244 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



November 22, 1902. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



PACKING ORANGES. 



On page 230 of this Joiiiiial \vc drew attention to 

 the pamphlet by Mr. W. B. Gill on JdiiKiica Fruit 

 ill British Maflrtv. The following extracts on the 

 method of packing Valencia oranges should be of 

 value to all orange shippe>rs in the West Indies. 

 Throughout will be seen the cardinal importance of 

 paying careful attention to all details however trivial 

 and unimportant they may seem: — 



These are invariahly shipped in three standard sizes — 

 420's, 714's and 1,0G4'k. The lioxes in which these quantities 

 are packed, are each of about the same dimensions, but 

 much larger than the American style of box used in .Jamaica. 

 The Valencia box instead of one partition has two, thus 

 giving three compartments, ft is longer and broader and 

 deei)er than the American box, and is made out of whitish 

 wood. Its slit; are thin and run the whole length of the 

 bo.x, but have wide openings between each .slat, in each of 

 the four sides of the box. In addition to the usual nailing, 

 each box is strajiped once lengthways and twice at each 

 end, often three times crossways, with a strong tiat rope, 

 lialf an inch wide and evidently made out of some kind of 

 grass grown in Spain. It is doulitfnl if this rope can be 

 .supplied cheaper than the usual willow straps such as are 

 used by the American shiiipers, but at all events it goes to 

 prove that no labour or expense is considered too great to 

 ensure flu Ijoxcs arriving at their destination in a perfectly 

 sound condition. 



Too nuich attenticin cannot be paid ti) these scirts of 

 things. It i.s the little things that count. I have seen 

 frnit put on board steamers at Kingston in condensed milk 

 lioxes ; yes, and even in cases in which tins of kerosene 

 had ipreviously been shipped. 1 have also .seen tlimsy crates 

 used at times because the p.irties thought they were 

 econonnzing on the expenditure of a few pence extra 

 for tluMdUghly .strong, sound, and suitable packages. 

 I may here uiention a case where I recently received 

 twenty crates of mangos, more than half of which were 

 broken in transit, owing to their being too frail for such a 

 jdinncy • "^"d yet, these same crates are used largely in the 

 I'lutcd States for jiacking and shipping tomatos. Putting 

 valuable good frnit into a frail, llimsy crate, is the same as 

 jiutting new ^^ine into old bottles; and I'ight here it is 



always well to jiut the question to one's self before shipiiing 

 fruit away : ' Will those jiackages stand a bit of knocking 

 about?' Always he on the sjife side. Never mind about 

 extra freights, extra expense. There nuist be no cheese- 

 ])aring for the successful fruit-shipper, otherwi.se he had 

 better stay out of the business. If your fruit is of any value, 

 first of all satisfy yourself it will reach the other side in A. 1 

 order or else it would be nmch better to keep ycfur money iu 

 your pocket. 



It ajipears hardly credible that 1,064 oranges can be 

 placed in one box and yet withstand transjiortation, and 

 arrive in perfect condition after ten days. Yet this is what 

 is done by growers in Spain, and thisnundier is one of their 

 standard sizes. The 'N'alencia orange grower and shiiiper 

 has un(piestionably got the business down to a very fine 

 point. He has made a scientitic study of it, and it has paid 

 ium for his study. It remains to be seen if the .Jamaica 

 shipper will follow on the same lines. Exiierimental and 

 haphazard shipments will never i>ay. They nuist be made 

 steadily, regularly, and carefully manipulated in order to 

 win. 



CULTIVATION OF BANANAS. 



I'L.VXTINC. 

 The following notes on planting bananas arc 

 taken from the Hoii'ble Wni. Fawcett's paper in the 

 HV.S-/ Iiitlian Biilletii), Vol. III., pp. 1.5:^-171, in 

 continuation of those given on page 228 of o\ir last 

 i.ssue : — 



TIMK To rl.ANT. 



If the aim is to get the main crop iu for the American 

 market from March to .June, planting is generally done from 

 January to .\[iril. Otherwise planting may go on at any 

 time wiien rain or irrigation water can be relied on to help 

 on the voung plants. There is no doubt, however, that 

 March aiid April is the best time for planting when all 

 vegetation is springing natiually. In April there are alway.s 

 showers which help to start the eyes of the bulb in putting 

 out leaves and roots, and when the May rains come, the 

 young suckers rush along faster than at any other time of 

 the year. 



