13 



tion of the seed produced. Better culture must be ^iven our cotton 

 and it nuist he fertihzed. Old cotton plants nnist he destroyed and 

 not allowed to g^row into a tree. Such cotton is inferior and the yields 

 are too small. Because cotton g^rows naturally in Porto Rico the 

 industi-y nuist not be given over wholly to nature. 



CORN. 



Some com is grown in certain sections of Porto Rico, but its produc- 

 tion should be greatly extended. The native varieties especially need 

 improvement, as they are small, with large cobs and inferior grains. 

 The station has been experimenting vnili com from seeds growTi in the 

 vStates and also in im])roving the native varieties; so far our results 

 with seeds from the States have not been promising. There is some 

 peculiar condition here that prevents such corn from properly devel- 

 oping. This reason has not yet been determined, but it is hoped that 

 some way will be found to utilize the improved varieties from the 

 United States. In the meantime the station is endeavoring to develop 

 an improved corn from native seed. Doubtless in time a very fine 

 variety will be obtained, but could corn from the States be gro\\Ti here 

 that result would be reached much quicker. 



The only serious insect pest on the corn plant is the cotton bollworm 

 {Heliothis ohsoleta Fab.), which attacks it during most seasons of the 

 year. This is especially bad in regions.of the greatest rainfall. It is 

 rather hard to combat this insect, and planters as a rule in corn- 

 growing sections plant at those times when the insect is less numerous. 



RICE. 



Porto Rico imports annually large quantities of rice, which con- 

 stitutes a large part of the food of the people. By far the larger 

 amount comes from the port of New Orleans and consists of the cheaper 

 grades of the Louisiana rice. At the present time small patches of 

 upland rice are grown, but there is practically none of the lowland rice. 

 It will be necessary to introduce rotations on those fields devoted to 

 cane, and rice will probably prove the most profitable crop to use in 

 such a rotation. Those fields that are now well fitted for irrigation 

 can be very readily devoted to rice growing. But to grow rice suc- 

 cessfully in Porto Rico in competition with other countries, it will be 

 necessary to use machinery as in Louisiana. 



Although labor is plentiful and cheap, it can not compete with 

 macliinery in the production of this staple. The experiment station 

 is growing rice in an experimental way under irrigation, and so far the 

 indications are that this crop can be very successfully produced in 

 Porto Rico. It is practically a new industry and it will probably 

 be several years before it will assume the position that its impor- 



