November i, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
333 
tree, in which to deposit husks and leaves. Pretty 
well this for a strong conserver of roots, cut a 
trench round the tree and theroby cut a host of 
leading roots off close to their source ! No digging 
or ploughing could possibly beat this. As regards 
the chief seat of the feeding roots being near the 
stein, I advise your correspondent to look again, 
when he will perhaps find that for several feet 
round the 6teni the main roots are so closely 
packed, that there is no room for fibrous rootlets. 
Perhaps the kind of reason he professes to follow 
may not admit that the vicinity of the stem, being 
tfie Brat portion of the alloted space occupied by 
roots, is the most exhausted of the elements of 
fertility and that the true feeders may be nearer 
the extremities of the mains than close to their 
source. Your correspondent reports that he man- 
ur< I coconuts in November 1881 and that the 
increase only began to come in when tho third year 
was well advanced. I cannot say anything about 
this for want of more facts, such as the state of 
i he trues at the time of manuring, tho quantity used 
and the method of application. My own experi- 
ence in the use of cattle-shed manure is that ono 
cwt. spread equally over the space occupied by a 
coconut tree, bearing more or less and dug in, I 
reaped the first fruits at the end of eighteen 
months. It strikes me, that, when your correspond- 
ent writes about bone dust, he draws on other 
rosources than his own experience when 
ho declares it to bo a stimulant akin to 
alcohol in the case of humanity. My experience 
is, that given to a young tree before it shows 
stein, or to an older one that has been dwarfed 
on bad soil, it produces no perceptible effect. I 
conclude, therefore, that if phosphate be a necess- 
ary element in the growth of the plant, it is 
grains rather than pounds it needs, but it is an 
indispensable elornent in the formation of fruit, 
but even for that the quantity necessary is very 
small, I should say from one to one-and-a-half 
pound por annum or not over two would keep 
up a yield of ltjO nuts on a vigorous tree, but 
the tree needs to be kept in vigorous growth by 
other mnnures. Ground bones is better for the 
purpose tkan • superphosphate or steamed bones, 
because tho greater part of the phosphate is not 
soluble and only becomes so by degrees. There 
is no danger to thu trees in the use of bone dust by 
IIiofo who have the requisite knowledge. I have met, 
in your correspondent's letter, an old acquaintance, a 
peculiar Ceyloncse argument against the uso of 
manure in the growing of coconuts. " You no 
doubt increase your crops by manure, but when 
you begin you must go on, else your trees will 
relapse into even moro homeless barrenness than 
before." So have said scores of my Ceylonese 
acquaintance, and 1 freely admit that the state- 
nii at 19 perfectly correct, but I add why should 
anyone contemplate thf closing of a business 
that yields a rupee for every twenty- five cents 
l Dt ? Your correspondent is perfectly right in 
preferring a field of moderaie oxtent, skilfully 
cultivated, to a wtdo tract under the management 
of Mudam Nature, who treats a noxious weed 
and the most valuable economic plant with equal 
kindness. Your correspondent has, however, much 
to learn and still more to unlearn before ho 
gftthen three hundred thousand nuts per annum 
on fifty acres. \V. B. L. 
IRRIOATION APPLIED SUCCESSFULLY TO 
OOFFBB CULTURE IN SOUTHERN INDIA. 
Ootacamund, •J'.uh Sept. 18*7. 
Sin, — I had no idea that my note to you on " Coffco 
uuil. r Irrigation" would causo ho much interest in 
your part of tho world ; and as requested by you, will 
tr\ ind tutswur your quodtion to thobc^tof my ability :■ 
1. The estates in question are fairly flat, at 
least one is, and the other " undulating" land on 
which I have to be very careful when irrigating. 
There is no "wash" on this estate, but on ac- 
count of the lay of land I often have a small " slip" 
when irrigating, through carelessness on the part 
of coolie ; so i think I can say that taking tho land 
altogether it is not what would bo called " flat." 
2. Climate fairly dry. Rainfall average about 42 
inches per year, only 2 months in the year no rain, 
January- February. I enclose last year's rainfall. 
3. By irrigation, water is taken direct from the 
Pykara river and carried by a built channel for some 
200 yards, after which it flows down the face of 
the hills by an ordinary drain and so is carried on to 
t'ae estate, distance about 4 miles. 
4. The estate is watered " field by field and 
four coolies are employed taking it down the lines " 
from one road to another, each cooly taking four 
lines, and it takes five weeks for the first round, four 
weeks for the rest ; irrigation is started early in 
January and continued until the S.-W. monsoon 
has fairly set in. The first round of water pro- 
duces the " spike," second round brings it out and 
third sets the crop, after which water is kept going 
until the rain. 
4. Yes, a fair amount of manure is available, 
but as a rule we do not purchase more than 1,000 lb., 
the rest is from our own cattle — 200 head well 
littered. I can't say whether bone &o. would answer 
as well. We use very little artificial manure, 
but as a rule get nearly all round tho estate 
with cattle manure. I start manuring early 
in January, and follow up with water which at 
once decomposes the manure at the roots into a 
rich mould, which I think is the secret of success 
on these estates. 
I must mention that " no pruning or hand- 
ling " is done on these estates. Last year as our 
crop was small I tried a little thinning out to see 
if the quality would improve, but of course can't 
say yet. All I know is that there is a " bumper " 
on, and on one estate I shall not be surprised if 
we get over one ton per acre I and this at 1003 
per cwt. will pay, I guess 1 
I fear I can give you no further information, 
but shall be glad to answer any question either 
direct or through your valuable paper, and if any 
gentleman doubt what I say they have only to 
come over and nothing will give'me greater ploasure 
than to show them 10 CWT. PER ACRE. 
Rainfall 1886.— January nil, February nil, March 
nil, April -2-70 inches, May 8-46, June G-88, July 
13-78, August 8-11, September 5 25, Ootober 3-35, 
November 2 00, and December nil. — Total 51-13 
inohes. This year there were four months with- 
out rain, but two months is the average. 
You are at liberty to mention my name to any 
planter that may wish to have direct answer. 
I would advise no man to try irrigation unless 
he can back it up with munure. Artificial may 
do of course, but I have 110 experience in it. 
We learn that the Government of Jamaica offers 
a premium of £100 for the production of the best 
practical elementary text-book of tropical agriculture 
specially applicable to Jamaica, and embodying the 
first prinoiples of agriculture. It is stated that the 
object of the manual is to create in the mind of 
the young an early and intelligent interest in the 
soil and its products, and particular attention is 
to bo paid to simplicity, brevity, and freedom, aa 
far U3 possible, from technical terms. It is stated 
that the propagation and cultivation of tropioal 
economic plants should have due prominonco. 
Manuscripts arc to be forwarded to thu Government 
I of Jamaica on or before August 1st, 1863.— A .: 
