Vol. I. No. 17. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



26.3 



The Introduction of New Vegetables. 



An intiTosting instMiicf of the difficulties experi- 

 enced in uttenipting to introduce a new vegetable into 

 any locality is given by Mr. P. MacOwan, Governnient 

 Botanist at the Cape of Good Hope. He received 

 a dozen fruits of the Christophine or Cho-cho, and in 

 the hope of bringing this excellent vegetable to general 

 notice at the Cape distributed thcni throughout the 

 Colony. One grower was very successful and soon had 

 a croj) of ninety fruit.s. Efforts were made to bring 

 them prominently to notice but without much success. 

 Mr. MacUwan continues : — 



' Two or three other amateur gardeners now havi; 

 the plant, but it is ilisa])pointing to find that it has not 

 been taken by the purveyors of (jur vegetable market, 

 and is onl}' known to a few people as a curiosity. I 

 dare say if we had on record the primeval history of 

 the cabbage or of the turnip, we should find that the 

 man who first grew and ate the esculent novelties was 

 similarly (lisa])pointed when he pressed them upon 

 the attention of his prehistoric neighbours. They no 

 doubt, askeil why we should venture to eat such new- 

 fangled stuff, when there was such an abundance of 

 acorns to be had — a food which had stood the test of 

 centurie.s, and had been eaten by their forefathers 

 from time immemorial.' 



Exportation of Fruit. 



The article on ' Packing Oranges' on page 244 of 

 our last issue and that on ' Oranges in the Sale Room ' 

 on page 2()0 of this number give a good idea of the 

 careful methods adopted by the Valencia orange ship- 

 pers, and the excellent results achieved. The high 

 standard attained by the Valencia exporters is well 

 indicated by the description given of the orange boxes, 

 containing their 'even rows of beautifully graded 

 fruit, with the wraj)ping uniform and intact, and the 

 whole box and its contents perfectly symmetrical.' 

 Moreover it is reported that ' except towards the close 

 of the season, the fruit rarely ever needs inspection, so 

 perfect and uniform is the condition in which it arrives.' 



With this pleasing picture before us, it is distress- 

 ing to read of the condition in which some, at any rate 

 of the Jamaica fruit reaches New York (see page ^(iO). 



Until this evil is remedied it is impossible for 

 West Indian fruit to secure the confidence of buyers in 

 foreign markets, and until this confidence is obtained, 

 the West Indian ex]>ort fruit trade cannot hojjo to 

 succeed. 



Sugar-cane Pests at Hawaii. 



The notes on page 258 show that the sugar 

 planter in Hawaii is troubled by pests very similar 

 to those affecting the canes in the West Indies. The 

 Hawaiian planter is fortunate in not having to cope 

 with the moth-borer, although as we showed on 

 page 115, this formidable pest was nearly introduced 

 recently in a barrel of plants from British Guiana. 



A Cane Loader. 



A mechanical device capable of performing this 

 portion of reaping a cane crop has long been a desidera- 

 tum. The L<ii( isitnt<( Planter reports that a machine, 

 a<lapted to this end, is now in active operation on many 

 plantations in Louisiana. At one trial twenty-two cars 

 were loaded in two hours fifty-five minutes, the loads 

 varying between 2,400 and 3,000 It), each. 



Broom Corn. 



Large quantities of brushes, brooms, etc., made of 

 broom C(_)rn are .annually imported into the various 

 West Indian islands. If the plant ))rodueiiig the 

 brooms could be grown locally, a considei-able industry- 

 might in time be developed and the money now sent 

 out of the country for these articles be retained, with 

 corresponding advantage to lo3al agriculturists. 



The bi'oom corn is a close relative of the ordinary 

 Sorghum or (iuinea corn which does so well here, and 

 there seemed no reason why it should not thrive in the 

 West Indies. To test this point a small plot was 

 grown last year at the Botanic Station, Antigua, with 

 very successful results. The arrows were dried, cured 

 and made up into small brushes, which were exhibited 

 at the Agricultural Exhibition in February. 



We have recently seen a small patch of broom 

 corn in Barbados, in excellent condition. 



There would appear to be no reason why this jjlant 

 should not be more extensively grown and the produce 

 made into brooms, etc., for local sale and use. 



Malaria and Mosquitos iu the Campapna. 



The Dijilomatic and Consular Report No. 2S!)(j, 

 on the Tntili' <»/' Umnc <ind District for 1901 contains 

 some interesting notes relative to the success of the 

 etTorts made to cope with malaria in the Campagna. 

 ' Government and the public have been of late most 

 strenuously grappling with the malady that infested 

 the district for so many centuries, j)laying great havoc 

 with the inhabitants. The majority of the cottages 

 are now provided with wire nets so as to pievent the 

 intrusion of mosquitos.' 



From the subjoined table, which gives the per- 

 centage of fever-stricken in the Campagna at various 

 periods since 1888, the reader will perceive the great 

 improvement achieved, especially since 1897, when the 

 mosquito theory was advanced : — 



Year. N'lunJicr of Percentage of 



inhahitunix. fever-stricken. 



1888 7,898 21-4G 



1891 8,074 1(5-76 



1894 7,99(j 20-00 



1897 9,209 6-54 



1900 12,276 3-73 



