· preface like others interested in tropical agriculture the a , u thor, sin ce his arrival in...
TRANSCRIPT
filamel l lllniuemitg ifliht argEtha ta , New fl unk
BO UGHT W ITH T HE I N C OME OF T HE
SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND
T HE G IFT OF
HENRYW SAGE
COCONUT CULT IVAT ION AND
PLANTAT ION MACH INERY
[Fron tispieca
INFLORE SCENCE OF THE COCONUT PALM .
T h e spath e in bm w b ow—16150
COCONUT CULTIVATION
PLANTATIONMACHINERY
H . LAKE COGHLAN(op S INGAPORE AND JOHORE , MALAv ISE N I NSULA, AND T HE BRIT ISH AND
AS IAT IC AGEN CY, LT D. , LONDON)LAT E MANAGER AND D IRE CT OR, ROSELY AND B INT ANG E ST AT ESJOHORE DELEGAT E T O PLANT ERS' ASSOC IAT ION OF MALAYA
AND
J. W . H INCHLEYASSOC IAT E ROVAL SCHOOL OF MINES , WH I TWOR’
I‘H SCHOLAR, FE LLOW OF THE
CHEMICAL SOC IET Y, LE CT URER AT T HE IMPERIALCOLLEGE OF SC IE NCE AND T E CHNOLOGY
LONDON, E T c .
SE COND EDI TI ON
LONDON
C R O S BY L O C KW OOD AN D SON
7, STATIONERS
’HALL COURT , LUDGAT E HILL, E .C.
and 5, BROADWAY,WESTMINSTER, s.w .
[ 9 1 7
Al l r ig /I ts r ese rved
PREFACE
LIKE others interested in tropical agriculture,
the Au th or , sin ce his arrival in England, hashad many in quiries for cocon ut propositions
,
either in the shape of plan tation s, nuts,or
copra, and for in formation on present and futureoutputs . He was also pleased to receive arequest from the editor of the Fin a n cia l N ew s
(Empire Section) , to write something on thesu bj ect
,which is reproduced here .
The first article adopted a precautionary ton e,
and the secon d advocated— in addition to plantingfr om the beginning— an agricultural bank
,for
which in Malaya there is a great field .
Were a capitalist, interested in copra, asked toput up mon ey for the plan tin g of the coconut
,
he would at on ce scout the idea . I f this attitudebe common ly adopted, and the abnormal presen tday requirements con tinue, what is to happen tothe in dustry when the man ufacturer is restrictedto present cultivated areasFor example
,a material like copra costs from
£8 to £9 per ton to produce ; it is selling for£30, an d consequently derived products, namely,margarin e
,soap
,candles, confection ery, and fat s
vi COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
for human con sumption become proportionatelydear.That the outputs from presen t supplying areas
will be further restricted is kn own from the fa ctthat about half of presen t yields goes back in tothe grou n d as seed n uts for n ew ar eas ; a qu arter isused for local con sumption and on ly the remainin g qu ar ter is available for for eign markets .
There is n o other course open to the foreigncon sumer than to protect himself again st fam in epr ices by plan ting a b too/£15720 .
Furthermore,be it n oted
,a patern al Govern
ment now prohibits by law the Malay in theFederated Malay States from parting with hisholdings as being against his best in terests ; an dit is w ith great difficulty and un certain ty th at aproperty can be obtain ed in the Dutch In dies,wher e the proposed own er must be a Dutchman ;and in the case of a Br itish company a directoratein Hollan d is n ecessary . Much tim e is taken upin secu ring the Offi cial signatures to a con cession
,
an d un til theQu een ’s seal is affixed to it,aDutch
gran t is said to be of little commercial value . Th e
coun try where the Governmen t exten ds a heartw elcome to the capitalist plan ter is British NorthBorn eo . Its possibilities as a cocon ut centreare great, an d are gen erally ackn owledged to beas good, if n ot better, than in an y oth er tropicalcoun try, the Philippin es in cluded . Land nearthe sea, complying in every way with the requiremen ts of the palm,
is to be had on Governmen tgran t at an an nual quit ren t of 50 cen ts pe r
PREFACE vii
acre, for the first six years, and thereafter $2per acre . Governmen t is steadily su pplementinglabour by the introduction of Chinese coolies
,
who are born agriculturists.Though confin ed principally to Malaya
,this
little book may be widely useful. The author doesnot pose as an authority
,but merely as on e who
,
durin g twenty odd years in the Tropics,has
gleaned useful in formation which may assistoth ers. Authors of other books on the in dustryare generous enough to admit that they havenot a monopoly of phrases, ideas, and sugg es
tions, but it is but fair to men tion that, incompilin g this book, a wide ran ge of evidencehas been con sulted as a check on the Author’sideas. Special ackn owledgmen ts are due forquotation s and in formation taken from theirrespective publication s
,to the Government
In spector of Coconuts in the Federated MalayStates ; to Messrs. Ferguson ,
of Ceylon ; toAlford N icholls, E sq . ,
the Director of Agricu lture to the Federated Malay States, and toH. N . Ridley, Esq . , an d the Imperial Department ofAgriculture for the West In dies .
H. L. C .
THE BR IT ISH AND AS IAT IC AGENCY,LTD.
39, LOMBARD STRE E T , LONDON, E .C.
CONT ENT SPAGE
PRE FACE
E X CHANGE TABLE S— DOLLARS STERLING
INTRODUCT ION
CHAPTER I
SO ILI ts An a lysis— Rain fa ll
CHAPTER I I
PRE PARAT ION OF THE LANDFe ll ing Stumping - Lin i-ng — Holing— Drain ing
CHAPTER I I I
SE E D NUTSNu rserie s Germinating— Cle an We eding— Cul tivation
— Manu ring— Fen cin g
CHAPTER I V
PE ST s
Org/ates r h inoceros (B lack Be e tle ), Rhyn chophom s ferru gi
fne'u s (Red B e e tle) —Me thods of DestroyingBe etle s— Termites gest
'roi (White An ts) A Cocon u t Pest,” by L . C . Brown — Agricu ltu ral Pests— AnE n actmen t— Disease
CHAPTER VMANAGEMENT OF THE CROP
Age of Cocon u t Trees Crops Propping Bu n che sGathe rin g— Hu sking— Extraction of Oil — Poon ac—Extraction ofToddy
COCONUT CULT I VAT ION
CHAPTER VI
COPRA
Me thod of Preparation — Statistica l Retu rnsCOI B
Me thod of Preparat ion fi Market Pr ice s
CHAPTER VI I
E ST IMATE SSummary of Cost— N otes on E stimate s— P rofi t from
Coir and By- produ cts— E qui vale n ts in OilTABLE S — Annu al Profi ts from Copra— Matu re E states
— I mmatu re E state s — N e t Profi t pe r cen t . on
I nvested Capital
CHAPTER VI I I
MACHI NE RY AND PLANTMachin ery and Plan t for Cocon u t Factorie sE STIMATE S —Cost of Produ ction of Coconu t
Oil Cake in a. Tropical Cou n try
CHAPTER I X
CATCH- CROPSCoffee Robusta , e tc .
APPENDI X
GENERAL INFORMAT I ON AND PLANTAT I ON TABLE S
SUPPLEMENT
WE ST INDIA CULT I VATION
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24
COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
(cocos NUC IFERA)
I NTRODUCTI ON
THIS book is intended as much for the Chinesean d n ative planters in the East as for theEuropean, and the aim of the author is toint erest them m ere deeply in the cultivation
,
W ithout wearyin g them by excessive quotation sfrom other write rs, or by voluminous statistics inregard to market prices. These change rapidly
,
and published records soon become out Of date,
and in such matters, each country is a law un toitself ; to an in telligent mind all that is required ,
in connection with an in dustry, is a frameworkor foundation to which can be added a superstructure modelled On local condition s, requirements and comparison s.The cultivation Of the coconut is not in the
experimental stage— it is cer tain and lasting,
and as it has assured comfort an d prosperity tomillion s of the human race in the past, so in thefu ture will it continue to do, an d to a far greaterexten t.That the plan ter will con tinue to score con
siderab ly over the manufacturer and con sumeris beyond any doubt, for all markets, now short
B
2 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
of animal fats for human consumption, turn fortheir requirements to the coconut, and well mayit be said that “ he who planteth a coconut treedoeth a virtuous act.”
Out of the hurricane belt it is one of thesafest things in tropica l agriculture, and thehistory of the palm makes this in controvertible.Nothing that grows on earth has so many usesfor humani ty as this wonderful tree. To thenative it is food, drink, clothes, house, and manyother important necessaries of life.The roots furnish— a remedy for fevers.The trunk— wood for house - building
,boat
building, plantation bridges , furniture (withbeautiful grainThe leaf— thatching
,attaps
,baskets
,torches
,
hats, mats, sieves .The stalk— combs, firewood.
The flower an d cut flower stalk— a medicalastringent, toddy or palm wine, arrack, jaggerysugar, Vin egar.The husk— coir for ropes
,mats
,cordage
,
brooms, beddin g, brushes, paper pulp .
The shell lamps, fuel,drinking vessels
,
kitchen spoon s, charcoal, ru bber latex cups.The kernel or albumen
,commercially known
as copra— Oil, cattle feed, nut butter, soap, foodproducts, candles.The milk- a delicious beverage.
i ‘
From comments heard from day to day therewould appear to be a grave element Of danger to
INTRODUCT ION 3
the capitalist about to en ter th e field of tropicalculture, but this supposed danger is not so
formidable as is assumed. Nevertheless,there
are pitfalls which should be avoided,and as the
coconut industry in the future, is to play soprominent a part in the financial world, the noteofwarning given in the following articles,writtenby the author, which appeared in the Financia lNews (Empire Section) of June 1 2 and 1 9 andJuly 3, 1 913, will not be out of place.
Reprinted from Financia l News,” Ju ne 1 2, 1913.
Remarkable attention is bein g directed toward the coconut industry, and on all sideson e hears of the boom that is at hand. Thecompany promoter is busy preparing his netsfor the promised good time, and the ex- tropicalman will, as usual, have an option ready, orknow of a fr ien d who has one. It may not beout of place therefore to put on record a fewremarks of a precaution ary nature .
“Malaya — the successful rubber and tincoun try — is also an ideal land for the cultivationOf the coconu t, its equable tropical climate ; its richalluvial soil ; its plentiful and even ly- distributedrain fall ; and its ozone—laden breezes all makingfor rapid and prolifi c growth. It must be remembered
,however
,that in the past, European s
have not given this particular cultivation thesame attention that h as been devoted to rubberand coffee
,and consequently the industry has
been confined almost entirely to the efforts of
4 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
the n atives . This will account for most of thecocon ut estates in Malaya being in the han ds OfMalays or Chin ese . The plan tin gs ar e more orless limited to the Kampongs
,or villages
,in
region s n ear the sea,or on n eighbourin g islan ds .
The titles usually take the form Of mukimpermits
, or Short agricultural leases, for blocksOften as small as five acres
,an d, in order to
Obtain an estate of any magn itude, it may benecessary to embrace 200 or 300 holdin gs , Thisis men tion ed to Show that at the presen t timein Malaya
,even though in the whole territory it
is estimated there are abou t acres un dercoconuts
,it is diffi cu lt to fi nd a plan tation in
bearing of 500 acres an d upwards held undersingle ownership
,or un der a modern title readily
n egotiable . The Governmen t does not look withfavour upon n atives partin g with their holdings
,
an d even when on e has overcome the difficultyof getting actual owner s’ (not squ atters
’
) sign atures to a sale agr eemen t
,ofii cial tran sfer may
be delayed, or even refused, on the groun d of
n on - complian ce in the past with cultivationcoven an ts, or more likely of quit ren ts in arrear .Therefore, it behoves one to move cautiouslywhen dealing with schemes sen t here for flotation .
“ Before partin g w ith any cash ,a few perti
nent question s to ask are :(1 ) Is the estate in on e block ? if n ot
,in
how many blocks, an d are they contiguous
(2) How many own ers are there ?(3) I f native- owned
,have sign atures been
INTRODUCT ION
attested by the Penghulu,or native headman
, Of
th e district(4) Was each owner given a consideration(5) Has the proposed sale the approval of the
British Residen t of the State ?“ The question s satisfactorily an swered
,on e
might proceed to obtain the expert report : butbefore this cost is in curred ven dors should be ina position to state, on independent evidence, th efollowing
1 ) Ag e Of trees ; n umber per acre .
(2) Nature of soil ; if peaty, whether it hasbeen limed .
(3) When and how m anured(45) What precautions have be en taken
again st red beetles .Is there evidence of trees defoliated by
caterpillars.
(6) I f there are catch crops, particulars of
them an d reven ue .(7) I f there are squatters, what rights or
sub - leases they have.
(8) The average n uts per tree per picking,n umber of pickings per ann um, eviden ced bysales of n uts or copra .
THE E X PERT
I n choosin g an expert to make a report, aLon don buyer would do well to bear in min dthat in Malaya there are few plan ters in timatelyacquain ted with the cocon ut industry, an d fewer
6 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
still who can speak from person al experien cein the actual plan ting of the n u t , from seed tocopra. As plan ters, however, they have hadthe experience of local condition s ; of soils and
man ures ; of the comparison s of on e estate withanother ; and they should be j udges of areas.For the remain ing details which usually go tomake up a report
,they turn, as every on e does,
to Chamber of Comm erce statistics and publish ed han dbooks. Regardin g the latter, too,a word is necessary. Recen tly there was publish ed in London a remarkably well- compiledbook on the coconut industry. It con tain s awon derful collection Of useful in formation
,but
does not embrace Malaya, where the best n utsare grown . It is compiled gen erally fromGovernmen t statistics, and seems to leave littleun told. I n it an estimate is given
,as an extract
“from a Governmen t report,’
on the cost Of
plan ting and bringin g in to bearing an area of
500 acres ; and the cost per acre at the end
of the sixth year is put at £13. Now ,this
cann ot be don e in Malaya ; for Ofii cial figuresthere, put the cost at about £25 per acr e. Thisfigure is certain ly on the high side
,as
,in the
Opin ion of experienced plan ters wh o in cocon utsdispense with fancy work
, £20 per acre shouldnot be exceeded.
STOCKS OF COPRA
An other point to be remembered in con n ection with this in dustry is the fact that unlimited
8 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
margarin e or n u t - butter), and the en ormous re
qu iremen ts Of the soap trade to say n othing of
the products used in the man ufacture of biscuits ,con fection ery
,cattle food - cake , coir fibre, and
yarn s,are ever increasing.
A foreword written recen t ly by Sir WilliamLever
,on e Of the greatest soap man ufactur ers,
says : ‘ I kn ow of no field of tropical agricu l
tur e that is so prom ising at the present momen tas coconut plan ting
,an d I do n ot think that
in the whole w orld there is a prom ise Of solucrative an in vestmen t Of time and mon ey asin this in dustry.
