58 Subtropical Vegetable-Gardening 



mistake must not be made of letting creepers grow over 

 the top of the shed, and so shut out nearly all light. With 

 most of the sunlight cut off, plants make a poor growth and 

 may easily become diseased. In fact, one of the ad- 

 vantages of plant-sheds in the tropics, as distinguished 

 from shading by palm leaves, woven coconut leaves, and 

 the like, is that by proper spacing of the laths the plants 

 can be allowed the maximum of sunlight with which 

 they will thrive best. There is often a tendency to use 

 too much shade. In making a plant-shed, it should always 

 be kept in mind that a plant can feed on the carbon 

 dioxide of the air only in the light, and that an amount 

 of shade which is comfortable to a man in the tropics is 

 detrimental to most plants. Certain experiments make it 

 probable that under such large plant-sheds, the culture of 

 many temperate vegetables would be easier in tropical 

 and subtropical lands. This does not seem to have been 

 tried on a large scale, but it appears worth attempting 

 near some tropical towns where there would be a con- 

 stant demand for fresh temperate vegetables. Such 

 sheds would probably be very successful at an elevation 

 of 1000 or 2000 feet. 



SEED-BEDS AND PLANT-BEDS 



Seed-beds should be of porous soil and well drained. 

 After sowing the seeds, protection from the sun may be 

 given by spreading coarse sacking on the soil and keeping 

 it wet until the seedlings become visible above the earth. 

 Then they may be shaded by a properly spaced lath frame, 

 or by cheese-cloth. The latter is especially useful when 



