Manuring 281 



way of the total amount of water transpired 

 have ranged between 28 and 45 litres per day. 

 . . . The total transpiration for seven hours, 

 from 9.20 a.m. to 4.20 p.m., on February 14 

 (of a single leaf), was : 



Mature leaf ... ... ... ... 2-70 grm. 



Six months older ... ... ... i'68 ,, 



One year older ... ... ... 3*37 ,, 



Some calculations (of the total water tran- 

 spired by an entire tree) are as high as 75 litres 

 per day, but at the rate of 28 litres per day 

 (only) the annual transpiration would be equal 

 to 10,220 litres (2,2354 gallons roughly) . . 

 trees judiciously irrigated have nothing to 

 fear from a drought, however severe. . /''. , 

 There is no doubt that dryness is one of the 

 causes of the fall of the leaves . . a 

 palm that has not the vitality to support its 

 leaves will neither bear many nuts nor be able 

 to ripen those produced. 



SOIL. 



A few notes may now be made on the 

 conditions of the soil most favourable to the 

 growth of the palm. Without entering too far 

 into the realms of botany, it is necessary to 

 remember that the roots are large and fleshy 

 instead of fibrous ; and this points at once to 

 the necessity of having a fine permeable soil. 

 That fact alone explains why coco-nut palms are 

 naturally found along the seashore, where the 

 soil is of a sandy nature. But the seashore 



