beginnings, though it has required many ages to bring
about the present conditions.

The cocoanut palm is to the natives of Ceylon what the date palm is to
the Arabs of the desert. Its regular cultivation is one of the
recognized industries. The nuts designed for planting are selected
from the best which are produced, and are kept upon the tree until
they are thoroughly ripe, when they are placed in a nursery, partially
covered with earth, and exposed to the sun. There they remain until a
sprout shoots up from the eye of the nut, and when this reaches the
height of nearly three feet, it also shows long, irregular roots
hanging from the base. It is then planted in the ground at a depth of
about two feet. The young tree grows very slowly for six or seven
years, increasing more in stoutness than in height. Presently it
starts afresh to grow tall quite rapidly, and by the eighth or ninth
year it begins to bear fruit. Though the cultivation of this tree is
so important, and ultimately so profitable, in equatorial regions that
one would not think of its being neglected, still, owing to the length
of time required to bring it to the fruit-bearing condition, the ever
lazy natives do not expend much effort in the business. The long
period between the seed and the product discourages them. Nature,
however, steps in and fills the gap by the chance planting of many
trees annually, and when these reach a certain growth suitable for
removal, they are transplanted into advantageous situations. The new
palms which are thus added yearly much more than keep good their
numbers, as they are hardy and long-lived trees.

Thus it is that Nature is over-generous, and makes liberal provisions
for her children in all instances. The camel has a foot especially
designed for traveling upon the desert sands. Birds of prey possess
talons suitable for seizing, and powerful beaks formed for severing
their natural food. The tiniest plant shows exquisite adaptation to
the climate where it is placed. Animals of the Arctic regions are
covered with fur adequate to protect them from the freezing
temperature in which they live. The most barbarous tribes are not
forgotten. Wherever we find them, their food and necessities are sure
to be discovered close at hand. Examples might be multiplied by the
hundred. Ceylon alone offers us confirmation which is irrefutable, few
spots on earth being better adapted to supply the natural wants of
primitive man.

A thou