Edible Products. 



20 



[JCLY, 1911. 



Observations on Banana Soils. 

 No. 1 represents a very rich deposit 

 overlying the limestone on an estate in 

 Portland where magnificent bananas 

 were grown year after year. This might 

 be taken as an ideal banana soil, rich iu 

 humus and available plant food and of a 

 rather retentive but not impervious con- 

 sistency. 



No. 2 is an average alluvial soil in Port- 

 land that has been long under cultiva- 

 tion, and is on the limit of productivity 

 as first-class banana land. 



This is a light soil from which the 

 humus is rapidly abstracted under cul- 

 tivation with a high rainfall. 



The present standard of humus is low 

 and the nitrogen also below par. Chemi- 

 cal fertilisers when tried on this soil were 

 inoperative. The provision of vegetable 

 matter to restore the humus is clearly 

 the problem to be faced in this case. 



No. 3 is a representative of a non-cal- 

 careous alluvial soil in St. Mary where 

 excellent bananas are, and have been, 

 grown for many years by good tillage 

 and green dressings. 



No. 4 is a type of the heavy banana 

 soils of this parish. Forking and deep 

 drainage have worked wonders on this 

 material. 



No. 5 is a representative of the alluvial 

 deposits rich in calcareous matter that 

 are largely found in St. Mary. 



This soil failed to respond to the most 

 generous applications of chemical 

 manures, but at once yielded a full grade 

 of fruit when subjected to thorough im- 

 plemental tillage and top dressings of 

 cow-peas. 



No. 6. This is a sample of the hillside 

 clays iu St. Mary that were formerly 

 regarded as hopeless for the growing 

 of bananas. 



Forking and drainage enabled excel- 

 lent results to be obtained, whereas fer- 

 tilisers were inoperative in the absence 

 of such special aids to cultivation. 



No. 7. This is a light alluvial soil from 

 St. Mary that had probably been worked 

 for a century as cane land before being 

 put into bananas. In its present state it 

 is rather below par in fertility. 



The humus, nitrogen and potash are all 

 low. Trials with fertilisers proved dis- 

 appointing. Measures for increasing the 

 humus appear to be all that is necessary 

 for enabling such land to yield full re- 

 turns of bananas. 



No. 8. This is an average sample of 

 the irrigable alluvial soils in St. Cather- 

 ine as served by the Rio Cobre Irriga- 

 tion System. 



The mechanical composition is an ideal 

 one for bananas under irrigation, and 

 the employment of implemental tillage 



During ages of dry conditions these 

 soils were reinforced by the growth of 

 the guango and other leguminous trees. 



They are of a full standard of fertility, 

 and on some of these soils over 90 % of 

 straight bunches are obtained over a 

 large acreage. 



The ' Galls ' that occur here and there 

 in some fields are generally small areas 

 of coarser sands devoid of humus. Ex- 

 periment has shown that fertilisers have 

 no beneficial effectupon these abnormal 

 spots. 



The reserves of fertility in the St. 

 Catherine soils are very great, and if due 

 care be takeu to avoid stagnation from 

 the excessive application of water, these 

 soils should hold their own for many 

 years to come as first-class banana lands. 



No. 9. This represents a typical red 

 soil from the limestone as existing in the 

 uplands of St. Ann. 



Such a soil has been found to be gen- 

 erally lacking in humus and to be sub- 

 ject to drying out during a period of 

 drought. 



Fertilisers were found quite inoper- 

 ative, but recent experience on a fairly 

 large scale has indicated that if liberally 

 mulched with grass and other vegetable 

 refuse fine crops of bananas can be 

 grown on such soils. 



It would appear that the practice of 

 mulching would enable a large exten- 

 sion of banana cultivation on the red 

 soils to be successfully brought about. 

 It is noticeable that although derived 

 from the limestone, the red soil has a 

 very moderate content of this material 

 now remaining. 



The process of weathering frequently 

 removes almost the last traces of lime 

 from these soils, and in some cases the 

 addition of lime has a marked effect on 

 its productive powers. 



No. 10. This is a sample of the soil from 

 that magnificent alluvial flat at the east- 

 ern end of St. Thomas that was for- 

 merly of enormous value for the growing 

 of cane, and is now in bananas. 



These soils are excellent banana lands, 

 and maguificeut crops are obtainable if 

 the exposed situation of the lands does 

 not result in the loss of the crop by 

 breeze as has too frequently been the 

 case during the past teuyears. It would 

 appear to the writer that the wisest 

 policy would be to utilize the bananas for 

 establishing cocoa and coconuts on these 

 lands, and eventually to abandon the 



