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Fig. I,— Coconut Tree branching out near the top into five
distinct stems, each of which carries fruit.

Frontispiece.

A PRACTICAL GUIDE
TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

R. W. MUNRO

AND

L. C. BROWN

Late Government Inspector of Coco-nut Plantations^ F.M.S.

WITH 106 ILLUSTRATIONS

SECOND EDITION

With Appendix by Editor of " Tropical Life^^

JOHN BALE, SONS & DANIELSSON, Ltd.
83-91, Great Titchfield Street, Oxford Street, W. i.

1920

ij/ Edition October^ 191 6

2nd Edition^ with Appendix •> July^ 1920

BY KIND PERMISSION
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO

SIR WILLIAM TAYLOR, K.C.M.G.,

WHO HAS ALWAYS TAKEN A KEEN INTEREST IN

THE COCO-NUT INDUSTRY

AND DID MUCH TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE

EXTENSION OF THE

CULTIVATION IN THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES

DURING HIS TENURE OF OFFICE

AS RESIDENT-GENERAL FROM I9O4 TO I9IO.

R. W. MUNRO.
L. C. BROWN.

PREFACE.

This book on Coco-nut Cultivation is the
outcome of a request made by the Government
of the Federated Malay States for an enlarge-
ment of Mr. Brown's Bulletin No. II, written
on the same subject in 1910, and is by no
means intended to be an *' Enquire Within "
about everything connected with the coco-nut.

In acceding to this request it was decided,
in order that the work might be as useful as
possible, to bring it out in its present form
abundantly and suitably illustrated.

Hitherto, to our way of thinking, few of
the publications that have been brought out
on the subject of coco-nut cultivation and the
industry in general, appear to contain the
amount of material necessary for the '' intend-
ing planter " in this country, and our object
and joint endeavour in the present issue has
been to make it more in the form of a ** Planter's

vi GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Note Book " than an '' Investor's," and as such
we trust the work may serve as a really useful
guide for all those who are interested, or may
later on care to interest themselves in the
industry.

Perhaps one of the most striking features
in the commercial world is the growing demand
for the products that are obtained from the
fruit of the coco-nut palm.

Owing to the increasing consumption of
vegetable oils and foodstuffs derived from the
kernel of the nut, for which there is at the
present time so much inquiry, it would appear
that in the near future, at least, the cultivation
can hardly be overdone. It is not surprising,
therefore, that its cultivation is attracting great
attention in all countries where the land is
suitable and good climatic conditions prevail
for the growth of the palm ; as in these cir-
cumstances, with careful and economical super-
vision, it should undoubtedly afford a sound,
lasting and remunerative investment.

It must be borne in mind that the present
work, as far as it deals with cultivation, &c.,
has special reference to the conditions prevail-
ing in the Malay Archipelago, Sumatra and

PREFACE vii

Borneo, and is only intended to be a guide
for coco-nut planters in these countries. Further,
it should be distinctly understood that the
estimate for bringing a plantation to a produc-
ing stage is only framed on the basis that
thoroughly suitable and accessible land, capable
of perfect drainage, is selected, and that the
work of opening up the estate is to be placed
in the hands of really experienced and com-
petent men. We admit that these are not so
easy to be found in large numbers, but we
maintain that the services of men who have
had experience of planting in this part of
the East are of more value than those of
people with experience (however wide) of
conditions totally dissimilar to those met with
here.

We say this because adverse criticisms in
the past on results achieved and attempts
by financial advisers to scare the investing
public from ' what is an acknowledged sound
industry are, more often or not, the outcome
of unwise selection in one or other of the
above important questions.

In view of the fact that most of the general
information and hints as to the methods to be

viii GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

adopted which are ^iven in this book are not
derived from any theoretical source, but are
the results of practical knowledge and ex-
perience, it is to be hoped that there are some
to whom it will be found a guide and assistance.
To those who are apt to ignore the question
of heavy upkeep expenditure when it arises,
the estimates will be of little interest, and we
ourselves are not concerned with speculating
on the number of years it will take before their
plantations become self-supporting.

Apart from the knowledge of the stability of
the coco-nut industry itself, the recent dis-
covery of practical methods of converting
crude copra oil into a palatable and satisfac-
tory vegetable butter has given a great im-
petus to this particular business, and has had
a marked effect upon the price of the raw
material ; so much so that it has led in a
great many instances to intending investors
taking an over-sanguine view of the ultimate
profits to be derived from the industry.

It is undoubtedly the generally acknow-
ledged security of the investment that consti-
tutes its strongest recommendation, and this
being so it is very undesirable to see a sound

PREFACE is

enterprise suffer by being inflated beyond its
merits.

Adverse criticism of obviously undesirable
propositions should be welcomed by all those
interested in seeing the coco-nut industry
established on a sound and permanent basis,
but we think that these criticisms should be
confined to propositions such as mentioned
above, as it serves no good purpose to indulge
in wholesale condemnation in a manner some-
times noticeable by persons who are doubtless
more or less prejudiced.

It is necessary, too, that a critic to be con-
vincing should be furnished with accurate
information, but this, unfortunately, does not
always appear to be the case.

We know of instances where the annual
reports of London companies have been criti-
cally examined for the benefit of the investing
public, and where the examiners have attri-
buted the annual unsatisfactory output to
anything but the right cause.

We gratefully acknowledge assistance re-
ceived from : Messrs. Ash, Brown, Bayley,
Denny, The East Asiatic Company, Evans,
Gillespie, Kennedy, Lewton - Brain, Tait,

X GUIDE TO COCO.NUT PLANTING

Young, van Helken, and Richards, who have
kindly allowed us to reproduce photographs
which we trust may add materially to the
interest of the publication.

R. W. MUNRO.
L. C. BROWN.

Federated Malay States,
September y 1916.

SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS.

PAGE

Chapter I.— Selection of Land and Conditions

OF Purchase i

Inland plantations — future prospects discussed —
the soil in the F.M.S. — where inland plantations
have paid— coast or seashore plantations — where
to choose land — in the State of Perak — in the State
of Selangor — the question of drainage — planta-
tions in Johore — m Kelantan and Trengganu — in
Sumatra — land conditions in the F.M.S.— first-
class land — second-class areas — conditions in
Pahang are easier — the Pahang terms — transport
facilities — quit rents in Pahang — terms in the
Bindings — terms in Penang and Province Welles-
ley — land tenure in Sumatra — soils — suitability
of the climate very important — rubber v. coco-
nuts— beware of over-fertilization — clay and sandy
soils compared — droughts and mulching.

Chapter II.— The Preparation of Land for

Planting 19

The question of drainage — felling by contract— burn-
ing oflf— when to fell — results of a good burn and
how to assure them — clearing the land after burn-
ing— exterminate lalang and how to do so.

Chapter III.— Selection of Seed and Nurseries 26

Great care necessary when selecting seed nuts — what
to avoid and what to choose —after selecting dry
out the seed nuts — where good nuts are obtainable
— which to choose — nurseries — the question of
shade — how to " lay " or plant the seed nuts —
germination in mid-air — the advantages of the
idea.

xii GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Chapter IV. — Planting 31

The distances between the palms — how to prepare
the area to be planted — digging the holes — " lay-
ing" V. planting in holes — try new methods —
moulding-up — deep planting unwise — planting
where wild pigs abound — the best age at which to
remove the seedlings — difficulties of late planting
— planting " at stake " — the king coco-nut —
two estates planted=8oo acres — results still to
be ascertained — possible yields — this variety may
require high cultivation — is its copra heavier and
richer in oil ? — advantages on paper of the king
coco-nut.

Chapter V. — Maintenance and Cultivation ... 38

Drought the great danger — failures when yields are
expected — watch individual trees— the palm's
most critical time — the question of weeding —
where forking is needed — leguminous green-
manuring — keep the soil friable — the crowning
importance of ploughing and cultivating the land
— even more important than manuring — cover-
crops — a clay subsoil an advantage — how to en-
courage success — the treatment of the land —
ploughing — mulching — economical method of
cultivation — weeding after planting — the dis-
advantages of removing the humus — when weed-
ing does harm — O.W. Barrett on mulching.

Chapter VI. — Cattle-keeping 53

The breeding of cattle maybe harmful — the value of
cattle and sheep manures — keep the cattle on the
move — the storage of the manure — keep goats
away — number of cattle and sheep to the acre of
palms.

Chapter VII.— Drains and Drainage 57

Keep the drains clear — stagnant water is bad —
cross drains.

CONTENTS xiii

Chapter VIII.— Catch and Cover-crops 60

The great diflference between the two — do not keep
on catch-crops too long — coffee as a catch-crop
— the ext/a cost of running catch-crops as well as
the main one — native v. European methods and
profits — sweet potatoes — green manures for in-
creasing the humus — a list of catch-crops —
bananas — the value of cover-crops must become
known — setting, mulching, green manures — the
results of drought— Copeland (of the Philippines)
on checks by drought — suitable plants for green-
manures — analysis of Bo^a medelloa or Candida
tephorie — equivalents between green-manures and
artificials — the " Mascate " (mucuna) or velvet bean
— its recommendations and cultivation — its seeds
as a cattle-food— sword bean or pois sabre {Cana-
valia ensifortnis) — its advantages and analysis —
M. Bonime explains its value as a fertilizer — how
to plant it — soaking the seeds hastens germination
— Tephrosia Candida hard to beat — all these plants
need nitrates — how to improve peat soils — Passi-
flora and sweet potatoes.

Chapter IX.— Gathering and Storing the Crops 82

Methods of collection — unripe nuts lower the quality
of the copra — best method for collecting from tall
palms — rough handling must be avoided — fallen 2/.
collected nuts — thieves — climbing difficult or im-
possible in wet weather — heap the nuts after
collection — transport on the canals — keep the
husks for burying as manure — their value as such —
copraimproved by leaving nuts unhusked for a time
— changes in nuts whilst ripening — the hardening
of the meat — from blossom to mature nut=eleven
months — plant-food removed per tree in two years
— analyses of plant-foods.

Chapter X. — Manuring 89

Cost and compensations — vegetable v. artificial
manures — cow dung and fish manures — supplies
of cattle manure insufficient — amount to give per
tree — cattle on estates an advantage if not a
necessity — trench manuring v, spreading— rich

xiv GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Chap'^er X. — continued.

PAGE
fertilizers must be applied sparingly — applying
lime — its action on hard soils — and on ordinary
soils — quantity of lime per acre — forking it in —
lo to 12 lb. per tree — if spread over one to two
tons per acre — the coco-nut's ability to take up salt
— but its presence is not contributory to the health,
&c., of the palm — laboratory analysis as a guide
when manuring— analysis shows the value of
the husks — burying husks advantageous but
costly — husks retain moisture — drastic mea-
sures sometimes necessary to make palms pro-
ductive — scorching — ring-barking — baring the
roots, &c.— a severe burning made a barren tree
yield fully in four years — unhealthy or immature
seed give bad yielders — apply violent remedies
only as last resource — cattle dung the best
manure — working-up clay soils — basic slag most
useful — mixing and applying manures — Kelway
Bamber on coco-nuts — a coco-nut palm forms a
ton of organic matter — and consumes much
plant-food — annual consumption of mineral
matter — importance ot lime, potash and phos-
phoric acid.

Chapter XL— -Curing Copra for Market ... 104

Husking — artificial dryers — native curing — moulds
and the percentage of moisture — kilns and bar-
becues— rain discolours copra — cement barbecues
bad — yields for five years — fuels — coco-nut butter
and the treatment of oils- -nuts to the picul and
ton of copra — picked v. fallen nuts — effect of soil
on the nuts.

Chapter XII.— Pests and Diseases 113

Beetles — the Oryctes beetle — the red beetle— black
beetles — many varieties of Oryctes — do cover
crops discourage beetles? — doestrimming thetrees
encourage red beetles ? — preventive measures —
hand collection — use a piece of wire — close the
holes — rats very serious — the harm they do —
H. C. Pratt on rat shields — the design he recom-
mends- -wild pigs — how to discourage their visits

CONTENTS XV

Chapter XU,— continued

PAGE

— hunting with dogs, good — inter-crops attract
both rats and pigs — squirrels — porcupines —
locusts very serious — white ants bad, especially
between second and fourth year — how to exter-
minate them — several suggestions — old timber
attracts ants — the ordinary red ant a friend of the
planter — it feeds upon scale insects — a plague of
ants — how to get rid of them — diseases — Pesta-
lozzia palmarwn — when most virulent — Bordeaux
mixture a cure — Brachartena caloxantha a lepi-
dopterous pest — remedial measures — a parasitic
ichneumon a great help — Hebnithospodium
another pest — caterpillar — how to check them —
spraying — bud-rot disease — what it has done
in Cuba — bud-rot disease in Penang — another
trouble in Jamaica — Prof. Earle in Jamaica —
Pestalozzia described — remedies discussed —
further information needed — Mr. Richards' (the
Mycologist) letter on Pestalozzia — Bordeaux mix-
ture and spraying — how to make the mixture —
and how to apply it — an improved formula.

Chapter XIII.— Estimates 156

True estimates v. extravagant and unnecessary
figures — inexperienced experts (?)— the cost of
opening up and maintenance to the sixth year —
cost of buildings, kilns, &c. — age when estate
should be self-supporting.

Chapter XIV.— The Principal Commercial Pro-
ducts OF the Coco-nut Tree 160

The products of the palm — toddy and sugar — how
they are made — fibre, coir and rope — copra — oil
— the last-named should fear no competitors.

Chapter XV.— The Coco-nut Industry in the

F.M.S 165

Area planted — the progress of the industry — area
under cultivation since 1903 — copra prices since
1903 — copra exports since 1904 — average price x)f

xvi GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Chapter XV. — co7itinued.

nuts — area planted in Perak — in Selangor — in
Negri Sembilan and Pahang — European cultiva-
tion— inter-crops and main-crops — native holdings
and kampongs — some have fine palms — the Coco-
nut Ordinance — it prevented a distinct set-back —
the kampongs of Temelok, Pahang, are ideal — the
care bestowed on them — the " Malay Reservations
Enactment " to check alienation — the " Coco-nut
Cultivation Enactment '' in Kedah — reporting to
the Penghuhi-land inspection under the Enact-
ment— collecting nuts with the " Broh " or monkey
— its drawbacks.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Fig. I. — Coco-nut Tree branching out near the top into
five distinct stems, each of which carries

fruit Frontispiece

facing page

Fig. 2 — A Coco-nut Plantation on slightly undulating

land 2

Fig. 3 — New Clearing as it appears after a burn

Fig. 4 — Original Felling allowed to get into secondary

growth to secure a good burn when re-lopped..
Fig. 5 — Planted area, previously in good order, after

three months of neglect

Fig. 6 — The King Coco-nut

Fig. 7 — The King Coco-nut three years from planting..
Fig. 8 — A newly-planted Clearing on Sandy Soil

(Tringganu)

Fig. 9 — Nursery under Natural Shade (I)

Fig. io — Nursery under Natural Shade (II)

Fig. II — Nursery under Artificial Shade, showing rails

for general transport
Fig. 12 — Plants put out at five months from Nursery ..
Fig. 13 — Clearing of three years old, illustrating thedisas

trous effects of Deep Planting

Fig. 14 — Effect of continuous Clean-Weeding and Coffee

as a Catch Crop

Fig. 15 — Disc-harrows at Rest

10
12

26
28

38
40

Fig. 16 — Disc-harrows at Work follows 40

Fig. 17 — Digging and Mounding 42

Fig. 18 — Ploughing on light sandy soil (Tringganu) ... 48
Fig. 19 — Fine Plantation work, showing the growth on

Arcadia Estate, Bagan Datoh 50

xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Facing page
Fig. 20 — A well-kept Plantation cultivated in accordance

with the Author's methods 52

Fig. 21 — A Grass Field kept in order by mechanical

mowing 54

Fig. 22 — A Young Coco-nut Plantation with a Sea

Frontage 56

Fig. 23 — Keeping down the Grass follows 56

Fig. 24— a Sluice Gate 58

Fig. 25 — Outlet Canal, showing volume of water when

the Sluice Gate is Shut follows 58

Fig. 26 — Outlet Canal in a low-lying district follows 58
Fig. 27 — A Main Drain, supposed to be efficient, but in

such a condition as to be of no value on low-

lymg Land ... ... ... follows 58

Fig. 28 — Deepening and Regrading Outlet Drains follows 58

Fig. 29 — Robusta Coffee as a Catch Crop 60

Fig. 30 — Three-and-a-half year old Tree in Coffee ... 62

Fig. 31 — The Same Tree a year later 64

Fig. 32 — Young Coco-nuts with a Cover Crop of Sweet

Potatoes 66

Fig. 33 — Sweet Potatoes (Fig. I) 68

Fig. 34 — Sweet Potatoes (Fig. II) 70

Fig. 35 — Cover Plant — Croialaria striata... ... ... 72

Fig. 36 — Cover Plant — Mimosa pudica ... follows 72

Fig. 37 — Cover Plant — Tephrosia purpui ea (Fig. I) ... 74

Fig. 38 — Cover Plant — T, purpurea {F\g. 11) 76

Fig. 39 — Cover Plant — T. Candida 78

Fig. 40 — Cover Plant — Canavalia ensiformis ... ... 80

Fig. 41 — Centrosema plumieri with young Coffee follows 80

Fig. 42 — Tephrosia Candida with young Coffee follows 80

Fig. 43 — Cover Plant — Mucuna follows 80

Fig. 44 — Cover Plant — Clitoria cajanifolia follows 80
Fig. 45 — Two Palms in good bearing, both propagated

from the one seed ... ... ... ... 82

Fig. 46 — Ideal Foliage on a young Tree, with a heavy

crop supported naturally by its own fronds

without necessity of staking ... follows 82
Fig. 47 — Staking. One method of preventing crop from

yoang tree falling to the ground prematurely... 84

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xix

PAGE

Fig. 48— Picking Coco-nuts follows 84

Facing page

Fig. 49 — Transport of Coco-nuts by Main Estate Drain... 86

Fig. 50 — Transporting Coco-nuts by Road follows 86
Fig. 51 — Large Collection of Nuts from one Estate being

dealt with for Manufacture 88

Fig. 5^2 — The Life of a Nut, i,e.^ the Blossom, Fruits at

2) 3» Si 9> ^^^ ^^ months old ... follows 88
Fig. 53 — Illustration showing the distance from the tree

at which the circle is made for mulching and

manuring 90

Fig. 54 — Covering the Green Mulch with Coco-nut leaves 92
Fig. 55— Ideal Method of Mounding Trees with Soil from

" Supper " Drains 94

Fig. 56 — Mulching with Coco-nut Husks 96

Fig. 57 — Mulching with Coco-nut Husks — a Complete

Cover 98

Fig. 58 — Ring-barking 100

Fig. 59 — Collecting, husking and splitting 104

Fig. 60 — Drying Kiln— showing one method of curing

copra follows 104

Fig. 61 — Drying Kiln — showing furnace and adjustable

roof. follows 104

Fig. 62 — Sun-drying — showing another form of adjustable

roof follows 104

Fig. 63 — Artificial Drying with hot air ... follows 104

Fig. 64 — Artificial Drying with hot air 108

Fig. 65 — Sun-drying no

Fig. 66 — Kiln-drying 112

Fig. 67— Red and Black Beetles 114

Fig. 68 — The Black Beetle — and a cocoon 116

Fig. 69 — A Palm killed by a Rhinoceros Beetle 118

Fig. 70 — A King Coco-nut attacked by Beetles 122

Fig. 71 — Style of Fence recommended as being imper-
vious to Wild Pigs 124

Fig. 72 — Illustration showing the Inefficiency of Wire

Fencing 126

Fig. yj, — Typical Native (Malay) Kampong 128

Fig. 74— Monkey (Broh) Collecting Nuts 13d

XX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

Fig. 75— Coco-nut Tree in bearing notwithstanding a
large hole right through the trunk near the

base follows 130

Facing page

Fig. 76 — A Caterpillar Pest and the results 140

Fig. yy — The Life History of a Caterpillar 142

Fig. 78 — Bud-rot Disease — Pestalozzia pahnaruvi ... 144

Fig. 79 — Bud-rot Disease at an early stage 146

Fig. 80 — Bud-rot Disease — nearing the end 148

Fig. 81 — Bud-rot Disease — the final stage 150

Fig. 82— Native Woman making Fibre from the Husk... 154
Fig. 83 — The only possible Method of Planting where

the land is subject to Continual Flooding ... 156
Fig. 84 — Photograph taken two years later (than illus-
tration facing p. 1 36), showing that the Palms
do grow and thrive to a certain extent under

these adverse conditions 158

Fig. 85 — Native collecting Toddy 160

Fig. 86 — Some by-products of the Coco-nut Tree ... 162

Fig. 87—" Chekku," or Native Oil Press 164

Fig. 88— Another Native Press 166

Fig. 89 — Native Method of expressing Oil from Copra... 172
A Series of Fourteen Photographs illustrating the Life

and Work in Progress on various Estates ... 176
Fig. 90 — Dwarf Coco-nuts growing 00 clay, Negri

Sembilan, Federated Malay States 184

Fig. 91 — Dwarf Coco-nuts on four-year-old trees on
Sungei Napah Estate (taken Christmas,
1917), Negri Sembilan, Federated Malay

States 184

Fig. 92— Dwarf Coco-nuts growing on peat in Salt Area,

Negri Sembilan 185

A PRACTICAL
GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

CHAPTER I.

SELECTION OF LAND
AND CONDITIONS OF PURCHASE.

Indian Plantations, — Where possible we
would very much like to see the region of
coco-nut culture extended in the inland dis-
tricts, and as the difficulties of obtaining
suitable land near the seashore are likely to
become greater it makes it all the more desir-
able. There is no doubt that inland soils if
properly treated should afford any investor a
handsome return, although he may undoubtedly
have to wait some time longer for the first
crop. The land should, of course, be well
chosen with special regard to accessibility and
easy and inexpensive transport. It has proved
a fallacy to suppose that the salt water from
the sea of itself has any influence worth talking
1

2 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

about on the trees in its vicinity. The actual
porosity of the soil is greater near the sea than
inland.

The growth of the trees, the colour of the
leaves and area of leaf surface are governed
to a very large extent by the water supply.
Surface drainage requires more attention than
subsoil drainage from our observations, al-
though the latter is of special importance also.

Unfortunately in the Federated Malay
States, with the exception of the State of
Pahang, where special terms are offered by the
Government, as afterwards referred to, it will,
we think, be difficult to find any large blocks
of land suitable for the cultivation. The
reason of this is that there is hardly any very
large contiguous area to be found now where
the lay of the land is fairly flat or nicely undu-
lating, as those that do exist have been largely
taken up for rubber cultivation.

On the higher and hilly ground throughout
the States the soil is mostly laterite, which
unless very much decomposed on the surface
when cleaned up, especially during the dry
season or in times of drought, becomes very
hard and impenetrable. In consequence it is

Fig. 2. — A Coco-nut Plantation on slightly undulating land (Tringganu).

The trees continue to be almost as good, e;ro\vth for age, as anything found on flat land.

Face p. 7.

SELECTION OF LAND 3

a most costly and difficult business to get the
young seedlings at the time they are planted
out to make a good start, and so in the earlier
stages, during which period the expenses are
of necessity very heavy, the growth of the
plants is much retarded, and but poor and
extremely slow progress the result. It is not
until the roots are well established and have
reached the more friable soil generally found
deeper down that the trees are likely to come
on at all well, and owing to the previous set
back already mentioned it is often not till the
tenth year, sometimes even later, before the
trees reach maturity and come into bearing.

Small plantations inland, of which there are
a great number situated on flat or slightly
undulating land, when in proximity to towns
or villages have proved quite remunerative for
the proprietor of moderate means. The yield
in quality, i.e.j outturn from nuts to copra,
will we believe be found just as good from
inland trees as from those from the seashore,
for though the underground water treatment
has in our opinion a great deal to do with
heavy yields, it has, we think, little to do with
the size of the nut kernels.

4 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Coast or Seashore Plantations. — We believe
that the chemically richer soil inland should
really conduce to the greater productivity of
nuts, but it appears to us to be of special
benefit to the tree to be exposed to wind and
to intense illumination, and having regard to
this fact it is not surprising that the natural
habitat of the coco- nut should be near the
seashore.

It must be remembered too, that the trans-
port of the fruits it bears being large it is
more economical as a rule to deal with this
by water than any other means ; on the other
hand the fact of being able to create conditions
more favourable than is usually known to
occur in Nature is more true perhaps as
regards the ** coco-nut " than it is in any other
form of cultivation and we make bold to affirm
that there is no tree that responds so grate-
fully to the treatment given to it.

In the selection of land suitable for the
cultivation of coco-nuts in the Federated
Malay States, we consider that preference
should be given to the coast districts where
there are still several sites available. In the
State of Perak the land lies between the Krian

Face p. 4.

SELECTION OF LAND 5

and the Bernam rivers, and again in the State
of Selangor from the Bernam river east as far
as Sepang.

It must not be imagined when we talk of
land in the coast districts or on the coast that
it refers only to an actual narrow strip. Suit-
able and really first-class land is continually
found behind the mangrove where this exists,
and inland of this strip to a depth some-
times of four or five miles. Again, proximity
to the sea does not necessarily mean cheap
transport, and this fact when selecting land
has to be carefully considered.