’
At presen t the exports from Malaya are :
Cocon u ts, va lu eCocon u t oilCopra
Tota l
or about sterling. This is boun d toin crease en ormously in the n ear fu ture
,an d in
British Malaya the Golden Cherson ese,’
it is called— is held out the promise of fortun ebeyon d ordin ary con ception ; but on e can on lygo there on somewhat prepared lin es
,an d w ith
capital, n ot n ecessarily large, b u t suffi cien t todeal w ith a t least 500 acres of land . Som eLon don ru bber agen cies have as many as ahun dred applican ts
,mostly pub lic - school boys
,
waiting for a vacan cy to occur out East : m en
now recogn ize that the Old profession s in Englan d are played out ; that for young fellows Of
INTRODU CT ION 9
stability and ambition new fields must be found .
Planting attracts them because of its open - airlife, its constant an d varied occupation ; inleisure moments
,excellent shooting
,and
,in
due course,splendid returns on their outlay .
THE I NVESTMENT AND I TS SECURITY
I f only capital could be found for thesewaiting men a great impetus would be givento one of the biggest industries the world willever see
,and the enterprising financiers would
have a new field for their energies and securityfor their investmen t The n atural questionarises
, How would a finan cier be securedWell
,to start with
,a youn g man taking up
the coconut industry would require to find somecash himself, and in his own interests as wellas of those who are subsequen tly to help him,
his capital should be the initial outlay, or costof the fi rst year’s developmen t ; in the succeeding years he would expect financial assistance.We will assume that 500 acres are to be putunder coconut cultivation.
ESTIMATE
The cost in the first year for land, felling,clearing, plant ing, an d buildings wou ld be about
in the second,third, fourth , fifth, and
sixth years,
each total,“ Therefore, at the end of the sixth year, the
young planter will have in vested andhave received financial support for the
COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
latter forming a first charge on the property,now of a valu e considerably higher than thetotal sum spent on it. Le t us now investigatethe return this should give the investors.
REVENUE FROM AN E STATE OF 500 ACRE S.
Trees plan ted 30 ft . by 30 ft . 48 trees to acre .
n u ts 1 ton copra .
Totalt
*6th year pe
ril;
10 n u ts per tree 5
nu ts 540
60 tons copra7th year30 nu ts per tree
nu ts180 tons copra
8th year40 nu ts per tree
nu ts240 tons copra
9th year50 nu ts per tree
nu ts300 tons copra
loth year50 nu ts
Net profit in five years on invested capital of
0 The se dividen ds improve with price ,ofdivi dend cou rse , and as it w ill b e many years h e3rd 227
’ fore su ppli es will exceed deman d,£20 per4th 271
2
7ton for copra. is con sidered conservative .
5th 2737, N othi ng is I n clu ded for profit on b yprodu cts .
On rich soil s tre e s often fru it in th e third and fou rthyear, b u t again st the se mu st b e reckoned th e trees that failto fru it till th e eighth year.
INTRODUCT ION I I
Surely here is suffi cient Security and returnfor an I nvestor.
WANTED— AN AGRICULTURAL BANK
The individual, however, does not generallywelcome an investment which mean s a lock - upof capital for a number of years
,and therefore
,
on a large scale,much help cannot be expected
from the public as individual in vestors . What!is really wan ted is an agricultural bank
,with a
Governmen t or semi- Officia l backing— a bankthat could raise mon ey at low rates
,and len d it
to the plan ters at 7 to 8 per cent. There isen ormous scope for such an in stitution, as Malayais at present without one . There are exchangebanks
,certain ly ; but plantation loans and real
estate mortgages are beyond their charter . TheF.M.S. Governmen t from time to time assistsplanters with loans but the amount available issmall in proportion to the requirements, and therelief given is con sequently very limited.
An agricultural bank would have a fin e field inwhich to operate
,and if it encouraged the small
depositor it would at the same time be establishing a feeling Of thrift at presen t almost unkn ownin Malaya among the n atives . There is, Of
course,in the Straits a small post Office savin gs
bank,but it is little understood, and the ordinary
in dividual has n ot the slightest kn owledge of
how its fun ds are admin istered— certainly it isn ot for the development of agriculture, now thebackbone of th e colony.
1 2 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
In the Straits an d EM. States there is an ative population of The total imports and exports of the Straits amount to
an d the E MS . toExtreme poverty
,as seen in the West, is there
unknown . Clothin g and food are cheap and tradegenerally good. Educate these people to savea portion of their earn ings by an easy depositsystem
,with a bank that wou ld in turn lend
to the agriculturist,n ative or European, and a
perfect system of indu strial finance is established .
TIMBER
The Eastern States Of Malaya, includingJOhore offer some attractive fields to thecapitah st planter in con cessions th at are welltimbered, and such timber is readily saleablein China, and at a good profit. While it is truethat the European may n ot fi nd the timberbusiness as profitable as a Chin aman would
,it
is a poin t worthy of n ote that in the EasternStates— Johore in particular— Chinese contraetors are to be found who, in exchange for thetimber they remove, will fell, clear, and plantup an estate ; or will han d over an estate plantedup in exchange for a first and second light catchcrop. The Chin aman , however , often tries to getthe better of the bargain
, an d though sucharrangements frequen tly lead to trouble
,many
are successful, and, w ith w atchful h andling, provemost economical .
Figure s in 1 91 1 .
INTRODUCT ION
CATCH CROPS
Catch crops, though not generally favoured,in that they are apt to take too mu ch out Of thesoil ,Often help considerably in th e waiting years.Among the best of these are Robusta coffee
,
limes , bananas, and native fruits. Indigo, withits usefulness in green manuring the permanentcultivation, is a pay ing catch crop, but needsa considerable amount of extra capita l at theoutset.
PRESENT -DAY PRICES
The price asked for cocon ut estates in bearingran ges from £30 to £60 per acre , and the majorityof them have not cost more than £1 8 per acre,if that, to bring to the fruiting stage. Estatesin good condition w il l no doubt command suchpr ices
,but to investors who are interested in th e
in dustry, apart from Speculation and companypromoting, the best advice that can be offeredis to start from th e beginnin g. Land termsfor coconuts are more favourable than thosefor rubber. The industry is popular with thereal native of the country— the Malay— and hethoroughly understan ds it. Thus local labouris available where Often for other agriculturalpursuits indentured labour— Tamil or Chinesewould have to be imported. Adverting to thequestion Of waiting six years for a return on
one’s investment,it may be of inte rest to mention
I 4 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
that six years before the rubber boom the writerhad much difi cu lty in persuading what is now
on e Of the biggest an d most prosperou s rubbercon cerns in Malaya to take up the cultivation of
that commodity. He refer s in particular to cont in en tal in terests, which came in to existen ce inthe early days of rubber
,and were highly
successful . The same people are now plan ting‘ the Con sols Of the East in the Malay Pen insula an d in the light Of modern requiremen ts, we see that the cocon ut in dustry is inits in fan cy an d that it is on the eve Of greaterdevelopmen t.
“ The importan t econ omic features Of tropicalagricu lture are perfectly evident to the Britishcapitalist
,and it is for him to consider whether
he will be early in the field of this great commercia l ven ture to commen ce plan ting operation s at on ce, patien tly to await return s, or
allow his con tin en tal Opponent to forestall h im .
TO on e who has lived in Malaya upward of
twen ty years, and w h o has watched its developmen t year by year and appreciates the won derfulfuture the coun try has before it, it is difficult tounderstan d why any persuasion is needed toen terprising Britishers at home to remove theircapital from the un certain ties Of strikes and theever- in creasing cost Of labour to a lan d of lucrative investmen ts with perfect security— on e free
,
practically, from the results of modern legislationas kn own in the Old Coun try.
“We carefully note the efforts of Germany in
16 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
coconut industry in Malaya, it may be of
interest to mention that the last mail from theEast brought n ews that the Government contemplate s brin g ing in an en actment forthwithfor securing to the Malays their interests inland, and the Objects and reasons Of the Billnow before the Federal Coun cil are set out asfollows
The object of this draft is to prevent thepassing of Malay lan d holdings into the possession of foreigner s. The reason for such legislation is found in the recen tly in creased demandfor agricultural lan d in the Federated MalayStates, and the temptation s thus held out toMalay landown ers to dispose of their lands cont rary to what the Governmen t believes to betheir best interests . ’
“ The note of warn ing I gave in my firstarticle was to this effect .”
H. L. C.
CHAPTER I
SOIL
HAVING reviewed the situation in general,
atten tion is now d irected to the actual workof cultivation, in connection with which thismanual is particularly con cerned.
The different branches of the industry aretreated under separate headings, and in naturalsequen ce soil should claim first attention .
Soil.— Low alluvial flats near the mouth of
rivers, which are occasion ally subjected to lightin un dations, are best suited for the cultivationof the coconut, the alluvial loam u sually beingrich and deep.
The climate should be tropical and preferablymaritime
, for the palm delights in the salin eatmosphere of the sea . Some inland plan tersmake up for the lack of this by putting saltwith the seedlings when planting out. Saltmanurin g
,however, is a debatable question, for
it is shown beyond doubt that given a cal careoussoil , coconuts grow as well inland as near thesea
,the presence of lime in the groun d being
an essen tial .Over low- lying lands peaty soil Often exists,
C
1 8 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
and provided the land has been well turn edprevious to being plan ted
,drain ed and limed,
to destroy the deleterious acids which have beenformed owing to stagn an t water lying on orclose to the surface for a long period, the treesthrive very well indeed.
Lan d under lalang grass is to be avoided,more especially such large aban don ed tractsas have been previously plan ted up withtapioca or gambier . Also to be avoided arepeat (unless thoroughly drain ed and limed),in ert and heavy reten tive soils, an d hill landwith an in clination greater th an on e in fifteen .
On the question of soil the Director Of Agriculture to the Federated Malay States, in his1 91 1 Official report, writes as followsOn e poin t is clear and that is that condition s
in Malaya are quite differen t from those Obtaining in other coun tries — for example
,the best
plan tations here are those on heavy clay lan d,
while the usual idea is that coconuts thrivebest in light soils . The major ity of plan tationshere are on the flat low - lying lan ds near thecoast.”
Soils in order ofmerit are placed thus1 . Alluvial flats n ear streams .2 . Deep brown gravelly loam .
3. Deep loamy san d .
E xamination of Soils — Weigh out a quarterof a pound Of the earth after it h as been welldried, boil it for a Short time in a pin t of water
SO IL 19
and th en pour it into a glass vessel. A pieceOf blue litmus paper should then be put in
,
and if the paper turns to a red colour,it shows
that acid humus is presen t in the soil,an d tha t
time i s n ecessa ry to cou n ter a ct th e a cidi ty.
More water is then to be added,the whole is
to be well stirred, and the muddy water is tobe carefully poured Off into a large vessel , carebeing taken that n on e Of the san d which settlesat the bottom be lost. The san d is then to bestirred up with fresh water
,which is again
poured off in to the larger vessel . And this isto be done several times un til the san d becomesquite clean and free from mud. The conten tsof the larger vessel are to be allowed to remainfor several hours un til the fi n e mud settles tothe bottom
,when the clear water is to be
carefully poured Off. The san d and the mudshould then be dried and weighed separately,when
,by comparing their weights with a quarter
of a poun d,the proportion of sand and earthy
matter in the soil can be ascertain ed. To discover the presen ce Of lime in a soil, it is on lynecessary to pour a little hydrochlor ic acid uponit ; this will cause effervescence if there be anycarbonate of lime, an d the degree of the effe r
vescen ce w ill give to an experien ced Observera rough indication Of the quan tity present . Toascertain the exact quan tity Of lime, however,the acid must be allowed to remain some timeon the soil
,an d then a solution of ammonia
must be added . All the lime will, by this
2 0 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
mean s,be dissolved out Of the soil, an d it will
remain in the liquid, from when ce it can bethrown down by a solu tion of oxalate of
ammon ia. Bu t th is process can on ly be attemptedby a person having some kn owledge of chemistry.
The proportion of vegetable matter, or humus,in the soil is ascertained in a rough mann er,by heating for an hour to a red heat a givenquantity Of thoroughly dry earth in an ironor clay vessel
,when the vegetable matter will
be burn t Off. The earth is then to be cooledand weighed
, and the loss in weight will givethe proportion of humus in the soil (AlfordN icholls) .
Classifi cation of Soils (after Sch u b le r an dWrightson ).
Classes. Sub -Clas ses .
1 . Clayor argillaceou s soils . 1 . With lime .
(Over 50pe r cen t . of clay .) 2 . Withou t lime .
I I . Loamy soils. 1 . With lime .
(30 to 50per cen t .ofclay.) 2 . Withou t lime .
III . San dy loams .
(20 to30pe r cen t . of clay.)With lime .
Withou t lime .
I V . Loamy san ds .
(10 to 20per cen t . ofclay.)With lime .
Withou t lime .
V. Sandy soils.
(Over 70per cen t. ofsand.)With lime .
Withou t lime .mH
mu
mu
VI . Marly soils. Clayey marl .(5 to 20 per cen t. of lime .) Loamy marl .
San dy loam marl .Loamy sand marl .Vege table marl .u
p
wp
u
SO IL 2 1
Classes. Sub -Classes .
Calcareou s soils. 1 . Clayey calcareous soil .(More than 20 per cen t . 2 . Loamy calcareou s soil .of lime .) 3. San dy loam calcareous soil .
4. Loamy sand calcareou ssoil.
5. Vege table calcareou s soil .6. Pu re calcareou s soil (with
ou t clay or san d) .
VI I I . Vege table soils . 1 . Clayey humu s.
(More than 5 per cen t . of 2 . Loamy humus.
humus .) 3. San dy humu s.
4. Bog or peat .
Each of the first twenty- one sub - classes areagain sub- divided in to three groups accordingto amoun t of humus in the soil, Viz .
1 . Poor. I f they contain less than 4 percent. Of humus.2. Intermediate. I f they contain from a to
15 per cent. of humus.3. Rich. I f they contain from to 5 per
cent. of humus .
Rainfa ll. — From 60 to 80 in ches per yearevenl y distributed is what su its the cocon uttree b est, though it will thrive well on lessbut not below 50— if the soil is free and theroots can travel easily in search Of water ; morethan 100 in ches of rain is said to produce moreleaf and less fruit .
CHAPTER II
PREPARATION OF THE LAND
Fe lling — I f the land is Old forest or with strongsecondary growth
,the trees
,after felling, Should
be en tirely burn t Off. This should take place inthe dry mon ths— a mon th or so before the rainyseason . About three weeks after fellin g, fireShould be set to the fallen jungle, an d thisShou ld not be deferred till a ll the leaves havefallen or the undergrowth has made some progress ; a good burn saves much after labou r .
Above all things, lalang grass must be kept outof the clearing. It not only retards growth
,but
when lon g an d dry is an ever - present danger byfire . The careless coolie and the d iscarded matchamongst lalan g have cost the plan ter manythousan d dollars in the past.
