242 



TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



CHAP. 



Distances. 



Support for 

 the vines. 



Gathering 

 the harvest. 



Cleaning 

 the roots. 



Packing. 



Returns 

 per acre. 



Bundles. 



cuttings ; and in this way they bear crops earlier than when 

 they are raised from seed. 



Cultivation. — The ground should be broken up by good 

 tillage, and holes dug at distances of six feet by seven — 

 the extra foot between the lines increasing the facilities 

 for weeding and harvesting the crops. These distances 

 will allow 42 square feet of surface to each plant, and will 

 enable 1,037 plants to be cultivated on every acre. The 

 ground must be kept weeded, and stakes or trellises will 

 have to be arranged for the vines to climb over. The plant 

 grows something like the common yam, and it "requires 

 similar treatment.'' 



Crops. — The cultivation will give a return in from two to 

 three years, and the roots may be harvested every year after 

 the first crop is gathered. The roots are carefully dug up 

 and cut off near to the stock, which is then moulded up with 

 surface soil. Fresh roots will soon spring out, and they will 

 grow rapidly. The roots, after being dug up, are freed from 

 adhering earthy particles ; and sometimes, to clean them 

 properly, it is necessary to wash them in water. They are 

 then dried in the sun, and afterwards tied up in bundles and 

 packed in bales for export. 



Mr. Morris records that " the first crop in Jamaica is said 

 to yield as much as 20 lbs. of dried roots per plant.'' The 

 negroes who grow it usually plant Sarsaparilla at about 

 20 feet apart with other crops. The vines are trained to 

 stakes and trellises. The first crop is reaped in about two 

 years and a half from the time of planting. When prices are 

 high the gross returns on Sarsaparilla cultivation is very 

 great. The market for this product is, however, very limited. 

 For export it is usual to tie up the roots in bundles about 

 a foot or eighteen inches long and weighing from 12 lbs. to 

 20 lbs. each, and these bundles are packed in bales weighing 

 from 80 lbs. to 100 lbs. or more. 



