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NOTES OF THE CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES. 



By W. Harris, Superintendent of the Hill Gardens, 



The Jamaica Agricultural Society has decided to distribute free, small 

 quantities of seeds of the Vegetables named below, to small Settlers 

 who will undertake to report to the Secretary on the results obtained. 

 The following short notes oh cultivation should be carefully attended to> 



Preparation of Seed Beds. 

 Select a level piece of ground in the open, but sheltered from strong 

 winds, where the soil is light and good. Mark off the number of beds 

 likely to be required. The beds should be 4 feet wide with paths 18 

 inches wide between them. Having marked off the beds with a peg at 

 each corner, they should be thoroughly dug up and the soil broken fine, 

 Before sowing seeds the surface of the beds should be raked over to 

 remove all stones, hard lumps of earth, etc. Seeds of very tender 

 plants should be sown in boxes. 



To destroy Grubs, Beetles, etc. 

 When the ground is ready for sowing seeds, or for planting out 

 young seedlings, spread all over the surface a layer of dry grass, banana 

 trash or such like. The beetles, grubs, etc., collect under the trash and 

 after 3 or 4 days fire is set to it, and large numbers of pests are de- 

 stroyed. A double purpose is thus served, as the ashes of the burnt 

 trash are very beneficial to the young plants. 



Sowing the Seeds. 

 Having prepared the seed bed, get a rod four feet long, lay this 

 across the bed, and whilst holding it in position with one hand, mark 

 off the shallow drills with the forefinger, or a piece of stick along the 

 four foot rod. For coarse seeds such as beans to be sown in long rows, 

 a line should be stretched along the full length of the bed, and the 

 drills opened out with the corner of a hoe. It is better to sow all seeds 

 in drills at the proper distance apart ; the seedlings are easier to thin, 

 and weeds can be pulled out without destroying a number of the young 

 plants. 



Small seeds should only be covered very slightly with fine soil, but 

 the larger seeds may be covered to the depth of half an inch, or an inch, 



The best time to sow seeds and transplant young plants is during 

 showery weather. 



Beet Koot. 



Sow the seed in drills where the crop is to grow, in a sandy, open 

 situation. Ground that has been manured for a previous crop will not 

 require to be again manured for beet. Allow a distance of 15 inches 

 between the drills, and as soon as the young plants are large enough to 

 handle, thin them out to 9 inches apart in the drills. The young plants 

 taken out may be used to supply vacancies, or to plant elsewhere, but 

 these beets are never so good as those which are not disturbed. 



The seed should be soaked in luke-warm water for about 12 hours 

 before sowing, then taken out, allowed to drain, and sown whilst still 

 damp, and covered to a depth of 1 \ or 2 inches. 



Cabbages. 



A good soil, heavily manured, is requisite for the production ol 



