Edible Products. 



28 



[July, 1911. 



marked and cut up for their special 

 uses, — timber, posts, piles, tramway- 

 sleepers, firewood, etc. The under- 

 wood and brush can be used to burn up 

 the roots and the trunks of useless trees 

 such as Guango, Bastard Cedar, etc, 



The ground should finally be carefully 

 stumped. Even if the land is virgin soil 

 and does not require ploughing, it is bet- 

 ter to stump at first. The plants can 

 then be put in at regular distances at 

 once— an important matter in many 

 ways, and if ploughing is necessary at a 

 later period, there is no delay caused in 

 digging out stumps. Stumping also faci- 

 litates cutting and carrying the fruit. 



If the land is not the virgin soil of a 

 forest, and especially if it be old cane 

 land or pasture, it should be first 

 thoroughly ploughed at least 9 inches 

 deep. If the situation is on hillsides 

 where the plough cannot be worked, 

 the pickaxe for stony ground and the 

 fork for soft soil should be used." 



Distance. 



The usual spacing of the plants adopt- 

 ed in Jamaica is 14 feet by 14 feet. Some 

 planters adopt a wider spacing of 15 feet 

 each way. Others plant two suckers at 

 each hole, 14 feet by 14 feet, so as to get 

 a heavy return with the plant crop in 

 the spring months when prices rule high. 

 The experiments that have been made 

 by many planters in close planting at 

 such distances as 10 feet by 10 feet and 

 8 feet by 8 feet have shown that al- 

 though apparently a larger number of 

 bunches can be grown to the acre, it has 

 been found on further trial that any de- 

 parture from the usual system of 14 feet 

 spacing which is now generally adopted 

 in Jamaica is not advantageous in the 

 long run. 



There are many soils where the plant 

 bananas return a grade of fruit at least 

 25 per cent, lower than the succeeding 

 crop, and the result of the second crop 

 would therefore outweigh any advant- 

 age first obtained by growing a larger 

 number of stems per acre from the 

 plants, when those stems are below the 

 standard grade. 



Preparing Holes. — Some planters are 

 content with shallow holes about one 

 foot deep. But better results are ob- 

 tained when holes 2 feet 6 inches every 

 way are dug ; the roots gat a better 

 start, and a better hold on the ground, 

 so that the plants are more forward and 

 are not so liable to be blown down. 



A planter who prepares holes 3 to 4 

 feet wide and from 2 to 2\ feet deep, 

 writes ;— " It is not always possible to 

 get the labour to make these holes, but 



I am convinced of the advantage and 

 ultimate economy of making them large 

 and deep, for among other reasons, the 

 plant gets a start at once, a good root is 

 formed in loosened earth which practi- 

 cally ' anchors ' the tree, and enables 

 it to resist high winds, and when planted 

 in this way, the tendency of the root to 

 come to the surface is greatly obviated." 



Planting of Suckers. 



Time of Year, — If the aim is to get the 

 main crop in for the American market 

 from March to June, planting is gener- 

 ally done from January to April. 

 Otherwise planting may go on at any 

 time when rain or irrigation water can 

 be relied on to help on the young plants. 

 There is no doubt, however, that March 

 and April is the best time for planting 

 when all vegetation is springing natur- 

 ally. In April there are always showers 

 which help to start the eyes of the bulb 

 in putting out leaves and roots, and 

 when the May rains come, the young 

 suckers rush along faster than at any 

 other time of the year. 



Seed-suckers, Size.— Suckers are select- 

 ed for planting 6 to 8 months old ; they 

 would then be about 10 feet high, with 

 large swollen bulbs 8 to 10 inches across. 

 They should always be suckers which 

 have not been pruned, and these are 

 indicated by the first leaves being very 

 narrow in proportion to their length, 

 hence called 'sword' suckers. 



Preparation. — They are cut down to 

 within 6 inches of the bulb, and the old 

 roots trimmed off. Some planters put 

 them in the ground at once, others leave 

 them to dry for three or four days, and 

 then plant. Others again find that 

 they get better results by piling them in 

 heaps 8 to 10 deep, then trash is thrown 

 over them to keep off the sun, and they 

 are left a month. The best way to pile 

 them is to erect fences 3 feet (i inches 

 high to enclose a convenient spot 6 feet 

 wide and of any length necessary. 



Position. — They are placed in the 

 ground with the eyes 3 inches below the 

 surface. On hill-sides they are put in 

 slanting, and an eye at the sides deve- 

 lopes into the plant. Ou the flat they 

 are set upright; if the centre sucker 

 happens to shoot ib is left ; if not the best 

 of those growing all round is selected. 

 Some planters, even on level ground, 

 plant tneir suckers slanting, as few eyes 

 develop into suckers, and the strength 

 is thrown into the formation of the 

 bunch wliich is consequently finer. 



The soil shoud be well drawn up over 

 the bulb when planted, 



