October, 1,908.] 



335 



Edible Prodtwts. 



close of December Ceylon oil was held 

 at 9| cents. The yield of copra in 1907 

 was only 237,000 tons, and prospects 

 favoured high-priced oil. The strength 

 developed late in the preceding year 

 was easily maintained until the record 

 price of 10 cents was reached in March. 

 Since then, however, the course has 

 been ever downward, which lends col- 

 our to the belief that prices must have 

 been more or less fictitious. Be this as 

 it may, coconut oil has been steadily 

 declining, and by last December had 

 dropped fully 3£ cents from the high- 

 level mark. At the close the local mar- 

 ket was quoted at 7£ cents- 



The present year, with its heavy 

 estimated production of copra and gen- 

 eral lack of demand, does not promise 

 great things. Starting at 7 J cents, 

 Ceylon oil was gradually forced down 

 until in Februray it sold on spot at 6| 

 cents. In March the big fire in Mar- 

 seilles destroyed some 4,000 tons of copra. 

 Under ordinary circumstances this 

 would likely have proved sufficient to 

 bring about an advance, but it had no 

 effect on the market at this time. In 

 fact, oil during the month of March 

 sold down to 6£ cents. The present price 

 is 6| cents, and with no buying support, 

 and a heavy copra crop, the trade 

 might be excused for wondering whether 

 we are to have a recurrence of the low 

 prices of five years ago, when Ceylon 

 oil sold between 5 and 5| cents. — Tropical 

 Life, Vol. IV., No. 6. June, 1908. 



COCONUT-PLANTING : TERRITORY 



OP PAPUA. 

 (From Particulars supplied by Mr, N. R. 

 Schroder to " Dalgety's Review.") 



The interest which is being aroused 

 in the Commonwealth at the present 

 time by the possiblities of the territory 

 of Papua for coconut and rubber culti- 

 vation has induced Mr. N. R. Schroder, 

 of Milne Bay, Papua, to send us some 

 particulars of the former industry, 

 which we have pleasure in publishing 

 for the information of any intending 

 planters. 



The territory is situated outside the 

 hurricane zone, has an agreeable climate, 

 and a plentiful rainfall (except in the 

 dry belt of the Central Division). Thus, 

 the planter has every advantage which 

 Nature can bestow to render his enter- 

 prise successful. 



The soil is considered equal in richness 

 to any in the world, and our correspon- 

 dent's experience leads him to express 



it as his opinion that, in the course of a 

 few yearo', when Australia has realised 

 what a valuable asset she possesses right 

 at her very doors, Papua will have 

 become the most prolific and richest 

 exporter of tropical products outside of 

 Ceylon. Labour is plentiful and cheap, 

 and land easily obtainable on the most 

 liberal terms. 



A good deal has been written on the 

 subject of coconut-planting during the 

 last few years, mostly by people in India, 

 bat comparatively little has been said 

 by those conversant with the conditions 

 obtaining in the South Sea Islands and 

 British New Guinea to help intending 

 planters who may be thinking of taking 

 up land in Papua, 



With regard to choice of land for culti- 

 vation, if no island is available, and land 

 is taken up on the mainland, it should 

 be as flat as possible. If a river or two 

 run through the property, so much the 

 better. They will help to irrigate the 

 land, and coconut require a great deal 

 of water (running, not stagnant) ; if 

 there are any swamps they must be 

 thoroughly drained before any planting 

 is attempted. 



After land has been taken up, the next 

 step is to obtain labour to cultivate it. 

 " Boys " may be had from the local 

 recruiting vessels at from £1 15s. to £2 

 per head (for one-year boys). These 

 figures refer to New Guinea. In the 

 Solomon Islands the rate is from £4 to 

 £6 per head for three-vear boys. The 

 food of these labourers consists of rice, 

 sweet potatoes, with meat twice a week. 

 They also get a tobacco allowance of. 

 say, two sticks per week. Their only 

 requirement in the matter of clothing is 

 one Lava-lava every three months, and 

 one blanket per boy per annum. 



There are many ways of clearing land, 

 but the following method has been found 

 the best. After the forest has been cut 

 down, lop off all the branches of trees 

 and then run a fire through. After this, 

 stack all unburnt timber around stumps 

 and big logs, and fire once again. Do 

 this twice so as to leave as little dead 

 timber as possihle on the plantation. 

 The timber, if left to rot, will in time 

 manure the ground, but this method 

 entails the harbourage of an immense 

 number of grubs and beetles, and these 

 insects, breeding rapidly, leave the old 

 logs and take up their residence in the 

 young sweet coconuts, causing untold 

 damage. By firing the ground tho- 

 roughly these insect pests are kept within 

 bounds. 



