42 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



should be used to adapt it to the soil and situation in 

 which it is to be cultivated. Previously to sowing 

 them the seeds should be wholly divested of every 

 particle of cotton fibre, and then steeped in water dur- 

 ing some hours ; they are afterwards rolled in sand or 

 any light earth, in order entirely to separate them 

 from each other. This process is considered very 

 much to accelerate their germination. The time for 

 sowing in the West Indies is usually from May to 

 September, both months inclusive. The ground is 

 well prepared and manured, and then holes are made 

 some inches deep and about three feet apart from 

 each other. Eight or ten seeds are generally dropped 

 in each hole, because some of them are liable to be 

 destroyed by a grub or worm, and others to rot in 

 the ground; besides which, a superfluity of plants 

 is required to replace the ravages which are some- 

 times committed by caterpillars on the tender 

 shoots. The seeds being covered with earth, it is 

 generally expected, and especially if there have been 

 any rain to hasten the germination, that the plants 

 will begin to make their appearance in about eight 

 days. In some situations, when the weather has 

 been very dry, a much longer time elapses. At 

 about the end of six weeks the ground is carefully 

 weeded, and those plants which are the weakest 

 are drawn out, only two or three being left in 

 each hole. When the plants are about three or 

 four months old they are again cleaned and thinned, 

 and the stems and branches are pruned, or, as it is 

 called, topped an inch, or more, of the plants being 

 broken off from the end of each shoot. This is done 

 to retard the growth in height, and to facilitate the 

 development of the lateral branches. Some of the 

 lower leaves are occasionally taken off. These cares 

 should be continued, occasionally, till the period of 

 flowering. The time of the seeds coming to matu- 

 rity varies according to the climate and the species ot 



