178 Coco-nuts The Consols of the East 



nut looks dubious at all, reject it every time, 

 or the benefit of the doubt is always best 

 on your own side. 



Whilst everyone has heard of the fame of 

 the San Bias nuts, few are certain where San 

 Bias is (most of our inquiries have located 

 the centre in the Philippines, but none of them 

 in Panama, where it is to be found), and so are 

 unable to address themselves to possible sellers 

 of seed-nuts to improve their local supplies. 

 Like the well-known though less famous 

 cocals in the West Indian island of Trinidad, 

 the San Bias nuts come from the sea-shore 

 of what is known as the San Bias coast of 

 Panama. From this centre the United States 

 alone, according to the Pan-American Bulletin, 

 take some 6,ooo,CQO nuts, which, up to 1911, 

 sold on the New York market, where the nuts 

 are reckoned as being the finest in the world, 

 at prices ranging from $33 to $48 ($i =45. 2d.) 

 per thousand. 



Buy at least 20 per cent, more nuts than you 

 require, and make room for such a quantity in 

 your nursery beds. A certain percentage is 

 always lost from various reasons ; some are 

 found after closer inspection not to be all that 

 is desired, others are eaten up by insects and 

 vermin, a good many are damaged in the 

 removal and have to be left aside, whilst 

 others, again, do not germinate properly. 

 Also a stock of surplus plants will be necessary 

 later on for filling vacancies caused by various 

 failures throughout the plantation. 