The most important matter when taking up
any large area in these districts is to ascertain
beforehand that the land allows of thorough
good drainage. It is only waste of money to
select what is considered first-class soil unless
an efficient fall for the water from every part
of the estate is available, therefore the first
thing to do is to select ** outlets " rather than
land. Nothing is more discouraging than to
find one's first clearing an expensive failure
owing to this want of foresight.

As may be gathered from the foregoing, the
land in these parts is generally flat and low-

6 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

lying. The soil is mostly alluvial and under
good conditions exceedingly well suited for
coco-nut cultivation. It is by no means un-
common to come across healthy young trees
here showing flower in their third or fourth
year, and also when seen in full bearing the
yields are exceptionally heavy and with proper
cultivation good average crops may safely be
depended upon each succeeding year.

Johore. — There are many native plantations
in this settlement, and perhaps the finest blocks
to be seen are in the southern part where the
land appears to have been especially well
chosen. On the east coast large areas of
available jungle have recently been prospected
and reported on. It is probable that from here
northwards as far as the Siamese border,
according to statistics available, it will be
shown that there exists an area of land under
coco-nuts about equal to that of the whole of
Selangor.

Kelantan and Trengganu. — There is every
sign that the area planted in these states
recently is likely to do well. Opening up on
a comparatively large scale has been going on
for some years past and there are at present

hi
)-l

c
o

Face p. 6.

SELECTION OF LAND 7

upwards of 20,000 acres under European
management.

Sumatra. — The available land on the east
coast suitable for coco-nuts is unfortunately-
limited, and moreover the fact that the rich
volcanic soil inland, which would perhaps grow
the finest coco-nuts in the East, is also the best
in the world for a special class of tobacco, i.e.,
the covering leaves for cigars, naturally pre-
cludes any possibility of any great extension
of the coco-nut industry taking the place of
the more remunerative product, at any rate
during such years of prosperity as the Dutch
Colony is at present experiencing.

Land Conditions. — In the Federated Malay
States the ordinary terms on which the land
may be acquired are as follows : —

For First-class Land.

Per annum
From the beginning of the ist year to

the end of the 6th year... ... ... $i'oo per acre.

From the beginning of the 7th year to

the end of the I oth year ... ... 1*50 ,,

From the beginning of the nth year to

the end of the 15th year ... ... 2-00 ,,

From the beginning of the i6th year to

the end of the 20th year 3*00 ,,

From the beginning of the 21st year and

thereafter 4-00

8 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

For Second-class Land.

From the beginning of the ist year to

the end of the 6th year $i*oo peracre.

From the beginning of the 7th year to

the end of the I oth year 1*50 ,,

From the beginning of the nth year to

the end of the fifteenth year ... ... 2*00 „

From the beginning of the i6th year and

thereafter ... 3*00 ,,

Nothing in the notification affects other than
paragraphs a and b, *' The Country Lands
(Cultivation of) Enactment, 1914," nor does
it render any person liable to pay rent at a
higher rate than would otherwise be payable
by him.

The notification has effect from and includinof
the first day of January, 19 14.

While these are the usual conditions laid
down, a few large concessions have in the past
been granted on more favourable terms, and
at present easier conditions are given in the
State of Pahang to those desirous of taking up
land for the cultivation of coco-nuts in accord-
ance with a notification circulated in the
Government Gazette towards the end of 191 3
to the following effect : —

** In order to encourage the cultivation of
coco-nuts in the coast districts of Kuantan

SELECTION OF LAND 9

and Pekan, the Government of Pahang is
prepared until further notice to receive applica-
tions for land for that purpose and to grant to
approved applicants blocks of 2,000 acres on
specially favourable terms. The title of the
land will be a grant in perpetuity, subject to
an annual quit rent, and to other conditions
as follows : —

*' (a) Quit rent will be charged at the
following rate per acre : for the first year
10 cents (2 'So pence) ; for the second year
20 cents ; for the third year 80 cents ; and so
on increasing by 10 cents each year until the
maximum of $1 per acre is reached (25". 4^.).

" Kuala Pahang is an open roadstead, but
the steamers enter Kuantan Harbour all the
year round at high tide. The Straits Steam-
ship Company maintains a weekly service
between these ports and Singapore and other
vessels also call. Pekan and Kuantan are
connected to the F.M.S. telegraph system.
A railway steamboat service is maintained
between Pekan and Kuala Krau on the F.M.S.
railway line. The distance is 129 miles.
Tributaries of the Pahang provide access for
native boats. A Government cart road is

10 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

being constructed from Kuantan to Jarantut
Station also on the F.M.S. railways. The
total distance is about 103 miles, of which
thirty-three miles from Kuantan are now
open to motor and other wheeled traffic, and
the remainder should shortly be completed.
There is a large area of land available and
the Malays plant coco-nuts both on the coast
and inland. The climate of the coast has a
good reputation for salubrity, but it is, of
course, impossible to dispense with the medical
and sanitary arrangements usually enforced on
estates elsewhere in the Federated Malay
States. The ordinary rates of quit rent in
Pahang are 50 cents per acre for six years,
and thereafter $2 per acre.

** (d) One half of each block of 2,000 acres
must be cultivated within five years from date
of occupation of the land or the date of the
grant, whichever is earlier, and nine-tenths of
the land must be cultivated within ten years.

*' Export duty will be charged on the pro-
ducts at the current rates (at present ij per
cent ad valorem).

*^ No premium will be charged, but the
applicant must pay the cost of survey, boundary

o
o

F'ace p. lo.

SELECTION OF LAND 1 1

marks and preparation of the title, which on
a block of 2,000 acres would amount approxi-
mately to a sum of $1,500 to $1,700. An
applicant may apply for more than one block
but the conditions mentioned would apply to
each block granted."

The districts of Pekan lie on the east coast
of the Peninsula facing the China Sea. Kuala
Pahang, the port of the Pahang district, is 171
miles by sea from Singapore, while the harbour
of Kuantan is twenty miles further north.

Terms in the Bindings.
The terms for each particular application
are fixed with reference to the condition of
that particular application. But the terms
which, in absence of special circumstances,
would probably be approved for coco-nut land
in the Bindings to-day are as follows : —

Premium $5 per acre.

Rent ... $3 per acre per annum with 2/3rds Rebate
for six years, on condition the land was
planted up in such a way as to secure
that the whole should be planted within
the period of Rebate.

The payment of enhanced rent at the rate

of 5 per cent, per annum in lieu of $3 per acre

of the premium would probably be approved

if desired.

12 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Survey fees are on a fixed scale as follows :
for lots exceeding 500 acres and not exceeding"
1,000 acres, $480 for the first 500 acres, and
70 cents an acre for every additional acre or
part of an acre.

For lots exceeding 1,000 acres, $830 for the
first 1,000 acres, and 50 cents an acre for
every additional acre or part of an acre. •

Other fees incidental to the acquisition of
the land would be : —

Preliminary Survey ... say, $2.

Grant Fee $5.

Boundary Stones $1 per stone.

There is plenty of excellent coco-nut land

still available.

Land Terms in Penang and Province
Wellesley.

The ordinary condition on which land may

be obtained from the Government are as

follows : —

Premium $20 to[^$25 per acre.
Survey Fees —

100 to 500 acres... $120 for 100 acres and 90 cents

per acre afterwards.
500 to 1,000 acres $480 for 500 acres and 70 cents

per acre afterwards.
1,000 and upwards $830 for 1,000 acres and 50 cents^

per acre afterwards.
Rent.

Fig. 6. — The King Coco-nut.
15 years from planting. Planted 15 ft. X 15 ft.

Face p. 12.

SELECTION OF LAND 13

As regards these terms, which may appear
rather high, we would point out that there is
practically no land at all available in Penang
and very little left in Province Wellesley.

Sumatra.

Lana Tenure, — The form of title is a deed
of concession or contract made in due form,
signed and sealed by the Sultan, and ratified
by the Resident. The terms are favourable
compared with those on which most of the
grants are now issued in the Federated Malay
States, For coco-nut cultivation special terms
have recently been offered, and are, we under-
stand, as follows : —

A maximum of 42 cents per acre on a
seventy-five years' lease.

This commences after the fifth year ; during
the first five years the annual rental charged
is only Z\ cents, rising annually by 8J cents
to the maximum of 42 cents.

Soils.

When asked what constitutes first-class soil
for coco-nuts, a good deal of deliberation is
required before giving a definite reply, but

14 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

the following particulars as to the variety of
soils best suited for quick growth, and the best
method of dealing with them on the spot, may
perhaps, be a guide to those seeking for this
kind of information.

We are not so much concerned with the
cultivation as we hear of it from other tropical
countries, though in the natural course of
things comparisons are bound to awaken a
certain amount of interest. Dealing with the
conditions as to soil and climate here, it
appears that, generally speaking, we have
little to complain of, but it would seem neces-
sary for the benefit of those who intend
interesting themselves in coco-nut cultiva-
tion to place the soils found inland in a some-
what different category from those on the
coast ; and in this connection there would
be a great many things to be taken into con-
sideration before choosing what the position
of the estate should be.

From general observation it is quite reason-
able to assume that we have the climate, and
it is not too much to afifirm that the acknow-
ledged success in the growth of our rubber
plantations may be attributed more to this than

Fig. 7. — The King; Coco-nut.
Three years from planting.

Face p. 14.

SELECTION OF LAND 15

to any question of superiority of soil so far as
comparison with other countries goes.

Undoubtedly the question of soils is one
that must be very carefully taken into account ;
it should be borne in mind that coco-nut land,
apart from the soil, must be capable of perfect
drainage ; so that it is better to choose some
of the stiff clays, which, when worked up,
produce excellent and lasting crops, provided
they are not allowed to become sodden through
periodical flooding, rather than the best look-
ing, free soil often containing more organic
matter, but so situated as to be incapable of
affording the amount of drainage that the
coco-nut seems to demand, not only in the
initial stages of its development, but in the
bearing periods as well.

The following astounding statement ap-
peared in a home<.paper the other day : " Coco-
nut cultivation is only advisable where the land
is unsuitable for rubber.'

We trust that there are few who, having
read this remarkable statement, would be
inclined to take it seriously, or even to give
to it a moment's consideration. There is no
doubt that the idea was at one time very

16 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

prevalent that any land was good enough
for coco-nuts ; just put them in, do nothing,
and await the result. Fortunately, so far from
this idea gaining ground, there is a marked
tendency now towards gathering what informa-
tion is available regarding the conditions
necessary for the well-being of the coco-nut
palm, and touching upon this subject, it
would not be irrelevant to express the hope
that (although it generally says so in the
prospectus of any company) all the land
chosen for rubber cultivation is the most
suitable land obtainable.

Personally we have seen rubber planted
and existing on soils which in their natural
state it would be quite useless to expect coco-
nuts to thrive on. They might exist on it as
they seem to, but no yields worth talking about
need be expected from the trees.

The quickest growth that we have seen, that
is to say, the quickest yield from the time of
planting, was on land subjected to tidal
influence when stiffish clay was found beneath
a very considerable depth of humus. The
chemical analysis of this soil showed it to be
particularly rich in phosphates and nitrogen —

SELECTION OF LAND 17

in fact well supplied with all the constituents
essential for plant nutrition.

One question which will take a long time to
settle is whether abnormally forcing soil will
turn out the best in the long run, i.e.y will
give more steady and lasting yields than some
lands where the growth is by many degrees
slower. We do not think that this point is
worth discussing under the present heading, as
it may be assumed that most of our readers
would be attracted by the soil that was likely
to be earliest productive, and required the
least amount of expenditure to bring about the
desired results.

Heavy jungle is usually an indication of soil
where the requisite depth of humus exists and
in the majority of instances should be chosen
where it is noticed in low-lying districts.

The land stretching along the banks of
rivers is almost always good up to the tidal
point, although in some parts of Sumatra and
Borneo this does not hold good on account of
the very slight variation in the rise and fall
of the tide, thus precluding the possibility
of what we understand by perfect drainage
facilities.

18 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Clay soil devoid of humus, although there
are exceptions to this in some cases, cannot as
a rule be described as first-class land, any
more than sandy soils which are to be seen
in large tracts sometimes along the East Coast
of the Peninsula ; these latter, although com-
prising areas of very excellent material, are not
found in sufficient quantities to be attractive
by comparison. When sandy soils are chosen,
however rich they may appear, the question of
special treatment from the commencement is a
point that cannot be too strongly advocated :
for these soils require aeration just the same as
any other class of soil, only not, of course, quite
to the same extent. The same precautions
have to be taken against droughts, and syste-
matic mulching becomes almost a necessity
from the start. As these soils again are most
lacking in nitrogen and phosphates, green
manuring cannot be too strongly advocated.
Cover plants are not easy as a rule to establish,
but once this difficulty is overcome they can
be made quite a success.

Fig. 8. — A newly-planted clearing on sandy soil (Tringganu).

Face p. 1 8.

CHAPTER II.

THE PREPARATION OF LAND FOR
PLANTING.

If the land is comparatively low lying and
some of the soil of a peaty nature, as is very
often found to be the case in the coast districts,
where the rich alluvial loam exists, rentices
must first be cut through the area to be
opened up and drains immediately afterwards
put down in order that the ground may be
as dry as possible before the felling is
commenced. In referring again to this all-
important question of drainage it is almost
universal to find that planters who have no
experience of low lying soils in the coast
districts fail to realize at the outset the vital
importance of obtaining tap drains of sufficient
size and depth, and that the money has been
too lavishly spent on field drains without
proper attention being given to the outlets.

Where the ground is higher and there is no
possible chance of it becoming flooded when

20 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

the rainy season sets in, this precaution may
not perhaps be required ; at the same time, to
drain the land thoroughly prior to felling is
always to be strongly recommended.

The next step is to contract on the best
terms possible for felling the jungle or
secondary growth as may happen to be the
case. As regards this work it will, no doubt,
be found that the rates vary slightly in the
different localities, also that some forest is
more expensive than another to fell as so
much depends on the nature of the jungle
that has to be dealt with.

The felled jungle or secondary growth after
it has been allowed sufficient time to get
thoroughly dry is then burnt off. Both the
felling and burning out of season should
always be avoided, and should not even be
thought of, as there can be no object in doing
it. Notwithstanding the fact that one occa-
sionally hears of what is called a ''lucky burn,"
this system has been responsible for more
failures in opening and subsequent extravagant
upkeep than is generally supposed.

In nearly all the districts of the Federated
Malay States, the Straits Settlements, Sumatra

PREPARATION OF LAND 21

and Borneo the months for felling are Decem-
ber and January, with a view to a March burn,
and May and June for an August burn.

The advantages gained by a good burn can
hardly be over-estimated, and on this account,
even although the weather is rather a capricious
and uncertain element, great precautions should
be taken to carry out the programme that has
been recommended, as the chances are more
likely to be favourable than otherwise.

The result of a good burn, with an experi-
enced manager in charge, ought to mean an
immense saving later on in upkeep and main-
tenance, and therefore is of great importance
as regards the future prosperity of the under-
taking.

It must be realized that a good burn, even
under favourable conditions, depends very
much upon the manner in which the jungle is
felled. It should not be necessary to describe
this, but we have seen such fatal consequences
rom lack of knowledge in this respect that a
description of the orthodox method seems to
be essential.

After the undergrowth is cut and allowed
to dry, the small trees are felled and the

22 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

branches lopped ; then the big timber. Trees
should be felled so that no stump remaining
appears more than 3 ft. 6 in. in height, but
the most important part of the whole proceed-
ing is to see that the branches are lopped and
cut into pieces as soon as possible after the
trees have fallen. This is where the felling
contractor requires such close supervision, and
where he will take advantage if not carefully
looked after. It is no use to wait until the
leaves have withered and fallen on the ground,
as by this time it is too late to get the material
for the fire '^ packed " as closely as it requires.
Before the clearing is taken over from the
contractor, it should, when looked at from the
boundaries, present a perfectly level appear-
ance, no timber, branches or undergrowth
being more than 4 ft. above the ground. After
the burn as much of unburnt timber as pos-
sible should be stacked and set fire to when-
ever the weather permits. Not nearly sufficient
attention, as a rule, is paid to the stacking,
which should be done around the big stumps
and closely packed ; first the small dead wood,
and lastly the logs. Small heaps should not
be made promiscuously all over the clearing,

PREPARATION OF LAND 23

but at more or less regular distances; the larger
the pile the better, provided it is properly
built up.

As regards the amount of clearing necessary
after the burn this must depend upon circum-
stances, but as a rule money is only wasted in
going in for a perfect '* clean up." One of the
first things to do when the rain comes after
the burn is to look over the whole clearing for
any sign of lalang. On its first appearance
every blade should be taken out, and every
root eradicated ; if this work is not done from
the very commencement, or in the slightest
way neglected, this dangerous weed will
spread itself quickly to an extent almost
incredible in a comparatively short time.
Merely cleaned by scraping the surface is
positively worse than useless, and an enormous
waste of money, for all the time the roots are
extending underground and spreading them-
selves far and wide all over the estate. This
method, in fact, is only courting disaster.
Should large stretches of lalang occur in the
block being opened (and this is unfortunately
very often the case) it will almost invariably
be found that insufficient labour is available
when required to eradicate it in one digging.

24 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

There is only one satisfactory method to be
then employed, viz., to dig a foot deep with
changkols, turning over the earth and exposing
the lalang roots, but not separating them by
hand ; then to come back on the same area
in ten days' time at the outside, in another
ten days do the same thing, and again
the third time with forks, not changkols, and
the lalang should be finished. In no case
should lalang be taken into the ordinary
weeding ground ; it should be seen to that the
weeders do not touch a blade of lalang, and
that this work is left entirely to be dealt with
by a special gang.

All these remarks will no doubt appear very
commonplace to Straits and Sumatra planters
with any experience, but having seen such
terrible results arising out of want of know-
ledge, mostly on the part of managers whose
early training as planters was not in this
country, and who naturally do not fully realize
the amount of destruction that lalang can
bring about, we may be excused and forgiven
for sounding as loud as possible this note of
warning. We have known cases where hun-
dreds of acres of young, flourishing coco-nut

PREPARATION OF LAND 25

trees have had to be abandoned, not on
account of the actual existence of lalang, but
simply on account of those in charge of the
property having been ignorant of how to deal
with it, and also ignorant of the policy of those
responsible for the financing of the estate.

CHAPTER III.

SELECTION OF SEED AND
NURSERIES.

Selection of Seed. — In order to ensure as far
as possible what should at a later stage be-
come not only good, healthy and vigorous
young plants, but trees of a uniform yielding
capacity, the greatest care must be taken in
the selection of the seed.

In the first place they should be gathered
from trees which are bearing well at the time
of collection and by previous statistics show
that they have for a considerable period given
consistently good average yearly crops. Under
these conditions the trees may be anything
between 15 and 40 years of age and the nuts
of fair size and of a roundish shape for pre-
ference. Very large nuts and those of a par-
ticular oblong shape are better to be avoided,
as in the former case there will only be as a
rule fewer nuts on the spathe, and with regard

FiGi 9. — Nursery under natural shade (I).

Face p. 26.

SELECTION OF SEED 27

to the latter they do not usually contain so
much meat in the kernel.

Proper precautions must be taken to see
that the nuts are fully matured before being
plucked from the tree, and a strict examination
made to ascertain whether they are damaged
in the slightest degree, and if this is found to
be the case they should be discarded.

Unless the seed comes from a long distance
(in which event probably a sufficient period has
elapsed since the picking of the nuts) it will be
found advantageous to keep them for a short
time to allow them to harden, in order that the
outer covering or husk may be thoroughly dry
before being put down in the nursery.

Seed nuts of good quality may, among other
places, be obtained from Kuala Langat, Kuala
Selangor, Bernam, Lower Perak, Penang and
Province Wellesley. In placing orders for seed
nuts, a guarantee of germination should be
asked for, so that the purchaser may calculate
on having at the very least 75 per cent, of
good, healthy plants.

The results of observation show that as
a rule nuts taken from trees ofrowinof on
thoroughly well-drained land contain a thicker

26 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

layer of meat and a higher percentage of oil
than those taken from trees on swampy soil
or land that is subject to constant flooding,
and we think that selection in this respect is
even of more importance than the question of
age.

We are quite satisfied also that the age
of the parent tree has little to do with the
offspring's yielding capacity. Of course,
theoretically, one should plant only nuts that
have been proved to give heavy kernels and
a good out-turn into copra, for, after all, it is
the weight of copra that we require rather
than the number of nuts to the acre, but in
practice too many obstacles arise to make it
possible for any such careful selection to be made,
excepting, perhaps, with seeds for a very limited
area of planting. Although we have little to
go upon actually, we think that the estates
near the coast should be planted with seed
from as far inland as possible and vice versa.

Nurseries. — It is a very common practice
just to lay out the seed nuts under the shade
of the coco-nut trees without any kind of
attention in addition to that of laying them
out on the ground close to one another; the

Fig. 10.— Nursery under natural shade (11).

Face p. 28

SELECTION OF SEED 29

better course, however, in our opinion, in order
to allow the seed the best chance of sprouting
and making a start under more favourable
conditions, is to have beds carefully prepared
with good soil for the purpose and slightly
raised so as to permit of efificient drainage.
A thin layer of sand on the surface of these
beds will also be found beneficial as it prevents
the ground from getting too damp, which
causes the roots to rot. The seeds after the
beds are ready should be placed on the ground
in rows about 2 ft. apart, slightly buried, and
in an oblique position with the acute end of
the nuts downwards. If found to be too much
exposed they should be shaded for a time and
this gradually removed, so that the nut may
harden with the exposure of the sun before
it is removed for planting out. It is not
altogether an uncommon custom to cut a small
section of the husk off from the top of the nut
prior to the seed being placed on the ground,
as this is believed to afford easier egress for
the shoots to sprout.

Another method, especially among the
Malays in certain places, is to allow the seed
nuts to germinate by tying them in pairs by

30 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

means of a portion of the outside husk and
hanging them on long bamboos or poles
supported on posts at a height of about 6 ft.
from the ground and under shade, so that the
nuts are not liable to too much exposure. No
doubt this method has been adopted with a
view to safety from the ravages of the wild
pigs, but at the same time it has a special
advantage inasmuch as the leaves and roots
protrude in the usual way, so that when ready
at the customary period for planting out
neither the leaves nor roots need in any way
be destroyed or interfered with ; this very
materially assists the growth of the plant in
the younger stages of its life.

o
Q4

c
o

Face p. 30.

CHAPTER IV.
PLANTING.

In our opinion the best distance all round
for planting the young plants is 30 ft. by
30 ft., nominally forty-eight trees to the
acre, and if put down diagonally a few more
trees are taken in ; we, however, give the
preference to square planting.

Before commencing on this work the ground
must be thoroughly cleaned up and properly
prepared for the purpose. When the land is
high enough to allow of this being done, pits
should be dug at the distances mentioned
above to receive the young plants. These
pits may be square or made in circular form,
the larger the hole the better, but not less than
2 ft. in diameter and 18 in. in depth, after
which the holes can be filled with good surface
soil and the seedling planted so that the top
of the nut where it first starts to germinate is
just about on a level with the surface. In
many localities, especially on very low lying

32 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

land, the question of holing or making these
pits may not be considered necessary because
of the amount of humus and decayed vegetable
matter found on the surface, often for a very
considerable depth ; in fact the actual cutting
of holes, even if not an impossibility, would be
a waste of time and money. We have seen
many thousands of acres planted on this class
of soil, and the system usually adopted has
been to simply lay the plant on the surface,
and mould up with good surface soil so
as to form a mound about 4 ft. in diameter.
What will happen, it may be asked, when the
natural subsidence of the land takes place
and leaves the nut and sometimes the roots
partially exposed ? The remedy is fairly
simple, although entailing a certain amount of
expenditure, and this is one of the penalties to
be paid for taking up land of this description.
As a matter of fact there is no harm done by
departing in certain cases from the orthodox
methods, and we have seen very fine clearings
indeed, and yielding excellent crops too, which
are known to have been planted in this way.

As the land subsides, moulding has to be
systematically done, and it will almost always

PLANTING 33

be found necessary in addition to support a
large number of the trees by staking each one
exposed with at least two stout supports tied
securely to the stem of the tree to prevent
damage by swaying in the wind.

For moulding at this period, do not take the
loose top soil, but the heaviest soil within
reach, so as to give as much stability to the
tree as possible, and encourage it to take a
hold sufficiently firm to prevent any falling
over at a later stage.

Deep planting in this country is not only
unwise, but absolutely fatal in every class of
soil and under every condition. We are able
to produce a photograph of what happens
when trees are put in deep on a sandy soil.
No matter how well the land is drained this
system brings about complete waterlogging
and conditions that would actually be the
death of any plant less vigorous than the
coco-nut.

Native methods, although treated with all
due respect to ancient custom, should be in-
dulged in with extreme caution.

Another method of planting which has been

brought to our notice as a preventive against
3

34 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

wild pig is to leave the pits open and support
the seedling with a stout stick firmly fixed
in the husk and the other end of it securely
fixed in the centre of the hole at the bottom.
Later, when the danger is past, the cavity is
gradually filled up with good soil. We have
never tried this experiment ourselves, but
it is possible where there is trouble from wild
pig that it would be of some advantage to adopt
this method to allow of a fence being put
up meanwhile.

