Fibres. 



[Mat, 1912. 



acre, that is, 225 to 275 lb. lint and 675 to 

 725 lb. seed. The price varies from year 

 to year. It has ranged from 25 cents to 

 56 cents per lb. for good West Indian 

 grade during the last few years. 

 Cultivation. 



Soil9 such as the ordinary tobacco 

 soils of Western Cuba, the sandy loam 

 savannah soils of Eastern Cuba, and the 

 better soils on the Isle of Pines are good 

 cotton soils. They are easy and cheap 

 to work, and if legumes are planted in 

 rotation the fertilizer bill will not be 

 large. The best method is to plough the 

 land in May and plant. Cow peas may 

 have to be fertilized in order to have a 

 good stand, but the second or following 

 crops will probably grow well enough 

 without. A good fertilizer would be 

 50 lb. sulphate of ammonia, 1001b, double 

 acid phosphate, and 100 lb. muriate of 

 potash applied in the furrow before 

 planting. If the land is very weedy the 

 cow peas should be planted in rows 2 ft. 

 apart, and about 12 in. apart in the row, 

 in order to allow for one to three cultiv- 

 ations. If the ground is fairly clean 

 from weeds, the cow peas, as well as the 

 fertilizers, may be sown broadcast. 



After the cow peas have been ploughed 

 under, lay off the cotton rows 5 ft. apart 

 with a small plough, scatter 100 to 200 lb. 

 each basic slag and kainit in the rows, 

 and mix it in which a cultivator 

 run shallow. Of course, where green 

 manuring is not practised, then about 

 50 lb. of sulphate of ammonia would be 

 required in addition to the basic slag 

 and kainit. Plant the cotton in the 

 furrow, dropping five to six seeds in 

 a place 2 ft. apart. At that time of the 

 year there will usually be enough mois- 

 ture, and cultivation will therefore be 

 necessary only for keeping the weeds 

 down. The seeds germinate in four to 

 five days, and as soon as the plants are 

 well-established they should be thinned 

 out, leaving two only. This can con- 

 veniently be done with the hoe at the 

 first hoeing. At the next hoeing one 

 more plant should be cut out, leaving 

 only one in a place. When cultivating, 

 the soil should be thrown against the 

 row to give support to the plants. 



Time of Planting. 

 August 1st to 15th seems to be a good 

 time for several reasons, although there 

 are drawbacks to be considered. It is 

 favourable because of the moisture in 

 the soil at that time, but the drawbacks 

 are the hard storms that sometimes 

 destroy crops in October. A'great deal of 

 rain during picking time is unfavourable, 

 but cotton ripens here in eighty to a 

 hundred days, and would therefore have 

 to be picked during November. Novem- 

 ber is usually dry, although two years 

 out of the last ten have been too wet 

 for the successful handling of cotton, 

 as shown by the following table : — 



Total Rainfall at Pinar del Rio 

 during the month of novbmber. 



1900 106 inches 



1901 -25 „ 



1902 ...3-49 „ 



1903 ... ...7-94 „ 



1904 .., -39 „ 



1905 2 11 



1906 -59 „ 



1907 ... -79 „ 



1908 1-50 



1909 -40 „ 



1910 1-06 



If it was not for the lack of moisture 

 during the winter months, November 

 1st would be a good time to plant, and 

 February would be almost ideal for 

 harvesting. 



Insects. 



There are a number of insects attack- 

 ing the cotton plant in most places where 

 cotton is grown, and growers should be 

 prepared with remedies, because the 

 destruction is usually swift, and it is 

 too late to send for remedies after the 

 insects have started. There are specially 

 three things which every grower should 

 have on hand, viz., burnt lime, Paris 

 green and flowers of sulphur. The first 

 insect liable to appear is the Cotton 

 Caterpillar. The adult is a small greyish 

 moth which lays eggs on the leaves. 

 The eggs hatch out in seven to eight 

 days, and the caterpillar becomes full 

 grown, l£in. long andi in. in diameter, 

 in ten to fourteen days. If left to feed 

 on the leaves five or six days such a 



