230 



THE AGRICULTURAL XKWS. 



NovEMBEr. 8, 1802. 



EDITORIAL NOTICES. 



Letters and matter for imblicatioii, as well as all 

 siicoiincns for nainiiii; should lit' addres.seil to tlic Commis- 

 sioner, Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 Barbados. 



It is particularly reque.sfed that no letters lie addressed 

 to any nieniljer of the stati' by name Surii a eourse may 

 entail delay. 



Conmiunications should always bo written on one side 

 of the paper only. It .sliould be understood that no contri- 

 butions or specimens will, in any case, be returned. 



All application for copies of the 'Agricultural 

 News' should be addressed to the Agents, and 



not to the Department. A comitlete list of the London 

 and Loral agents will Ijc found on page 2.'i'J of this 

 number. 



(_'orrespon<lents sending newspapers should be careful to 

 mark the paragrajilis they wish to bring under notice. 



^flricultiiral DeiuH 



Vol. L SATURDAY, XOVKMBElt S, 1902. Xo. 1.-). 



NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



Packing for Export. 



Tlie- Jaiaaio.i JJdili/ Tt'h'fJiVjili for October IS 

 savs: — 'The m-ticie in the Af/riciilturiil A^ews on 

 " Packing tor Export " is timely and woleome. We 

 sincerely hope that the le.s.sons therein will be taken 

 deeply to heart by our (.)\vn siiippers, esjiecially e.xpor- 

 ter.s of citrus fruits.' 



Jamaica Fruit in British Markets. 



Tiie Agricultural Society ofJaniaica has issued a 

 report witli the above title, dealing principally with 

 the su))ply of oranges and pine-ap[)les to the British 

 niirki'ts. The p,niip!ilet is essentially practical 

 throughout, and shows clearly that it is only by 

 scrupulous care and attention <k'Voted to the selection, 

 grading, wra])ping and ])acking of their fruit that the 

 orange growers of the South of Europe put their 

 produce on the market in such excellent condition. 

 ■ N<. thing but the best' Mr. W. B. (Jill, the author, 

 suggests as the orangi' shipj)ers' motto, and he adds, 

 ' not only does this appl}- to the fruit itself, for many 

 iv batch of magnificent fruit has been practically thrown 

 away through worthless ))acking — but also to the 

 <|uality of the ])aper used : the care in wrapping: the 

 neatness in]ia<'king; and the damage-resisting (pialities 

 of the box.' 



Although wiitten principally for Jamaica, this 

 ])am])hlet is well worth the careful study of all fiuit 

 shippers throughout the West Indies. 



Instruction in Onion Cultivation. 



We drew attc'iition on page 1!)I) to the work being 

 done by Travelling Instructors in the various islands. 

 The following ailvertisement from the Mdiifscrnit 

 Hvi\ill supplies an instance of .such work in actual 

 practice : — 



'Recently imported onion seed may be i detained 

 at (irove Station at '•ix. Cil. ner lb. 



'A trained man will be sent out upon aj)plicatioa 

 to give advice and to sow the seed free of cost to the 

 ap]tlicants if their land is near either of the Experiment 

 Stations, or upon the payment of the cost of horse-hire 

 if the land is at a distance.' 



West Indian Products in England. 



On page 22(i of this mnnber appears an article by 

 Mr. John K. Jackson, A.L.S., on the recent sales of 

 West Indian drugs and spices in the London market. 

 ^Ir. Jackson was until recently the Curator <jf the 

 Museums at the Royal Gardens, Kew. In this position 

 he acquired an intimate acquaintance with many of 

 the vegetable productions of the world. A portion of 

 this knowledge h<> has placed on permanent record in 

 his Ctiiii iiirri-idl Biitdiij of tlic J\' ineti'i'iith t'cntu.ri/, 

 published in LS!)0. It is hoped that the present 

 article will be the first of a series, giving a summary of 

 the markets with especial reference to the products of 

 more particular interest in the West Indies. 



Selection of Fruit for Export. 



Amongst the points we have bi-ought from time to 

 time to the notict^ of shippers of t'ruit, are the necessity 

 for good packing, and for c.irefid selection. 



In the case of grap '-fruit, for instance, it i.s 

 not sufficient to export any and ever}' grape-fruit, as 

 the following extract from the Circular of Messrs. 

 (iillcsjiie Brotln'rs, for O.-toberlT, shows: — -'Upwards of 

 l,-5()0 barrels ot grape-fruit have came forward during 

 the last two weeks, some of which have been .sold ati 

 auction. Foi- genuine fruit of good appearance and largo 

 size, favourable ])rices ha\e been realized, but uudiT 

 this description fell only an inconsiderable i)ortion of 

 the receipts. 'I'he bulk consisted of very small fruit, 

 not larger th.-m medium-sized m'.-uiges, and ofl'ers no 

 attraction to the usual buyers of grajie-fruit. Small 

 gra,pe-fruit is perlL-qis not worth as much nionry a.s 



Banana Cultivation in the Canaries. 



.\uiongst the ' Departnient.d Reports' in this i.ssue 

 will be found a s\numary of the i-oiidition of the b.inana 

 trade in the Canaiy islands, 'I'he large piotits of the 

 piv.st have, it is said, induced some ])lanters to enter 

 the trade with the recklessness of a gambler, paying 

 as much as ,£2.'50 per acre for land. 



