SELECTION OP LAND. 3 



The mc— nnual temperature in Trinidad at sea-level L 

 78.47 Fah. taking a twelve years average. From this the readai 

 may conclude that planting Cacao at higher elevations is not a 

 measure of economy or good practice, unless in speciallj 

 favoured positions with regard to soil and exposure. 



It would be a grave error to assume that land fit for 

 the cultivation of Cacao can be chosen by the results of 

 chemical analysis alone, for it is quite possible for land to 

 contain all the substances required for the growth of a particular 

 plant, and yet be totally unsuited to grow that plant, owing to 

 the materials being present in a form which cannot be taken up 

 by the roots. 



Sometimes the mechanical nature of the soil is quite as 

 important as its chemical constituents, and unless a mechanical 

 ■as well as a chemical analysis is made, its suitability for the 

 ^purpose cannot readily be ascertained. Although these draw- 

 backs exist, yet Chemical analysis is very useful, in fact essential 

 in. securing a right Judgment on the suitability of land for any 

 particular crop, but taken alone it should not be trusted. 

 "Whenever used, samples should be taken with the greatest 

 care from those parts of the land which would give a fair 

 average of the area under examination. Unless this is done, 

 •chemical analysis is not alone useless, but becomes positively 

 dnisleading. For instance, a planter takes a sample of soil from 

 liis field, and brings it for analysis ; the chemist tells him it is 

 ^ood land, rich in various constituents and excellent for the 

 •crop he proposes to plant. In faith of this the planter buys and 

 plants, alas ! with failure — Why 1 — the sample was taken from a 

 spot which contained or received the wash of the surrounding 

 Jand, and was in consequence as rich in proportion, as the 

 •adjoining ground was poor and valueless. ^Chemical analysis 

 is a valuable adjunct to practical planting experience, bub 

 without that experience leads the planter into frequent 

 dilemmas. In Johnston's elements of Agricultural Chemistry 

 p. H7, 17th Edition the Editor warns Students that this is so, in 

 the following words : " Chemical analysis of a soil as ordinarily 

 conducted, valuable though it is in some respects, is not of much 

 service in indicating the actual fertilizing matters at the 

 moment available in the soil. The agencies at work whereby 

 the elements of fertility are rendered available for the plants* 

 uses, are so complicated and numerous that the best test of a 

 ^oil\ fertility is to carry out e^erimfnts with the pUfit itjelf.'' 



