CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 



I. TROPICAL CLIMATE AND ITS EFFECTS ON MAN, FARM ANI- 



MALS AND CROPS i 



Temperature. Trade winds. Monsoons. Thunder- 

 storms. Rainfall. Insular climates. Effect of forests 

 on climate. Effect of tropical climate on plants, ani- 

 mals and man. Hygiene in the Tropics. 



II. TROPICAL SOILS ..... . . . 16 



Chemical changes. Leaching. Iron content. Potash 

 content of lava. Laterite soils. Manganiferous soils. 

 Titaniferous soils. Coral sand soils. Drainage. Dyna- 

 miting soils. Rotations. Cover crops. Cultivation. 



III. AGRICULTURAL METHODS PECULIAR TO THE TROPICS . 24 

 Shade. Windbreaks. Weed eradication. Insects. 

 Plant diseases. 



IV. IMPORTANCE OF TROPICAL PRODUCTS IN COMMERCE . 29 

 Technical products. Fruits. Tropical fruits on northern 

 markets. Statistics of tropical imports. Variety and 

 importance of tropical products. 



V. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES 



IN THE TROPICS 35 



Early exploitation. Corporations. Homesteads. Inter- 

 marriage and race mixture. Opportunities for farmers 

 and trained professional men. Profits in tropical agri- 

 culture. Need of a fixed policy of tropical development. 



VI. SUGAR CANE 43 



World trade. Varieties. Seedlings. Selection. Varia- 

 tion in sucrose and purity of juice. Rattoons. Water 

 Requirements. Fertilizers. Cultivation. Planting 



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