Vol. J VIII. No. 439. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



61 



SOLANUM MAORANTHUM. 



• Mr. R. O. Williams, Superintendent, Royal Botanic Gar- 

 dens. Trinidad, in an article in the Bulletin ''of the Department 

 of Agriculture, Trinidad and Tobago, Vo. XVII. Part 3, says 

 that one of the most conspicuous objects in the serial grounds 

 of the St. Clair Experiment Station for many months past 

 has been a tree of Solanum macrantkum, seeds of which were 

 received from the Horticultural Section of the Egyptian 

 Ministry of Agriculture in 1916. 



The seedlings were raised in boxes in the nursery, and 

 transplanted when a few weeks old into a Jjed. Growth was 

 then so rapid that in a short time all except one had to be 

 removed to allow room for growth, and at the age of two 

 y«ars and one month this one is now 30 feet high, with a 

 spread of branches of equal measurement. 



The plant commenced to flower when but a few months 

 old, and has never been without flowers since, although at 

 certain times they are more abundant than at others. The 

 flowers are about 3 inches in diameter, and make a 

 magnificent show, as flowers of several tints are borne by the 

 plants at the same time. This is due to. the fact that the 

 corolla on first opening is of a rich, bluish violet colour, 

 changing when a day old to a paler blue, and later fading to 

 a bluish white. A curious fact is that the flowers become 

 larger with age, the deep-coloured one-day old flowers being 

 much smaller than those two or three days old. The bright 

 yellow anthers, united, as in all species of Solanum, in a 

 column of about i-inch arso in length, are very conspicuous. 



The main trunks and branches, as well as the petioles and 

 main ribs of the leaves, are armed with strong, sharp spines. 

 The large, dark green, deeply cut leaves add to the 

 beauty of the tree. The fruit is about the size of a golf ball 

 containing a large number of small seeds. ,_ 



Macmillan, in A Handbook of Tropical Gardening and 

 Planting, describes it as 'a medium-sized, quick-growing, and 

 soft- wooded tree of Brazil, ireaching a height of 40 to .50 feet.' 

 He adds that 'this is the only species of the potato order 

 that grows into a tree form'. 



Owing to the rapidity of the growth of Solanum 

 maerant/ium, Mr Williams thinks that it may be worth 

 while experimenting with as a stock on which to bud the egg 

 plant {Solanum melongena), And seedlings have been raised by 

 him, with this object in view, on which buds have been 

 inserted. Although at the time of his writing the article the 

 buds had made good growth, it was too early for him to say 

 definitely whether the plant will prove useful for the 

 purpose. It may, he thinks, prove too strong a stock. 



As a decorative plant Solanum mafranthum, or, as Mac- 

 millan calls it in the book referred to above, 'tree potato', is 

 meeting with great admiration in Trinidad, and the first batch 

 of seedlings raised have already been disposed of to numerous 

 people. Owing to the prolific way, however, in which it 

 produces seed, and the easy manner in which seedlings can be 

 raised, tJiere is no trouble in supplying plants. Several plants 

 aje .now established in various parts of the Royal Botanic 

 Gardens, Trinidad. Probably trees of this species do not 

 l;ve many years. 



For ornamental purposes this tree would seem well 

 worth being introduced into others of these West Indies, . 

 although perhaps it is already found in some of them. In the 

 Annual Report on the Agricultural Depsirtment, St. Vincent, 

 1908-9, it is stated that •Solanum robits/um, seeds of which 

 were received last year from Uganda, flowered. It promises 

 to be a most useful decorative plant. The flowers resemble 

 those of S. }yeiidlandii,a.lthoxigh they are of a somewhat dar- 



ker shade.' Mr. Williams, however, thinks that there may be 

 some mistake in the name given to the plant in St. Vincent, 

 owing to the fact that a plant was brought from St. Vincent 

 under the name 5. robusfum by Sir Norman Lamont in 1912, 

 which flowered freely at Sir Norman's residence, Palmiste. 

 This appears to be the same as the plant described above 

 under the name of .V. macranthum. Two descriptions of 

 .S robusfum state that it is a plant growing from 2 to -5 feet 

 in height and having a white corolla. This is certainly not 

 the description of the plant growing at Palmiste. Therefore, 

 as Sir Norman Lamont obtained his plant from St. Vincent, 

 it is probable that 6'. macranthum has already been introduced 

 in that island under the name ^9. rohtstum. 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



DRUGS AND 



SPICES ON THE LONDON 



MARKET. 



The following report, on the London drug and 

 spice market for the month of December has been 

 received from Mr. J. K. .Jackson, A.L.S.: — 



The month of December opened with a very quiet 

 market, especially with regard to products for home con- ■ 

 sumption. The supplies have been good, and prices generally 

 have been very slightly altered from those prevailing in our 

 report for November. As the month of December advanced, 

 with the near advent of Christmas, and the stock-taking 

 season, but little improvement was to be anticipated. With 

 regard to prices, there has been a general downward tendency, 

 and with the removal of embargoes on so many products that 

 have formed important constituents in the manufacture of 

 munitions, the markets have been in a more or less dis- 

 turbed condition, which, it is hoped, will be fully restored 

 with the advent of the New Year, and the declaration of 

 peace- The following are the principal items of interest. 



S,\ESAr.*^RILLA. 



In the early part of the month the i]uotations for ■ 

 sarsaparilla were as follows: red Native Jamaica, 'Is. to 2>\ 'id. 

 per BE), and good fibrous Lima-Jamacii is. 6(/. per B). No 

 quotations were given for other kinds, but toward the end of 

 the month it was stated that the arrivals in London from 

 Jamaica amounted to 1 98 balea of all kinds, besides 40 bale.s 

 that had arrived at Liverpool. 



TAMARIND,,,;Aud LI.ME .JUICE. 



of the month citric acid was. 

 lb. A fortnight later a slight. 



9f/. Pimento began with a slight '„ 

 month's rate, ^\d. per B). being ' 

 Iropped to 6(/. in the following 



PIMENTO, KOL.A 



CITRIC ACID, 



At the beginning 

 quoted at is- %d. per 

 advance was made to Jj 

 decline on the previous 

 the price asked, which 



week, and at the end of the month it had dropped tp . 

 od. There has been but little demand for kola during'^ 

 the month, the only offerings being some 4 bags of fair ' 

 bright dried St. Lucia, which were disposed of at 9(-f. 

 per fi). At auction on the 12th of the month some 171- 

 barrels of fair large but dried BarbaH -s tamarinds were dis- 

 posed of at Is- Lime juice has arrived in good supply during', 

 the month, in the early part of which good pale West Indian 

 was to be bought at 3j. ^vl. per gallon, but there was a slight 

 advance at the end of the month. 



