56 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. {1 Jan., 1898. 
lagoons are formed in such places; the banks of these stagnant pools make 
Stor sites for the growth of the tree. Our coast has never been surveyed - 
rom this point of view, and consequently it is only in the immediate neigh- 
bourhood of settlement, where actual values of this class of Government land 
could be estimated. There is one well-known stretch which forms the back- 
ground of the Port Douglas beach, and extends for miles from that town in 
the direction of the Mowbray. Perhaps no more favourable-looking block of 
land (at present looked upon as valueless) could be found on this continent 
for an experimental cocoanut plantation. In all probability this class of land 
continues to Double Island, where Mr. Jameson formed, some years ago, what 
is probably the largest private cocoanut plantation in Queensland. That the 
tree thrives admirably at and in the neighbourhood of Cairns is evinced by the 
specimens growing on the beach in that township. It will probably be found 
that some of the numerous varieties of the cocoanut will thrive better than 
others on our beaches, and also that some will grow and bear fruit in one 
locality better than the same kind will in another, even in Queensland. It is 
probable that no systematic grading or separating one kind from another has 
been attempted by private growers. It is to be hoped and recommended that 
this will be done whenever practicable, as the planting should form object 
lessons to those who hereafter may be desirous of forming private plantations 
of cocoanuts. Simmonds gives the name and description of thirty varieties, and 
doubtless New Guinea and the various groups of South Sea Islands would 
total as many more. With this range of variety it would be unwise to con- 
demn cocoanut planting without at least trying more than one kind. There is 
a delightful little dwarf variety growing on at least one island off the coast of 
British New Guinea. One of these was noted with fruit, about 2 feet from 
the ground, in the garden of Mr. Lawes, of Port Moresby, but its correct 
habitat was not obtainable. 
Perhaps the kind known in Fiji by the name of Rua’ndrau (Rua-indran ?), 
or two hundred (signifying that 200 nuts are produced annually by that 
form), is one to which attention might be directed. This tree has a dwarfish 
look, and had some of the appearance possessed by the trees growing in front 
of a well-known residence on the esplanade, Cairns. Fruit of the form Rua- 
‘ndrau might perbaps be obtainable by communication with the Piji 
authorities. 
There is something, of course, to be taken into consideration, economically, 
regarding the kind which will not only produce the greatest number of nuts,. 
but which is also the best yielder of fibre and copra. The largest-sized nut 
externally has not always the greatest amount of kernel, but may probably be 
a good fibre-yielder. To grow cocoanuts for economic purposes, a number of 
facts must be ascertained before starting a plantation, just as in other 
agricultural ventures. The one great factor that must be considered in this, 
as in other tropical agricultural pursuits, is that of labour. Machinery of 
modern type has, of course, been introduced to deal with the cocoanut, and. it 
is highly probable that as yet the fibrous covering has not been dealt with so 
that the most economical results have been obtained. The extraction of the 
kernel, known in commerce as copra, has also to receive attention from the: 
mechanical inventor or expert. The difficulty here is the hard shell and the 
extraction of the kernel. The old-fashioned method of breaking the shell and 
scraping out the contents with a curved sharp knife will have to be improved. 
upon. Once the kernel is removed, the after manipulation is simplicity itself. 
Cocoanut planting is perhaps hardly an undertaking for a man who could 
not command some amount of capital, nor is it perhaps to be recommended ag. 
the sole means of livelihood in any case, but to those who can command suitable: 
land and the necessary capital there are many worse ventures than that of 
cocoanut planting. 
To a Government wishing to increase the value of its waste and suitable. 
lands, and combine beauty with economics, nothing better could be 
recommended. The prosecution of forestry in all its branches has always 
