COOK THE COCONUT PALM IN AMEEICA. 337 



An adequate test of the possibilities of the coconut palm in 

 California and Arizona can not be made by planting commercial 

 nuts raised on tropical seacoasts. Except in South America, all 

 the attempts to grow coconut palms in interior localities have 

 probably been made with varieties brought in from neighboring 

 coasts. It is something to know that the maritime varieties are 

 able to grow away from the sea, but it is not at all to be expected that 

 such varieties will represent the best possibilities of the species in 

 subtropical localities away from the seacoast. 



To rely upon maritime varieties for an experiment in the United 

 States would be the same as to expect hothouse varieties of grapes 

 or lettuce to excel in tests of hardiness. If an effort is to be made 

 to establish the coconut in California, it should be based upon the 

 stud}' and introduction of the varieties that have shown their ability 

 to thrive in the dry interior valleys and plateaus of South America, 

 and especially the varieties that are able to withstand the most 

 extreme conditions of drought and cold. In tropical countries the 

 climatic conditions often differ greatly, even within very short dis- 

 tances. One valley or mountain slope may have a very prolonged 

 dry season and wide extremes of temperature, while the next may 

 have equable temperatures and relatively continuous humidity. 

 Plants with large, heavy seeds are likely, in their natural state, to be 

 confined to very limited districts, and this is to be expected of the 

 wild stock or the native varieties of the coconut if any have survived 

 in the original home of the species. 



It seems strange that the numerous maritime varieties of the 

 coconut which exist in the East Indies have never been introduced 

 and tested in the TTest Indies or in southern Florida. They may 

 be expected to differ quite as much in hardiness and earliness of 

 bearing as in the characteristics of the nuts. Hardier or earlier 

 coconuts would have a distinct value in southern Florida, since it 

 would permit a more northern extension of the planting of coconuts, 

 which is now confined to the keys and to the southern shores of the 

 peninsula. 



Conditions favorable for the coconut palm may also be found in 

 interior localities of Palestine and Upper Egypt. In the coast 

 districts where the summer climate is dominated by cool winds from 

 the Mediterranean the heat requirements would not be met, but the 

 interior valleys afford many sheltered places with tropical tempera- 

 tures in summer and free from frost in winter. The soil requirements 

 must be considered, of course, as well as the climate, but experiments 

 might be well worth the making. 



It is said that coconuts were germinated some years ago a few 

 miles below Cairo, but the garden was abandoned and the young 

 palms allowed to die for lack of water. Though royal palms and 



