154 



TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



CHAP. 



supply of lime juice on board. The spread of temperate 

 habits in many parts of the world is calculated to increase 

 the demand for the juice of the lime, for it makes a most 

 grateful arid perfectly innocuous drink in hot weather, and, 

 Lemonade, indeed, at any other time. A sip of lemonade, made from 

 pure lime juice, allays, better perhaps than anything else, the 

 raging thirst of fever, and many distinguished medical men 

 recommend a decoction of the whole lime as a very efficient 

 febrifuge. 



SOIL. Those soils suitable for the orange are the best for 

 the lime, and the richer they are in nitrogenous constitu- 

 ents and potash the larger will the crops become. The 

 The lime a lime, however, is hardier than the orange. ai\d although it 



hardy plant i 



' has a tap root, the main supply of food from the soil is taken 

 up by the lateral roots which spread for long distances 

 close to the surface of the ground. It follows, therefore, 

 that the lime will grow in shallower soil than the orange, 

 but in such situations it grows slowly and it bears small 

 crops. 



The best 

 climate. 



Shelter 

 belts. 



Seedlings. 



CLIMATE. The best climate for the lime is a hot, moist 

 one, such as is found in sheltered valleys from 300 to 500 

 feet above the sea in the well-wooded West Indian Colonies. 

 The tree will bear a certain amount of exposure, but high 

 winds knock off the flowers and young fruit, and thus very 

 seriously diminish the crops. Shelter belts of trees should, 

 therefore, be grown when the lime is planted in exposed 

 situations. 



PROPAGATION. This takes place by seeds which are very 

 abundant in the fruit. The seeds are planted in the same 

 way as those of the orange, but as they are so plentiful they 

 may be sown broad-cast in the nurseries and afterwards 

 raked into the soil. Soon after germination has occurred, 

 the weakly seedlings can be weeded out, and the whole 

 nursery may be thinned with advantage. 



