PORTO RICO EXPERIMENT STATION. 425 



FERTILIZERS. 



FoitiliziT tests have l>eeii in proj>Tess on a variety of crops, l)ut thus 

 far only a few of the crops have l)een liarvested, so that results are 

 yet undetorniined. 



Anion t( tlie crops on which fertilizers have been tried may be men- 

 tioned yautiiis, l)ananas, cotfee nursery beds, coffee trees, cucumbers, 

 tomatoes, vegetal)les. and citrus nursery stock. 



TEST OF VARIETIES OF PINEAPPLES. 



There is no typical pineapple land on the station farm, so the plants 



have been set on a dry, g-ravelly rid^e, which most nearl}' approached 



it. (PI. XVIII. tio'. 1.) The following varieties have been planted: 



;even hundred plants of Cabezona. 150 plants of Pan de Azucar, 150 



plants of Caraciuena, 200 plants of Red Spanish, 200 plants of Smooth 



yenne, 50 plants of Egyptian Queen. 



'"he lirst three varieties are common on the island and were secured 

 Lajas. which is the most noted pineapple district that we have. 

 3 remaining three were secured from Reasoner Brothers, Florida, 

 Dugh the courtesy of Prof. P. H. Rolfs, of the Bureau of Plant 

 ustry, United States Department of Agriculture. 



COTTON. 



iVo systematic experiments have been undertaken with cotton, for 

 the reason that considerable experimenting has been undertaken by 

 persons who have recently organized the Walker Industrial Cotton 

 Com})any. Their experiments extended to all parts of the island and 

 to planting of different .sorts every month through the year. They 

 report al)out s.ooo acres planted during the present season, of which 

 a large percentage i)romised a good crop. They reconnnend the Sea 

 Island variet}' as best for planting and the month of May as a pref- 

 erable time. The following extract is from the Jaimary, 1904, Crop 

 Reporter of the I'nited States Department of Agriculture: 



The Diiidoii Times of December 21 (juotes Mr. A. A. Paton, vice-cliairman of the 

 British Cotton (irowing Asnociation, a« saying that he has sold, through Messrs. F. 

 Zerega & Co., l.S l)al('s of Porto Rico cotton at 14^(1. (29 cents) per pound, and 33 

 hales more were to he ileiivered in Liverpool the same week. The first lot was sohl 

 in small panels, so that cotton spinners might test its rare qualities. It was exi>ected 

 that from l.odo to l,2tK) hales in all would he shipped this season and that the prices 

 realized would U- such a.s to stimulate cotton growing throughont the West Indies. 

 Messrs. V. Zerega & Co. presented the as.>iociation above named with all the seed 

 obtained from the cott<»n sold and it is to be distributed among the West India 

 Islands. Mr. I'aton is said to regard this Porto Rico cotton as the finest ever 

 imported into Livcr|)ool. ,\ sample of it was sultmitted to an cxpericnctMl broker 

 who did not know its origin and was classitied by him as good Sea Island. 



