866 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
lJu.NJE  I,  1897. 
Btate.  The  fruit  was  put  in  a cool  chainbev,  and 
it  seems  to  have  been  overlooked  that  in  the 
fcool  chamber  any  article  remains  in  statu  quo, 
and  thus  the  fruit  arrived  exactly  as  ir,  left, 
unripe,  and  naturally  after  the  voyage  this  un- 
ripeness could  not  be  remedied.  However,  the 
fact  that  the  mangos  came  in  a satisfabtory 
state  is  gratifying,  and  shows  that,  if  the 
fruit  is  gathered  in  really  good  condition,  it 
ban  evidently  be  imijorted  here  in  a state  lit  for 
market. 
COCONUT  CULTIVATION  IN  SAMOA. 
The  single  exportable  staple  for  which  Samoa  is 
'eminently  adapted,  and  the  one  upon  which  all  its 
business  at  present  rests,  is  the  coconut  {Cocos 
Huci/era).  It  is  to  Samoa  what  cotton  and  corn  are 
to  the  United  States;  all  that  grain,  meat,  and  wool 
are  to  the  Australian  Colonies.  The  export  of  the 
copra  alone,  save  with  trifling  and  inappreciable 
bxception,  represents  the  entire  agricultural  produc- 
tive capacity  of  Samoa,  and  through  this  source  all 
the  money  that  trade  and  commerce  bring  into  the 
islands  finds  its  wayi  The  United  States  Consul- 
General  at  Apia  says  that  if  the  coconut  crop  were 
an  absolute  failure  for  a single  year,  the  entire  export 
of  the  kingdom  would  not  amount  to  more  than 
£1,200  and  this  illustration  will  adequately  represent 
the  prime  importance  of  this  single  article  to  the 
country  and  its  needs.  The  accepted  method  is  to 
plant  the  coconuts  in  rows  forty  feet  apart,  set- 
ting the  trees  thirty  feet  in  the  row.  The  coconut 
loves  the  sunshine  and  free  circulation  of  the  air, 
and  to  flourish  in  perfection  it  should  stand  on  the 
outer  verge  of  the  sho  e,  its  roots  striking  into 
the  sea  water,  its  branches  or  palms  tossing  in  the 
breeze.  The  lowlands  of  the  beach  in  the  Samoan 
Islands  are  more  or  less  covered  with  the  groves, 
while  on  the  mountains  or  highlands  no  tree  is 
found.  The  smaller  size  of  the  trees  and  the  poorer 
yield  is  plainly  to  be  noticed  on  lands  at  an  ele- 
vation of  from  400  to  600  feet  situated  at  as  short 
a distance  as  2J  and  3 miles  from  the  shore. 
Standing  immediately  on  the  beach  the  tree  inclines 
outward  over  the  water;  gro\ying  inland  it  points 
by  its  leaning  in  the  most  direct  way  to  the  sea. 
The  nuts  ripen  throughout  the  year,  hanging  in 
clusters  close  in  and  around  the  stems  of  the  palm 
branches,  which  spread  about  on  all  sides,  and  reach 
upward  from  the  clustered  head  forming  the  top  of 
the  tree.  The  height  of  the  trees,  is  from  .30  to  80 
feet.  The  trees  come  into  bearing  at  the  sixth  year 
on  suitable  soil,  and  are  believed  to  reach  the  full 
limit  of  production  at  from  15  to  20  years  of  age. 
Many  groves  known  to  be  30  and  40  years  of  age  are 
now  bearing  in  undimiuished  abundance,  and  they  so 
continue  to  do  to  a great  age.  Persons  who  profess 
to  be  able  to  determine  the  age  of  trees  by  the  marks 
left  on  the  bark  where  the  branches  have  successively 
fallen,  estimate  in  this  way  that  many  still  vigorous 
trees  are  70  and  80  years  of  age.  The  habit  of  the 
coconut  to  reach  out  over  the  water,  seems  to  be  a 
provision  of  nature  for  its  propagation  and  distribu- 
tion. The  nuts  falling  into  the  sea  will  float  for 
weeks  in  the  bitterly  brackish  waters  of  the  tropic 
seas  without  injury  to  the  germinating  quality.  Once 
thrown  upon  the  warm  aands  of  a beach,  or  tossed  by 
a wave  upon  a reef  above  the  surface,  it  soon  puts 
forth  its  palm  from  the  smaller  end,  while  from  the 
round  and  larger  end  the  tender  roots  strike  into  the 
soil  or  decayed  coral,  as  the  case  may  be.  Many 
lagoons  which  have  risen  within  living  memory,  and 
which  for  years  remained  without  sign  of  vegetations 
are  now  covered  with  the  coconut,  although  hun- 
dreds of  miles  from  other  islands.  The  value  of 
the  coconut  is  not  confined  to  tho  single  export 
product,  copra.  I’hc  treo  and  its  products  arc 
devoted  to  many  ii:es.  The  wood  in  the  green 
state  is  very  porous  and  spongy,  having  con- 
sequently a great  degree  of  resistance  to  rifle  shot, 
in  the  native  wars  in  the  past  it  was  much  em- 
ployed in  the  building  of  defensive  works.  When 
thoroughly  seasoned  it  lasts  for  a long  time  under- 
ground; and  is  valuable  for  all  purposes  for  which 
posts  are  employed.  The  oil  enters  in  many  forms 
into  the  domestic  uses  of  the  natives.  It  forms  the 
basis  of  all  their  liniments  and  emollients  in  their 
pharmacopreia.  The  nut  is  one  of  the  standard 
articles  of  diet.  Breadfruit,  taro,  bananas,  and  coco- 
nuts form  the  staple  articles  of  food,  ranking  in 
importance  in  the  order  mentioned.  The  fibre  fur- 
nishes all  the  sennet,  or  braided  twine  and  rope,  for 
all  uses.  Tho  leaves  of  the  great  branches,  which 
dry  rapidly,  are  used  for  kindling,  for  torches,  and 
light  and  firing  for  the  household.  It  is  generally 
estimated  that  an  acre  of  land  should  yield,  when 
the  trees  have  reached  the  period  of  full  bearing, 
about  half  a ton  of  commercial  copra.  Copra 
“making”  is  at  best  a slow  and  laborious  process, 
and  is  effected  as  the  nuts  ripen,  from  about  the 
middle  of  April  till  the  middle  of  October  or  early 
part  of  November  — that  is  during  the  dry  season, 
but  the  making  is  more  active  in  July,  August,  and 
September.  A boy  or  man,  with  a piece  of  sennet 
about  eighteen  inches  in  length,  looped  on  either 
foot,  will  climb  the  slender,  swaying  tree  with  as 
much  ease  and  rapidity  as  if  it  were  a ladder. 
