Edible Products. 



338 



[October, 1908. 



Expenses per Year 1,000 Acres 

 fully Planted and Bearing. 





X" 



Manager 





Two Native Overseers... 



48 



Boys' wages ... 



450 



Freight to Sydney, £1 10s. per ton 





Insurance, commission, 5s. per ton 



164 



Incidentals 



100 



Imports 



100 



Recruiting and returning boys, &c 



300 





£2,440 



1,000 acres, bearing 53 trees to 

 one acre. 



-=53,000 trees in all at 



60 nuts on each tree (low estimate) 



=3,180,000 nuts in all 



5,000 nuts to one ton copra 



636 tons copra per year 



£10 per ton Sydney price 



£6,360 income per annum 



Total Income, Expenses, and Net In 

 come 1,000 Acres, fully Bearing. 



£ 



Income ... ... 6,360 



Expenses . . ... 2,446 



Net Income ... £3,914 



During the first six years there is no 

 income to speak of, with only a little 

 during the seventh and eighth years. 

 It is in the early stages, says Mr. 

 Schroder, all expenses and hard work ; 

 but, with the exercise of economy, a 

 1,000-acre plantation ought to be 

 brought to maturity tor £13,500. — 

 Queensland Agricultural Journal, Vol. 

 XX. Part 6, June, 1900. 



COCONUTS IN PORTO RICO. 



It is believed that there are good pros- 

 pects of profit in connection with the 

 coconut industry of Porto Rico, and the 

 report of the Experiment Station of the 

 island (1907) states that coconut planta- 

 tions are increasing in number, while in 

 addition a good deal of general planting 



of coconut trees is also being r done. The 

 accompanying notes are taken from the 

 report :— 



Efforts have been made by officers at 

 the Experiment Station to obtain some 

 data in regard to the number of fruits 

 a tree will bear during the year. Though 

 many countings have been made, the 

 variation has been found to be so great 

 that as yet it is impossible to give any 

 accurate figures. Trees have been ob- 

 served bearing as many as 225 nuts at 

 one time, and a crop of from 125 to 159 

 nuts has been found very common in 

 the section where the coconut trees 

 appear to flourish best. Most authors 

 reporting on this subject give an 

 average of 120 to 125 nuts for the whole 

 year, but from data gathered here it 

 Avould seem as though there is a higher 

 average in the better coconut sections of 

 Porto Rico. 



Cultivation, fertilization, and seed 

 selection are found to have an 

 important influence on the rapidity of 

 development of a coconut plantation, as 

 well as on its productiveness. Prom 

 data obtained it can be strongly recom- 

 mended to tliose starting new groves 

 that they look carefully to the physical 

 condition of their soil, the selection of 

 their seed, and the cultivation and ferti- 

 lization of the trees. By paying atten- 

 tion to these points they may gain from 

 one to three years in the development of 

 the plantations. 



Thus far none of the dreaded coconut 

 diseases have been observed or reported. 

 There are some minor "diseases present 

 in the groves, but they are almost 

 entirely due to neglect of the trees and 

 are not to be feared by the careful 

 grower. — Agricultural News, Vol. VII., 

 No, 1«1, June, 1908. 



GUAVA jelly, 



The fact that guava fruits decay so 

 readily on reaching a stage of ripeness 

 renders their shipment on a commercial 

 scale to outside countries almost impos- 

 sible. The culture of the guava, how- 

 ever, need not be the less remunerative 

 on this account, since well-prepared 

 guava jelly finds such a ready market 

 in all countries where it is once known, 

 that its production may well become a 

 substantial source of profit. This ques- 

 tion is referred to in the course of an 

 article "Some opportunities in Sub- 

 tropical Fruit Growing," that appeared 

 in the Yearbook of the U. S- Department 

 of Agriculture, 1905, and which contains 



