July, 1911.] 



17 



Edible Products. 



The system I adopted, when I took to 

 coconut cultivation thirty years ago, 

 was to cut holes 3 feet cube and to fill 

 them with the surface soil cut from their 

 sides to within one foot of the surface. 

 By this means the holes become saucer- 

 shaped, and are about 5 feet in diameter. 

 Cultivation can, by this system, com- 

 mence almost immediately after plant- 

 ing, and can be continued in an increas- 

 ing circle with the growth of the plants 

 and the spread of the roots. I was very 

 gratified to find there was one other who 

 followed this system, viz., Mudaliyar 

 A. B, Rajapakse, on his Eheta estate, 

 through which the Negombo line runs. 

 Some people express the fear that by 

 putting down the plants so near the 

 surface the stability of the tree will be 

 affected. There is no fear of that, for 

 the bole of the tree, which is its sheet 

 anchor, and takes the place of the tap 

 root of other trees, will establish itself 

 in the original bole, and even deeper, 

 according to the texture of the soil. 



Weeding.— The next operation calling 

 for attention is weeding. This should 

 be undertaken soon after planting. If 

 the estate be weeded from the start, 

 weeding will not cost much, and a 

 beautiful sward will cover the ground. 

 Most estates are planted on the goyia 

 system, that is, the land is given to 

 villagers to fell, burn, clear, and plant, 

 and they are allowed a share of the 

 subsidiary crops grown on the land, 

 besides being paid at so much per tree 

 and plant (previously agreed upon) at 

 the end of a specified number of years. 

 This system has its advantages aud 

 disadvantages. The advantages are 

 obvious. One disadvantage is that the 

 villagers do not supply vacancies till 

 the time arrives for giving over. Then 

 the landowner has an estate with a 

 large proportion of plants just put out. 

 Some experienceed planters think that 

 minor cultivation impoverishes the soil 

 and should not be practised. This it 

 undoubtedly does, but not to an extent 

 to be detrimental to the coconut plant- 

 ation, particularly when manuring is 

 practised. As against the impoverish- 

 ment of the soil, there is the benefit 

 accruing to it from constant tillage. In 

 dry districts cotton could be grown as a 

 subsidiary crop. 



Tillage or turning over the soil with 

 mamoties should go hand in hand with 

 weeding. Every time the land is weeded, 

 or at least once a year, the soil should 

 be tilled iu an increasing circle rouud 

 the plants and mulched with weeds, 

 which should be placed at least a foot to 

 18 inches away from the plants to 

 avoid trouble with black ants (kadias). 

 3 



All laggards and recent supplies should 

 have a large coconut shell full of kainit. 

 Wheu in course of time the edges of the 

 tilled circle touch each other, the 

 intervening spaces should also be tilled. 

 Probably by this time the estate will 

 have come into bearing, as a result of 

 continuous tillage. After this the land 

 can be ploughed. Efficient ploughing is 

 not practicable on any but sandy soil, 

 unless tilling precedes it. The land should 

 be harrowed the year after tilling. These 

 operations should be carried on in 

 alternate years, so as to have the soil 

 always in a fine state of tilth. Unfor- 

 tunately every one does not realize the 

 benefits of having the soil in a friable 

 state. If brought into this condition, 

 most of the rain water is absorbed by 

 the soil ; and air is drawn in after it, 

 The soil therefore becomes aerated to a 

 greater depth than the furrows made 

 by the plough. Roots traverse further 

 and deeper and find their way to the 

 regions of permanent moisture. The 

 loose soil on the surface acts as a mulch 

 and prevents the evaporation of mois- 

 ture. The roots having gone deeper 

 and evaporation having been arrested, 

 it follows, of course, that coconut trees 

 are better able to withstand droughts 

 and to bear and mature better crops. 

 The aeration of the soil renders soluble 

 the insoluble plant food in the soil. If 

 Government abandons its dog-in-the- 

 manger policy oi destroying all the salt 

 produced in excess of its requirements, 

 aud issues denatured salt to agri- 

 culturists, and tins be spread over the 

 soil before it is harrowed, the soil will 

 be kept moist. In illustration of how 

 little planters of experience, who, how- 

 ever, have not made a study of agricul- 

 tural chemistry, realize the benefits of a 

 thorough aeration of the soil, I may 

 mention that recently a gentleman 

 wrote to me aud complained of the 

 drought and and its effects as seen in 

 the dropping of immature nuts. I 

 suggested the procedure I have just 

 explained, also a thick cover of Crota- 

 laria. He writes in reply : " Thanks for 

 your suggestions about ploughing, 

 which I wish I could carry out more 

 fully, though nothing will prevent the 

 nuts being burnt in such weather as we 

 are having, and the droppings from the 

 young trees in the harder soils." He 

 should not be too sure of the impossi- 

 bility of overcoming these untoward 

 results of droughts. None of us are too 

 old to learn. A few acres might be 

 experimented on, and the results watch- 

 ed and reported. 



Draining,— This should be taken in 

 hand as early as possible. The object of 



