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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Dec, t, i8^5, 



MANUEES. 



The character of the soil ix, as is well known, an 

 important element to be taken into account in the 

 choice and application of manures. The general 

 difference between strong and light soils may be taken 

 to be that the former cnnttins a largt-r store of the 

 natural elements of fertilitj', though for the most part 

 in an uudeveloped state, while fconi an exci-ss of clay 

 the physicial property of retentiveness and its con- 

 sequent drawbacks are too prominent; while light 

 soils, on the other hand, are coraparativt ly deficient 

 in natural resources, and by season of a deficiency of 

 clay possess the property of porosity in a too great 

 degree, and hence afford a too ready passage for 

 water, and other bodies necessary to vegetable 

 growth. 



Clay soils. — On stiff clay soils we have all the 

 "defects arising from the tenacious and pi istic pro- 

 perties of this substance, and its consequent imper- 

 viousness to water, hence the first necessity' towards 

 the improvement of such soils must be drainage, in 

 order to remove the excess of water, and without 

 which the best manures will have but a meagre 

 effect. All means of adding to the porosity of stiff 

 clav soils are to be recummeuded — one of the best 

 of which is burning in heaps with vegetable refuse, 

 or small coal, in the mann r "balhist" is burnt, and 

 which spi-ead over the surface before digging, has an 

 excellent effect in light-niiig the soil. 



It is on these descriptions of soil that a thorough 

 breaking up and stirring at favourable times isso^. 

 beneficial, particularly before fro.st, which does more fo_ 

 strong clays than almost anylhing else. In fact, culti' 

 vati'U on these classes of sod must always be the 

 primary resource for advancing their fertdify — but 

 supplemented of course by a judicious selection and 

 appl cation of manures. 



S.\NDY SoiTyS.^ — In sandy soils we find all the defects 

 arising from an extreme porosity, or, in other words, 

 an absence of retentiveness consequ-nt on the paucity 

 or absence of clay, which is the chief stDrehouse, so 

 to speak, not only of the moisture of the soil, but 

 also of pkiit-fuod, either artific ally added or derived 

 from natuial sources, and from which the root-fibrils 

 of i^lants draw their supplies as required. 



The retentiveness of such soils may be enchanced 

 by the addition of clayey composts, and by green 

 niiinuring. 



CtRi^en MANtTRiNG. — Is often an excellent source of 

 plant-food in the lighter description of soil, and de- 

 serves to be more extensively arlopted, as we thereby 

 obtain a clear gain of nitrogen from natural sources, 

 and at the same time gather up and preserve any 

 nitrates present in the soil in a staple and efficient 

 form ; while the humus compounds arising from the 

 decay of t'le vegetable matter aft'ords absorbent for 

 moisture, &c., in the same manner as clay. That 

 vegetable matter in a readily decomposable state is a 

 vabiable form of manure is shown by the character 

 of the Wheat crop following a Clover lea. Where 

 the Clover has been successful, the Wheat plant, as 

 well known to the agriculturist generally, corresponds, 

 and vice versa. Dead leaves and garden refuse of all 

 crops not consumed as food should therefore be care- 

 fully returned to the land, as they are rich in mai u- 

 rial elements iu the best posible stale for future 

 plant-life when prepared by dec^iy in soil. 



We may take it as a general rule not to burn 

 any refuse thai will rot in the soil, except in the 

 case of foul turf infested with in-ects or seeding 

 weeds, &c., since by so doing we lose the nitrogen 

 and organic matter, besides rendering the ash c m- 

 stituents le>s available by minera'ising them. Sir J. B. 

 Lawes an I Professor Gilbert have su'^j cted this theory 

 t.) a mosk rigid investigation at Rothamsted. 



The ashes of 14 tons of fc.rmyar.l manure were 

 applied to an experimental crop of Wheat, and gave 

 no increase of produce whatever ovt-v an adj >ining 

 plot that was left entirely unmanured, and iu suc- 

 ceeding J ears the ash constituents were found to be 

 but very slowly available as plant food. 



