CULTIVATION AFTER PLANTING 35 



even to the damage of some of the leaves. Every time 

 it is put through, all the roots crossing the drills must be 

 cut, yet you see the greatest improvement in the growth 

 of these plants." 



The following experiment, made at a banana plot in 

 Hope Gardens, throws light on the subject of the formation 

 of new roots induced by cutting them back. In planting 

 the plots, holes 3 ft. wide and 2 ft. deep were dug, the 

 soil was returned to the holes and the suckers planted 

 therein. The surrounding soil was ploughed and cross- 

 ploughed after the plants began to grow. The soil is deep, 

 rich, black, and rather heavy. 



On November 19 a trench 1 ft. wide and 2j ft. deep was 

 dug half-way round a one-year-old banana stool at a 

 distance of 3 ft. from the stem that was about to fruit, 

 and the soil returned. In doing this, the thick, fleshy 

 roots, some of them 5 ft. to 6 ft. long, were severed. No 

 roots were found below 6 in. from the surface. Ten days 

 later the soil between the first trench and 8 in. from the 

 stem was removed to the depth of 2 ft. 6 in. and returned, 

 cutting off all the roots with the spade to within 8 in. of 

 the stem. It was noticed when doing this that the roots 

 that were cut off at 3 ft. from the stem had thrown out 

 numerous fibrous roots down their entire length. A 

 month later, on December 30, the soil was opened up from 

 3 ft. inwards in order to ascertain the effect of pruning 

 the roots. New roots were seen to have grown out 3 ft. 

 from the stem to a depth of 2 ft. from the surface. These 

 roots were carefully followed back to the stem. Some 

 proved to be new roots direct from the stem, whilst others 

 had grown out from around the cut ends of the original 

 roots, one root giving rise to five or six vigorous feeders. 

 Some of the cut roots did not grow at all, but remained 

 just as they were, except that they died back two or three 

 inches ; this was more noticeable near the surface, where 

 they would come under the influence of dry weather. 

 Some deeper ones had, however, rotted back a few inches, 

 due, perhaps, to the ragged cut by the spade or to the root 



