Oils and Fats. 



10 



[July, 1912. 



plants during the first year after plant- 

 ing, and this may be afforded by grow- 

 ing another crop between the lines. 

 Maize has been found suitable for this 

 purpose, as it does not grow too tall and 

 its leaves do not produce too dense a 

 shade. Any gaps that appear in the 

 lines should be filled by transplanting 

 seedlings from the nursery. Plants that 

 are not making satisfactory growth 

 should be assisted by watering if neces- 

 sary, cultivating the soil so as to en- 

 courage the roots to spread, and by the 

 application of a dressing of cattle 

 manure. Trees that are making satis- 

 factory growth need not be manured 

 during the early stages of growth as this 

 is liable to cause luxuriant vegetative 

 growth and tc retard the fruiting. It 

 has not hitherto been the general prac- 

 tice to keep the whole area of the plan- 

 tation clean from the commencement. 

 The method of cultivation usually 

 adopted is to allow the natural vege- 

 tation to occupy the laud between the 

 lines and to clear a circular space round 

 each coconut palm. This space is ex- 

 tended each year as the plants increase 

 in size, until the whole area has been 

 cleared. By this method, at the end of 

 the fifth year after planting, all growths 

 should have been removed, with the 

 exception of grass, which is sometimes 

 allowed to grow for grazing purposes. 

 Sometimes, in order to lessen the cost of 

 maintenance until the coconut palms 

 commence to yield, catch crops are 

 grown between the lines. In modern 

 practice, however, it is found advisable 

 to keep the whole area of the plantation 

 clean from the commencement, so as to 

 give the palms the full benefit of the 

 soil, and to grow between the lines only 

 leguminous crops, which are partly 

 grazed or turned in as " green manures." 

 The soil around the young palms is hoed 

 or dug about every three months if the 

 land is stiff, to keep down weeds and to 

 produce a permeable soil which the roots 

 of the palm are able to penetrate easily. 

 A shallow ploughing of the whole area 

 is given to turn in the '' green manures." 

 and the disk plough is also used periodi- 

 cally, care being taken not to disturb 



the roots of the trees by ploughing too 

 deeply or to injure the trees by working 

 close to the stems. 



Subsidiary and Catch Crops.— When 

 catch crqps are grown, those that do not 

 unduly exhaust the soil or shade the 

 young trees should be chosen, and the 

 land should be well manured, or the 

 coconut palms are liable to suffer by 

 deterioration of the soil. In deciding on 

 a suitable catch crop, preference should 

 be given to those for which there is a 

 ready sale or a local demand, and if 

 possible a leguminous crop should be 

 chosen. Amongst others that have been 

 found suitable for thi3 purpose are the 

 following: : Sweet potatoes ; cassava, 

 which is rather exhaustive, and requires 

 heavy manuring ; ground nuts (Arachis 

 kypogcea), a leguminous crop, the fruits 

 of which are liable to attract animal 

 pests ; cotton ; pineapples ; coffee, sug- 

 gested for cultivation in the Malay 

 Peninsula ; taro, and any of the pulses, 

 the seeds of which may be harvested and 

 the stems ploughed into the soil. 



When the canopy of leaves becomes 

 too dense the cultivation of secondary 

 crops has to be abandoned, and cattle 

 may then be tethered beneath the trees 

 to graze. 



Harvesting. 



The coconut palm commences to yield 

 when about seven years of age, or some- 

 times earlier if grown on a sandy soil- 

 The average annual yield, when the 

 trees are in full bearing, varies from 

 fifty to seventy nuts per tree, if good 

 cultivation and manuring have been 

 practised ; but a much smaller yield is 

 derived from trees that are crowded and 

 neglected. The crop depends largely 

 upon the variety cultivated, the soil and 

 situation of the plantation, cultural care 

 bestowed upon the trees, and the absence 

 of animal and insect pests and fungoid 

 diseases. Individual trees have been 

 known to yield from 150 to 200 nuts a 

 year. The flower- spathes are produced 

 in succession throughout the year ; con- 

 sequently trees in bearing carry 

 flowers and fruit that are in various 



