Miscellaneous. 



544 



[June, 1912. 



and prolific tress. The difference in the 

 cost of a good and bad seed nut is only 

 a few cents, and it is better to incur the 

 extra cost than to later on lose a great 

 deal by the cultivation of inferior trees. 

 Consider that the seed nuts you plant 

 are to produce trees that are intended 

 to serve you and your descendants for 

 from sixty to eighty years, and do not 

 grudge the extra expense of getting good 

 nuts for planting. 



Another common mistake is not plant- 

 ing the seedlings sufficiently deep. A 

 hole not less than 3 ft. cube should be 

 provided for each plant and the nut 

 of the seedling should be from 6 to 12 in. 

 below the surface, according as the soil 

 is heavy or light. Put only good surface 

 soil into the hole when planting. 



It is a great advantage to have t he 

 land clean from the beginning, since the 

 trees come to maturity much sooner, the 

 cost of maintenance is reduced, and 

 facilities are provided for proper tillage 

 and for dealing with pests of all kinds. 

 If it is necessary to allow grass to come 

 up on the land for cattle pasture, leave 

 a circle of at least 6 ft. radius around 

 each tree free from all vegetation, and 

 always keep this area in good tilth. 



In manuring a tree( whatever may be the 

 manure) do not pile it round the trunk. 

 The feeding roots are not to be found 

 there. Therefore, in applying manure 

 leave a space of at least 3 ft. radius from 

 the trunk and apply tbe manure in the 

 outer space of 3 ft. width. Before 

 manuring the surface soil in this area 

 should be scraped away till the rootlets 

 are seen, then the ground should be 

 loosened by means of a fork, and the 

 manure spread and covered up with the 

 surface soil previously removed. If only 

 cattle manure is to be used, 12 or 15 

 baskets per tree should be given, but 

 this is seldom possible. By reducing the 

 cattle manure to 5 or 6 baskets and ad- 

 ding 4 lb. bone meal, 2 lb. crushed bone, 

 41b. crushed fish, and 4 lb. kainit, good 

 results will follow. This manuring should 

 be done every other year, and it is advis- 

 able to dig or plough up the soil every 

 alternatie year and apply lime at 



the rate of 5 or 6 lb. per tree. The 

 coconut palm responds readily to manu- 

 ring, and may be reckoned upon to 

 repay the cost of manure, provided it is 

 carefully applied and proper tillage 

 practised. Manure without tillage is 

 almost useless. Advantage should be 

 taken of the beneficial action of legu- 

 minous plants (such as pila, hana, &c), 

 either to grow them between the rows 

 of palms (which could be done before 

 the trees completely shade the ground), 

 or collect the green stuff from outside 

 and apply it to the land. By tillage and 

 manure on the lines indicated it should 

 be possible to raise the yield per tree 

 from 15 or 20 nuts to 45 or 60 nuts per 

 annum. 



To assist the coconut palm to with- 

 stand drought, keep the surface soil all 

 over the land, or at least round the tree, 

 constantly stirred so as to break up the 

 passages by which water is drawn up to 

 the surface and carried away as vapour. 

 Another good practice is to mulch round 

 the trees with any kind of decaying 

 matter, and in this way protect the 

 ground from the desiccating action of 

 the sun. 



Miscellaneous. 

 The cultivation of sugar cane for sugar 

 production, for some years confined to 

 the Galle District, is now entirely a 

 native industry, which the Agricultural 

 Instructor of the Province reports is 

 profitable under the conditions it is 

 conducted. He furnishes the following 

 details. The cost of cultivation per acre 

 does not exceed Rs. 40 to Rs. 45 ; the 

 yield at the first cutting is about 20 cwt. 

 crude sugar and 40 gallons of treacle, the 

 market value of which would be about 

 Rs. 210. The cultivator delivers his 

 canes at the nearest mill and gets two- 

 thirds of the output of sugar. It is 

 suggested that a better variety of cane 

 should be introduced, but this has 

 already been done by the Society by the 

 troduction of the cane registered as 

 "B 208," cuttings of which are now 

 growing in a nursery. 



Mr. N. A. S. Jayasuriya, of Meetiya- 

 goda, Hikkaduwa, writes in high praise 



