Samoa and New Guinea 133 



to be watched against the depredations of the 

 black labourers, who root up and split open the 

 nuts for the sweet pulpy germinating heart of 

 the plant (a great delicacy), and as this causes 

 the best nuts generally to be chosen, the loss 

 is serious in more ways than one. 



In virgin land the planting out of the young- 

 seedlings is unsatisfactory, as it causes a heavy 

 bill to be incurred for weeding and cleaning ; 

 but it is of great advantage on land which has 

 been cultivated before, and which is compara- 

 tively clear of weeds. Holes for planting should 

 never be less than 2\ ft. square, and filled with 

 made-up soil for the nuts to start growing in. 

 The nuts should be well covered and in order to 

 prevent the young stems from rotting, the holes 

 are left partly open, so that the soil fills them in 

 gradually during rain or when watered. Care 

 must however be taken that the water so col- 

 lected drains away and does not remain on the 

 top of the hole. Never plant less than 25 ft. 

 apart, and best of all, 30 ft. by 30 ft., as the 

 coco-nut palm requires plenty of light, air and 

 ventilation, and, as stated elsewhere, if the 

 fronds rub together smaller crops result. The 

 evaporation from the palms is also enormous, and 

 they need ample room to perform this function 

 unchecked. A number of trees are often noticed 

 in groups close together, but in such cases it 

 will then be found that the outer ones thrive 

 and bear more freely than those in the centre. 

 Many native plantations have the defect of 



