148 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



May IC, \OCS. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT 



DOMINICA LIMES. 



Uiirins; the past year the Permanent ]v\iiiliition 

 •Coininittee of Dominici has made considerable ett'orts 

 to brinsf to the notice of the British public the merits 

 of lime fruits, with a view of increasing the trade in 

 green limes with the English market. 



The committee has been fortunate in having the 

 assistance of A. E. Aspinall, E^-q., Secretary of the 

 West India Committee. This gentleman made valu- 

 able suggestions regarding the best means of bringing 

 limes before the British jjublie, which the local com- 

 .iriittce was glad to ado])t. 



The committee made a good display of lime fruits 

 at the Colonial Fruit Show held in London in June 

 1907. The exhibit received a good deal of notice in 

 the London press. Large ]josters were disjilayed draw- 

 ing attention to Dominica limes, and over '2,000 printed 

 ■cards giving information about limes were di-^tributcd 

 to grocers and fruiterers. 



During September, Dominica limes were advertised 

 in the drocer 'Trade Journal, in the catalogue of the 

 Midland Counties Bakers' and Grocers' Exhibition, and 

 'recently in the Lancet. It now remains for Dominica 

 planters to further these efforts by making a striking 

 display of lime fruits at the Colonial Fruit Show to be 

 held in London in June next. The following leaderette 

 on ' The Lime and Lemon' which ajipeared in the Laiieet 

 of March 20, 1008, is sure to be of interest to lime 

 (planters : — 



The lemon is a deservedly I" i|iular iiiiil and serves as 

 the foumliition of that excellent beverage known as a lemon 

 sijuash, wliii'li [icrluip.s, is tlie be.st example of an ah.soluteIy 

 non-alcoholic drink. 'Plio lime is not so well known, althongli 

 from the point of view of llavonr it is regarded by many as 

 being even superior to the Icmcin. In view of the fact 

 "that there is now a good anil abundant supply of limes to 

 this country, it is interesting to contrast the analysis of this 

 fruit with that of the lemon. According to an analysis which 

 we have recently made, it would appear that the lime, 

 although smaller than the lemon, yields weight for weight 

 a good (leal more juice. Thus the avenge amount of juice 

 exi)icssed fiom a lemon was ST'oO per cent, of its weight, 

 whereas tlie lime gave 59'()0 per cent. Moreover, the lime 

 gives more cit'ic acid but less sugar, as tlie follnwing aiialy- 

 .ses show : — 



.luice of the Juice of the 



Lemon. Lime. 



Total solid matters 8'SO per cent. S'64 per cent. 



Sugar , 2-.30 „ O'TO 



Citric acid 4-57 ,, .S'GO ,, 



;\rineral matter 0-.3-^) ., G3.5 „ 



Potash 0-15 „ 0-12 



Phosphoric acid (soluble) Q-OIO „ O-QG.") 



The lime therefore yields a 'drier' juice and contains 

 a third of the cpiantity of .sugar present in the lemon. The 

 antiscorbutic properties of lime juice may be regarded as 

 more marked than tho.se possessed by the juice of the lemon. 

 While the alkaline salts amount to practically the same in 

 lioth fruits, yet the phosphoric acid is greater in the lime than 

 in the lemon. It is probably owing to the richness in alka- 

 line .salts that the use of lemon juice, as well as other fruit 

 juices, is heli)ful in .some diseases of the skin and in pre- 

 venting eczema. The juice of the lime is equally valuable 

 in this respect if, indeed, in regard to some dietetic points it 

 is not superior. 



MANGOSTEEN AT DOMINICA. 



Mr. Joseph Jones has forwarded the following note 

 in reference to the liowering of the Mangosteen at the 

 Dominica Botanic Gardens : — 



The Mangosteen tree (Gurrliii't Mnniioatiuxi) is now 

 flowering for the iirst time in the Botanic Gardens, Dominica. 

 The plant was received from Kew in August 1S92, and is 

 therefore close on sixteen years old. It is now known tliat the 

 conilitions at the Gardens are not altogutlier favourable for 

 the mangosteen, the soil being too light and the rainfall too 

 low. It is thought, that seedling mangosteens may be got to 

 fruit in Dominica in from ten to twelve years when grown in 

 valleys some distance inland which possess a red soil and 

 a rainfall well over 100 inches per annum. 



The first mangosteen tree to fruit in Dominica is one 

 grown at St. Aroinent, which came from Kew many years ago. 

 Last year it bore a crop of over ."500 fruits. Plants raised 

 from seeds sent to the station by Dr. Xicholls, ('.M.G., will 

 shortly be ready for distribution. 



Other interesting plants now in tlower in the Dominica 

 f Jardens arc the Durian {Durio ■iihetlilmts), Litchi {Xcphe- 

 liiim Litchi), Shci^ IJutter tree {Batyrospermum Parkii), 

 t 'edron (Siiiin'id Ccihvii), Butter Nut {Caryocar nuciferum), 

 C'is.fiii imiivinaiit, and tlie beautiful West African flowering 

 tree Jiaiki'i i>i.<i^)i-s. 



