228 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



XoVEMBEK ;^, 1902. 



■1- \!''X^'m^ 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



CULTIVATION OF BANANAS. 



The t'ollowiiig notes on the cultivation <it' liananas 

 arc reproduced IVoni the p.i[)er \>\ the Hoii'ble 

 W. Fawcett, B.Sc, F.L.S., read before the Agricultural 

 Conference in Januaiy last and published in full in the 

 IIW Indian Bvlhi'ni. Vo'. 11., pp. 153 to 171 :— 



i'i.i:Ar,iNii. 



In ground covoveil with forest or woodland some are 

 cjntent to out down and hum, leav'ng the stumps to decay ; 

 hut it is Ix'tter, if it can he done, so to cut the trees that 

 they will tear up their roots in their fall. The trees should 

 he carefully selected, marked and cut up for their special 

 uses — tindjer, posts, jiilcs, tramway sleepers, firewood, etc. 

 The underwood and hrush can he used ti hurn up the roots 

 and the trunks of useless ti'ees such as riiumgn, 15astrtrd 

 Cedar, etc. 



The ground should finally he carefully stunijied. Even 

 if the land is vii-gin soil and does not require [iloughing, it is 

 better to stump at first. The plants can then he jiut in at 

 regular distances at once --an imrortant nratter in many 

 ways ; and if ploughing is necessary at a later [icriod, there 

 i.s no delay caused hy digging out stumps, litumping also 

 facilitates cutting ami carrying the fruit. 



If the land is not the virgin s;iil of a forest, and 

 especially if it he old cane land (ir [lasture, it should he first 

 thoroughly ploughed at least !) inches <leep, and harrowed, 

 if the situation is on hill sides where the Jilough cannot he 

 Worked, the pickaxe for stony gnuiiid, and tlio fork for soft 

 ground should he used. 



Dis-rANen. 

 The usual distance is l.j hy 1.") feet, or 14 by 11 feet, 

 but these distances are modified according to circumstances, 

 and planters arc continually trying c.\]ieriments with other 

 distances. One planter finds that a hill-side of ].") acres on 

 the north side iilauted S by S yields S,000 straight, or mori' 

 than .^00 to the acre, .\iiotlier, in a hot, flat district on tlie 

 south side, finds it advantageou.s to i>lant 8 by iS in order to 

 .shade the ground a.s soon as possible. It is stated by the 

 advocates of close planting that the crop conies in sooner, 

 that it can he regulated with greater success so as to come in 

 during the five months of high prices, and that less weeding 

 and less water are re(piire(l. On the other hand, it will he 

 found necessary to remove every alternate row for first 



ratoon.s, and probalily for third latoons to reduce the field to 

 stems at distances of l(j by K! feet AVhere there is too 

 much shade, the Imllis are apt gradu;dly to grow higher out 

 of the grotnid with less hold against the wind, and the 

 plants run uji with a weak stem and irregular bunch. 

 Another system is to increase the distance between the plant.'i 

 in the row, making the wider intervals run north and south. 

 A planter who reajis 3.'iO payable hiuiches per acre, planting 

 1+ by 14, gets a yield of 400 per acre where he has planted 

 111 l.y i() feet. 



A planter who is jilanting cacao and utilizes the banana 

 for shade says that he has generally planted 14 feet square 

 with cacao in the .same line. If cacao is planted in the centre 

 of the .sipiare, field implemeut.s, of course, cannot be worked 

 cither way, hut by jilanting in the same line as the banana, 

 they can be used for two or more years without apjiarent 

 injury to either plant. However, he states that, after some 

 experience, he thinks Ki feet .square would be lireferable both 

 for banana and cacao cultivation, hut there are cousi<lerati(ms 

 of locality, soil, fertility and so on which jirevent a hard aiul 

 fast line being laid down 



'In wide planting there is less risk of a falling tree 

 carrying another with it. The roots of the banana ap[pear to 

 reiiuire a radius of at least 8 feet, and wide planting has 

 always connnended it.self, in my experience, as the best 

 agriculture ; that is to say, sufficiently wide jilanting to give 

 the plant or tree spdce admitting of its full and best 

 development, .\niong other advantages cultixation is easier ; 

 an<l lievond question the higher the cultivation the better is 

 the fruit obtained.' 



lilia:iN(; Holes. 



S(unc iilanlcis arc content with shallow holes aliout one 

 foot deeji. Iiut better results are obtained when holes 2 feet 

 () inches every way are dug : the roots get a better start, 

 and a better hold on the ground, so that the plants are more 

 fiu'ward, anil not liable to be lilown down. 



A jilanter who prejiares holes .'i to 4 feet wide and from 

 2 to 2.', feet deep, writes: — ' It is not always jiossible to get 

 the labour to make these liole.s, but 1 am convinced of the 

 advantage and ultimate economy of ni.dcing them large and 

 deep, for, among other rea.son.s, the jilaiit gets a start at 

 once ; a good root is formed in the loosened earth which 

 practically "anchors" the tree, and enables it to resist high 

 winds, and when iilautcd in this way the tendency of the 

 root to come to the surface is greatly obviated.' 



