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LOAM. 



A loam is a soil consisting of clay and sand, and is called clay loam 

 or sandy loam according to the relative amounts of these earths of 

 which the soil is made. The typical sandy loam is found in many of 

 the Bayamon and Rio Piedras fields and the typical clay loam in other 

 fields in the same districts, as well as in the valleys south of the rail- 

 road in the Vega Baja and Manati districts, where there is also often 

 an appreciable amount of humus present. These soils are much easier 

 to work than the heavier clay soils, but they frequently require con- 

 siderable preparation on account of being weedy. 



METHODS OF PLANTING. 



The methods of planting now followed range from single rows, 6 

 feet apart, planted on a ridge, to 20 or more rows, 15 to 18 inches apart, 

 planted on level ground. All of the methods have strong advocates, 

 and it is simply a question of Avhich method is best adapted to certain 

 fields, considering all of the factors that can enter into the discussion. 

 Let us first consider a sandy soil, well drained and free from joint 

 grasses. If the sand is comparatively coarse, the ground water not 

 within 2 feet of the surface, and the lay of the land such that the sur- 

 face water can drain off quickly, the problem is very simple. Such 

 land should without question be planted in wide, level beds. 



If the sand is fine and the drainage not perfect, the soil should be 

 bedded up. The height and width of the beds will depend entirely 

 on local conditions. If there are no noxious weeds to combat, the 

 beds should be as wide as it would be possible to make them and not 

 higher than absolutely necessary to insure good drainage. 



In loam and clay soils the considerations are: To keep the soil 

 aerated, to get rid of an overabundance of water in the shortest possi- 

 ble time, to be able to keep the soil free from weeds, and to prevent 

 the fruit as Avell as the plants and suckers from falling over. 



THE SINGLE-ROW SYSTEM. 



In the single-row method the plants are set from 12 to 22 inches 

 apart in rows from 2 to G feet apart. The beds are usually made by 

 plowing two furrows together and practically no hand work is needed. 

 This system is not well adapted to sandy soils because they dry out 

 too quickly; neither is it well adapted to heavy clay soils for the same 

 reason, unless the beds are made wider. In a friable loam there seems 

 to be no objection to one row in a narrow bed, as far as the soil is 

 concerned. If the rows are far enough apart, the system has the ad- 

 vantage of easier cultivation, which may to some extent be done with 

 a horse cultivator; on the other hand there are larger vacant spaces 



