32? 



CATTLE, CATCH-CROPS AND 

 COVER-PLANTS. 1 



MANY maintain that it is highly judicious 

 and even profitable in many instances to inter- 

 plant the young coco-nut trees for the first 

 few years with such crops as manioc (tapioca 

 or cassava) (M. utilissimd), sweet potatoes 

 (batata), different varieties of beans, chillies, 

 pea-nuts, maize, pine-apples, sisal, 2 &c., and 

 this is true to some extent, but there is danger 

 at times of sacrificing the well-being of the 

 main crop for the sake of the returns from 

 these minor cultivations. In any case, they 

 should not, as a rule, be persisted in after 

 the fourth year or so of planting, after which 

 a cover-crop plant, such as some of the 

 Mimosas afford, should be substituted as a 

 permanency. The leguminous plants to which 

 these and the beans belong are the most 

 advantageous of all, because they give up 

 a goodly percentage of nitrogen to the soil, 

 through the root nodules and their rotting 

 leaves and stalks. Some of the Mimosas con- 

 tain as much as 24 per cent, of nitrogen, and 



also pp. 66, 115, 127, for catch- and cover-crop?, 

 and pp. 43, 94, 128, 153, for cattle rearing. 

 2 See over page. 



