The Arizona sentinel., 1886-02-20

which he says, allows room for the second crop without w1ing. When the young plant show that their growth is assured, if any duplicates are found in the same hole, they are to be cut of, leaving only one stem to each hole, the healthiest and deepest in the ground. When the ratoons begin to show them selves, careless planters allow all that show out to grow, but careful ones generally leave only one which will produce the second crop, and all others are extirpated, as it is done to advan- tage in Queensland; however care must be taken not to damage the mother plant until it has born the fruit, nor to distroy its adherance to the soil, oth- erwise the wind would knock it down. If the land be good, and some manure be applied, a satisfactory third crop, from second ratoons, can be expected, and in fact, many varieties, especially some native ones in favorable spots, once planted never need to be renewed but keep on growing from the primi tive stump. However, from the Chi ma kind, only two or three crops at the utmost must be expected, and even in poor soils, it is far better to go to the expense of replantlng new suckers af ter the first bunch has been gathered, the produce obtained being more mar ketable than the stunted ratoons. In case of several continued crops, some recommend to dig away the old stump and cut it up to give the young sprouts better chance of developing; but oth- CTS argue that this extirpation of the old root only weakens the young plant and renders 1t more liable to be blown down by the winds.
 As the banana takes at least whole year to bear, 1t gives very great temptation of using the land in- the meantime for some auxiliary crop, and as Mir. Hill very justy remarks, espec- 1ally the Chinamen being desirous of making as much as possible out of the land for which they generally pay en- ormously high rents, dig in between the plants and put in crop of sweet potatoes or melons. This is also done in Jamaca, and would seem there more inofensive, considering the large space , allowed between the plants, and In dian corn, cassava ore peas or other quick maturing crops cultivated among the young plants. But there as much as here, the practice IS condemned; and Mir. Hill says that this sysem of inter crop "is a greater evil than leav- ing the soil untouched, for the roots of the intervening crop, rob the banana of @ portion of its necessary nourish- ment; and consequently lessens its growth and it's yield and often the ba- nanas are overgrown and choked, and if not permanently injured, oblige the planter to wait longer for the crops, so that auxiliary crops never turn out a real profit" And as the bad system is however pretty general, MT. Hill just ly remarks that generally speaking good banana crop is not the result of proper cultivation, but is due to the natural fertility of the soil and the congenialty of the climate. Thus on the contrary, the banana plantations ought to be very free from weeds and creepers, which neceSsitates a good many cleanings, sometimes as much as eight per annum. Weeds are left to rot near the plants, so as to add to the fertility and the moisture to the soil
 A. MARQUES.
 ITo L.