Supplement to the ^' Tropical A gricu/tumt." [September t, 1891. 
The export trade in Ka]3ok in Ceylon is of 
very recent origin, probaljly not older than ten 
years. Previous to this the jivudiict had only 
■A local demand for the pnrposes of stnffing 
pillo^-s, cu.-iliioiis, &c., and tlii.s demand was so 
small, that it did not even enconrage the collec- 
tion of the Kapok fonnd on the trees which v^-ere 
growing wild. 
Since an export trade began, the demand has 
increased so mnch, that not only is Kapok care- 
fully collected from the ti'ees growing wild, Init 
great care is taken to preserve it and plaixt new 
trees wherever the opportunity occurs. 
There is a large demand for the article in 
Axistralia, where it is used in the manufacture 
of pillows and cushions, and it is also exported 
to Holland and Fij i, where it is said to be nsed 
for mixing with cotton and wool in the manu- 
facture of cloth. 
Ceylon is not the only country where this 
article is produced, for Java, Sumatra and the 
adjacent Island are also exporting it largely. 
The cultivation of the Kapok-producing ti'ee 
in Ceylon could be veiy much extended, not by 
growing it as a separate product, for then it 
Avould not pay, but by planting the trees at in- 
tervals in the lowcountry plantations as shade and 
boundary trees, 
The other species of silk cotton found in Ceylon 
is the Bomba.c Malabaricnm, the Katu Imbul 
of the Sinhalese. It is not so commonly 
met with, and may be said to be never cultivated. 
The plant is characterized by the sharp prickles 
which are found abundantly on the stem, Its 
leaves are smaller and greener than those of the 
Eriodendron, and the flowers bear scarlet corollas. 
The fruits are smaller in size, but contain silky 
down of rather a slightly better quality. 
Among the other less known -v arieties of silk 
cotton, which are not utilized commercially, the 
giant bombax of South America may be given as 
an example. This plant is known as Borabax 
cieba, and is found of very large dimensions. 
AVatertou in his " Travels in South America" gives a 
graphic description of the tree, and says that the 
staple is very short and is of a yellowish colour, 
and that no use has been found for it, except for 
packing the arrows of the South American Indians 
and stuffing pillows 
• 
THJi CULTIVATION OF THE COCONUT 
P.ALM. No. I. 
The cultivation and- nurture of the Coconut 
Palm ( t'ocijs 'nucifcra) has been for many 
years past the subject of much speculation, and 
especially during the last half century, in the first 
part of which Europeans in Ceylon first opened 
out large estates of this valuable tree, notably in 
tlie Eastern Province, and more particularly in 
the District of Batticaloa. Before this time of 
cour.se many large plantations and village plots 
were cultivated by the natives of the country, 
but no scientific method of planting and manui^ 
ing was biifore this attempted, nor was the mak- 
ing of ' L'oj)r<i,' with care and attention to details, 
the speciality that it is at the present time. 
Of tlie native m(!thod of cultivation 1 will 
say but little — only one system being universally 
followed. The ripu nut is placed upright in the 
grouad, tlie ' eye ' or sprouting eiicl tipjjearing 
about one to two inches above the surfaca. This 
is carelessly and irregularly watered, and the 
plant, transplanted in due time, is ill-attended 
to during its tender years, and then left to its 
own devices till the fruit, when matured, is 
picked for use or sale, or is plucked immature 
for the i)urpose of drinking the coconut water. 
On the first planted estates the European 
proprietors — following the native custom as far 
as the plant ill (J of the nut in nurseries was con- 
cerned — made no selection of nuts, and planted 
them ^■ertically, that is, as they hang on tlie tree. 
The main difference however between the Euro- 
pean and native methods consisted in a careful 
watering, and in the regular manuring of the 
plant from time to time A few proprietors im- 
ported nuts for planting from the Galle and 
Matara or the southern sea horde — the habitat 
of some of the finest trees in the Island, 
but strange to say, many of the estates so planted, 
.suffered in comparison with those planted 
with local seed — the nuts becoming smaller and 
smaller every year, the trees failing in power of 
production, and finally dwindling away, till 
within the last few years whole acres — indeed 
large portions of estates — have died out, and 
many estates abandoned in consequence. 
Of very late years a new method of planting 
the nut in nurseries has been followed, the 
results being up to date eminently .satisfactory. 
The methods followed by Dame Nature in the 
propagation of seeds — of whatever kind they 
may be— are infallible, and he who departs from 
the rules she lays down, travels out of the circle 
or sphere of success; ; and when we see whole conti- 
nents and islands clothed with great forests where 
the trees have been self-propagated, must accept 
the axiom that Nature is right, and that they only 
wrong who depart from her unchanging rules. 
In the case of coconuts it will be found by the 
most careless observer that the nut, in falling 
from the tree, always lies on the ground hoiizon- 
tally or on its side, in which position it is best 
fitted for sprouting, gro'nang, and successfully 
arriving at maturity, as I shall now proceed to 
demonstrate. 
The young ir tender nut is found to be full 
of a liquid or coconut water as it is called — ,«o 
excellent a drink — which not only keeps the nut 
moist but helps to bring to perfection that portion 
of the nut which hardens by degrees till it reaches 
the useful or ' Coprci stage, and holds not only a 
rich milk but a valuable oil in its tissues. Tills 
coconut water is absorbed by degree* by the 
maturing nut which will be found to contain a 
less amount, probably only a half, the original 
quantity. 
The coconut being rather of an elongated shape 
the sprouting portion lies at one end, so that if 
planted in a vertical or upright position, the 
water only filling half its cavity and the sprouting 
eye being at the top, — the eye remains dry and 
unmoistened,, and though the seed sprouts from 
the dampness of the soil, the sprout does not 
attain the full vigour tliat it would do under 
other conditions. 
But if the nut is planted horizontally, — or in 
the natural position it lies on the ground as it 
falls from the tree, — the sprout or eye never dries, 
and it receives constant nourishment from the 
water within which keeps it moist even though 
tlie cavity of the nut be half filled, 
