18 



Variety. 



Where cultivated. 



Yield per acre 



Brazil. 



In cacao clearing. 



470 lbs. 



, 



Under mature cacao. 



420 „ 



Tanjore. 



Under mature cocoanuts. 



850 „ 





Under mature cacao. 



500 „ 



Pondioheery. 



In open. 



300 to 500 „ 



Barbados. 



In open. 



1,900 „ 



" These preliminary experiments have proved that 

 1 Mauritius' aud 'Barbados' in the open produce the heaviest 

 crops of ground nuts. They have also proved that these 

 varieties which produce their crop along trailing branches, such 

 as the ' Mauritius ' and ' Tan j ore,' are not suitable for cultiva- 

 tion under conditions of shade, owing to the fact that the 

 branches tend to become erect, and the nut-bearing pedicels 

 consequently remain in mid-air instead of burying their apices 

 below r ground. On the other hand we now know that the best 

 variety to cultivate under dense shade is that obtained from 

 Brazil, as it is one which produces erect branches and bears its 

 nuts at the base of the root stock area. 



" The Brazil variety produces a fairly large nut, approxi- 

 mating to and occasionally excelling the 'Mauritius' and 

 ' Barbados ' in point of size. It can probably be planted from 

 six to nine inches apart, instead of one foot apart as in our 

 previous experiments. 



" Other experiments in various parts of the island have 

 proved that it is possible to obtain from fifty to eighty-fold 

 which means approximately 1,100 to 1,700 lbs. per acre per 

 crop. In Barbados and the United States a yield of '-2,000 lbs. 

 per acre is considered normal, and in Senegal and in various 

 parts of India, irrigated and unirrigated, from G00 to 6;100 lbs. 

 per acre have been recorded. The valuations by brokers in 

 Europe varied from £8 15s. per ton c.i.f to £14 or £15. The 

 cleaner the nut the higher the value as the better samples can 

 be sold for eating purposes, and need not be decorticated in 

 Ceylon." 



It is also said : — " The varieties for the edible market 

 differ in their relative bright appearance and cleanliness and in 

 size, those valued at £14 being sulphur-yellow in colour and 

 often 3-seeded. Some varieties such as the Pondicherry have 

 such uneven surfaces that it would be almost impossible to get 

 rid of all the soil in the crevices, and this character would 

 perhaps condemn them and restrict them to the oil-crushing 

 market alone. 



Seed selection. — In most countries where this product is 

 grown it has been noticed that the seeds w r hen cultivated in 



