40 
CULTURE OF THE COCOA-NUT TREE. 
5. In the autumn, take the plants successively into a house where the tempera- 
ture is from 60 to 70 degrees Fahr., and they will ripen a succession of fruit from 
December until the end of March, and if judiciously managed, of a g-ood flavour. 
6. Propagated by cuttings of the half-ripened wood, which may be planted in pots 
of sand, and covered with a glass ; immediately after the ripening of the fruit is the 
best time, just before the plants are placed in a low temperature to winter. 
7. When the cuttings are planted, plunge the pots in a frame where they will 
receive a brisk heat, and they will soon produce roots. They also propagate easily 
by layers, cut on the upper side, and slightly twisted to bring the end of the tongue 
in contact with the soil. 
CULTURE OF THE COCOA-NUT TREE. 
(COCOS NUCIFERA.) 
This is a very beautiful Palm ; a native of the East Indies, and cultivated in 
nearly every part of the tropics, being without exception one of the most useful 
trees in existence. It is seldom found growing to any thing like perfection in our 
stoves, although it has been long introduced. It grows immensely high and spreads 
its head over a circumference of 40 or 50 feet. The mode of culture is as follows : — 
1. Pot the plants in a light sandy loam ; lay about one third of potsherds at the 
bottom of each pot, which will insure a good drainage, for although the plant re- 
quires a very moist atmosphere, it will not bear the least stagnation of water at 
the roots. 
2. Place the plant, when potted, in a situation where it will receive a very moist 
but powerful heat, never less than 70 degrees during the season of growth ; but 
from the beginning of November till the end of February, which is the best season 
for wintering, because there are the fewest natural excitements^ it will do with 55 
degrees and a dry air. 
3. Never allow it to stand in a situation where it is exposed to the direct rays 
of the sun, for from this very cause may be attributed nearly all the ill success 
attending its culture ; always break the force of the sun's rays by placing other 
plants before it, as in the tropics it is always grown in sheltered situations. 
4. The usual mode of propagation is by seeds : — Cut off one end of the hard 
shell of the nut, to allow the plant to protrude its roots ; insert the nut in as small 
a pot as it will allow, filled with the same soil as recommended for the old plant ; 
plunge the pot up to the rim in a good bark bed, and there let it remain with little 
or no water until it has begun to grow ; then put it into a larger sized pot, take it 
from the bark bed, keep it gently suppHed with water, and treat it in every respect 
as an old plant. 
