The Seed-nuts 179 



We may draw attention here to the necessity 

 of curing the nuts for a period of from three 

 to four weeks before laying them into the 

 nurseries. This " curing " or final maturing and 

 hardening of the nuts must be done in a dry, 

 sheltered place, preferably in a go-down or shed 

 with a trodden mud or adobe floor. By this 

 operation the nuts will lose all the milk still 

 in them which goes to form the germinating 

 cores, and the husks will lose their watery 

 contents, thus lessening the chances of rotting. 

 When the nuts are shaken after the period 

 stated they will emit no sound of water being- 

 inside, but if they do, they should be put on 

 one side and used for any other purpose but 

 planting out. 



After being thus cured, the husk should have 

 lost all signs of the original colour, and present 

 a dry, brownish hue, no longer heavy with 

 moisture, but light and tindery to the touch. 

 When the nuts have arrived at this condition 

 they may be safely taken out and put into 

 the nurseries. An experienced hand can tell 

 by the smell of the air in the shed whether 

 a desirable state of curing has been accom- 

 plished or not. 



When removing the nuts from the curing- 

 shed or spot, they must be handled with 

 the greatest care, for if they are thrown about 

 violently, or allowed to be handled roughly, 

 the delicate germinating cores are apt to get 

 loosened from their hold in the top-end of the 



