In the
mean time, the annual outlay during eleven years is an additional
incubus upon the prime cost of the plantation, which, at the
expiration of this term, may be reduced to one-tenth of its
present value.
The cocoa-nut tree requires a sandy and well-drained soil; and
although it flourishes where no other tree will grow, it welcomes
a soil of a richer quality and produces fruit in proportion.
Eighty nuts per annum are about the average income from a healthy
tree in full bearing, but this, of course, depends much upon the
locality. This palm delights in the sea-breeze, and never attains
the same perfection inland that it does in the vicinity of the
coast. There are several varieties, and that which is considered
superior is the yellow species, called the "king cocoanut." I
have seen this on the Maldive Islands in great perfection. There
it is the prevailing description.
At the Seychelles, there is a variety peculiar to those islands,
differing entirely in appearance from the common cocoa-nut. It
is fully twice the size, and is shaped like a kidney that is laid
open. This is called by the French the "coco de mer" from the
large numbers that are found floating in the sea in the
neighborhood of the islands.
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