ing. In Jamaica, however, where pines are chiefly grown lor the 

 fresh fruit market and consequently a finer class of pine is required, 

 manuring seems to be considered advisable if not necessary. It is 

 recommended (Jamaica Bulletin VIII, icoi. p. 139) if the soil be 

 poor and arid to fork in or plough in a good dressing of farm yard 

 manure, when breaking up the soil 6 months or so before planting, 

 and give a top dressing of wood ashes after the plants have started 

 to grow. Artificial manures are also largely used by growers in 

 the West Indies. In clayey soils the application of lime when 

 preparing the ground is found highly beneficial and soils that have 

 become exhausted by other crops may be made suitable for pines 

 by growing a crop of cow peas and ploughing them in when in 

 flower." 



A Jamaica planter, Mr. SMITH (Jamaica Bulletin VII, iquo) 

 writes on his experience with fertilizer thus: ''The best results 

 so far I have obtained have been from 550 lbs. of cotton seed meal 

 per acre combined with 100 lbs. of high grade sulphate of potash 

 at time of flowering, I do not seem to get any results at all from 

 phosphoric acid. Stable manure (from horses) should never be 

 used no matter how thoroughly rotted. The manure from cattle 

 may be used with splendid results." 



Mr. COUSINS in the Jamaica Gleaner Nov. 2, 1903. gives an 

 excellent report on the use of fertilizers in Jamaica of which the 

 following extracts are of interest : — 



" No results whatever from fertilizers were observed at any 

 centre except Clover, near Mandeville, where the results were 

 quite striking. 



The Rowington results were not encouraging. It appear* 

 likely that after the heavy rains a good deal of surface rooting took 

 place and that the plants suffered from scorching when the drought 

 followed and the full sun beat down upon them later. 



"On the red soil from the limestone in St. Ann (Huntly), ferti- 

 lizers produced no effect. This soil is apparently quite rich enough 

 for pines without assistance. 



At Barbican, on the light alluvial soil of the Upper Liguanea 

 plain, fertilizers were quite inoperative. This soil is apparently 

 richer than the maximum requirements of the pine in plant food. 



At Billy Dun, on a similar soil with less humus and exposed 

 on a hilly slope to intense heat, fertilizers were alike of no avail ; 

 the plants suffered greatly from scorching. 



The experience of the Hon'ble PHILIP CuKk, when In: grew 

 pines at Barbican, is in agreement with these results. Even enor- 

 mous doses of fertilizers proved ineffectual when applied to the 

 pines. 



1 he phosphate fertilizers had absolutely no preventive effect 

 on the formation of "cockscombs'' on the United Fruit Company's 

 plantation. 



At Clover, on the red soil of Mandeville, the pines were grate- 



