JAMAICA, 



BULLETIN 



OF THE 



BOTANICAL DEPARTMENT. 



Vol. IX. JULY, 1902. Part 7. 



CASSAVA. 



Cultivation in Florida. 



Information has been asked for as to the methods adopted in 

 Florida in the cultivation of Cassava. The fallowing acc unt has been 

 taken from Bulletin 49 of the Florida Agricultural Experiment 

 Station on " Cassava as a Money Crop," by Dr. H. E. Stockbridge : — 



It is the "sweet" cassava alone that is known in Florida. It grows 

 like a native except that it rarely matures seed. It thrives best ou 

 sandy soils, moderately fertile. 



The land is thoroughly ploughed and if the sand or loam has become 

 compacted below the usual depth of ploughing, or if clay approaches 

 the surface, the subsoil plough is used. It is considered very important 

 to use the harrow after the plough to ensure thorough pulverization. 



As the crop is worked both ways, it is planted in squares, four feet 

 each way. This is done by running furrows at right angles with the 

 turn plough, and dropping seed at the places where the furrows cross 

 each other. 



Fertilisers are used, but only in very moderate quantities, — 250 to 

 300 lbs. a common high-g ade commercial fertilisers per acre giving 

 more economical results than large quantities. 



When planting, the seed-canes are cut into lengths of about 4 inches 

 by means of a pruning shears, and dropped 2 at a time at the intersec- 

 tion of the furrows. The covering is done by a turn-plough, or by a 

 cultivator with 'all the teeth removed excepc the near teeth on each side, 

 which should be shovels and set as closely together as possible. The 

 teeth are made to straddle the row, and throw the soil toward each 

 other, thus perfectly filling the furrow, and covering the seed canes 

 lying therein. Sowing is usually done in March. The first cultiva- 

 tion is deep, and it may be with a plough. After-cultivation is shal- 

 low, — about '2 inches, and with a cultivator or wide sweep. Three or 

 four workings are considered sufficient. When the plants reach well 

 out into the space between the rows, and shade the ground well, all 

 cultivation ceases, and the crop is considered as laid by. At the time 

 of the last cultivation which usually occurs about the first of August,, 

 a single row of cow peas is sown in the middle of the rows. 



