20 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



January 16, 1904. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



PICKING AND PACKING ORANGES 

 FOR EXPORT. 



The subject of curing oranges has already been dealt 

 with in an article in the A<jri cult oral Xeo's (Vol. II, 

 p. 101), where great stress was laid on the necessity of 

 drying the fruit before packing, so that the entrance of 

 fungi may be prevented. It is also pointed out that 

 the fruit must be so picked and packed as to prevent 

 bruising. 



In an article on the cultivation of oranges in 

 Industrial Trinidail, the writer, Mr. H. Caracciolo, 

 states that success in the orange industry mainly 

 depends on the picking and packing, and gives the 

 following directions for shippers to which we would 

 dii"ect careful attention : — 



Oranges .should be picked with a fruit picker. This 

 <'onsists of a pole to wliicli is attached a shear, under wliich 

 is hung a net-work bag to receive the fruit. 



They should be collected when full and before getting 

 yellow, care being taken in clipping the stems to leave a 

 ■small portion on the orange. 



They must then be spread in an open and airy shed and 

 left there for two or three days (deiiending on the weather) 

 to drj', but they must not be sundried. 



This process is adopted to drive away any extra moisture 

 from the rind. 



They will then be wrapped in tissue jiaper, packed 

 tightly but not S(|ueezed, as one orange tliat may get 

 damaged will very soon rot and spoil the whole box, the last 

 ■operation being to cart to port. This should be done on 

 springs as the jerking experienced by our system of carts 

 will knock them about too much and cause much damage. 

 It is also advisable to let fruits arrive at port on the day of 

 shipment to avoid unnecessary handling. Fruits should be 

 shipped to arrive in England from .July to October, but 

 August and September are preferable, and to the United 

 8tates from September to February. 



In conclusion, I .strongly recommend this business to my 

 fellow colonists who will find it very remunerative ; we must 

 not be intimidated by failures in the beginning, for nothing 

 is attained without experiencing some difficulty and disap- 

 pointment at first, but when these have been overcome, one will 

 then look with .satisfaction at the prospects that will be in 

 .store. I have had that exijerience already and paid dearly 

 for it ; but given those .shipping facilities, the rest is in our 

 hands, and the day will come when we shall recognize its 

 benefits. 



BANANAS FROM SIERRA LEONE. 



In reference to a specimen bunch of bananas 

 shipped from Sierra Leone to London, a prominent fruib 

 merchant in Covent Garden market writes : — 



It is a small bunch in a chilled condition and so 

 discoloured as to be un.saleable and unu.salile. In fact, 

 it is a very poor sample of the same variety that i.s coming 

 from Jamaica and Costa Rica, and which, if in good 

 condition, is worth only 5s. to 7«. per bunch ; while the 

 Canary Islands fruit is worth double, weight for weight, if 

 in good condition. 



It might be mentioned that the bananas that are 

 so successfully being .shipped from Barbados are 

 identical with those shipped from the Canary Islands 

 and fetch similar prices. 



PRISON FARM AT JAMAICA. 



Several references have been made in the Ar/ri- 

 cv.ltuivl Xeivfi to the success which has attended the 

 establishment of the farm at the Spanish Town prison 

 in Jamaica. The following interesting report on the 

 cultivation is taken from the December issue of the 

 Jini rn<d of the Jariuiica Aijrlcultural Socictt/ : — 



It is now a year since the first operations were 

 commenced at the Prison Farm, Spanish Town, and a visit 

 to the place now will show that it is really a model 

 cultivation. There are 10 acres under bananas, planted 16 

 by 10 feet, promising to begin shooting in January ; 3 J acre.s 

 of different varieties of rice, just rii>eni)ig in magnificent 

 condition ; 3 acres of sweet and liitter cassava, including the 

 best known local varieties, and some seedling varieties ; 

 12 acres of sweet potatos, jproviding a succession of roots for 

 use in the prison ; 1 acre of cotton giving an exceptionally 

 heavy bearing, .something like ten times the average, and 

 coming in at the best time — during the dry months of 

 January and February ; an acre of pumiikins, yielding a 

 heavy weeklj- su[)ply ; 3 acres of yams, just bearing; an acre 

 of corn ; 1 acre Guinea corn, i acre of peas, patches of peppers, 

 kallaloo, ochro.?, and i acre of kitchen garden, growing 

 tomatos, egg-iilants, turnips, carrots, cabbage, kohl-rabi, 

 potatos, etc. The cultivation has paid its way, and is likely 

 to do more. The laying out of the ground has been done 

 with excellent judgemeiit and skill, the irrigation system is 

 economical and effective, and the water can be laid on at any 

 place at any time, while the drainage .system is complete and 

 effective. 



