Vol. IV. No. 85. 



THE AGEICULTUEAL NEWS. 



215 



and to-day St. Vincent cotton holds the proud position of 

 being the finest produced in the British Empire. Owing to 

 St. Vincent cotton being so exceptionally good, we have 

 found a market for the seed obtained from our best marks, 

 and at the ])resent time I am busy preparing and packing 

 selected and disinfected seed for planting purposes in other 

 West India Islands. It may be of interest to add that to 

 date 10, 2 1-5 lb. of treated seed have been exported and 

 9,282 lb. treated and returned to the growers here. 



Having to plant seed of our own growing, there is 

 a point to which I would call you)' attention, that is, the 

 desirability of changing your seed. It is a practice, as you 

 are aware, in other countries to change the seed of staple and 

 other crops from time to time, and planters know that they 

 obtain much better results by adopting it. I would therefore 

 suggest, where not already done, that it would be desirable 

 to sow seed from other districts rather than sow seed grown 

 on the estate, that is, of course, if seed of apparently 

 the same quality can be obtained by exchange. Then it is 

 important, in order to obtain the best results, that all seed 

 planted should have been selected and disinfected beforehand. 

 The members of this Association have recognized the impor- 

 tance of this work, and as far as I can ascertain, all the 

 seed to be planted this season will have been treated at the 

 cotton factory. 



AVith regard to the selection of suitable land, there are 

 several points to be considered. Badly drained land must 

 be avoided, also land much exposed to the w^ind, or subject 

 to very heavy rainfall. Next, the land must be well 

 cultivated and manured. Manuring is particularly necessary 

 in the case of lands lately cultivated in arrowroot, or 

 exhausted by other crops. 



The best months for planting in St. Vincent are 

 undoubtedly June, Jul}', and August. 



Two very serious diseases affected cotton plants last 

 season, viz., anthracnose of the bolls and the leaf-blister 

 mite. I have observed that the recommendations of the 

 Department to pull up and burn the old stalks before the 

 fresh seed was sown have been carried out. Perhajis the 

 most efi'ectual means of keeping these pests in check will be 

 the sowing of selected and disinfected seed, planting at the 

 right time, selection of suitable land, and good cultivation 

 and manuring. 



PLANTING LIME TREES. 



In forwarding proposals with regard to a lime 

 experiment station in Dominica, Dr. Francis Watts 

 makes the following observations in regard to laying 

 out a lime plantation : — 



In planting lime trees it is usually the custom to set 

 them out at the distances the trees are to be when they have 

 arrived at maturity. This usually involves two evils : first, 

 that in the early stages the trees are placed at relatively 

 great distances apart, and, secondly, that as they reach 

 maturity they are often too close. It is desirable that lime 

 trees should stand at such distances from each other that the 

 branches of adjacent trees do not touch, for the fruit is 

 largely borne on the ends of the branches. In cases where 

 the trees are growing in contact, it will be seen that there 

 is merely a leafy canopy overhead and that the lower 

 branches are bare of leaves and destitute of fruit : in this 

 respect a lime is in striking contrast to a cacao tree. A well- 

 grown lime tree is practically hemispherical in .shape and 

 bears fruit all over its periphery from the top of the tree 

 down to the ground. When lime trees grow in close contact, 

 so as to reduce the bearing area to the overhead canopy. 



there may be a considerable quantity of dead wood formed 

 on account of the efforts made by the trees to effect 

 something in the way of self-pruning. This dead wood is 

 objectionable as it may serve as the starting point for various 

 diseases. 



In order to avoid these objections, I may suggest the 

 desirability of planting the trees at close distances at first so 

 as to cover the ground well, thus ensuring a large return of 

 fruit at an early date, and then, as the trees begin to touch 

 each other, to cut back certain trees, marked from the first 

 as temporary, so as to afford sufficient space for the proper 

 development of the permanent trees. The cutting back 

 should be gradual, a little being done rigorously every year 

 or at stated times as required ; the trees in process of destruc- 

 tion from cutting back should yield good crops up to the 

 time they are completely eradicated. In this way a lime 

 plantation should be soon brought into full bearing and 

 maintained in that condition for a number of years. 



That this method may be successful, it is essential that 

 the trees which are to be cut back should be known and 

 marked from the outset, and they should be ruthlessly cut 

 back as occasion requires. The grave danger in this method 

 is that one may plant closely and then neglect to cut back ; 

 under these circumstances much harm, instead of good, will 

 result. 



Two methods of cutting back suggest themselves : one 

 in which the trees in alternate rows, counting the rows in 

 each direction, are cut back, and the other in which alternate 

 trees in alternate rows are cut. 



The following diagram, in which P stands for permanent 

 trees and t for those to be cut back, -will make this clear : — 

 First method : — 



tPtPtPtPtPtPt 



ttttttttttttt 



tPtPtPtPtPtPt Trees as planted, say 6 x 6 feet. 



ttttttttttttt 



tPtPtPtPtPtPt 



P P P P P P 



After cutting back, trees 12 

 P P P P P P by 12 feet. 



P P P P P P 



P P P 



Second method ;— 



tPtPtPtPtPtPt 

 PtPtPtPtPtPtP 

 tPtPtPtPtPtPt 

 PtPtPtPtPtPtP 



P P P P P P 

 P P P P P P P 



P P P P P P 

 P P P P P P P 



P P P P P P 



After further cutting back if 

 necessary, trees 24 x 24 feet. 



As planted, trees say 6x6 feet. 



After cutting back, trees, 8i 

 by 12 feet. 



P P P P P P 



After further cutting back, 



P P P P P P trees 12 x 12 feet. 



The distance chosen for the original planting may vary, 



but distances of from 6 to 9 feet are suggested as convenient. 



It will be noted that the first and second method.?, at 



one stage, both result in trees standing at double the original 



distances. It is obvious that cutting back can be carried 



on stage by stage as long as it is considered prudent. 