Stumping .— There ought not to be any
question in a planter’s mind as to the advisa
b ility Of rooting up all tree stumps,for such
work has for its Obj ect the prevention of thedevelopment of fungi
,termites, and other in sect
pests . These pests attack livin g or dying trees,
an d the dan ger lies in the half- dead trees on theestate after the burn. Some plan ters hold that
PRE PARAT ION OF THE LAND 23
stumping should be done at the outset ; othersadvocate a year or two after planting ; whilstsome, on the score of expense, take the risk of
disease and allow the stumps to rot away.
The ideal plantation is, Of course, freed fromstumps an d fallen timber before planting isbegun ; the real danger from disease is duringthe fir st year. After that time the stumpsor timber have reached such a state of decay asto be immune from the attacks of pests
,except
beetles, and can then be left to rot away.
Comparative estimates of clean - cleared an d
non - clean - cleared estates put the latter at adisadvantage in the first reven ue years
, an d thecumulative loss through non - clean clearing isestimated at about 1 0 per cent , or in otherw ords, what the non - clean - cleared estate savedin initial expenditure
,it loses in revenue in the
early fruitin g years, whereas the clean estaterecovers the first cost of stumping in extraproduce
,and it is a year or two before it is
overtaken by the originally n on - cleared estate .
Lining .— There are differen ces of Opinion as
to distance at which trees should be planted, butthe popular space is a squ are of30 feet by30 feet,which gives forty- eight trees to the acre. Thisdistance allow s for the in terplan ting of catchcrops
,and moreover
,th e palm branches, which
at maturity are 1 6 feet to 1 8 feet in length,do not interfere to any extent with those of aneighbouring tree .
24 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
Holing .— After the ground is thorou gh ly
cleaned,the pits for plan ting out the youn g
plants should be dug. The larger the pits arethe better
,but a 2 feet cube is generally con
sidered suffi cien t. Al l the soil removed fromthe pits shou ld be replaced by good surface soilto within 6 in ches of the top . When this w orkis fin ished
,th e young plan ts, which should be
from five to seven months old before beingremoved from the nursery
,may now be placed
in these holes,leaving the nut of the seedling
about 6 in ches to a foot below the surface an djust slightly exposed . When the plan t has comewell away
,say with about a dozen well - grown
leaves on it, the holes Should be filled to the topwith good surface soil.The most favourable seasons in Malaya for
plan ting are during April and May ,and again
from the middle of September to the en d of
October.
Drainag e .— Where the land is undulating in
even slopes, little or no drain age is required,b u t on the low flat alluvial soil
,drain age is
Of con siderable importance,and it is always
advisable in this case to have drain s dug allroun d the proposed clearing before felling thejungle or secon dary growth . This is especiallythe case where the soil is of a peaty n ature
, an d
here, after the clear ing is burnt Off, it is of
advan tage to keep the land exposed for as longas possible, say at least Six months
,during
PREPARAT ION OF THE LAND 25
which time attention should be paid to furtherdrainage, if necessary .
It is evident that drainage is a most importantfactor, an d should be specially looked in to whenthe location Of a proposed plantation is bein gselected . The cocon ut tree is probably lessaffected by sou r lan d than most tropical plan ts .At the same time
,stagnant water must sooner
or later have a very deteriorating effect on thetrees ; in fact, some of the n ative holdings in theFederated Malay States have suffered con siderably through inattention to this point.
CHAPTER III
SEED NUTS, ETC.
Seed N u ts .— These Should be the produ ce of
healthy heavily - bearing trees, ofmedium age, i . e .
about thirty years ; large - sized roun dish n uts,ripe but n ot dry, of a red, brown or greencolour
,with a thin husk an d the three longi
tu dinal ridges on the hu sk not promin en t.It is an advantage not to plant the seeds for a
mon th or so after they have been picked SO thatthe outer skin may get thoroughly dry and thehusk be allowed to harden .
Nu ts selected for seed should be carefullyexamin ed to see that they are not damaged inany way.
The plan ter cann ot exercise too much carein the selection of seed nuts. Weak parentsproduce offspring with a tendency to w eakness
,
whereas in planting good seed from stron gmature good trees, a palm is produced whichshould prove a robust column of wealth production for over a hun dred years . The n utsgive heavy thick - fl e sh ed copra, and the husksfull quan tities of coir. When gathering for seed
,
n uts should be lowered from the tree and on no
accoun t allowed to drop. A planter as far as
28 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
of five or Six mon ths,are tran splan ted to the
perman ent field some plan ter s suggest an intermediary stage or advan ced nurseries in goodselected groun d n ear water. The seedlings areput in at 5 feet apart, and high cultivation isdevoted to them un til their vigorous growthstan ds assured . Th ey are then fin ally tran splan ted to the main fields. While it is truethat transplan ting at any stage is a check on
growth,it must be rem embered that the coconut
is less thrown back by transplan ting than anyother plan t .The disadvantage
,if such there be
,lies not so
much in the retardation from transplan tin g asin the extra cost incurred ; but again st the latteris placed more rapid and prolific growth .
It will be foun d tha t all seed n uts do notgermin ate, or that some produce weakly plants,which makes it advisable to sow fully 50 percent. more nuts than permanen t plants desired .
An occasional watering is necessary in thedry months .
Clean W e eding .—Why should this be im
portan t during the first four years The simplereason is that during that per iod the roots willhave un disputed possession of the soil and haveall the available plant food at their diSposalduring ten der years . I n late years the shadecreated by the trees will keep in check all weedgrowth .
Cu ltivat ion .— After the seedlings have been
SEED NUT S— CULT IVAT ION 29
transplanted and have become fi rmly rooted inthe groun d, very little cultivation is requiredbeyon d ke epin g the land free from weeds
,
particu larly round th e young tree. They shouldbe circled and dug round every three mon thswith the native changkol or hoe, and ploughin g over the whole lan d periodically to a depthof 9 inches will be found very beneficial .For stirrin g up the soil round a tree
,or for
manurin g, the best implement is the Assamfork ; it is spade- shaped with strong steelpron gs
,but it h as the hoe or changkol handle
,
an d the body action in using it is the same asw ith the popular changkol .As the trees advance in age, the radius of the
circle dug up should be in creased— for one- yearOld trees, 2 to 3feet from the stem of the tree willbe foun d suffi cient ; for two- year- Old trees theradius Should be increased to 4 feet, and so on ;the circle dealt with in th is way, when the treerea ches maturity and is in full bearing, is about8 feet from the stem .
These remarks refer particularly to the stifferlan d ; where the soil is loamy and rich, hoeingand ploughing may perhaps be unnecessary, ornot until the trees are mu ch older.The question Of the cultivation of coconuts
is,to my mind
,still an Open one. Does clean
weeding, as commonly practised on rubberesta tes, pay best ? I S it better to keep clean an8 - foot circle round the trees and allow the weedsto grow (always excluding lalang), or should
30 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
the intermediate lan d be ploughed or forked ?Should a legumin ous cover crop be grown ? Isany manurial treatmen t requ ired beyond anoccasional dressing of bullock man ure ? I wouldnot wish to pron ounce on any of these points,though, from what I have seen , I would saythat clean weeding is not so great a successwith cocon uts as it h as been with rubber.”
(Director of Agriculture of F.M.S. in 1 91 1
Report. )Provided all the leaves of the trees have got
beyond their reach,cattle an d buffal oes may
with advantage be allowed to graze over theplantation .
The dead leaves,as they fall or are picked
off, should be heaped up in rows, not too high,between the trees
, an d burn t off as OpportunityOffers . It is of some advan tage to lay clods ofearth over these heaps before bu rning
,as the
burnt earth so obtain ed may be applied to thetrees at th e time the circle round them is beingdug up.
Manu ring .— Except to stimulate a lagging
plant, manure should not be applied to youngtrees, for a field should be allowed to demonstrate what the soil can do for them beforeattempting to force them . The trees may bestron g, b u t late Of coming into flow er, and whenthey do bear, the crop may be disappointing,or it may be in excess of the tree’s strength
,and
a large percentage may drop at different stages
MANURING 31
Of growth . The first case calls for phosphates,an d the second for n itrates.The best manures for coconut trees are cow
dung and salt mixed ; fish refuse ; bone dust ;guano ; castor cake ; poonac.Cattle manure is un doubtedly excellent
,as it
adds humus to the soil,and
,much in the same
way as lime, it binds a loose soil , and rendersfriable a hard clayey soil .A very successfu l manure mixture used in
Ceylon is in the followin g proportions
200 lbs. rape cake .1 50 lbs . fish man ure .
200 lb s. bon e phosphate .50 lbs . sulphate of potash .
300 lbs . kainit (contains 30 per cent . salt).
This applied at 1 0 lbs . per tree costs, includingtran sport and labour, about 8d . per tree .
Many planters favou r semi - circu lar man uretrenches at a few feet from the stem,
but in thedigging
,the primary roots or lateral feeders are
severed to the depth of the trench, an d the treeto that exten t is cut Off from its accustomedfeeding groun d
, an d must depend on the artifi cial application .
The roots of the coconut tree are more Vigorous toward the extremity of the primaries, anddiminish gradually in stren gth toward thestem ; therefore, manure placed in ploughedfurrows between two lines of trees , or equidistan t 1 5 feet from the stems, finds its way
32 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
more rapidly to the tree by mean s of the n aturalfeeders than in a tren ch Of cut roots at 6 feetfrom the stem .
An oth er system ofmanuring, recommen ded byMr . L. C. Brown
,Governmen t Cocon ut Plan ta
tion In spector to the E MS . Governmen t, is asfollows :
“ Atren ch is dug halfway rou nd the tree, about9 in ches in width
,an d ,
say,1 foot in depth
,close
to the extremity of th e roots . This tren ch maybe left open for a short time
,then the man ure
filled in , and the soil that has been excavatedreplaced. The following year the other half Ofthe tree is treated in a s im ilar man n er .
”
No tropical plan t respon ds more gen erouslythan the coconut to high cu ltivation at theproper stage, and for every dollar spen t inman ure, treble is received in output in the firstreturn ing crop .
Fencing — To preven t buffaloes,cattle
,wild
deer, an d hogs from harm ing the trees, a strongfi ve - strand wire fen ce should be erected roun dthe plan tation .
The ordin ary fi ve - stran d wire type of indepen den t wires may be used
,but is n ot recom
men ded, as, although it is cheap to con struct, itis expen sive to main tain , requirin g con stan tin spection an d repair.It is a common experience to see such fen cing
with on e or more wires broken or hanging loose,
and un der such con dition s it is,of course
,quite
useless .
CHAPTER IV
PESTS
THE planter should make a study Of insecticides .Caterpillars
,beetles
,moths
,weevils, borers, an d
other in sects which attack the palm, either inthe nursery or the field, can be kept well withincontrol
, an d do comparatively little harm, by theready an d frequen t use of kerosene emulsionsand arsenical solutions
,applied by means of a
spraying machine, as required.
Be e tles (Spe cie s of). — 1 . Org/ates rhinoceros ;2 . Rhynchophora s ferrng in en s. The two speciesof beetle which attack palms are quite differen tin appearan ce an d hab its and in their methodof destruction
,although they are usually foun d
together,and must be treated of separately .
On e is Oryctes rhinoceros, commonly known asthe rhin oceros, elephan t, or black beetle. Theother is Rhyn chophorn s ferrug in eas, kn own asthe red beetle ; it is a large Species of weevil.
B lack Be e tle (Org/ates rhinoceros). Thisbeetle belongs to the group of Lamellicorn ia,the larvae of which live on decaying vegetablematter. I n the case of this species
,the paren t
PE ST S 35
beetle deposits its eggs in the decaying stems ofcoconut trees, whether erect or fallen. Thelarvae also occur in manure pits, cow dung
,
crushed sugar canes, and other vegetableremains.The best preventive, therefore, for this pest is
to hunt up and destroy the grub in all placeswhere there is an accummu lation of decayingvegetable matter. The larvae or grub is readilydistinguishable, bein g of a fl eshy
-white colour,
with a body of from 2% inches to 3inches whenfully grown.
The method of attack of the black beetle is asfollows It flies by night to a palm,
and makes itsway to the base of a leaf- stalk and burrows intothe heart of the cabbage,makin g a large hole,fromwhich projects a quan tity of the fibre Of the treeresembling tow. The appearance of this tuftis evidence that the beetle has been at work .
It remains in the hole usu ally all the next day,and may be captured in the burrow. It nibblesin so deeply that
,n ot rarely, it bites through
the growing point in the cabbage or bud of thepalm. More often the attack is repeated, till therain getting into the burrows sets up decay
,
which rots the palm through. I n either case,
the tree speedily dies. A tree once attackedseems to be very popular wi th all beetles.It is very easy to distinguish trees that have
been attacked by th is beetle by the peculiarragged appearance of the leaves. The beetle
,
in burrowing into the bud, often bites right
36 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
through the folded leaf in the cabbage, so thatwhen it is un folded the top is found to be bittensymmetrically Off, or each leaflet is perforatedregularly. By these appearan ces it is easy totell whether a tr ee has been attacked or not, an dso to judge of the state of the plan tation .
Me th od ofDestruction — The usual method ofdestruction of this in sect in the tr ees is to employmen to examine the bases of the leaf- stalks of thepalms frequently
,an d to search for the beetles .
They ar e provided with a flexible iron or copperwire termin ated by a barb, with which the beetleis speared in its bu rrow an d drawn out. A tr eeonce attacked should be frequen tly examin ed , asit is more liable to future attacks than thosewhich have n ever been attacked. SO lon g asthe beetle is killed by spear
,there is n o real
n eed to extract it ; in fact,it is
,to a certain
exten t, advan tageous to leave its remain s in thehole
,as no beetles will again en ter the hole
whil e the dead on e is there . I n any case, it isadvisable to plug the holes with bits of rag ortufts Of fibre dipped in weak carbolic acid
,as
this will deter beetles. One coolie per 1 00 acresis usually sufficien t for beetling .
Red Be e tle , or W e evil (Rhyn chophoru s
ferrugin en s). This is far more destructive th anthe black beetle . Like the latter
,though
,it is
n octurn al in its habits, flying at night to depositits eggs in the coconut tree . By mean s of its
PEST S 37
long ovipostor it reaches the base of the leafstalk of the palm and pu shes its eggs deeplyin to the body Of the tree . The egg
, on hatchin g,produces a white, footless grub. It burrowstun n els through the soft growing parts of thepalm, and when full grown nibbles its way tothe surface an d eventually hatches out into theperfect in sect, when it flies away to commenceits life work of propagation .
The red beetle is n ot favoured with any mean sfor boring holes in the stem, and takes advantage, therefore, in so far as Old trees are con
cern ed, of any artificial Open ings, cuts, or, inparticular
,the bore holes of th e black species .
The methods adopted for extermin ating theblack beetle in the tree also apply to the r ed,an d it is common to fin d both kinds in the samehole. It is very probable that the extermin ationOf the black beetle will greatly reduce th e
n umber of the red on es by preven ting theirgettin g in to the heart of the tree by mean s oft h e burrows of the black in sect.The red beetle grub does its fatal work hidden
from View,as with white an ts, an d is only dis
covered when too late. The first Sign of anythin g wrong is usually the withering and fall ofthe cen tral shoot. As soon as the grub is discovered
,spare not the tree ; it should be cut
down an d every bit burn t so as to preven tany remain in g grub from arriving at theperfect Stage and thus carrying on the workof destruction .
