16 



them to choke out the clovers unless conditions for the germination 

 and quick growth of the latter are favorable. 



Two varieties of Phaseolus from India have grown well on wet soils 

 and in wet weather. They are not equal to cowpeas and it is not 

 advisable to grow them where the co\\7)ea is well suited. The same 

 may be said of certain navy and other beans which may be grown for 

 fertilizing the soil. 



All varieties of lupines and vetches have failed to make satisfactory 

 growth. They germinate but do not grow higher than a few inches. 

 Lupines will blossom at about 5 inches high but make no further 

 growth. 



In testing legumes in a section new to them conclusions can not be 

 drawn from a few trials only. Given suitable conditions, the legumes 

 adapt themselves better to the Tropics than most any other plants. 

 The matter of inoculating the soil wdth the proper nitrifying bacteria 

 is one point that often marks the line between success and failure. 

 Again, there is a question of acclimatization that must be solved. In 

 general it seems advisable to repeat trials of legumes on the same 

 ground, one trial after another, until the question of adaptability is 

 thoroughly tested. 



Sunflowers, like some other plants of the Temperate Zone, make a 

 very (juick but stunted growth. This striking difference in the growth 

 in the Tropics is very peculiar with a number of plants and it is diffi- 

 cult to understand. Sweet corn, for example, sometimes makes a 

 growth of about 2 feet in fertile soil, bearing tassel, and apparently 

 going through all the stages of maturing. The natural conditions, 

 as far as we are able to determine, are very similar to those under 

 which the plants wdll floiu"ish in the Temperate Zone, and at present 

 no reason can be found that will explain this peculiarity. It is prob- 

 ably due to some factor connected with the soil. 



Some experiments are under way with sugar beets and roots of fair 

 size have been obtained. The sugar content has not yet been deter- 

 mined. The plant is very subject to blight in the later stages of 

 growth. While the sugar beet can not compete with, cane in the pro- 

 duction of sugar in the Tropics, yet it might find a place in agriculture 

 under certain circumstances; for instance, on the south side of the 

 island some soils are so alkaline that no cane can be grown upon them. 

 In cooperation with one of the plantations containing such soils an 

 effort is being made to grow sugar beets, hoping thereby to remove 

 the alkali with the crop of beets, so that ultimately cane may be grown. 

 The beets can be put through the mill and yield a profit from the begin- 

 ning, provided, of course, the sugar content is somewhat near that of 

 beets grown in temperate regions. 



Turnips and kale have also been grown m the experimental plats, 

 and they do very well. These will doubtlf^ss prove of some value as 

 an additional forage plant in {ho rations of live stock. 