From our experience we think there can
be little doubt that the best age to remove the
seedlings from the nursery to plant out in
the clearings varies from three to five months,
when the roots can, with care, be easily
dislodged from the ground with very little
or no damage, an important and vital con-
sideration for insuring the chances of the nut
making a good start immediately after it is put
out. There is also the advantage of the nut at
these ages having plenty of nutriment still in
it to subsist upon until the young plant has
thoroughly established itself in its new locality.

When retained in the nursery and not re-
moved until at a much later stage, it will

im
3

■» -^, ^ . -.. ., -.~ - .. Lk. ■^ «»1li

Face p. 34

PLANTING 35

be found almost universally the case that the
difficulty of transplanting is both more costly
and less satisfactory as the roots are often
damaged and broken off while this work is
being carried out, and in consequence the
young plants, more often than not, get a decided
set-back, and it takes several months for them
to recover from the effects. It is also, of
course, a good deal more expensive, not only
on account of transport, but in the treating of
the big plants when finally placed in the holes,
or on mounds, or in whichever way it is found
necessary to plant them.

Planting from ''seed at stake" has, in in-
stances that we know of, been a decided
success, and there is really no reason why
this should not prove the best method on
clearings that have been thoroughly well
cleared of timber and kept clean-weeded from

the start.

The King Coco-nut.

Whether it is advisable or not to plant a
certain area with the dwarf nut commonly
known as the King Coco-nut (in Malay,
Nyor Gading) has not so far been ascertained,
but two estates were opened in 191 2 in the

36 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

•coast district, Port Dickson, and planted with

this smaller variety on what might be called a

commercial basis, as there are about 800 acres

now under this cultivation. The result of this

experiment when the trees come to maturity

(and this should be comparatively soon now)

will be watched with much interest as some

reliable figures may then be obtainable to

estimate the profit and value of the product.

It is not uncommon to see one or two of

these trees planted in Malay holdings, also in

gardens and around house-grounds in many

localities, and we have trees of our own, nearly

twelve years old, from which we have been

getting large crops for many years, but these

were planted on the drain edges, and had a

better chance of doing well than those put out

in a clearing.

From large, well-cultured trees in full bearing
all over the Peninsula we consider an average
of sixty nuts a tree per annum the actual limit
(nothing approaching this result, however, need
be reckoned on without high cultivation), and
a much larger yield of a smaller nut would
necessarily have to be obtained from the dwarf
tree. As regards this, however, we have

Fig. 13.— Clearing of three years old, illustrating the disastrous effects of

deep planting.

Face p. 36.

'•^ ,■

PLANTING 37

never heard of any estimates based on actual
results, but from our observation so far, we
incline to the opinion that the " King " variety
will require rather high cultivation in order
to obtain satisfactory returns, and may then
possibly yield as much as an average of seventy-
five nuts per tree per annum.*

Proportionately there is no doubt that the
copra from the dwarf coco-nut is heavier
than that obtained from the ordinary nut and
is generally considered to be richer in oil.
The advantages on paper are : —
(i) The tree should come into bearing about
one and a half years sooner than the ordinary
one.

(2) The nuts are more easily harvested,
without damage to the immature fruits and
blossoms.

(3) The tree is more easily handled for
beetles and other pests.

(4) The trees may be planted 20 ft. by
20 ft., giving over 100 to the acre.

In the photograph shown the trees are
planted 15 ft. by 15 ft.

* Actual yields and returns, according to a recent
report, are given in the Appendix, together with photo-
graphs of the palms.

CHAPTER V.

MAINTENANCE AND
CULTIVATION.

We have now arrived at a stage when the
most important question for the future welfare
of an estate has to be considered, viz., the
** cultivation of the coco-nut."

It becomes every day more apparent how
rapidly the tree responds to any special treat-
ment, which need not necessarily, however, be
of a costly nature, and on this we have to
rely for uniform and lasting returns.

From our experience and observations
made in most districts, there is not in our
mind the slightest doubt that with coco-nuts,
at any rate, a drought is the danger that
we have most to guard against.

We are quite satisfied as to the method
necessary to adopt to avoid this and are
gradually formulating a line of action to meet
the case. It is one thing, however, to devise
schemes, but quite another to get them carried
out.

O
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c i

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= 5

<4-l

. V

o
^

Face p. 38.

MAINTENANCE AND CULTIVATION 39

On a rubber clearing it is known that with
ordinary care and supervision nearly every tree
will yield latex, and the time from planting
to tapping can be very closely determined
by those of quite ordinary experience and
intelligence.

What happens on a coco-nut estate is be-
coming more widely known every day : how
that a large percentage of trees on the best
regulated properties fail, for some reason or
other, to produce at the required time, and that
some will never give what is expected of them
if left to themselves.

As it is not, therefore, so much a question
of special treatment of the whole blocks that
we are brought face to face with, but of in-
dividual trees over a somewhat extensive
area, it becomes obvious that very special and
intelligent supervision is required. Any de-
parture from the ordinary routine takes up the
time both of manager and assistant, and what
was once called ** cultivation experiments "
have now developed into works of real
necessity requiring much undivided attention.

Those who have had any long experience
in coco-nut planting will, we feel sure, have

40 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

found that the most critical time of the palm,
to produce really vigorous, healthy, and well-
grown plants, is in the earlier stages of its life,
i.e., practically from its infancy until it is
thoroughly established, say up to the third
or fourth year : therefore, it is only by giving
very careful attention during this period that
early matured and good bearing trees are
likely to result.

For this reason we may safely lay it down
as an axiom that in the ordinary course no
necessity should arise for departing from the
orthodox method of clean weeding until the
trees have reached the age above mentioned ;
that is to say, that under ordinary circumstances
the land should be clean weeded for a certain
time, and that no grass or noxious weeds of
any kind be allowed to interfere with or retard
the proper growth of the young plants which
may come about if this work is in any way
neglected.

To protect the feeding roots and keep the
soil on the surface that surrounds them, up
to a given distance from the base of the stem,
in a friable condition and able to take every
possible advantage of the moisture prevailing.

Fig. 15. — Disc-harrows at rest.

Face p. 40.

o
£

Follow 15.

MAINTENANCE AND CULTIVATION 41

it necessarily requires that the ground be
loosened by digging or forking, at least
once in every three months, when some
mulching may also be done as afterwards
referred to, and which is so beneficial to-
wards the well-being of the plant.

For the above treatment a radius of, say,
2 ft. to 3 ft. from the stem may be found
sufficient when dealing with one-year-old
plants ; a year older the radius should be
increased to, say, 4 ft., and so on, until
ultimately the circle to be dealt with in this
way, when the trees have reached maturity
and in full bearing, varies from 7 ft. to 8 ft,
and sometimes 10 ft.

After the trees have attained a certain age,
and the land practically cleared of all roots and
timber, a great deal may be done to sustain
and improve the bearing qualities of the trees
by the use of leguminous and nitrogenous
plants to be applied as " vegetable manures,"
and special reference to this comes under
** cover plants."

As it is a matter of some importance that the
soil generally throughout a plantation should
be as friable as possible, to enable the trees to

42 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

continue in a good state of culture, both ploughs
and disc harrows can be utilized for the purpose
of continually breaking up the top surface
wherever the land is inclined to harden. The
beneficial effect this tilling has on the well-
being generally is difficult to imagine unless
one comes across an estate which is maintained
by this method of cultivation.

It appears to be a very general impression
that making a success or otherwise of a coco-
nut plantation depends entirely upon the soil
chosen, but it is difficult to understand why
more stress should be laid on this when plant-
ing coco-nuts is under consideration than any
other form of cultivation. Undoubtedly, the
question of soils is one that must be taken
into regard very carefully, inasmuch as it is a
generally accepted fact that wherever land is
chosen for opening an estate the block must be
capable of perfect drainage ; at the same time
it has been found that sometimes the best
looking free soil, which doubtless contains
more organic matter and which brings the
trees into bearing at an abnormally early age,
is not necessarily capable of yielding lasting
returns that can be recorded from soils of

Fu;. 17. — Digging and Mounding.

Face

p. 42.

MAINTENANCE AND CULTIVATION 43

a stiffer type. Taking all these things into
consideration, however, the point which
appears to stand out above all others is the
question of the treatment of the soil at all
stages of the trees' existence, and it is obvious
how little attention is given to the benefits
derived from keeping the soil in a friable state
by ploughing or harrowing. The roots of the
trees are made by this means to find their way
to regions of permanent moisture, the loose
soil on the surface acting as a mulch and
preventing evaporation. The deeper the roots
go the better able the tree is to withstand
droughts and to bear better crops. One
cannot get away from the scientific fact that
the ventilation of the soil renders the plant food
in the soil more soluble. It is not of rare
occurrence to notice instances where labour
and money are being misplaced in carrying
out the doctrine of clean weeding, after the
trees have matured, at the obvious expense
of cultivation.

We know of some estates on which large
sums of money have been spent on the pur-
chase and application of artificial manures
because a serious falling off in the crop was

44 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

noticeable. The soil on the blocks to which
this manure was being applied, and on which
trees of twelve years old were growing, had not
been turned over or harrowed since the jungle
was cleared, so it is not surprising that the
trees were calling for some kind of treatment ;
but the policy of artificial manuring in a case
of this sort cannot be too strongly condemned,
and should in any case be resorted to only
when the trees have failed to respond to every
other kind of treatment, or the soil has been
impoverished by paddy or any other equally
exhausting crop.

It should be specially borne in mind that
the successful establishing of cover plants is
by no means an easy matter, and requires a
great deal of thought, and personal super-
vision. With a view to economy in weeding
it is often considered judicious to try and
establish a cover, but in no case should this
be resorted to in the early stages of the
estate's development without a great deal of
deliberation.

As soon as hand weeding through one mis-
fortune or another has to be abandoned, it may
be time to discuss the advisability of saving

MAINTENANCE AND CULTIVATION 45

money by other methods, and also saving the
soil from temporary destruction, which must
inevitably be the result if continued scraping
by hoes is carried on, and no system of tillage
adopted.

There are few soils in the Malay Archi-
pelago which, when chosen for coco-nut culti-
vation (and therefore presumably capable of
yielding satisfactory crops), do not contain the
amount of humus necessary for the well-being
of the tree for several years after planting,
without the necessity for the additional stim-
ulus in the way of nitrogenous plants, even
though an analysis of the subsoil should show
a deficiency in this respect.

In dealing with the treatment of the soil by
cover plants, one of the main advantages to be
borne in mind is undoubtedly that of having the
material at hand to alleviate, to a very large
extent, the effects of a drought : these droughts
are of no uncommon occurrence. We believe it
is not generally known, but the fact is very
clear to those who have had the opportunity
of observing the growth of coco-nuts under
conditions which prevail in most parts of the
Federated Malay States, Straits, Borneo, and

46 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Sumatra, viz., that the trees are not only
capable of yielding more lasting crops on a
clay subsoil than on a sandy one, but that,
as a rule, they come into bearing quicker.

Exceptions which prove the rule may be
instanced in the very fine volcanic soils of
Java and Sumatra, of which, however, there
is a comparatively small area on the coast
line.

Of the 200,000 acres of coco-nuts in the
Federated Malay States it is fairly safe to
assert that most of this area is planted on
clay soil, therefore it may possibly be of more
general interest to describe the methods which
have, so far, been found most effective in
treating these soils, with a view to affording
the trees what they require at a stage beyond
that of very early development.

From the commencement it should be
realized that nothing in the shape of a hollow
or depression should be allowed to remain
within a certain radius from the stem of the
tree (the spot to be determined according to
the age of the tree).

A great deal must naturally depend upon
the porosity of the soil under treatment, but

MAINTENANCE AND CULTIVATION 47

as a general rule the system of deep planting
in this country, as before mentioned, should
not be encouraged.

The treatment of land on which any depth
of peaty substance or decayed vegetable
matter occurs presents many difficulties, even
though very deep drainage is obtainable (it is
assumed that land of this description would
not be selected under other conditions owing
to the amount of subsidence which takes place
after the land is opened),

On this class of soil the necessity for mould-
ing or banking the young plants very soon
becomes apparent, and this attention will be
found essential within the first twelve months
from planting. For the next two years, at
least, this system will have to be continued,
and until the land has settled down to its
normal level. Even on sandy soils the
method of deep planting is much to be depre-
cated ; one obvious reason for this being the
increased difficulty of affording the necessary
stimulus when required ; and it must not be
lost sight of that most of the sandy soils in
this country are not of a quality sufficiently
rich to be independent of special cultivationr

48 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

It should not, therefore, be concluded that
sandy soils, on account of their porosity, require
less cultivation than others, but, at the same
time, it should be realized that they respond,
as a rule, very much more quickly to tillage
and aeration. Mulching on a sandy soil will
show results quicker than on clay soils, and it
would be well to adopt this very important
method of cultivation at an early stage of
development when once the system of hand
weeding has to be abandoned (and there are
comparatively few soils on recognized coco-
nut land on which it is found possible to carry
out for any length of time this very desirable
project). The question of other forms of
economical maintenance is one that in most
cases serves as food for a considerable amount
of reflection and is not always given the de-
liberation that it deserves and requires. The
method most prevalent at this juncture is,
of course, to use any kind of hoe or scraper
that is found the most suitable in removing
grass and weeds as they make their appear-
ance.

When once the seed has got in the ground
it is necessary, in order to effectually eliminate

a
to
to

c
o

c
IS

Face p. 48.

MAINTENANCE AND CULTIVATION 49

all grass and weeds, that fortnightly weeding
be carried out at any cost, no matter to what
extent the soil becomes impoverished in the
process. This is the point at which the coco-
nut planter should pause before entering upon
any specific line of action.

(i) Is the above cost of fortnightly weeding
or scraping justified ?

(2) To what extent is the soil becoming
impoverished by such treatment ?

(3) What method should be employed now
to save the estate from the effects of a long
drought other than by digging, forking, or
harrowing, which, combined with the weeding,
raises the cost of upkeep to a point far beyond,
as a rule, anything mentioned in the original
estimates ?

(4) What should be done to return to the
soil the humus thrown away by surface
scrapings ?

(5) The trees being planted at a distance
that renders any assistance towards the
shading of the ground from the spread of leaf
more or less nugatory, for how many years are
we to continue a system of expenditure that

50 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

would not be justified in any other kind of
tropical cultivation?

There can be only two ways of bringing
about the desired result.

One is by constantly turning over the soil
by mechanical means ; and this, it might be
remembered, is a very difficult proposition to
deal with on a large area, there being only
six to eight months in the year when it is
practicable, owing to excessive wet or dry,
to use the plough or harrow.

Theoretically the solution is simple, but
practically it is distinctly the reverse.

We have seen plantations which had the
advantage of magnificent soil, and which
showed great promise at the start, put into
a miserable state by successfully showing
" clean circles " or ** clean avenues " from which
all the rich humus had been systematically
removed into the centre of the square or down
the rows. The land having been chosen
mainly on account of its wealth in humus is
thus wilfully impoverished, and can only be
brought back to a state when crops can be
expected from it by lengthy and expensive
methods for which there is possibly no capital
available.

o ^

cf I

Face p. 50.

MAINTENANCE AND CULTIVATION 51

On economic principles, proper soil culti-
vation (after a certain period has been reached)
and clean weeding cannot go hand in hand
on a coco-nut plantation where the conditions
are so totally at variance with those of most
of the other kinds of tropical enterprises. This
question should be realized from the first and
estimates framed accordingly.

There are doubtless a few favoured spots
where coco-nuts grow and flourish under con-
ditions very far removed from those met with
in the ordinary course, but we must consider
these apart from any general principle.

Those who have had the opportunity of
reading the very interesting and instructive
articles by Mr. O. W. Barrett, of Manila,
must be struck by the principles propounded,
when he enlarges on the question of mulching
and manuring for coco-nuts, in his practical
treatise on cultivation which applies equally to
this country, to Manila, and any other parts
of the coco-nut zone.

The following, from Mr. Barrett, is well
worthy of reproduction : ** It is a sad fact that
only a small percentage o( the producers of.
vegetable products know, or even care to know

52 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

the prime functions and qualities of plant roots ;
that is, the very large majority of planters and
even horticulturists do not use mulches. It
is sad because it means an unnecessary and
unconscionable loss of probably about 15 per
cent, of the normal production of the world's
cultivated crops."

Face p. 52.

CHAPTER VI.
CATTLE^KEEPING.

One sometimes sees it stated that when the
coco-nut trees are of such and such an age it
is safe to allow cattle to graze in the plantations.
By safe we assume that what is meant is
that the fronds of the palm are more or less
out of reach of the cattle, because it is known
that if badly eaten down the set-back is enor-
mous ; in fact, it is better to supply with new
plants than to watch them struggling to
recover ; but no matter what the age of the
tree may be, the grazing of cattle on a coco-
nut estate should only be thought of when it
can be carried out on a system. It is very
common to notice the incalculable harm done
to the soil (not the trees) on small roadside
*' kampongs," by the continuous treading round
the trees by even a small herd of cattle.

It may be stated without any fear of con-
tradiction that cattle and sheep manures are
among the finest manures for coco-nuts. If it

54 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

were possible to get sufficient of these for
application on a large area the value would be
immeasurable. There is no valid reason, any-
how, why this object should not be aimed at ;
and we consider that on every coco-nut estate
cattle and sheep breeding should be commenced
after the fifth or sixth years. We are not
advocating a large capital outlay before the
estate has commenced to yield a return, but
only the purchase of a few head to start with
to become the nucleus of a gradually increas-
ing herd.

The method of allowing a herd to graze on
any spot for more than two days at a time is
to be condemned. They should be moved
about from block to block in rotation, arid it
should be so arranged that they do not come
back on the same ground within six weeks or
two months ; by this means no harm can be
done to. the soil.

The cattle sheds should be placed at differ-
ent quarters of the estate, so as to economize
later on in the transport of the manure.

For the satisfactory retention of the proper-
ties contained in the dung and urine, pits should
be dug alongside the shed and covered over

Fig. 21. — A grass field, kept in order by mechanical mowing.

Face p. 54.

CATTLE-KEEPING 55

with a roof. In the case of sheep pens these
must always, if the animals are to be kept
healthy, be built off the ground, and the floors
made of slats throuofh which the urine and
droppings can easily be removed.

Country-bred sheep pay remarkably well,
and if properly looked after keep very fit ; also,
unlike goats, they do not care for leaves of the
yoiing coco-nuts, and can thus be allowed to
wander about on almost any part of the estate
without doing harm.

No goats should be allowed within miles of
a plantation. This advice should, one would
imagine, be hardly necessary, but in the face
of the following incident a passing warning
may be considered justifiable. A friend of
ours was opening a coco-nut estate with more
than average keenness and energy ; one morn-
ing, to his dismay, he discovered that some-
thing had gone wrong with many of his young
plants, and was puzzled as to what pest could
have made the leaves look so ragged in so
short a time. Unable to find any traces of
beetles or grasshopper outside advice was
called in, and our friend very gracefully advised
to insist upon his overseer either getting rid
of his goats or keeping them shut up.

56 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

We are able to give the following from
experience, viz. : 150 head of cattle and sheep
can supply the manure necessary for fifty acres
of coco-nuts annually, so that if manuring be
done once every two years the total number
of head required is not excessive.

The number of draught bullocks required
when the estate comes into bearing is often
considerable, and this fact must be borne in
mind when discussing the pros and cons of
cattle-keeping.

JH ■>»

Face p. 56.

Fig. 23. — Keeping down the grass.

On small areas, and subsequent to de-stumping, the above type of machine has been
found to be one ot the best labour-saving appliances.

Follow 22.

CHAPTER VII.
DRAINS AND DRAINAGE.

As previously referred to, a most thorough
scheme of drainage should be introduced,
commencing from the time the land is being
opened up and completed when the clearings
have been sufficiently cleaned up to give it
full scope.

Very great care must be taken thereafter to
see that the drains are not allowed to get
blocked up by wood or other matter, in order
to assure as good a flow as possible, and the
water continually moving towards the outlets.
When the land is slightly undulating in even
slopes this is not difficult ; but, again, in low-
lying, flat alluvial soil it will be found that
a great deal more attention is required in
maintenance. It is on this account, especially
where the soil is at all of a peaty nature, that
the advantage comes in of having the main
drains cut through the block previous to the

58 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

felling of the jungle or secondary growth, so
as to get as much water (which, owing to
its past stagnant condition, probably contains
many deleterious acids) off the land as possi-
ble, and allow of the soil becoming sweetened
proportionately. The coco-nut probably is less
affected by sour land than most tropical plants ;
at the same time any stagnant water lying in
its vicinity will always have a deleterious effect
on the growth of the tree, especially in the
younger stages of its life.

Subsidiary, Cross-section Drains, &c.

As long as the outlets and main drains are
absolutely free and can show a good clearance
even in the wettest months of the year, the
question of subsidiary and cross-section drains
can be dealt with more or less at leisure, but
must always be considered as a matter of very
great importance.

A thorough and efficient drainage scheme
can only be undertaken successfully by those
who have had experience in this all-important
question : in fact, it is a study by itself.

It is not at all an uncommon thing to hear
of places where quite a lot of money has been

Fig. 24. — A Sluice Gate.

Face p. 58.

Follow 24.

tJ3

eS
G

a.
ti
U

Follow 25.

Follow 27.

DRAINS AND DRAINAGE 59

expended on cutting outlet drains into which
the water from the cross drains will never flow,
on account of the former having been dug
without any attention being paid to the natural
fall to the creek, river or sea, whichever it
happens to be.

CHAPTER VIII.
CATCH AND COVER CROPS.

When a plantation is devoted to one crop
only, such as coco-nuts, and the planter's
exchequer is continually having calls made upon
it for at least four years, his thoughts, more
or less naturally, turn to the question of how
a decrease in the upkeep expenditure may be
brought about, and possibly some revenue
from the land obtained during the time that
his trees are working their way towards
maturity, and it has been the aim and object
of a very large proportion of owners ever since
the commencement of the plantation rubber
industry to find something that would prove
to be even a small assistance in bringing about
the desired results. First of all it should be
definitely stated that there exists a very wide
difference between ** catch crops" and "cover
crops," though it is not uncommon to hear the
first term used in ordinary conversation when
the latter is under discussion. At the same

Fig. 29.— Robusta CofiFee as a catch crop.

Fi.ce p. 60.

CATCH AND COVER CROPS 61

time it is difficult to enter into a general
discussion on the former without touching on
the extreme value in certain cases of the latter.
Now, dealing with the very wide subjects,
''catch crops" and ''inter crops," the much
discussed question of planting distance is one
which is bound to receive the first and fore-
most consideration. We do not propose to
touch upon this equally wide subject in the
present treatise, except merely to state without
any fear of contradiction that the economic
value of catch crops is not worth considering
on estates where the principle of close planting
of the main crop is still adhered to.

Now the chief danger that presents itself
is in the knowledge that certain inter crops,
such as coffee, tea, tapioca and a few others,
have been found to yield fairly substantial
returns for quite a number of years. We call
this a danger, because of the natural tendency
to continue the minor cultivation when the
well-being of the main crop is being sacrificed
for the sake of the return of the former, of
which many striking instances are often seen,
and it can well be realized how easy it is to
ignore the fact that the above is taking place.

62 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

But as we wish to weigh the merits and the
demerits of the general principle it must, of
course, be assumed that the planter will
eliminate the catch or inter crop at any
expense as soon as he satisfies himself that
the main crop is suffering, no matter how
much his immediate loss may be by so doing,
Granted that he does so, he will then ask
himself, '* Has it been worth the money
expended ? What net profit have I derived
since the inception of the experiment ? "

Whatever the crop happens to be, it is only
the ignorant (granted that the required funds
and labour are available) who fail to give to
it cultivation in some form or another, and
it obviously means a very costly business to
give intensive cultivation to two crops inter-
planted.

It may be considered as a general rule that
catch crops such as coffee receive little or
no attention in the way of cultivation, but are
left to themselves entirely, and that it is quite
usual also to notice instances where coffee as
a catch crop with rubber has been condemned
on account of the soil being supposed unsuit-
able, when it might have given quite a fair

Fig. 30. — Three-and-a-half year old tree in coffee.

Face p. 62.

CATCH AND COVER CROPS 63

return had it received some sort of treatment,
and not been left to fight its way unaided.

Apart from the exhausting properties of
most crops (excepting the leguminosae) the
fact remains that when we decide to establish
a catch or inter crop we are apt to lose sight
of the question of capital cost entailed in so
doing, and also the cost of production.
Additional capital must be put aside for
buildings, 7'ecruiting, medical superintendence
and other general charges. We find that
unless crops can be secured for at least four
Or five years there is little justification for the
above expenditure.

A very important point must be considered
also, and that is the question that what pays the
native to do on a small scale would not, as a
rule, be profitable for the European planter to
embark upon. It is well known that such
crops as tapioca, pine-apples, sisal, lemon or
citronella grass and sugar are most exhausting
to the soil, and could never be thought of as
paying crops for the coco-nut planter.

The Chinese sweet potato is now commonly
seen on European estates, but only as a cover, as
it impoverishes the soil to a very great extent.

