280 Coco-nuts The Consols of the East 



all, to hear of the results obtained from the 

 various formulas recommended. 



First let us drive home again the need of 

 regular, adequate supplies of water at all times. 

 Water is necessary, and must be constantly at 

 the disposal of the palms, to convey in solu- 

 tion the plants' mineral and nitrogenous raw 

 food up to the crown. The quantity of mineral 

 food which the tree takes up is roughly pro- 

 portional to the amount of water which it 

 absorbs. Increasing the plants' transpiration 

 has, then, the same effect on them as applying 

 a fertilizer to the ground ; without the water 

 the fertilizer will do little or no good. 



Nuts from the San Ramon Experimental 

 Farm (P.I.) were found to contain nitrogen, 

 potash, and phosphoric acid in the proportions 

 shown on p. 292. We have only to turn to the 

 Manila Journal of Science to realize how im- 

 portant water is to the palms. There we are 

 told (January, 1906, p. 18) that when nuts first 

 appear on the palms, say, at an age of five 

 to nine years, the tree is bearing at least 20 

 leaves, whilst in vigorous old trees the number 

 increases to 25, 30, and even to 35 leaves. 

 Each of these leaves is from 5 to 8 metres 

 long, with about 80 pairs of pinnae, large and 

 small. Passing on to p. 33, in the same 

 journal, we are told that, allowing 150 pinnae 

 to the leaf, and 25 leaves to the tree, this 

 indicates a total daily transpiration for the 

 tree of 38,551 grm. Estimates made in this 



