July 1, 1899.] THE TROPICAL AaRICULTURIST. 
45 
6. How much does it cost to put it to the trees ? 
7. Do yoQ plough or hoe down the manure? 
8. In hoeing or ploughing how deep do you go ? 
9. flow far from the root o£ the tree do you begin 
hoeing and ploughing, and to what breadth do 
you do it '? " 
—Yours truly, COCONUTS. 
COCONUT PLANTING. 
Franklands, Veyangoda, May 24. 
Dear Sir, — In answer to "Coconut" 's letter in 
last night's issue of the Observer I have pleasure in 
supplying; the furtlier particulars he asks for. I 
may mention that most of the information he 
wants was embodied in a previous report I sent 
to Messrs. Freudenberg & Co. 
(1) 75 trees to the acre ; (2), (3), (4), refer 
to my report, published in the Observer of the 19th 
ultimo, I now deal with the first and second plots 
of the five mentioned. 
Plot No. 1 In (A) 32 trees were manured. 
Besides these there are eight plants — from two to 
five years old — whieli were not manured. No 
vacancies. In (B) 33 trees were manured. Two 
three-year plants were not manured. One vacancy 
unfilled. In (C) 32 trees were manured. Two 
tliree-year old plants were not manured. In (D) 
35 trees were manured. Two plants from two to 
five years ohl were not manured. 
I'lot No. 2 :— In (a) of the 72 trees manured, six 
were not in bearing. Ten vacancies are occupied 
by plants ranging from two to four years old : these 
were not manured. In (b)75 trees were manured, 
of which eleven trees were not in bearing, Besides 
these there are 15 plants from two to four years 
of age, wliich were not manured. 
(5) Tiie transpoi t from the Veyangoda Railway 
Station to the estate costs 50 cents per cart, if out- 
side carts, less if estate carts, are used. The 
usual load a cart carries on this road is 
17 cwt. 
(6) The average cost of digging in the manure 
round a tree is 14 cents per tree. 
(7) , (8), (9) My mode of application is :--The 
manure is spread evenly round the tree, three feet 
away from the trunk, then dug in — three mamo- 
ties in width — to a depth ot from nine to twelve 
inches, after whieli the soil immediately round 
the trunk is loosened to a depth of two inches. 
Finally, the fallen branches are cut up and placed 
over the portion dug in : mulching.— Yours truly. 
A. KARL BEVEN. 
other Straits Settlements, and the great havoc 
they commit, compared with the, comparatively 
speakinjr, small number in Ceylon and their 
practical harmlessness. What is the cause of 
their great numbers, and why are they so ed- 
structive in the Straits? Can the beetle be of a 
different species with different habits from the 
Ceylon one ? The conditions for the breeding of 
the beetles — stable and cattle-shed refuse, and 
heaps of decaying vegetable matter — must be 
pretty much the same in both countries, so those 
alone cannot account for the larger numbers in the 
Straits. I am inclined to think that the land in 
the Straits is richer in humus and vegetable 
matter and thus affords more food for the f rubs. 
I see that they are said to be worse in " bakan " 
land ; what is " bakan " ? I gather that whatever 
it is, it is very rich in vegetable mould, and in 
this, of cour.se, the grubs thrive. Why the 
rhinoceios beetle should have acquired ditVeienb 
habits and become more destructive in the Straits 
than it is in Ceylon I am not in a position to say ; 
perhaps different local conditions, and variation' 
by natural selection, for its preservation? Iti 
Ceylon the rhinoceros beetle rarely attacks coco- 
nut plants before they are two to two-and-a-lialf 
years old, and then all the mischief it does is to 
work its way down to the tender portion of the 
centre leaf whieli it eats into till stopped by the 
hard midrib. When the leaf opens out it looks a 
little ragged and that is all ; it never kills a plant. 
So little harm does it do to the coconut plant 
that for many years I have ceased to have tlieni 
killed, deeming that the spearing does more Iiarin 
to the plant than the beetle ! It is possible that 
cases may arise, but I have never yet seen one, 
where a field of young plants may be badly 
infested with the beetles when, of course, it would 
be necessary to kill them with the barbed spear ; 
but care should be taken when so doin" to 
tamijer as little as possible with the plants. Long 
may the rhinoceros beetle in Ceylon be as in- 
offensive as he is at |)resent, and may lie never 
develop the destructive propensities of his relative 
in the Straits Settlements. Our enemy is the 
dreaded red beetle, and against ii we wa"e 
vigilant and constant war, W. J." 
COCONUT PALM CULTIVATION IN THE 
STRAITS : 
May 26. 
Dear Sir, — I have read with much interest, in 
the Selangor Government Gazette of 5tli May, 
which you kindly sent me, the "Notes on the 
effects of Sugar Estates in Coconut plantations." 
As there are no sugar estates in Ceylon — the small 
areas of canes at Baddegama near Galle are, I 
believe, grown at intervals of several years, 
rotation of crops being the rule — it cannot be 
determined what effect growing sugar canes 
would have on coconut estates in the vicinity. 
So long as the megass is burnt, and the decaying 
nobs of the canes dug out and burnt, I cannot 
imagine what yjossible effect it can have one way 
or another. Wnat strikes a Ceylon coconut 
planter at once is the enormous number of 
rhinoceros beetles there must be in Selangor and 
ORCHIDS IN FLOWER AT THE ROYAL 
BOTANICAL GARDENS, PERADENIYA. 
June 1. 
Dear Sir, — Local admirers of orchids may be 
interested to know that the following sjiecies niay 
now be seen in flower in these Gardens : — 
Itenanethei-a coccinea ("Chinese air plant "V A 
climbing epiphytal species, native of Cochin China 
and said to be introduced to Peradeniya in 1884. A 
plant of this which was last year placed against a 
Cassia tree near the Orchid House has thrFven well 
since, being now 74 ft. high, and forms a striking 
object on account of its deep crimson inflorescence 
The latter is a flattened form of panicle, nearlv 3 ft 
long, spreading horizontally, and bearing about 130 
flowers. Flowers erect, about 3 inches" in diam • 
petals and dorsal sepal narrow and strap-shaped' 
orange-red spotted with crimson ; lateral sepals laro-e' 
obloug-spathulate, wavy, lobed at the base, darit-red 
cylindrical, sending out numerous serial roots which 
attach themselves firmly to the supporting tree. 
Lsaves oblong, four to live inches, leatlieiy and stiff' 
The flowers l ist for several weeks unless damaged by 
wind or rain. ' ' 
