Oils and Fats. 



14 



[July, 1912. 



in transporting the seedlings to distant 

 parts of the estate. Partial shade is 

 necessary to the young palms during the 

 early stages of their growth, and this 

 may be secured by choosing a site for the 

 nursery beneath tall trees whose lowest 

 branches are well above the ground. If 

 made in the open a trellis-work of bam- 

 boo or some light wood should be erected 

 over the beds, on which palm leaves may 

 be placed to afford the necessary shade. 

 The latter is perhaps the better practice, 

 as it admits of regulating the shade ac- 

 cording to the requirements of the plants 

 and of removing it as soon as the young 

 plants are sufficiently strong to stand 

 the light. Shallow trenches should be 

 formed in the beds about a foot apart 

 and 6 in. deep, and in these the unhusked 

 nuts should be placed about 6 in. apart. 

 The nuts should be arranged in a hori- 

 zontal position, with the hilum (or 

 stalked) end slightly raised. The space 

 between the nuts should then be filled 

 in with light, sandy soil until the nuts 

 are covered for about two-thirds of their 

 depth. After planting is completed the 

 soil of the seed-beds should be kept con- 

 stantly moist, but not saturated. In dry 

 weather the beds should be watered 

 about every two days, and a layer about 

 6 in. deep of grass, straw, or trash should 

 be placed over them to conserve the soil 

 moisture. Another method of germinat- 

 ing the nuts sometimes practised by 

 native cultivators, is by suspending 

 them from bamboo rods in pairs several 

 feet above the ground. The rods for 

 this purpose are fixed to posts or trunks 

 of trees in the shade. In due course the 

 nuts germinate, and the young palms 

 are then planted out in the ordinary 

 way. In the nursery germination takes 

 place in from three to six months, and 

 at the end of from ten to twelve months 

 the young plants are ready for tranefer 

 to the plantation. The planting-out 

 should be done during the rainy season, 

 and only the strongest seedlings with 

 from three to four leaves should be 

 selected, as weakly seedlings seldom 

 develop into strong and vigorous trees. 

 It is advisable to plant in the nursery 

 gtt least 50 per cent, more nuts than 



the number of trees required. This mar- 

 gin allows for failures in germinating 

 and also supplies a reserve of young 

 plants which can be utilised for filling 

 gaps in the plantation that may occur 

 from various causes. 



Preparation of the Land.— The pre- 

 paration of the land should be com- 

 menced during the dry season by cut- 

 ting down and burning all trees and 

 vegetable growth with which it may be 

 occupied. After the first burning any 

 branches and unburnt timber that re- 

 main should be collected together and 

 stacked round stumps or large logs and 

 again fired. If the land is flat and low- 

 lying subject to floods, or too retentive 

 of subsoil moisture, it should be drained. 

 Although the coconut palm requires 

 abundance of moisture, it will not suc- 

 ceed if the roots are in contact with 

 stagnant water, and it is usually advan- 

 tageous to drain the land. The U9ual 

 method of draining is to open trenches, 

 which should take a direction according 

 to the natural fall of the land ; a slope 

 of about 1 foot in 20 is a suitable gra- 

 dient ; if greater the fine top soil and 

 artificial manures are liable to be washed 

 away with the drainage. The depth of 

 the trenches will depend upon the 

 amount of subsoil moisture ; their direc- 

 tion and distance apart will necessarily 

 vary wibh the requirements of indiv- 

 idual plantations. Along the Malabar 

 coast of India there are hundreds of 

 acres of waste marshy land that have 

 been rendered suitable for coconut culti- 

 vation by drainage. The method adop- 

 ted is to form parallel trenches and 

 ridges, according to the natural fall of 

 the land, the ridges being about 15 feet 

 apart from centre to centre. The soil 

 taken out when forming the trenches is 

 used to make the ridges, which are usually 

 raised about 3 feet the height varying 

 according to the depth of the subsoil 

 moisture, and have a minimum width 

 of 3 feet at the top. Along the ridges 

 the young coconut palms are planted in 

 pits prepared to receive them. 



Lining and Holing,— The estate, har 

 ing been cleared and drained, should 



