Wirtschaft als Leben

Proceedings of the South & East African combined agricultural, cotton, entomological and mycological conference held at Nairobi, August, 1926

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1027869556

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-48255

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Gottl-Ottlilienfeld, Friedrich von http://d-nb.info/gnd/118809040

Title:: Wirtschaft als Leben

Place of publication:: Jena

Publisher:: Verlag von Gustav Fischer

Year of publication:: 1925

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (XXXII, 763 Seiten)

Digitisation:: 2018

Collection:: Economics Books

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Die Grenzen der Geschichte 1903

Collection:: Economics Books

APPENDIX. 309 3) THE CULTURE OF COCONUTS IN SEYCHELLES AND VARIOUS ASPECTS OF AGRICULTURAL METHODS ADOPTED IN THAT COLONY. Paper by Director of Agriculture, Seychelles—T.C.(C)Ag.17.) The culture of the coconut palm, which is supposed to be of South American origin, like all other species of the same genus, has long been considered as the staple industry in Seychelles. At one time it was neglected for the more profitable culture of vanilla which was intergrown with the palm; the consequence was that prior to the blow given to vanilla some 20 years ago by the synthetic manufacture of vanillin, coconut palms in Seychelles were for nearly half a century grown in mixed plantations of all sorts of trees which were then used as props for vanilla. The young trees set out for use as vanilla props soon became as tall as the coconut palms themselves and the whole mixed plantation formed a jungle which was certainly the cause of the coconut palms being attacked by many diseases and pests. Coconut palms are so hardy that they were able to resist this ill- treatment which would have been fatal to many other plants. Vanilla on the other hand, requiring shade for its growth and benefitting so largely from the mulch formed by coconut husks and leaves, was found to thrive under these conditions which, however, would have meant, in the long run, the complete destruction of the coconut palms. For the last 15 years the coconut plantations have been cleared from jungle growth except cinnamon bushes, which are left in order to secure an annual crop of leaves used for distillation and worth about B25 a ton. It is fortunate however that cinnamon does not grow on the coral plateaux (the name ‘‘ plateau ” is given here to the flat portions of the coast where sea sand has been piled up) as these plateaux are the ideal spots for coconut culture. On the hill sides coconut palms also thrive owing to the easy percolation of rain water carrying food elements but the tendency is to retain cinnamon bushes there so as to have an intercalary crop and thus continue the traditional habit of growing two crops at the same time. It is however more and more realised nowadays that coconut palms do better without intercalary crops and that cinnamon should be relegated to the summits where the coconut is handicapped by permanent moisture and stiff soil. Under the shade of the coconut palms, which are now manured, it has been found that herbaceous plants like patchouli and ginger not requiring props are less injurious to the coconut and so the system of intercalary crops, so dear to many planters, has thus been maintained. It is not always easy nor useful to combat agricultural methods and ideas which have been handed down from generation to generation especially when planters who are mostly descendants from the old French planters of Mauritius and Reunion are not altogether ignorant and have acquired much practical knowledge. It is however satisfactory that the agricultural methods are better adjusted now that herbaceous plants instead of trees are intergrown with coconut palms. The former policy was naturally the cause of the coconut palms being weakened and diseased nearly to the verge of extinetion. Various forms of bud rot and bud decay,

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