64 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

This being the case, such an exhaustive crop
must not be placed by the European planter
in the category of satisfactory catch crops. In
a lesser degree tea and coffee are found (when
cut out to assist in the development of the
main crop) to have left the soil in anything
but a desirable condition, and it is at this
stage that it may be found necessary to have
recourse to artificial manuring. Without wish-
ing to lay down any law in dealing with the
cultivation in the abstract, the two points most
worthy of consideration are these, viz. : (i)
The nature of the soil under cultivation, and
(2) the natural requirements of the tree itself.
Assuming that our soil is not obviously
deficient in the recognized fertilizing ingre-
dients there will also be a certain amount of
material available to be taken advantage of
to avoid unnecessary expenditure on artificial
manure.

The usually accepted constituents of plant
food, viz., nitrates, phosphates, potash and
lime, can be made available on a very large
proportion of the soils in this country, but
as a matter of fact they very seldom are.

From personal observation it seems to us

-Hi

\ -• .V 'l4t • (.ft ■*'« f . 1

;• '#-#r:

1 ■ ■•■' I ^ ;2'^' '^•"*- *!>•• ^*-»

t '>

" ./■ :1#-

Fig. 31. — The same tree (as facing p. 62) a year later.

Face p. 64.

CATCH AND COVER CROPS 65

a most essential point to endeavour to give
as much humus as possible to soils which are
regarded as deficient in this respect, and we
doubt whether green manures have been suffi-
ciently tried with a view to supplying a
remedy.

Constituent parts of any soil can, no doubt,
be determined by analysis, but exactly how to
make these available as food for the plant is
quite another question.

The benefit from keeping the soil in a friable
state by mechanical means or otherwise cannot
be overrated. We fear we are departing
somewhat from the lines of our original dis-
sertation in touching on the subject of man-
uring, either natural or artificial, although it
will be conceded, we think, that catch crops
and manuring are bound to go hand in hand as
it were, and that one is, up to a very important
point, dependent on the other.

Regarding the varieties of crops other than
those already mentioned that can be, and have
been, grown in this and the adjoining tropical
countries, the following are perhaps the best
known : bananas, cocoa, gambier, castor oil,

66 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

ginger, ipecacuanha, indigo, ground nuts, soya
beans.

The last three of these are, of course, well
known as nitrogenous plants, and are for this
reason, therefore, like all their other relations,
greatly to be encouraged. We do not say that
any of these have proved, or are likely to be,
at all remunerative in the way of yielding hard
cash to the planter to enable him to bring his
main crop into bearing at any lower figure ; in
fact, we would not encourage him to plant
any of them with this idea at all.

The first one on the list, bananas, has been
found in some cases to be a success commer-
cially, but not so any of the others. The culti-
vation of bananas amongst young coco-nuts
has shown very excellent results both in
reducing the weeding bill and also in return-
inor to the soil when the stools are cut out
a very valuable amount of moisture and mulch.
This has not, as a rule, been found a very
exhaustive crop, but is found to be a drawback
to thorough superintendence, as the cover
formed is so dense after a few months that
it becomes impossible to have control over the
coolies working in the area.

Fig. 32. — Young Coco-nuts wiih a cover-crop of Sweet Potatoes.

Face p. 6().

-ii^)^!S»ik'>i-*'-

CATCH AND COVER CROPS 67

It will be noticed that we have not disguised
the fact that in our opinion we have yet to find
a catch crop in the true sense of the word
that it will be satisfactory to recommend with
a view to minimizing the cost of production
of coco-nuts, but, as we remarked at the outset,
the question of cover plants, as soon as the
extreme value of them becomes more widely
known, is bound to receive special attention.
The notion has become very prevalent of late
that it is necessary to resort to artificial manures
in order to develop the growth of the tree and
increase the yield therefrom, and this method is
often adopted before it has become an accepted
fact that the plants or trees have failed to
respond to any other kind of and perhaps less
costly treatment.

It is an acknowledged and significant fact
that the green manures sown on poor or used-
up soils are slow to establish themselves, but
once established they should, we think, be the
means of improving the physical conditions
of the soil more effectually and economically
than by the application of artificial stimulus
which may be found necessary to apply at
more frequent intervals and at a higher cost.

68 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

The important principle of cultivation as already
referred to would seem to be the protection
and culture of the feeding roots of the trees,
as a prevention of a check to their growth and
welfare in the time of drought, so that the land
on which a system of tilling and mulching is
practised should, under ordinary conditions, be
capable of holding its own against anything
artificial until, at any rate, the first crop has
been taken off it, while it may prove sufficient
for a considerable number of years. Un-
favourable conditions consequent on a series
of droughts will assuredly mean little short
of ruin to the coco-nut planter.

Let us see what Dr. E. B. Copeland says in
his very interesting treatise on the " Water
Relations of the Coco-nut Palm."

*' The direct checking of the growth of the
young leaves and flowering branches will be
a deficiency in the yield of nuts, beginning not
less than nine months after the drought first
makes itself felt (nine months being about the
minimum time from pollination to maturity)
and ending at least eighteen months after the
drought is broken. The injury to the tree's
vitality during a prolonged drought is so severe

Fig. 33.— Sweet Potatoes (I).

Face p. 68.

CATCH AND COVER CROPS 69

that the return of favourable weather condi-
tions is but slowly followed by the resumption
of the normal activity.

** A tree which through unfavourable con-
ditions has only twenty-five leaves remaining
has not the strength, even under the best
conditions, at once to return to the formation
of new leaves at the rate which is necessary
for the maintenance of thirty. Recovery after
a drought is a building-up process, and it must
be a slow one. It can hardly be complete in
two years and the return to the normal crop
of ripe nuts which can be reduced during
interrupted good seasons can only be well
under way in this time."

For the benefit of those who realize the
above facts, and who are anxious to obtain
the material necessary to bring about the best
results, we would mention the names of the
following plants as being suitable for planting
as green manures (seeds of which can be more
or less easily obtained) which from our
personal knowledge we can state to have given
excellent results : —

Tephrosia Candida^ Tephrosia purpurea.
Mimosa pudica, Mucuna speciosa, Centrosema

70 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

plumieri, Desmodium tortusum, Crotolaria
striata, Canavalia ensiformis, Clitoria cajani-
folia.

There are, of course, a great many other
varieties, but we think that a selection from
the above list will meet the ordinary case.
One of which we have the chemical analysis
(and for this we are indebted to Mr. Kelway
Bamber of Ceylon) is the Tephrosia Candida^
or Boga medelloa, and we are glad to be able
to publish it as showing the extreme value of
the prunings either wet or dry.

All these plants have a special value inas-
much as they not only collect the amount of
nitrogen sufficient to stimulate the tree, but in
doing so they make it the more capable of
taking up the other necessary ingredients,
such as potash and phosphates, which are
found so abundantly in the decayed leaves and
stems ; even without a chemical analysis of
the soil we cannot dispute the fact that con-
siderable supplies of both potash and phos-
phoric acid are withdrawn in the building up
of the leaf and stem.

Fig. 34.— Sweet Potatoes (II).

Face p. 70.

CATCH AND COVER CROPS 71

Analysis of Tephrosia Candida or Boga
medelloa.

The samples of leaves and stems were partly
withered when received, so that the moisture
in the growing plant could not be estimated.
The figures given in the ** Green Plant " are
those calculated on the moisture found at the
time of analysis, and this was probably about
20 per cent, lower than it would be in the
growing plant ; the percentages given are
higher in this proportion than would be found
in the plant when growing or immediately
after cutting. The leaves and stems were
analysed separately and gave the following
figures : —

Chemical Analysis, supplied by Mr. Kelway Bamber,

OF Ceylon.

Leaves Stems

T., r,^^o„ I" plant T„ „^„„„ In plant

nint dried ^"^"" dried

P'^"^ at 100" C. P'^"* at 100° C.

Moisture 54*53 — 14 "06 —

Organic matter ... 42-86 94*27 82*37 95'85

Ash i-6i 573 3'57 4-15

99'oo 100 '00 loo'oo loo.'oo

Containing nitrogen 2*03 4*47 171 i'qq

11 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Analysis

OF Ash.

Leaves

Stems

Oxide of iron, FcgOg

0-24

0*70

Oxide of manganese, MNO.

0-14

Trace

Lime, CaO

17-69

14-47

Magnesia, MgO

4-61

4*67

Potash, KgO

21*17

32*89

Soda, NaaO

978

4*22

Sodium chloride, NaCl . .

4'47

9*54

Phosphoric acid, PgOg

8-10

11*00

Carbonic acid, CO 2

io-o6

13*97

Sulphuric acid, SO 3...

4-15

4*35

Silica, SiOg

19*66

4*47

100*07

100*28

Calculating the percentages found in the ash
with the corresponding figures for the green
plant and the dry plant the following are the
complete analyses : —

Leaves

Stems

Green plant

Dried at
ioo»C.

Green plant

Dried at
100° C.

Moisture ...

54*53

—

14*06

—

Organic matter ...

42-86

94*27

82*37

95-85

Oxide of iron -

Trace

0*02

0*03

Oxide of manganese

Trace

Lime

0-46

I -01

0-51

o*6o

Magnesia

0*12

0-26

0-17

0*19

Potash

0-56

1-23

1*17

1*36

Soda

0*26

0-56

0-15

017

Sodium chloride ...

0*12

0*26

o*34

0-39

Phosphoric acid ...

0*21

0*46

o*39

0-46

Carbonic acid

0*26

0*58

0*50

0-58

Sulphuric acid

oil

0*24

2*l6

o-i8

Silica

0*51

113

o-i6

0*19

lOO'OO

2 03

lOO-CX)

I00*0O

1-71

ICO'OO

Containing nitrogen

4*47

1*99

>
o
U

Face p, 72.

^
^

Follow 35.

CATCH AND COVER CROPS 73

This shows that every i,ooo lb. of fresh
^reen manure from this plant supplies the
equivalent in nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and
potash to about : —

400 lb. castor cake
10 ,, bone meal
10 ,, sulphate of potash

and every 1,000 lb. of the prunings free from
moisture are equivalent to about : —

900 lb. castor cake
20 ,, bone meal
25 „ sulphate of potash

These figures compare very favourably with
those published in the Royal Botanic Gar-
dens Circular, from analysis of various green
manures. The leaves are higher in nitrogen
than any except dadaps, which are given at
478 per cent, on the dry material, and if this
plant gives as large a weight of green material
per acre it will prove a very valuable green
manure.

'* Colombo Commercial Co., Ltd.,

'' Analysts.
*' April I, 1910.

*' The plants sown early in October, 1909,

cut at 2 ft. and weighed gave 2 2|- lb., which

planted 6 by 6 equals 13,590 lb. per acre in

74 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

less than six months. One plant sown in
1907, which had been cut in 1908 and 1909
(July) was cut at 2 ft. 6 in. and weighed 73 lb.,
or, deducting wood, 50 lb. Planted 8 ft. by
8 ft. this equals 34,000 lb. per acre, and this
would represent about 300 to 340 lb. of
nitrogen largely obtained from the air.

'' {Signed) M. K. B amber."

The **Mascate" Bean (Mucuna), or
Velvet Bean,

which probably originated in Arabia, is
known by some people by the name of
'' Mucuna."

In spite of all our researches we have never
found any indication where this bean came
from. Nobody knows by whom or at what
period it was introduced. Its existence in
Mauritius seems to go back as far as the
eighteenth century.

As Mr. Desbassyne states, it is quite excel-
lent for rotation of crops ; like all the legu-
minous plants, this must be preferably planted
during the rainy season, and there are here
three varieties of this bean, the white, the
mottled, and black*, this last variety also has

T^ ?N

>
o
U

Face p. 74.

CATCH AND COVER CROPS 75

the name of the black bean. From the point
of view of agriculture this plant gives excellent
results. It is very robust, and forms a true,
thick covering on the surface of the ground,
hindering the inroad of bad weeds.

Its cultivation is very easy. It is sufficient
to put the pockets a yard apart, and to sow
in them two or three seeds. It spreads
very rapidly, the foliage is large, affording a
covering to the ground for two years at least,
and produces seed in great quantity. Its big
foliage allows this plant to collect more
nitrogen, and places it in the first rank
amongst beans for covering as much by its
abundant productivity as by the fertilizing
elements which it contains.

We shall see later on, in the table giving
the percentage of nitrogenous matter to the
dry matter of the green forage, that the black
bean contains 25 per cent, more nitrogenous
matter compared with the best leguminous
plant known.

Seeds collected serve as a food for cattle,
and the stems and leaves are trenched in rows
through the plantation. They could also be
used as forage, and would be very good on

76 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

account of the high percentage of protein.
The pod, which contains 6 1 per cent, of seed,
is composed as follows : —

The pod itself

The seed

Entire fruit

Water

523

6*10

11-33

Mineral matter ...

1-50

1-87

3-37

Cellulose

1271

378

16-49

Fatty matter

0-28

178

2-o6

Non - nitrogenous

material

i8-io

32-68

50-78

Nitrogen ...

i-i8

1479
6i-oo

15-97

^goo

100-00

Canavalia ensiformis (or Sword Bean).

Pois sabre is a plant which came to us from
India and derived its name from the Tamil
word '* Canavali." It is supposed that immi-
grants coming from India were responsible
for the introduction of it into Mauritius.
It is a bush of which the green pod makes
an excellent edible vegetable.

In one of the last reports M. Boname has
brought to light all the advantages that can be
taken or made of this plant. The facility with
which it can be grown and its productiveness
give to it considerable importance, both as a
fertilizer and an economic plant. M. Boname

Fig. 38. — Cover Plant, Tephrosia purpurea (11).

Face p. 76.

CATCH AND COVER CROPS

tells us that from a nutritive point of view the
seeds of the sword bean ought to be classed
amongst the fine leguminous plants, and it is
not to be wondered at that they are used as a
very valuable food for cattle.

Seeds Husks

Water

14-18

13-33

Mineral matters

3-41

6-31

Cellulose

8-93

4875

Fatty matter

2-28

0-16

Saccharine

5-30

Non-nitrogenous material

41-88

26-45

Nitrogenous material ...

24-02

4-40

lOO'OO

QQ'40

This is the approximate composition of the
dry pods as given by M. Boname.

As a fertilizing plant the sword bean is a
very important one : it offers every advantage
where plantations are in regular lines, for it
is a shrub whose branches do not extend to
any great distance, and its abundant growth
furnishes a high percentage of nitrogen per
acre. One experiment showed the green
material to amount to as much as 15 tons to
the acre. From the point of fertilizing the
soil, M. Boname recommends that it should be
dug in when in full flower, that is to say, at

1% GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

the time when the plant has stored up the
maximum amount of nitrogen.

The Canavalia ensiformis and the ** Mu-
cuna " will, perhaps, when known, become the
most popular here on account of the rapidity
with which they are able to be established.
They are both well known in other tropical
countries, especially in Mauritius, where the
Agricultural Department has made a study of
the Leguminosse for years past. Both can
be seen growing in one of the writer's experi-
mental plantations.

Previous to sowing the seed the land should
be prepared and weeded as clean as possible.
The beans, which much resemble the ordinary
English broad bean, should be sown about
3 ft. apart and not more than i in. below
the surface. The Canavalia can be planted
close to the coco-nut trees, as it has not the
same tendency to climb as the Mucuna, which
spreads with remarkable rapidity in the rainy
season, and must therefore be kept at a reason-
able distance from the trees. The seeds, if
soaked in water for a night previous to planting,
germinate in forty-eight hours, and planted at
the distance recommended above both develop

>
o
U

Face p. 78.

'^?^BK

CATCH AND COVER CROPS 79

into a complete cover in about a month or
six weeks, so that it should only be necessary
to give two or three weedings to the land after
putting in the cover plant.

It must not, however, be imagined that the
planter has now reached the haven where he
would be, and that his life will no longer be
burdened with thoughts of how money can
best be saved on general upkeep ; on the
contrary, he will find that some of these beans
run to seed in about eight months from planting
and then the whole plant dies back. It is
then necessary to keep on replanting if the
above described beans are favoured ; in fact,
this will have to be considered in all cases
when dealing with the Papilionaceae.

We recommend that all of the three families
of leguminous plants be tried, as it is far from
easy to recommend any one variety as being
suitable to all conditions and classes of soil.

From experiments we have made and seen
there is no doubt that Tephrosia Candida
is very hard to beat, the only drawback com-
pared to the bean family being that it takes
longer to establish ; more than twice as long,
so that it is not so economical at the com-
mencement.

80 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

It should be realized from the start that all
these plants take little or no trouble to estab-
lish on soils that do not require them, but
want a good deal of encouragement on those
that are deficient in nitrates ; illustrating
another instance that there can be no royal
road to successful cultivation. It would only-
be harmful to cover up peat soils with anything
nitrogenous or otherwise, as it is obvious that
in dealing with this class of soil the first
principle is to neutralize the humid acid and
give every possible opportunity of ventilation.

With the idea of economy, temptations often
arise to grow cover plants other than the
Leguminosae because they are sometimes of
specially rapid growth.

Such plants as passifiora and the ordinary
sweet potatoes should only be tried under
exceptional conditions mentioned elsewhere.

The passifiora, although very heating and
deleterious to the soil, is by far the quickest
to establish, and has proved in" many instances
to be of incalculable value, but although it is
recognized that a cover of this sort may, as a
rule, reduce considerably the monthly weeding
bill, there can be no doubt that preference

1i * "v

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^t^i-

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. S.RM

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^^i^.-^i n^-i'^

'<n

-i

■i ''•

- .:^P'?*^i':4

i.M^y

■'^

-3|^^-#r-vv- ,-r^i^^ -^^ ■ - Ji

'\ ^^

1..

S^..l, ■;:-v>^' ^

^^fflj

ic^rasi

^^m

»)

^■enB^Hia

'•'K»

K -^^/^'SV^:^'

■■'■■ .'j^:

B^ ^j

^^M^^kf^n^^HjS

■*>». ■ / ■

K--^^'

1— rri

'SVK'iOiB

^ Kg .m

o
U

Face p. 80.

o
U

Follow 40.

>
o
U

Fellow 42,

Follow 43.

CATCH AND COVER CROPS 81

must be given to a nitrogenous plant if it can
be procured and established at a nominal cost.
Should the potato creeper be employed little
harm is done to the soil so long as it is realized
that the creeper must be kept well away from
the feeding roots of the tree, also that peri-
odical forking or digging round the tree is
a necessity.

This work, which is imperative for the
satisfactory development of the palms, involves
an amount of expense which is not called for
where a nitrogen-producing plant is employed.

CHAPTER IX.

GATHERING AND STORING THE

CROPS.

When the trees come into bearing it is the
usual custom to collect the ripe nuts every two
months ; in other words, there are usually six
collections in the year. When the trees are
not too high for the purpose, the common
practice is to remove the nuts by means of a
** parang '' or knife attached to a pole, and
there can be little doubt that this is by far the
cheapest method of collecting the product. It
must however be remembered that the greatest
caution has to be taken (owing to the fact that
the nuts on each spathe only ripen gradually)
to see that there are no unripe nuts on the
bunch that is being cut away. The importance
of this is sufficiently evident, as nuts which
are less than three-quarters ripe are quite
useless for any purpose other than for drinking ;
any attempt to use them for making copra
would prove very prejudicial to the output.

^•;p: -.%

■ -.-5(ii.>'-*:

tv^ijenf^Sffr^j

^-^i*^-..- ^-^>^ :}

Fig. 45. — Two palms in good bearing, both propagated from the one seed.

Face p. 82.

Fig. 46. — Ideal foliage on a young tree.
With a heavy crop supported naturally by its own fronds, without necessity of staking.

Follow 45.

GATHERING AND STORING THE CROPS 83

The trees having gained a height of over
50 ft. it is better in our opinion always to
employ what are known as " coco-nut collec-
tors " for the purpose. These pickers climb
the trees until they reach the top, and being
in close proximity to the fruit they have no
difficulty in detecting the ripe from the unripe
nuts, in fact, this is so much in evidence that
they will only remove perhaps one or two
from one bunch, leaving the other nuts
remaining not being matured till the next
picking. Another great advantage to be
gained by this process of collecting is that
the coolie is able at the same time to search
the tree for beetles, and should he find any,
immediately destroy them. It is not often
realized to what extent damage can be done
to the tree by rough handling in the process
of picking crop, and sometimes one almost
wonders whether in the long run it would
not be more profitable to allow the ripe
nuts to fall and be collected from the oround
only. For the benefit of the tree there is no
question about this being the right thing to
do, but there are other points to be considered.
Loss from theft is quite heavy enough as it

84 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

is. and would certainly increase to an extent
that it would be extremely difficult to estimate
were the above method a matter of regular
practice. This might be done on a small place,
but would undoubtedly prove unworkable on a
large area.

It should be mentioned also that the climb-
ing of the high trees is only possible on a
fairly dry day. In the wet weather the trunk
becomes too slippery to allow of the coolie
scaling the tree up to a necessary height.

The coir substance which clings to the stem
intermingled amongst the leaves and spathes
should be on no account interfered with, as
it assists in retaining the moisture around
the cabbage from which the leaves and fruit
emanate and so proves beneficial to its pro-
ductive powers.

As the nuts are being collected they should
be thrown or gathered together in heaps and
the husks removed before being taken to the
store or place of manufacture into copra. The
benefits derived from the procedure are the
saving of transport and also that the husks
may be used for mulching purposes. There
are some estates where the coco-nuts are

f n:. 47— Staking. One method of preventing crop from young tree falling
to the ground prematurely.

Face p. S4.

Fig. 48.- -Picking Coco-nuts.

Follow 47.

GATHERING AND STORING THE CROPS 85

floated down to the store by canals, in which
case the husks are retained, as the numerous
drains and volume of water allow of this, and
it means a very cheap method of transport, but
we think that under the above conditions it
might be possible to make use of light boats
or rafts, as the husks, either in solid form or as
ashes if utilized as fuel for the drying-kiln, have
to be returned to the soil whence they came,
and of course under no circumstances whatever
should the husks be allowed to leave the estate,
excepting in the case of seed nuts for planting,
in which event a price must be charged
proportionate to the amount of value lost.

The idea of allowing any husks to be floated
away and lost is inconceivable when it is
realized what the amount of loss to the
estate is by so doing.

A glance at Mr. Cochran's analysis on page
88 will show the amount of material that can
be utilized, and should prove conclusively that
there can be no justification for employing
any method other than that of leaving the
husks in the field, where, no matter how rich
the soil may appear to be, the trees will require
every bit of it later on.

86 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

The best way of utilizing these husks will
be described in the chapter on manuring.
Assuming that the average weight of a coco-
nut with the husk is 3J lb., the weight of the
husk alone will be at least ij lb., so that the
calculation regarding the amount of bulk taken
from each acre is quite a simple one when we
have estimated our output at 2,000 nuts to the
acre per annum.

Experiments go to prove conclusively the
advantages in the out-turn into copra of allow-
ing nuts to remain unhusked for two or
three weeks after gathering. What are often
considered immature nuts will in a month s
time give an out-turn into copra showing
at least 10 per cent, more weight than when
they were gathered.

It may be interesting here to note some
of the changes that take place during the
ripening of the nuts.

The young fruit is solid up to 3 or 4 in.
in diameter, subsequently a hollow space is
noticeable, and a thin shell is formed which
gradually develops into something thicker and
harder. Nothing much in the way of a kernel
is noticed until the nut has reached practically

Fig. 49. ^Transport of Coco-nuls by Main Estate Drain.

Kace p. 86

Fig. 50. — Transporting Coco nuts by Road.

Follow ^g.

GATHERING AND STORING THE CROPS 87

its maximum size. After the proper formation
of the shell the transformation from the slimy,
glutinous substance to the well-known coco-
nut meat is fairly quick.

It is universally observed how that the
hardening process in the meat continues for
some time after the ripe nuts are gathered,
practically up to the time the sprout makes
its appearance ; after that, quite another
metamorphosis occurs. The embryo first
noticeable at the foot of the sprout gradually
enlarges until the whole cavity inside the nut
is full. The embryo continues to feed for the
benefit of the young plant on what is left.
Now the tree is able to fight its way unaided.

Conclusions arrived at from individual tests
made show that under normal conditions the
time from the blossom to the mature nut may
be reckoned at about eleven months.

Photographs of nuts at various stages of
development will, we think, be of interest inas-
much as they should serve as a guide when
one of the most difficult questions arises, viz.,
the estimating of the crop.

We shall suppose that planters get forty nuts
per tree per annum. Each tree will, at this

88 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

rate of production, remove from the soil in
copra in two years : —

Nitrogen 0*4488 lb.

Potash 0*0272 „

Phosphoric acid 0*1876 „

It is necessary, however, to take into account
the fertilizing ingredients removed from the
soil in the husk, the shell and the milk of the
ripe nut.

The following analyses show that : —

1,000 husks each weighing 1*789 lb.
1,000 shells „ ,, o*666 „
Milk 500 ,,

remove from the soil : —

Nitrogen 2*6618 lb.

Potash 13*4706 „

Phosphoric acid 0*6420 ,,

Adding the above to the quantities found in
the poonac, we get the amount of nitrogen,
potash, and phosphoric acid removed from the
soil in two years by a crop of forty nuts per
tree per annum : —

Nitrogen 0*6607 lb.