38 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
Termi tes Gestroi , or W h ite Ants .
— A speciesof white an t which , if n ot discovered in time, isfatally destructive to a tree it has attacked .
The colon ies Of white an ts were, of course,residen t in the jungle before it was felled, an dthey Often remain on in the plan tation, makin gtheir home in the fallen debr is, from when cethey prospect for livin g roots .I n the tender years they appear to leave
plan ts un touched,but as the trees grow older
an d the roots go deeper, they attract the attention of the white an t . This may occur afterthree or four years’ grow th, and, un fortun ately,the work of destruction goes on
,gen erally u h
suspected and therefore u nhindered,till the tree
is hollowed out an d falls to the groun d .
It would seem that precautionary measuresare out of the question ; the on ly thing to bedon e on discovery of a ru n is to pump in sulphu rfumes by mean s Of a paten t fumigator
,which is
in gen eral use in Malaya,an d has been foun d to
be highly su ccessful .A cocon ut plan tation is not a popular hun ting
groun d for the white an t , nor are the trees soagreeable to it as are rubber trees or other softwoods ; further , the san dy soil is n ot h abitualto the white an t . Probably these reason s accoun tfor the low percen tage of loss on coconut estatesfrom this pest.
PEST S 39
A COCONUT PEST
By L. C. Br own ,I n spector of Cocon u ts
Fortunately the coconut trees grown in theStraits and Federated Malay States do not
appear to suffer from the disastrous effects ofcertain pests to the same extent as in manyother coun tries . Take, for instance, the ‘ leafdisease ’ ; it is always amongst us but doeslittle or no harm to the trees
, an d again the‘ bleedin g disease ’ and dry rot ’ are practicallyunkn own here . Whether this is due to morefavourable climatic conditions or better cultivation it is difl icul t to say ; at the same time itis undoubtedly the case that by a th oroughatten tion to the culture of the palm, a greatdeal can be don e to resist the pests and min imizethe harm bein g done by them. The ‘ leafdisease ’ admittedly confirms this View
,and from
my own experience, I have no hesitation insaying that so far as ‘beetles ’ are concerned
,
these insects seldom if ever attack or penetrateinto the cabbage Of a strong, healthy and welldeveloped tree ; in other words, a tree that hasbeen carefully cu ltured has the power of resistingmost pests .
“ N otwithstan ding the fact that the coconutsgrown in the Straits and Federated MalayStates are apparen tly more immune from somepests than is the case in other countries, it isstill disquietin g to learn that now an other pest
40 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
of a serious kind is attacking the coconut palmsin the Philippin es
,an d the Govern or of t h e
Straits Settlements has in con sequen ce takenprecaution ary measures to preven t its influxhere by prohibiting the introduction from thePhilippin es of any palms, alive or dead, orany stems of, or parts of stems or roots of
palms.“ The in sect that does the damage is related
to the so- called white fly,which ravages the
citrus groves of Florida, an d as far as I amaware the pest has n ever made its appearan ceeither in the Straits, Provin ce Wellesley or th eFederated Malay States .Mr . D. B . Mackie, Agricultural In spector,
in an article that appears in the P h i lippin eAgr icu ltu r a l Review for March
,1 91 2, in forms
us that th e insect has been descr ibed by Mr.Quain tan ce Of the Bureau of En tomology
,
Un ited States Department Of Agriculture,
Wash ington, DC , as Aleyroolicn s d estr u ctor ,
and states that the in sect may prove to be themost ser ious pest of the cocon ut palm in thePhilippin e Islands, but fortunately it is atpresen t confin ed to a district in Negros Orien tal
,
and is on ly attacking the young palms, i .c. from
six to eight years of age. He states that eggs,
which are very minute, are laid on the un dersurface Of the leaflets
,usually on the young
leaves, and soon after the eggs are hatched theyoung in sect begins walking about on theunderside of th e leaf an d havin g located itself
,
42 COCONUT CULT IVAT ION
has prepared a draft enactment to provide forth e protection of trees, plan ts, and cu ltivatedproducts from disease and pests. The Obj ectsand reasons are as foll ow : This draft aims atproviding statutory m eans for combating theintroduction and spread Of pests injurious tocultivation. It is thought that these mattersdo not receive from all cultivators the attentionnecessary to prote ct so far as possible the cropsof themselves an d their neighbours from preven tib le disease, and that in the interests of
cu ltivators it is desirable that power be createdto make inspection s, and to take or cause to betaken such measures as may
,in the opinion of
persons competen t to judge,be expedient for
securing the health of cultivated products andfor recording an d immediately dealing with outbreaks Of d isease . I n this draft are included,as a matter of convenien ce
,provisions cor r e
sponding to those of th e Coconu t Tr ees Pr eservati on E n actmen ts, 1 898, which it is proposedto repeal (August,
Disease .— There are other dangers to which
the palm is liable, such as root disease, leafdisease, bud rot, but these would appear to bemore prevalent in the West Indies than inMalaya. A watchful plan ter
,however
,ought
soon to detect di sease and have it diagnosedby a mycologist. There are a number of help'
fu l publication s which should form part of aplantation library .
PEST S 43
Amongst these are the followingFerguson’s well- known Ceylon handbook ;
Messrs . Hamel Smith and Pape’s book on theIn dustry in general
,containing a well - compiled
chapter on Disease ; Bulletin 228 ofUS . Departmen t ofAgriculture and numerous publicationsfrom Government Agricultural Departments,most of which can be consulted or their sourceof publication traced through the excellentlibrary at the Royal Colonial Institute, London .
CHAPTER V
MANAGEMENT OF THE CROP
Ag e of th e Coconu t T re e — The tree arrives atfull maturity at twen ty—fi ve years and enduresfor about one hu n dred years, an d from the sixthyear it should bear fr u it all its lifetime . Theage of a tree is decided by the number of scarrings which appear on the stem at the rate oftwo per annum .
Crops — Tho yield of n uts depends mu ch onsoil
,climate
,and cultivation , an d as may be
imagined,crops vary in differen t parts of the
world ; given a good climate an d an evenlydistributed rain fall, a fair average soil andjudicious cultivation , the return ought to be atleast fifty nuts per tree per annum from threepickings
,or about 2500 per acre.
Propping Bunch e s .— I t is n ecessary where
certain young trees have lon g fruit stal ks whichare not strong enough to support the n uts
,
to prop the bunches up by mean s of a strongwillowy prop, forked at the end which supportsth e bunch, and poin ted at the other for insertionin to the trunk of the tree . Care should be takenin the length of the props used
,for the bunches
MANAGEME NT OF T HE CROP 45
only require to be raised to a slight extent . Asthe tree grows older it passes out of the proppingstage . 6
Gath e ring .— Nuts fall when ripe, an d usually
during the n ight,which is said to account for so
few acciden ts to people on the plan tation . It isestimated that n uts which are allowed to ripenproduce 10 per cent. more copra than whenpicked before they are fully ripe .Climbing the trees for the collection of the
fruit is one of the best methods. When theplantation is in full bearing
, on e coolie cancollect at least four hundred nuts a day.
N otches for the resting of the foot whenclimbing the tree to collect fruit should be cutwith a slope downwards, so that they do not
retain the rain . It is of course un derstood thatsuch n otches can only be made on fully maturetrees .
”6
The practice of u sing a knife attached to alon g pole for cutting down the n uts is not tobe recommen ded ; in the bunches s
'
o collectedseveral in sufficien tly ripe nuts will be foun d .
At the time of collecting the nuts, all the deadspathes an d leaves should be removed, an d
thorough search made to see that no beetlesare in the trees. The coir substance whichclings to the tree
,and on which the leaves and
spathes form themselves, should always be left,as it protects the cabbage and retains moisture .
See West I n dia Note s, p . 1 1 6.
COCONUT CULTIVATION
It occasion ally happen s that a tree, althoughit has to all appearances matured, gives no signof fruit or blossom . I n such circumstan ces, aheap of leaves an d rubbish burnt close to th etrunk of the tree , has the desired effect of
bringin g th e tree in to bearing, but this shouldonly be don e when absolutely n ecessary .
Hu sking .— The process of husking is very
laborious,yet simple . The husk is tom 03after
it is split by striking the n u t smar tly on thepoin t of a steel crowbar
,or sharpened hard- wood
stake,fi rmly fixed in the ground with the poin ted
nd up.
O il Mach ine ry.— The usual system adopted is
to cru sh out the oil from the copra by hydraulicachin ery ; the copra is first ground into a masslike saw - dust ; this is subjected to steam andthen pressed by machinery, the oil runn ing out,and the refuse forming a cake call ed poon ac,
h is very valuable as cattle food or man ure."e
Poonac.— After the oil has been pressed out
the copra the residue is called poon ac,or
coconut meal . The value of this by - product israpidly in creasing, not on ly on account of itsbeneficial uses as cattle feed
,but as an organ ic
fertilizer of high grade . The crushed copraives off about 62 per cen t. of oil
,leaving the
alan ce , 38 per cent., as poonac .
See chapter on machinery on pages 63to 8 1 .
CHAPTER VI
COPRA AND com
Copra .— This is simply the kern el broken into
pieces— usually quar ter s— an d dried in the sun,
or by means of artificial heating. Only ripenuts can be used for making this product,and they are kept unbroken for about threeweeks after gathering, as the copra dries morequickly and gives a larger proportion of oil and
,
moreover,does not turn mouldy. Copra contains
about 62 per cen t. its weight in oil.Copra is usually shipped to th e European
market in the dried quarter- kern el form, but forconfection ery purposes the n u t is disintegrated
,
and the product takes the form of prepared dust.The process is somewhat as followsThe red rind is shaved off the n u t , leaving the
bare white kern el, which, after thorough washing
,is passed on to the disin tegrating machine
and groun d to a mass, which has the appearanceof having been grated. I n this condition it isdried at a temperature of about 150°F. ; aftercooling it is graded by Sifters in to three grades
,
fine,medi um, coarse. The produce is then packed
in t in - lined cases, con taining approximately aStraits picul, or lb s
,an d is then ready for
the foreign market.
COPRA AND COIR 49
Mr . L. C. Brown, Government Inspector of
Cocon ut Plan tations in the E M. States,suggests
a cheap drying kiln for copra,as follows
For the man ufacture of coma un ripe nuts areuseless, and great care should be taken to pickon ly fully ripe on es . On e coolie ought to huskfive hundred n uts a day. A better return isobtained if the n uts are stored for a month orso before being opened
,and it lessens the cost
of man ufacture as the kernel is more easilyextracted from the shell.
“ The n ut s, after being split open, should not
be laid on groun d which is moist an d muddy,as
in this way grit an d dirt get in topth e kern el,an d this ten ds to lower the quali ty of the copra.
While the collection s are comparatively small,a very cheap drying kiln for the treatmen t ofcopra may be con structed in the followingman n er
“A table, 1 2 feet square and 4 feet in height,with a platform made of n ebongs, must first beerected.
This table is then covered roun d with a mudwall
,15 feet in width and 6 feet high, leaving
a small open space in this shape Qon one sideto allow of the fuel, which is gen erally the cocon u t shell, being placed beneath the platform.
For sun- drying purposes,in connection with the
kiln,a drying table is required, say, 50 feet long
by 6 feet from the groun d.
The woodwork for the above structures maybe en tirely made from the mebong palm, which
50 COCONUT CULTIVATION
is very abundant in the forest lands throughoutthe States
,and con sequen tly not costly.
”
Sun - dried copra is gen erally admitted to bethe best
,an d if kept free from mou ld, has a
larger percentage of oil than mechan ically driedcopra.In Malaya four or five days is allowed for the
sun- drying method ; half a day if over gr ill orn eb ongs, and from two to three hours if by hotair process.The Chin ese copra maker of Malaya, although
fairly familiar with the many uses to whichcoconut oil can be put, has n ot yet accustomedhimself to the idea that man ufacturers now
require it for butter , edible oil, con fectionery,and other forms of human food, and it will be tohis advantage to adjust his methods of cu rin gto suit modern requir em en ts. The old - fashionedfi re - drying processes must give way to methodsth at do not all ow the copra to be scorched orpermeated with smoke from the husk fires, thusoften ren dering it unfit for human food purposes.Also, it must not ru n the risk of being partiallydried
, an d so become mouldy, for in this statedecay soon sets in .
To be successful, therefore, and keep in linewith other sources of supply
,the system of
smokeless dryin g must be adopted . Old- establish ed customs die hard
,but if native plan tation
owners were fully cogn izan t of the harm theircrude primitive methods have done to Malayanrubber, they would not, on the eve of greater
PLATE VI .
SHELLI NG COPRA. [T ofa ce pag e
COPRA AND COIR 5!
developments in the coconu t industry, turn adeaf ear to ideas, that n ot only make for a pureand more saleable article
,but for enhan ced
profits to the growers.
Extract from Report of the Director ofAgriculture to the Federated Malay States, 191 1
Coconu ts .— The Inspector of Coconuts esti
mates the total area u n der coconuts in theFederated Malay States at
,approximately
,
acres, an increase of acres,or
about 9% per cent. over the total for 1 910. Thearea in several States is as foll ows
PerakSe langorNegri SembilanPahang
It is gratifying again to record a steadyincrease in the area un der this valuable an d
reliable crop. From the area now under cultivation the I nspector of Coconuts estimates,takin g an average of forty nuts per tree, thatthere will be produced piculstons) of copra, provided that the whole of thenuts were converted into this product. Theb y
- products also should eventually be used ona much larger scale for the manufacture of coirmatting, rope, etc .
”
GCOir.— The fibre from the husk is call ed coir,d in tropical countri es is used very extensively
52 COCONUT CULTIVATION
r mattresses its principal uses,however
,are for
mats, ropes, yarn, cordage, brooms, brushes, etc.The husk, or pericarp, of forty n uts yields about8 lbs. of coir, but in some of the Malayan plantations, where the n uts are very large, this isexceeded . A rough and ready estimate puts theyield of coir at 10 lbs. per tr ee .
The husks are soaked for some weeks in pitsfilled with water
,in order to loosen the fibre ;
the hand process for obtain in g the latter is byh eating with heavy clubs, b u t machinery ismuch more expeditious and cleanly . The husksare straighten ed in a crushing m ill ; machineryin the form of a wheel set with many smallteeth teazes out the fibre and at the same timecleans it. The fibre is then sorted into gradesaccording to its fin en ess or coarseness .The market kn ows two kinds of fibreBristles and “ Mattress.” The former is sold atabout £25 per ton ,
and the latter at £1 5. Thereis, however, a third class kn own as refuse fibre,which fetches about one - third of the priceobtained for1
have its ow n fibre factory .
54 COCONUT CULTIVATION
a. d .
