August, 1912.] 



ICS 



moisture as in recognized "dry" dis- 

 tricts. 



EXCESSIVE SHEDDING OP LEAVES 



from cacao trees not only betokens a 

 state of affairs immediately harmful to 

 the tree and the pod?, large or small, 

 that it is bearing at the time, but it is an 

 ill omen for the success of the pods still 

 to come, as the Trinidad planters can 

 tell you regarding the prospects of 

 restricted picking with which they are 

 now faced. If it is not the shedding of 

 the leaves that is the trouble, it is that 

 which causes the leaves and young pods 

 to part company with the trees that 

 causes, or should cause, anxiety to the 

 planter ; and as this anxiety can be 

 avoided to a considerable degree, if not 

 entirely, we will call attention to some 

 means of combating the trouble. Whilst 

 the matter is fairly and fully discussed 

 in the Proceedings of the Trinidad Agri- 

 cultural Society already referred to, we 

 still think it bust to call our readers ' 

 attention to some of the 



CHIEF POINTS RAISED BY THE VARIOUS 

 AUTHORITIES. 



The numbers in parentheses refer to 

 the different opinions quoted by various 

 authorities in the report. We quote as 

 printed : — 



(1) The shedding of leaves out of 

 season is intimately connected with a 

 reduction in precipitation. This is an 

 admitted fact, established by observa- 

 tions extending through many years. 

 The quantity of rainfall is, to a large 

 extent, beyond control, but the effects of 

 any given amount of rainfall may be 

 regulated. Cultural methods tending to 

 the 



PRESERVATION OF MOISTURE DURING 

 DRY SPELLS 



would probably do much towards re- 

 ducing out-of'Season leaf changes. . . . 

 Manuring would also tend to ameliorate 

 conditions during such periods, especi- 

 ally mulchiug, and stable or pen manure 

 well mixed with straw, or other bedding 



material.* Manures rich in undecom* 

 posed vegetable matter convey a certain 

 amount of moisture to the soil, and serve 

 also to retain that which is already 

 present in it. 



(2) Comparison with my properly 

 tilled fields, and those parts of my 

 estates to which less attention is given, 

 convinces me of the correctness of 

 this, viz., 



TOO FREQUENT CHANGES OF LEAVES ARE 

 DUE TO LACK OF CULTIVATION 



and not, as is popularly thought, to a 

 condition of the weather. 



(3) Trees in poor soil will shed leaves 

 more often than those in good soil. 



(4j Mulching, together with proper 

 tillage operations, are the remedies 

 suggested. With this I am in full 

 accord. I recommended similar mea- 

 sures. ... A plant can only absorb food 

 materials which are dissolved in water; 

 therefore if there is a lack of water, 

 starvation may occur. 



(5) I have noticed trees to change 

 their leaves abnormally in cases of soil 

 poverty, and this condition to 



DISAPPEAR WHEN THE SOIL IS BUILT 

 UP IN ORGANIC MATTER. 



Continuing the discussion started in 

 (Trinidad Agricultural) Society Paper 

 492, Mr; Henry Warner, in Paper 497, 

 published the following notes, which are 

 reproduced from the March issue of the 

 Society's proceedings :— 



" The primary cause of the abnormal 

 'changes of leaf ' is the change of wea- 

 ther conditions, the principal contribu- 

 tory or secondary causes being want of 

 proper cultivation and too much over- 

 head shade, which also means a too ex- 

 tensive root system to be nourished by 

 the limited available supply of plant 



* There is some danger with mulches, especi- 

 ally of stable manure, to attract insects; to 

 avoid this kainit can be recommended ae 

 it acts as an insecticide. In certain cases a 

 small application of nitrate of soda by attract- 

 ing moisture counteracts the effects of drought j 

 see " Dry Farming," page S3, in May issue, 



