186 

 rERTILITY OF SOILS. 



We have for long been forming the opinion which we now feel 

 definite about, that it is not lack of fertility that is wrong with any 

 soil here that will not grow good crops. A really poor soil is rare 

 in Jamaica. The fertility is not gone, but the humus often is. The 

 negative results in the majority of the experiments in bananas, 

 cane and cocoa — which are the crops which have been most syste- 

 matically experimented upon — in the use of fertilizers have helped 

 us in coming to this conclusion. 



Jn Dominica the application of a mulch on cocoa proved more 

 profitable than the use of fertilizers, and as that is a country of 

 bieavy rainfall, it was not because the mulch conserved moisture, 

 but because of the addition of so much humus. In Trinidad the 

 experiments with fertilizers on cocoa have been mostly negative. 

 Here the Department of Agriculture has had negative results with 

 fertilizers on sugar canes and bananas, generally speaking. Yet 

 the application of fertilizers on a leguminous crop shows visibly 

 good results in the increased growth of the peas or beans grown 

 as green dressings, compared with non-fertilized crops — and 

 through the fertilized green dressings the bananas and cane benefit 

 from the addition of a greater amount of humus containing stores 

 of nitrogen, potash, phosphoric acid and lime. 



Lands that would not grow bananas at all, now, simply through 

 a thorough system of trenching, are growing magnificent fruit, 

 yielding <S0 per cent, bunches. Rich bottom lands that were be- 

 ginning to give poorer and poorer results and yet are trenched, at 

 once responded to a good application of lime. 



All that is wanted, in addition of course to tillage, to make 

 lands renew their youth, are (1) drainage, (2) humus, (3) lime. 



The humus can be got by growing heavy crops of cowpeas, 

 Jerusalem peas or overlook beans or Bengal beans, and the heavy 

 crops of these can be secured by tillage aided by fertilizers, and as 

 these legumes do not re(|uire nitrogen, they arc economical. Ni- 

 trogen is the most expensive element in fertilizers. 



Tillage, drainage, humus, lime, applied with knowledge and 

 experience of different crop requirements will enable fine crops 

 of any product to be raised.— .^a;;/fl;V<7 Agric. Soc. Journal. 



