Thus far coconut cultivation has been conducted in a very haphazard way. In fact, the existing groves are hardly cultivated at all. Nuts or young trees are put into the ground in whatever fashion seems good to the individual planter, and are invariably set too closely. There may be a little initial cultivation, but usually nothing is done except to cut down weeds and brush with a bolo, and often even this is neglected. The trees, once established, are left to shift for themselves, and are soon contending with each other for root space and air. The owner cuts notches in their bark in order to facilitate climbing. Water gathers in them and starts decay. If under such circumstances coconut growing is so profitable that to-day plantations can hardly be bought at any price, what will happen when carefully selected seed nuts are put out at proper intervals and growing trees are given high cultivation? In considering the profits resulting from coconut culture, estimates are sometimes based on twenty nuts to the tree per year, while forty are considered a very liberal allowance. This number is even now largely exceeded throughout extensive areas in the Philippines under the unfavourable conditions above described. The effect of good cultivation can be determined, in a measure, by the condition of trees which chance to be so situated that the ground near them is kept clean. The results of fertilization can be estimated by observing the condition of trees standing near native houses. I recently endeavoured to have the nuts on a series of such trees counted from the ground. This proved impossible. In fact, it was necessary to cut out a bunch of nuts in order to make it possible for a climber to scramble over the great masses of fruit, and get among the leaves. I therefore bought the nuts on several trees and had them thrown down. The trees were in a little Manobo village, and the ground around them was cultivated. The two which seemed to be bearing most heavily could not be climbed, as bees had taken possession of them. The third best tree had three hundred ninety-seven nuts on it; the fourth only three hundred twenty-three, but its output had been reduced by tapping a number of its blossom stalks for tuba. All the nuts were very large. The meat from an average specimen was carefully dried and we found that one hundred fifty-six such nuts would make a picul of copra. A common estimate of the average number of nuts required for a picul is three hundred. Of the whole number of nuts on these trees a few would have failed to develop, owing to lack of room, but it is fair to suppose that the first would have ripened three hundred fifty nuts and the second two hundred seventy-five. Actual observation has shown that it takes nuts two hundred thirty-eight to two hundred fifty-nine days to mature in Mindanao. Coconut trees attain a great age, and a producing plantation in the Agusan valley would be a mine of wealth.