JAMAICA. 



LIB' 

 OF THE NEV 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Vol. IV. OCTOBER, 1906. Part 10. 



NOTES ON THE CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES. 



By W. Harris, Superintendent of Hope Gardens. 



In view of the existing demand for fresh vegetables on the 

 Isthmus of Panama, the following notes are published in the hope 

 that they will be useful to those who may feel inclined to venture 

 on the cultivation of any or all of the crops named. 



Preparation of seed beds. 



Select a level piece of ground in the open, but shelterd from 

 strong winds, where the soil is light and good. Mark off the 

 number of beds likely to be required. The beds should be 4 feet 

 wide with paths 18 inches wide between them. Having marked 

 off the beds with a peg at each corner, they should be thoroughly 

 dug up and the soil broken fine. Before sowing seeds the surface 

 of the beds should be raked over to remove all stones, hard lumps 

 of earth, etc. Seeds of very tender plants should be sown in 

 boxes. 



TO DESTROY GRUBS, BEETLES, ETC. 



When the ground is ready for sowing seeds, or for planting out 

 young seedlings, spread all over the surface a layer of dry grass, 

 banana trash or such like. The beetles, grubs, etc., collect under 

 the trash and after 3 or 4 days fire is set to it, and large numbers 

 of the pests are destroyed. A double purpose is thus served, as 

 the ashes of the burnt trash are very beneficial to the young 

 plants. 



SOWING THE SEEDS. 



Having prepared the seed bed, get a rod four feet long, lay thie 

 across the bed, and whilst holding it in position with one hand, 

 mark off the shallow drills with the forefinger, or a piece of stick 

 along the four foot rod. For coarse seeds such as beans to be 

 sown in long rows, a line should be stretched along the full lengtk 

 of the bed, and the drills opened out with the corner of a hoe. It 

 is better to sow all seeds in drills at the proper distance apart 



