Manuring 301 



running short. He possibly has either leaf- 

 mould from, the weeding and dead leaves, 

 husks, shell, &c., &c., poonac 1 from oil-mills, 

 stable and fish manure, the ashes from burnt 

 timber and refuse heaps, lime from coral, 

 shells or limestone formations and saline 

 matter from the sea or in some cheap solid 

 purchasable form. All these home-made 

 manures not only provide the soil with 

 fertilizing ingredients, but they also improve 

 the physical condition, by increasing the pro- 

 portion of humus in same. If the production 

 of natural manures is insufficient to make o-ood 



o 



the lack of humus in the soil, then some green 

 manure must be grown and turned in. For this 

 purpose it is recommended to plant legumes 

 under the coco-nuts, and, as already stated, 

 it has been found that various other small 

 close-growing plants, such as the mimosa, 

 crotalaria and passiflora families, are much to 

 be preferred to the bare soil or to a surface 

 covering- of grass. Contrary to general opinion 

 grass always needs careful handling, as the 

 roots are apt to form an almost impervious, 

 felt-like mass which only the heavier rain- 

 showers can penetrate, while the legumes have 

 open crowns, and what is more important, 

 enrich the soil with nitrogen owing to their 

 capacity to fix the free nitrogen of the air, all of 

 which goes to benefit the roots of the adjacent 

 coco-nut trees. Where herds of cattle or pigs 



1 Poonac is the residue from the oil-presses. 



