CHAPTEE I 



PHYSIOLOGY OF THE COCO-NUT 



The Root. — As is true of all field crops, and of 

 plants in general, the roots of the coco-nut serve the 

 plant in two ways : by anchoring the plant in its 

 place so firmly that no ordinary storm can displace it ; 

 and by taking up, from the soil, water and the mineral 

 food which is dissolved in the water. 



The evergreens and broad-leaved trees of temperate 

 lands have each a taproot or a few stout main roots, 

 which are firmly embedded in the soil, and on the other 

 side immovably connected with the stem, which they 

 hold erect by their own rigidity. The coco-nut has no 

 taproot, and nothing like the main roots of ordinary 

 trees. The enlarged base or bole of the coco-nut trunk 

 is convex or conical at the lower end, and is usually 

 buried for a depth of not more than 50 centimetres ; 

 the base of the bole is sometimes flattened, and not 

 more than 15 centimetres deep even when the tree is 

 grown. Its surface underground, and often for some 

 distance above the ground, is practically covered with 

 the bases of the roots. These roots are remarkably 

 uniform, 0*8 to 1*0 centimetre in diameter in adult 

 trees. They radiate from the tree on all sides, and are 

 strongly disposed to keep the direction in which they 

 start. A normal length for the roots of mature trees 

 is 5 metres in firm soil, and 7 metres in sand. 

 In poor or shallow soil they are longer, the longest 

 reaching a length cf 8 to 10 metres. The lateral 



B 



