1 1 2 Coco-nuts The Consols of the East 



covered by it for very long (three hours at the 

 most), no harm seems to accrue to the palms. 



Coming to the question of returns, if Panama 

 claims the finest nuts, it also claims the finest 

 yields, but in this it is not peculiar. Without 

 saying what the maximum is placed at, we will 

 say that the minimum is given as being eighty 

 nuts whe^n the palms are in full bearing ; a 

 great deal depends, however, the chronicler 

 allows, on the nature of the soil, the location, 

 and the care bestowed on the palms, especially 

 on keeping the "bush" down. Another planter 

 claims that an annual crop of 100 nuts per palm 

 is a safe and conservative average. This, says 

 another, is probably a low average, but there 

 seem to be no reliable records over any period 

 of actual yields. It can, however, be said, 

 we should imagine, that the yield runs over 

 the generally accepted one of forty to fifty 

 nuts per palm, and the net annual yield or value 

 per palm, which was put ten years ago at $i, 

 is now placed at a much higher figure; further- 

 more, the estates as a whole do not seem to be 

 over carefully attended to. 



We come now to such questions as the age at 

 which the trees will bear, when they can safely 

 be allowed to do so, when they come into full 

 bearing, and for how long they will last. On 

 the last point trees are spoken of as "going 

 strong" at ninety and a hundred years old in 

 the most favourable corners. The age at 

 which the palms commence bearing is bound 



