IIS^TEODUCTORY. 



7 



fclie best for eacli description of plant is its own refuse, or ashes ; 

 enough of these can seldom, however, be obtained. But, as far as 

 they can be restored, this principle is beginning to be acted upon 

 bj the sugar planters of the West Indies, who employ the waste 

 leaves and ashes of the expressed stalk of the cane, after it has 

 been used as fuel, to manure their cane-fields. Tlie vine growers 

 of Grermany and the Cape also bury the cuttings of their vines 

 around the roots of the plants. The cinnamon grower of the East 

 returns the waste bark and cuttings of the shoots to the soil. 

 And in the coco- nut groves of Ceylon, the roots of the trees are 

 best manured with the husks of the nuts and decomposed poonac, 

 or the refuse cake, after the oil has been expressed from the pulp. 

 Analysis of soils is, perhaps, not so essential in countries where 

 virgin land is usually in abundance, and the luxuriance of vegeta- 

 tion furnishes itself, by decomposition, abundant materials for 

 replenishing the fertility of the soil. But there are some sub- 

 stances, such as muriate of soda, gypsum, phosphate, and other 

 compounds of lime, which may be advantageous^ applied. Guano 

 and expensive artificial manures, are seldom required, and, indeed, 

 will not repay the planters for importing. 



An experienced cultivator can generally judge by a superficial 

 examination, aided by the situation, locality, and appearance of the 

 soil, whether a certain portion of land is fitted for the profitable 

 growth of any particular plant. Depth of soil, and facilities for 

 deepening it, with the nature of the subsoil, so as to know whe- 

 ther it retains or parts with water, are also important considera- 

 tions, because tap-rooted plants require free scope for penetrating- 

 deep into the groi,md. 



A due supply of water is of vital importance to most crops — ■ 

 and therefore the extent and periods of the fall of rain are 

 essential to be known, as it is not always possible to resort to 

 irrigation. The quantity of labor required for previous tillage, 

 cultivation, and harvesting of different crops, and the available 

 supply, are primary essentials to be considered before entering 

 upon the culture of any staple product, however remunerative it 

 may appear in prospective. Eacility and cost of transport to the 

 nearest market or shipping port are the next desiderata to be 

 ascertained, as well as a careful estimate of the cost of plant 

 or machinery necessary. 



It may be desirable at the outset to make a brief enumeration 

 of the countries lying within the different zones, and the agricul- 

 tural products of which come, therefore, more especially under 

 the notice of the tropical planter. 



Meyen, in his division of the horizontal range of vegetation 

 into zones, extends — 



1. The equatorial zone to fifteen degrees on both sides of the 

 equator. In this division we shaU find the Cape Yerd Islands, 

 Sierra Leone, Ascension, and St. Helena, the E-epublic of Liberia, 

 the European and native settlements in the Grulf of Gruinea, and 

 on the Western Coast of Africa, Abyssinnia, Zanzibar on the 



