558 



THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



May IV, VjVj. 



LIME CULTIVATION IN DOMINICA. 

 (Conr/uded.) 



(V. rHk>fTIN<T ilK tlMK BKANCUES AND YIELl' nV LIMES. 



Thf followini? is the conclusion ol the txtracts 

 firm Air. J. Jones's lldpoit, other portions ot which 

 Jattvc appearoil in the three previous issues of rhis 

 Journai: — 



Prop/'inj; oj lime braiif.hfs during crop. — Tlii.-^ 

 operation is canied on to a considerable degree on »omf 

 j)iupcriirs. WJietber it is really needed to the extent that it 

 ds carried ou, and whether the cxi)enditure which it involves is 

 altogether sound, are sometimes subjects of discussion ainongHt 

 jiUnters. 



There can be no doubt that the propping of branchea 

 <)n ^ome old plantations is necessary. This is due in many 

 iCiViifa to too close planting, which, in thj struggle for light, 

 uresults in the production of elongated branches which cannot 

 •possibly carry the weight ot frnit without being bent to the 

 j^rouiid or broken. As long as the trees are young, support 

 is not required to any extent, but, as the inevitable vacaneies 

 oixur in the fields, whether caused by hurricanes or di.-ieaso, 

 4he need of propping increases as time goes on. 



On old plantations in which the proportion of diseased 

 trees is high, and especially in cases in which the wood of the 

 ha.sc of the trunk and of the main branches is affected by 

 <lci;ay, the need of supporting the branches during crop is 

 upparent to all. Trees so allected are doomed, although 

 several years may elapse before death takes ])lace. l)uiing 

 this period good crops are borne, and even heavy crop.s in 

 the ca.se of fields which are manured. In these instances 

 support of the branches is needed and is usually given. 



Propping is also largely practised in the case of trees 

 growing along the public roads^ estate roads, and paths. The 

 object is in most cases twofold : (1), to press the branches 

 away from the roadsides, and (2), to afford support, as the 

 trees grown under these conditions usually bear well. In tho 

 ease cf public roads inconvenience is often caused to travellers 

 by the reluctance of some planters to cut back or to prop 

 l>ack the branches of what are considered by many owners to 

 Toe their best trees, for in unmanurfd fields the best specimens 

 are usually fouiid on the edges of the cultivation. This is 

 due to the fact that the trees get room and light for develop- 

 anent, and they aho receive from time to time a top dressing 

 in the shape of .scrapings from the road drains. If therefore 

 the additional room and light, and the occasional top dressing 

 result in the production of good trees, surely it affords at tho 

 same time a lesson in cultural matters which should bo 

 learned and followed. 



The need of suppoitiug and pressing back branches 

 along roadsides could be overcome in future by taking care 

 to plant sulliciently far back to allow of the full development 

 of the trees without interfering with tho rights of tho public;, 

 and on estate roads and paths it is apparent that planters reap 

 aao advantage whatever, but it is probable th it they are the 

 loeers in the long run by the practice of planting on tho 

 boundaries of public highways and on the edges of Mtaie roads. 



Generally speaking, this work of propjnng is largely due 

 lo preventable causes, Sound, healthy trees, projierly spaced, 

 can carry their crojjs without ;i88istance. just in the same way 

 as orange and grape fruit I rees do. To space the trees prop- 

 «rly, and to prune soundly, will greatly reduce the need of 

 itupi>orting the branches. Owing to lack <>f forethought this 

 ■work has become a considerable item of annual expense on 

 a number of estates. While propping must be continued in 

 wld fields, new areas of limcs.--hotild be treated with the olf ect 

 <if reducing to a minimum this item of aonual expoDditurf). 



And there is another aspect of this situation : a lime tre< 

 proppttl is nearly always a lime tree injured. The work is 

 usually badly done, and by the time the prop has decayed or 

 been removed, the bark has lieen rubbed off the branches 

 owing to swaying caused by the wind. As old frees cannot 

 callus over the wounds, decay of the wood follows, and tho 

 branch will at a later time break off at the point of injury. 

 That some crop is saved by supporting the branches is nn- 

 doubted, but this is only accomplished at the cost of permanent 

 injury to many of the trees. 



Yield (j/Z/mtf.- -Although lime cultivation was taken 

 up in Uoniinica over sixty years ago, and developed with 

 considerable energy during the past twenty-five years, the 

 possible annual yield of fruit per tree over a aeries of years, 

 in the best positions, and under good handling, does not 

 appear to be known, nor does this point ejcite much 

 interest. Compared with the returns of orange and grape 

 fruit trees, the best yield of lime trees recorded per acre 

 iu Dominica appears low The average cro[) of oranee 

 trees, under good cultivation, is from 800 tb. to 1,000 ft) per 

 tree, while the best recorded crop of limes is 200 barrels per 

 acre, which, allowing that the trees are spaced at 20 feet, 

 gives a yield of only ."520 ft of fruit per tree. In this con- 

 nexion it has to be remembered that the proportion of juice 

 from a given weight of fruit is higher iu the case of the lime 

 than the orange. Still it is evident that lime trees in good 

 positions, properly spaced, and given a complete manure 

 annually, are capable of giving a higher return than 200 

 barrels of fruit per acre. 



t)n estates which are regarded as doing well, a crop of 

 150 barrels of fruit per acre is considered good. There is, 

 however, a good deal of cultivation on which the return is 

 below 100 barrels of limes per acre. 



Under the best cultural conditions there would always 

 be some variations in yield, according to position of the 

 estate. It is obvious that a lime estate in the mountains, at; 

 an elevation of 1,800 (o 2,000 feet, can hardly be expected 

 to produce on the same lines as well sheltered estates located 

 iu the hot moist valleys near to the coast, but by a general 

 improvement of cultural conditions the average yield of 

 plantations could be raised considerably above what it is at 

 present. 



While the crop is, in the main, limited because of the 

 lack of good husbandry, an additional cause of low returns 

 is the overcTowding of fields. If trees were properly spaced 

 according to location, these should, when fully developed, 

 stand clear of their neighbours. The bearing area of the 

 trees is, under such conditions, greatly increased. Over- 

 crowding the area liuiits bearing. Close planting, however, 

 is not without its advocates, ono of the argnments pub 

 forward being that during hurricanes close planteil trees 

 support one another, and prevent overturning. Fortunately, 

 hurricanes are of rare occurrence, and a policy which per- 

 manently reduces the bearing area of trees by over SO 

 per coot, for this reason, apj>ear8 to be an over cautious one. 



In connexion with this question of yield, it is eoinewbab 

 surprising to find al the present Htsigs of the industry that no 

 area of cultivation exists in the island which has received \ 

 coni|)lcte manure of nitrogen, phonphatf s, and potash annually 

 fur a period of live successive years, or a fiuitable apilication 

 of pen manure or mulches over a similar period. Only by 

 tho annual application of complete manures, backed by goc>d 

 ( ultivatioii, can it be found out what the lime tr»e is capnbl* 

 of yielding in fruit. Tho results under indifferent cultivation 

 are well known. I^et it bj hoped that the time has now 

 arrived fcor greater effort in the improvement of plantation 

 work. Id the trying times that are ahead, the iatrri^sttt 



