August, 1910.J 



117 



Edible Products. 



It makes a covering six inches thick or 

 more in less than two years, and the soil 

 is always moist under it, even in dry 

 weather. For best results it should 

 probably be ploughed under every two 

 years. In heavy soil the Canavalia is 

 also a good cover crop. The variety, 

 Gladiata, makes a covering on the 

 ground often as heavy as the Lab-lab, 

 while the variety, Ensiformis, is a bush 

 type and can be planted quite close to 

 the tree, which is not advisable with 

 running plants as they soon choke out 

 anything on which they are allowed to 

 climb. 



On lighter soil the annual species of 

 legumes, like Cow pea and Velvet beans 

 have so far been used principally, al- 

 though there would seem tc be no rea- 

 son why Lab-lab should not succeed 

 there also. One plant very beneficial 

 and very well adapted is the Pigeon 

 pea or Gandul {Cajanus cajan). It is a 

 vigorous grower, reaching a height 

 of six to twelve feet and a spread of 

 several feet when planted far enough 

 apart, although when planted close to- 

 gether it may form a single stem and 

 not be too woody for ploughing under. 



In cultivation the main question is 

 how to preserve the moisture, and the 

 usual method is to keep the cultivators 

 going from the last heavy rain in the 

 fall until the first one the next spring. 

 That, however, is not entirely satisfac- 

 tory on all soils, but the trees seldom 

 suffer severely from the effects of 

 drought if the land is cultivated fre- 

 quently enough. 



One of the legumes discussed in a 

 former paragraph is usually planted at 

 the beginning of the rainy season, and 

 at which time all cultivation stops except 

 in the immediate space around the trees 

 which is kept clean in a circle with a 

 hoe or in strips on each side of the row 

 with horse cultivators. The ground is 

 again ploughed at the end of the rainy 

 season, covering up the crop of legumes 

 which serves as fertilizer and adds 

 humus to the soil. 



Another method is to plant Lab-lab or 

 Canavalia and leave the ground entirely 

 covered for two or three seasons with 

 no other work than cutting the vines 

 around the trees to prevent them climb- 

 ing up- This is cheap and frequently a 

 grove so treated is in better condidion 

 than those that are kept clean. 



The very best method therefore is 

 mulching, but unfortunately it is not 

 practical. In the first place mulch 

 cannot be obtained in sufficient quan- 

 tities. Secondly, a mulched grove is so 

 subject to fire that it is too dan- 



gerous to risk it. Thirdly, in the 

 mulched grove the roots will form close 

 to the surface and after being mulched 

 a year or more such trees will suffer 

 severely when the land is again ploughed. 

 Where enough material is available for 

 mulching, and the mulching can be con- 

 tinued from year to year, and where 

 there is no danger of fire, the method is 

 almost ideal. 



Where legumes are grown during the 

 rainy season it is practical to cut the 

 vines and mulch around the trees 

 during the dry season, but it is not prac- 

 tical to cut the vines and leave them to 

 cover all of the ground, as the thin layer 

 left in that way will decay and entirely 

 disappear from sight in a couple of 

 months. 



Fertilizing. 



The proper feeding of citrus is a 

 science, and it is so closely related to 

 the general question of citrus culture 

 that no one can afford to neglect the 

 study of it if he wishes to succeed in the 

 business. It is fairly well understood 

 by planters that trees take nourishment 

 from the soil, and it is not infrequently 

 believed by beginners that the Cuban 

 soils contain all the foods necessary to 

 grow a tree and produce an abundance of 

 fruit. Unfortunately they find out too 

 late that they were misinformed, and 

 many, otherwise promising groves have 

 been ruined because of the owner's lack 

 of knowledge and capital to care for 

 his trees. 



According to Press Bulletin No. 138 

 of the Florida Experiment Station, an 

 average tree contains the following 

 plant food ingredients per 1,000 pounds : 

 Leaves 8*5 pounds Ammonia, 1 pound 

 Phosphoric Acid and 4 pounds Potash. 

 Wood 8'5 pounds Ammonia, 5 pounds 

 Phosphoric Acid and 7 pounds Potash. 

 In the fruit 300 boxes of 80 pounds each 

 the content is 31'4 pounds Ammonia 

 equal to 28*3 pounds Nitrogen, 127 

 pounds Phosphoric Acid and 70'3 pounds 

 Potash. 



As the citrus tree extracts plant food, 

 not alone from the surface soil but also 

 from underlying strata to a considerable 

 depth it will readily be seen that even 

 an extremely poor soil would coutaiu 

 many times more Nitrogen, Phosphoric 

 Acid and Potash than would be required 

 to make a tree and produce fruit for 

 several years. And as a matter of fact 

 all Cuban soils fit for citrus culture do. 

 But that is not the only consideration. 

 A wild tree growing under favourable 

 conditions is capable of taking its 

 nourishment from the soil and making 

 a normal growth, which proves that the 



