SHADE TREES AND CATCH CROPS. 47 



tial shade afforded by the latticework sheds erected for protection against frost is 

 highly beneficial to the size and quality of the fruit and as a protection against sun 

 scald. The improvement is in fact so important that, even far below the frost line, thou- 

 sands of dollars are being spent on sheds for shade alone. It is by no means impos- 

 sible that this requirement could be as successfully and much more cheaply met by 

 means of leguminous shade trees. Moreover, it is not impossible that the culture of 

 pineapples and coffee could be advantageously combined in Porto Rico, since the two 

 crops would require their principal amount of attention at different seasons, the pine- 

 apple ripening before the coffee. 



Ananassa sativa. (See Ananas sativus.) 



Anatto. (See JBixa orellana.) 



Anauca (Trinidad). (See Erythrina wnbrosa.) 



Andira inermis. 



Common names. — Cabbage bark tree, or cabbage tree (Jamaica); Moca (lorto 

 Rico) . 

 A leguminous tree called " cabbage tree" or "cabbage bark tree," on account of 

 its disagreeable odor, resembling that of the well-known vegetable. It is generally 

 distributed in Porto Rico and is sometimes used for coffee shade, but is considered 

 inferior to the two species of Inga on account of its slow growth. The bark, in the 

 form of a powder or a decoction, is said in Jamaica to have value as a cathartic and 

 vermifuge, but large doses are dangerous, causing vomiting, delirium, and even 

 death. The wood is said to be hard and durable, having a specific gravity of 0.88, and 

 is susceptible of a high polish. The pods are fleshy, about the size of a horse-chest- 

 nut, and contain but a single seed. The floors of the caves at Aguas Buenas, Porto 

 Rico, are in places covered with the seeds of this species, which are carried in by the 

 bats for the sake of the inclosing pulp. The seeds germinate in the caves, sending 

 up slender white sprouts 2 or 3 feet high. 



Andropogon sorghum. Sorghum. 



Common names: — Kaffir corn; Milho (Portuguese); Millo (Spanish). 

 In Brazil a form of sorghum or millo maize is one of the crops planted on a small 

 scale with young coffee. 



Angico (Brazil). (See Piptadenia colubrina.) 



Antiaris toxic aria. Upas tree. 



This belongs to the family Moraceae. It is enumerated by Cameron among the 

 forest trees left standing for shade in coffee plantations of the Coorg district of British 

 India. 



Apio (Venezuela). (See Arracacia esculenta.) 



Arachis hypogaea. Peanut. 



Common names: — Goober; Kratok (Java); Mani (Porto Rico); Pinaar; Roway 

 (Java). 

 Mentioned by van Gorkam as a luxuriant species of Arachis which was recom- 

 mended as a soiling crop for coffee plantations. It covers the ground with a dense 

 mat of vegetation and enriches the soil by means of the nitrogen fixed in the root 

 tubercles. It would seem that the peanut would make one of the best secondary 

 crops for use with coffee. In addition to the green manure and the peanuts the vine 

 would also have a value as forage. The vigorous dense growth of the plants would 

 keep down weeds, retain moisture in the soil, and prevent its becoming overheated. 



