84 



THK A(ilUCULTUlJAL NEWS. 



July 



1902. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



PACKING ORANGES. 



At the West Indian Asfricultural ("ont'iTcncc hcl'l 

 in I!K)(), Mr. Hart, thf Sui>fiintcn(lciit of the Knyal 

 liotanie Cianlons, 'I'linidail, read a j)a]K'r on 'the Pack- 

 ing and Transport of plants, fruits and seeds' ( 11 fv? 

 Iii<rt(fn Ballctin, Vol. J., y. 2})G) containing valuable 

 .suggestions and rules for observance in the ])acking and 

 transjuirt of fruit. In his .1 K/ncf^ llt'jKirl for l!l()l-2, 

 Jlr. Halt suggests the following rules to be complied 

 with in packing oranges for exjjort, to ensui-e the safe 

 tiansport of the fruit, in go(xl oi'der, to distant 

 markets: — 



(1) Pick on a dry day, witliout bruising;, 'stem cutting' 

 the orange froai the trc?, not (lulling or shiikinj; down the 

 fruit. .\ny or.ingo which falls .should lie vcjcrtcd, as it will 

 iissureilly spoil others. 



{i) Dry for two or thrje days by spicivdin-; carefully 

 in a .single layer on a boarded floor, where there is plenty ot 

 air — until the skin becomes sli.;litly leathery. 



(3) Wraj) each orange .singly, and pack in lio\es contain- 

 ing not more than a single cubit foot in each division, and 

 pack tightly so that they do not brui.se each other in 

 transit. Tlie bo.\es should be made with air spaces between 

 tlie .slats. It is inipiirtaat to rcMuemher that Oiangv.> arc us 

 UndfV as e/j'js an<l should lie handled as carefully. 



the .scion at the point at which it is of the s.inic diameter as 

 the stock (it may be X, 9 or 10 inches from tiic tip of the 

 shout) and opiiosite the cut on the latter. 



Place the two cuts to^'ethcr at once and tie tij,ditly with 

 ralKa or grafting tape. Allow them to remain for two months, 

 waterini; carefully meantime ; at the end of which time a 

 small notch is made with a very sharp knife on the scion 

 just liclow, and on the opposite side to, the union. Eight or 

 ten days later the notch is made deeper by cutting out a 

 little more wood ; this time nearly severing the scion from 

 the tree. 



A week after take a sharp \\.\\v of shears and comiilete 

 the cut. 



Take the j^raftcd plants at once to a cool, moist corner 

 out of tjic reach of hot dry wind. 



Two weeks later the top of the stock may be cut otf 

 close down to the mnon. 



.\fter si.x weeks' stay in the cool, moist corner, they m.iy 

 be fjr.idually hardened otf to the conditions of the iilantation, 

 and when ready can be planted out. 



licniovc the raltia or grafting tiqie when the first young 

 leaves be.;in to il'vclop on ths sjion. 



GRAFTING NUTMEGS. 



The advantages to be derived from ilic miploy- 

 meut of grafted nutmeg j)lants ii.wc bom i-eferred to 

 on page (ii) of this Journal. In iho /u/'or/ on the 

 Jamaica Botanic (iardens f.r IIXM), Mr. I". .1. Ilanis 

 gives the following ]H'.iet i'';d directions joi- gr.iliing 

 initmegs:— - 



Stocks ready for i,'r.iltin,^ ten niontlis after .sowing; 

 still in band>oos. 



Select the tree whicli liears the largest nus, construct 

 rough but level stages of ditferent hcijlhts around the tii'c ; 

 draw some of the main branches down to the stages with 

 wire attai'lieil to pegs driven into the grounil, plr.ce moss er 

 <loth under the wire to )aevent its cutting the bark of the 

 lirjim-li. Till' stningest only of the shoots should lie used as 

 .scions. 



Cut a thin .slice of the bark from the siilc of the 

 seidling stock taking care to cut through the caniUinm, this 

 cut to be aliout "J inches long and about 1 inches froiu the 

 base of the plant. .Make a corresponding cut in the side of 



BANANA DISEASE IN EGYPT. 



In the A(jri<iilt(ir<il AVr'.s of April 2.5, last, (p.7) 

 reference is made to a disease of bananas in Kgvpt. 

 The variety chieHy ctiltivated there is similar to the 

 ("anarv baii.ma, viz., the welbknown Chinese or dwarf 

 banana, also common in the West Indies. The disease 

 is apparently cjxused by nematode \vorm.s attacking the 

 roots. Similar worms { H etc role r<i) attack the sugar 

 bi'et. cotton, cow-pea, coffee and many other ctdtivatod 

 plants. Further, tin' banana in Fiji, New .South Wales 

 and Queensland is al.so afi'cjted by the.se pests. So f:ir 

 a banana disea.se a.s.sociated with nematodes doe.s not 

 seem to have been noticed in tlic West Indies. A.s 

 liowevi'r the cultivation of bananas over large are;us ha.s 

 been undertaken in Jamaica and may po.ssibly be 

 carried on in other islands, i)ests which may have been 

 present for years are not uidikely to make themselves 

 felt undi'r the new c^onditioiis. Conseipiently it woidd 

 not be surprising if this bauaii.i disease made its 

 ai)pearance sooner or later in the West Iinlies. It will 

 not be out of place therefore, to indicjite the symjitoms 

 of the Kgyptian disease^ and suggest possible reiui'dies. 

 Tlie phints attacked suffer a sudden check in 



