March 2, 1903.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTUEIST. 
589 
which are heaped around the outside oivole o£ the tree 
both actions combining to cause the tree more and 
more to stand in a hole ; then the rains fall and drain 
off slowly, lead ing the ground sofjgy and when some dry 
weather sets in, this soil becomes baked hai'd and 
sour ; 3rd, to allow for the forking or ploughing 
around the trees, and the ploughing in of the w.^ed--, 
consequently the raising of the soil. Take the level of 
a piece of uncultivited land, and when it has been 
ploughed up and harrowed smooth, take the level 
again, it will be found three or four inches higher 
than before. As it hardens it settles again about two 
inches in six mouths, only to be stirred up again by 
further cultivation, and probably the plougtiing in of 
weeds raises it two or three inches further.' Anyway 
the soil is further raised by cultivation, little, but 
appreciably enough to make a row of orange trees 
planted on a level with the surface of the fisld when 
uncultivated, appear by and by, after cultivation to 
stand in a hollow. Again after the planting out of a 
field with orange trees planted at fi-i'st in holes, drain- 
age is found to be necessary, the earth from the drains 
is of course flung up in a ridge or scattered around, 
and the water in heavy rains runs towards the orange 
trees, mora than into the drains. We have done 
things too casually heretofore and looked at tree 
planting as if it was a thing that any unskilled person 
could do, and again, we have learned that the experi- 
ence of agriculturists tutored in other lands where 
many of the conditions are diametrically opposed to 
here^ is of little use unless it is adapted to the circum- 
stances prevailing here. Long ago when a boy 
wandering in the woods, we noticed that the fir tree 
grown from a cone had the upper part of its top roots 
clear of the ground so th it you barked them when 
you stepped roughly on them, the wild crab-apple 
grew the same way, so did every tree in nature grown 
from a seed. Here you can see the wild orange 
growing in the same fashion, see too the long boles of 
the cotton tree ending in roots running along the sur- 
face so that you trip over them. It is the nature of 
trees that are surface feeders to grow like this, and 
they send out many superficial roots spreading in a 
fibrous network all along close to the surface, and 
such trees can grow and thrive in poorer soils, by 
means of the abundance of their feeders, than trees 
that send out few roots, The latter are generally deep 
growers and send down a very long vigorous taproot, 
and when delicate, like cocoa require a deep, free, 
moist, rich soil to be at their best. Another error in 
orange growing is the iudisorimiuate use of the fork by 
those who have the mind to cultivate. CultivaMon is 
recommendable, when judicious, the fork is a worthy 
implement, where there is a head as well as hand,s 
governing it. The late Secretary, Mr. George A 
Douet, had much to do with the bringing of the fork 
into general use to supersede the hoe in breaking the 
land we should like to see the rake in common use 
here, especially for the cultivation of fruit. We see 
horrible destruction of the feedinw; roots of orange trees 
by forking, and damage done that would kill fruit 
trees in places less richly endowed by nature in climate 
and soil. Trees over three years planted are hoed, 
then forked right up to the stem, so that you see big 
clods turned over matted with broken and wrenched 
up roots. If this is done in dryish weather, the hot air 
and wind penetrate right into the root system drying 
out the broken ends of roots so that if they ever form 
callus and send out rootlets at the break, it will be a 
slow business. Altogether, these trees would have 
been very much better off without such cultivation. 
Fruit trees grow best in a soft firm soil, and the roots 
should never be broken unless at the ends where they 
are growing out, and then the cut should be clean, as 
from clean cut ends more roots will start out quickly 
and in healthy condition, than from broken rough 
edges. Orange trees should be hoed around from the 
stem to a little further out than the sweep of the 
branches as it will ba found that the roots go out 
furthsr, often very much further. Tlie hoeings after 
gxpo^ure to the suu and air to kill the weeds, should 
then in dry W3a';her b3 vak=jd bxik to the hoed surface 
and rak^d hack.virds md forwards until the surface is 
loose. The ^oil beneath is seldom other than moist in 
this country, and the raking so loosens the surface 
while the wesfling-i form such a soft mulch, that the 
soil will not b ike through three months of dry weather 
which does not often oo^;ur anywhere here. At other 
times when miist weather prevails and the earth is 
soft, the weedings instead of being piled around to 
tempt roots to creep up into them should be spaded 
in so that the ground where the roots will extend may 
at once be loosened and manured. An annual culti- 
vation like this done in November after the heavy 
rains are over and the crop is off is most suitable for 
early beariog trees. The weeds will supply pretty 
much all the humus and nitrogen necessary, and an 
application of wood ashes at the same time will provide 
the necessary phosphoric acid and potash, so that 
the new roo lets may have abundance of food-material 
at hand. This slight root pruning done by careful 
spading at the outsi 'e terminus of the root sjstem of 
fruit trees about November will at once send the sap 
back into the trje ; blossoms will break out in January 
and by the time the bloom is set, the new roots v.'iU be 
vigorously feeding in the well prepared and fertilized 
soil, and ready to meet the greatest demands that the 
swelling fruits may make upon them. The applica- 
tions of fertilizers may be made if desired when the 
fruit sets and again when it is nearly full. Forking 
in fruit groves should only be done to prepare land, 
and where there are no roots to be wrenched and 
torn. The rake and the spade are the implements 
where hand labour is to be used ; the former to stir 
the surface soil beneath the trees, and give youug 
weeds no rest, and the latter to turn over the soil 
outside the trees. Where horse labour is used, of 
course the sharp plough will do the cutting of the 
tips of the roots, and the harrow-toothed cultivator is 
the best implement for running close to the trees and 
siiirring the soil. The spade and the rake or the 
plough and harrow cultivator, together with the hoe, 
which is indispensable for weeding ; these are the im- 
plements lor orange groves. These thoughts are the 
result of personal practice and wide but minute obser- 
vation, aud the recommendations made are meant to 
be, and of course, should be, accompanied by the 
keeping of the trees clean by spraying or washing if 
necessary, for orange growing in groves. It would be 
difficult to put such cultivation into practice on 
scattered pasture-grown trees, though it might pay to 
thoroughly cultivate these trees. Failing root culti- 
vation, the washing being carried out as given in the 
report published below, should not fail to be done. 
Certainly , we were not prepared to believe that the 
mere cleaning and washing of branches and trunks as 
done in these experiments, without any cultivation of 
the trees standing in grass, could have been so quickly 
responded to in healthy leaf and blossom. But the 
results in fruiting will be the best test. Anyway, we 
welcome every idea and practice that will help to put 
our citrus trade ou a better basis. It is pretty much 
casual and chance at present. — The Journal of the 
Jamaica Agricultural Society. 
RBIOIPES FOR COOKING WEST 
INDIAN YA.MS. 
(From Imperial Department of 'Ujriciilture, for the 
West Indies). 
Yams require a deep, rich soil, pnd under favonrabs 
conditions pc dnce large crops. The foUowi ng recipes 
for cooking and preparing yams are issued for distri- 
bution in the h.ipe that if cirefully carried out, those 
not already a-quainted with this nutritions food may 
ensure that it is presented to them in an attractive and 
pleasant fjrm. — D. Morris (Commissioner of Agri- 
culture for the West Indies. September 10, I90'2, 
The 'Yam' so familivr to all cUassea thri-aghout 
the West ladies is practically unkoowu iu Grea| 