Besides all this, able chemists have demonstrated 

 by growing plants in distilled water, that to produce 



a goorl crop there must be nitrogen in the soil or in 

 the water. They have dissolved the ashes of plants 

 in pure water, and then, by adding a few grains of 

 nitrogen in the form of a nitrate, have produced a 

 luxuriant vegetation; but without nitrogen only a 

 very feeble growth coidd be obtained. 



Wekds. — The field experiments at Kothamsted and 

 also at Woburn conclusively prove that crops of every 

 description grown upon ordinary cultivated land are 

 greatly reduced by weeds. It is true that weeds, if 

 again returned to the land, do not exhaust a soil, as, 

 in their decay, the fertility which they have taken 

 up becomes again available ; but weeds take up nitric 

 acid, which during their growth reverts to the form 

 of organic nitrogen. When this occurs in regard to 

 soluble plant food it is merely so much nitric acid 

 employed in growing weeds instead of useful garden 

 produce, and this nitric acid does not again become 

 available as food of plants until the weeds have under- 

 gone decay in the soil and become nitrified. — J. J. W. 

 — Gardeners' ChronicJi". 



AJI-AJI, THE PEPPEE OF PEPPEES. 



Our contemporary the Saturday Eeview, in its issue 

 for September IS, had an article under the mysterious 

 heading of "Aji-Ajt," which the writer at once pro- 

 ceeded to explain was a "compound Quichuan word" 

 for Pepper of Peppers, and further informed his 

 readers that " both word and thing are largely dis- 

 tributed over South America," that " it is the fiuest 

 of all Peppers. No other Pepper in either hemi- 

 sphere competes with it, neither the Pij^er nigrum, 

 nor the Capsicum baccatum, nor the C. fruticosum, 

 the C. annuum, nor yet the Eugenia pimenta. All 

 these are varied merely in pungency, some being sharp 

 and fiery, others, caustic and stimulating, and some 

 pricking and penetrating. But the refined and deli- 

 cate Aji is persuasive aiul enticing, of not one flavour 

 but many flavour? ; it never conceals, but, on the con- 

 trary, increases whatever of fragrance and sweetness 

 of taste or smell it comes in contact with." The 

 writer then proceeds to give a long list of its extra- 

 ordinary virtues, and an enumeration of the articles 

 of food it may be used to improve, from a new-laid 

 egg to a Strawberry or a jug of mulled claret. It is 

 said to prevent evil effects in a malarian atmos- 

 phere, and on this accouut we are told that " the 

 War Department of the United States has secured a 

 monopoly of all the Aji which is exported from 

 South America," and further that "no Aji in these 

 days finds its way to London, and that which we 

 once enjoyed in the belief that it would never fail 

 us has become nothing but a sigh and a regret. It 

 remains to be seen," the writer continues. " whether 

 the people who have acclimatised the Cinchona trees 

 iu the Neilgherries. in Ceylon, in .Jamacia, and in 

 Fiji will allow themselves to be deprived of their 

 delicious and inspiriting Aji" 



Perhaps the most interesting part of the Saturday 

 Review's article is that which treats of the prepar- 

 ation of Aji, which is as follows: — "There are two 

 kinds of Aji, but there is only one way of prepar- 

 ing it. The best is that which is made from the greatest 

 variety of Peppers. The pods of these are taken 

 when fresh, stripped of their seeds, and ground into 

 a paste of the consistence of fresh spring butter. The 

 paste is put into a small, well dried Gourd, prepared 

 on purp'jse, of the size and shape of a well grown 

 Orange. The Gourd, when thus charged, is then 

 coated with a layer of well tempered clay, and placed 

 in the sun to dry, or to ripen, as the simple people 

 who prepare it say in their own tongue. By the 

 time the clay is well baked the pulp or paste within 

 has been dried into a fine yellow powder, and it is 

 then fit for use. Many people, ignorant of this fine 

 art of the Incas, have supposed quite naturally that 

 these Aji-laden Gourds, with their exquisite flavour 

 and refined taste, were some uncommon and little 

 known natural fruits. The other method of preparing 

 Aji is to grind the seeds with the pods, which simply 

 adds great pungency to the Pepper, and is always 

 used in the preparation of Maize or Indian Cor 



