May f7l900.] Supplement to the '^Tropical Agriculturist.'''' 
789 
yam called the head is produced. Plants are 
then made by cutting the head into pieces, care 
being taken that each cutting possesses an eye, 
or bud, from which the new plant develops. 
The land is usually lined out at distances of 
two feet each way or in rows three feet apart, 
the plants being set at distances of eighteen feet 
in the rows. At the site of the pickets the land 
is dug up, all stones and roots being removed, and 
the surrounding soil is then raked up so as to form 
a support for the vine to climb on. Sometimes 
two plants are set in each hill. The land must 
be kept weeded and an occasional moulding up 
may be necessary, as the heavy rains tend to wash 
down the hills. Catch crops of maize and sweet 
potatoes are sometimes taken off the land between 
the rows, but this system is a bad on« except in very 
rich soil. Prom January till ^pril is the best 
planting season, and the yams require from 
nine to eleven months to mature. Planting may, 
however, be undertaken in every month of the 
year so as to ensure a constant supply of esculent 
tubers. It has been calculated that an acre of 
land will yield four or five tons of yams in the 
year, and it is said that the same quantity of 
sweet potatoes may be taken as a catch crop of the 
ground ; this brings the return up to nine tons, 
that is, the yield of ordinary potatoes from an 
acre of good land in England. But as yams and 
sweet potatoes contain more nutrient matter 
than the common potato, the actual yield of food 
is greater in the case of the tropical vegetables. 
THE VALUE OF SEA-WEED AS MANURE. 
Chemists tell us that the composition of sea- 
weed is very similar to that of farm-yard manure ; 
if so, it is a matter for regret that so little use is 
made of it for manuring cultivated lands near the 
sea-borde. As is to be expected sea-weed con- 
tains a large percentage of moisture, and for that 
reason its carriage for long distances inland would 
not pay, but those whose lands lie near the sea 
should not neglect the opportunity thereby 
offered of a plentiful and cheap supply of manure, 
at certain seasons, that contains all the necessary 
elements of food for cultivated plants. 
We ajre induced to take over from the Austra- 
lasianAhe following accouut of the successful use 
of sea-weed in fruit culture in England, in the 
hope that it will encourage those who have an 
opportunity of using this waste material as a fer- 
tilizer, of doing so : — 
A writer in I'he Gardeii says that those who 
have not tried seaweed iu their orchards and 
fruit-gardens would be surprised at the beneficial 
effect it has on the trees, especially apples and 
pears, when, of course, it is used with care and 
moderation. This is particularly the case during 
dry seasons. An illustration of the value of 
seawood is given. At Bembridge, Isle of Wight, 
some land was recently reclaimed from the sea, 
and it was converted into a fruit, flower and 
vegetable garden. There is a great depth of sandy 
soil, composed to a great extent of thoroughly 
decayed seaweed and sand, and the way all 
vegetation thrives in it is marvellous. In other 
places during the last two summers crops were 
collapsing from the want of moisture, in spite of 
the mulching of stable litter frjely applied. For 
light soils and for use during a very dry season 
seaweed will undoubtedly prove more valuable as a 
mulch than any other material generally used for 
this purpose. 
Apart from any manurial properties it contains, 
it is, like salt, moisture-holding as well as feeding, 
the value and importance of which should not be 
ignored by those whose fruit trees are growing in 
too porous soils and where the rainfall is light. 
No healthier trees or better samples of apples 
could be seen thai; those growing in the garden 
referred to. It is not recommended that fresh 
seaweed be buried near to the roots of established 
trees, or that it be incorporated with the soil in 
forming a new orchard or fruit-garden, but fre- 
quent mulchings of the surface ground, piecemeal, 
are a safe means of stimulating growth and sus- 
taining the trees under the trying influence of a 
long drought. By this maans it would gradually 
find', its way into the lower ground and un- 
doubtedly improve its staple, 
Another instance of the value of seaweed is 
given. The gardens at Arundel Castle are justly 
celebrated for their extent and the fine order in 
which they are kept. For many years past 
heavyi mulchings of stable litter were annually 
applied to the fruit-trees, but it was found that 
the manure formed fine harbours for woodlice, 
beetles, earwigs, and weevils, as well as for 
sparrows and other birds; the fruits suffered in 
consequence, and the finest specimens formed the 
feeding ground at night of the numerous insect 
depredators. It occurred to the head gardener to 
use for a mulch seaweed , this was done, and now 
the fruit is large, bright, without a speck, and 
uninjured by any of the above-named pests. 
Occasional dressings of seaweed to vines are 
also recommended. Too frequent applications of 
stable manure cause the soil to become sour or 
uncongenial to proper root-action. Seaweed 
varies considerably, some being far too coarse and 
heavy for the purposes mentioned, unless it has 
first had sufficient time for partial decomposition. 
Preference is given to that of a ttner and lighter 
character, which, when collected, generally con- 
tains a fair amount of sand, making it more 
suitable in every way for use in the garden, 
whether it be for asparagus, fruit-trees, or even 
as a plunging material for pot plants during the 
summer months. 
Alf ACCOUNT OF THE COCONUT PALM. 
There is hardly a tropical country on the face 
of the globe wliere the cocoa palm does not 
flourish, audit is impossible to ascertain its native 
country, though it is thought to be indigenous to 
some parts of Asia, perhaps Southern India. In 
t/ie Coroiuandel and Malabar districts, and in the 
adjacent islands, it grows in the greatest lux- 
uriance, preferring the sandy and rocky sea shores 
to the higher country, though ir is often found 
seme distance inland. It i>i commr>n in Africa, 
and abounds in America uiid the West Indian 
Islaiids. Dr. Parry found it plentiful on the 
Islands of Santo Domingo, where it forms ..groves 
