100 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



Makch 2G, 1904. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



MANURING CITRUS TREES. 



The (ollowiiig letter, dated March «, 1904, relating 

 to the effect of pen niamire upon citrus fruits, has 

 been received from Mr. E. A. Agar, of La Haut, 

 Dominica. The matter that is brought forward by 

 Mr. Agar is of considerable interest to fruit growers 

 in these islands : — 



It is a well-recognized fact in Dominica that the use of 

 pen or stalk niauui-es for citrus trees results in increasing 

 the size of the fiuit at the expense of the texture. Linie.s 

 manured in this manner approximate to lemons, while orange 

 trees .similarly treated bear fruits of enormous size with very 

 thick .skins, woody pulp, and little fiavour. Until quite 

 recently it never occurred to me that this was not an 

 established fact throughout the West Indies ; but from 

 something said to nie the other day by a resident in 

 a neighbouring island, it ajipears that it may not be so. It 

 would be of great interest to planters in this island to learn 

 ■whether this result of the use of pen manure has been noticed 

 by orange growers in other islands ; and if so, what manui'es 

 they use. 



JAMAICA FRUIT INDUSTRY. 



A repoi't on the fruit industry of Jamaica prepared 

 by Mr. W. E. Smith, Oeneral Manager of the Trinidad 

 (Jovernment Railway, who receirtly visiteil Januiiea as 

 the special representative of the Tiinidad Agiicultural 

 Society, was laid before the Society on March 8, and 

 printed in the Fort-of -Spain Gazette for March !). 

 This rojjort will, no doubt, be published in the 

 P/'(jc(V'f///(//.s of the Society, but the following extract 

 may be of interest to readers of the A<jra- alto rat 

 News : — 



The value of Jamaica's fruit exports exceeds £1,000,000 

 annually, or over GO per cent, of the total exports. Nearly 

 .seven-eighths go to the I'nited States, and the remainder to 

 the I'nited Kingclom and other British iio.ssessions. It is 

 estimated that .'i.'f.OOO acres are under lianana cultivation. 



The variety grown is the ' Martiniipie ' or '(hos Michel'. 

 A full bunch, or 'straight' as it is technically known, 

 consists of nine hands, eight hands count as three-(piarters, 

 seven hands as a half, and six hands as a quarter. The prices 

 paid by buyers and shippers vary according to the season 

 and the exigencies of suiiply and demand. For the English 

 market the best prices are obtainalde in the summer and 

 autunui months, and for the United States from April to 



August. So far as I am aljle to ascertain, the highest figures 

 reach £12 per 100 bunches, and the lowest £r>, the average 

 being £7 lOs., or \s. Gd. \iev bunch of nine hands. Delivery 

 in all cases to be made at the nearest depot or railway 

 station. 



The imi>ortant lessons in <-ultivation they seem to have 

 learnt in .Jamaica may briefly be summarized as follows : — 



(1) Thorough preparation of the land before planting, 

 good drainage, and free use of the i)lough, fork and hoe 

 afterwards. In other words, nothing but high cultivation 

 pays in the long ru)i. 



(2) Planting at such time only, and pruning of suckers-, 

 as will ensure fruiting and proper rotation during those 

 months when the highest jirices prevail. 



(.S) Care in cutting, luuidling and transporting the rii)e 

 fruit, without which everything else counts as nothing. 



A CURIOUS EAST INDIAN TREE. 



Specimens have recently been sent to the Im[)erial 

 Department of Agriculture of .some fruits and twigs of 

 Oro.ci/loii indicuiii, a native of Ceylon, Burma, India, Malaya, 

 and Cochin China. The specimens eame from a tree 

 growing at Bulkley estate, St. George, Barbados. There 

 are also specimens of this tree at Codrington College and 

 Dodds Exjieriment Suition. 



Watt in his Dictiotmri/ of the Economic ProJiicts of 

 IikUh. gives some interesting information as to the uses of 

 this tree. The bark and fruits are used as a mordant in 

 ilyeing and tanning, while the large, thin, membranous seeds 

 are emj)loyed in lining hats and are jilaced between two 

 layers of wicker work to make umbrellas. The root-bark 

 and decoctions made from it are much used medicinally by 

 the natives of India, being utilized for very various disorders, 

 both of man and other animals. The wood is yellowish- 

 white and is .said to be .so soft as to be ludit for u.se. 



The tree is a member of the natural order Jiiynoniacene, 

 and attains a height of 2-5 feet to 40 feet. The leaves are 

 2 feet to 4 feet across, and are twice or thrice ternately 

 pinnate. The flowers are white to puri>le in colour and 

 occur in racemes 10 inches long, the individual flowers being 

 2.', inches long and 2 inches to 'i\ inches aero.s.s. The fruits 

 are interesting ; they are long, sword-shaped capsules, 1 foot 

 to 3 feet long, by 2 inches to 3 inches across and only \ 

 inch thick. The seeds are disc-shaiied, white and thin ; 

 they have a thin, membranous wing all round, except at the 

 ba.sc: with the wing they may measure 3 inches by 1 j' inches, 

 and they are a very good example of an atlaptation to wind 

 distribution. 