Potash 1*3497 .•

Phosphoric acid 0*2350 „

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ow 51.

CHAPTER X.
MANURING.

When it is necessary to apply artificial
manure, this matter has to be very carefully
considered on account of the cost, as without a
compensating return there is really no advan-
tage to be gained. For this reason as long as
vegetable manures will serve the purpose of
obtaining regular and good average crops from
the trees (as may often be found the case on
rich soil for a good number of years) the
necessity of going to the expense of buying
artificial manures can probably be put off for a
very considerable period, more especially if
cow dung and fish manures are to be obtained
near by and on reasonable terms. In saying
this, however, it must also be borne in mind
that in stiff and poor soils the application of
artificial manures is often absolutely necessary,
and when the trees in this class of land fall off
in yield this is practically the only means of

90 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

bringing the trees into a good healthy condi-
tion again, and of enabling the plantation to
make a profitable return. We know also that
for anything like a large area cattle manure in
sufficient quantities is rarely obtainable. In
the use of artificial manures the nature of the
soil should first be ascertained in order that
the mixture may contain the special ingredi-
ents in the right proportions that are most
suitable for the land in question, and are there-
fore likely to give the best results. Another
thing that has to be remembered is that a poor
and weak tree or a young one does not require
so much of the artificial manure as a well
grown and more healthy tree. A better plan
is to give the weakly tree less at a time, and
then a little more perhaps nine months later
when its improved condition and vitality can
partake of a further amount and benefit thereby.
Continuing on this subject the chief points to
be taken into account are as follows : —

(i) The nature of the soil under cultivation ;
(2) the natural requirements of the tree itself
Assuming therefore that the soil is not alto-
gether deficient in the recognized fertilizing
ingredients required for its successful growth

Fig. 53. — Illustration showing the dis'ance from the tree at which the
circle is made for mulching and manuring.

Face p. ^o.

MANURING 91

and yield, there will generally be found enough
material available that may be taken advantage
of without incurring unnecessary expenditure
in artificial manures, at least for a good
number of years after the trees actually come
into bearing.

It is certainly our opinion that there should
be on every large plantation a herd of cattle
for grazing and other purposes, and in the
ordinary )yay the cow dung obtained there-
from will go a long way towards manuring the
trees. Mixed with salt it can be applied in the
following proportions to a full-grown matured
tree : a quarter of a cart load of manure to
one gantang of salt, while advantage may be
taken to do some mulching at the same time.

The system of manuring recommended is
as follows : a trench to be dug half round
the tree, about 15 in. in width and say i ft
in depth, close to the extremity of the feeding
roots some 6 ft. to 8 ft. from the base of the
stem. The trench may be left open for a
time, then the manure filled in and the soil
that has been excavated replaced. The
following year the other half of the tree may,
if found advisable, be treated in a similar

92 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

manner. The alternative method of spreading
the manure at the place required and then
forking it in is every bit as good. The area
thus treated should be covered up in every
case with a mulch.

Fish manure, when it can be obtained in
good quantities and at a reasonable cost, is
strongly to be recommended.

There are two precautions which must be
taken when applying rich fertilizer;? : the first
is that it should always be used as sparingly
as possible, the reason being that on subsequent
occasions after the effects are wearing off it
will be found that to obtain the same results
a larger amount of the manure is required until
the treatment becomes almost prohibitive on
account of the increased cost.

Before proceeding further, it is necessary
to touch upon the all important question of
applying lime to all classes of soil. We have
spoken about our green manures, our mulch
and so on, and we have stated in a previous
chapter that the soils we have mostly to deal
with are of a stiff type. We are assuming also
that no land is chosen for coco-nut growing
where liming would have to be discussed until

Fig. 54. — Covering the Green Mulch with Coco-nut leaves.

Face p. 9 1.

MANURING 93

the fruiting stage, or in other words no land that
was devoid of humus or failed to respond to
treatment by green manuring.

It is naturally at the yielding stage or soon
after that the question of liming would be
likely to require serious discussion, excepting,
of course, on a certain class of peaty soils
where a large proportion of humic acid is
found, but we do not advise anyone to plant
coco-nuts on land requiring drastic remedial
measures.

The action which lime has on hard soils
is well known, and it is remarkable in how
short a space of time after application favour-
able results are shown. Food for the plant
which may be there all the time is often
incapable of being taken up until the
ingredients necessary are set free, and every
agriculturist knows that being able to create
these conditions is one of the most important
advantages that lime possesses.

On ordinary soils the action of lime is
mostly physical, but the application of it
requires more or less careful working out.

As to the quantity required per acre this
will depend upon whether the treatment is

94 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

considered necessary over the whole area, or
only in wide circles around each tree. If
applied with the object of rendering a hard
soil friable the ground must be turned over
previously, and the lime well forked in.

Encouraging results have been shown by
adopting this method round the trees, keeping
well outside what are generally known as the
feeding roots. In this way about lo or 12 lb.
of lime to each tree will be sufficient, and
the forked area should be covered up with
dead leaves, or any other mulch that happens
to be available. If required to be spread over
the whole area so that the texture of the soil
may be uniform, ploughing or harrowing is
recommended and the quantity of lime to the
acre may be anything from i to 2 tons.

When it is found necessary to apply artificial
manure, liming should go hand in hand with
it in order that the soil may be in a better
condition for the rapid absorption of the fer-
tilizing ingredients. This applies to every
class of soil.

There can be little doubt that the full
complement of leaf and branch is the primary
object to be aimed at, and this being so the

Fig. 55. — Ideal Method of Mounding Trees with Soil from
" Scupper " Drains.

Face

p. 94.

MANURING 95

strongest stimulant to the tree for this purpose
is nitrogen. Amongst Mr. W. S. Lyons'
remarks in Farmer's Bulletin No. 8 of Manila,
the following is deserving of great apprecia-
tion : ** That the coco-nut is able to take up
large quantities of salt may not be disputed.
That the character of its root is such as to
enable it to do so without the injury that
would occur to most cultivated plants I have
previously shown, whilst the history of the
coco-nut's inland career and the records of
agricultural chemistry both conclusively point
to the fact that its presence is an incident that
in no way contributes to the health, vigour,
or fruitfulness of the tree.

*' When it comes to the specific application
of manures, and how to make the most of our
resources, we shall have to turn back to the
analysis of the nut, and note that relatively
to other crops it makes but small demand for
nitrogen ; at the same time it must not be
forgotten that these chemical determinations
only refer to the fruit, and with the present
incomplete data and lack of investigation of
the constituent parts of the roots, stem, leaf,
and branch, we have nothing to guide us but

96 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

what we may infer from the behaviour of the
plant and its relationship to plants of long
deferred cultivation, the application of a gen-
erous supply of stimulating nitrogen during
its early career and the gradual substitution in
later life of manures in which the potash and
phosphoric acid (particularly the former pre-
dominate) are necessary."

In returning to the soil the fertilizing in-
gredients removed by the crop, we touched in a
previous chapter upon the importance of
preserving the husks for the above purpose,
and we demonstrated it by analysis. There
are several methods of utilizing the husks ;
they can be burned in the field, buried in pits
or trenches, or placed in circles round the
trees. There is no doubt that by burying
we get the most for our money in the
shortest time, and where labour is available
there is no doubt about its being the right
thing to do. Although the process is far from
being a cheap one, as compared with the appli-
cation of cattle manure, or the trenching of
green manures, we distinctly advise it where
practicable.

The husks act as very valuable retainers

Fk;. 56. — Mulching with Coco-nut husks.

Face p. 96.

MANURING 97

of moisture when placed one by one and over-
lapping each other, concave side downwards,
on the surface of the soil, at a point where
the tree is most likely to suffer from lack of
moisture during a long spell of dry weather.
It is by no means an uncommon thing to
come across obstinate cases where trees, having
passed by many years the average bearing
stage, fail to show any sign of productiveness ;
for the treatment of these there are a good
many recipes and, perhaps, the most efficacious
have been handed down to us by the natives.
In almost every instance drastic treatment
would appear to be necessary, and the more
severe the shock is to the tree the more
quickly it seems to gratefully respond ; and
however paradoxical it may sound, there is
no getting away from the fact, in the face of
the many concrete instances that we have seen,
that either severe scorching by a fire made
right up to the stem, by ring-barking, or
laying bare the roots and exposing them to
the atmosphere or even the hottest sun and
driest weather does bring about in the case of
many stubborn trees the most extraordinarily
beneficial results.
7

98 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

We recollect an instance where the first
mentioned drastic measure was employed on
a tree nineteen years old : a large fire was made
to windward of ^the tree and quite close to the
trunk ; there was a high wind blowing at the
time, so strong, in fact, that pieces of the trunk
were not only charred but completely burned
away,

In two years' time this tree was bearing
well, and was in full bearing within four years
after the burn, having received no other kind
of special treatment.

• Ring-barking is well known to have had in
certain cases a marked stimulating effect upon
the trees of the monocotyledon tribe, and we
ourselves have observed striking instances of
the effect that this rough treatment has had
on trees to which every other kind of gentle
manipulation had been previously given for
the purpose of encouraging them to yield.

Thorough aeration of the roots, almost to
the starving point, has been known in obstinate
cases to prove as satisfactory a remedy as any
of those above mentioned.

It must, however, be clearly understood
that when 7 or 8 per cent, of your trees fail

3
J=

3
C

6
o

o
U

Face p. q8.

MANURING 99

to give any crop when the rest of them are
normally producing, it will not of necessity be
expedient to fly at once to the above remedies.
The seat of the trouble is likely sometimes
to be in unhealthy or immature seed, but not
being gifted with the power of vision into
the unknown, it is doubtful if those posing as
experts (which certainly we are not) would
care to express a definite opinion on this.
Still, as a matter of fact, it is more the rule
than the exception to see a plantation in full
bearing in which at least one or two trees to
the acre are barren, but it becomes, after some
years of watching the caprices and eccen-
tricities of the palm, fairly easy to determine
whether or not the tree is existing under con-
genial conditions, and whether all ordinary
steps have been taken to ensure its well-being.

It is not until every other remedy has been
tried that it can possibly be necessary to have
recourse to violent handling such as described
above.

It has been found by analysis that cattle
dung is the best manure, because it contains
in the right proportion the various necessary
plant foods, viz., nitrogen, potash, and phos-
phoric acid.

100 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

It is these constituents, therefore, that have
to be applied in an available form by artificial
means when other methods are impractic-
able.

The only practical means of determining
what chemicals are required, and in what
proportions, is by an analysis of the soil and
when this task is to be undertaken it is of all
importance that samples should be got from
different parts of the estate. The depth from
which these samples must be taken will
naturally vary according to the amount of
humus on the surface of the land — assuming
that we are wishing to treat soils that are
devoid of humus, samples should be drawn
from holes cut to a depth of not less than
2 ft., and 3 lb. to 4 lb. will be sufficient for each
sample.

It must be remembered that clay soils are
very often quite rich in fertilizing ingredients,
and only require " working up " to be made
normally active.

Basic slag must be recognized as one of the
most useful artificial manures, inasmuch as it
contains 15 to 18 per cent, of phosphoric acid
and 50 per cent, of lime ; and for the other

JL :., j

1 VI

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Face p. 100.

MANURING 1 01

ingredients, kainit and bone meal, or casto7^cake
(when the proportions are discovered) are
likely to meet all requirements for coco-nut
trees, either young or in bearing.

After all orrass and weeds have been re-
moved within a circle about the same as the
leaf radius of the tree, a circular trench should
be dug not less than 6 ft. or 7 ft. from the stem of
the palm when mature trees are being treated.

Having well mixed the manure apportioned
to each tree with any good soil handy, or with
that removed from the trenches, the trench is
filled in with the mixture, and covered over
with old leaves, husks, or whatever mulch is
available. The manure can also be sprinkled
broadcast and forked in. We consider the
former method preferable. As regards the
quantity of mixture required for each tree,
about 10 lb. to 12 lb. is usually recommended.

It will be found that, including purchase of
manure and the cost of application, the sum
required will work out at somewhere in the
neighbourhood of $20 per acre.

The following, coming from Mr. Kelway
Bamber, of Ceylon, cannot fail, we think, to
be of interest to our readers : " It had been

102 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

estimated by Lepine and others that a thirty-
year old coco-nut palm formed 2,240 lb. (or i
ton) of organic matter during that period of
growth, and absorbed from the soil from 228 to
320 lb. of ash or mineral matter, consisting
chiefly of potash salts, phosphate of lime, and
other lime salts, with a small proportion of
sodium chloride and silica. The greater
portion of the potash and phosphate of lime
was to be found in the leaves, or about 56 per
cent. ; most of that was returned to the soil
when the leaves dropped off, and it showed the
importance of utilizing the mineral matter in
the fallen leaves to the best advantage. Much
of the potash, but little of the phosphate of lime,
was to be found in the immature fallen nuts,
and there again the advisability of utilizing
them as a manure was indicated. The amount
of mineral matter estimated to be removed
from the soil by one acre of coco-nut palms
annually, at sixty-two palms to the acre, was
said to be: salt 52 lb., potash salts 321 lb.,
phosphate of lime 194 lb., carbonate and sul-
phate of lime 140 lb., magnesia 2 lb., and
silica 28 lb. — a total of ']i^ lb. The leaves
and 'fruit removed most (370 lb. and 250 lb.

MANURING 103

respectively), whilst the trunks utilized 70 lb.
and the remainder 47 lb.

"Those fio^ures show the importance of
including a good proportion of lime, potash,
and phosphoric acid in a manure mixture even
for the growth of the palm, especially if the
soils were deficient in those constituents.'

104

CHAPTER XI.
CURING COPRA FOR MARKET.

Husking, Splitting, x\nd Drying.

The well-known method of treatment pre-
paratory to drying requires little description.

Our illustrations show the method usually
employed, viz., that of removing the outside
husk with a sharp-pointed, spear-like instru-
ment fixed firmly in the ground.

Machinery has been devised to deal with
large quantities, but has not so far proved an
unqualified success owing to the variation in
the form and size of the nuts.

A coolie can treat by hand anything between
600 and 1,000 in an ordinary working day.
We have seen Javanese in Sumatra do 1,000
quite easily, and a Chinese coolie on contract
will finish 1,500.

The usual practice on an estate where
routine work is being carried on is to allow
so many coolies to 2,000, 4,000, or whatever

tu9

13
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o

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C3N

Face p.

104.

a.
o

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.5

Follow 59.

Fig. 6i.— Drying Kiln, showing furnace and adjustable roof.

Follow 60.

•73
Pi

c
c

Follow 6 1

Follow 62.

CURING COPRA FOR MARKET 105

amount of nuts the drier is built to deal with
at one time. These coolies do the husking,
splitting, and transport to the factory, the
number varying in accordance with the dis-
tance from field to curing place.

As copra can only be satisfactorily sun-
dried during a few months in the year it is
hardly necessary to set out here the advan-
tages or otherwise of the process.

Artificial driers are now almost universally
employed on European estates, and are
capable of turning out the finished article to
the complete satisfaction of local buyers all
over the Straits.

The native method of curing on raised
platforms made with slats of wood or bamboo,
with a fireplace underneath, and a roofing
overhead to keep the rain off, is good in its
way because, if uniformly smoked by the
creosote from the shells, husks, or whatever
fuel is used, the copra is not so liable to take
on mould even in the wet weather. But this
principle cannot be put forward as the correct
one, as it has been proved the result is a copra
containing up to lO per cent, of moisture, and
this would not be so acceptable to the buyers

106 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

if shipped to Europe, not only on account of
its colour, but also the amount of decomposi-
tion by bacteria that is nearly always apparent
in most copra, i.e., with anything more than
5 per cent, water in it if kept for any length of
time before the oil is expressed from it. It is
therefore important to reduce the percentage
of moisture to as low a point as possible, and
this can be done either by kiln, rotary, hot-air
or vacuum drying. The demand for a pure
white copra becoming, as it is, stronger every
day in European markets, it is necessary that
when an estate is coming to the producing
stage every inquiry should be made regarding
an apparatus that is likely to give the greatest
satisfaction.

Our illustrations show some of the kilns
which are freely used, and the barbecues em-
ployed for the final drying in the sun. When
the process of splitting is finished, the nuts
which are now in two halves should be im-
mediately placed in the kiln ; unless this is
strictly adhered to, and should any rain be
allowed to fall on the kernel, the result is
certain to be a copra of a bad colour, and in
which a considerable amount of mould will be
visible.

CURING COPRA FOR MARKET 107

By the same token the nuts, after being
husked, must on no account be left in the sun
for any length of time before being split open.
The two operations must invariably take place
on the same day, as if the husked nuts are
allowed to split open by themselves as they
will do if exposed to the sun, a mouldy and
dirty sample of copra is bound to be the
result.

From the time that the split nuts are placed
in the kiln to the time that the kernel is able
to be easily separated from the shell nine or
ten hours are required if subjected to a
temperature of 140° F.

A kiln constructed with flues and baffle
plates is a necessity to ensure proper distribu-
tion of heat.

The kernel, after being separated from the
shell, is removed from the kiln, and . spread
out on barbecues, provided with roofing which
can be opened or shut according to the
weather conditions prevailing. Illustrations
show two of these barbecues, both of which
serve the purpose.

Four days average must be allowed for the
final drying, so that barbecue space has to be

108 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

provided for accordingly. Barbecues should
on no account be made of cement, or placed
on ground level whatever their construction
is. There should invariably be a space under-
neath to allow for a free current of air.

This very important point is often apt to
be lost siorht of.

Assuming that we have an estate of t,ooo
acres in bearing it is producing, we hope : —

Nuts to

In its first year of yielding

^, Total nuts

the acre

500 (500,000)

1,000 (1,000,000)
1,250 (1,250,000)
1,500 (1,500,000)
2,000 (2,000,000)

„ second year

,, third year ...

,, fourth year

,, fifth year ...

SO that, taking two hundred and fifty working
days in the year, one kiln capable of holding
2,000 nuts would be sufficient. In the second
year two kilns of the same dimensions and
so on. •

Drying on the barbecues takes place more
quickly if the meat is cut up into small pieces,
and as this process has to be gone through
in any case prior to bagging and shipment,
it is better to do it as soon as the kernels
leave the kiln.

For the brick-kiln in our illustration no

o
X

Face. p. lo2.

CURING COPRA FOR MARKET 109

other fuel excepting the coco-nut shells is
necessary, and on this account where a saving
in firewood, &c., is such a very great point
the kiln in question has very strong recom-
mendations. Of course the coolie who is in
charge of the furnace will demonstrate almost
to the Doint of conviction that firewood is a
necessity, but with this type of kiln it is
absolutely not so ; constant application to the
fire of small quantities of shell (not husk) is
a thing a coolie does not, as a rule, believe in,
as it robs him of a certain amount of tranquil
repose which he considers himself entitled to.
We know of one place where several of
these kilns are in constant use, and not a stick
of firewood is ever required. It is well to
realize that copra after being sold in a local
market is very often mixed and quoted as
such in the market reports. There being no
real standard quality, no economy can be
effected by sending to the market consign-
ments up to Exhibition samples, which cost
a higher rate to produce, but the tables are
completely turned when it comes to a question
of curing for the European or American
market.

no GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

The price at which coco-nut butter has
recently been produced by French and
German manufacturers appears to have had
a marked effect upon the sales of certain com-
pounds in which cotton seed and other oils
were used. The importation of raw copra
into Germany alone had more than doubled
in the three years before the war, and the
extension of the industry then seemed to have
hinged more upon the ability of the crushers
to obtain supplies of the material than upon
the consuming abilities of the market.

The raw material contains about 60 per
cent, of fat, the melting pdint being about
76° F. For the manufacture of an edible fat,
the difficulty, up to quite a recent date, has
apparently been to eliminate the odour.

This now seems to be successfully done by
treating the expressed oil with steam, and
neutralizing it with magnesia. The substance
is then washed out with warm water and re-
melted. There appear, however, to be several
methods of neutralization, in which the result-
ing substance is pure white, and something
like lard to look at. The melting point of this
is about 80° F. and its congealing point 66° F., so

*>v

Fac

e p. I lo

CURING COPRA FOR MARKET 1 1 1

that it keeps well, and does not easily become
rancid.

In dealing with the out-turn of nuts to copra
there should be very little variation noticeable
on a well organized estate in this part of the
world. Amongst the native manufacturers it
is quite the exception to hear of a better result
than 4 piculs to i,ooo nuts. This is brought
about entirely by the practice of treating
immature nuts, because the actual weight of
copra produced by their methods of drying
compares favourably enough when ripe nuts
are utilized, but with care and good manage-
ment it should not require more than 230 nuts
to make i picul, or say 4,000 nuts to the ton.
In the early yielding stages, especially where
trees commence to produce at five years, the
above result is uncommon owinof to the fact
that the nuts, though they may be, and gener-
ally are, abnormally large, the percentage of
moisture is considerably greater than is found
in nuts from trees of more mature standing.
Where nuts are picked, and not allowed to
fall by themselves, they should invariably be
kept at least two weeks before being husked
and split. Unless this rule be adhered to it

112 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

will be unlikely that a better out-turn than
4,500 nuts to the ton will be obtained. Should
one find places where the out-turn mentioned
above is not reached, it may safely be asserted
that the necessary supervision is not being
given to this very important branch of estate
management. Soil conditions have a very
marked effect upon the constituent parts of
the nut itself, and we have known instances
where from the inception of the estate the
average out-turn has not been less than a picul
of copra to 225 nuts.

It does not take long to satisfy ourselves
that the chief consideration in all these essential
matters is close supervision.

ex.

Face p. 112.

113

CHAPTER XII.
PESTS AND DISEASES.

In all kinds of agriculture, tropical or other-
wise, we are brought face to face with pests at
every stage of development.

Perhaps the most common, and at the same
time the most harmful to the coco-nut, are the
beetles. Much has been written on the subject
of the beetle pest, and there is no disguising
the fact that this can become the worst possible
menace to a coco-nut property.

In the ordinary course of things, however,
it is not so in the majority of places in the
Malay Peninsula, in fact it is rather rare to
come across any place either European or
Native that is now suffering to any extent.

A well - organized department of the
P'ederated Malay States Government has
done more perhaps than most countries
towards the stamping out of the " Oryctes "
by a very systematic raid on the breedin-g
places, and one significant fact is worthy of
8

114 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

mention here, viz., that the writers of this
work had considerable difficulty in obtaining
a photograph sufficiently representative to
demonstrate to those who have not seen it
the damage capable of being wrought by the
black beetle, and as regards the red beetle
we have still been unable to procure a photo-
graphic demonstration of the havoc that we
know is done by this pest.

The Red Beetle.

This insect after it is fully developed does
little harm to the tree. It generally lays its
eggs at the base of the branches covering the
cabbage, and so well are they secreted that
the harm being done is often not detected
until it is too late to save the tree. The grub
does the havoc, and soon after it is hatched
commences its operations by gnawing and
boring its way inwards until it reaches the
very heart of the cabbage. The work is so
rapid and the effects so deadly that these grubs
are very much more dangerous to the life of
the tree than the black beetles, but fortunately
the red beetle is scarcer, in fact there is very
little of it in the Federated Malay States. It

Rod Beetle (pupa).

Red Beetle (larva)

Red Beetle (female]

Red Beetle (male).

Black Beetle (pupa).

I'lc. 67.

Face p. 114.

PESTS AND DISEASES iI5

occasionally takes advantage of the borings
made by the black beetles to lay its eggs in
these cavities, only here it is more easily
discovered in searches for the black beetle,
so that with proper supervision it may or
should be caught before any serious harm has
been done. Apart from these haunts there are
many other breeding places : a few will be found
in manure and rubbish heaps, more again in
the rotten dead stumps and roots of nibong
sago and serdang palms, and most numerous
in a coco-nut tree from which the top has fallen
away through their ravages or decayed stump
of the same tree. Here the grub will be found
covered in a cocoon made of the fibre, and so
well does it conceal itself in this way that
it is practically not noticeable to the ordinary
view and is only discovered when the
inside of the tree or stump is scooped out,
which must be done effectually, otherwise one
or two of the cocoons may escape observation.
If allowed to get in the slightest degree out of
hand this pest could and would probably be the
ruin of a large portion of the property.

116 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Black Beetles.

It is on account of their great numbers that
these beetles are so much to be feared, and
of the fact of their borings, as we have stated
previously, affording a means for inroad by the
dangerous red beetle. There absolutely seems
no limit to the beetles and their grubs, provided
the breeding places are sufficiently abundant ;
and these comprised not only those mentioned
in connection with the red beetle, but a great
many more, such as underneath and in dead
palms of several kinds, sawdust, paddy straw,
coffee and paddy husks, and refuse heaps of
all descriptions. The grub especially may be
found in thousands in quite a small dung heap.
When the beetles reach maturity they leave
their breeding grounds, and it is then that
they make for the coco-nut trees and com-
mence their ravages, slightly above and near
the top of the cabbage, boring their way
downwards and laying their eggs at the end
of the' cavities so formed. Owing to their
constant and continued onslaughts they do
great damage to the trees, nipping with their
mandibles the embryo leaves and the stem
that bears the fruit just at the time they are

■■)^*$i^■st

©'^^

Black Beetle (larva).

