October, 1908.] 



Edible Products. 



have left behind- A boy can be taught 

 this method, and in a very little time he 

 will become quite an expert. It is well, 

 however, to give him a tin and to make 

 him bring the captured beetles to you. 

 It will be a matter of surprise what 

 a large number he will find on a 

 plantation where the logs have been 

 left to rot on the ground between the 

 trees. 



Another small beetle which is very 

 plentiful attains a length of half an inch 

 but is very thin. It has a light-brown 

 head and a dark body. This insect enters 

 very youngtrees and feeds on the leaf that 

 is just forming. Trees that are infested 

 with this pest are easily distinguishable, 

 for dry spots appear on the leaves. The 

 presence of the beetle does not kill the 

 tree, but retrads its growth consider- 

 ably. Wood ashes or Paris green is an 

 effective remedy ; open out the new 

 leaf very carefully and dust in the 

 same manner as for the "Rhinoceros" 

 beetle. 



The grub is another source of annoy- 

 ance to the coconut-planter. He enters 

 the tree from the roots and works his 

 way upwards, His presence can be 

 detected by the grating sound which 

 he makes. When the sound has been 

 located a hole should be cut in the 

 tree and the grub extracted. Fortun- 

 ately, this pest is seldom met with, 

 and visitations are rare from it in 

 Papua. 



If the plantation be near the sea-front, 

 all intervening timber should be cut 

 away right down to the water's edge, as 

 the coconuts require plenty of air, and 

 the salt sea breeze is very beneficial to 

 them. Seaweed, too, makes an excel- 

 lent manure, and helps the young 

 nut considerably. It may be remarked 

 here that the first two flowers should 

 be cut off, as this strengthens the young 

 tree. 



Estimate of Expenses and Returns- 



For the further guidance of intend- 

 ing investors, a table is append- 

 ed which gives approximately Mr. 

 Schroder's idea of the expenses incurred 

 in runnirg two plantations of 1,000 

 acres, and of the profits to be derived 

 thereform. 



This estimate, our correspondent men- 

 tions, is based upon a very low price for 

 the product — viz,, £10 per ton. Copra 

 he puts down at £10 per ton in Sydney ; 

 but £10 he considers a bed-rock figure, 

 below which the market is very xmlikely 

 to go for many years. 

 13 



Expenses for the First Year— Area 



Planted, 500 Acres. 



£. 



Manager ... ... ... 300 



Assistant Manager ... ... 200 



200 boys ... ... ... 900 



Tools ... ... ... 125 



23,000 seed nuts (imported) ... 231 



Food for boys... ... ... 150 



Incidentals ... ... ... 100 



Recruiting, tobacco, medicine, 



blankets ... ... ... 500 



Returning boys ... ... 100 



Manager's and Assistant's house ... 250 



£2,856 



Second Year— Area Planted, 



300 Acres. 



£. 



Manager ... ... ... 300 



Assistant Manager ... ... 200 



150 boys ... - ... 595 



20,000 seed nuts ... ... 140 



Food for boys ... ... 125 



Recruiting, tobacco, medicine, 



blankets ... ... ... 400 



Returning boys ... ... 75 



Incidentals ... ... ... 100 



£1,935 



Third Year— Area Planted, 

 180 Acres. 





£. 



Manager 



300 



Assistant Manager 



200 



100 boys 



450 



11,000 seed nuts 



77 



Recruiting, &e. 



350 



Incidentals 



100 



Food for boys 



75 



Returning boys 



50 





£1,602 



Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, 



and Eighth Years. 





£. 



Manager 



300 



Boys 



450 



Tools 



50 



Recruiting, &c. 



350 



Food 



75 



Returning boys 



50 



Incidentals 



100 



Two Native Overseers ... 



48 





£1,423 



Summary. 





£. 



First year ... 



2,856 



Second year 



1,935 



Third year ... 



1,602 



Fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and 





eighth years 



7,115 





£13,508 



