i8 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
January 13 
COCOANUTS AS A DOMESTIC CROP. 
Jerseymen the Most Extensive Planters. 
FLORIDA COCOANUTS.—During the prosperous 
days of Florida orange-growing early in the last de¬ 
cade, great interest was evinced in the possibilities 
of the commercial cultivation of cocoanuts in suit¬ 
able localities near the southern portion of the penin¬ 
sula. A few bearing trees had long been established 
on the keys, and scattered at irregular intervals along 
the seaboard. It remained for two Jerseymen, Messrs. 
E. T. Fields and Ezra A. Osborn, both of Monmouth 
County, to make the first practical test on a large 
scale. They acquired a strip of coast land in Dade 
County, just south of Lake Worth, extending for 10 
miles, between Biseayne Bay and the ocean. There 
were planted in this favorable locality during the 
years from 1882 to 1885, over 330,000 cocoanuts, cover¬ 
ing nearly 6,000 acres. They were planted from 27 
to 30 feet apart, and averaged about 50 to the acre, 
though a few trial acres were planted containing as 
many as 100 trees apiece. About 48,000 of the result¬ 
ing trees are now living, the great majority of those 
lost being eaten off by rabbits during the first 18 
months’ growth—a rather unexpected mishap. At 
the time no satisfactory publications about the care 
and cultivation of cocoanuts could be found, and Mr. 
Fields, thougn a practical nurseryman, familiar with 
the propagation of all northern trees, found it neces¬ 
sary to correspond with individuals in every tropical 
port in which the English language was spoken, in 
order to gain the needed information, and so 
persistent and successful was he, that ho is prob¬ 
ably the best-informeu person in the whole coun¬ 
try on the subject of cocoanut culture. 
HOW GERMINATED.—The plan adopted was 
to import fresh nuts of the best obtainable types 
from the West Indies and South America, and 
plant them at once, at a depth of 12 to 15 inches, 
in the light friable soil, which is composed al¬ 
most entirely of fine sand and minute particles of 
shells and coral. A circle about 3 1 / 2 feet in di¬ 
ameter was dug about each nut, and the land 
subsequently cleared of palmetto roots and other 
rank wild vegetation. The plantations were ac¬ 
curately laid out by a surveyor, and the remain¬ 
ing trees still form a striking feature of the 
coast landscape, but for various reasons the en¬ 
terprise was not carried out on the lines origin¬ 
ally planned, and the plantings have not, of late 
years, received the thorough care that is ap¬ 
parently needed for their best success in a local¬ 
ity so far from the tropics. 
A USEFUL PALM.—The cocoanut is the most 
useful member of the great family of Palms, and 
every part of the tree and of the nuts has been 
utilized for the food and comfort of man from the 
earliest ages. It would take much space even to 
mention the variety of products derived from the 
cocoanut in different localities. Its natural home 
seems to be among the South Pacific islands, but 
it has been disseminated by man and the agen¬ 
cies of Nature over the whole tropical world, 
wherever the soil and climate permit its growth. 
It loves the seashore, and is never found in per¬ 
fection more than a mile or two in the interior. 
It begins to bear at six or seven years of age, 
but does not produce its maximum crop of 75 to 
100 nuts yearly, until it is over 20 years old. 
Under favorable circumstances it may live to be more 
than a century old, and continue fruitful to the last. 
The cocoanut tree will respond to care and fertiliza¬ 
tion like all other plants, and it is likely to be ex¬ 
tensively cultivated in the various tropical islands 
that have lately come into our possession, as soon as 
American immigrants can acquire suitable locations 
for starting the plantations. The trees of the large 
Florida plantation mentioned above are producing 
in a fairly satisfactory manner, though they are not 
as fruitful as anticipated in the inception of the en¬ 
terprise, and the nuts find a ready local sale for food 
consumption, as well as for planting for decorative 
purposes. It has been tolerably well settled by this 
extensive experiment that the cocoanut will not 
prove a great moneymaker in Florida, but the beau¬ 
tiful effect of these miles of feathery palms lining the 
coast will remain for generations, and greatly stimu¬ 
late further plantings for ornamental purposes in all 
places where the trees are likely to survive, even if 
there is no promise of fruiting. 
Fig. 8 well shows the germination of the cocoanut. 
