426 FRUIT CULTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



tions the distances are between 20 and 30 feet apart. In the small grounds of the 

 peasantry the trees may be observed so closely planted as to be in contact. Wide 

 planting, however, is preferred by intelligent growers as tending to the best results. 

 Tangerine oranges are planted at 22 feet apart, and larger sweet oranges at 25 to 30 

 feet apart ; lemons, 18 to 22 feet. 



Situation. Plantations of orange trees are made principally at elevations above 

 1,000 feet. In Manchester the elevations will average 2,000 feet. Undulating valleys 

 are principally selected on account of the greater depth of the soil to be found on 

 such spots, also on account of its greater richness. The soil principally selected is 

 that of the white limestone formation of Jamaica geology, known as " honeycomb 

 rock." The resulting soil is a strong red earth, calcareous and ochery, owing to the 

 presence of red oxide of iron. Orange trees yield the best results on the limestone 

 soils, both on account of constituents promoting fertility and on account of the per- 

 fect natural drainage of such soils. 



The sea-shore is avoided. The powerful sea-breezes (trade winds) are hurtful to 

 the blossoms and tender branches. At an elevation of 500 feet the sea-breeze ceases 

 to be troublesome. The sea-shore is also too arid, and as a rule the soil of the coast 

 line is sterile and unsuitable. 



Irrigation. Artificial irrigation is only practiced to a limited extent in the plain 

 of St. Catherine, and its application to orange trees must at present be regarded as 

 experimental merely. The principal crop cultivated between orange trees is guinea 

 grass, but some of the best growers prefer to keep up a clean cultivation, the number 

 of such cultivations and cleanings being determined by the growth of weeds. To 

 keep up a clean cultivation in certain low and moist districts would require a clean- 

 ing every three weeks; but longer intervals, as of eight or ten weeks, could be taken 

 in drier portions of the year. The general practice, however, is to allow the grass to 

 grow and to keep weeds and shrubby undergrowth cut down by means of a cut- 

 lass or bush-knife, which is done three or four times a year. In the grounds of the 

 peasantry the whole list of cultivated crops in the tropics might be enumerated as 

 crops cultivated between orange trees. It may suffice, however, to mention yams 

 (Dioscorea alata, Dioscorea trifida, etc.), cocoes (Colocasia esculente) , bananas and plan- 

 tains (Musa sapientum and Musa paradisiaca), coffee shrubs (Caffea arabica), papaws 

 (Carica papaya), annatto (Bixa orellana), and small culinary vegetables. The " yard" 

 or " provision ground" of the peasant is generally a perfect medley of vegetable 

 growth, including besides orange trees almost everything else. In such places the 

 cultivation of the orange tree is associated with the stirring and cleaning of the 

 ground necessary for the smaller crop. 



Yield. Owing to imperfect data it is difficult to give particulars as to yield, pro- 

 ceeds, and cost of cultivation. Undoubtedly the yield could be increased by more 

 careful cultivation and judicious manuring. The yield in a tropical climate may be 

 described as more continuous than in a warm temperate or subtropical region. Orange- 

 trees are observed to be in flower and in fruit at the same time. The tendency to 

 continuous flowering is so strong that every copious shower may be said to be fol- 

 lowed by a growth of young shoots with their flowers. This tendency greatly pro- 

 longs the season of fruit. It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that sweet Granges 

 may be obtained all the year round, but the principal season of fruit is from Septem- 

 ber to April. This tendency is even stronger in the case of the lime, which is to be 

 had in plenty for ten or eleven months of the year. As to proceeds, it is only when 

 the orange crop is sold in bulk to a contractor that the figures become known. This 

 is the general practice on sugar estates wherever oranges may be growing. The cost 

 of cultivation has a wide range, from nothing at all where it is neglected, as is too 

 often the case, to the heavy expense of maintaining a clean cultivation. In the 

 orange districts nearest Kingston the prices obtained by the peasant proprietors (who 

 sell small lots weekly to carters and dealers) on the spot range from M. to Is. per 100 

 hand-picked and with a small portion of the stem remaining. The buyer conveys 

 them to Kingston, wraps them in paper, and packs, them in barrels for transit by 



