June 1908.] 



543 



Edible Products. 



ashes, salt, or tobacco dust ; but it is 

 questionable if the efficacy of the 

 remedy lies so much in these additions 

 as in the purely mechanical effect of the 

 sand, the constant addition of which 

 cannot be other than highly objection- 

 able to the insect while burrowing. 



Of offensive remedies, probing with a 

 stout hooked wire is the only form of 

 warfare carried on in these Islands ; but, 

 as the channel of the borer is sometimes 

 tortuous and deep, this is not always 

 effective. A certain, simple, and easily 

 applied remedy may be found in carbon 

 bisulphid. It could be applied in the 

 holes (which invariably trend down- 

 ward) with a small metal syringe. The 

 hole should be sealed immediately with 

 a pinch of stiff moist clay. 



It is likely that this remedy and prob- 

 ing with a wire are the only successful 

 ways of combatting the red beetle, 

 whose grub strikes in wherever it finds 

 a soft spot ; but, for these species which 

 attack the axils of the leaves, I have 

 great faith in th3 efficacy of the " sand 

 cure," and no nut picker should go aloffc 

 unprovided with a small bamboo tube 

 of dry, sifted sand, to protect the bases 

 of recently expanded leaves. 



In Selangor coconut trees now come 

 under the Government inspection, and 

 planters and owners, under penalties, 

 are compelled to destroy these pests. 

 Mr. L. C. Brown, of Kuala Lampur, in 

 that State, who writes intelligently on 

 this subject,* lays great stress on the 

 value of clean cultivation in subduing 

 beetles, and repeats a cultural axiom that 

 never grows old, and that will, conse- 

 quently, bear reiteration here— that it is 

 rarely anything but the neglected 

 plantation that suffers, and that the 

 maintenance at all times of a healthy 

 vigorous growth is in itself almost a 

 guaranty of immunity from attacks of 

 these pernicious insects. 



While we, unfortunately, know that 

 this is not in all cases an assured pro- 

 tection against diseases or insect ene- 

 mies, it certainly minimizes the danger 

 and, in itself, is a justification of the 

 high- pressure cultural treatment advo- 

 cated throughout the preceding pages. 



Renovation op old Groves, 



Material improvement of old planta- 

 tions may sometimes be effected and, 

 unless the trees are known to be upward 

 of fifty years old, generally repays the 

 labour. Marked increase in crop has 

 followed a heavy thinning out of trees 

 upon the Government coconut farm at 

 San Ramon, Mindanao. The improve- 

 ment that a free cultivation of air and 



* Ag. Bull. Fed. Malay States, February, 1903. 



abundant sunlight have effected is very 

 marked. Where it can be done, ploughing 

 is also sometimes feasible and should be 

 followed by immediate crop improve- 

 ment. The average native plough is not 

 so well adapted for working over an old 

 or neglected grove as it is for original 

 soil preparation. It acts more as a sub- 

 soiler and will tear and lacerate more 

 roots than is desirable. A single carabao, 

 or one-horse American garden plough 

 is the better implement for this work. 

 Extensive bat guano deposits are found 

 in Mindoro. Guimaras, and Luzon. Some 

 of them show richness in nitrogen and, 

 when accessible at a moderate cost, 

 would be useful in the renovation of old 

 groves, where the shade would be ad- 

 verse to the rearing of good crops of 

 nitrogen gatherers. 



Conclusion. 



1. There are large areas throughout 

 the littoral valleys of the Archipelago, 

 as yet unexploited, which, in the essen- 

 tials of soil, climate, irrigation facilities, 

 and general environment, are suitable 

 for coconut growing. 



2. The present conditions present 

 especially flattering attractions to coco- 

 nut gi'owers capable of undertaking the 

 cultivation upon a scale of some magni- 

 tude. By co-operation, small estates 

 could combine in the common ownership 

 of machinery, whereby the products of 

 the grove could be converted into more 

 profitable substances than copra. 



3. The present production of copra 

 (estimated at 278,000 piculs in 1902) is an 

 assurance of a sufficient supply to 

 warrant the erection of a high-class 

 modern plant for the manufacture of 

 the ultimate (the " butter") products of 

 the nut. The products of such an enter- 

 prise would be increased by the cer- 

 tainty of a local marketjin the Philip- 

 pines for some part of the output. 

 The average market value of the best 

 grades of copra in the Marseilles market 

 is $54*40, gold, per English ton. The 

 jobbing values on January 1 of this year, 

 of the refined products, were, for each 

 ton of copra : — 



Butter fats ... ... $90-00 



Residual soap oils ... 21-00 



Press cake ... ... 5-20 



Total... 116-20 



The difference representing the profit 

 per ton, less the cost of manufacture. 



4. The minimum size of a plantation, 

 on which economical application of oil 

 and fibre preparing machinery could be 

 made, is 60 hectares. 



