HORTICULTURE 163 



By sowing seeds or by planting cuttings a hedge may be 

 formed. As with others this must be constantly cut back. 

 13. Acacia farnesiana — 

 Pee Velan— Tamil 

 Kamputumma — Telugu. 

 and 

 14 Acacia arabica — Babul. 

 Karuvelan- Tamil. 

 Nallatumma— Telugu. 

 Both these Acacias are capable of being used for hedges. 

 They must be raised by sowing seeds and cut back at inter- 

 vals. 



15. Agave americana and other agaves. 



Kaththalai— Tamil. 

 Agave plants mav be propagated from suckers. These 

 plants form a fine hedge after some time. Little or no atten- 

 tion is required after planting. 



16. Borassus flabellifer— The Palmyra palm. 



Panai —Tamil. 

 Thadi— Telugu. 

 The Palmyra palm can be propagated only by seeds. By 

 sowing the seeds in rows these may be made to grow so as to 

 form a hedge. As they grow very slowly, they form a good 

 hedge for a considerable period of time. 



Coconut Gardens. 

 East Coast. 

 Thoroughly ripe nuts from trees that have passed the mid- 

 dle age are carefully collected and dried in the shade for about 

 a fortnight. These nuts are then arranged one touching the 

 other in a seed-bed with the butt-ends above, covered with 

 sand, and irrigated every day. The nuts begin to germi- 

 nate after about two months, all finish sprouting after 5 or 6 

 months. When the seedlings are about 3 feet high or 6 to 8 

 months old, they are lifted and permanently transplanted in 

 all the southern districts. In the northern districts these 

 are transplanted 7 feet apart in a second seed-bed, and 

 3 or 4 years after, these are again lifted and transplanted 

 permanently in a field at the rate of 50 or 60 per acre. In 

 the south as many as 150 per acre are planted. The trees 

 begin to bear 8 to 10 years from the date of planting tho 

 nuts, but the full bearing is to be expected after 12 years. 

 On an average about 50 or 60 nuts can be expected from 

 each tree, and the trees bear for about 100 years provided 

 proper care is taken. In the south, tapping coconut trees 

 is very common, but in the north it is entirely absent. 



