December, 1908,] 



535 



Edible Products. 



A. B. C OF LIME CULTIVATION. 



(Continued from 'page 439.) 



Planting, Distances, etc. 



The planting season for limes is from 

 June to December. The earlier planting 

 is to be recommended, for then the 

 plants have time to make satisfactory 

 growth before the dry season com- 

 mences. The land, before planting, 

 should be carefully lined. 



In lands previously under cultivation 

 thorough forking of small beds, very 

 slightly raised above the level of the 

 surrounding soil, should be practised 

 before the lime plants are put out, while 

 in newly-cleared forest land, holes about 

 18 inches deep aud from 12 to 15 inches 

 square should be opened some time, if 

 possible, before the limes are planted 

 out- In heavy soils, the system of 

 holing is not to be recommended, as 

 there is a tendency for the holes to form 

 ' water traps ' during the rainy season, 

 with the result that the young plants 

 either die, through decay of their roots, 

 or are severely checked in growth. 



When the lime plants are from 16-18 

 inches high, they are ready for planting 

 out. They should be carefully lifted 

 with forks from the nursery beds. The 

 ends of the branches should be cut back 

 3 or 4 inches, either before being lifted 

 or immediately after, and they may be 

 placed in bundles on baskets or trays for 

 conveyance to the field. The roots 

 should be watered and kept moist until 

 planted. Good results cannot be ex- 

 pected if the roots are allowed to be- 

 come dry or exposed. 



The plants should be carefully planted 

 out at about the same depth as they grew 

 in the nursery beds, or at the most only 

 a trifle deeper. The colour of the stems 

 clearly shows the depth the plants were 

 while growing in the nursery bed. 



The lateral rootlets should be spread 

 out, covered with soil, and firmly pressed 

 down, while the soil around the plants 

 in the holes should be moulded up 

 several inches above the level of the 

 surrounding ground, so as to ensure that 

 no water settles round the stems and 

 roots of the lime plants during wet 

 weather, after the soil has settled down, 

 when planting operations have been 

 com pleted. Careful preparation of land , 

 care in planting, and good after-cultiva- 

 tion are repaid by healthy quick growth 

 and large early crops. 



Limes are planted at varying distances 

 apart in the fields according to indi- 

 vidual opinion and to locality. 



The question of the most suitable 

 distances at which to plant is one of the 

 most important, and at the same time 

 one of the most difficult, that the young 

 planter is called upon to answer. Ex- 

 perience is the only safe guide, but the 

 following suggestions may be found 

 of use : — 



On steep hill slopes, especially when 

 the land is not particularly good, 12 

 feet by 12 feet or 12 feet by 14 leet may 

 be adopted. On fairly good flat land, 

 15 feet by 15 feet or 16 feet by 16 feet are 

 the most usual distances. When the 

 land is very good and the rainfall is 

 abundant, 20 feet by 20 feet will pro- 

 bably be found more suitable, and in 

 moist land containing an exceptionally 

 large quantity of vegetable matter, as in 

 reclaimed swamps, 25 feet by 25 feet 

 may not be too great a distance at 

 which to plant. Trees attain a greater 

 size in hot valleys near the coast than 

 they do in the hills. 



Distances of 12 feet by 12 feet require 

 308 plants ; 15 feet by 15 feet, 193 plants ; 

 18 feet by 18 feet, 134 plants ; 20 feet by 

 20 feet, 109 plants; and 25 feet by 25 

 feet, 70 plants to the acre. 



Trees planted at wide distances, 

 when mature give better results than 

 closely planted trees, for, owing to 

 the hemispherical shape of the trees, 

 they present a greater bearing surface 

 than those plants that are struggling 

 for light. 



The distances at which to plant lime 

 trees, having due regard to certain 

 operations that may have to be carried 

 on later, should receive very careful 

 consideration. Scale insects during the 

 past few years have been on the increase 

 in lime plantations, and in course of 

 time spraying operations may have to 

 be carried on systematically on estates 

 in order to keep these pests satis- 

 factorily in check. It is impossible to 

 spray effectively a closely planted lime 

 field. Such a field is a tangled mass of 

 formidable vegetation, unapproachable 

 as regards spraying. In fields where 

 limes are planted at wide distances, 

 spraying is easier, but even then, to be 

 carried out effectively, it is a difficult 

 operation. 



Probably it may be found in dry dis- 

 tricts that a system of planting lime 

 trees closely in rows, say, 10 to 12 feet 

 apart in the rows and from 20 to 25 and 

 30 feet between the rows, according to 

 the elevation, would prove successful 

 culturally. 



It would facilitate many of the estate 

 operations, and at the same time give 



