

-Vol. III. No. 71. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



429 



ANNATTO. 



The Aijrlodtuml L<-<l(jn; 1904— No. 12, is 

 •devoted to a review of existing infurniation ys to the 

 .annatio plant and its dye. The following extracts are 

 likely to be of interest: — 



Annatto or arnatto is a d^'e obtained from tlie coating 

 ■of the seed of an American slirub or small tree known as 

 LtJ-a ordlann. It is a plant easily cultivated, is not very 

 exacting in the matter of soil, and Las been taken to nearly 

 every country of the troijics. The flowers are showy, 

 sometimes white, sometimes pink ; and often it is grown as 

 an ornamental plant in gardens. The plant grows to a height 

 of 12 to 15 feet. The leaves are heart-shaped, sharp at the 

 end. The flowers are borne at the ends of the branches 

 in a loose bunch and are large, regular and showy. The 

 l)ods are rather urn-shaped in general outline, laterally 

 compressed and slightly beaked above ; they are covered 

 with weak prickles. .\i full maturity they ci-ack open 

 from the beak downwards, along the two edges and 

 expose the seeds. The annatto harvest begins when two or 

 three of the pods of a bunch are gaping slightly : then is the 

 time to cut oti' the whole and to take them to any suitable 

 Ijlace for shelling out the seeds. These seeds are either dried 

 t-arefully in the sun and sent into the market as they are, or 

 «lse the dye is prepared from them by one of the processes to 

 be described. 



CULTIVATION. 



The cultivation of Bixa is very simple, and the bush 

 has few enemies. The first return comes in the second year. 



Seeds from which the dye may have been washed are 

 sown at the beginning of the rains about 7 to 8 feet apart in 

 prepared soil. Two or three seeds may be put into each 

 hole, and ultimately the weaker seedings eliminated, or else 

 the seedlings may be grown in a nursery and planted out at 

 the distance named. On the fattest lands the intermediate 

 plants may ultimately have to be removed, so that the bushes 

 may stand 1-5 feet apart. As the young plants come up 

 a little shade is given either by placing large leaves over 

 them to protect them during the heat of the day, or by 

 putting mats over them. AVhen they are a foot high they 

 may be considered to be established and need no further 

 shade. Weeding is necessary until by their own gniwth they 

 so cover the ground as to keep weeds down. Pruning is 

 desirable to make the plant bushy ; for the flowers are borne 

 on the ends of the branches. 



Annatto plants make good hedges and may be used for 

 ■wind-breaks for other kinds of cultivation. 



YIELD. 



The yield per acre is set down ut 61 to Ih niaunds* of 

 seeds, and as 9 to 10 seers of seed will give one seer of the 

 prepared dye, it is 26 to 30 seers of dye. The fjrst full crop 

 may be set down at -5 cwt. (-1 mds.) of seed per acre ; the 

 subse(|uent crops increasing. 



The markets for it now are chiefly in Europe and North 

 America, and the chief countries supplying it are Brazil, 

 French Guiana or Cayenne, the French West Indies, and, to 

 a less extent, the British West Indies. Ceylon and Madras 

 also send a small ([uantity of seed to Europe. The annatto 

 of Cayenne obtains the highest price, and in France it 

 may, sold in bulk, touch at times 200 francs per 100 

 kilos. The less valuable kinds sell at much lower prices, 

 down even to .30 francs per 100 kilos. An average price 



* One niaund = 40 seers = 9-8 gallons. [Ed. A. X] 



in Germany seems to be about 80 marks per 100 kilos. 

 [Aboiit £-2 per cwt.] 



PKEl'ARATIOX. 



The [ireparation of annatto in any form is qvute 

 •a simple one. Tlie better stutt' is made in the following 

 way :— 



The seeds, taken out of the capsules, are placed in 

 a receptacle, and hot water is poured over them until they 

 are well covered : they are then stirred for a considerable 

 time until the colouring matter has been washed oft'. That 

 done, the liquor and seeds are seiiarated by straining through 

 any suitable material. The former carries with it all that is 

 of value, and is set to stand so tliat the dye may fall to the 

 bottom ; the latter are thrown away. When all the dye has 

 settled, the supernatant water is poured oft' as far as possible, 

 and the fine residue placed in the shade where the rest of the 

 water may evaiiorate without the aid of artificial heat. As 

 soon as the mass is dry enough to be kneaded, it is moulded 

 by hand into rolls or cakes and these are put by until they 

 are perfectly hard. When moulded they are wrapped in 

 clean leaves, plantain or banana, and when dry they are 

 packed in layers in boxes. 



COCO-DE-MER. 



In his report on the Botanic Station in Seychelles 

 for 1903, Mr. R. Dupont, the Curator, makes the 

 following reference to the interesting double cocoa-nuts 

 known as ' coco-de-mer' (Lodoirea sixli'dlarum): — 



The exportation of double cocoa-nuts from Seychelles 

 reaches about 300 per annum. These curious fruits are 

 princii)ally exported to. India. They should be made 

 known much more in .lava, !Malay Peninsula, China, 

 Philippines, Australia, Cuba, etc., where they could be 

 euiployed in sugar factories for the extraction of sugar from 

 the centrifugals. By cutting the two lobes lengthwise, a nut 

 can be made to produce two very large bowls, each capable 

 of containing 5 It), to 10 lb. of sugar. These bowls are 

 extensively used in Mauritius for this purpose and cannot be 

 replaced by metallic vessels which injure the copper wire of 

 the centrifugals or are soon oxidized. The coco-de-mer bowl 

 is besides extremely light and durable. 



The nuts also contain a very hard kernel which has been 

 sent home for report as to the possibility of using it as are the 

 other vegetable ivory-like substances in different manufac- 

 tories. It is difticult to find a bigger mass of vegetable ivory 

 than the one which is contained in the coco-de-mer nut. 



It might be mentioned that some of these nuts 

 were obtained from Seychelles for the Botanic Station 

 at Dominica. Mr. Jones stated in his report for 1903-i 

 that two of the four seeds were growing nicely. 



Technical Education in Agriculture. In an 



article in the U.S. Munth/i/ Consular Jinpoiis on ' Technical 

 Education, the basis of German Industrial Progress,' the 

 Consul-General at Berlin makes the following reference to 

 agricultural education : 'The careful analyses of soils and the 

 skilfid use of chemical and other fertilizers to meet exactly the 

 deficit in essential elements have revolutionized agriculture ia 

 this country. It is due largely to the work of expert 

 chemists that the percentage of saccharine centent in sugar 

 beets has been raised from 'y'2 per cent, in 1840, to 13 per 

 cent, in recent years, whereby the whole German sugar- 

 industry was saved from collapse.' 