Brought forward 3132 10 0
Servan t allowan ce1 cook
, at $ 15 pe r mon th 1 80 21 0 0
1 hou se servan t , at $1 2 permonth
1 postman , at $25 per mon thMon thly weeding for 10 mon thsof year at pe r acre permon th
Con tingenciesTransport
19 4
Add 6 per cen t. inte rest 284 4 0
2nd year .Th e cost of up- keep, deve lopmen t and al l
in charges shou ld not exceed (in cluding6 per cent . interest, $780)
3rd year .
Al l - ih cost (weeding pu t at 80 cen ts) (including 6 per cen t . in terest, $780)
4th year.Al l - in cost (weeding pu t at 50 cen ts) (including 6 per cen t in terest, $600)
5th year .
All - in cost (weeding pu t at 40 cen ts) (including 6 per cen t . in terest, $570)
6th year .*
All - in cost (weeding pu t at 30 cen ts) (inclu ding 6 per cen t. in tere st, $480)
Thi s is th e produ cing year, and there mu st b e added costof coll ecting produce— a charge again st revenue , namely
Picking— 10nutsper tree — 240 000 nuts $240Curing say cen tT ransport
310
ESTIMATE S 55
7th year.All - ia cos same as 6th year 930Plu s, revenu e accoun tPicking, 30 nu ts per tree 720 000 720Curing at g cen tTransport
£9248th year. 9th year .
Al l - in cost of up keep— approxima te ly p.a .
Nata — Cost of colle cting , cu ring , and transport of
n u ts may be estimated at 1} cen ts per nu t .
SUMMARY
E stimate for bringing into bear ing 500 acrescoconuts, adding 6 per cent. per annum on capitalinvested.
0 0 £21 4 0
NOTES ON ESTIMATES
Land Ch arg e s .—These have been taken as
the hi hest ruling in Malaya.In chore and Eastern States of the Malay
Peninsula, land rates are cheaper and soil equallygood.
B uilding s .— Care should be taken not to
expend too much on buildings until health and
56 COCONUT CULTIVATION
water condition s are established and a centralSite for factory decided on ; the same remarkapplies to roads .
Se ed N u ts .- Almost double the n umber re
quired has been allow ed for , though 80 per cen t.should germin ate— seedlings over are readilysaleable.
Feu t ing .— I f the estate felling is given out
on con tract, the con tractor should cut an d supplyfree uprights for fen cing from hard wood— theestate to provide the wire .
W e ed ing .— This should be done by hand
,and
where hoeing or ch angkolling is done to eradi
cate lalang grass,Chin ese labour is best, as the
Chinaman puts more back into his work thanthe Javan ese or Tamil coolie .
The cost of weeding an d keeping an estatethoroughly clean should be approximately asfollows
per acre .
As the trees grow older th e shade from thepalm’s large bran ches is a great check to weedgrowth
,and in this respect at the produ cing
stage a plantation can almost be left to itself.On ce the mastery is gain ed in the early years
ESTIMATE S 57
th e weedin g cost tapers down to a little over6d. per acre.
Roads and Drains — I f this is light re - shapingwork, it should be done «by the weeders and bein cluded in their price per acre . A contractshou ld always set this out
,otherwise the plan ter
will find that extra pay will be required foranything outside the actual weedin g.
P ayme nts to Contractors — I t is always aswell to aim at keeping in han d a margin of com
ple ted work in favou r of the estate . Haveregular pay - days and pay the con tractor 80 percent . of completed and measured work . Thecoolies get to kn ow regular pay - days and inturn when to expect their mon ey from thecontractor.It is an asset to an estate to get a good name
with labour for just and prompt payments .Frequent an d ready loans, either to con tractorsor coolies
,are not appreciated as on e would
think,but are looked upon as a sign of weakn ess
and inexperience .
PROFI T FROM COI R AND BY-PRODUCTS
With 1 500 acres or over in full bea r ing,the
crops will be su ffi cien t to feed an oil mill, an d incon n ection therewith a coir factory might beerected for the man ufacture of fibre in to rope.
58 COCONUT CULTIVAT ION
An estimated profit from this by- product is
put as follows :
27} million nu ts gives a net profit of5
10
EQUI VALENTS I N OIL (APPROX IMATE)
A fair average figure for calculating output s5000 nuts per ton of copra . (Trees 30 feet x
30 feet 48 trees per acre .)The refore1 ton copra 62 per cen t . oil , 38 per cen t . poon ac .
62 pe r cen t . oil (or lb s.) 150 gallons (1 gallon94 l b s.)
1 matu re tree 1 % gallons oil per annum , and 10 lb s. coir .
1 acre 70 and 4} cwt . coir .
3 acre s 240 and ton coir .
240 ga llon s oil 1 ton oil .
500 n u ts 133g lb s . oil 1 picu l oil .
In the West Indies 6000 to 7000 nuts, according to cultivation , is the estimated equivalent ofon e ton copra.
60 COCONUT CULTIVATION
MATURE ESTATES
Asearch for a reasonable buying figure per acre .
It would not be unreasonable for an in vestorin tropical agricu lture to expect a return of
20 per cen t . per ann um or a five years’ purchase
on his capital . Forty nuts per tree per ann umis a con servative average crop for a well cultivated estate . The Governmen t Inspector estimates 3696 n uts 1 ton copra . These estimatesare based on 5000 n uts to 1 ton copra.
Em mple .— When the gross sell ing price Of
copra is £25 per ton, the n e t profit per acreis £6 88 . 0d . Multiply this by five years’ purchase
,an d the buying price per acre is £32 .
On this basis the followin g table is arranged :When th e gross se lling T h e purchasing price pe r acreprice of copra is on 5 years' net profi t is£20 per ton £22 per acre .
2 1 24
22 26
23 28
24 3025 3226 3427 3628 3829 40
30 42
NOTE — Some valu ers claim that th e n umber of years’pu rchase shou ld b e seven .
IMMATURE ESTATE S
I n buying an estate not yet arrived at theproducing stage the followin g may b e a guide
(given always fair average conditions).
62 COCONUT CULTIVATION
TABLE— Showing net profit per cen t. oncapital invested, given good cultivationand no abnormal conditions. E stimatesbased on mature estate— fifty trees to acre,average yield fifty nuts per tree.
Example .—When copra is sell ing at £28 per
ton gross, an estate which h as cost £30 peracre will give a return of 32 per cent. on capitalinvested.
Marke t price of copraper ton — Gross 24 26 28 30 32 34 86
Net profi t per acre 7‘ es 9; 105 1 1 ; 13}(See table , page 59)
— u
All - in cost of estateper acre
N e t pe rcen tage on capital in vested.
NOTE — Fractions are omi tted for conven ien ce .
CHAPTER VIII
MACHINERY AND PLANT FOR COCONUTFACTORIES
A FACTORY for the treatment of the coconut may contain plant for the productionof coma, coconut oil, oil cake, man ure, fibrefibre products
,together with packing, plan t, and
machin ery,for making barrels, tins, etc.
The series of buildings might be :(1 ) Power house.(2) Nu t store and splitting house.
(3) Copra drying house .
(4) Oil mill .(5) Oil store and packing plant.(6) Fib re mill .(7) Tin and barrel -makin g plant .These buildings might be further subdivided
or associated,for economy in power transmission
,
and transport of materials .
Splitt ing t h e Nu t — The simplest method of
splitting the n u t con sists in striking it upona vertical steel spike fixed on a post
,but in
up- to - date mills the nuts are fed by han d or
conveyor into a splitting machine consistingof three disc knives with reversed ratchet teeth
64 COCONUT CULTIVATION
rotating at an angle of 1 20 degr ees to eachother. The machin e divides the complete n u tin to three equal segmen ts at the rate of from80 to 100 per min ute . Arrangemen ts are sometimes made below the machine for the collectionOf the milk while the solid portion is carriedaway by a short ban d con veyor . Boys at theside of the conveyor tran sfer the husks an d
shells to trucks,while the meat is carried forward
to the drying house .
D Copra Drying House — The crude methodsadopted by n atives for the production Of copra,viz .,
su n - drying, smoke - drying,e tc
,are un su it
able for commercial work and some form of
h ot - air drying plan t is essential . Practically50 per cen t. (the error being abou t 3 per cen t.on either Side of 50) Of the weight of the gr eencopra is extracted as moisture on drying, an d
the dried Copra will still contain from 8 to 10
pe r cen t. of moisture. This amoun t of watermay be removed in from two to twelve hoursaccording to the process and the character of
the plan t. The qu ality of the copra is n aturallymodified by the character of the drying process,too slow or too rapid dryin g producing charact eristic defects. A dryin g process usin g hotair and taking about four hours appears to givethe best results. The association with the hota ir of an ti - putrefactive agents such as sulphurdioxide, to prevent fermentation and de com
position , con tributes to improved quality .
MACH INERY AND PLANT 65
The drying house (Fig. 1 ) which is used inother tropical industr ies is often used for copra.
The floorA consists of thin perforated gal van izediron sheets . The furnaces are fed with shell
,
fibre, wood or other fuel, and the heat given offby the fines C raises the temperature of the airto about 70° C . The floor is charged and discharged at intervals depen ding on the weather
,
FI G. 1 .
the design of the plan t, and its management ;usually twice a day. I n more recent designssteam piping is used in place of the fiu es
, and
fan s are used to circulate the air.Rotating dry in g cylinders and drying con
veyors are also used . The tunnel dryer (Fig. 2)is a great favourite in some di strI cts. The greencopra is charged on to light pallets or frames A
,
which are stacked on trucks B. A current of
F
66 COCONUT CULTIVATION
hot air is blown in through the channel C,and a
smaller current ofordinary air through chann elD.
The tru cks enter the tunn e l at E and leave thetunnel at F at suitablein te rvals. The trucks arecarried forward by anen dless chain or othermeans. The cool air fromD saves h eat in drying
,by
withdrawing that fromthe dried material.The curves (Fig. 3) will
en able on e to handle drying questions involved inthese plan ts. The volumein cubic metres per kilo .
of dryair,and the amount
of moisture associatedat differen t temperaturesand degrees of saturationwi th every kilo . of dryair, is shown by the curvesand will en able the practica l man to increase h isoutput or improve hiseconomy I n a gi ven ca se.The full discus sion ofsu ch problems is
,how
ever, beyon d the scope Ofthis book.
T h e Oil Mill.— The composition of copra
68 COCONUT CULTIVATION
usually exceeds 60 per cent. of the weight of thecopra
,and may be extracted either by pressure
or by solvents,or by a combination of the two
processes . The fr on tispiece to this article represents a native oil - pressin g plan t, the pressurebeing applied to the copra meal by means of alever attached to a wooden pestle in a woodenmortar. I n commercial factories the pressuremethod is generally adopted, the residue orpoonac from the treatmen t, containing 8 or 1 0per cent. of oil , being obtain ed in the form of
cakes suitable for cattle feeding. When such oilcakes are not in demand, the solvent process maybe u sed
,when the amount of oil retained in
the residues is negligible ; such residues are usedas manure or as fuel .On account of the high percen tage of oil in
copra, two pressings are usually adopted,but
with the latest types of presses, and especiallywhere rich residues may have some advantages
,
or where such residues are treated with solvents,
one pressing process may be suffi cien t.The copra as received from the drying house
,
after being passed through a magn etic separatorfor the removal of n ails, etc. , which may accidentally have become associated with it
,is
broken down either by means of disintegrators,
fluted roll mil ls, or edge— runn er mills. The disintegrated copra is then ch arged into a steamheated kettle, by which the materi al is u niformlyheated to abou t 35° to 45° C . before being pressed .
The copra meal to be pressed is charged,in
MACH INERY AND PLANT 69
quantity sufficient to form a cake,between
plate s arranged in series to receive pressure
FI G. 4.
from the ram of a hydraulic press. While thematerial is being submitted to pressure some
70 COCONUT CULTIVATION
means must be provided to prevent its lateralescape from the press plates.Modern presses are of two leading types ;
1 st,plate presses (Fig. in
which the pressing plates are notremoved and the meal to bepressed is previously moulded an dsqueezed to small bulk in moulding machin es ; 2md , cage presses
(Fig. in which a perforatedcylin der or cage is used to contain the loose plates an d meal,no cake- forming machin e bein grequired . Such cage presses areusually adopted for fi rst - pressingOperation s
,especially when press
ing cold, and are now made towork regularly at a pressure of
three ton s per square inch .
The cage is con stru cted withvertical steel bars held to form acylin der by mean s of extern alsteel rings. As a rule on e
charging kettle is erected overeach pair of presses
,but where
con siderable time for th e pressingis required
,when on e pressing
FI G- 5 onl y is used, the cages are ar
ranged to travel backwards andforwards between the kettle an d the presses
,
when on e kettle may serve any number of presses.Generally the time Of charging and disch arging
72 COCONUT CULTIVATION
it flows from the presses is pumped into tanksfor clarification . Such tanks have vertical part it ion s so that mucilage and other extraneousmatter is retain ed by the par titions as it settlesout, while the oil flows from the in let to theoutlet of the tank . The partially clarified Oil isthen further treated by passing through a filterpress which removes all the associated solid an d
mu cilaginous matter .
The removal of the fin ished Oil from the stocktanks to tins or barrels for the market call s forno Special commen t. The Appen dix gives part icu lars an d prices of suitable plan t for pressin gtwo tons of copra per hour.
T h e Solvent P roce ss of Oil E x traction .
I n this process,which is not well adapted for
tropical exploitation,the meal is charged in to a
large vessel , in which it is treated with a hotsolven t for Oil , such as petrol, ben zen e, carbondi- sulphide
,etc. The solven t
,in flowing through
the mass,carries away its associated Oil
,from
which it is separated by distillation. The conden sed solvent is return ed to the extractingvessel
,and the Oil remain ing in the still is
rem oved for clarification or for sale .
At the close of the Operation,which in the
case of a 1 0- ton plan t may take from four to sixhours
,steam is driven through the mass to
remove the retain ed solven t,and the residue
discharged from the extracting vessel . Suchresidue forms a valuable manure .
MACH INERY AND PLANT 73
T reatment of th e Hu sk .— The separated
hu sks are soaked in water for fourteen days atleast, so that the fibres may loosen from eachother and the associated cellular matter. Onemon th’s soaking is usually allowed
,and a longer
time helps the processes. Large tanks,20 feet
by 8 feet by about 6 feet deep, are constructedof ferro- concrete or cemented brickwork,
for thepurpose of soaking the husks
,and provi sion
must be made at the edges of the tanks, whichmay be
,say
,30 inches above the groun d, for
securing planks to hold the husks un der thewater. The effect of the soaking will vary withthe size of the husk and the temperature andquality of the water.
Fib re Mill.— The soaked husks are firstpassed through husk- crushing mills, consistingof a pair of coarse - fl u ted rolls, which ben d and
flatten the husk as a prelimin ary treatment forfibre separation . The husks are not allowed todry at any stage
,and after crushing are delivered
to the workmen at the fibre extractors. Afib reextracting machine (Fig. 6) con sists of a rotatingcylinder provided with teeth, which tear out thesoft matter and separate the fibres in the husk .
