March 1, 1901.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
589 
drying iu tha sau, aul thaa giiiidiag into flout-, it 
is very palatable, easy of digestion, and suitable 
for food for invalids and children. 
Vinegar may also be made from the banana, 
when a glut occurs in the market. 
The stem of the banana may be used in miay 
ways, cattle and pigs both e.U it with a relish, a 
starch is made Irom it, but the main use is for 
making fibre, and this is extensively carried out in 
Jamaica and other countries, _ IManila hemp and 
cordage are mide from a species of banana, and 
over £1,. 500,000 worth are imported into the United 
Kingdom annually from the PhiUipine Islands.— 
Journal of the Department of Agriculture of Western 
Australia. 
every two weeks, turning sides to middle each 
time, cover with dry banana leaves, and put on 
cover with weights to keep the bulk closely 
together. 
Anyone following this plan will be sure to get 
a tobacco which will sell and give a good return. 
Our crop gave 803 lbs. to the acre, and is 
estimated to be worth not less than 12 cents 
per pound in the local market. The principal 
expenditure is for the labour ; the picking cater- 
pillars morning and evening being very expansive- 
but a return at the r.ite of £21 per acre vi'ill 
more than provide for tnis, and leave a good a 
good margin for the planter. — Trinidad Bulletin, 
TOBACCO. 
A trial was made of a small area planted in 
tobacco at St. Clair in 1898-99. This produced a 
crop of tobacco which was of inferior quality, but 
nevertheless sold at a fair price in the local 
market. Most of the tobacco grown in the Siparia 
district of Trinidad, although cured after the 
Cuban fashion by a native of that Istand, is 
characterised by the presence of a musty flavour 
which destroys its value. The texture of the 
tobacco is good, it burns well, and it would not 
be deficieut in flavour if the musty character 
could be eliminated. The Cuban leaf, however, 
appears to be too thin for our climate, for in 
wet weather, the leaves becomes spotted and 
useless. Again, many native growers who do not 
follow the Cuban plan of curing, add to this 
fault by actually allowing a damp fermentation 
to take place, which has the result of rendering 
the tobacco leeves tender in places and generally 
inferior in quality. 
Discarding mainly the Cuban variety in 1899- 
1900, another kind was planted, which was grown 
from seed furnished by a correspondent. This 
variety has proved itself much stronger in habit, 
and the leaves on being cured have given good 
sound tobacco of full flavour and aroma. Further 
experiments are to be carried on next season. 
The main feature of the experiment was that 
the seed was sown so that the crop ripened in 
the dry season of February and March. In these 
months the curing can be carried on with more 
security from the attack of mould fungi, and a 
better sample results. 
I am confident if growers could only be per- 
suaded that tobacco does not require a damp 
fermentation, but should get what is known as 
fermentation only, a much better tobacco could 
be put in on the market. As described, our 
process (which is practically tliat followed in 
Cuba) is to cut the leaves in pairs and hang up 
under cover until the mid-rib of the leaf is well 
dried and the leaf itself crisp and easily broken 
if handled in the driest part of the day. When 
this stage is reached, the leaves are packed into 
hands of some 10 or 12 leaves together, and 
again allowed to dry for a few days. This op sration 
should always be done early in the morning 
when the leaves are limp and soft from the 
night air, but they should never be handled 
when crisp dry at mid-day. When all the leaves 
are ready they should then be tightly packed 
into a stout box and turned once a fortnight 
for some three months, when they should be 
sufficiently cured for manufacture. At no time 
should the bulk of the package appear damp to 
the hand, or even to develope heat above the 
normal temperature, more than by one or two 
degrees. 
Concisely stated, tobacco seed sown in Septem- 
ber, planted in November, harvested in February, 
and dried and put to cure a month later. Turn 
RATIONAL MANURING. 
In o'lr remarks on tiie above subject publLshed 
in March last, we dwelt mainly on the value 
of potash and nitrogen, and stated that a manure 
containing an excess of nitrogen will unduly 
increase the growth of leaf and straw at liie 
expense of fruit or grain, and tliat, in order to 
avoid such a result, stable manure should always 
be supplemented by artificial fertilisers containing 
phosphoiic acid and potash. These two ingredients 
however, should not be applied during the growing 
season, as their tendency is to injure the young 
plants and even the seed. We experimented on 
a bed of beans by applying these fertilsers when 
the plants were in full leaf, the result being 
that all of them ri)tted ofi' at the suiiace of the 
soil. To avoid such a catastrophe, phosphoric 
acid and potash should be api)lied for some lime 
(several weeks at least) before sowing, in order 
that their .iiinaral fercilisers may become 
thoroughly incorporated with the soil. The reason 
which makes it; imperative that pliosphoric acid, 
in some form or another, be applied to the soil 
is clear enough. All our cultivated plants contain 
a large amount of phosi>liorie, acid, which is 
wholly derived from the soil. If the crops are 
removed either in the shape of grain, fruit, or 
green forage, then so much of this fertiliser is 
irrevocably withdrawn to build up the bony 
structure of the animals to which the crops are 
fed. Now, most soils are naturally deficient in 
the supply of [ihiisphoric acid and wdiat there is 
is so slowry available for plant food that it 
becomes an absolute necessity to supply it in a 
more readly assimilable form and in greiter 
quantity. Seeing that the bones of animals are 
made up of |)hosphate of lime, it was concluded 
and rii,'litly so, that f^round bones would supply 
the want of phosphoric acid in the soil. The 
eft'ects of an application of bonedust were so 
apparent that it was universally used by cultiva- 
tors of the soil. When, however, the discovery 
was made that certain minerals would supply the 
necessary ingredient, the consumption of bonedust 
fell off, as it was found that Thomas's phosphate 
was not only cheaper than bonedust, but pro- 
duce! b-;tter results, and was much quicker in 
its working. Superphosphates also came upon the 
scene, and thus bonedust was practically di^caid- 
ed as an agent for replacing the phosphoi'c 
acid in the soil. In both these, the latter is 
very soluble, and is easily absorbed by growing 
plants. It may he interesting to those who use 
basic slag, or who see it mentioned in reports 
of expeiiments on crops, to know what it i--. 
Steel is made from iron, but if the iron ore con- 
tains much plios^)horus this ingredient has to be 
