Palms. 



. 



OF THK 



"UNIVERSITY 



These are disconnected after they have formed roots, 

 which is usually about the fourth year, and with 

 proper attention to watering and manuring they will 

 fruit in the eighth or tenth year. 



Planting. The best time for transplanting is about 

 the first or second week in February, and large palms 

 2oft to 3oft. high can then be shifted with safety. 

 When transplanting, these palms should have their 

 stems placed from two-and-a-half to four metres in 

 the soil, the depth being in proportion to the height 

 of the palm. This is done in order that they may 

 root up the stem, and the water should be allowed 

 to run in with the soil, so that the whole may become 

 a solid and compact mass. Tall specimens will, in 

 many cases, require supporting for a time, in order 

 that they may settle completely upright. 



In preparing the palms for shifting, two or three 

 rows of the outer leaves must be cut off, and the 

 remainder fastened together, and tied round with a 

 mat. This is done to protect the heart, which is 

 the vital part of the palm, from becoming dry by 

 the sun. Abundance of water should be given once 

 a week for the first three months, and fortnightly 

 for the three months following. About the end of 

 May the palms should be visited and any flower 

 spikes cut off. Loosen the mat slightly as the 

 leaves expand, otherwise the heart is liable to become 

 weak, and when the mat is removed it is easily 

 snapped off by the wind and the palm destroyed. 

 As the leaves strengthen, the loosening should be 

 gradually continued until the mat is removed alto- 

 gether about the middle of September. Palms 

 growing on unirrigated ground are more likely to 

 succeed when transplanted, than those growing on 

 irrigated soil. 



Date Palms flower in April, and require to be 

 artificially fertilised, which is done by taking a small 

 bunch of the staminate flowers, and placing them 

 amongst the pistilate. They should then be tied to 



