Economic Plants Of Porto Rico Classic Reprint

Author : United States Department Of Agriculture
Publisher : Forgotten Books
ISBN 13 : 9780365782407
Total Pages : 46 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (824 download)

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Download or read book Report of the Porto Rico Agricultural Experiment Station, 1914 (Classic Reprint) written by United States Department Of Agriculture and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2018-04-05 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Report of the Porto Rico Agricultural Experiment Station, 1914 As the products come primarily from the soil, it is to the soil that the highest skill should be applied. Contrary to general belief, tropical soils are not naturally fertile. It is true that in virgin forests. Where humus deposits have accumulated for many years, they are quite productive, but that fertility must be very carefully conserved or it will be lost, and that, too, not by cropping. Denuded of trees, tropical upland soils soon lose their fertility by the washing and leaching Of rains and the action of the burning sun. Where cov ered with forests, especially of leguminous trees, they are productive for coffee, cacao, etc., but when bare they become hard and compact, not holding moisture and producing only scant, unprofitable grasses. It is a slow and tedious process to bring these lands back to the pro duction of profitable crops or trees. It is true that the growing season in the Tropics is 12 months of the year, yet the quick growth of vegetables known in the north in the spring is not Obtained in the Tropics. Persons from the tem perate zones, seeing the misery among many Of the rural population, ascribe the condition to shiftlessness, while in the main it is due to ignorance. The natural conditions are such that the small planter can not get the immediate results with salable crops that are Obtained in the spring season in the north. What is the cause Of this? In northern climates the freezing Of winter puts the soil in a favorable condition or releases plant food therein, producing conditions for rapid spring growth. In the Tropics these favorable conditions do not exist, and plants which require a long period of growth are the most successful. The use of fertilizers becomes more necessary. In Porto Rico the level lowlands are by far the most productive. The great problem in connection with these soils is one of rotation. At present they are largely devoted to sugar cane, but natural condi tions have already compelled the adoption Of rotations, and this will be accelerated by reason Of change in economic conditions and the consequent lowering in the price of sugar. Doubtless many of the cane lands will go into grass, with a resulting increased production of live stock. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.