60 The Journal of the Royal 
judicious removal of surplus suckers is neglected. I 
counted 89 plantain trees in one bed, which is exactly 
half an acre of land, but a portion of this had no plan- 
tain trees whatever. An acre of plantain trees should 
contain about three hundred. It will be readily 
understood that caprice or want of judgment, may be 
responsible for a much larger number in the same 
extent of land. There is room for difference of opinion 
in this as in the majority of questions that engage 
human thought. Personal experience is the best teacher 
in such a case, and no two farmers may see alike with 
respect to the exact number of trees that should cover 
a given acreage. The best period of the year for 
planting plantains is during the months of October 
and November Suckers deposited in the earth at this 
time derive great benefit from the December showers, 
which ensure their being quickly established and give them 
the advantage of a powerful spring. In these days, 
however, when the shiftings of the seasons defy the 
calculations of the oldest planters, it is difficult to say, 
with any degree of definiteness, what time of the year 
is best for committing the suckers to the soil, as the 
rains descend without respect for the ancient landmarks 
determining the seasons. The greatest drawback to the 
successful cultivation of plantains is the periodical visits 
of high winds, which shake the trees like slender twigs, 
and eventually cause them to lie prone on the earth with 
their promising bunches of fruit crushed beneath them. 
Weighted with its own heavy produce and from its 
habit of growth, but scantily provided with roots with 
which to grip the soil, it is an easy thing for a plantain 
tree to become dislodged, aud it is the sport of almost 
every passing zephyr. When, from thoughtlessness, the 
