>-J2 



THE AGiaCLLTLJIAL NEW,>> 



Jllv 13, 191S. 



PLANT DISEASES IN BRITISH GUIANA. 



Mt. C. K Bancroft, in the Annua/ Report of the 

 JXf'irtment of Scienct. and .Ign'iit/f/ir- of British Guiana, 

 lJt|(i. gives the following summary of tBe po?iti"i' regarding 

 plant diseases during thut year: — 



'Fungoid diseases were not prevalent luring the year. 

 Spa-modic cu:-e> <it .Uar.ifmiifs Sacc/ion were reported; this 

 disease appears to have been continually diminishing since 

 1911. The other fungi parasitic on sugar cane, with the 

 exception of Lcptosp/iacn'a Sacckar', "ring spot", were 

 observed only in small quantity. The ring spot disease was 

 present on several plantations, though the damage attrib- 

 utable to it was small. Cases of bud rot of the coco-nut 

 continue to appear more particularly on the Canal Polder 

 and on the Essequibo coast. The "witch broora" of cacao 

 continues to diminish as the result 'f careful prun- 

 ing of the trees and improvement in drainage. No fresh 

 disease was recorded duricg the year. The principal 

 fungoid diseases of the lime plant during the year were 

 '■collar rot" and "wither tip". The~e, however, were not 

 prevalent: the former was confined almost solely to limes 

 on heavy clay land The leaf disease of the Para rubber 

 tree showed distinct diminution towards the end of the 

 year. The trees growing at Christianburg and Wismar on 

 the Demerara River, are, however, still very badly affected, 

 and it is feared that the cultivation of both of these 

 places will be rained A fairly uniform wintering in 

 February to April 1917 has been followed by a still further 

 improvement in the condition of the trees in other parts of 

 the colony. 



THE SMALL VEGETABLE GARDEN. 



Nowadays, when everyone is being urged to do hi- best 

 in producing more food crops, advice on the above subject 

 contained in /'armcrs' Bulletin, SiS, ot the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, is not only interesting but useful 



By the exercise of care and forethought in planning the 

 succession and rotation of crops, and by the utilization of 

 every foot of available .■space, it is possible to grow con^id- 

 erable cjuantities of vegetables ou limited areas, and .-n 

 .supplement the family food supply. 



The ])rimary needs for successful vegetable gardening 

 on a small .scale are the same as those for market gardening 

 on a large scale. On limited p'ots, however, more atten- 

 tion must be paid to intensive culture, and to carefully 

 arranged rotation. of crops in order to produce the maximum 

 yield. A great deal atfo depends upon the care the gardener 

 besiow.-^ on his plot. 



The soil of every garden should be of a relatively open 

 texture, in order that the roitlets of the vegetables may 

 readily extend themselves in the seaich for the plant food 

 stored in the soil. To maintain this open (ondition, a high 

 proportion in tlie soil of humus that is to say. rotted veget- 

 able material is mr)St desirable, since it nf't only produces 

 an open texture, but adds nitrogenous plant lood. and also 

 ensures the prismce of benelicial bacteria, and iiicrenscs the 

 iiioi.sture retaining properties of the soil 



About 50 per cent, of ordinary earth is not soil at all, 

 but consists of air and water. A^nter dissoIv<- the plant 

 food that is present in the soil, and thus renders it available 

 for u.se by thr plant, while the ajr in the .soil tends to 

 bactirial di'vclopment, and facilitates chemic.il acti'm on the 

 mini ral con.stitiient^ necessary to p'.anf growth. 



Wit); a little foietLcughl a comparatively small i\i.'X if 

 Jiiid miiy be m»'lr' tOBU[ipIy the average fainily with fresh vpge 



tables through- at the year Mu>t owners of .-mall gardens 

 are content to raise a single crop at a time on their plot of 

 land. It is quite pussible, ho'.vever, to grow two or three 

 crops of some vegetables on the same bit of ground, if these 

 are properly selected It will pay th.- small gardener to 

 grow certain specialties of which lie may be particularly 

 fond, md which it may be troublesome or expensive at times 

 to [mrchase. I.ittk- beds also of parsley, thyme, and other 

 pot herbs take up very little room, and are always most 

 welcome to the housekeeper. 



Every available foot of the small gaidtn plot ought to 

 be made to produce continuously. It is well, therefore, care- 

 fully to plan the lay out for the garden in advance. Xo more 

 spaue should be allotted to each crop than is needed to furnish 

 the sufficient quantity of the vegetable desired for consump- 

 tion. It is well to remember also that many kinds of 

 vegetables may be inierplanted, but plants which make a 

 high growth and cause heavy shade sh'.uld not be planted to 

 interfere with small sun-loving plants. 



In this connexion it must be remembered that if a 

 successful garden is to be maintained, the greater portion of 

 the plot must have at least five or six hours of sun!ic;ht 

 a day. As a rule, crops which are grown for their leaves, 

 such as lettuce and cabbage do fairly well in partial shade, 

 but even these need several hours of sunshine a day. Plants 

 which are grown for their fruit, such as tomatoes and egg- 

 plants, should have a plentiful supply of sunlight. 



The most practical device for use by the small gardener 

 for starting his vegetables is a flat seed box. Any sort of 

 wooden box filled with good soil answers the purposi , but 

 a good .'ize is one of 3 or 4 inches deep, 12 or 14 

 inches broad, and 20 to 24 inches long. A layer of about 

 1 inch of gravel should be placed on the bottom of the box, 

 which should then be nearly filled with rich, fine soil. In 

 the West Indies it is very desirable to protect seeds .-sown 

 from the deprcd.\tions of ants, for this purpose it is well 

 to add four legs to the box, and to place under each leg an 

 empty butter tin partly filled with water to which about 

 a table.-poonful of kerosene oil has been added. 



When the young seedlings are from 1 to H inche- high 

 they should be thinned to 1 or 2 inches apart, so as to give 

 them space enough to make a stronp. stocky growth. If it 

 is desired to keep the plants which are thinned out, they 

 may be .--et 2 inches apirt each way in boxes similar to the 

 .seed-box. A good wateiing shnuld be given just befor" the 

 plants are taken out of the box for transplanting, so tlwt 

 a ball of earth should stick to the roots of each one. 

 Trans[ilanting, it' properly done, instead of injuring them, 

 seems to help the plants to develop a strong root system. In 

 planting out the plant shtfukl be lifted with a trowel, keeping 

 as much soil as possible on the roots, a hole opened in the 

 ground, the earth enca.sed roots of the plants inserted, the 

 soil drawn up to the stalk, and then pressed down with the 

 hand When .ill the plants are set. the >urraoi' round each 

 plant should be carefully raked. 



Since a number of vegetables continue lo mature almost 

 throughout the year, it is possible lo utilize the same space 

 for successhil plantings of the same vegetables, or for rotation 

 planting of different ones I'or successive planting 

 the gardenei should not .sow all his seed at once, but 

 should make successive plantings at intervals of about two 

 weeks. In this way it is possible to grow almost; cont'nuou.s 

 crops of such things a.>^ radishes and lettuce. In planting 

 rotations ot crops, it is well that in type and character of 

 growth the succeeding crop slmuld differ as widely as po.ssihle 

 from the crop which it foUnvvs. It i.s well to divide iho 

 plant- grown m a vegetable garden into rm-t crops, such.as 