The  notches  or  corrugated  surface  of  the  bark  catches 
the  bit  of  sennet  between  the  feet,  while  the  weight 
of  the  body  pressing  downward,  clamps  as  it  were 
the  hollow  of  the  feet  firmly  on  either  side  of  the 
trunk.  By  this  means  the  tree  is  ascended  by  a series 
of  jumps.  The  climber  with  a big  knife  cuts  away 
the  matured  nuts,  which  cluster  close  about  the 
butts  of  the  brjuiches.  As  they  fall  they  are  gathered 
into  piles  about  the  base  of  the  trees.  On  the  planta- 
tions they  are  gathered  into  baskets  slung  on  donkeys, 
or  swung  on  poles  borne  by  two  men,  to  be  finally  piled 
into  great  heaps  near  the  copra  shed.  The  nuts  are 
not  husked,  the  thick  outer  husk  having  become  hard 
and  brown,  like  wood.  They  are  dextrously  split  in 
two  by  an  axe,  and  the  hard  white  flesh  is  cut  out 
with  a large  knife.  Nothing  remains  but  to  spread  it 
on  mats  or  boards  in  the  sun.  When  cured  it  is  thrown 
into  a heap  in  the  shed,  where  it  remains  until  placed 
in  sacks  to  be  carried  out  to  a small  boat,  which  in 
turn  transfers  it  to  the  small  schooner  or  cutter  lying 
in  deep  water,  and  from  this  in  turn  it  is  again  taken 
to  be  stored  elsewhere,  or  transferred  to  the  deep  sea 
vessel  for  its  final  voyage.  Copra  yields  perhaps  a 
greater  per-centage  of  oil  than  any  other  of  the 
great  oil-producing  staples  under  the  modern  process, 
whereby  it  is  mixed  with  water,  heated,  and  sunjected 
to  two  pressings,  giving  as  high  as  62  and  64  per  cent,  of 
pure  oil.  The  coconut  crop  of  1894  was  by  far  the 
largest  ever  known  in  the  island,  and  the  extent  of 
the  increase  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  while  the 
export  of  copra  in  1891  amounted  to  4,842  tons,  in 
1892  to  4,871  tons,  and  in  1893  to  4,602  tons,  it  rose 
in  1894  to  6,214  tons,  an  increase  of  1,612  tons  over 
the  year  before — an  increase  of  about  33  per  cent 
over  the  years  1891  and  1892.  In  the  trading  stations 
in  Samoa  enormous  profits  are  made  in  the  copra 
trade. — Journal  of  the  Society  0/ Arts,  April  9. 
AMSTERDAM  CINCHONA-MARKET. 
Our  correspondent  writes  that  the  Amsterdam 
cinchona-market  remains  extremely  firm.  All  the 
lots  bought  in  at  the  last  auctions  have  since  been 
sold  at  prices  fully  equalling  the  unit-rate  at  the 
auctions.  There  appears  to  have  been  an  error  in 
the  figures  of  the  Java  shipments  in  March  as  first 
lelegraphed.  A corrected  message  gives  the  March 
exports  at  .578,000  half-kilos  instead  of  3.50,000.  At 
the  next  auctions  on  May  6th  at  least  .5,834  pack- 
ages of  bark  (possibly  nioi-e)  will  be  offered  for  sale 
The  feeling  in  the  market  is  firm,  and  higher  prices 
are  expected. — Chauisl  and  Cniyyist,  April  17. 
— 
KAIISING  DUTV  UN  NATAL  TIMBER. 
Hitlierto  black  wattle  poles  from  Natal  have 
been  admitted  into  the  Transvaal  on  a 1^  j.er 
ceat.  duty.  This  (says  the  Comet)  has  sudilenly 
