Feb. 1908.] 



129 



Edible Product*. 



of the population who are engaged in 

 the various industries arising out of the 

 different products of the palm. Tiie 

 soil of Travaucord is admirably adapted 

 for coconut cultivation, audit is a sur 

 prise that the industry should have been 

 so much neglected here. As a matter 

 of fact, a good many of our best gardens 

 have already undergone great deteriora- 

 tion, and the industry has almost ceased 

 to be the source of national wealth that 

 it was in years long gone by. It should, 

 therefore, be worth the while of tlie 

 State to look into the causes of this 

 decline which has evidently been the 

 cause of so much poverty in the interior. 



DETERIORATION OP THE INDUSTRY. 



According to a report published under 

 the authority of the Government, we find 

 that some thirty years back there were 

 8,518,358 coconut trees in Travancore, 

 Recent accounts go to show that the 

 number has become considerably less. 

 It is in the coast-lying taluks of this 

 State— Shertally, Vaikam, Kuranaga- 

 pally, Mavelikara, Tiruvella, Chirayinkil, 

 Trivandrum and Neyyathankara— that 

 this palm is largely cultivated, though 

 all the taluks contain coconut culti vat ion 

 to a greater or less extent ; and in all 

 those localities this palm seems to suffer 

 sadly from the many anim xls and insect 

 pests which prey upon it at nearly all 

 seasons. Besides these pests, rhe neglect 

 on the part of owners to maintain and 

 adequately fertilise their gardens has 

 also been telling upon this industry. 

 Mueb neglect is shown in manuring the^e 

 coconut topes, and in con.-equence some 

 of the gardens are gradually but steadily 

 deteriorating. All that is usually done 

 is to dig a hole round each tree and 

 throw in a small quantity of cowdungj 

 or ashes, or any of the other fertilisers 

 which are commonly used by our coco- 

 nut growers. The soil has been ex- 

 hausted either through over-planting, 

 or through existing plantations having 

 been left without manuring for a con- 

 siderable time, and it is a pity that the 

 cultivators do not seem to understand 

 that it is not possible, without generous 

 manuring, to keep the trees in healthy 

 condition. Needless to say, a good deal 

 depends upon the proper cultivation of 

 this palm. It is a littoral plant attaining 

 earliest maturity, great size and gieatest 

 fruitfulness close to the sea, where, if 

 the soil be loose and friable, even though 

 of the most meagre description such as 

 sand and shells, it grows luxuriantly 

 without the aid of special cultivation : 

 manure or the proximity of inhabited 

 houses. According to Simmonds, the 

 following soils are considered suited for 

 coconut cultivation : Soils mixed with 

 sand either dark-coloured or river- 



washed ; sand mixed with clay, ferru- 

 ginous earth or black mould clayey soils 

 with sandy uuder-strata; sand and clay 

 even when mixed with gravel and. 

 pebb'es ; seashore and banks of back- 

 waters ; rivers, tanks and paddy-fields; 

 alluvium of rivers and backwaters; 

 marshy lands even in brackish soils ; all 

 level lands exposed to the sea-breeze 

 where the soil is good ; and the floors 

 of ruined houses and uther places fre- 

 quented by cattle and human beings. 



FORMING THE NURSERY. 



Having pointed out the different soils 

 suited for coconut cultivation, we shall 

 now deal with the formation of coconut 

 nurseries ; for the greater the care taken 

 in regard to the seedlings, the richer 

 will be the yield of the plants. In pluck- 

 ing coconut for seeds, very young 

 and very old trees are to be avoided, 

 the fruits of the middle aged trees 

 being the best suited, the gathered 

 nuts should be tied up in pairs and 

 thrown on the roof of the houses, 

 and left there tor a couple of months — 

 that is to say till they sprout— exposed 

 to heat and moisture. Seedbeds, as a 

 rule, should be prepared two feet deep 

 and the nuts planted one foot apart. 

 Ashes and salt, and in places where soil 

 is saltish, ashes alone should be put in 

 the trenches. This not only tends to 

 produce healthy seedlings, but also pro- 

 tects the seedlings from the attacks of 

 various insects. Watering is required 

 till they take root, and then only once a 

 day. They might be transplanted when 

 six or at the most nine months old. In 

 Shertally and other parts of North 

 Travancore, the seedlings are allowed to 

 remain in nurseries until they are two 

 years old. It is, however, advisable to 

 transplant them early, when six months 

 old. Again, in transplanting, the trees 

 should not be planted too clo>e together, 

 and the pits should ordinarily be five 

 feet deep. Regarding the best method 

 of cultivation, we would draw attention 

 to the cultivation of this tree in the 

 Bombay Presidency, where it is exten- 

 sively cultivated in the districts of 

 Kauara, Batnagiri, Kolaba, and Kathi- 

 awar. In those places, in starting a 

 coconut garden, a bed is prepared, and 

 in it, at the beginning of the rainy season, 

 from twenty to forty large, ripe, un- 

 husked nuts are planted two feet deep. 

 The seedlings are left undisturbed for 

 two years. They are then, at the 

 beginning of the rains, planted in sandy 

 soil in rows about 18 feet apart, and with 

 a distance of 15 feet between the plants. 

 For about a foot and a half round each 

 plant the ground is hollowed three or 

 four indies deep, and during the dry 

 months the plants are watered daily or 



