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of old palms with defective nutrition but there seems little doubt 
that by far the greatest number may be accounted for by actual 
lack of fertilization and 'from the observations which it has been 
possible to make, of these the over-whelming majority are those 
in which pollination is never affected, viz. ( a ) above. 
It is a fact of general observation that in tropical flowers, those 
in which pollination is never effected predominate in very large 
numbers over those in which it actually takes place. 
Though the facts are not worked out and these arguments are 
somewhat speculative (they are quoted merely for the purposes 
of discussion), it seems safe to assume that “nuts” which actually 
swell to the size of a man’s fist, have been fertilized. There may 
however be, and probably is, swelling in the sense of growth taking 
place, during the interval between actual pollination and fertili- 
zation, but these facts are as yet undetermined. 
Actual fair-average couuts made on three estates in the country 
disclose the following figures for falling nuts in a year’s crop of 
4-4f years old palms. Bindings 50-60 per ceut., Bagan Datoh 60-70 
per cent, and Tumbuk 50-60 per cent. In discussing the magnitude 
of the effect of the contributing causes the following observations on 
the pollination of the flower may be of interest. The flower is 
dependent for its pollination on insects or on wind. As an insect 
flower it falls short of the general attractive mechanisms of scent 
showiness, and produces only a very small quantity of nectar. 
As a wind flower it lacks the generally present pendulous stamens, 
the much expanded stigma and other characters, though it produces 
a prodigious quantity of smooth pollen. Indeed, nature seems to 
have provided a means anything but precipe for this particular palm, 
and it seems fairly conclusive that this is the reason which may be 
ascribed above all others to the cause of falling nuts. If this is the 
case then it is very evident that variations in climate in this country 
may have a less far reaching effect than has hitherto supposed in 
deciding periodic production. The problem is full of interest and 
it is here suggested as being of great importance. On one side 
we hear the behest “ Keep bees, you will ensure a fuller crop ” but 
the query raised by the other side as to where to find this actually 
demonstrated is as yet un -answered. The matter should be worked 
out by a botanist and entomologist in co-operation. At the moment 
some experiments on hand-pollination are being executed. The field 
is practically clear and there are a number of pressing problems. 
These include the collection pf data on the productivity of varieties 
and individuals carried out to the final oil-content factor, as a basis 
of seed selection ; the productivity of hybrids on the lines of Henry’s 
work, the causes of periodicity, the utility of the prevention of first 
fruitings as an insurance for larger subsequent crops, the causes of 
sterility, the question of toxicity of grass, the utility of leguminous 
covers on various types of soil, etc. All of these open up other 
