4992 A. E. Verrill—The Bermuda Islands. 
prosperous, but that was due partly to social and commercial condi- 
tions. At the present time the soil, in spite of the modern use of 
fertilizers, is probable much less fertile, in most places, than the 
original virgin soil. Nevertheless, the soil in some districts is still 
wonderfully productive. There is no evidence of any change in the 
climate, but quite the contrary. Still it is doubtful if pineapples 
could be raised there in such abundance, and of so good a quality as 
they were in 1620 to 1650. 
The lack of the shelter from the bleak salt winds, furnished at 
first by the cedars, would account for some of the change, but the 
exhaustion of the vegetable mould, potash, and phosphates in the 
soil was probably the main cause. ; 
Even now, many planters take far more of such essential materials 
from the soil than they give back to it, for they expect to raise two 
or three crops each year on the same ground, with perhaps only one 
very scanty supply of fertilizers. 
The very primitive and imperfect methods of cultivation practiced 
for over 200 years render it still more remarkable that they could 
have raised as much as they did. Up to about 1839, the common 
plough was almost unknown in Bermuda. All the cultivation was 
done with the hoe, and mostly by slaves. It was, of course, a very 
shallow cultivation, carried on with no scientific knowledge. 
Under these circumstances a study of the composition of the 
natural soils of Bermuda, and especially of the red clay, becomes of 
much interest. The red clay contains a notable quantity of phos- 
phates. 
At the present time a liberal amount of fertilizers is used by many 
of the more enterprising planters, with marked success. In 1901, 
2636 acres were under cultivation, according to the census returns, 
17.—Analyses of Bermuda Soils. 
Governor Lefroy has given the results of several analyses, which 
are as follows :— 
