FODDER PLANTS. Ill 



sugar-cane, bananas, coffee, corn, and cacao are likely to suffer 

 from its prolific and wide-spreading habits. 



When once it has established itself in canes or bananas, it is 

 almost impossible to eradicate it, as the smallest joint will grow. 

 Bahama grass (Cynodon dactylori) is already well established 

 around Belize ; it appears to thrive well in light, sandy soil. 

 It does not, however, form an important fodder plant, at least 

 in the localities indicated above. 



The pastures, commons, or fields, in the neighbourhood of 

 settlements, are easily formed after the forest is cut down by the 

 natural grasses of the country. 



Chief amongst these is Paspcditm distichum, a wide-spreading, 

 broad-leafed grass, which forms a close turf much liked by cattle. 

 This grass is well adapted for permanent pastures, and if kept 

 clean and not too severely grazed, it will yield a regular supply 

 of valuable fodder. 



So far as I could learn, little attention is paid in the colony 

 to the cultivation of good fodder plants, and consequently exten- 

 sive areas are devoted to the feeding of a few cattle, when under 

 careful management one-third of the area would suffice. 



It is a well-known axiom that to plant profitably, grazing 

 (that is, the scientific treatment of grasses) should go hand 

 in hand with sugar-cane growing, with bananas, oranges, and 

 indeed with every tropical culture. For keeping horses and 

 cattle in good condition on a small area, at the least possible 

 expense ; for supplying manure for gardens, nurseries, and fields, 

 and, indeed, for the general work of the cultivator, nothing is 

 likely to prove so profitable as a paddock of good rich-growing 

 guinea grass, and clean, well-kept fields of the natural grasses of 

 the country. 



While on the subject of fodder plants, mention might be 

 made of the Quango (Pithecolobium saman), a tree already 



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