Vol. VII. Xo. 155. 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS 



101 



LIMES IN MEXICO. 



The United States Consul at Manzanillo states 

 that there is a large number of plantations in the 

 Mexican State of Colima which produce many tons of 

 limes that might be ntilized for the production of lime 

 juice or extract. At present, owing to the want of demand, 

 the fruit rots on tlie ground. The Consul continues : — 



The owner.s of these plantations would be glad to 

 dispose of crops of limes at a nominal price, and contracts could 

 be made for their gathering and dehvcry at a stated price. 

 There is no lime industry in the State of Colima, and it seems 

 that a good practical man could establish a large and profit- 

 able business here on account of the abundance of the fnnt. 

 Several attempts have been made to ship the limes to San 

 Francisco, but these attemi)ts, it is said, were unsuccessful, 

 principally because the steamers called irregularly at ilanza- 

 nillo, and the limes commenced to ilecay before reaching 

 their destination. 



ing, in the coolest possible condition, are evidently essential 

 for successful shipment. There appeared to be little difference 

 in the keeping quality of sound oranges, whether shipped 

 under ventilation, under ice, or after precooling. 



ifter 1!)10, has just 

 Riian banana indus- 



>ort of binuinaf 



Iron 



BANANAS IN COSTA RICA. 



A duty of one cent, on each bunch id' bananas 

 exported, for a period of ten years 

 been adopted in Costa Rica. 



In connexion wii,h the Costa 

 try, the U. S. Consid writes : — 



There seems no doubt that the e 

 the Port of J^imou will reach 10,000,000 bunches per annum 

 in the near future, as the productive area is steadily increas- 

 ing, while the business is remunerative to the producer as 

 well as to the exportin;^ company, which is also a producer of 

 about 40 per cent, of bananas e.xpnrted. It is an attractive 

 occupation, except for the fact that the bananas are chiefly 

 grown in malarial districts, the lowlands aback of Liuion 

 being overttowed by the rivers almost .every rainy sea.son, 

 receiving therefrom a rich sedimentary dejjosit which 

 prevents the exhaustion, of the .soil. In localities lacking 

 this advantage the productive capacity of banana plantations 

 decreases annnally, in many localities one-third in seven years. 

 Tritl .shipments of Costa Rican bananas are now being made 

 from England to cnntinental ports, with encouraging pros]iects. 



FRUIT TRANSPORTATION AND 

 STORAGE. 



Investigations into causes of decay of oningcs dur- 

 inc' storage and shipment, as well as when on the 

 market, have been continued during ]!)()7 by the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



Summarizing the results obtained from all the tests, it is 

 evident that sound uninjured fruit at the .start, carefully gath- 

 ered and packed with care, forms the l>asi,s of successful keep- 

 inc quality under all conditions of handling and shipment. 

 In the packing hou.se, sound, nnbrnshed fruit developed an 

 avera^'e of only 2-9 per cent, decay. On the other hainl, 

 bru.shed fruit showed 6-6 per cent., washed fruit IT'S per 

 cent., and mechanically injured fruit 401 per cent, decay. 

 The necessity for washing is due to the oi-cun-ence of black 

 .scale on the fruit. 



Shipjiing tests indicated that the amount of decay which 

 took place during transport was pro].Mirtional to the length of 

 time that elapsed after packing and before shipment. Other 

 conditions being equal, too, it was oliserved that the least 

 decay took place in the case of the fruit that was packed and 

 sh.ipped in the coolest condition. 



Sound fruit, handled throughout with sufficient care to 

 prevent injury, and slnjiiied (piickly after picking and paek- 



GROUND NUTS IN THE UNITED STATES. 



The increasing dem;'.nd for ground nuts, and the 

 greater attention that is being paid to the cultivation 

 of this crop, are evidenced by the accompanying extract 

 from the latest report of the Bureau of Plant Industry, 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture : — 



Owing to the greatly increa.sing field for the use of 

 ground nuts, the demand has grown steadily during recent 

 years and i^ now in e.xces.s of the supply. There are now 

 four principal varieties of ground nuts extensively grown in 

 the Southern States, and while the type of these varieties is 

 ijuite satisfactory, there remains much to be accomplished 

 thnaigh the selection and inqjrovement of .seed strains for 

 maxiunim yield. The ground nut can be very readily improved 

 by sele(.'tion and proiicr culture, and the work undertaken is 

 mainly along the.se lines. E.\|ieriments are Lieing conducted 

 to determine the oil-producing possibilities of the ground nut, 

 although at present prices the extractio.i of the oil would not 

 be iirofitable. 



The use of the ground nut as a forage crop and stock 

 food is being encoui'ageil, and it has been demonstrated that 

 the variety known as the ' Spanish ' is best adapted to this 

 purpose. 



The greater p'lrtio.i of the labour of picking and hand- 

 ling ground uuts has heretofore been done by hand, but during 

 the piist two years great improvement has been made in 

 mechaincal lines, and the cost of prodnctio;i thereby decreased, 

 ^lachines have been perfecte.l which eliminate a large portion 

 of the labour of [ticking, thus breaking the bond whicli held 

 this crop to the Hunts of the labour supply. 



USES OF TAMARIND SEEDS. 



'i'he Indian AiiricvUural Lcdijcr (No. 2, 1907) 

 contains a paper dealing with the composition and uses 

 of the seeds of the Tamarind {Tamarindas indica), 

 a well-known tree in the West Indies. 



Analysis shows that the kernel remaining after the 

 removal of the la-own covering is rich in nutritive constituents. 

 These kernels contain 18'06 per cent, allaiminoids, 6'G per 

 ceiit. fat, and fi2'88 per cent, carbohydrates. They have no 

 disagreeable odour or taste. 



Tamarind seeds are consumed as a food by the natives 

 in certain jtarts of India, notably in the Madras Presidency 

 and Central Provinces. For this puri)Ose the outer skin is 

 removed by roasting or by boiling in water, and the kernels are 

 roasted and then ground into flour. This Hour is, either 

 alone or niixeil with rice or other cereal flours, made into 

 Cidu's for food. Disagreeable effects which sometimes follow 

 eating these seeds aie stated to be due to the fact that the 

 husk has not been entirely removed. The tannin and fibrous 

 matter of this husk are likely to produce unpleasant results. 



In some districts of India tamarind .seeds are regarded 

 as having medicinal projierties, and are given as a remedy for 

 certain disorders. 



Another useful jjroperty of the .seeds of the tamarind is 

 due to the fact that the powdered seeds boiled in a small 

 i|uantity f)f water make a tenacious glue or .size, which is used 

 by wool-weavers, saddlers, and book-binders. This is used to 

 dress country-made blankets. 



