774 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[May 1, 190a. 
THE COCONUT PALM AND FERTILIZEKS. 
water will make certain seeds vegetate whi 
Following on Mr. Cochran's valuable ex- 
position of the chemistry of the coconut, 
(see page 701) we have the needful com 
nientary and illustrations on the said scientific 
paper, which only a in-actical planter can 
suDplv "W..1." is well-known as an autho- 
rity on the culture of the palm, second to 
none in the length and variety of his ex- 
nerience. On the whole, he is not only cordi- 
ally apijreciativt" of the value of the analyses 
supplied by Mr, Cochran; but his re- 
commendations are to a great extent in 
correspondence, though he shows good 
reasons for pursuing nn original course in 
the application of his fertilizers. ihis 
plan of application is just what 
an experienced planter might be ex- 
pected to devise after, probably, a long 
course of experimental cultivation. We 
commend Mr. Jardine's counsel to the careful 
consideration of young coconut planters, of 
whom thei^e are a good many now-a days in 
difSerent parts of the iipland. It has long 
ao-o been accepted as ii n axiom that no jjlant 
is^'so greedy of manure, or so responsive in 
profitable crops, as the coconut palm. One 
old veteran cultivator has been accustomed 
to say that for every rupee sunk in manure 
in a coconut garden, a return of from five 
to ten rupees may fairly be antici- 
cipated ; while in our Manual, figures 
•will be finmd recorded, showing how a pro- 
prietor raised the nett annual return from 
his garden to K130 an acre through judicious 
manuring. But here comes in the heresy of 
our friend "W. J.": he doubts the value 
'of applying salt to the coconut palm !— and 
bases his argument on the fact that trees 
,50 or GU mires inland yield as good crops as 
do palms by the seashore, where, of course, 
salt is more freely available in the .soil and 
atmosphere. All we can say is that if trees 
in the interior do so well, they ought to do 
even better, after a judicious application of 
salt ! But, of course, ' W. .1." is speaking 
from ordinary observation and not as the 
result of a definite experiment, taking 
gardens of about the same age, soil and 
planting— the one near the sea and the other 
say in Kuruiiegala district ? Of course, if 
the rainfall in the interior is as rich in "salt", 
as Mr. Kelway-Bamber shows the Colombo 
rainfall to be, there is no more to be said. 
But it should be remembered that " com- 
mon salt " (sodium chloride) is most useful 
in other respects besides that of being a direct 
fertilizer. It increases, for instance, the power 
of certain soils to absorb moistui'c fi'om the 
atmosphere. What covild be a more useful 
property than this in some parts of the 
interior? Scientifically, the fertilizing pro- 
perties of salt when applied to land are thus 
given :— 
1st. — It promotes decoinposition of animal and 
vegetable substances in all cultivated soils. 
2n(i.— It destroys vermin, kills weeds, &c., which 
,are thus coverted into niannre. 
3rcl.— It is a direct constituent or food of some 
plant.s. 
4t],._Tt acts on vegetable substances as a stimu- 
lant. - Dr. Priestly proved this by various interest- 
big e,\i)eri)nc'iil,s shewing that while an overdose 
of sail iNilled )jluiits, a limited ai)plication in 
water kept them alive longer than those treated 
with AYttVQi" ulpnc. A solution of chlorine in 
5th,— Salt preserves vegetables from injury by 
sudden transitions in the temperature of the 
atmosphere. 
0th (and most important).— Salt renders earth 
more capable of absorbing the moisture of the 
atmosphere, a property of the first importance, 
since those soils which absorb the erreatest pro- 
portion of moisture, are always the most valu- 
able to the cultivator. "It affords" (.said Davy, 
Agric. Chem. p. 184) "one method of judging of 
the productiveness of land." The ab.sorbent 
powers of couimon salt applied to land, are shewn 
by a table ot experiments to be greater than those 
of six other well known manures. 
And now we come to " W. .T." "s closing 
challenge as to any coconut estate in the 
island in good cultivation yielding crop at 
the rate of 90 nuts jier tret^ ]ier annma over 
any considerable extent y We ave nut pre- 
pared to point to any such plantation : but 
after all that has been said of the wonderful 
effect of manure on the palm, it is very 
strange that there are no such model plantfi- 
tions available. Here, for instance, is what 
Mr, W. B. Lamont wrote on this part of the 
subject in December 1897 :— 
What may be Exi'ECXEn of Pkopkr Tkeat- 
MEXT.— The whole .system consists of the regular 
Ullage of the soil, and the periodical application 
of a fixed amount of suitable manure. There is 
no increase ot crop in the first year of applying 
manure ; but there is a considerable increase in 
the second, and a still greater one in the third ; 
but in the fourth there will be a falling-off from 
the crop of the third year. To renew the operation 
of digging and manuring every second year, will 
therefore not only maintain the highest yield 
reached, but increase it year by year without any 
practical limit. It is well-known that individual 
coconut trees ot good jat, that have happened io 
grow on a spot of naturally rich soil, habitually 
yield from 300 to 400 nuts per annum without 
any cultivation. It is then an extravagant idea 
that a Held yielding from two to three thousanc! 
nuts per acre, with little or no cultivation, may 
with scientific treatment be made to yield double 
those numbers in a few years. 
Surely it is time some practical man in our 
midst, with a young garden, gave a thorough 
test to the statement that there is no limit 
(in reason) to the crop of coconuts, which 
judicious cultivation and liberal manuring 
may be expected to produce. 
. ;:5BER ESTATES OF PARA, LIMITED. 
WHY CRUDE RUBBRR REMAINS HIGH. 
The reports submitted at the secood ordinary 
general meeting of the Eubber Estates of Para, Ltd., 
held in London on December 22, were far from satis- 
factory to the shareholders. They contain some 
points however, which may be of general interest as 
helping to show why Para rubber is high in price. The 
company employ rubber collectors, each of whoaj 
works two estradas (roads) of about 100 trees each. The 
company charge each collector a yearly rental per 
estrada of 25kiilogram8 (equal to 55 pounds) of rnbbei. 
regarded as eqaivalent at this* time to £7 63. The 
remaining rubber collected is bought by tbe com- 
Eany at a price which on the average is 7d per poand 
elow the price in the Para market. There are thus 
two sources of income to the company against which 
they must pay the expenses of sending the collectors 
from their homes to the rubber fields and supplying 
them with working equipment. There is a further 
source of profit to the company in seliiug to the 
collectors all the food and other supplies needed by 
them and their families, for which purpose storea 
are maintained on the estates. Bat the company M6 
far from realizing as net profit, the total sellicg 
