64 TPJNIDAD AND TOBAGO BULLETIN. . \XIX. H. 



Soil Impkovement. Tlie drainage should be improved wherever 

 practicable ; on the flat lands the drains should be run as close together 

 as is economically possible and they should be kept in working order 

 even on lands temporarily abandoned. 



Manuring. Nearly all lands in Trinidad re«][uire more pen manure 

 and more lime. The shortage of labour should produce an increased 

 demand for animal cultivation and these animals will produce pen 

 manure. Artificial manures are best used in cases of blight only where 

 the land is good, but suffering from an outbreak owing to temporary 

 unfavourableness of other conditions. 



Tillage. Every opportunity should be taken to improve the tilth 

 and depth of the surface soil by careful tillage. Fields should when 

 possible be laid out to correspond with soil changes so that the tillage 

 necessary for one part will not be injurious to the other. 



Selection of Varieties. There is so little difference in resistance 

 between different varieties, with the exception of " Qba" and "Badilla", 

 that the planter, unless he is willing to grow one of these two, is 

 best guided in his choice by other circumstances than the prevention of 



disease. 



Eeduction of Eatooning. Only plant and Isfc ratoon canes should 

 be f'rown on lands which have shown themselves cpnstantly liable to 

 blight, until the soil can be worked up into a better condition by more 

 frequent cultivation and manuring. 



Rotation. This is is one of the most important methods of soil and 

 cultivation improvement, which sooner or later 'i'rinidad will be forced 

 to adopt. Sugar countries in other parts of the world have already 

 worked out systems and examples are given. 



As rotation crops, pasture, corn, guinea grass, and upland rice have 

 been suggested but, all being Graminecs, they suffer from similar pests 

 and the froghopper and root disease are not eliminated. 



The best rotation crops are Leguminosce of which many have been 

 tried. Bengal beans, cow peas, and sword beans in particular have 

 shown signs of being adapted to use as cover crops. 



Among the non-leguminous crops, yams and sweet potatoes are the 

 best, as they ensure good cultivation of the ground and produce a 

 financial return. 



On good lands a crop of peas, baans, or sweet potatoes could be 

 grown between the cutting of the canes and replanting later in the same 

 year. 



On poorer lands a crop of yams, or beans followed by sweet potatoes 

 could be grown after tlie cutting of the crop, and the field replanted as 

 crop plants early the next year. 



On the poorest land a crop of 3'ams or cassava could be grown for 

 the remainder of the year after cutting and a leguminous crop the following 

 year, followed by the cane plants in the fall. 



Direct Control. 'Dc^driiction of Egr/s. Piemoval of the dead leaves 

 from the cane will remove many of the eggs, but the trash so 

 removed must not be left in the fields but should be carried to the pens. 

 The trashing to be of any value as a control must be done when the 

 greatest numbers of eggs are in the trash, which is about ten days 