The sprout pushes out through the softest of the three 
marks forming the “monkey face” at one end of the 
nut proper, forces its way into the thick fibrous outer 
coating, which 'is admirably adapted to retain the 
moisture needed at this stage of the growth, after 
which the plumule of leaves grow up, and the roots 
down, just like a grain of corn. Fig. 9 is reproduced 
from a photograph of a section of the large plantation 
referred to, seven years after the nuts were planted. 
Fig. 7 was engraved from a photograph of a bear¬ 
ing tree, 30 years old, and is a very good representa¬ 
tion of a mature cocoa palm as it grows on the Florida 
coast. 
THE FARMER AND THE ELECTRIC ROAD. 
I should say that an electric road would certainly 
tend to increase the value of real estate situated 
within a short distance of the line; make life on the 
farm more pleasant and desirable, in that it places its 
occupants in closer touch with other members of the 
community, as well as with the business centers. It 
also brings the townspeople—the workers—nearer 
country life, and quite likely nearer homes of their 
own. To be of full value to a farmer such a line 
should have some arrangement for carrying freight— 
or at least do an express business—and provide the 
proper terminal arrangements to handle this. In 
pleasant weather, and for short distances, a trolley 
line is a quick, convenient and pleasant way of travel. 
In time of severe weather, or for longer distances, the 
steam cars—where one can choose—are much more 
desirable. 
Living somewhat more than half a mile away from 
a trolley line, I do not claim to feel any great bene¬ 
fit from it, yet I know of many parcels of land near 
the line that now sell for from $100 to $300 for a plot 
large enough for a house and garden. This land, pre¬ 
vious 'to the building of the line, had little value ex¬ 
cept such as it might have as farm land. A fault of 
.1 •'* V. - ’ 9 . 
*/// 
MATURE COCOA PALM, THIRTY YEARS OLD. Fig. 7. 
the system is in allowing the use of our highways 
without proper safeguards and precautions for the 
comfort and safety of that part of the community that 
may desire to travel in other ways. Most of our 
country roads are, by far, too narrow for a trolley 
line and a common road too, and as has usually been 
the case, much extra expense and much annoyance re¬ 
sults. With all the various disagreeable things one 
has to bear, living near such a line, I believe the ad¬ 
vantages much overbalance them, and as I am situ¬ 
ated, I should be much pleased to see a line in opera¬ 
tion through my place—provided the highway was 
properly widened and cared for. I believe that the 
trolley line—or something of such character—has 
much good in store in the near future for those who 
live in the country. j. norris barnes. 
New Haven Co., Conn. 
WHY POTATO BALLS ARE LACKING. 
1HE RESULT OF SELECTION FOR TUBERS. 
No Seed in the Balls. 
I am greatly Interested In the article relating to potato 
balls in The R. N.-Y. for December 23, my experience 
being, that when I do get the balls, I am unable to find 
any seed in them. Can you tell the reason? Thinking 
that they might not be fully matured, I this year allowed 
them to remain on the plant till they fell off, and after 
carefully drying them, reach the same result as in pre¬ 
vious years—no seed. A . w. l. 
Easthampton, Mass. 
Thinks the Bugs Responsible. 
In the issue of December 23 of The R. N.-Y. I notice 
several different views and theories advanced on seed 
balls on potatoes. With us in this country it is a rare 
thing to find no blossoms on potatoes at some stage of the 
growth, and one or two instances have been reported to 
me of no blossoms and no potatoes. My theory is this: 
When the potato begins to bloom you will notice that 
the Potato beetles attack the blossom, and it is soon de¬ 
stroyed or sapped by them, until no vitality remains, and 
in a few days falls to the ground. Some will say, "I 
have no bugs.” I have often thought so, but upon close 
investigation I find them, though not in great numbers, 
V et enough to take the blossoms from the vines, so the 
blossoms would not be pollenized. Some varieties are at¬ 
tacked more vigorously than others, and where the great¬ 
est number of bugs are found, there will surely be few 
blossoms left. To-day the beetles may not be on your po¬ 
tatoes, but to-morrow they are in swarms, and next day 
are gone to a neighboring field. The old hard-shell beetles 
travel by flight in the beginning of the season, and will 
attack a field from one side, going to the other. Last 
season I noticed on a calm still day the beetles going from 
the north and west toward the six-acre patch of potatoes, 
and they went over the patch from the west side 
to the east. The blossoms were attacked while 
open, by the young beetles, and soon fell off. T 
use the four-row horse sprayer, and soon finished 
the beetles, but I am sure that they destroyed the 
blossoms as I watched for the balls, and found 
only a few, but they were sickly and fell off in 
July. I have picked the potato balls here in the 
Fall of 1896 from the White Mechanic and from the 
Six Weeks Market, and have grown potatoes from 
them. I have the seedlings now, and they are 
very promising. I think that if our potato growers 
will notice closely and guard blossoms from the 
beetles, they will secure balls. o. c. v. 
