THE COCOANUT PALM. 



243 



the value, after seven or eight years' growth, of the total number of 

 cocoanuts which the Palisadoes is capable of containing, at 2000Z. ; 

 and this estimate I think moderate, as it gives the value of each tree 

 at a little under 2s. It is a generally acce2)ted opinion that this tree 

 flourishes luxuriantly in all maritime tropical regions, on the arid 

 sandy sea-shore as well as in the richest valleys. There can, however, 

 be no doubt that the tree grows with far greater luxuriance under 

 favourable conditions of abundant moisture and rich soil, and it is in 

 consideration of this that I estimate the annual yield of each tree at 

 the low rate of 2s. The land on the Palisadoes is composed chiefly of 

 sand, with an admixture throughout its greater extent of a rich vege- 

 table mould. Severe droughts of from six to nine months' duration 

 are frequently experienced, and although the tree may flourish in 

 proximity to the sea, I consider that a greater rainfall on this sandy 

 soil would double the return mentioned. The extremely arid condition 

 of the Palisadoes and the neighbourhood of Kingston, probably the 

 driest spot in the West Indies, has been brought about by the whole- 

 sale destruction of the primeval forest over hills and plains to the 

 extent, including the continuation of the plain to the west, of from 

 four to five hundred square miles. Along the line of the shore the 

 palm luxuriates throughout this district, but on receding to the 

 distance of half a mile it ceases to present a flourishing aspect, until 

 we reach the hills or the plain beyond the arid region where it again 

 acquires the necessary condition — moisture. It would be a matter of 

 some importance for statistical as well as utilitarian purposes, to 

 ascertain what number of cocoanut trees there are in the island. I am 

 not aware that any steps have ever been taken to determine this ; and 

 if this be so, it seems all the more remarkable, when it is remembered 

 that the nut is one of our most important products, and that the 

 average of many of far less importance has been carefully ascertained. 

 In the East Indies these trees are carefully enumerated, and in some 

 parts a yearly tax is levied on each tree, and even mortgages are 

 commonly secured to the extent of 2s. a tree. The 2,000,000 nuts, 

 worth about 5000Z., exported annually from Jamaica, give a very im- 

 perfect idea of the value of the tree to the colony. In each of several 

 parishes, for instance, St. Thomas, Portland, and St. Mary, there must 

 be over 100,000 fruiting trees, and the number is being constantly 

 increased. Wherever the tree abounds, the nuts form an important 

 article of food among the peasantry, either in their natural state or 

 manufactured into oil. By the peasantry, however, the husk is not 

 turned to any account, and is only manufactured to a very trifling 

 extent in prisons, whilst if, at a moderate computation, we estimate 

 the number of bearing trees at 1,000,000, each yielding, on an average, 

 sixty nuts, the husks, if utilized, would give at least 50,000Z. Cocoanuts 

 abound around nearly the whole seaboard of the island ; and within 

 thirty miles of Kingston they are obtainable in large quantities, at 

 100 per cent, less than they are bought for in town. It is a pity that 

 the highly valuable products of this palm are not turned to better 

 account, and it would be a great boon to the colony if private enter- 

 prise would initiate a system of manufacturing oil for island con- 

 sumption and coir for exportation, as the nuts could be obtained in 



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