Black Beetle (female).
Face p. 1 1 6.

Black Beetle (male).

Fig. 68.

Cocoon.

PESTS AND DISEASES 117

forming ; the leaves in consequence present
a frayed or jagged appearance, and what is
more serious, the stem often is killed, and if it
does manage to shoot out, probably bears little
or no fruit.

There are many varieties of oryctes,
nearly all to be found in the Malay Archi-
pelago, and we have heard them often described
as leaf beetles, but all the varieties are found
on the fronds when leaving the pupa stage, so
that this is rather a misnomer. On a well-
supervised plantation it is rather uncommon
for the black beetle to attack old trees except-
ing in individual cases.

In addition to the breeding places already
mentioned, it is seldom realized to what extent
the larvae are found in loose top soil, especially
on virgin land. We have seen proofs of this
on low-lying land during the heavy rainy
season, when clearings were completely flooded,
and after the water had subsided the land,
then dry, was simply covered with dead larvae
of the oryctes.

It has been often remarked that on young
clearings where a cover plant is grown, it is
rare to find trees attacked to any serious extent

lia GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

by beetles, thus clearly demonstrating that the
top soil under these conditions does not form
an attractive breeding ground. When the pest
first makes its appearance, the trees should be
carefully scrutinized at the place where the
adult female mostly chooses to burrow.
Burrowing is not only to lay eggs, but for
food also, so that great damage can be done
if careful watch be not kept to prevent the
formation of the fibre cocoon.

Their habits are entirely nocturnal, and it
is very often impossible to trace their breeding
grounds, but it must be remembered that the
males make burrows as well as the females,
arid it is supposed that they accompany the
lattef at the time of egg-laying.

Do not remove dead leaves, &c., from the
trees to the extent that they may encourage
the attacks of adult beetles.

Instances have been recorded where red
beetles were never seen until the trees were
trimriied by cutting off the branches, so that
all leaves, &c., should be left on the tree until
nature disposes of them at her oWn time and
in her own way. They should be allowed to
fall by themselves, and on no account what-
ever be cut.

Fig. 69. — A Palm killed by Rhinoceros beetles.

Face p. 1 18.

PESTS AND DISEASES 119

Managers of estates are sometimes surprised
when in the third or fourth year (a period from
planting when attacks by beetle are not only
to be looked for, but have often to be reckoned
with as a matter of course) the oryctes turns
out in considerable numbers, and many coolies
have to be requisitioned for weeks for a
regular inspection of the trees, and for collect-
ing the beetles from their leaves.

Remedial and Preventive Measures.

When the beetles appear in any number
it is evident there must be some breeding
grounds about. The first thing to do is to
search out and destroy all the haunts such as
have been described, and everything that is
likely to harbour the pests should be burnt.
Attention must also be given to the trees
themselves, and with regard to this, while the
trees are young, the beetles in the first place
will be found on the leaves themselves and
easily collected. If, however, the beetle has
already found its way into, or near, the cabbage
of the palm, it should be immediately dealt
with. For this purpose a stiff bit of wire
about 1 8 in. long with a barb at the end is

120 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

progged into the hole, and answers very well
for collecting the beetle or beetles that may
be in the trees. These must of course be
destroyed. As soon as the beetles have been
extracted from the holes these should be
filled up with a mixture of zotal (creosote) and
dry sand, in the proportion of a quarter of a pint
of zotal to one gatang of sand. Even if no
beetle is found in the holes the same treatment
should be followed, as it effectually prevents any
other beetles from making use of the same
haunts. Again (and this is most important),
fine sand should be applied copiously to the
cavities at the junction with the trunk, as this
makes it very difficult for the beetle to make
anv fresh inlet to the trees.

General.

While the plantation is young, or if there are
a great number of trees not in bearing, it will
of course be necessary to keep some coolies to
look after and give special attention to the
beetles ; but when all the trees are in full bear-
ing, or nominally so, and the plantation has
been previously well maintained, it may be
possible to keep away any real harm from

PESTS AND DISEASES 121

attack by beetle merely by employing coco-nut

collectors while collecting the nuts, generally

every two months, to extract the beetles from

the trees. This is the common practice in the'

Straits Settlements, but, as remarked above,

there is generally little cause for alarm as to

damage to trees in full bearing on a well cared

for plantation.

Rats.

The usual complaint about rats in Ceylon
is that they climb the trees that are in bearing,
attack the half-grown nuts, and in this way do.
enormous damage, but there is, as far as our
experience goes, rarely any very great trouble
on this account in any of the districts we have
come across, though of course we have seen
certain instances where the rats had built their
nest and had their young all round them in
the crown of the tree. Unfortunately, the
danger from rats in certain districts of the.
Federated Malay States is of an even more
serious nature. I n the district of Bagan Datoh,
Lower Perak, and on the Selangor side of
the Bernam River, hundreds of acres of young,
coco-nut plants varying from three to fifteen
months of age, have been destroyed by them ;

1122 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

in one single night — nothing more or less
than an actual plague of rats, which come in
thousands, and this wholesale destruction has
been known to continue night after night.
The curious thing is that the next morning
hardly a rat will be found over the premises
where the plants have been destroyed ; the
pest entirely disappear from one place as
suddenly as they came, moving perhaps the
next night to the neighbouring estate, where
the same detriment is done. If it was a
matter of even a fair number of trees scat-
tered here and there being destroyed, the case
would not be so bad ; some of the suggestions,
however, that have been made for the pro-
tection of the young plants might prove
adequate, especially the method mentioned
by the Government Entomologist, F.M.S.,
Mr. H. C. Pratt, in his Agricultural Bulletin
for February, 19 14, as follows : —

*' Out of a piece of zinc 1 8 in. long and 1 2 in.
wide, an arch is cut at the middle of the longer
edge, measuring approximately 7 in. wide at
the base, and 5 in. high.

" The nut itself fits into this arch, and by
drawing the tin round the tree a cylinder about

Fig. 70. — A Kirg Coco-nut attacked by beetles.

Face p. 122.

PESTS AND DISEASES 123

5 in. in diameter is formed, enclosing the young
tree which practically fills the cylinder. The
base of the cylinder on either side of the arch
is buried about 3 in. in the ground, thus enab-
ling the top of the arch to fit tightly over the
upper part of the nut, and no rat can harm a
young plant protected in this way, for if access
is obtained by burrowing, there is no room for
the rat to work within the enclosure."*

This pest, however, is only known to have
been really serious in places where the estate
was in the immediate neighbourhood of native
holdings and padi fields, and even in the
districts mentioned above, one of the most
significant facts recorded is that where one
estate clean-weeded lost practically all their
young plants two years in succession, portions
of the estate next door which had a covering of
sweet potato came off nearly scot-free. Where-
ever tried this crop has proved a very real
benefit in distracting the rats' attention from
the coco-nut plants and affording them what
would appear to be more succulent food.

* Reports received from estates where this scheme
has been put into practice demonstrate that the results
are in every way encouraging.

124 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Wild Pigs.

These have to be reckoned with on almost
every coco-nut estate, and are very often a
source of endless trouble. To prevent their
inroads it seems to be a popular idea that
fencincr with wire is the most useful method.
Of course, there may be, and no doubt are,
certain districts in which it is difficult to obtain
at a reasonable price a sufficient quantity of
timber, or where the utilizing of it would
involve a specially heavy outlay, but there are
not likely to be many such districts, so that
no greater mistake is made as a rule than by
ordering miles of barbed wire for an estate
where any quantity of suitable timber is
available.

No barbed wire fence that we have seen
has ever been satisfactory in keeping out wild
pig, and in a large number of instances the
purchase and erection of this has been pure
waste of money.

Quite the most effectual plan, and the
cheapest, is to utilize the timber that remains
from the newly burned clearing in the follow-
ing manner: select the straightest pieces of
about 6 to 8 in. in diameter and have these

a, #

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D r-

c/3 -~:

'SI

S J!

O c

Face p. 124.

PESTS AND DISEASES 125

cut Into lengths of about 8 ft. Sharpen one
end and place vertically, burying 2 ft. In the
ground ; put these in a line with one another
alongside the boundary of the clearing so that,
excepting for the space of an Inch or two, they
are practically touching. . To keep rigid and
In position it Is now necessary to nail, or by
means of galvanized wire to fix cross pieces
about 2 ft. from the top of the posts : you now
have a fence absolutely impervious by pig,
and at a very moderate cost. This is just the
sort of work that an Indian coolie does
admirably, and at less than half the price of
local contract labour.

It is not actually necessary to use hard wood
posts, as in any case the fence is not likely to
be required for more than twelve or eighteen
months. It has been argued that a wire fence
Is cheap because it can be moved and utilized
In other parts of the estate, but this is only
theory, and In practice It Is not cheap in any
way. It may not be effective for one thing,
and for another It will be found a labour of
exceeding great difficulty when it comes to
rolling up and moving the staples, wire, and
posts.

126 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Do not be persuaded into employing watch-
men and supplying them with guns and count-
less rounds of ammunition, as the sort of people
obtainable in this country for this kind of work
are quite useless, and often do more harm than
good. They will be found an expensive luxury.

Hunting the neighbouring covers periodic-
ally with a pack of dogs is much to be recom-
mended, because constant worrying of the pigs
if not actually killed in any number is sure to
have a beneficial effect.

As with rats so also with pigs, and we have
seen almost incredible instances where these
animals have been attracted by intercrops
which they have devoured wholesale, and left
the coco-nuts alone ; we can vouch for one
instance where a clearing was planted, and no
fence of any kind placed as a barrier. Wild
pig abounded in the immediate neighbourhood,
and soon made their appearance in the clear-
ing ; great damage must inevitably have
resulted but for the cover of sweet potato, the
roots of which the pigs demolished in large
quantities, but not a single coco-nut plant was
touched.

tJO

E£

o
£1

Face p. 126.

PESTS AND DISEASES 127

Squirrels are responsible for a considerable
loss on nearly every coco-nut estate in bearing,
and the only practical method of combating this
pest is by trapping or destroying the nests.
A native in charge of a gun with the object
of shooting them on the trees does more harm
than good as a rule, owing to the destruction
of blossom and young crop which is bound to
occur in the process, also the number of rounds
of ammunition required to secure a decent
" bag " renders this method of extermination
too costly to recommend.

Porcupines.

Fortunately damage by these animals is
comparatively rare, but when once they do
appear they must be considered a source of
great danger to young palms from the planting
stage up to the end of the second or third year.

Their habits like most other pests being
nocturnal the presence of them even in small
numbers is a matter by no means easy to deal
with.

Locusts.

These insects which have lately made their
appearance and simply infested some of the

128 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

districts in the Federated Malay States, are
capable of doing very serious damage to
newly planted areas. The^ have, in fact,
been known to completely destroy acres of
young, healthy plants, but so far as we have
been able to ascertain the damage done has
been confined to one district, and it has not up
to the present been noticed that when searching
for food the coco-nut stands out as any
particular attraction for the swarms as they
fly ; it would almost seem to be the reverse
in view of the extent to which swarms of locusts
abound in districts where there is a considerable
area under coco-nuts.

We must confess, however, to a certain
feeling of insecurity so long as this destructive
pest is with us.

Very strenuous efforts and a good deal of
money are being expended by the Government
Department of Agriculture in worrying the
pest, and there may be said to be at the present
time every reason to be sanguine about the
ultimate extermination of it.

White Ants.
The troublesome part of this pest is the
secret manner it works towards the demolition

c
o
a.

Face p. 128.

PESTS AND DISEASES 129

of its prey. The coco-nut tree having no tap-
root the termites invariably commence their
ravages about a foot to i8 in. below the
" collar," or spot where in a young tree the
lowest fronds protrude, and they work their
way up to the heart of the tree which is success-
fully demolished if allowed sufficient time : the
work of complete destruction does not take
very long.

The palms do not, as a rule, become an
attraction to the white ants until they are
about two years old, at least it is very rare to see
young plants touched by them excepting in
one or two isolated cases over a large area,
neither have we seen many cases where a
coco-nut tree in bearing has been actually
killed by these termites.

It is during the second and up to the fourth
year from planting that a special watch has to
be kept, and as previously mentioned it is often
no easy matter to discover their presence until
a good deal of harm has been done. As it is
also at this stage of development that the black
beetle commences to get busy, it is possible for
the coolies when engaged in searching for these
to observe and report any cases where the ants
9

130 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

have begun their attack. To exterminate them
from individual trees the best and surest method
so far discovered is by the use of the now well
known '* Universal Fumigator," and in most
soils it is possible to use this machine on trees
up to two or three years old ; after that period
the matted roots, stretching as they do a con-
siderable distance from the stem, make the
operation a matter of some difficulty.

Should the white ant ** machine " prove in
certain cases ineffectual, it will be found
necessary to have recourse to far more drastic
measures, and the following treatment usually
brings about the desired result : First of all
the lower fronds must be cut off flush with
the stem by the use of a sharp pruning knife ;
by cutting away also the roots round the butt
and digging a deep circular trench or bowl, the
seat of the trouble can, as a rule, be got at.

Boiling water should first be poured over
the lower part of the stem so as to kill the ants
actually visible at the time, subsequently the
whole of the lower part of the tree should
be plastered over with a mixture of slaked
lime and common salt. Trees that have thus
been handled require constant watching, and

3
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o
U

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o

'fit

Face p. 130.

Fig 75.- Coco-nut Tree in bearing, notwithstanding a large hole right

through the trunk near its base.

Follow 74.

PESTS AND DISEASES 131

the above treatment must be continually
administered until there is evidence of the
ants having disappeared. The trench must,
of course, be left open all the time, and no
earth should be allowed to come in contact
with the tree.

Another mixture for plastering which has
been found beneficial, especially in the dry
weather, is flour, sugar, and arsenic, mixed to
the consistency of whitewash.

Let it not be imagined that the most care-
ful carrying out of the above measures will
suffice to rid your whole clearing of the pest ;
they are only suggested as the means of
keeping it in check.

In a very interesting article by Mr. Towgood
(late of Riverside Estate, Kuala, Selangor),
published in the Agricultural Bulletin of the
Straits and Federated Malay States^ as far
back as 1909, various species of termites are
dealt with, and from researches and thorough
investigations made by him, it requires little
convincing regarding the necessity for follow-
ing up the runs of the Termes gestroi and
capturing the ''queens," to insure the total
eradication of the pest from the clearings.

132 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Peaty soils no doubt encourage T. gestroi,
because, as Mr. Towgood remarks, they con-
tain, as a rule, a large proportion of " kumpas,"
and ** meranti " trees, for which the termitaria
are known to have a particular fancy.

In the systematic endeavour to rid the
estate of the pest, it must be realized at the
commencement that various species of ter-
mites exist, but it is only the gestroi that is
the objective in the crusade against white ants,
as the other species are mostly ** mound " ter-
mites, whose presence does not endanger a
living tree.

In the above-mentioned concise and com.
prehensive article the importance of discover-
ing the source of infection is urged. It will
invariably be found to be a buried root or
stump from which the termites make their
way in search of food by means of tunnels.
They may be found at a depth of 6 in. to
3 ft. below the surface of the ground, and
these should be followed up, although it is a
tedious matter at the best.

Mr. Towgood truly remarks that some
planters are lulled into a sense of security by
the fact that none of their young trees have

PESTS AND DISEASES 133

been attacked, but it is well worth while to
make a search for T. gestroi in timber lying
in clearings, for although the trees may not
be attacked now, they will be sooner or later
if T, gestroi is present.

The Ordinary Red Ant, though as a rule
a friend of the coco-nut planter, may in some
cases prove to be the reverse. As a friend
it preys upon scale insects, and does good
in various other ways, but trees sometimes
become infested with them to such an extent
that the proper searching for beetles by coolies
is often dangerously neglected on account of
the painful attacks on the human body which
these ants make with their mandibles.

On one occasion owing to the anxiety of the
manager we were asked to visit an estate on
which a two-year- old clearing had become
sickly looking for some reason or other. The
Agricultural Department was to be advised,
and a Government expert in mycology sent
for. The visiting agent having reported that
the estate was free from beetle, and the
manager having given his assurance that
beetle collectors were untiring in their syste-
matic searches, it was at first sight doubtful

134 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

as to what this new pest could be that caused
the trees to present such a forlorn aspect.

Upon entering the clearing it was noticed
how that nearly every tree seemed to be
weighed down with masses of these nipping
ants, showing conclusively that the estate
beetle-collectors (who are no more willing
than any other human being to suffer un-
necessary pain) had found this field practically
impenetrable, and had failed to report the fact
to the manager of the estate.

In the process of satisfying ourselves as
to the source of all the trouble we also had
to suffer a little, and were not sorry to get out
of the field ; we had found the trees simply
riddled with the " oryctes " in various stages
of development, but all went on swimmingly
afterwards as far as we ever heard.

The extermination of the red ant pest from
a field is not really a difficult matter as it is
only necessary to find the nests. Having
done this, get a piece of i in. hollow bamboo
about 12 in. long. This blow-pipe, we call
it, requires sharpening at one end ; on the
sharpened point place a small quantity of
London Purple, and after inserting the end

PESTS AND DISEASES 135

in the ants' nest blow lightly down the tube,
seeing that the poison goes well into the nest.
To make a success of this operation it is
essential that it be performed either in the
evening or in the early morning before the
dew is off the leaves.

As this poison is very deadly, the operators
should be properly instructed as to its use.
It requires only a small amount of this if
accidentally drawn into the mouth and
swallowed to cause very severe sickness,
and possibly death.

Diseases.

Fortunately the coco-nut palm in the Malay
Archipelago is comparatively free from diseases
of what may be called a serious nature.

Pestalozzia palmarum, commonly known as
the leaf disease, although very frequently
seen, with the exception of a rather severe
outbreak on some of the young nurseries in
Sumatra, some time ago, very little serious
harm has really been done so far as our
experience goes. At the same time, if it
shows itself to any degree, immediate attention
should be given to the fungus. The spots are

136 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

yellowish, then increase in size and frequently
run together, finally becoming of a grey colour
with a brown margin. From our observation
the disease is much more prevalent now than
it used to be. The leaves drop off and wither
at the top and die, the leaf area being in con-
sequence much diminished.

The spores of the fungus are produced on
the spotted parts of the leaves, and are blown
about from one leaf to another, and in this
way the disease is spread.

It will generally be found that young plants
which are unhealthy and backward in growth
are affected most, and that the more vigorous
and healthy plants suffer comparatively little,
indicating that the fungus is more prone to
attack places where the soil is poor, or shows
a want of proper cultivation.

It may be seen occasionally on the older
trees and a description of this is given on pages
148-150. The disease very often appears
either in the nursery or a month or two (some-
times a year) after the young plants have been
put out. The most virulent attacks have been
observed in places where soil conditions are
uncongenial. When this is so it is necessary

PESTS AND DISEASES 137

to cut off the leaves that have been attacked
and burn them as soon as the spores are first
detected, and after this is done the plants may
be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture in the
following solution : —

Copper Sulphate i6 lb.

Quicklime ... ... ... n „

Water 150 gallons

and special attention should be given to the
young plants. To induce more vigorous
growth by improved soil conditions has usually
been found the best and surest remedy.

A lepidopterous pest, Brachartena calo-
xantha, has occasionally broken out in some
districts in the Federated Malay States and
the Straits, and although the trees ultimately
recover it affects them very seriously for six
or eight months. The lower leaves are first
attacked and the pest then works upwards.
The leaves turn a brownish colour, wither,
and gradually die off, during which time the
flower and fruit shrivel up ; the nuts that fall
off are useless and the trees altogether present
a most sickly appearance. Fortunately the
pest does not for some reason or other molest
the leaves near to the crown, and it is no
doubt this which saves the life of the tree.

138 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Remedial Measures, — On the very first
appearance of the pest, for which close exam-
ination should be made, all the leaves that
have been attacked must be cut off and burnt,
and if taken in time and the treatment
be carried out thoroughly the disease may
possibly be arrested before the leaves are
affected to any serious extent. On one occa-
sion when some coco-nut trees were found to
be very seriously affected by the grub, in
order to prevent further spreading the trees
were for a time completely defoliated and the
leaves burnt, leaving only those standing near
the crown which had not been affected. This
drastic treatment was entirely successful for
the purpose, and before three months had
elapsed new foliage had already commenced
to a large extent, while about 20 per cent,
of the trees were in blossom again very
soon afterwards. It has, however, since
been ascertained by the Acting Government
Entomologist that the spread of the pest can
be entirely arrested by a parasitic ichneumon,
sometimes found present in large numbers at
the same time that the grub of Brachartena
caloxantha makes its appearance.

PESTS AND DISEASES 139

H elmit ho sp odium is another pest which has
been known to attack young plants, but this
again may be easily arrested by spraying
with Bordeaux mixture in the following pro-
portion : —

Copper sulphate 8 lb.

Quicklime ... ... ... i6 ,,

Water loo gallons

when the young plants will very soon recover
without any ill-effects beyond being retarded
in growth for a time.

Caterpillar Pests.

Chrysalids collected by Mr. Norris, and
larvae which were fed in the laboratory of the
Agricultural Department of the Federated
Malay States, produced three species of butter-
flies belonging to the family Hesperidae which
were identified by Mr. Holman-Hunt as : —

Hidara irava.
Erinota thrax.
Corona palmanim — Telicota palmarum.

The first two are widespread throughout
the Malay Peninsula.

The life history of none of the species has
yet been worked out in detail. The main
features are as follow : —

140 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Eggs are laid on both upper and lower sides
of the coco-nut palm fronds. The eggs are
roughly hemispherical. The young larvae are
elongate, green, naked, the head pale brown,
the prothorax just behind the head com-
pressed, giving the appearance of a neck.
Older larvae have the head dark brown and
the body greyish green with a slight meali-
ness over the whole surface. The pupa is
long, cylindrical, tapering to hind end. Pupa-
tion takes place in the folded leaf. The life
history is short, probably from six to eight
weeks.

The nature of the damage to trees is charac-
teristic. The larvae connect together with stout
silk adhesives the two edges of the underside
of one pinna, or the underside of one to the top
of the next, forming a tunnel in which it lives
and feeds. The caterpillar feeds towards the
rachis and the result of a bad attack is that
the pinnae of each frond are stripped to mid-
rib, half way or more towards the rachis.
No preference appears to be shown for young
or old leaves, all being attacked. Young
coco-nut palms of a few months are attacked
equally with palms in bearing.

Face 1 . 140.

PESTS AND DISEASES 141

Other caterpillar pests have been observed
and watched in various districts, but have
not proved in our opinion to be of a nature
serious enough to warrant special description.

Remedial Measures, — The caterpillar when
feeding devours the whole of the tissue of the
leaf-segment which forms its tunnel with the
exception of the central supporting rib.

It is evident, therefore, that if a poison be
applied all over the leaf, so that the cater-
pillar is compelled to eat the poison or starve,
the attack will be checked. The poison used
must be insoluble and adhesive, to withstand
tropical rain, and it must be innocuous to the
foliage. These conditions are best met by
lead arsenate.

This substance can be obtained in a very
fine state of division in the form of a paste.
When mixed with water a uniform spray fluid
is obtained, capable of being sprayed as a
fine mist ; a very small quantity suffices to kill
the caterpillar, and the cost of the material is
small.

To make the spray fluid \\ lb. of lead
arsenate paste, equivalent roughly to i lb. of
lead arsenate, is mixed with 60 gallons of

142 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

water. Ten pounds of slaked lime may with
advantage be added, as this increases the
covering power of the mixture, and prevents
any soluble arsenic which may be present from
burning the foliage. Any sprayer with a
nozzle giving a fine misty spray may be used
for applying the poison. All the leaves should
be sprayed as evenly and fully as possible and
spraying should cease as soon as any tendency
to drip is observed.

The drier the day the better for spraying.
Once the spray has dried on the leaf it is very
adhesive, retaining its toxic properties for
weeks, notwithstanding subsequent rain. Im-
mediately an attack is observed spraying
should be commenced, and if the young cater-
pillars are dealt with immediately after hatch-
ing all the foliage will be saved.

Bud-rot Disease.

Professor F. G. Earle, one of the Com-
missioners appointed by President Gomez to
investigate the disease which was killing coco-
nut trees in Cuba, especially at Baracoa, Oriente
Province, has, it is understood, made a pre-
liminary report to the Government, who pub-

o
>~.

Face p. 142

PESTS AND DISEASES 143

lished it in the West India Committee Gazette.
He states that the exports of coco-nuts from
Baracoa have dropped from 18,000,000 to
6,000,000, that more than half the trees are
dead, and that many are affected. The factory
for making oil from unshipped nuts that
operated day and night now operates only two
days a week. The disease has been virulent
five years.

Affected trees are found on all kinds of soils
and at all altitudes. Whole plantations have
been completely destroyed. It is a serious
calamity to the district, as coco-nut groves are
the prime source of revenue. Some trees die
within a few weeks, while others last longer,
but all succumb when the terminal bud is
attacked.

Royal palm trees are sometimes attacked,
but no other native growth is affected by the
disease.

The Commission has reached no decision as
to cure, but all the members favour destroying
by cutting down and burning the diseased
trees whenever found.

( The above is of interest in view of the recent
report of a coco-nut bud disease in Penang.)

