THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



January 2, 1904. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



THE COMPOSITION OF PINE-APPLES 

 AND MANGOS. 



i\Ir. H. H. Cousins, M.A., F.C.S., publishes in the 

 Bulletin (if the Department of A/jrieultun', Jamaica, 

 for November, the results of anal3-ses of ])ine-apples 

 and mangos made at the Governir.cnt Laborator}-, 

 Jamaica. Some of the results obtained are particularly 

 interesting as showing the value of these fruits as 

 food. The following is a brief siimmary of the results 

 recorded in Mr. Cousins' paper: — 



In the case of the i)iiie-ajiples, reju'esentatives of nine 

 different varieties glowing at Hope Gaidens were analysed. 

 It is stated that the specinieiis were average fruits and may 

 be taken as typical of pine-ajiples iiroducible on the lighter 

 soils of the Liguanea [ilain. The table of proportional 

 parts — showing the )iroiio)tion of top, rind, tore and edible 

 parts — brings out the great advantage to the purchaser of the 

 ' Smooth Cayenne.' This variety with its particularly thin 

 rind, contains 85"8 per cent, of edible matter; the remaining 

 varieties average only about 55 per cent. The Uipley 

 varieties, on the other hand, possess a large amount of rind, 

 and this reduces the proportion of edible matter to about 

 55 per cent. 



Turning to the chemical coraiwsition of the edible 

 portion, wc find the advantage rests with the 'liiplej-s,' which 

 contain about 20 jier cent, of solid matter and 14 per cent. 

 of sugar. The 'Smooth Cayeinie' has 16 percent, of total 

 solids and 1 2'5 jier cent, of sugar. The ' Queen ' pine-apj)le 

 also shows a high sugar-content. Mr. Cousins summarizes 

 the results thus : — ' Some of our varieties, such as " Sam 

 Clarke," " Cheese " and "Cow Boj-," are decidedly inferior. 

 The " Queen '' and the " liipleys" are the sweetest varieties, 

 and are, for local consumption, unsurpassed. For commer- 

 cial purposes, however, the superior eating qualities of the 

 "Eipley " are more than counterbalanced by the greater size, 

 finer apjiearance and edible economy of the " Smooth 

 Cayenne." ' 



Four varieties of mangos were analysed, viz., ' Xo. II,' 

 'Yam,' 'Bombay' and ' 151ack.' The superiority of the 

 ' Bombay,' so far as etlible economj' is concerned, is most 

 marked. It contains GS'l per cent, of edible matter, as 

 against 599 in ' Xo. II,' 552 in ' Yam ' and 53-6 in ' Black.' 

 This, of course, is chiefly due to the small size of the stone, 

 so characteristic of these eastern varieties. 



In the matter of sugar-content, however, the 'Black' 

 leads with IG'66 per cent., the 'Yam' containing the least 

 sugar, viz., 9"52. The 'Bla^k' also contains a much 



higher proportion of .solid matter than the other varieties. 

 (_)f this mango Mr. Cousins states: 'As a food the "Black" 

 mango holds the first jilace. A content of 22 per cent, of 

 total solids, containing 1 7 i)er cent, of sugar, is truly remark- 

 able for a fruit of this character.' 



THE FOOD VALUE OF FRUITS. 



Sn^-der, in his Cliemistry of Plant and Aninuil 

 Life, writes as folhnvs on the food value of fruits : — 



Fruits contain a large amount of water and a small 

 amount of dry matter. The dry matter is composed 

 mainly of non-nitrogenous compountls, such as starch and 

 sugar. These foods all contain small amounts of nitrogenous 

 compounds, of which the larger portion is in non-jiroteid 

 forms. Organic acids, in small amounts, and essential oils 

 are characteristic features. 



When judged only on the l^asis of the nutrients 

 present, many fruits would be assigned a low place in the 

 list of foods, as they contain only comparatively small 

 amounts. Most fruits are used in the dietai-y, not so much 

 with the view of supplying nutrients as for other purposes. 

 The organic acids, essential oils and soluble mineral 

 compounils, together with the digestible form in which the 

 nutrients are present, are the factors which give fruits their 

 unique value. The organic acids and essential oils impart 

 palatability and assist functionally in the digestive process. 

 Some fruits, such as figs and prunes, contain chemical 

 compounds which are laxative in character. In the human 

 ration, fresh fruits are as essential, and occupy the same 

 position, as roots and vegetables in stock rations. 



THE LEMON TRADE IN SICILY. 



The following is an extract from a letter from His 

 Majesty's Consul at Palermo to the Secretary of State 

 for Foreign Affairs, published in the Dominica Official 

 Gazette of November 28, in which information is given 

 on the prospects of the green fruit trade in Palermo : — 



The fruit on the trees is abundant, but small ; the crop 

 is likely to be about 50 per cent, better than last year. 

 The demand is feeble and prices low. This month, already 

 25,000 boxes have been exported, to 16,000 for the Sivme 

 period last year ; half of this was last season's crop and half 

 green fruit of this season's harvest. The low grade fruit 

 not worth exfiorting is used for extracting the acid for the 

 formation of citrate or else acetic [ ? citric ] acid. It sells 

 locally for Is. >^(l. per 1,000, at which price it does not pay 

 for the gathering. 



