45 



pass through this house in the course of a year. Growing 

 behind the cacao house is Tecoma serratifolia, a tree of great 

 beauty during the flowering period, when it bears a wealth of 

 bright yellow flowers. 



On arriving at the end of the path note on the left 

 Flacourtia sepiaria, a bushy shrub valued as a hedge plant 

 on account of its spiny nature, and for its berries which have 

 a pleasant sub-acid flavour when ripe. 



The Curator's office is now reached and the walk around 

 the Gardens is completed. 



Manurial Experiments with Cacao. 

 The area under cacao cultivation in the Botanic Gardens 

 is estimated at 1\ acres, of which over 4 acres, divided in ten 

 plots, are devoted to manurial experiments. Five of the plots 

 have been carried on for twenty years, and the others for 

 fifteen years. The crop results have been carefully recorded 

 over these periods, and tabulated for publication in the Annual 

 Reports on the Agricultural Department. Very valuable 

 information has been obtained from these experiments which 

 has proved of great interest to planters engaged in cacao 

 growing in this island and in other countries. 



These plots have clearly demonstrated the prime need of 

 the use of complete fertilizers in orchard cultivation, and the 

 necessity of maintaining the humus content of the soil by the 

 application of pen manures and mulches. By these means 

 the fertility of the soil is kept up and the production of good 

 crops over long periods is made possible. 



The old series of experiments were brought to an end on 

 June 30, 1922, and the new series, details of which are given 

 below, were then commenced. In the new experiments, the ten 

 plots fall naturally into four sections as regards soil and 

 situation, therefore the plots within the various groups are 

 comparable with each other. The first seven plots are on 

 level land ; the three others are situated on a hillside. 



The new experiments, as proposed, should be of greater 

 interest to planters than the old ones ; but in this respect it 

 should always be remembered that new series are the outcome 

 of the work done, and the experience gained during the 

 continuance of the first series of manurial plots. 



