Vol. III. No. 56. 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



181 



WEST 



INDIAN 



FRUIT. 



BARBADOS BANANAS. 



The following is an extract from a letter from the 

 Secretary of the West Indian Club (W. A. M. Goode, 

 Esq.), dated London, Ma}- 2, addressed to the 

 Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture for the West 

 Indies : — 



I at once [mt your kind suggestion into execution and 

 at the last Club dinner, held on April 27, ive enjoyed the 

 Barbados bananas and sweet {lotatos sent up liy Messrs. Pink 

 i Sons. Some twenty or thirty members were present and 

 all expressed themselves as highly pleased with the quality 

 ot the product : the bananas were e.si)ecially good. They 

 were all labelled 'Barbados,' so that the island got full 

 credit, and in addition I made a little speech in which I 

 informed those present how the bananas came to be on the 

 table. I have written Messrs. Pink saying that I shall be 

 glad to help them in any way I can, and Mr. Itutherford, of 

 Wilkinson ife Caviller, who presided at the dinner, has also 

 written to them and sent a list of names of people to whom 

 they might send samples and get business. Several merchants 

 here that night expressed gratified surprise at the ciuality of 

 the bananas, and I have no doubt from what 1 hear, that 

 the Barbados trade in banana.s will profit by your suggestion 

 to the West Indian Clulj. 



HANDLING AND PACKING FRUIT. 



Mr. R. L. Young writes in the current number of 

 the Bulletin of the Jamaica Department of Ar/rl- 

 cidtwre on the subject of handling and packing fruit as 

 follows: — 



Let me sommence by stating that most of my experience 

 in handling fruit of all kinds, more especially of citrus fruit, 

 has been in cultivated groves; as I have never had any 

 satisfactory results in handling our wild citrus fruit, owing 

 to the inability to control the labourers, whilst scattered all 

 over the pastures. In a cultivated grove the trees are 

 followed row by row, one person with clipping sheers with 

 round points, meant for that purpose, whilst a child follows 

 with a padded basket to receive the fruit. Any fruits 

 slipping from the hand or touching the ground ever so 

 lightly are rejected. The fruits are not taken from the trees 

 in one picking, the thoroughl}- ripe ones are selected first, 

 a preference being given to those that are clean, bright 

 coloured, well shaped, firm, and smooth, as most likely 

 to command good prices; at the same time, by this method 

 the trees are lightened, and assisted to bring on the later 



fruit. Another advantage of our cultivated over the wild 

 fruits is that they can be stem cut right away from the trees, 

 thereby avoiding the veiy conunon danger of tearing the 

 skin, when the gatherers have to climb the trees to pull 

 them. 



The fruit should be jjicked at least three or four days 

 and spread out in the packing house, before attempting to 

 pack them, allowing the rind to shrink and lose its surplus 

 moisture. If packed immediately after picking they will 

 sweat in the boxes, even at an ordinary temperature, and the 

 contents of the box become damp, and are in danger of rot 

 and decay. Another advantage gained by allowing the 

 fruits to shrink is that the skin becomes more pliable and 

 yielding, and the fruits are better able to stand the pressure 

 of packing, at the same time bringing to light any with 

 imperfections, such as }irickle marks, scratches, or bruises, 

 which can be rejected forthwith. 



The packing of oranges has now been reduced to a fine 

 art, and the box usually used is the standard one of 

 26 X Hi X Hi inche.s, boxes being much preferred to 

 barrels, owing to greater convenience in handling them. 



The oranges are then wrapped and packed. The old 

 .system of bringing one orange directly on the top of the 

 other has been discarded. They are now alternated, so that 

 each orange comes over the sjiace between two, giving the 

 whole more solidity and elasticity, and the fruit, as a result, 

 sustains less injury from rough handling. 



The sizes of the oranges are regulated, a big and a small 

 one never being put in the same box. For this purpose 

 a sizer is used, which heli's to simjilify matters very much, 

 boxes being arranged to hold 96, 112, 126, 150, 176, 200, 

 216, 2.50. 



The fruits are then packed closely and firmly in the bo.v, 

 so that there will be no room for them to tumble about and 

 be bruised. Next, a thin cover is placed on, and held in 

 position by two thin cleats across the top ends, the centre of 

 the top being left free. 



The distinguishing brand is then placed on either end, 

 and the number contained in the box is carefully printed on 

 the side. 



The Moon Flower. We should be glad to obtain 

 information as to the occurrence in the West Indies, in the 

 wild or cultivated state, of the Jloon Flower, Ipomoea, 

 }>omi-Nox (Calonyction speciosum). As the juice of this plant 

 can be used for coagulating the latex of Castilloa elastica, 

 it is desirable that the vine should be examined with a view 

 to determining its constituents. 