144 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

A disease, the cause of which is not stated,
did damage to the coco-nut trees in Jamaica
some years ago. The following description
of the disease is taken from the Jamaica
Gleaner, for January 12, 1903 : —

" The heart leaves drop out and the leaves,
which are usually upright, fall down. When
a tree in this condition is cut down the heart is
found to be one mass of bad smelling, decay-
ing vegetation, while the root and trunk are in
perfect condition. The disease often attacks
•the flower spikes, with the result that many of
the coco-nuts drop off while still young. This
is frequently preliminary to the disease getting
to the heart leaves, after which nothing can
save the tree."

Again, in the Journal of the New York
Botanical Garden^ vol. iv, pp. 4 to 7, Mr.
F. S. Earle gives an account of his recent visit
to Jamaica.

He examined coco-nut trees suffering from
what is apparently the same disease as that
described above. Mr. Earle attributes the
disease to bacterium. He points out the
necessity for prompt cutting and burning of all
infected trees, and says that it is claimed by

Fig. 78. — Bud-rot disease : Pesialozzia paii/iarum.
(See Mr. Ricliard's report.)

Face p. 14}.

PESTS AND DISEASES 145

some planters that a certain green-skinned
variety of coco-nut is less liable to this disease
than the reddish and yellowish kinds. If this
be confirmed there is a possibility of raising
a resistant race of coco-nuts. A disease
similar in many symptoms is the subject of
a paper in Bulletin No. 38, New Series,
Division of Vegetable Pathology and Physi-
ology of the United States Department of
Agriculture. The disease appeared among
coco-nut palms in the Province of Santiago,
Cuba. The first indication of trouble was the
falling of the young fruit. Shortly after, the
larger nuts dropped and the leaves assumed
a yellowish colour. Within a month all the
large lower leaves drooped and fell, leaving only
the pale, sickly tops which blew over at the
first heavy wind. Here also, from the root to
within a few inches of the top, the trunk was
found to be perfectly sound. Perforating the
entire upper part of the trunk for 2 to 12 in.
downwards was found the mycelium of a
fungus, the fruiting bodies of which appeared
as small white spots on the underside of the
leaves. These might easily be mistaken for

the scale insects (Aspidiotus) often found there.
10

146 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

The fungus was identified as Pestalozzia
palmarum. On breaking open the lower
leaves and cutting the centre of the green
growing part open the heart is found to be one
putrid, offensive smelling mass. It was found
that the best way of preventing the spread of
the disease was cutting down and burning the
diseased palms. It is not necessary to burn
the entire trunk, but only the top, with a
couple of feet of the upper end of the trunk.
In order that this preventive measure may
have its greatest effect, it is absolutely neces-
sary that united action should be taken. It
would obviously be futile for the proprietors
of one estate to eradicate the disease within
its limits, if the owners of a neighbouring
estate omit the precautions and allow the
disease to multiply and send its spores abroad
to the others.

These two diseases are so similar in their
symptoms that it would seem not improbable
that they are really one and the same. This,
however, cannot be definitely settled until
something more is known of the cause of the
disease in Jamaica. We trust further informa-
tion will be obtained as the result of the work

Fig. 79.— Bud-rot disease at an early stage.

Face p. 146.

PESTS AND DISEASES 147

which, we understand, Mr. F. S. Earle has in
hand at the New York Botanical Garden, and
of the field experiments of Mr. W. Cradwick,
of the Department of Agriculture, Jamaica.

It will be gathered from the foregoing, and
also from Mr. Richards's observations which
follow, that scientific research has not yet been
able to clearly diagnose the disease which we
fear is, for want of a better name, too often
termed ''bud-rot''

On nearly every young coco-nut estate in-
dividual trees will be found suffering from a
disease which has attacked the heart through
channels other than the outer leaves, de-
monstrating that neither ** Pestalozzia " nor
** Diplodia" are to be held directly responsible
for the decay.

In these cases we think that one must often
look to root trouble, which does not, as a rule,
appear to be infectious ; but in cases where the
disease starts in the manner described by Mr.
Richards, and which we ourselves have seen,
the origin may, we think, be found in one or
other of the two fungi mentioned ; possibly
more in the latter than the former, especially
when the attack occurs amongst trees where

148 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

the question of unfavourable conditions could
not be raised.

** Circular Letter.
' ' The Laboratory,
** Caledonia Estate,
" Province Wellesley,
** February 5, 191 5.

" A Disease of Coco-nut Palms.

'* Dear Sir, — During the past few weeks
coco-nut palms on a number of estates have
been attacked by a fungus known as Pesta-
lozzia palmarunZy mentioned as causing a leaf
disease in the Mycologist's report for 19 12
and 1 91 3. On p. 25 in this report the first
signs of the disease are described.

" Until recently no serious injury has been
caused by the disease, as previously only outer
leaves of small palms were killed.

*' Now, however, the disease has become
much more serious, and it is advisable that you
should become acquainted with the first stages
of this new phase of the disease. The first
stages are well shown in photographs i and 2.
The tips of one or more leaves towards the
middle or youngest leaf wither and drop. The

Face p. 148.

PESTS AND DISEASES 149

withered portion, about i ft. or 2 ft. from
the tip, partially breaks and hangs down from
the remaining part of the leaf stalk. This is
shown quite plainly in photographs i and 2.
The drooping tip is at first yellow, but finally
has the usual brown appearance of a dead
coco-nut leaf. This may be known as the
first effect of the disease. By cutting away
the affected leaves at this stage the trees
may be saved.

" The fungus spreads into the healthy lower
part of the leaf, travelling down the leaf-stalk,
turning the outer side of the leaf-stalk brown.
In slightly affected leaves it is necessary to
look for this brown mark extending down the
leaf-stalk, so that the leaf may be cut away at
a point below the end of the brown mark or
beyond the limit of the diseased tissue.

"If the affected palms are not treated at
this stage the fungus attacks other leaves,
and, moreover, the spores spread very quickly
to other palms. The fungus growing rapidly
after the first stages kills all the leaves, as
shown in photograph No. 3, and eventually
the palm dies.

** A group of palms killed by the disease is
shown in photograph No. 4.

150 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

''Remedial Measures, — In case of attack
the measures mentioned above, i.e,, the cutting
away of slightly affected or seriously affected
leaves, should be adopted. This method should
check the growth and spread of the fungus.

** All diseased leaves and dead palms must
be burned on the spot, and not carried away
through the fields to be destroyed in any other
place. The spores, which are produced in
great numbers, spread very quickly.

** Note, — Although Pestalozzia palmarum
has been described as causing identically the
same symptoms of disease as shown by these
photographs, it is necessary to point out that
in all examinations of diseased leaves not
only has the fungus Pestalozzia palmarum
been found but also Gloesporium (sp.) and
' Diplodia,' the two fungi which are re-
sponsible for the die-back of Hevea trees.
At the present time we cannot say whether
Pestalozzia causes the full effects described
or whether the injuries are due to these other
fungi as well. We shall be glad to give more
detailed information on this subject when we
have completed our experimental work.

" (Signed) R. M. Richards,

''Mycologist:'

Fig. 8 1. — Bud-rot disease : the final stage.
(See p. 144.)

Face p. 150.

PESTS AND DISEASES 151

An outbreak occurred a short time ago on
an estate in a coast district of Selangor, and
from specimens sent the same diagnosis pre-
cisely was made by the experts at the Kuala
Lumpur Agricultural Department.

As far as we recollect, the number of trees
that suffered seriously or perished was under
fifteen over an area of 500 acres. The
remedial measures described above were care-
fully carried out.

Bordeaux Mixture.

Millardot and Gayer first gave us Bordeaux
mixture in definite form. Since that time
(1882) Bordeaux mixture has been continually
used, but only during the last few years have
the best formulae and methods of preparation
been discovered. Bordeaux mixture consists
of varying preparations of copper sulphate
(CUSO4), lime, and water.

The proportions of CUSO4, lime, and water
in general use is one in which 14 lb. of
CUSO4, 9 lb. of lime, and 100 gallons of
water are taken to make up the mixture. To
simplify matters, we may write such formulae
as follows : —

152 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

CUSO4 Lime Water

14 ... 9 ... 100

Bordeaux mixture, made up from these
quantities of materials, would probably be quite
serviceable in the control of ** Pink " disease.
Planters must remember that the use of
Bordeaux mixture against the spread of Pink
disease is entirely in the experimental stage,
and also that the use of copper fungicides
amongst Hevea brasiliensis which is in bear-
ing must be very carefully attended to, on
account of the toxic action of copper com-
pounds upon the rubber produced from the
latex. Other formulae for preparing Bordeaux
mixture are : —

CUS04

CaO

Water

100

Method of Preparation. — Great care must
be exercised in the mixing of the materials,
and also in their selection, as regards purity
of composition. With regard to the copper
sulphate, an article of 98 per cent, purity
should be obtained ; substances described as
"agricultural bluestone " or ** agricultural
sulphate of copper," must be avoided, as
these are usually adulterated with iron sulphate.

PESTS AND DISEASES 153

The lime must be freshly burnt, i.e., in the
form of " quicklime." Powdered air slaked
lime is useless in the preparation of Bordeaux
mixture.

Supposing we wish to make up loo gallons
of Bordeaux mixture of the 8 : 8 : loo formula :

(i) Take the 8 lb. of copper sulphate and
tie up in a piece of coarse sacking. Suspend
this in 50 gallons of water, from a stick placed
across the top of the barrel, by means of
a string. The water must be contained in
a wooden receptacle. If left overnight till the
following day all the copper sulphate will be
dissolved.

Place the 8 lb. quicklime in a bucket, take
the other 50 gallons of water and from this
add a few pints of water to slake the lime.
Care must be taken not to add too great
a quantity of water at first, just sufficient to
produce a thick creamy paste. Now add the
rest of the 50 gallons of water. In this way
we obtain 50 gallons of milk of lime.

Now pour the milk of lime into the copper
sulphate solution, through a coarse sieve, if
possible, in order to prevent any undissolved
lumps of lime getting into the mixture. The

154 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

mixture of the two substances results in the
production of a flocculent precipitate of minute
particles of insoluble basic copper carbonate.

Upon the nature of this precipitate of basic
copper carbonate depends the fungicidal
quality of Bordeaux mixture. This pre-
cipitate varies greatly according to the method
of mixing.

The aim, in preparing Bordeaux mixture, is
to produce as fine a precipitate as possible
of basic copper carbonate. The smaller the
particles precipitated, the better the mixture
will be, for the particles will not settle so
quickly in the spraying machine, and the
nozzle, upon which much of the success of
spraying with Bordeaux mixture depends, is
not so easily choked up.

It is highly important that the copper sul-
phate and quicklime should be dissolved and
diluted before mixing. On no account must
Bordeaux mixture be made by adding strong
copper sulphate solution to a strong mixture
of lime, and then supplying the required
quantity of water.

This is the method usually adopted in
making Bordeaux mixture. Recent investi-

a
S

;2;

Ji4

Face

p. 154-

PESTS AND DISEASES 155

gation at Woburn Experiment Station, by-
Mr. Spencer Pickering, has resulted in the
discovery of what is claimed as a superior
method to that described. The method in-
volved is to make copper sulphate solution as
strong as possible, taking first sufficient water
to dissolve the whole of it. Then the rest of
the water, according to formula, is added to
the quicklime so that the quicklime is mingled
in as weak a solution as possible. The milk
of lime so formed is stirred up several times
within half an hour, to dissolve as much of the
lime as possible. Then the milk of lime is
allowed to stand for a little time in order that
the grosser particles might settle. After
standing, the copper sulphate is added to the
milk of lime.

156

CHAPTER XIII.
ESTIMATES.

We are aware that in the past much criti-
cism has been raised over the estimates in the
Bulletin No. ii, and even on the revised
figures which appeared in the Agricultural
Bulletin for the month of October, 19 12, of
the Federated Malay States.

So far as those estimates went we find that
any exception taken was generally to cover
some extravagant, and in our opinion unneces-
sary, expenditure for which naturally no
allowance was made.

We realize that with the additional interest
taken in the industry there must necessarily be
an increasing demand for accurate figures, and
the extent to which many who have interested
themselves in coco-nut planting propositions
in various parts of the country have been
dissatisfied with the cost of opening work has
been obvious of late.

As mentioned in the preface to this book.

-3
O

•E ^

C V

Face p. 15.

ESTIMATES 157

adverse criticisms on results achieved are
more often than not the outcome of unwise
selection as regards position of land, manage-
ment, advisers, agents, &c.

It is obviously impossible to draw up any
estimates so as to bring them into line with
the extravagant and unnecessary figures,
lower than which, managers in some districts
have affirmed, it is impossible to get work
done.

It is within our knowledge that in a number
of cases the opening of estates has been
entrusted to men not only with little know-
ledge of local conditions, but practically no
planting experience at all, so it cannot be
considered surprising that wonder is being
expressed as to whether plantations can be
made self-supporting within a reasonable time
from planting. It should be distinctly under-
stood that the cultivation is coco-nuts and not
tea, coffee, cocoa, or cardamoms, &c., and that
there is a very wide comparative margin
between the periods of revenue producing ;
indicating that special efforts should be made
towards strict economy in working. In draft-
ing estimates, such items as those for " heavy "

158 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

expenditure on buildings, water supply, and
coolie lines should be omitted, also for expen-
sive superintendence and agents' fees.

Generally speaking, we are not in favour of
the last item being included, excepting when
the necessity arises, as it does in some cases,
for employing middlemen to negotiate sales of
produce.

Under fairly normal conditions the cost of
opening and maintenance up to the sixth year
(taking an estate of say 500 acres) where
cheap labour and transport facilities are
obtainable, exclusive of drying kilns, should
be approximately as under : —

ist year

;^io per acre

2nd „

5 M

3rd „

4 n

4th „

3 n

5th „

3 .»

6th „

3 »

£28

Before closing the capital account another
£2 or £^ must be allowed for permanent
buildings, drying kilns, &c. Estimates of
revenue may be roughly calculated as
follows : —

4->

-a

euo

-o

n3
c
o

tX! >

.S '^

'i
o

tfl

•^

(/I

^-f

■^^

OiO

j::

l-H
1

Face p. 158,

ESTIMATES

6th year
7th „
8th „
9th „
loth ,,

500 nuts

1,000 „

... 1,500 „

... 2,000 ,,

per acre

nth .,
12th „

... 2,350 „
... 2,500 ,,

159

The above figures indicate that seven and
a half years may be allowed before the estate
reaches the self-supporting stage (assuming
that the net profit is £^ per 1,000 nuts).

There exist, we are aware, certain favoured
spots where in the sixth year after planting
crops of 1,000 nuts per acre have been
recorded. Yields in the fifth year are not
unknown, but with a fluctuating crop like
coco-nuts nothing of the kind should be
estimated for or even thought of.

160

CHAPTER XIV.

THE PRINCIPAL COMMERCIAL
PRODUCTS OF THE COCO-NUT

TREE.

The coco-nut tree, when fully matured and
in good crop (the stem varying from 30 to
80 ft. in height, with its fine foliage, thirty
leaves or more of a deep green colour and
clusters of fruit in the heart of the crown), is
without doubt one of the most elegant palms
to be seen all over the world ; however, apart
from its beauty the real intrinsic value of the
trees lies in the fact that practically its whole
substance, that is to say, every part of it,
may be utilized by the natives in all tropical
countries where it is grown, but our intention
here is only to mention those products derived
from it of special commercial value.

Toddy and Sugar. — The process of extract-
ing the juice for either the one or the other is
the same. As soon as the spathe has suffi-
ciently advanced so that the buds have all

Fig. 85.— Native collecting toddy.

Face p. 16c.

PRINCIPAL COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS 161

formed just before they come into blossom,
it is compressed and tightly bound round by
pieces torn off from the under side of the leaf
and tied in knots covering the buds and pre-
venting them from coming into blossom ; after
which it is bruised all round with a bit of hard
wood so that each part of it is slightly tapped
to enable the juice to exude freely. It is then
allowed to remain for, say five days, and at the
end of this period the spathe is bruised in the
same manner again and about 2 in. cut off
from the end of the spathe. An earthenware
or other vessel is then attached to the stem in
such a manner as to collect the juice as it
exudes. On the following day the same
process is gone through and this is generally
continued for twenty or "twenty-five days after-
wards, or until such time as the juice ceases
to flow.

This juice when fermented is commonly
known as " toddy " and if not in any way
tampered with or drugged as an alcoholic
drink it is not considered unhealthy. Owing
to its being a very favourite beverage among
the Tamils and Indians generally, it has . a
good marketable value ; while if taken immedi-
II

162 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

ately it comes from the spathe, quite fresh, it
is by no means an unpleasant drink and in
this way is often taken by natives (Malays
themselves).

When it is intended to make "sugar" the
juice is stored in earthenware jars and mixed
with a certain bark which causes it to con-
dense. Afterwards the liquid is placed in a
large shallow iron pan and put over a slow
fire ; during the process of cooking the scum
is removed from time to time and the contents
kept continually stirred until it becomes of the
consistency of sugar. It is then removed and
usually put up in small packets made from
a part of the coco-nut leaf and sold in this way.

The heavy cropping noticeable in some
native holdings is very often attributable to
the fact of the trees having been farmed out
to the toddy-drawers. During the process
of tapping no harvesting of nuts is of course
to be expected, but, so far from damaging the
tree, the treatment only tends to make it more
prolific, and it will be noticed almost invari-
ably that heavy yields ensue for two or more
years after suspension of the tapping process.

Fibre Coir and Rope. — The husks are

o
U

C/3

Face p. 162.

PRINCIPAL COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS 163

usually thoroughly soaked before being made
into fibre and coir, and if these are to be
produced on a commercial scale they must be
dealt with by machinery for the purpose ; at
the same time it is quite possible to do the
work by hand.

Copra is the kernel of the nut after it has
been removed from the shell and dried, under a
process which has been explained previously.
It is from the copra that what is known as
coco-nut oil is extracted, and from the refuse
afterwards oil cake is made, mostly used for
feeding cattle and other animals, and is also a
valuable manure.

Oil. — Being a matter of such common know-
ledge it is hardly necessary to state that the
coco-nut would not be cultivated from an
economic point of view, with all its productive-
ness as mentioned above, were it not for the
extreme value of oil contained in the kernel of
the nut. Forming as it does the basis of all
soaps it would appear that to the manufacturer
of this article coco-nut oil is practically
indispensable.

For the soap-maker many fatty ingredients
are available, such as tallow, lard, palm oil,

164 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

fish oil, and other lower grades for soft soaps,
&c. ; and if the outlets for coco-nut oil were
confined to this market alone it is conceivable
that at some time or other the supply might
be in excess of the demand : but the increased
value of coco-nut oil during recent years finds
most of its explanation in the very extensive
consumption of this particular oil as an article
of food.

If it could be obtained in sufficient quanti-
ties, there appears little doubt that, owing to
the up-to-date methods of refining, it need
fear no competitor in the markets where a
vegetable oil is a necessity.

jC
V3

■J

Face p. 164.

165

CHAPTER XV.

THE COCO-NUT INDUSTRY IN THE
FEDERATED MALAY STATES.

The area planted with coco-nuts at the end
of 191 3 was approximately about 174,234
acres, apportioned to the four States as
follows : —

Perak

...

... 90,664 acres

Selangor

...

... 43»56i „

Negri Sembilan ...

...

... 20,875 ..

Pahang

... I9»i34 n

showing an increase for the year of 16,634
acres, or equivalent to about loj per cent.,
a very satisfactory extension.

The following tables, which show the pro-
gress of the industry in the States during the
last ten years, may not prove uninterest-
ing:—

166 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Extension of Area under Cultivation.
At the end of 1903

))

lyu^

»)

1905

»>

1906

1907

})

1908

1909

I9IO

I9II

I9I2

I9I3

I9I4

77»5oo

acres

89,600

100,000

105,000

112,000

118,697

123,815

130,344

142,774

157,600

174,234

198,000

.. (

(about)

Copra Prices.

Highest $
Lowest $

1903

9.8s
6-30

1904

9'io
7'oo

i»o5

1906

1907

870

6 -80

II'OO

7*oo

11-30

7-40

1908

8-50
6-15

1909 1910

10*70
7 25

1911

1 1 -So
9-25

12*00

8-35

1912

1 1 75
10* 20

1913

1914

I4'00

11*20

12-40
600

Prod

UCTION

OF Copra Exported.

During

1904

Piculs

16,404

Valued

$123,216

■•. J J

1905

30,172

230,665

1906

38,772

302,383

1907

49,326

452,270

1908

71,981

462,870

1909

104,469

726,884

1910

125,770

1,194,226

1911

135.064

1,294,301

1912

129,531

1,303.169

1913

Pis.

156,033

1,808,933

«57,522

$7,898,917

Face p. 1 66.

COCO-NUT INDUSTRY IN MALAY STATES 167

The average price obtained for nuts in
''Native Holdings" during the same period
was as follows : —

Perak

Krian . . .
LarutandMatang
Lower Perak ...
Kuala Kangsar
Kinta and Batang
Padang

Cents

3
3
3
3

Selangor

Cents
Kuala Lumpur "i
Ulu Selangor... V 5 to 8
Ulu Langat ... j

Kuala Langat j ^
Kuala Selangor 1 3 to 5

Bernam

Pihang-

-2.-\(i cents

Negri Sembiian

K. Pillah ...

Seramban )
Jalebu j

Coast
Tampin

Cents
4 to 6

2 to 6

2 to 3
3

State of Perak.

The largest contiguous area planted is in
the district of Lower Perak, between the Perak
and Bernam Rivers. The land in these parts
is flat and low-lying, and the soil, which is
alluvial, is very rich, and where thorough
drainage is obtainable can be made well suited
for coco-nut cultivation. It is not uncommon
here to see the young trees showing flower in
their third and fourth years, and also when
they come into bearing the yields are generally
satisfactory, while a good average crop may
be depended upon each year when the palm
has reached maturity. There are also several
other parts on or near the coast where the
trees may be seen doing well.

168 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

State of Selangor.

As in Perak, most of the plantations, where
the trees come into early bearing, are on the
coast and some little way inland between the
Bernam and Sepang Rivers, and are grown
practically under the same favourable con-
ditions and advantages as in Lower Perak.

States of Negri Sembilan and Pahang.

As regards Negri Sembilan we may mention
that a particularly interesting feature in the
industry was the introduction of the dwarf
coco-nut during 19 12, on what we may fairly
call "a commercial basis." The two estates,
which are about seven miles distant from Port
Dickson, in the coast district, adjoin one
another, but until the trees are more matured
it is impossible to say how the experiment
is likely to turn out. The promoters certainly
deserve success for testing what, anyhow on
a large scale, may be called an untried cultiva-
tion, and we trust that the result may be such
as to induce others to go in for it. With the
exception of these two estates and one large
estate at Kuala Pahang, the areas at present
in these States mostly belong to Malays, and

COCO-NUT INDUSTRY IN MALAY STATES 169

are termed native holdings or kampongs, to
which reference will be made further on.

Eztropean Cultivation, — It is difficult to
estimate, except approximately, the actual
cultivation under European ownership, but
roughly speaking it may be probably about
40,000 acres. The trees in nearly all these
estates are still comparatively young, but on
the few plantations where the trees have
reached maturity there is reason to suppose
that the yields will not be unsatisfactory and
will show quite a good return on the outlay.

This may account for the fact that the
extension by the Europeans of the cultivation
is rapidly increasing, and recently large tracts
of land have been acquired by them in the
coast districts of Perak and Selaneor.

On some of the estates above referred to
it has been thought advisable to inter-plant
coffee and other crops with a view to assisting
towards the expense of maintenance until the
area becomes self-supporting.

The scheme, although more than feasible
theoretically, has not all the advantages
claimed, as it is obviously impossible to give
intensive cultivation to two products, and

170 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

therefore in the majority of cases the one has
had to suffer for the other. Unfortunately,
it is mostly the main product that has been
allowed to suffer, otherwise better results
would have been shown as regards the yields
from coco-nuts.

Native Holdings and Kampongs.

Of the area under cultivation already men-
tioned, perhaps as much as four-fifths comes
under this heading. The majority of these
are held in small lots varying from two to
ten acres. These kampongs are for the
greater part situated near or on the banks of
the several rivers running through the States,
again on the various Permatangs, or higher
land among the paddy lands, while a good
many will be found in close proximity to the
villages bordering on the sea.

Some very fine palms may be seen in these
small plantations, yielding in certain cases an
average of quite lOO nuts per tree per
annum ; at the same time there can be little
doubt that this is mainly due to the number
of houses erected and persons living on the
premises — in fact, the former are often almost

COCO-NUT INDUSTRY IN MALAY STATES 171

surrounded by trees. Since the establishment
of the Government Department towards the
end of 1902, expressly formulated to deal with
and rigorously enforce the provisions of the
Coco-nut Trees Preservation Enactment, the
maintenance of the kampongs generally is
much improved and, in consequence, the
natives are getting better results from the
trees in many cases than they formerly did ;
but there is still room for further improvement,
and it is reasonable to anticipate that with
the greater powers given by the Pest Enact-
ment, lately introduced, a good deal may, in
the future, be done in this direction.

