FERTILIZERS 71 



44 On very poor, exhausted lands, this quantity of 

 manure has to be applied twice a year, about March and 

 October, so that at the end of the first harvest, in March, 

 when the plants are eighteen months old, the plantation 

 will have just received its fourth application of manure, 

 and the second harvest would be obtained with five 

 dressings of manure, at a total cost of about Is. Qd. per 

 stool, and with a probable harvest of about ten dozen the 

 first crop and twenty-five dozen the second harvest, under 

 favourable weather conditions. 



44 With regard to the actual artificial fertilizer to be 

 applied, the experiments so far teach us that phosphoric 

 acid should be applied in the form of superphosphate, 

 nitrogen in the form of dried blood or of nitrate nitrogen 

 (nitrate of soda or nitrate of lime). The stools which 

 received nitrates gave by far the best-cooking and heaviest 

 fruit. Ammonium sulphate does not appear to do well 

 as a source of nitrogen." 



The following * is the Fifth Progress Report by Mr. 

 J. C. Briinnich : 44 Last year, on account of long dry spells, 

 was exceptionally trying to our banana crops, making the 

 crop particularly late ; still the results of the experimental 

 plots on Buderim Mountain are highly satisfactory, and 

 prove clearly the great advantages of thorough and deep 

 cultivation, combined with a liberal application of artificial 

 fertilizers. 



44 The harvest from the first series of experiments, 

 representing the second year's crop, as the plots were 

 planted in October 1909, is quite up to expectation, as 

 seen from the results tabulated on pp. 76-78. The table 

 gives both the number of dozens of bananas and the 

 number of bunches (in brackets) for each plot, and also 

 calculated yield per acre. 



44 On Mr. Foote's plot the yield agrees, with almost 



mathematical accuracy, with the quantities of artificial 



fertilizers ; and the high yields of experimental plots B, 



F, and I, on which double quantities were applied, with 



* Queensland Agric. Journ., xxviii. 349 (1912). 



