224 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Oct. 1, 1902. 
Buch plants are dug in they decay and add this nitro 
genous matter to the soil, and thus to future crops 
This is one of the cheapest ways of enriching the soil. 
Many people having stock, turn the cattle into the 
fiel.i when the green dressing is ready and apply, with 
advantage, the manure thus obtained to the land. 
Value of Lime in Manu7-ing.~A\tho\igh I have ad- 
vised you, in the case of iucomplete manures, to obtain 
expert knowledge as to their application, a few words 
on the use of lime in agriculture maybe in place. L'.me 
is of value directly and indirectly. Directly, it sup- 
plies a necessary element of plant food in soils defi- 
cient in lime ; indirectly, it unlocks the unavailable 
potash, nitrogen, etc., in the soil. It also exerts in- 
fluence on the mechanical condition of soils, rendering 
heavy soils loose and binding together loose soils. Care 
should, however, be taken in its application, for, used 
alone, lime, in most cases is rather a stimulant than 
a fertilizer. There are two old sayings, 'Lime makes 
rich fathers but poor sons,' and ' The use of lime 
without manure makes both farm and farmer poor.' 
It should always be used together with other necessary 
manures and fertilizers, and infrequently applied 
small quantities rather than in large quantities at long 
intervals. About 3 cwt. per asre every year would be 
sufficient as a rule in Montserrat. 
Crops. — Commercially considered, crops may be 
divided into two classes : 
(a) Those for home consumption which do away 
with the necessity of importing food. These may be 
termed our ' Agricultural Defence Force," for they en- 
able the labourer and, in fact, everyone, to save 
money. . 
(i) Those for export, constituting our ' Attacking 
Force ' which will enable the island to make money. 
FOODSTUFFS FOR HOME CONSUilPTION. 
"Avoiding unnecessary expenditure is one of the 
ways of increasing capital. Sufficient consideration 
has not been paid during the past, in Montserrat to 
growing foodstuffs for home consumption. In a valu- 
able paper by the Hon. F. Watts upon the food 
supplies of the Leeward Islands, (West Indian Bulletin, 
Vol. 1, pp. 270-280), it is pointed out that the value of 
foods, exclusive of liquors imported into the Colony in 
1898 was £132,728, an amount larger than the revenue 
of the whole of these islands. 
It is admitted that a quarter of these imported foods 
might reasonably be replaced by home-grown produce. 
It is well worth while to turn some attention to those 
vegetables and foodstuffs which can be stored and put 
to use at times when both employment and provisions 
are scarce and when we have to rely upon articles of 
food imported from other lands. Among those which 
will keep I shall deal with yams, farine. and corn. 
Yams.— The Government has recently introduced 
from Antigua and Barbados good varieties of yams. 
Last year about a quarter of an acre (between two and 
thies ' tasks') was planted in yams at the Chateau or 
Hospital Garden. Nearly 27 barrelsf al were reaped, 
containing about 1301b, each, or 3.510 lb. in all which 
at id. per lb. means a gross return of £28 per acre. 
Tne land had been carefully [dressed and manured 
and wai rich. When reaped they should be kept dry 
with plenty of air passing around them. A dusting 
of slacked lime is at times useful. A ready market is 
found tor yams in Trinidad and elsewhere, but even if 
they are not sold, they are useful in the months of 
scarcity and want, of employment. Care should be 
taken to plant the different varieties apart especially 
the long thin vams which are more suitable for baking. 
Several barre"ls of white eddoss and tannias, which are 
■ highly appreciated in Barbados, have also been ob- 
tafned for distribution. , , ^ . , 
' Fakine '—Efforts have been made to teach people 
how to make farine from the root of the cast^»va plant 
because it can be stored— a property not belonging to 
cassava roots. Farine will keep for months or years, 
and in Dominica and St. Vincent nearly every la- 
bourer has hia barrel of farine which comes m useful 
about th9 middle o£ the year. There are numerous 
ways in which this valuable msal can be need as a 
food. All that is required for its manafactnre is a 
small pan or copper, one of which has recently been 
erected at the Hospital Garden. Instruction to about 
fifty people in the manufacture of farine has been 
given at the Experiment Station at the Grove and 
elsewhere during the past year. 
Maize. — Many persons erow maize or what is called 
native corn, Becently I bought 7 barrels of corn, 
on the husk, for 21 shillings. When shelled they gav« 
65 gallons, or rather more than 8 bushels, equal to 4 
bags of American corn which is now selling at lOs, 
a bag. 1 thus saved more than 203, besides retaining 
the cob, which, ground with the grain in a suitable 
mill, adds largely to its nutritive and digestive pro- 
perties. The great objection raised by people to the 
more extensive cultivation of native corn is that it 
will not keep, I am of opinion, however, that with 
care and attention native corn may be pre- 
served much longer than is usual in Montserrat. 
One or two hints may be of use, 
(a.) Never pick corn on a wet day nor, if possible, 
until after the sun has shone upon it some hours. 
ih.) The common practice of gathering and storing 
corn with the husks still enclosing the ear is advo- 
cated by many from a belief that the husks serve 
to protect the grain from the attacks of insects. The 
insects most destructive to stored corn are the grain 
moth and several weevils, and, as the corn may be in- 
fested by these insects while still in the field, there la 
little to support the idea that the husk serves as a pro- 
tection. It is like shutting the stable door after the 
horse has been stolen. The husks add to the balk of 
stored corn, afford little protection from insects, and 
provide the best of hiding places for rats and mice. 
Most of the corn has to be liu-ked before it can be 
used. Husking can be done more rapidly while the 
corn is being gathered than at any other time, and, 
under ordinary circumstances, it is the best time for 
doing the work. 
(c) When it has been gathered and husked, it should 
be put into boxes or barrels of which the bottoms and 
sides are perfectly tight or hermetically sealed, and 
treated with bisulphide of carbon to kill the insects. 
If thoroughly dry, when brought in from the field, it 
may be thus packed for several days without fear of 
heating and moulding, and if treated with bisulphide 
of carbon it will be secure from insects for some 
months. One to three pounds of the liquid will be 
found suf&cient for 100 bushels or 50 bags, and it costs 
about is, per lb. The process is to pour the liquid 
over the grain and to cover all over closely with tar- 
paulin or sacks. Special care should be taken not to 
allow lamps or lights of any kind near the building 
where it is used, until the odour has , disappeared, 
which will be from 3 to 6 days after the appli- 
cation. Seed corn should not be treated for longer 
than 2i hours; the box should then be opened and the 
vapour allowed to pass off. I have already spoken to 
you of the importance of carefully selecting the seed. 
The U3ual custom is to sell the best cobs, reserving the 
worst for seed purposes, Cirefully go through your 
cam and select the largest and most vigorous cobs, 
and a great difference in the yield of your future crops 
will be the result. Opinions differ as to whether the 
best and most vigorous seed is to be found at the top or 
bottom at the cob. It would be an interesting experi- 
ment it you were to cut some cobs in two, separating 
the seeds at the bottom from those at the top, to 
plant them in two plots of equal size and notice the 
difference in yield, if any. It would be well for the 
small owners of a district to combine and purchase a 
corn sheller and also a corn mill. A corn mill would 
cost about f 1 5. 0, to f I 10. 0, landed, as would also 
a corn sheller, 
FOODSTUFFS FOR EXPORT. 
With regard to our attacking force, or articles of 
food for export, there is no reason why small owners 
should not make Montserrat the kitchen or market 
garden for the neighbouring islands. The chief of 
