AN, AGRICULTURAL POINT OF VIEW 263 



had been under maize from March to July, 1908, one had 

 received, in view of tlie crop of cereal, a light dressing of 

 liquid manure. The effect of this latter on the growth of 

 the maize and the production of grain was so good that it 

 might have been supposed that practically the whole of the 

 additional nutritive matters had been assimilated, and that 

 consequently subsequent cultivations would feel no effects. The 

 result was quite the opposite. As soon as the plant leaves were 

 formed a large difference in their coloration became evident, 

 and at harvest time there was a difference in the weight 

 of green matter obtained. Indeed, the allotment which had 

 been manured seven months previously gave over 55,600 

 kilos of green fodder per hectare, whereas its immediate 

 neighbour only yielded 34,800 kilos. If we calculate this 

 surplus due to the manure remaining in the soil as a per- 

 centage we get 59"5 per cent. This is a splendid figure and 

 should convince planters of the benefit that restorative 

 Leguminosaj are able to draw from a sufficient provision of 

 nutriment. 



This theory of manuring Leguminos^ may cause some 

 surprise, but when we take into account the interest lost on 

 the capital represented by fields of four and five hectares left 

 under a rotation crop for one or two years, as is the custom 

 in some countries, it is certainly more advisable to choose 

 LeguminoscC which develop in a rather short time and which 

 reach a maximum development with a slight manuring. 

 There is no monetary loss ; on the contrary, not only does 

 the plant fix a large amount of nitrogen, but when ploughed 

 in during florescence the mineral matter is returned to the 

 soil. 



In view of the necessity for obtaining the greatest possible 

 profit from the soil by the cultivation of a plant of economic 

 value like the sugar-cane, one cannot advise long rotations 

 of several years' duration, such as were recommended and 

 practised in earlier days. M. Boname has already deprecated 

 this custom in his report for 1897, when he said : " We 

 cannot understand why so much importance is attached to 



