246 



Nurs 



Planting 

 stake. 



Distances. 



TROPICAL AGRICULTURE chap. 



however, is a moist one where the mean temperature ranges 

 from 75-" to 80^ Fahr., and the rainfall is abundant. 



Propagation.— The plant is grown entirely from seed, 

 which should be sown before it is perfectly dry in nursery 

 beds made in a cool shady place. Or, several seeds may be 

 planted in specially prepared beds in the fields ; and, when 

 the plants are about a foot high, all but the strongest one in 

 each hole should be pulled up. The seedlings will be fit to 

 be put out from the nurseries in about four months from the 

 time of sowing, and they should be transplanted in rainy 

 weather, when, if proper care be taken, but few of them will 

 fail to take root in the fields. 



Cultivation.— The land having been lined off at dis- 

 tances of from six to twelve feet, holes are to be dug and 

 filled in as described in former chapters. The distances will 

 depend on the character of the soil ; on hill sides, where the 

 soil is somewhat poor, the lesser distances may be employed, 

 but on rich flat lands, even fifteen feet apart may not be 

 sufficient to allow for the luxuriant growth of the trees. The 

 seedlings, which should be from six to eight inches high, are 

 then planted in the filled holes, and the land is to be kept 

 clear of weeds, which should be hoed up and buried in 

 trenches between the plants. 



Early crops. CROPS.— Full crops may be expected in three or four years 

 but seeds may be gathered in eighteen months or even 

 earlier. The author recently planted a patch of anatto, and 

 many of the young plants flowered in less than a year from 

 the time of sowing the seed. It has been calculated that the 

 first full crop will yield about five hundredweights of seed 

 to the acre, and the returns will increase for several years 

 afterwards. When the capsules split open and disclose the 

 seeds, they are cut off by women and children and carried to 

 sheds', where the seeds are extracted and then dried in the 

 sun. They are afterwards packed in barrels for shipment, 



Planting 

 out the 

 seedling* 



Full crops. 



Gathering 

 the crops. 



Packins 



