§72 
^upplmed io the ''Ttoplcal AgricuHuvisir [May i, 1^92 
officers should be regularly visited by an Innpector 
qualified to be conferred with our agricultural 
matters, involving points relative to soil, climate, 
elevation, rainfall, aspect and crops, aq^ the 
hundred and one minutiae embraced in the ap- 
parently simple process— the cultivation of the 
land. 
THE CULTIVATION OF THE COCONUT PALM. 
It may now be supposed that the imaginary 
estate of 100 acres having been planted, and 
protected, as far as possible, from enemies, has 
begun to yield crops— having some 9,000 good 
specimens of the palm originally planted 23 
or 24 feet apart. The Indian corn and manioc 
which was raised during the early stages will 
have been sold off the land and yielded a fair 
return. The fences will have now past the stage 
when they require earnest attention and may 
be stacked away in some convenient place to 
be utilized as firewood, it will now be neces- 
sary to build a store for the nuts, and select 
a fine high site, fully exposed to the sun, for 
a copra ground. 
It is usual to pick once in three months or 
four times a year, the nuts which keep falling 
during the intervals being of course collected. 
Where trees are young and small in stature the 
uuts are easily picked with a very short pole, 
but when the trees are tall, a long pole with a 
scythe-shaped cutting implement bound to the 
end of it is used. Bamboo poles are generally 
used when procurable. In the case of an old 
estate, where the trees are so tall as to make 
picking difficult, the nuts are simply allowed to 
fall in the course of nature. Nuts to be made 
into copra are cut into two with an axe (4 men 
will cut from 10 to 15 thousand in a day) and 
thrown into position by small boys trained to 
the work, that is to say, the two halves are placed 
kernal upwards on clean white sand and exposed 
on the barbacue to the burning rays of the sun ; 
on the approach of rain all the available lads 
are called in, and the position of the nuts reversed, 
that is, the husks upwards and the kernel down- 
wards. When the sun comes out again the 
original position is reverted to, but at night the 
kernels are turned downwards again. 
In very hot weather copra dries sufficiently in 
three or four days, some kernels falling out of 
their shells of their own accord. The bulk of 
the kernels are however scooped out of the shells 
by women and children, and the copra now 
separated from the shell is spread out for a final 
drying, and afterwards put into bags or stored 
away for some period Ijefore doing so. 
Well-made copra should be perfectly wliite, and 
should crackle when crushed in the hand. When 
injured byfrain or damp it gets brown, mouldy and 
discoloured, but will .sell for not very much less 
than the good stuff, to owners of oil mills. In 
fact it is said that this latter description of 
copra yields oil more easily. 
Tlie drying of copra (m hot sand is the most 
inexpensivf! process, and if suflicient care be 
exercised tliero need be no damage. I know 
of one instance wliere drying trays fixed to 
trollies urct used, l)ut tliis apparatus is too expen- 
Bivc to become popular. 
From about the middle of November to the 
close of the rainy season, no copra can be made, 
as the rain will interfere with the process. All 
uuts should therefore be stored till the good 
weather comes round again. It is a good plan 
not to sell nuts unless a large number is demanded 
for export. One of the evil consequences of 
selling nuts in small quantities in the neighbour- 
hood is, that there is no chance of identifying 
stolen nuts. 
A coconut estate is a great blessing to the 
people in the neighbourhood, who in addition to 
the small earnings resulting from fishing or 
raising vegetables, have the opportunity of adding 
to their income by giving 4id. worth of work on 
a coconut estate. 
K. Athebton. 
INDIGENOUS FOOD PRODUCTS: 
CULTIVATED AND WILD. 
Chenapodiaceae. 
70. Basella Alba, L. Sin. Niviti. 
This is a plant with a twining stem. It is 
generally cultivated in the vicinity of houses 
and in vegetable gardens. The leaves are dark 
green and fleshy and of an ovate shape with 
entire margins. The flowers which spring from 
the axils of the leaves produce a large number 
of seeds in long clusters. These are at first of 
a green colour with a pinkish mark on the top, 
but when ripe they are jet black and soft, yield- 
ing a red-colouring matter in abundance when 
bruised. 
The leaves and the stems which are all succulent 
are used as food made into curries. The clus- 
ters of young fruits are also much relished when 
fried in oil. The plant possesses very cooling 
properties, but native me<]ical practitioners be- 
lieve that it causes windy complaints. It is, 
however, one of the commonest vegetables and 
is consumed largely. There are two other varie- 
ties of Basella common here, — one is the S. 
Rntniviti, var. Eubra. This too is a perennial 
twining plant with succulent leaves and stems, 
but the stems and the harder tissues of the 
leaves are all of a red colour. It is not so 
common as the first noted variety, but it is used 
as a food whenever cultivated. 
The third variety is only a modification of 
the first-mentioned two brought about by cul- 
tivation. The plant resembles one or other of 
the former, but does not grow to a large size. 
Elceagnaceae. 
81. Ekeagnus LatifoUa, L. Sin. Katuembilla. 
This is a wild plant growing in the jungles, 
of the warmer regions of the island. It has strong 
creejung stems with many branches having a 
large number of sharp spines. A characteristic 
of this plant is the ashy grey colour of the back 
of the leaves, and the surface of the stems. 
The fruits are oval and are small in size. 
When young they are of a green colour, and when 
ripe attain to a pinkish white appearance, the 
fruit being succulent at this stage. The berries 
of the E. latifolia have a very pleasant acid 
taste, and are eagerly souglit for by those who 
frequent tlie jungles, 
