Manuring 285 



fibrous material. The proportion of fibre to 

 the amount of flesh in the kernel is a very 

 important point ; and in Ceylon it has already 

 been observed that according to the variety of 

 the palm, 4,000 to 8,<jpo nuts are required to 

 produce a ton of copra. Now copra is the 

 thing that pays, and it is in the interest of the 

 planter to consider where he is to obtain seed- 

 nuts which are likely to give the best return. 

 Where -virgin areas are to be planted up, seed- 

 nuts from some well-established district should 

 be purchased. In the Federated Malay States 

 seed-nuts imported from Penang, Perak, &c., 

 have given good results, but where plantations 

 have already been established, then seed-nuts 

 should be selected from trees that are known to 

 be good regular bearers under ordinary con- 

 ditions of soil and climate. But the biggest nuts 

 are not always to be recommended. It is sur- 

 prising how in some of the medium-sized nuts 

 is found a greater amount of flesh or meat, 

 and this can easily be ascertained by cutting 

 sections. The large nuts give a large amount 

 of fibre, and consequently medium-sized nuts 

 should always be chosen. The nuts, of course, 

 should be fully matured, and from this point of 

 view many argue that they should be allowed 

 to fall naturally from the trees. This involves 

 considerable damage to the young embryo, so 

 careful handpicking by reliable and experi- 

 enced hands is preferable. Now it requires 

 considerable experience to tell when a nut is 