The machin es are worked in pairs, on e havingcoarse teeth for breaking down and the otherfin e teeth for fin ishing. The workman takeshold of a piece of husk and places it betw eenthe feed rolls of the machin e, when the teeth ofthe revolving drum comb out the fibres ; he then
74 COCONUT CULTIVATION
Open s the feed rolls and reverses the piece of
hu sk,so that the portion previously held in the
hand is combed out. He again withdraws thepiece an d passes it to the workman at the fi n ishing mach in e, which removes all the fibre leftexcept the coarse fibre called bristle fibre ,which, after drying, is combed, clean ed, sortedin to qualities
,and bundled for sale.
FI G. 6.
The separated fibre from the finishing extractorclean ed from dirt, hard bits, and embedding
matter by mean s of a willow ing machin e (Fig .
which con sists of an in clined revolving screen ,
in which beaters are rapidly rotated to beat ”
the material on to the screen , through which thedirt, etc. , passes .The cleaned fibre may then be dried and
formed into bales by means Of a bailing pressfor market .
76 COCONUT CULTIVATION
EST I MATES OF COST OF PRODUCT I ON OF COCONUTOI L AND OI L CAKE I N A TROPI CAL COUNTRY
Basis of E stimate s — The factory is capableOf treating fifty thousan d n uts per day. Then uts weigh four hun dred an d th irty
~five to theton ”Le . the total weight is 1 1 5 ton s (1 n u t
w e l gh s 5 lbs . approx ) .From an examination of n uts in the Malay
States the average composition may be takenas
Hu sk 34 per cen t .24
(yi e lding 14 per cen t . of copra).
I n the estimates which follow the nut is takento yield
30 0 per cen t.27 -8
108 5
Or, four thousand n uts yield 1 ton of driedcopra. The husk is taken to yield
Short Fibre 2 45 per cen t .Lon g FibreMattress and Spinn ing Fibre
E STIMATE S 77
The dried copra is assumed to yield
Coconu t Oil 600 per cen t.Oil CakeLoss, moistu re , e tc . 6 4
For nuts of other size an d composition theestimates will need modification.
Tran sport of nu ts to factory at 8d .
pe r ton
Splittin g n u ts (two machin es)Chargin g drie r . 32 ton s (gre en copra)Discharging drier 1 2 5 ton s (drycopra) O 0 7
Fu e l for drier (redu ced if hu sks arecon sumed)
Sun dries, ren ewals, e tc .
£8 4 3 £1 1 1 1
Oil extractionMagnet tin g , cru shing , disin t egrating ; 1 st pressing, breaking downcake s, mou lding ; 2nd pressing ,paring , e tc. , labou rPow erSun dries, pre ss cloth, lubricatingoil , e tc . 0 1 1 3 0 1 6
£13 3 6 £1 1 5 2
i s . 50 000 nu ts woul d yie ldQ
valu e on Lon don marke t,EH
)
Egg:of 0 11 , 4 2 ton s of £300 to £350.
The value of Oil on the London market is atpresen t lower than in most tropical markets, butas more oil is produced in the tropics this condition may chang e.
78 COCONUT CULTIVATION
To the above must be added
( 1 ) Cost of nuts ; (2) Rent of land and intereston first cost of plant ; (3) Depreciation on plan t ;(4) Superintendence.The method of packin g and cost will depen d
on th e market, an d should not exceed £2 1 08 .
per ton.
T reatment of th e HusksTransport of husks (fifty thousand nu ts) to soakingpits 34 5 ton s
Treatmen t at cru shing machin es (five machin es)Fibre extracting (sixty machin es)Will owin g (fi ve machin es)Packing in to balesSorting , trimming and combin g fibresSun dries, oil , e tc. , repairsPowe r
Add for contingen cies
Total £34 0 0
Yie ld (from nu ts)Short bristle fibre 08 4 ton sLongMattress and spinning fibre 8 4
Valu e in London £140to £160.
To the above costs must be added,as before
,
charges for
( 1 ) Interest on fi rst cost of plant ; (i)De
preciation ; (3) Superintendence. Renew s andrepairs are already included.
80 COCONUT CULTIVATION
Fib re Mill.Soakin g tanks ; 6 at £40
Fib re Ex tracting Plant.5 Hu sk cru shing mil ls44 Fibre extractin g machin es5 Spe cial do . 2902 O 0
5 Will owin g machines(e re cted on con cre te foundation s)
£3142 0 0
Yarn and Cabling P lant.45 Spinn ing machin es6 Spe cial machin es7 1 0- Spin dle machines27 Cabling machin es, 2 fold
do . 3folds6 do . do . 6 foldsBobbins, combs, hackles, etc .
(ere cted comple te ) £4803 0 0
Rope -Making Plan t.2 Compou n d rope - layin g machines, 4 yarn sper stran d
1 Compou n d rope - laying machine , 6 yarnspe r stran d
4 Closing ma
6 Stran ding m achin es2 Rope coile rs(Ei ect ed on su itable foundation s
,w ith
shafting , e tc .) £2768 0 0
E STIMATES
E ST IMATE OF COSTS, ETC COMPLETE .
NUTSTo 8 . d .
n u ts at
$40 per 1000
Oil extraction , as
on page 77 13 3 6
Fibre extraction ,
as on page 34 0
I n terest on firstcost of plan tand buildin gsat 5 per cen t .[buil dings, say,£8000 ; plan t,say,
(yarn and ropeplan t omi tted)! 31 6 8
Dep r e c i a t i o n ,
bu ildings and
plan t, all at 10per cen t .
Su perin ten den ce
302 0 2
Add cost of package s, etc .
Fre ightDock charges,commission s,e tc .
25 0 0
T otal costs 403 0 2
Profit 79 9 10
£482 10 0
8 1
ONE DAY'S WORK
3.
300 0 0
29 8 0
1 6 16 0
60 1 4 0
75 1 2 0
£482 10 0
E stimated profi t 93. 10d . per workin g day, or ove rpe r ann um .
I n th e above estimates thre e hu ndred working days are
assum ed as be in g one year , so that th e profit is practicall y100 per cen t. per an num on th e actual cost of th e plan t andbui ldings .
BYProdu cts
ton s coconu t oil at £4o
4'2 ton soil cake
at £708 4 ton s shortfibre at £20
2 76 tons longfi bre at £22
8 4 tons mat
tress and
Spinn ing fi
b re at £9
CHAPTER I X
CATCH- CROPS
COFFEE ROBUSTA (A PAYING CATCH- CROP)
COCONUT cultivation ,till it reaches the revenue
stage,en tails a trial of faith an d patience which
few care to undergo, except those on the spotalready engaged in the industry .
During the waiting years, therefore, muchadditional interest and occupation is given inthe ; planting of robusta coffee as a catch- crop .
It is very profitable and does not appear toin terfere with the permanent cultivation at all .
Coffe e Rob u sta and Coffe e Lib e ricaRobusta differs in many ways from thewell - known lib erica . The habit is somewhatdifferen t . Robusta grows more rapidly. Aneight mon ths old robusta plan t is much largerand has more bran ches and leaves than a yearOld lib e rica . The branches of robusta are longerand have a tenden cy to bend down toward thegroun d
,so that the bush is rather umbrell a
Shaped. Gou rman diz ers and suckers are fewerthan on lib e rica ; the leaves are a lighter green ,
thin n er,and larger in size .
Robusta bears more berries in a cluster than
COFFE E ROBUSTA 83
lib erica., often over sixty ; they are much smaller,but the beans are almost as large, the skinbeing th inner. On an average ten picu ls ofliber ian ber ry give on e picu l (133; lbs.) ofmarket cofiee. On the other hand, only fourpiculs of robusta berry are required for a piculof market coffee. Though many more berriesgo to a picul than in lib eri ca the greaternumber in a bunch makes the picking if anything cheaper.
Product ivity of Rob usta — Plants abouteight months old begin to Show flower buds
,but
a number of these early flowers may not developinto berries, an d no concern need be felt ifthey do not, as, u nlike lib erica, all laterflowers set.
“ The plant blossoms the whole year through,and no loss will occur from windfall ’ if berriesar e coll ected once a month .
About ten month s are required for th e berri esto come to maturity ; when most of them in acluste r are straw- coloured they may be pickedas a rule the whole cluster may be gathered .
A small crop can be collected in th e se condyear, and in the fourth year pract ically themaximum crop is obtained. From that timeonward the yield is fairly uniform. Thefollowing figures g ive the production on anestate in Java planted 10 feet by 1 0 feet, withforty-five nutmegs taking the place of coffee,that is 390 plants to the acre .
84 COCONUT CULTIVATION
2n d year 1 picu l 1 83i lb s. (n early) per acre .
3rd 6 800 lb s . per acre .
4th 1 4 1 866 lb s .
5th 1 4 1866 lb s .
I n Java it was at first urged against robustathat its fecun dity would not contin ue, b u t itis now seen that nine - year - old plan ts are asvigorous and yield as much (an d more) asthey did when they were four years old.
Soil Su ited for Rob usta — The root developm en t of robusta is comparatively rapid and
in tense. I f a young robusta plan t is pulled upit will be foun d to have a mat of fi n e rootlets,considerably more than a liberian plant of thesame size would show . It is easily understood,then , that it thrives best in a loose clay soil ,somewhat sandy for preferen ce.
I n peaty land experience has already shownthat it does not thrive
,at least wher e the peat
is deep and badly drain ed. It behaves just asother plan ts do when they suffer from acidityin the soil ; robusta, however, is mor e sen sitive.The acidity of such soils must be removed bygood drain age and a liberal application of lime .
The quan tity of lime required will vary w iththe acidity, which must be tested from tim e totime. It is n ow proven that by such treatmen tcocon uts can be made to thrive, an d n o doubtrobu sta would too. Coffee can ephora
,which
is equally prolific, would probably do betterin such land .
86 COCONUT CULTIVATION
it has a certain amount of reserve in it, willprobably beat seed at stake put down at thesame time
,and for this reason is to be preferred.
Stumps are not available in the and theplanter should put in young plan ts with four orfive pairs of leaves/or failing that, seed at stake,in which case it is probably safer to germin atethe seeds first
,but they should be put out as
soon as the shoot shows, and great care taken tosee that it is not broken.
“ The usual enemies of other cultivation atstake will
, of course, attack coffee put out in thefield as seed. The seeds should be covered veryslightly
, and well shaded by palm leaves orfern s. I f fern s are put in green they will curlup and become useless.
Seed at stake is un desirab le in hilly land, asmuch of it is liable to be swept out of place orcovered up so deep in detritus that it is un ableto send its young shoots above groun d . Puttingout young plants is in every respect much saferand better. I f the planter has to start withseeds he will lose n othing in growth or otherwise by startin g them in a nursery. Whentran splanting, the lateral roots may be“ trimmedor left alone, but the soil must be pressed fairlyfirmly round the root . When left loose it cannot retain moisture, and the young plants fail ifa drought comes on after planting out.
W e eding — Robusta must be kept absolutelyclean - weeded. Hand weeding is best. Where
COFFEE ROBUSTA 87
the changkol is used, the coolie is apt to woundthe lower part of the stem,
which encouragesthe growth of unnecessary branches these takeaway nourishment required elsewhere
,and, if
they appear,they should be cut off as soon as
possible . A good digging or forking over theground at the end of the second year would bebeneficial ; it should certainly be done in thethird.
P ru ning .— The plant tends to form only
primary bran ches. It should be topped at aheight of 8 feet, to give a thicker branching byforcing out secondary branches which bear as wellas the primaries. Less pruning is required thanwith lib erica, but it must be commenced earlier.Young shoots, due to injuries suffered duringweedin g, arise near the ground on plants of sixmonths and older, and must be cut off early.
As a catch - crop most of it is to be collected in afew years, therefore the drastic prun ings takin gaway half the foliage of the tree, which are nowadministered to interplanted lib erica every ninemonths or more
,must be avoided. Pruning
should be done with a sharp kn ife, and not byplucking.
Preparat ion for th e Marke t — Except on afew estates all the coffee at present grown inthe F.M.S. is sold in the berry to Chinese. Thein dividual Chinese purchaser, or often two orthree working together, prepares by handmachines all he buys. The European planter,
88 COCONUT CULTIVATION
who looks upon his lib erica as of little consequence, finds it pays him better to sell thecollected berries than to ru n his old coffeemachinery for such small quantities as he cangather at irregular intervals. Where relativelylarge areas are un der robusta it will no doubtbe found most profitable to put down su flicien t
plant to treat the berries on the estate. It isdesirable from an other poin t of view that theproduct should not be don e in the rough way theChinese follow. The presen t Malayan outputof coffee is pr obably all consumed locally.
Besides planting robusta as a catch - crop manyplanters are seriously, an d perhaps wisely
,
con sidering the advisability of devoting partof their acreage to it alone .
The berry is much small er than that of
lib erica, and the pulper used for the latterwill be found to be u nsuitable. A small Lidgerwood pulper is the best. Hr . van Lennep statesin a recent n umber of the ‘Cu ltu rgids
’ thatthe beans must be fermented for thirty- sixhours after pulping, an d after being wellwashed, turned wet in to the dryin g house todry as quickly as possible at a high temperature. The guardiola dryer is especially sui table.While in the drying house the coffee must beoften moved so as to get a regular drying.
Coffee so prepared and dried keeps its bluishcolour long and has a good flavour.
Rob usta in th e Marke t . — Reports from the
90 COCONUT CULTIVATION
in fact, it is quite undesirable, Apart from thepossibility
,at present prices
,of its y ielding a
very small profit,if any, it is so difficult to
weed that a large amount of lalang gets in , andthe lan d is in a decidedly dirty condition whenthe crop is removed. Camphor allows the lan dto be kept clean, but the time to wait for a cropis too long
,and then the profit is not much .
Coj‘
ee robu sta ofl ers by far th e best ca tch - crop.
A small return will come in the second year, an da good on e in th e third an d following years.
“ Therefore,for those who must put down a
catch - amp it is undoubtedly the best. The production of robusta costs less per picul thanlib e rica . The total cost of production shouldnot exceed $1 2 £1 83. a picul, which returnsa net profit of $6 143. a picu l on an averageselling price of $1 8 £2 23. a picul. Plantedas a catch - crop in the way already recommended
,
about 1 000 to the acre,a return of 10 piculs
per acre of market coffee ought to be obtainedby the end of the fifth year. This would yielda n e t profit of $60 £7 per acre, or over doublethat at 1913prices .
“ These figures are conservative, j udging by theexample already given from Java. I n the F.M.S.
we h ave not sufficient data on which to baseclose estimates ; but it is eviden t that, if theen tire capital cost of the prin cipal crop cann otbe recovered, at least from the end of the secondyear
,it can be more than upkept from the profits
on robusta.