The Coco-nut Ordinance was drafted merely
for the purpose of dealing with the coco-nut
beetles, which at the time were causing
enormous havoc among the trees ; and there
can, we think, be little doubt, had not prompt
and proper measures been taken to arrest the
spread of the pests, that a great deal of the
land under coco-nuts would have been aban-
doned. As it is, the interest in coco-nut culti-
vation has had a distinct set-back and suffered
accordingly. Fortunately, through the efforts
of the staff, the danger has now been entirely

172 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

overcome, and in addition much has been
accomplished, mostly by persuasive measures,
to encourage the natives to give more atten-
tion to their holdings by demonstrating to
them the advantage to be gained by better
husbandry. The results, we are pleased to
say, have in many districts proved fairly
successful, and some of the Malavs are besfin-
ning to realize the benefits that accrue from
following the advice tendered to them.

As regards these holdings it would be
difficult to imagine anything more ideal for
the habitation of Malays than some of the
kampongs in the district of Temelok, Pahang,
They are exceptionally favourably situated
on the banks of the Pahang river, the
water of which for the greater part of the year
is some 20 to 25 ft. below the level of their
land. Now that the owners have been induced
in their own interest to give more attention to
the cultivation of their coco-nuts manv of the
kampongs are quite clean and maintained in
good order. The grass, kept down by the
grazing of sheep and buffaloes, is generally of
a bright soft colour which lends a very
pleasant appearance to the plantation. On

a.
o
U

S
o

^2
O

Face p. 172.

COCO-NUT INDUSTRY IN MALAY STATES 173

each kampong there Is always at least one
commodious attap building", and sometimes
more, for the owner and his family and rela-
tions, and with the adjoining paddy land also
cultivated, and the coco-nuts, fruit trees, &c.,
on the premises, the products of which alone
should prove ample for their support, the
Malays appear to have everything that is
needful for their welfare. That the Govern-
ment attach great importance to these native
holdings may be gathered from the fact that
at the end of 1913 a law was passed entitled
the '* Malay Reservations Enactment " for
reserving and delineating in the States certain
areas for the sole occupation of Malays, and
the conditions of the land held under the
Enactment are as follows : —

(a) No State land within the reservation
shall be sold or leased to any person not being
a Malay ;

(d) No right or interest of a Malay in such
land may be transferred ;

(c) Neither execution, sale, nor charge shall
be of effect. The provision marked (d) may
be permitted for a perioci not exceeding three
years.

174 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

While on the subject of native holdings,
we may here point out the advantages the
natives gain under the " Coco-nut Cultivation
Enactment" in Kedah, an adjacent State, the
object of which is to encourage the planting
of coco-nuts by small proprietors in certain
districts outside the paddy-planting area.

Any person who Is cultivating, in any of the
districts enumerated in the Schedule of the
Enactment, land of which the area does not
exceed 20 relongs (26 acres) and in respect of
which he has paid land tax or land rent for the
past year, may, on planting not less than thirty
coco-nuts, obtain remission of land tax or land
rent in respect of one relong of his land for
three years. Further, he can obtain remission
of land tax for the same period for an additional
half relong of land for every fifteen trees
planted.

In order to obtain the remission authorized,
the owner of the land with coco-nuts must
report to the penghulu within six months from
the date of planting. The penghulu himself,
or his deputy, is then required to visit the
land, inspect it and count the number of trees
upon it which, in his opinion, are not more

COCO-NUT INDUSTRY IN MALAY STATES 175

than six months old. After this, he is to issue
a certificate to the owner, who has to take it
to the land officer of the district. The
latter is empowered to act on the penghulu's
certificate without further inquiry and to issue
to the owner a second certificate exempting
him from land tax or land rent in respect of
that area of his land which contains coco-nut
trees at the rate of 30 to the relong, no
areas being included in addition to the first
relong that is less than half a relong in extent.

When the land officer's certificate covers
all the land owned by the proprietor, the latter
is exempt from attendance at the land office
until the fourth year ; when only part is so
covered the proprietor is required to pay land
tax or land rent upon the residue not planted
in coco-nuts, or not retaining them at the
specified rate.

If a man plants coco-nuts on part of his land
only in the first year and obtains remission of
the land tax or land rent for that year, and
then plants a further portion of his land in the
second year he can obtain a second certificate
from the penghulu in respect of the second
portion, which entitles him to the remission

176 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

of land tax or land rent in respect of that
portion for a further period of three years.

The Director of Lands is required to send
land rangers to inspect lands for which the
special privileges of this enactment have been
granted, and the same officer must, on a report
from the land officer, send land rangers to
make inquiries if a penghulu is suspected of
neglecting his duties, or of not acting in
accordance with the provisions of the Enact-
ment. Thus a certain amount of supervision
is provided.

We cannot conclude our remarks on the
native holdings without alluding to what
was once a very common practice by Malays
of collecting coco-nuts with the monkey called
the *' Broh." We do not all take life in the
patient and easy way of the Malay, and this is
a particular instance, we think, of their peculiar
character in this respect, for while it might
certainly, perhaps, be both an amusing and
interesting spectacle to watch for a short time*
we do not think there are many nationalities
who would have the patience that the proceed-
ing requires. In the first place, it very often
takes much urgent pressure to get the monkey

A series of fourteen photographs illus-
trating the life and work in progress on
various estates.

I
1

COCO-NUT INDUSTRY IN MALAY STATES 177

to climb the tree at all. When It does at last
reach the crown of the tree many tugs by the
Malay at the rope to which the monkey is tied
(as will be seen in the illustration oriven) are
required to direct the animal to the ripe fruit
that has been selected ; meantime, often more
than one unripe nut comes away before the
proper one is collected. Again the monkey
absolutely refuses — notwithstanding that there
are many shouts and commands from the man
at the foot of the tree — to be hurried and
apparently takes his own time in doing the
work required.

Apart from this very tedious process it
would, we think, be quite impossible to devise
a worse method of collection. Fortunately,
therefore, the custom, with the exception of
the State of Pahang and a few other places,
has almost ceased to exist in the Malay States.

178

APPENDIX.

The Dwarf or King Coco-nut [Nyor Gading)
IN Federated Malay States.

(Contributed by the Editor of Tropical

Life.)

Whilst passing this second impression for
publication several communications came to
hand almost simultaneously, with further par-
ticulars of the dwarf coco-nut mentioned by
the authors on pp. 35-37. As one of my
letters was from Mr. L. C. Brown, giving me
a discretion in the matter, I have decided to
"lift" from the September-October, 19 19/ issue
of The Agricultural Bulletin of the Federated
Malay States, an important article contributed
by Mr. Will. P. Handover, manager of the
Sungei Nipah Estate in Negri Sembilan, on
the progress made with this variety since
pp. 35-37 were written, and to publish these
notes as an illustrated appendix.

I take it that wherever the palms on the

APPENDIX 179

Sungei Nipah Estate came from, the variety
itself hailed probably in the first place from
the dwarf variety that flourishes in the Nicobar
Islands, and which is said to yield about
eighteen to twenty-four months from the date
of planting/ Dean Copeland, when in charge
of the Los Banos Agricultural College in the
Philippines, discusses the various kinds on
pp. 111-113 of his book, "The Coco-nut,"
where he tells us a good deal more of these
smaller palms than any other writer whose
books or articles have so far come before me.
One wonders, therefore, whether there are
more dwarf varieties or trees of one variety,
to be met with in the Philippines than else-
where. Perhaps some reader of these notes
can throw some light on the subject.

Cominor to Mr. Handover's article in the
Federated Malay States Bu/lett?i, he tells us
that "the increasing rise in the price of copra
having given renewed activity to coco-nut

^ See C. G. Chakrapani Ayangar, B.A., in the Decem-
ber, 1919, issue of the Wealth of India^ p. 535. What
is meant by the term " from th*^ date of planting " ? Ic
must be from the time that the seedHng, not the seed-
nut, is put out in the field. — (Ed., T.L.)

180 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

planting in this country it is important that
some facts of that interesting variety, the
Dwarf Coco-nut, should be put on record,"
and he then goes on to say : —

Description, — The dwarf coco-nut known in
this country as nyiur gading (or nyor gading)
is remarkable for its early fruiting, palms only
lo ft. high bearing abundant fruits touching
the ground. The young palm grown under
good conditions starts to flower in its third
year and produces ripe fruit in about nine
months from the appearance of the flower
spike. The initial flower spikes contain only
male flowers, but other spikes occurring in
rapid succession are larger and bear an in-
creasing number of female flowers also, a spike
from a six-year-old tree being counted with 200
young female flowers, whilst trusses of fruit
from similar trees have been found with as
many as fifty-five ripe nuts. The dwarf coco-
nut is generally of a bright yellow colour, and
Windstedt in his quotations from Malayan
Folk Lore speaks of * nyiur gading, the golden
coco-nut, only to be found in princes' gardens.'

Th^re is, besides, a distinct brick-red variety,
also a green variety, and a number of inter-

APPENDIX 181

mediate colours which might be ranged as
ivory yellow (hence ''gading"), golden yellov/,
orange, brick red, green bronze, and deep
green. The flower spikes, leaf bases, and leaf
ribs, correspond in colour with the fruit, giving
the compact trees a very handsome appearance.
Again there are semi-tall trees of these different
colours, which are later coming into bearing,
have slightly larger nuts, and are less prolific
than the true dwarf.

The dwarf yellow strain appears as the
most prolific, whilst the other varieties vary
proportionately in their productiveness and also
in the shape and size of the nut ; they are
evidently the outcome of cross fertilization
from original types, or " mutants."

The different varieties are distinguished
amongst the Malays and Javanese under par-
ticular names, such as ityiur (klapd) shading,
k. 7nerah (or rajah), k, kapak, k. pisaiig,
k. puyok, k. babi, k. sepang and k. nipah {klappa,
of course, is the Dutch term for coco-nuts).

A full grown leaf of the '* nyiur gading ''
measures only 12 ft. from base to tip, whilst
an average ripe nut is 22^ in. by 24 in. in circum-
ference, and the palm stem 24 in. in girth ; the

182 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

nut has an average amount of fibre, a thin
shell, and proportionately with the big nut a
good thickness of white kernel. This ** meat '^
is said by the Malays to be richer in oil and
sweeter in taste than that of the big coco-nut,
and it is therefore very popular with them for
domestic purposes.

In spite of diligent inquiry it has not been
possible for the writer to find out the definite
origin of this dwarf nut, but it seems first to have
occurred as a **sport" or ''mutant" probably in
Java. Trees, thirty years old or so, occur in
different parts of the peninsula and many of
these still bear abundantly.

In 1912, 500 acres were planted with these
dwarf nuts at Sungei Nipah Estate, on the
coast between Port Dickson and Sepang
Point, and this is probably the only estate of
dv/arf coco-nuts in the world. The seed nuts
for this were obtained from trees, then about
twelve years old, grown by the Malays on the
" bendanofs " of the Krian rice district, who are
reported to have got their original seed, in-
dividually at a dollar each, from ships arriving
at Penang probably from Java. From reliable
reports from India it appears that this dwarf

APPENDIX 183

form is practically unknown, either in Malabar,
the Madras Presidency, or Ceylon, though
isolated groups, as that of the **king coco-nuts"
at Mount Lavlnia, doubtless occur. Scattered
trees also occur throughout Java and Sumatra,
but not in any quantity, seed for planting
having been sent to all the places named, also
to Manila, and to the northern and eastern
States of the Malay Peninsula.

With regard to its growth, like all coco-
nuts, this dwarf form appears to be exceedingly
hardy, growing well either in white clay, red
loam, or deep peat ; in fact it seems to thrive
in any situation where wa'"er is abundant, yet
not stagnant, though it is evident that well
drained alluvium suits it best. In such a soil
six-year-old palms have been counted with
234 nuts on (excluding ovules) and the trees
average eighty nuts a year. The only figures
available, however, are those from Sungei
Nipah, where, unfortunately, the young palms
were allowed in the early days of the war
to get choked by lalang during the third year,
and although they have responded wonderfully
to better treatment since, this set-back at so
critical a period will doubtless have its effect

184 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

throughout the life of the trees. The Malays
say " nyiur gadang suka perkawan," and palms
near dwellings readily demonstrate how well
it responds to good treatment.

The crop in the first year of production at
Sungei Nipah, over 225 acres, was 102,000
nuts, whilst the second year it was 574,000 nuts,
and the third year it will probably be nearly a
million ;^ from which the writer considers an
average yield for dwarf nuts may be predicted
as follows : —

At the end of 4th year = 1st yielding year = 10 nuts per tree.

5'h

2nd

30 „

6ih

3rd

60 „

7th

4th

8th

5th

100

9th

6th

120 nuts per tree in
full bearing.

1 1 have heard that this estimate was not reached. If
it was not, there must have been something seriously
the matter, but I cannot, unfortunately, say what the
cause was unless the smaller crop was due to the enforced
neglect and consequent choking by lalang mentioned
on page 183. Critics have claimed that these dwarf
varieties do not maintain the excellent yields they start
with ; one correspondent in the Malay Mail for instance,
spoke, from hearsay, of the crop going down after the
eleventh year, but this was denied. If, however, the
estate under discussion did not reach the estimated
miUion nuts in the third year, during which Mr. Handover

Fig. 90. — Dwarf coco-nuts growing on clay, Negri Sembilan, Federated

Malay States.

Fig. 91. — Dwarf coco-nuts on four-year-old trees on Sungei Napah Estate
(taken Christmas, 1917), Negri Sembilan, Federated Malay States.

Face p. 184.

Q
O

c
o

Face p, 185

APPENDIX 185

These estimates in face of yields from in-
dividual trees will appear conservative, but
there are many points v^^hich have to be con-
sidered when dealing with average yields, and
no doubt under ideal conditions a much higher
average could be obtained.

In making copra it has been found that
the nut from a young tree is smaller than that
coming later, and its kernel likewise thinner,
whilst of course on heavy yielding trees the
nuts are a little below the average in size, but
500 nuts to a picul of copra is a general
average, which would be decreased somewhat
later as more even nuts with thicker '* meat "
were obtained. With the leaf length only

was writing his article, if the reputation of these dwarf
palms is not to suffer, the exact cause of this "throw-
back " must be ascertained. We want to know what
the total crop amounted to in igig, and also — in due
course — what it will work out at during the present year,
for, if the output starts to shrink and remains on a lower
level, the claims made by this article fall to the ground.
Suppose, for the sake of argument, only three-quarters
of a million nuts were gathered in 1919, or, if wished,
only half a million, which means a crop smaller than the
one shown for 1918; what could have caused such a
falling off, and is the cause a temporary or a permanent
one ? [Ed. T.L. June, 1920.]

186 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

12 ft. it was found convenient to plant the
palms 24 ft. by 20 ft., which gave 90 to the
acre, a number nearly double of that required
when planting big palms.

It will be evident, therefore, that with this
planting we should get, say, in the fifth year
of planting 90 x 30 nuts = 2,700 nuts per
acre = ^ = 5f piculs copra per acre. Likewise,
in the ninth year 90 x 120 = 10,800 nuts per
acre = —^ = 2if piculs copra per acre. Com-
paring this with the big coconut which does
not produce till after its fifth year but might
be estimated as giving in its ninth year 45 trees
at 40 nuts = 1,800 nuts per acre = ^^^ = 8
piculs of copra per acre. With the dwarf trees
there is the great advantage of easy and rapid
picking, and inspection for beetles and other
pests, though of course in manufacture one
has to handle almost 2^ times the number of
nuts per picul of copra, but this is not of so
great consequence when working with newly
devised methods and machinery and dealing
with large quantities.

The profit per acre from five-year-old
dwarf coco-nuts to-day can even stand com-
parison with that of rubber, and the man who

APPENDIX 187

is planting to-day and has to consider markets
five years ahead, might do worse than place
confidence In the dwarf coco-nut.

Leaving Mr. Handover to show what actual
crops his dwarf palms gave last year and
what they will yield during 1920, it will be
Interesting to know, in any case, the parent
centre of the dwarf coco-nut, and how many
varieties there are. Are they '* sports " or
"freaks" and the bigger palms and nuts but
more vigorous strains and better developed
varieties of the normal parents of these
smaller trees? Mr. O. W. Barrett, in his
Bulletin No. 25, on ** The Philippine Coco-nut
Industry," published from Manila In 1913,
speaks on p. 51 of the Dwarf, Dahili or
Mangipod nuts, "which palm appears to be
more or less common throughout the Archi-
pelago, and from its habits of early maturity
and apparent prollficness, It Is recommended
as a variety for planting. Besides this there
is still another rare form of dwarf coco-nut
which yields a large number of small nuts,
some of them not more than 6 to 8 centimetres
(2 to 3 inches) in diameter when husked."

In contrast to these, the same paragraph

188 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

goes on to say that extremely large nuts
probably do not pay. It is questionable
whether the giant nuts, claims Mr. Barrett,
are anything more than vigorous strains of
the more common kinds. The chances are
that nuts of the giant type when planted in a
nursery with others, would not only develop
a stronger seedling, but that the plant itself
would tend to show the character of the parent
even under adverse conditions. If this is so,
why cannot the opposite happen and so cause
these dwarf varieties, either in the Nicobars,
in the Philippines, or elsewhere, to do the same
as the giants but in the opposite direction, and
so become smaller instead of larger. Further-
more, whilst the planting of the giants is not
considered to be advisable, as the yield in
copra per acre does not seem as being likely
to equal that from ordinary palms, the yield in
copra per acre from the dwarf varieties, or at
least from some of them, seems to surpass that
obtained from the usual run of coco-nuts on the
estates and in the smaller gardens.

Dean Copeland in his book on ** The Coco-
nut," also in the Philippines, tells us of several
dwarf varieties (see p. iii), as, for instance,

APPENDIX 189

the coco niiio, or baby nut, which produces at
four years of age, when the trunk is so short
that the nuts can be collected for several years
by persons standing on the ground. Mr.
Handover's photographs make it appear as if
the nuts themselves touch the ground in some
cases. The coco nino is also exceedingly pro-
ductive and has been known to give 1 1 2 and
105 nuts in two successive cuttings two months
apart. It yields a rather thick and hard copra.

The Piigai, we are told, is a very dwarf nut,
7 centimetres in diameter, with a husk 2 centi-
metres thick. Apparently rather a curiosity
than a useful nut. It probably fruits at three
years. There is also a variety, very likely
identical with this, in India, also a dwarf
variety introduced from Ceylon to Madagascar.
We are not told, however, whether it was
indigenous to Ceylon. Is it a "sport," and
did it come from elsewhere ?

Then again, Dean Copeland goes on to
say that there is the dwarf nut known in the
Visayan Islands as Dahili and another known
in Laguna as Maiigipod, The latter reminds
one from the description, of the Nyor Gacling
palms in Malaya, for they, as shown by Mr.

190 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Handover's illustration, bear nuts right on the
ground, for, Mr. Copeland says, the Maiigipod
produces fruit when the tree is so small that
the cluster rests directly on the ground. The
dwarf Jaffna variety of Ceylon and the
Kalapa Babi of Java are, claims the Philippine
authority, like the Maiigipod or identical
with it.

Mons. Em. Prudhomme, of Paris, in his
otherwise exhaustive work on the Coco-nut,
barely mentions these dwarf varieties. All he
tells us is that they produce at an early age
and yield prolific crops (see p. 27) of his book.

All this is of interest to anyone thinking
of planting dwarf varieties of coco-nuts as it
will enable him to choose his variety or the
nearest centre to which he can look for
supplies. It does not, however, help us to
say whether these "dwarfs" are as natural
as the ordinary kinds, nor does it seem possible
to prove definitely whether these have come
from one common centre in fairly recent years,
or whether, if ever, all the varieties were as
one in the beginning, that the dwarfs, like the
giants, have been evolved from a "sport" or
smaller or larger growth at the several centres

APPENDIX 191

where they are now to be found under one
name or the other.

Possibly Eastern coco-nut and vegetable-oil
men generally, would be surprised if they
realized how few of those who supply the
machinery and appliances needed to extract
the oil from the nuts or who otherwise have
to do with the industries connected with oil
extraction and distribution, are aware of the
existence of these dwarf species of palms and
their fruits.

I discovered that this is so, however, when
showing the MS. of these additional notes to
those who are interested in vegetable-oil
machinery, in order to get one or two points
explained. The tendency seems to be to
confuse dwarf coco-nuts with other tropical
oil-yielding nuts used in commerce, such as
the corozo. the cohune, and those nuts which
bear the ambiguous name of coquito. The
latter name must be a diminutive of the
Spanish word coco = a coco-nut, and should
therefore, I take it, refer to the nuts of the
dwarf palms. Under the name of coquito
however, I notice that recent correspondents
have included the babassu or coco-babassu nut
as well as the others.

192 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

Since this is so, would it not be as well to
start "right now'' and straighten out this
confusion, or else, when ordering the necessary-
machinery, mistakes of an aggravating and
costly nature are likely to occur, especially as
such machinery as a rule will have to be sent
to the countries of origin (since the freight on
the nuts themselves would surely prohibit their
being shipped for the extraction to be done at
the distributing and consuming centres), and
mistakes like those I am warning you to avoid
would only be found out when the machinery
has been made, shipped across and erected and
a start made to deal with the nuts, if not in the
actual extraction of the oil itself.

I say this because I take it that when it
comes to extracting the oil, the kernels to be
treated are all one and the same to the
crushing machine or presses, since the larger
pieces of meat or kernel would be broken up
or otherwise reduced in size. On this account
it does not seem likely that an estate having
dwarf nuts as well as nuts more normal in size,
would have to put up special machinery to
treat the meat or copra for oil-extraction.
One standard equipment should do for all.

APPENDIX 193

The smaller nuts would probably contain a
little more oil. The difference in their size
would have no effect except, that possibly
a slightly larger quantity could be and would
be passed through a given size of breaking
rolls. The difference in this case would, I
imagine, be too slight to be anything but
negligible. This is a point however that only
the man on the spot, the planter on the one
hand and the engineer on the other, can say
for certain after seeing the nuts to be treated.
All I am now advising is that no machine be
ordered without samples of the nuts to be
treated being first sent to the engineers
making the equipment ; the name or a descrip-
tion of the nuts is not sufficient to be entirely
reliable.

The only difference in the equipment that
I can think of on the spur of the moment
would arise when a firm, that is, a planter,
wished to include a nut-splitting machine.
This of course would have to be adjusted in
order to take the smaller sized nuts. I am
also told that the reducing rolls might have to
be ** set-up," but if so, the remainder of the
plant would be the same as for the ordinary
13

194 GUIDE TO COCO-NUT PLANTING

sized nuts. The whole matter, however, is
too new for a decisive opinion to be expressed.
Before this can be done, news must be re-
ceived from Sungei Nipah of the dwarf palms
having established their claim as large, perma-
nent yielders, and when the reputation of these
small nuts enjoys the confidence of future
planters, then it will be time to agitate with
the engineers to evolve the exact type of
machinery needed throughout. Meanwhile
I am sure we are much obliged to Mr.
Handover for the publicity he has given to
the experimental planting on a commercial
scale of these dwarf palms, and I personally
am also indebted to the Company (strange to
say, one of our leading West Indian firms) for
the further information they have given me to
augment what Mr. Handover has had to say
in his notes. Without this help from the
Company in London, this Appendix might
never have been written ; it certainly would
have been less useful to future planters than
I hope it may now prove to be as time
goes on.

INDEX.

All the items refev to Coco-
The term trees is used

Aeration of soil quickens returns,
48

American market for copra, 109

Analysis of crops before manuring
95. 96

Ants, see white ants, red ants,
termites, &c.

Arsenic, sugar and flour for white
ants, 131

Artificial manures and their applica-
tion, 94

AspidioUts or scale insects, 145

Backward trees and their treatment,

may be due to seed-nuts, 99

Bacteria in copra, ic6

Bamber (Mr. Kelway) and green

manures, 70
, on plant food absorbed by

the trees, 102
Bananas as an inter-crop, 65, 66
Baracoa (Cuba), what bud-rot did

in. 143
Barbecues and how they must be
erected, 108

— for drying, 106

Barrett, O. \V., on mulching, 51
Basic slag as a manure, 100
Beetles, 83, 113 <?/ seq.

— discouraged by green manures,
117, 118

— , remedial and preventive
measures, 1 19, 120

Black beetles and the damage they
do, 116

Boga medelloa, see Ttphrosia Can-
dida

Boiling water for white ants, 130

nuts unless otherwise stated,
in preference to palms,

Boname, M. (of Mauritius) on ihe

sword bean, 76
Bone meal as a manure, loi

^' green manure, 73

Bordeaux mixtures discussed, 151-

155
for P. palmarum or leaf

disease, 137

, how 10 make, 137, 139

, its proportions and formulce,

151. 152
Borneo river bank soil, 17
Brachartena coloxantha, a lepido-

pterous pest, described, 137

, possible remedies for, 138

"Brohs," see Monkeys, 176, 177
Bud-rot disease discussed, 142, 143

— see also Fesialozzia palmarwji
Buffaloes keep down grass, 172
Burning after felling, 20

— a "good burn," 20-21

— and the next process, 23

— Packing the growth for, 22

— Stacking for the second, 22
Butter from coco-nuts, no

CanavaUa ensiforniis as a green

manure, 70

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