THE 



TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 



AND 



MAGAZINE OF THE 



CEYLON AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Vol. XXVIII. COLOMBO, JANUABY 15th, 1907. No. 1. 



Coconuts. 



The dearth of literature on the subject of coconuts is remarkable, and to 

 what it is to be ascribed is hard to say. More has been written about rubber in a 

 few years than about coconuts since the palm was evolved. True it is that there is 

 a less attractive profit in view, but it is by no means so certain that in 15 or 20 years' 

 time the rubber will pay better than the nuts. The uses for the product of the one 

 increase as rapidly as those for that of the other. Cultivation of the palm is conti- 

 nually extending in Ceylon, Malaya, and other countries, but the consumption 

 increases as rapidly, so that prices have not fallen, in fact have of late risen in a 

 remarkable way. 



This absence of literature may be due to the fact that until comparatively 

 lately the cultivation of this palm has been almost entirely in the hands of 

 the villagers, or to the fact that by long practice of the cultivation the natives of 

 Ceylon had evolved a system of cultivation which has proved very fair as to results, 

 and which has not yet met with much criticism or alteration ; or again, to the fact 

 that scientific institutions, such as Peradeuiya, having only recently been established 

 in the tropics, have not yet had time to do much in the study of a palm which takes 

 so long to come into bearing. The new department of agriculture in the Philippines, 

 however, has already turned out some useful work. 



At the same time, it must be recongnised that the scientific treatment of the 

 coconut is only in its infancy, and that we are as yet without really accurate 

 knowledge of most branches of its cultivation and harvesting. What kind of nut, 

 for instance, gives, for each kind of soil, the best results as to copra, oil, fibre, &e. V 

 How many really distinct varieties are there (opinions vary from 2 to 150) ? To what 

 extent will one variety pass into another with change of soil, cultivation, &c. ? To 

 what extent are the characters of any given nut due to selection, and what charac- 

 ters will remain fixed from generation to generation, and thus not deteriorate in the 

 hands of villagers ? To what extent can the qualities of any given race be improved 

 by selection ? What is the best distance apart to plant with different varieties in 

 different soils ? What is the manure for each kind of soil ? each kind of nut ? 

 What is the best way of making copra of uniform quality, fibre, oil, &c. ? And 

 many other questions. 



We shall welcome any contributions upon any of these topics from writers 

 with knowledge of the subject. 