COFFE E ROBUSTA 9:
It must be remembered that the cost of
plan ting the coffee has to be added to the costof bringin g the palm into bearing, but, on theother hand, owing to the earlier shade, theweedin g will cost less than in coconuts alon e .With a main crop interplanted with lib erica
,
it is a common'
fau lt to let the coffee practicallydie out, but it should be remembered that aslarge robusta of five years old is a serious competitor in the soil
,it should be ruthlessly cut
out as soon as the branches of the coconut treesmeet
,and in any case in the beginning of the
sixth year.“ Planters who W ish to know where robusta
seed can be obtained should communicate withthe Department ofAgriculture, Kuala Lumpur.(Extract from Bulletin No. 7. Director of
Agriculture,
COFFEE ROBUSTA AS A CATCH- CROP
(Extract from Report by F.M.S. Inspectorof Coconu ts.)
When the soil is alluvial and sufficien tlyabove sea level
,robusta coffee, as a catch— crop,
should be planted at the same time as thecoconuts .
“ This coffee grows very well under coconutsfor a considerable period, and on rich soil, thereturn from the crops after the third year mayprove suffi cient for the entire upkeep of theplantation
,as the yield should be from three to
92 COCONUT CULTIVATION
five piculs per acre . The coffee, which maybe plan ted out 7 feet apart, does n ot to anyappreciable exten t interfere with the growthof the coconuts
,provided the plan tation is well
main tained.
“An other system,provided the soil is suit
able an d there is a good deman d for the produce,is to put in fruit trees
,planted quin - cunx, at
the same time as the coconuts . Mangosteen ,
ban an as,rambutan s, chiku, and many others,
thrive very we ll when plan ted out in the wayindicated
, and, as the trees mature, add con
siderab ly to the earnings of the plan tation .
Rubber trees should on no accoun t be interplan ted with cocon uts as they can n ot possiblythrive w ell together .
APPENDIX
GENERAL I NFORMATION AND PLANTAT ION TABLES
LAND TERMS I N THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES
THE premium varies from $2 to $3 per acre ,according to road fron tage. The annual quitren t for the first six years is $1 per acre, andafterwards on fi rst —class land $4 per acre, but ifplanted up with cocon uts only, the own er of theplantation is allowed a rebate of $2 per acre .For blocks up to 640 acres, plan tin g must becommenced within a year from the time thegrant is obtained
,or from the time of occupation,
whichever comes first, and a quarter of the areamust be brought into cultivation within fiveyears therefrom. On these two conditions beingcomplied with , the title may be en dorsed by theresident as being free of cultivation conditions .
Joh ore T e rms .
- The lan d laws of Johore arebased on those ruling in the Federated States,but the terms are more favourable. They are
Premium per acre for lan d with road fron tage, $3.
Premium per acre for lan d without frontage,
94 COCONUT CULTIVATION
The quit rent being 50 cents 1 8 . 2d . peracre per ann um for the first six years ; thereafter ,
per acre per annum,5s. l od .
TABLE SHOWI NG APPROX IMATE RUBBER YI ELD PEB ACRE .
Number i - ih .
Distance . of trees per
per acre . tree .
TABLE SHOW I NG THE PRODUCI NG CAPACI TY OF RUBBERPLANTAT I ONS.
Acreage .
96 COCONUT CULTIVATION
E X PORT DUT I E S ON CATCH- CROPS, E STAT E PRODUCTS, E TC
Ceylon coffe e , tea , cocoa per cw t . 10 cts .
cin chon a per cwt . 5 cts.
F.M.S. coffe e
gambierpeppe rsugar
su gar can etapioca
coconu ts, Copra ,
cocon u t oil
E X PORT DUT I E S ON RUBBER.
cul tivated ru bbe r 257, ad . val .
Para rubbe r la tex1 )
gu tta percha
B .N Borneo
Sarawak in diarub b er
gu tta je lu tongJangkaral l othe r 10
Z an z ibar rubbe r 1 57, ad . va l .
N . E . Rhode sia w ild ru bbe r 4d . per lbNyassaland 9d .
Uganda B .E .A. 102, ad . val .
British Gu iana rubber and balata from Crown 2 cen ts . pe r lb .
lan ds (royalty)Coff e e : th e du ty on
“ parchmen t coffee is calcu latedon two- thi rds of th e gross We ight and on
“ dry cherry " on
when price sare be low $22per picu l
$22 up to $24pe r picu l 1% ad . val .
24 up to 26
26 up to 28 2°
when above $28 257,15 cts . pe r picu l30 cts. pe r picul17, ad . val .
1 ct . pe r picu lad . val .
ad . val .
GENERAL INFORMAT ION AND TABLES 97
THE STOCK EX CHANGE QUOTATIONSThe Stock Exch an ge Committe e will grant aQuotation in the shares of a company which
is con sidered by the Committee to be of sufficientmagn itude and importan ce to b e entitled to aplace on the offi cial list, and also provided theconstitution of the company is in accordan cewith the usages of the Stock Exchange thus
A company whose subscr ibed capital is lessthan is not con sidered of su flicien tmagnitude to warrant its shares being quotedon the list.Unless at least two - thirds of the nomin al
capital proposed to be issued be subscribed forby the public the company will be ineligiblefor a quotation.
The articles of the company must meet therequirements of the Stock Exchange on thefollowing points, viz :
Restraining the directors from employingthe company’s fun ds in the purchase of itsown sharesSecuring th e qualification s of directors .
Limiting the amoun ts and intervals of calls.Limiting the borrowing powers of the Board .
That every member shall receive one sharecertifi cate free of charge, and that the chargefor a certificate in place Of one worn out or lostn ot to exceed on e shi lling.
That members holding one- tenth of the issuedcapital shall have power to requisition an extraordinary meeting.
98 COCONUT CULTIVATION
That un claimed dividends must not be declared forfeitable .That fully paid shares shall be free from all
lien .
That printed copies of the ann ual report andbalance Sheet be sen t to members seven daysbefore the meetin g.
That the articles must not con tain a clauserelieving the directors from the du ty Of enquiringin to the authen ticity Of tran sfers .Companies makin g an agreement with ven dors
for the guaran tee of a dividend,or with con
tractors for the payment of interest during construction
,the Committee object to.
Compan ies whose securities are quoted on theOfficial list should forward to the Share and
Loan department copies of all circulars relatingto meetings
,calls
, n ew issues , etc . ,and notice of
any proposed dividend .
TREE S PER ACRE AT DI FFERENT PLAN TI NG DI STANCE S .
l oo COCONUT CULTIVATION
Trade Of_ T ota l importe .
Straits Se ttlemen ts in 191 1 £46,437,349
FederatedMalay State s in 191 1 7,
Straits Se ttlemen ts inFederated Malay State s in 191 2
Popul ation oi
British MalayaStrait s Se ttlemen tsFederated Malay State sUn federated Malay State s
RAI NFALL— QUANT I TY OF WATER PER ACRE .
3630 cu bic fee t.1 in ch in depth rain fall pe r acre 226225 23imp. gallons .
101 2 8 tons.
1 in ch rain fall in 24 hou rs 2 52 cu bic fee t per minu te .
SOI LS— ABSORPT I ON OF MOI STURE FROM THE AIR.
San dy clay 26 ton s per acre in ches of rainfall.Loamy clay 30 02 96
gtifi
d
clay 36 0355e r en mou ldor nu rseries
0 444
SPACE OCCUPI ED BY ONE TON OF
1 Shippin g Ton Merchan dise1 Shipping Ton Timbe r1 Ton displacemen t of a Ship1 Ton Water for Ships1 Ton We lsh Goal1 Ton N ewcastle Coal
White popul ation abou t 1 per cen t.
DI FFERENT MATERIALS .
40 0 . fee t .42 0 . fee t.85 0 . fee t.210 gals .
40 0 . fee t.430 . fe e t .
GE NERAL INFORMATION AND TABLE S 1 0 !
E UROPEAN MEASURE S COMPARED WI TH ENGLI SH MI LE .
E nglish MileE n glish Ge ographicalMileKilome treGerman Mil eRu ssian Ve rstAu strian MileDu tch UreN orwegian MileSwedishMileDan ish Mil eSwiss Stun de
1 He ctare 2 471 acres .
LAND MEASURE — I MPERIAL STATUTE .
79 2 in ches.
1 link 06 6 foot .yard .
1 5 1 lin ks .
links .
792 in ches.
1 chain 66 fe e t.22 yards .
1 m ile 1760 yards .
1 mi le 80 chain s .
1 squ are mile 640 acre s .
1 acre 43560 squ are fe e t .1 acre 4840 squ are yards .
1 acre 10 squ are chain s.
B ouw— Du tch lan d measu re 12 acre s .
10 2 COCONUT CULTIVATION
SCALE S OF MAPS AND PLANS .
Chains to 1 inch, I nch es to 1 mile. Sub -mul t iple oractuallength.
NUMBER OF PLANTAT IONS I N THE STRAI TS SE TTLEMENTS ANDMALAY PEN I NSULA, UNDER E UROPEAN CONTROL
STRAI TS E STATES DIRECTORY).
Rubber, principally Hevea BraziliensisCoconu tsCoffe eSugar
TapiocaGambier, CamphorPin eapples,Rice
Total
NOTE — This does not include native holdings.
THE COCONUT INDUSTRY I N THE
WEST INDIES
SINCE the first portion of this manual was
wr itten the author has had the Opportunity ofvisiting about twen ty coconut plantations in theWest Indies
,and the study of the cultivation in
these parts is most interesting.
In selling his produce the planter has herea decided advantage over his distant competitorof the Middle East and the Dutch Archipelago,for the reason thatAmerica,which is the greatestconsumer of the n u t , is but a week
’s j ourneyfrom the plantation . This admits of the nutbeing shipped whole
,th ou gh free of husk, and it
is considerably more profitable to the plan terth an as if sold as copra or in desiccated form.
The American import duties and freight on coiror fibre prevent shipments in husk , and atpresent the value of thi s important product islost to both buyer and seller. In the WestIndies no attempt is made to convert the huskinto marketable fibre
,and this loss may be more
fully realized when it is shown that the huskfrom n uts produces 30 tons of fibre,
1 06 COCONUT CULTIVATION
costing £4 per ton to prepare, and selling for atleast £9 per ton , the in itial cost of the factoryequi ment being about £3000.
wrest Indian nuts are much small er th an
those of Malaya or Venezuela, which is largelyaccounted for by lack of proper cultivation,want of manure, and above all, the absence inearlier days of any care in the selection of seedn uts. It is a generally accepted fact that nutswhich fell below the market standard of requirement were put in to the n ursery.
Again, the world- wide drought of 1 910— 1 91 1
has had a marked effect on the cultivation, andhas increased con siderably the percentage of
small nuts .According to size, the n uts are of three classes,
known as Selects or Stan dards, Culls, an d
Rej ects. An iron ring, 3% in ches in diameter, is
the size tests for Selects ; for Culls, 3& inches ;and the smallest
,which pass these rings
,are t h e
Rejects. At one time the American marketsonly bought Selects . They are now glad topurchase Culls as w ell, with but slight differencein price. The Rej ects are made into copra onthe plantation
,and where machin ery is available,
this is pressed in to oil.From evidence obtained
,it would appear that
th e average proportion of Selects, Gu lls, andRej ects is as follow sSelects or Stan dards, 50 per cent ; Gulls,
30 per cent. Rejects, 20 per cent.Given better cultivation
,these averages would
1 08 COCONUT CULTIVATION
for all property owners having diseased coconuttrees to destroy them at on ce ; this has nothitherto been don e. The chief diffi culty appearsto be the lack of funds to carry out the work of
destruction required by the law. Such expense,however, becomes a first charge on a plantation,and the initial fund to start operations shouldbe an immediate con cern of the GovernmentTreasury .
Apart from the existin g offi cial Ag ricu lturalBoards, a West In dian Plan ters Association,with branches throughout the islan ds
,would be
a useful institution .
In important districts co— operation is neededamongst planter owners for securing to themselves a residen t mycologist. He might beallowed to supplemen t his salary by reportingon other plantations as occasion offers, and thusbecome thoroughly acquain ted with conditionsin general throughout the district. It is likely,too, that Governmen t would in vest him withauthority to deal with d isease under the PlantProtection Ordinance.
GENERAL CONDITIONS
Climate and Soil.— These are much the sameas those prevailing in other tropical coun trieswhere the cocon ut palm is in evidence.As in Malaya, and the E ast generally
,the
palm of th e West Indies is the Cocos N'Lw'ifefr a .
COCONUT INDUSTRY I N WEST INDIES 1 0 9
Se ed N tits — Grea t care is now being takenin the selection of seed nuts. Good bearingtrees are given a distinctive mark
,sometimes
in the form of a painted band in red, for theinformation of the collectors. Some planters areimporting specially selected nuts from Venezuela
,
which is proving successful .
Nmi series — These, again , are little differentfrom the usua l nursery, except that the seednuts are put in vertical ly, ins tead of at an angleof 45 degs. There are many obj ections to theupright position, one being the unsteadiness of
the plant in wind.
Another import an t reason w hy nuts in thenursery should not be plan ted vertically, is thatat the top or stalk end there is a depressionaround the “ eyes or germ seats, in whichwater is likely to settle and rot the erm . I n
the obliqu e position it drains off. or germinating purposes the nut h as always a suffi ciencyofmoisture available from within.
The period of germination is about fourmonths
,and the Western planter favours trans
planting when the leaves are about a foot high .
The argument in support of this is that there isless damage from breeze in the nursery, and toroots in the transplan ting, and a lower cost oftransport.
Bearing Stag e — This, as elsewhere, depen dsmuch upon the state of cultivation ; under fairconditions the sixth year is the flowering year.
n o COCONUT CULTIVATION
Yie ld — These average on good plantations80 n uts per tree per annum. Some trees in part icu lar give as many as 1 50 n uts per annum inthree pickings.
Matu ring .— A good system in practice in the
West is the storing of n uts in large sheds,covered with coconut leaves to allow those not
thorough ly ripe to mature . The n uts are cartedin to the shed as they ar e picked , an d allowed toremain there for on e or two mon ths in the coolbefore they are husked .
Pick ing — The West In dian method is u n
doubtedly the best. The native climbs th e tree,supported at the waist by a rope loop, whichleaves both han ds free to pick the nuts
,an d
,at
the same time, it enables him to remove mossand lichen from the tree.A good picker can gather as many as 1 200 a
day,but to obtain such a figure con stant su per
vision is n ecessary . On most estates there arethree pickings a year
,one in every four months.
DISEASES
Like all other plan ts, especially when grownin large numbers in one place, coconuts are liableto diseases caused by parasitic vegetable organisms
,fungi
,and bacteria . Fou r such diseases
are now well kn own in the West In dies, whileothers may even tually be found to occur . Three
COCONUT INDUSTRY I N WEST INDIES I I I
of them are of considerable importance,but the
fourth, on ly when the trees have become u n
healthy from other causes . The diseases arebud rot, root disease, bleedin g stem, and leafdisease. With the exception of root disease,they may be expected to appear on trees of allages from four years upward . To a casualobserver, trees sufferin g from any of thesediseases have much the same appearance. Theleaves look yellow and sickly, and the outerones often hang down roun d th e trunk
,while in
some ca ses the tips of the leaflets may be brokenand han g downward. Such leaflets are dry andgreyish in appearance, an d are attached to nuhealthy leaves . When trees are clearly in illhealth and present the general appearance described above
,the question arises as to what is
the cause of the disease, an d what is to be doneto improve the condition of the trees andprevent the spread of infection. They shouldbe examined for indica tions of the presence ofany of the four fun goid diseases, a description ofwhose general symptoms and trea tment follows.
