. 



We are glad to see the advantages, if not 

 the necessity, of ploughing are emphasized. " I 

 have seen," Mr. Worcester tells us, ''the value 

 of ploughing quite conclusively demonstrated 



1 Our West Indian friends, who up to now have not 

 made the most of their splendid opportunities to organize 

 and develop their coco-nut lands and output, should be 

 able in many cases to plant these catch-crops, for which 

 the local demand is important and increasing. 



