Planting in Fiji 469 



Of late years the sensitive plant (Mimosa 

 pudica) has been introduced largely on coco- 

 nut plantations. It is good for the trees, and, 

 if once accustomed to it, the cattle come to like 

 it, and thrive on it. It stands drought well, 

 and its only drawback is that it is covered with 

 small prickles. 



Here in Fiji the planter makes a good profit 

 out of his cattle. He must provide them with 

 food, so he sends them amongst his coco-nut 

 trees when these are so old (say about 5 years) 

 that the animals cannot injure them by getting 

 at and pulling out their tender centre shoots. 



As no coco-nut cake is produced here or 

 imported, there has been no chance of experi- 

 menting with it as a manure, but in other 

 places it is much recommended for the young 

 plants. Here I think the rats would eat it. 



The question of letting other useful plants 

 grow between the rows of young coco-nut 

 plants is one which requires careful consideration 

 and must greatly depend upon the locality and 

 the nature of the soil. To allow the original 

 bush to shoot up again round the young plants 

 is decidedly wrong ; this had been done with a 

 block on the place I was managing at Taviuni, 

 and, when the bush was cleared away the 

 second time, some of the young coco-nut trees 

 tumbled over ; they had hardly any hold in 

 the ground, and, with their long, fairly healthy- 

 looking leaves, could not at first stand up 

 against an ordinary strong wind. I must, 