Bud Rot .— Ou examinin g an unhealthy tree
affected with bud rot , it is usually found thatthe young central leaves are standing uprightand not unfoldin g as they should ; soon afterwards they turn yel low an d then brown, whilethe whole cabbage or central bud has an u n
healthy appearance. Sometimes the drying upof the central shoots cannot be observed unt il
1 1 2 COCONUT CULTIVATION
many of the lower leaves have turned yellow orbrown, while in a few instances, the outer leavesare the first to appear unhealthy. The diseasedoes not seem to follow any very definitesequence as regards the order in which theleaves are attacked, nor to be very con stant inits point of origin, at any rate as it is kn own inthe West In dies . After a time
,the terminal
bud falls over and the complete death of thetree follows slow ly. Frequently, a ring of
healthy- looking green leaves is left at the top,
and these may contin ue green for some timeafter the bud has fal len . On cu ttin g down atree showing these symptoms, it is found thatthe bases of the young leaves and of the stillundeveloped flower stalks , as well as all the softtissues at the top of the stem, are affected by asoft brown rot and give off a most unpleasantsmell . All th e other portions of the tree, theroots and remainder of the stem, will be foundto be quite healthy— a feature which distingu ish es this disease from root d isease orstem bleeding. Furthermore when the youngestvisible leaf is observed to have fallen over andwilted
,it is almost certain that the bud rot is
present.The cause of this disease is at present nu
certain,though several authorities are inclined
to attribute it to the presence of bacteria.
Although the parasitic organism has not beendefinitely determined, there is bu t little doubtthat the only safe course to pursue, when the
1 14 COCONUT CULTIVATION
affected, though often a middle ring becomeswilted and yellow fir st, while the leaves outsideand inside it are green . After the yellowingof th e leaves takes place, diseased trees shedmost
, if not all, of their n uts, irrespective of
their age,whi le the flowers subsequently pro
duced do not set. Fin al ly, the terminal budrots and falls over
,and the tree dies . The
earlier symptoms are exactly like those exhibitedwhen trees are suffering from drought, and infact are du e to lack of water owing to thedestruction of the roots. It may, however, bedetermined whether root disease is actuallypresent or not by making an examination of
the roots themselves,and the first two or three
feet of the stem . Such an examination quicklyreveals a diseased an d disorganized conditionof the outer tissues of the roots, while, whenthe tree is cut in to
,it will be seen that a red
discoloration,exten ding from the ground level
for a distance of two or three feet upwards,is present in the stem . This may occur as aring toward the outside
,or a gen eral discolora
tion of the tissue n ear the centre of the stem.
Th e death of the roots and the red discolorationof the stem are the two absolutely distinguishingsign s of the condition.
The cause of the di sease is at present uncertain ;but the following rem edial measures may be recommended . Al l in fected trees should be cutdown, their roots carefully dug up, and the wholeburned . The soil from which the tree has been
COCONUT INDUSTRY I N WEST INDIES 1 15
taken should be given a good dressing of limean d should be well forked over. As a. furtherprecaution, the infected area should be isolatedby a tren ch two feet deep and two feetwide
,the
soil from this bein g thrown on to the in fectedland . When the trees have been dug out andburned
,the land Should be allowed to rest for a
year, and then supplies should be planted. Attention Should be paid to cultivation and drain ageon any estate on wh ich root disease makes an
appearan ce.
Stem B le ed ing Disease — The symptoms ofthis vary somewhat according to the age andnature of the trees attacked . I n general
,cracks
appear on the bark ,from which a brown viscid
liquid oozes , that soon turn s black an d leavesa dark stain on the bark . On cutting away thecortex n ear the crack it is often foun d that thetissue has decayed and become soft and watery.
I n some cases the outer layer of tissue falls off,leaving a hole filled with fibres . In other casesspiral cylin drical hollows are formed running upand down the stem while in extreme cases theWhole tree may be rendered hollow to withintwo or three feet of the termin al bud . Thismay occur even when only a few bleedingpatches are visible externally . The disease doesn ot n ecessarily cause the death of the tree, an dits effect on the crop is usually small, at anyrate for a time . Its importance lies prin cipallyin the fact that trees, weakened by the presence
1 16 COCONUT CULTIVATION
of the hollow Spaces in their stems, are liable tobe broken off in a strong win d . It is muchmore prevalen t in wet weather than in dry .
Stem bleeding is caused by a fungus, Thielaoiopsz
'
s paradoxa , which is responsible for a rot of
pin e - apples and a decay of can e cuttings. Itsspread in plant tissues appears to be depen denton the amoun t of sugar which they con tain .
The remedial measures con sist of cutting outthe infected tissues an d burn in g all chips . Theoperation is best performed with a chisel an dmallet. Slanting woun ds should be made, inorder that water may ru n off them . When thediseased portions have been cut out, the surfacesof the tissues should be carefully burn ed with atorch to dry them, and the woun d should thenbe dressed with tar.As bleeding stem disease is so prevalen t in
the West,notches for climbin g the tree are
strictly avoided . The system in any case is n ota good on e , and Eastern plan ters would do wellto follow the example set in exercisin g care overthe bark or stem. It should not be subj ectedto woun ds of any kin d.
Le af Dise ase .— Frequently leaves appear to
be dropping,an d the tips of the leaflets remote
from the stern become greyish in colour . Thecon dition appears to spread gradually to thosen earer the stem when the leaflets have becomebadly diseased this portion breaks down . Anexamin ation reveals the fact that the tips an d
1 1 8 COCONUT CULTIVATION
The average price of nuts delivered to buyer’
sboat at plantation is approximately as follows :
Se lects or Standards£22
per thousand.
Copra from Rej ects is mostly pressed into oilon the plantation
,and sells at about 58 . per
gallon .
t i i
The value of Poonac or Residue Meal, as acattle feed and manure, is equal in val ue to thefactory charges in pressing the relative bulk of
Copra into oil .The Coconut Oil obtained is almost clear
profit.The following is an average scale of working
costs
Picking 60 cen ts per 1000 nu ts .
Hu sking 40
Breaking and extractin g Copra 9
Se le ctingFill ing, sewing bags, loading, carting on shore from store to boat 10
Colle cting in fie ld 40
Carting from fi e ld to shore , wearand tear of rolling an d li ve stock 40
Or— From tree to boat pe r 1000 nu ts.
An additional $5 should amply cover the costsofProduction ,Cultivation,Up- keep
,Depreciation
,
and Managemen t Ch arges, thus making a totalAll - I n cost of 93. 2d .) per 1000 n uts .
COCONUT INDUSTRY I N WEST INDIES 1 19
The approximate valu es of Coconut trees inthe West Indies are as follows
Ful l bearing tree s 308 . each6 to 8 year trees 168 .
3to 6 4s.
1 to 3 2s
Compen sation for trees removed-
formin ing.
or pu blicpu rposes 403. each .
West India Copra sells at about £28 per ton.
Three good large - sized nuts give 1 lb. of
Desiccated Coconut, which sells at about I s. perlh . , the market being America.
E X PENDITURE AND REVENUE I N FORMI NG A
COCONUT ESTATE OF 500 ACRES I N
TRINIDAD.
By Mr . W. Greig, of Cedros Estates, Trinidad .
PUBLISHED I N OFFICIAL AGRICULTURAL BULLETINNO. 71 .
The following is an estimate Of the expenseof clearing land and developing, a t th e r ate of1 00 acr es per year , a cocon ut estate of 500 acresin Trinidad . It is of in terest to compare it withthat for 500 acres in the FederatedMalay States,and to note that in the West In dies only abou t100 acres per annum can be planted out owingto scarcity Of labour .
1 20 COCONUT CULTIVATION
E X PENDI TURE .
l st Yea/r .
Cost of land (550 acre s at £2 103. per acreClearing 130 acres at £1 1 03. per acreRoads and tracesLin ing, holing , plan tin g and se ed - nu ts (100 acres)Weeding and cu tlassingDrain ing .
Stock (5 oxen , 2 cows, 2 horse s, 1 car t, stable , pen)Labou rers’ barrack (1 2 rooms )Dwe lling -houseWard rates and taxe sSupplie s and con tin gen cie sSu perin tenden ce
£3292
Cu ltivating 100 acres plan ted l st yearMain ten an ce of roads, trace s, e tc .
Clearing 100 acres new lan dRoads and traces, newLin ing, holing, and plan ting 100 acre s n ew landWeeding and cu t lassing, n ew lan dLabou re rs’ barrack for immigran ts (6 roomsImmi gration charges on 1 2 immigran tsWard rates and taxe sSupplies and con tingen ciesSuperin tendence
£1 249
3rd Year .
Cul tivating 200 acres plan te d 1 st and 2nd yearsMain tenan ce of roads and tracesClearing, planting, and cul tivatin g 100 acres n ewLabou re rs’ barrack for immigran ts (6 rooms) “
I mmigration charges on 24 immigran tsWard rates and taxesSupplies and con tingencie sSuperin tenden ce
£1475
1 2 2 COCONUT CULTIVATION
From the sixth year the principal disbursemen ts are conn ected with general upkeep,gathering
,factory
, and shipping expenses, thetotals Of which appear in the following summary '
COCONUTS— SUMMARY.Expenditure fromth e sth to th e 1 2thyear, in excess
of Revenu e .
At the end of the eighth year the expenditureamoun ts to from the ninth to thetwelfth year there is a further expenditure ofcapital amoun ting to £3203 before the estatebecomes self- supporting.
The actual workin g capital required for anestate of 500 acres is or £36 an acre.
COCONUT INDUSTRY I N WEST INDIE S 1 23
NOTES ON THE FOREGOING ESTIMATES AND
CULTIVAT I ON I N GENERAL
The author, when in Trinidad, had the honourof being invited to a meeting of the LocalAgricu ltural Board. He was in troduced toabout twen ty planters from different parts
,and
in discussing coconuts it was agreed by themajority that with reasonable cultivation thesixth year should be the first fruiting year .
Mr. Greig makes it the ninth year, which is conservative . Further
,he provides for the planting
up of 1 00 acres only per ann um owing to thescarcity of labou r. Here
,too
,the estimate is on
the safe side, for , given capital and en ergy,local Opinion estimates that at least 250 acresper annum could be handled . It is understoodthat these estimates do not allow for stumpingor contin uous clean weeding, the term cultivat in g
” meaning the cu t lassing and clearing upof planted areas two or three times a year.The sum of £200 per an num for supe rin ten
dence is inadequate, and bears out the Opinionformed by the author when in the West, n amely,
that managers and superintenden ts are in
su fficien t ly paid . I n on e case that came un dern otice
,a man ager of an estate valued at a quarter
Of a million sterling was in receipt Of remun eration un der £300 per an n um. Is there anywon der that some cultivations looked neglectedand return s are short ?European or white assistants in the West are
1 24 COCONUT CULTIVATION
called “ overseers,which to a visitor seems a
very u ndign ifi ed term,and one that would not
be tolerated in the East.The cutlass in the West is exactly the same
agr icultural implemen t as the parang of theEast. Innovation s are not readily welcomed inthe West, but if on ce the Assam fork gainedadmittan ce
,it would prove to be a boon to
coolie and own er alike. Its advantage over thefoot- dr iven fork wou ld soon be apparen t
, an d
a coolie en abled to fork much larger areas thancan be done at present.The disc harrow, too, could be used to great
advan tage . Oxen power is plentiful, an d would
require but little train ing . The question Of
cut tin g lateral roots need n ot cause anxiety .
The discs on ly disturb about n ine inches Of topsoil
,and the primary feeders Of the coconut lie
deeper than that. Even if cut,laterals suffer
little therefrom , and it is noth ing as comparedwith the advantages gained from disturbing thesurface, thus admitting more plan t food, air an dmoisture.
1 26 COCONUT CULTIVAT ION
PAGE
Drying Hou se , CopraKiln , Copr-a
E states,Matu reImma tur e
E stimate s— Plan tationOu tlay,Upkeep andProfitsCost of Produ ction Cocon u t Oil an d Oil Cake
E xpert, Choice of
E xportsDu ties on Catch Crops, e tc .
E xtraction of Oil (Solven t Proce ss)F
Fe llingFen cingFib re . Sec Coir .
MillForking Tre e s
GGathe rin g . See a lso Picking 45, 1 10
HolingHu sks , E stimates
T reatmen t ofHu skingHydrau lic Pre ss
I mmatu re E states
Joh ore Land Te rms
Kiln , Drying
Lan d Charges
LeafDiseaseLibe rica Cofi e e (Catch Crop)Lime
Lin ing
Machin e ry and Plan tMalaya
I NDE X 1 2 7
Managemen t of CropMan u res
Matu re E statesMatu ring Nu tsMeal CopraMill Oil
FibreMycologist
Notch e s for tree climbingNur se ries, Shade for Se edlingsNu ts, Se ed
Splitting
Oil , CakeE qu ivalen tsMachin erySolven t Process of Extraction
PPalm , Uses ofPe sts
ACoconu t PestAgricu ltural E nactmen tAl eyrodicu s destru ctorBe e tlesWhite An ts (Termites Gestroi)
PickingPlan t an d MachineryPlan t Protection Ordinan cePlan tingPoon ac .
Preparation ofLand :Pre ssesPrice s, E states, Tre esProppin g Bu n chesPu rchase , en qu iries prior to
RRain fallReje ct Nu tsRoads (See a lso under Bu ildings, 55)Robu sta Coffe e
As Catch-CropMarket Reports
1 2 8 COCONUT CULTIVATION
PAGE
Robusta Cofi ee— con tina ed
N u rsery forPe sts ofPlan tingPreparation for Marke tProdu ctivity ofPruni ngSoil su ited toWe eding
Root DiseaseRu bber , Tables, e tc .
Salarie s . See E stimates .
Se ed Nu ts 26, 56, 109
Cost of. See E stimate s .
Germ in ating ofSe lectsSoil
Classifi cation of
E xamin ation of
Orde r ofMerit OfTable show ing absorption of Incistu refrom air
Splitting Nu tsStandard N u ts
Stem B le e ding DiseaseStraits Se ttlemen ts, TradeStumpin g
Table s 93 103TapiocaT e rmite s Gestroi (White Ants)Timbe rToddy
Valu e sVen e zu e lan Nuts
Waterin gWe edin g , CleanWe st Indie s, Cocon u ts inWhite An ts (Te rmite s Gestroi)PRI NT ED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LlMI T ED. LONDON AND BECCLE S.