COTTON 305 



annual crop in St. Vincent, but in all the other islands, 

 except Barbados, it is cultivated as such, and it is probable 

 that in this latter island also this practice will have to be 

 followed if the industry is to survive, unless, of course, 

 the leaf-blister mite (Eriophyes gossypii), which now 

 occurs there, can be controlled, or a variety resistant to 

 it raised. 



The methods of preparing the land for planting vary 

 in the different islands. The flat system is practised in 

 Anguilla and very dry places generally; the ridge 

 and the cross-hole systems are adopted in St. Kitts, 

 Barbados, and Antigua; the ridge in St. Vincent and 

 other places. Each has its advantages under the soil 

 and climatic conditions peculiar to each place or district. 

 The cross-hole system of St. Kitts allows of the land 

 being easily planted in sugar-cane before the end of the 

 cotton crop, cotton in this case being largely grown as 

 an intermediate crop with cane. The ridge system is 

 largely adopted in most of the islands, and is the only 

 one practised in St. Vincent. This may be briefly 

 described as follows : As soon as the rains come in and 

 the land can be worked it is weeded, the grass, trash, 

 manure, and green dressing material, if available, ranged 

 off, and the land forked or ploughed. This latter opera- 

 tion is not always carried out, but when performed it 

 ensures better cultivation. Ridges are then thrown up 

 with the plough, fork, or hoe, and the manure and other 

 materials completely covered. In cases where cotton 

 follows cotton, the weedings and manure are ranged in 

 the furrows and covered over by splitting asunder the 

 old banks. These ridges are, as a rule, formed 5 ft. 

 apart, but on poor land they are put closer together. A 

 subsoil plough is sometimes run through the field previous 

 to ridging to ensure deeper tillage. Only small quantities 

 of chemical manures are used, and experiments made so 

 far have not clearly demonstrated the value of these on 

 well-worked lands; there are, however, indications that 

 the time is approaching when they may be needed to 

 augment the limited supply of pen and other organic 

 manures. Cotton seed meal is a manure to which 



