s 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [July 1, 1901. 
not found such good general results follow upon digging 
and mulching as Mr. Last has at Maiigapwani. Our 
trees have all been dag and mulched but the average 
yield of nuts remains about the same, though we are, 
looking for some impiovement this year. Our trees 
are scattered about through envelopint; native villages, 
and the nuts are consequently exposed very much to 
theft. Loss by theft is the greatest evil cocoanut 
planters have to contend with in this country. 
PLANTING THE NUTS, 
Natives plant nuts on their sides and sometimes in 
an upright position. They declare that in the latter 
case a stronger plant is obtained. Dr. Krapi in his 
Swahili dictionary has the following note :— 
"The natives plant the coconut (which is to become 
a tree; on the fourteenth day of the moon, because the 
moon is then at her full power. This takes place 
before the raiu. They put it into the ground without 
removing the husk, taking care that the jnfe or bad 
is placed downwards in the pit, which they dig to the 
depth of one mukono (cubit). The tree (like the mango- 
tree) requires five years' growth before it bears fruit. 
The Wanika consider the coco-tree to 
be " their niother on account of its usefulness. There- 
fore they will not allow it to be cut down. They 
believe that a homa watches over it. Therefore when 
the tree yields no tejiiho they endeavour to appease the 
lovia by a sacrifice. On this account they place a 
coco-shell on the grave of the dead, and fill it with 
temho from time to time, in order to induce the koma 
to give them much temho. The Swahili cut down the 
coc'o-tree without scruple." 
The generally accepted way of planting a nut is to 
lay it on its side in a trench about 7-8 inches deep 
(its own depth.) It has been rightly pointed out 
that if a nut be planted eyes downwards, the young 
shoot may rot before it reaches the surface ; on the 
other hand if planted eyes upwards the milk inside, 
which is especially provided for the first mourish- 
ment of the germ, will settle at the bottom of the 
nut and the young shoot will then run a risk of being 
dried up. Nature seems to have especially pointed 
both ends of the nut so that, having fallen from the 
tree it shall remain upon its side to germinate. In 
the case of the mangrove the young seedling drops 
from the parent tree upon its pointed end and sticks 
in the mud and grows forthwith. But the bottom 
of the coconut could not have been pointed to enable 
it likewise to stick in the sand and germinate, be- 
cause a nut always falls upon its side. This is well 
shown by dropping a few nuts from the roof of a high 
house, if the nut is suspended by the stalk, in the 
way it hangs upon a tree, and dropped, it will turn 
half over and fall sideways. The same thing happens 
if the nut be held upside down. If it be held 
horizontally, it will maintain this position till it 
reaches the ground. Nature is always a safe guide. 
Allow a space of nine inches or a foot between the 
nuts in the trench, and 18 inches between the trenches. 
This gives plenty room to lift the nuts when the 
time comes for them to be planted out, without 
doing much damage to the roots. April is the best 
time to plant out the seedlings, when they should 
be .5 or 6 months old. Henca the nuts should be 
planted in the nursery in November. But no hard 
and fast rule need be laid down, especially as our 
seasons are uncertain. .35 feet by 35 feet is a good 
distance for them to be placed in the plantation. 
This gives 35 trees to the acre. 
ESTIM/VTE or THE NUMBER 01" TKEES. 
Coconut trees are scattered about so promiscuously 
that it would be almost impossible to arrive at the 
accurate number of trees on the islands. The average 
annual amount of copra exported from these islands 
during the last six years has been 6,51',),21G lb. Count- 
ing that 2 nuts makel lb. of copra, this would be the 
product of 13,'):i8, ■132 nuts. Probably as many nuts 
are consumed as food as are made into copra. If so 
the total average yield of nuts is 20,076,864. This is 
the product of about 1,000,000 trees. If these trees 
were growing in regular plantations 35 feet apart they 
would cover an area of 28,571 acres. — "The Shamba," 
Journal of AffricuUure for Zanzibar. 
WALKING STICKS. 
Messrs. Howell & Co., Old Street, London, have 
kindly supplied ua with the following points to be ob- 
served in collecting walking sticks : — 
Length. — The total length should not be less than 42 
inches, end to end, but if possible they should be 48 
inches. 
Size. — The best sizes are of the diameter of J in to 
1-in., measured about midway : they should not be 
larger than IJ inches in diameter. 
Form. — It is indispensable that the diameter should 
gradually diminish from the root or handle to the 
point, so that the stick is not " top heavy." 
Handle. — It is always better, when possible, to send 
sticks with some kind of handle ; if the plant be palled 
up, the root should be left quite rough and untrimmed 
if a branch be cut off, a part of the parent branch 
should be left on to form a knob or c/utch handle. 
Sticlcs witJiout Handles. — Sticks without handles can 
be used, especially if they are nicely grown, and have 
any peculiarity of structure or colour — but if there ia 
any handle, however small, it should not be cut off. 
Young saplings of the different kinds of Palms, Bam- 
boos, &c. should always have the root left on. 
Short Handles. — Occasionallv, the form of the root 
or handle part is attractive, while the stick itself is 
weak and defective, in such cases the handles only 
should be sent, and they should measure from 15 to 18 
inches in length. 
Send only Specimens in first Instance.— In sending 
specimens of new sticks, it is better to send only small 
quantities, say, 1 or 2 dozens at most of each kind, then 
if approved, further quantities can be asked for. 
All lands of wood. — Specimens of anything remark- 
able for form or colour, whether in the Roots or Stems, 
of Woody, Herbaceous, or Reedy structures should 
be sent, as sometimes the most unlikely things are 
found to posses value, for use either as Qmbrella 
Handles or Walking Sticks. 
Details! — Details as to quantity to be procured prices, 
(fee, should be sent, if possible. — "The Shamha" Journal, 
of Agriculture for Zanzibar. 
Rubber in Peru.— The German Consul in Payta- 
Piara(Peru) raports the discovery of large rubber 
forests on the Niera River, a branch of the Amazon, 
which can be reached from the middle of the tobacco 
plantations by an eight-days journey. Several Ger- 
man firms organised a large expedition to start for 
the interior and to secure the rights to collect the 
rubber. As the natives are very poor, it is expected 
that cheap native labour will facilitate the collection. — 
Engineerinfj . 
Sugar in Hawaii. — Regarding the possibilities of 
the cultivation of sugar cane in the Hawaiian Islands, 
Prof. Stubbs said the soil was the best in the world 
for the cultivation of cane, being superior to that of 
Cuba. The yield on the arid and irrigated lands of 
the islands is from eight to fifteen tons of sugar per 
acre, while in Louisiana the yield ia about 1? tons per 
acre. But about all the available lands having been 
taken up in the cultivation of cane already, the in- 
crease of production cannot far exceed the present 
output. The total value of the agricultural produce of 
the islands is about $20,000,000, of which §17,500,000 is 
to be credited to sugar. Thus it will be seen that the 
islands have already reached, or nearly reached, the 
limit of yield. The drawbacks to the cultivation of 
cane in these particularly favored islands are the high 
pi'ice of coal — which reaches as high aa $12 per ton — 
the cost of irrigation and the great cost of sugar 
house plants. Nevertheless, the profits are so large 
as to practically preclude the cultivation of any crop 
but cane. — Louisiana Sugar Planters' Journal, 
