10 
BULLETIN 1278, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
SECONDARY CROPS 
A field that has been prepared for henequen is frequently used 
for the production of a crop of corn before the henequen is planted. 
In some cases corn and beans are grown together. This preliminary 
crop, if successful, will pay for at least a part of the cost of clearing 
the land. After the henequen plants have been set. it is not custom- 
ary for any secondary crop to be grown, though corn may be 
planted in the henequen fields during the early stages of growth, 
CULTIVATION 
The term " cultivation " in the sense in which it is ordinarily used 
is not an accurate description of the care that is given henequen. 
The only cultivation that this crop receives is an occasional cutting 
of the weeds and shrubs which grow between the rows. The fre- 
quency of these clearings varies with the quality of the soil, the sea- 
son of the year, the age of the plants, the supply of labor, and the 
Fig. -A. — A field of 7-year-old henequen plants 
financial condition of the planter. It has been recommended that 
during the first year after the plants are set the fields be cleaned 
every three months, with a gradual lengthening of the interval as the 
plants become older. In actual practice, however, the fields of young 
plants are cleaned about once every six months and the older fields 
once every 12 months. There can be no general rule, as the condi- 
tions are variable in different districts (fig. -A). 
The weeds and shrubs that are cut down when a field is cleaned 
are piled between the rows where they dry and gradually disinte- 
grate. This large quantity of dry waste in the fields, particularly 
where clearing has been neglected for a long period, constitutes a 
serious fire menace in the dry season. 
FERTILIZERS 
No commercial fertilizers are used in connection with the produc- 
tion of henequen in Yucatan. The waste, or "bagasse," is occa- 
