206 



I March 1908, 



EDIBLE PRODUCTS. 



CULTIVATION OF LIMES. 



While it cannot be expected that the 

 high prices which have recently been 

 obtained lor all lime products will be- 

 come permanent, it would appear that 

 the future prospects of the limeindustiy 

 of the West Indies are of a promising 

 nature. 



Considera ble interest has of late been 

 awakened throughout these colonies iu 

 the cultivation of limes, and the progress 

 made in the industry in Montserrat and 

 Dominica has induced the planting of 

 limes in British Guiana, Grenada, Car- 

 riacou, and St. Lucia. 



With the view of generally encourag- 

 ing the cultivation of this plant, and of 

 affording all available information for 

 the guidance of lime planters, as to the 

 best methods of cultivating their crops, 

 and preparing the products for market, 

 the Imperial Department of Agriculture 

 has in preparation a pamphlet dealing 

 with the cultivation of the lime plant 

 and the manufacture of its products. 

 As it may be some time, however, before 

 this can be successfully put through the 

 press, it has been thought that a brief 

 summary might with advantage be 

 printed in the Agricultural Neivs, in 

 order to afford all assistance possible to 

 those who have taken up, or purpose to 

 take up, the cultivation of limes. 



TREATMENT OF LAND. 



By far the greater area of lime culti- 

 vations in Dominica was established on 

 land which had been growing sugar- 

 cane, and if the plants are allowed a 

 sufficiency of room, by careful removal 

 of cane stools around them, they can 

 successfully be established by means of 

 seedlings, in the cane fields, in the course 

 of a few years. 



On some estates, land in grass or guava 

 bush is cultivated, lined, holed, and 

 planted. A circle around the young 

 plant is kept clean, and the remainder 

 of the field cutlassed occasionally. In 

 other cases, the usual garden crops of 

 pigeon peas, tanuias, dasheeus, cassava, 

 etc., are allowed to grow amongst the 

 young lime plants. 



When forest land is to be planted in 

 limes, it is felled, lopped, lined, burned, 

 and then holed, and after planting, a 

 small area around each plant is kept 

 clean, while the bush and grass that 

 spring up iu the intermediate spaces are 

 periodically cutlassed. 



When lining the fields for planting, 

 it is essential that an efficient system of 



drainage should be established before 

 any planting is done, and a good system 

 of roads should be outlined in order that 

 the greatest economy in working the 

 estate may be practised. Another 

 matter of importance on exposed land is 

 protection from the full force of the 

 wind, and wind-breaks of pois boux, 

 galba, or other suitable trees should be 

 formed as early as possible. Very often 

 this important work is neglected, and 

 much money thereby lost, for full expo- 

 sure to the wind has a dwarfing effect 

 on the trees, and a serious effect on 

 the crops. 



CHOICE OP LAND. 

 Lime trees will develop best, and yield 

 the heaviest crops, in rich well sheltered 

 lauds, situated from sea-level up to 300 

 feet elevation, and possessing a rainfall 

 varying from 80 to 160 inches per 

 annum. Limes can also be successfully 

 cultivated on fairly steep slopes, espe- 

 cially if washing away of the soil is 

 prevented by the presence of , numerous 

 boulders, and if the soil is fed with veget- 

 able matter from forest land above the 

 cultivation. In Dominica, slopes have 

 been cleared of forest to the top of the 

 ridge, and lime trees have been estab- 

 lished, but careful attention must be 

 given to terracing and manuring, if it is 

 desired that such cultivations are to be 

 long-lived. 



Lime cultivation is now being carried 

 on in Dominica at elevations of up to 

 2,000 feet, and in districts possessing a 

 rainfall of over 200 inches per year ; and, 

 given ijood selection of land, with some 

 protection from wind and good cultural 

 methods, there is little doubt that such 

 cultivation should be profitable. But it 

 is generally understood that, as far as 

 the island of Dominica is concerned, the 

 best results are obtained in the coastal 

 and valley lands possessing a light 

 black soil. 



PREPARATION OP SEED BEDS, ETC 



It takes from ten to twelve months 

 from the sowing of lime seeds to the time 

 when strong plants are fit for putting 

 out into the field. Seed beds from 4 to 

 5 feet wide, and as long as desired, with 

 plants set out at distances of from 2 to 

 3 feet apart, should be prepared on shel- 

 tered piece of land. The beds should be 

 raised, so as to ensure good drainage, 

 and the soil should be thoroughly broken 

 up. Nursery beds should also be pre- 

 pared iu the same manner for the recep- 

 tion of the young seedlings, in the pro- 

 portion of five nursery oeds to every 