Ruthven, Iowa. 
R. N.-Y.—The symposium on decline in th^ 
production of seed balls in the newer varieties 
of potatoes, page 883, December 23, 1899, has 
excited much interest among our readers, and 
many communications concerning the subject 
have been received. We give space to the 
above, with the remark that a lack of pollen 
caused by cell changes, brought about by hy¬ 
bridization and a diversion of the vital forces 
of the plant from the floral organs to tuber 
production, seems to be the most satisfactory 
explanation. The potato, like most members of 
the Solanum family, is nearly self-fertilizing. 
The anthers clasp the stigma so closely that a 
very slight jar will cause the pollen to be trans¬ 
ferred when it is in the proper condition. A 
very casual examination of the blossoms of 
most popular potatoes will at once make it evi¬ 
dent that the pollen is very scanty as com¬ 
pared with tomatoes. The tomato is closely 
allied to the potato botanically, and the blos¬ 
soms are similar, but it is bred solely for fruit 
production, and only those varieties having per¬ 
fect blooms and a great capacity for setting and 
maturing fruits, are preserved, while no atten¬ 
tion has been paid to fruit or seed production in 
the garden development of the potato. Pollen of low 
vitality or imperfect formation will often cause fruit 
to set, by stimulating the ovary, and thus a seed ball 
may be produced and brought to a certain maturity 
without containing perfect seeds. No doubt the pro¬ 
duction of seed-balls on potatoes is much diminished 
by the ravages of the beetles, as O. C. U. suggests, but 
it cannot be assigned as the sole cause. 
The Railroad Worm.— The Vermont Experiment Sta¬ 
tion says this of a bad insect pest: "The railroad worm, 
or Apple maggot, is the cause of the pulpy, punky con¬ 
dition of the apples as we find them now in the 
stored fruit and in that offered for sale. The eggs are 
laid just under the skin of the apple by a small fly. This 
fly begins her work in June and keeps it up pretty much 
all Summer, so that there may be worms of all ages in 
the apples. She has a strong preference for sweet ap¬ 
ples, and has practically ruined the crop of Tolmans this 
year. Still, she works in all varieties, sour as well as 
sweet, and causes hundreds of dollars’ loss to the fruit 
grower.” Little can be said about fighting the insect 
except that hogs and sheep in the orchard will consume 
both worms and wormy apples. 
We begin to get many letters about treatment for club 
root in cabbage. Dr. Halsted, of the New Jersey Experi¬ 
ment Station (New Brunswick), has found that air-slaked 
lime is an effective remedy for this disease. It is a dis¬ 
ease like Potato scab or other fungous troubles. The 
lime seems to weaken the power of the fungus to de¬ 
velop and spread. The bulletin will explain the whole 
matter, and is a very useful one. 
Brome Grass.— Several years ago. The R. N.-Y. tested 
Bromus inermis or Hungarian Brome grass. It gave 
such good results that we advised careful testing by 
those who wished to obtain a heavy growth of fodder on 
poor soil. The grass does not seem to have found much 
of a foothold in this country, except in the For West. 
Bulletin No. 61 of the Nebraska Station (Lincoln) gives 
an excellent account of various experiments with this 
grass. Prof. Lyon says that it is, all things considered, 
the most promising cultivated pasture grass, for that 
State, that he has tested. It is not killed by the cold or 
destroyed by drought. It is green a month earlier in the 
Spring than the native grasses, and remains green until 
late in the Fall. It will carry more stock to the acre 
than most prairie pastures, but does not make a good 
mixture with other grasses. As a pasture for dairy 
cattle, it is not equal to a mixture of Blue grass and 
White clover, or to Alfalfa, but it is absolutely safe. We 
should judge from what Prof. Lyon says that this grass 
is sure to be useful on the western prairies. It is a good 
illustration of the peculiar value of our experiment sta¬ 
tions for sifting out new varieties and plants, and finding 
just where they will do their work to the best advantage. 
