^n 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Apr.n, 21, 1917. 



grass, is used for grazing live stock, and is known under 

 the somewhat grandiloquent tei;m of pasture. It is, 

 therefore, not waste land strictly speaking, but its 

 productive value is very small indeed. Possibly it 

 might be improved bj" feeding more concentrated foods 

 dike cotton-seed meal to the animals while grrazing. 

 Some of this land which possesses, in places, very fertile 

 pockets of soil, might be used for the culcivacion of 

 certain plants that do not require very special 

 conditions oi' environment, and will withstand periods 

 of drought — for example. Ajowan {Cnriim copticum) 

 which yields thymol, and possibly .some of the 

 •Sorghums. 



A good deal of sucli waste land in tairly moist 

 localities might be used for growing green di'essings 

 for mulching cacao and limes. 



Though it is difficult in practice to draw a hard- 

 and-fast lime between waste and wasted land, the lat- 

 ter, as already stated, may be considered as land which 

 is mismanaged. The chief instance of such rnismanajre- 

 inent is seen on estates where an attempt is made to 

 grow crops that are unsuited to the natural conditions 

 that obtain. The cultivation of limes in certain 

 exposed situations is a specific instance of what is 

 meant, so is also the cultivation of susceptible varieties 

 of cacao in the West Indies and the planting of rubber 

 trees in places that are too dry tor this tree. Such 

 misiitilization of land is by no means uncommon, and 

 there is always a strong tendency in this direction 

 when the market prices connected with a certain crop 

 rule high for an\- considerable period. 



ll is frequently a matter of argument as to 

 whether the unoccupied spaces in orchard cultivations 

 are wasted land. In Trinidad, for example, there 

 appears to be a tendency to plant mixed cultivations, 

 for instance, coco-nuts with limes, and coco-nuts with 

 sugar-cane. ( lenerally speaking this practice is not 

 found to answer. The cultivation of green dressings 

 is another matter, for here the manurial factor enters 

 into the question. 



A considerable area is occupied on some estates 

 by shade trees and wind-breaks. Although these trees 

 yield no direct return in money, the land is not bv anv 

 means wasted, provided such shade and shelter is 

 necessary. In fact the establishment of such means of 

 protection adds greatly to the capital value of the 

 estate, and is intimately bound up with the yields 

 of jwoduce obtained. 



I'he same conclusion holds good in regard to fences, 

 hedge.? and drains. 



In arable cultivations experiments have been 

 made to see if ver}' close planting is i-eally economical. 

 There appears to be alimit to the mutual proximity at 

 which plants can be economically cultivated. What 

 might appear to be wasted land between the plants is 

 not always so, for these areas are occupied by the root 

 systems of the growing crop. However, it may be 

 suggested that Indian corn could be planted rather 

 closer than it is in most places in the West Indies, and 

 a crop like onions might very well be grown more 

 generally in cane fields. 



The foregoing considerations will serve as a guide 

 in directing attention to the question of waste and 

 wasted land on the estate. It will be realized that in 

 some places the labour factor must enter into the 

 question and determine to a large extent the limit to 

 which unproductive land can be profitably utilized. 

 Whatever the local circumstances, on everj- estate a clear 

 understanding should be arrived at as to the relative 

 productivity- of the lands composing it, and ever}- effort 

 should be made to derive as nuich benefit as possible 

 from the poor land as from the rich. 



Wheat Cultivation in the Tropics. —This 



is a subject to which cOnsiderfible interest attaches ac 

 a time when the shipment of liour from noilhern countries 

 is becoming increasingh' ditiiiult It is noted in the Annual 

 lieport of the Department of Agriculture, I'ganda, 191-5-16, 

 that at the E.xperimental Station, Fort Portal, Toro, i-acre 

 of wheat was .soivn in ilay 1915 and another i acre in June; 

 the former was the belter, though neither of them proved very 

 successful owing to rust' The report states that it is hoped 

 to pay more attention to the wheat crop when circumstances 

 permit. Ic should be mentioned that the Experiment Station 

 where these trials ivere made is -5,000 to -5,500 feet above 

 sea-level which acrourits for the possibility of making wheat 

 cultivation successful in these tropical regions. 



It is stated in the Annual Trade Review for 1916 of 

 the Loudon Chamber of Commerce, to which reference is 

 made un another page in this issue, that the year 1916 has 

 been one of extreme difii :ulty in all industries which use 

 sugar as a raw material. While the demand for confec- 

 tionery has been fairly maintained, both in the home and 

 export market, the greatly reduced sugar supplies which have 

 been available for manufacturers have necessitate<l a very 

 large diminution in output, "It appears that last year the 

 English fruit crop was disappointing, and this has reduced 

 the supply of jam, the price of which it is expected will rise 

 steadily until the fruit crop of the present year has been 

 harvested. l''ven then the restrictions on the use of sugar 

 must lead to a very coii.sidera^ile reduction in the output o£ 

 jam, but more especially chocolate and other forms of confec 

 tionery. In view of this, every effort ought to be made in 

 the We.st Indies to make as much preserves as possible, 

 including marmalade, from locally grown fruit. 



