310 HOETICULTUEAL MANUAL. 



297. Propagation and Varieties. In all ages the cocoa- 

 nut has been propagated almost exclusively by planting 

 the large nuts. To give anchorage to the trees, the nuts 

 are planted two feet deep, and as the plant grows the earth 

 or sand is filled in gradually, as in deep planting of the 

 grape. But the nuts are usually sprouted before planting 

 by burying in the earth deep enough to secure the needed 

 moisture. The germination of the nuts is interesting to 

 watch. The three prominent eyes of the nuts indicate the 

 location of the ovules. With needed heat and moisture, 

 the finger-like ovule imbedded in the rich creamy sub- 

 stance of the large end begins to extend growth. Soon it 

 appears through the largest eye and begins the work of 

 rending the outer coat of the fibrous covering. Little 

 fibrous roots also extend into the flesh of the nut for sup- 

 port. As growth progresses the hard shell is parted and 

 the roots extend into the earth. From the start, as the 

 leaves grow upward, they begin to assume the typical form 

 of the species. The roots are numerous, but never attain 

 large size. In improving in the suburbs of Havana, the 

 writer watched the digging out of large cocoanut palms 

 in bearing. In no case was a root observed more than 

 three fourths of an inch in diameter. Yet when loaded 

 with the heavy clusters of nuts weighing three hundred 

 pounds, and the great leaves expanded like sails, we were 

 told that storms rarely blew down a tree of this species. 

 The writer saw trees in exposed positions in Cuba, said to 

 be seventy-five years old, still bearing large clusters of 

 nuts. 



As grown in different tropical coast climates the cocoa- 

 nut differs in size, color, and texture and flavor of the 

 flesh, and even trees grown from nuts of the same tree 

 differ in size and quality of the nut. 



