1921,] 



155 



ROTATION SCHEME FOR A SMALL HOLDING. 



By Captain A. H. Reid, 

 Agricultural Pupil. Ex-officers Training Scheme. 



It has been conclusively proved in many countries that the intensive 

 system oi petit culture not only pays but pays handsomely and therefore 

 when the excellent outlet for vegetable produce which exists in Port-of- 

 Spain is taken into account there is no reason why this system should 

 not also succeed in Trinidad. 



A proper rotation of crops, combined with close tillage and a good 

 manurial system, should so stimulate the natural fecundity of the soil 

 that more produce should be obtained from a small holding managed 

 upon intensive lines than from a far greater area cultivated upon the 

 old haphazard principles. The results obtained from intensive culture 

 by Messrs. J. de Verteuil and L. A. Brunton at St. Augustine Experinient 

 Station and by the Revd. H. H. Morton at Tunapuna are more than 

 encouraging and go far toward proving the practicability of the scheme 

 under review. 



Let us then imagine a small holding of nine acres, eight of which are 

 under cultivation, while upon the remaining acre is erected the necessary 

 buildings — stable, piggeries, fowl houses and shed. The cultivated land 

 is divided into four plots of two acres each which are tilled according to 

 the Rotation Table. This allows for a rotation of five crops in two years 

 together with periods of rest during which the live stock is run upon the 

 land enriching it by their presence. 



At certain times the live stock is necessarily confined to the central 

 or home enclosure but proper provision is made for collecting and 

 preserving the manure produced at these periods for use in due season 

 upon the land. 



Among the items appearing under the heading of " Dead Stock" in 

 the Financial Estimate is "Posts and Netting." Sufficient of this 

 material should be provided to enclose two of the two acre plots so that 

 the live stock can be run upon the land at the times indicated by the 

 rotation scheme without inflicting possible injury to the rest of the 

 cultivation. Pig manure is a valuable plant food especially in a 

 country where farm or pen manure is so scarce, while the fowl 

 droppings collected from the houses form one of the most powerful soil 

 stimulants known. In fact it is so rich that it has to be mixed 

 with a considerable quantity of loam before it can be used to the best 

 advantage. 



It is vital therefore to the success of the scheme that a sufficient 

 number of live stock should be kept — certain of the crops are fed to 

 them and their value is recovered through manure ; any profit arising 

 direct from the live stock is best regarded as incidental as the sole 

 reason for keeping stock is manurial. 



