1G4 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



:SL\\ 30, 1908. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



POSSIBILITIES OF' A FRUIT-PRESERV- 

 ING INDUSTRY. 



At) article in the Jownud (it the British Guiana 

 Board of Agriculture draws attention to the abiinnance 

 of fruit which pievails in the colony at certain seasons 

 ■of the \eai-, and the possibilities of profit which exist 

 if local enterprise were fortheoniing to prepare this 

 fruit and put it on the market in the form of a regular 

 supply of preserves. At ])re.'sent, it appears, little or 

 nothing is done in this way, despite the e.xistence of 

 a local market, riow sufipliefl by imported preserves. 

 The mango, guavM., Ouiheite gooseberrv. hog-plum, as 

 -well as the carambola, cherry, soirel, and Seville orange 

 arc nientionefl as fruits occurring in quantity m 

 the C(jlony, and which might form the raw material for 

 a preserving industiy. With the e.xpeiience gained 

 in catering for the local demand something might 

 -later be (ione 1o develoft an export ti-ade. At 

 local exhibitions held m Britisii (iuiana jxizcs are 

 regularly offeied for jams and jellies, hut this anmunt 

 •of encouragement has not so far pidduced an\' very 

 marked result. A couise of practical demonstration in 

 the pi'eparat.ion and putting up of jiiesi-rves at various 

 ■centres in the colony might possibly be serviceable in 

 this direction. 



BANANA INDUSTRY IN DUTCH 

 GUIANA. 



From an article ' I'lantmg News in Surinam ' 

 -contributed to the April number of Troiiintl I, if,- by 

 Dr. Van Hall, Director of Agriculture in Dutch (iiiiana, 

 the accompanying interesting jiaragraph dealing with 

 the I'stablishinciit of the banana iiKlustry has been 

 taken : — 



One of (lie most important steps umlertakrii \\x tin- 

 •<jlovL'niineiit lias lifcii the estaMishmeiit of tlic liaiiaiia 

 industry, to try and cnmiH'ii.sutc the colonv for the lo.ss 

 •occasioned by the cacao <li.sfa.si>, and tn :iffnrd liulp in carry- 

 ing on the cacao plantations. Tn hiini: tlii.s about, an 

 Ordinance was passed to enable the planters to obtain linan- 

 <;ian as.sistance from the flovernmciit for carrying mi the 

 cultivation of bananas. The (iovernmeiit advance was at the 

 rate of about £'M) |icr hectare [1 liei'tarc = '1}, acres | 

 for the first year of planting, and £15 for each fnllow- 

 ing year, the amount to be refunded from the prnceeds 

 <if tlie crop. By last A|)ril, about a thousand hiTtarcs liad 

 •been planted, an<l since then another oOO have probably 



hceii added to this. AVith so large an area regular .ship 

 lueiits of sulistantial dimen.sions are looked for, and 

 a contract lias been entered into with the United Fruit 

 Company to buy all the bundles produced. Their transport 

 is til be undertaken by four newly built fruit steamers of the 

 Dutch West Indian Mail line, and the first shipment w^a.s 

 arranged to be made on Maivli 1."), l',)08. la spite of an 

 unusually heavy rainfall last year (in A]>ril alone about 27 

 inches were recorded), the in<lustry looks very promising, and 

 the growth <if the plants has ln'cn most .satisfactory. 

 I 



PRESERVATION OP RED SORREL 

 FRUITS. 



In the course of an .article in the Natal A</ri- 

 <-<iUural Jdurnal entitled ' The Koselle or Jamaica 

 SiuK'l ' (HiJ)iscus sah(Jai'ttf'((), so well known in the 

 West Indies, the following note is given on the preserva- 

 tion of the iruits : — 



The ro.selle is well adapted for jam-making, giving 

 a palatable, easily-kept prnduct if put up in earthenware or 

 glass. Unfortunately the fruits contain an acid principle 

 « liich iirecludes them being put U[) as jireserves in nrdinary 

 tin-ware, and hence some failures have been experienced in this 

 rcs|iect. For pickles tlie fruit is well adapted, and it makes 

 an excellent condiment. 



It has been found that the best method of handling tlie 

 li uit is to drj- it after the removal of the seed pod. The 

 diied fruit has been kept in jars and tins for two or three 

 yci'is in good order. The first |)rei)aration that is necessary 

 is the cutting off (it the stem of the fruit, and the basal end 

 (if the calyx [the calyx is the redcolourcd ediblt; portion] to 

 where the .seed pod is united with the calyx, when a gentle 

 pressure with the fingers will force out the .seed pod. Then 

 the fruit should be placed in .some roomy, airy position (not 

 necessarily in the sun), in trays or on sheets on the floor, 

 allowing as much air to pass through and over the fruit as 

 possible. In a few days all superfluous moisture will have 

 evaporated, and the dried article can be |)acked away in jars. 

 IJy this means roselles can be had in good coiulition all the 

 year round. .Ml that is needful, when re(iuired for use for 

 jam, tarts, etc, is to take the (piantity necessary and ]iour 

 over the fruit a little water, when it will ab.sorb the moisture 

 and resolve it.self into apparently fresh fruit. The large 

 grower has in this method a certain way of keeping .sncji 

 surplus fruit as may not lie in iniiuediate demand, or which, 

 on account of low ruling prices, he may not wish at the 

 mo-nent to put on the market. Fruit init up in this form 

 might be successfidly exjiorted to the London markets 



