180 



TKE AGRICULTUIIAL NEV-'S 



June 13, 1908. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT 



MANGOS x'.ND BANAiS[AS IN PORTO 



RICO. 



The- Annual lU'f.m-f (1907) df the Agi H-iiltiii-.il 

 Ex|'cMr)ient St.atinri :'fForlo Kico i- juM to liaml, -.w.A 

 coni.iins an acMiui'l. of tiic ii)\ r>ti!;ati(ii)s in iirn^icss at 

 tlje Station, aTiH tlie iinnine v (jik of thr- I'a'-t year. 

 The lejior;-! o' iho N;iiions scientitic oHicei.s, .a.s the 

 Plnsio|(<i;ist. HortieultunVt. Kiitoniolo;:i?t and I'lant 

 PalJio),igi>t, ;in'l (!nffec E.^:|ieit. .are .■i|i[)en(le(l. The 

 lolloivint; nnt./s on the ])ioi_'re!s.s m.uh' ihiiint: thi' \r;ir 

 ill 'he |>io'iin tion, \nv e.Npi')r, of niantrns ai'.il hai'.ai^as 

 aie taki I'lini the leuoit ol' the Hmi ticailtniist : — 



'i'he interest in mango giowini; i.s increasing. Tlie 

 m^.uigo tree makes in in;iny \\ays the ideal |ierniani'nt wind- 

 break, so vitally esscniial tn the eitrus grows of tlir islantl. 

 Thousands of seeds ar" being phmted, und the demand 

 f'lr the lifttrr iniiiortcd loians is i;i|ii{lly imaiMsing. 



Itnring tlie |iast '.car nearly -()<• inarehcs have heen 

 made from the \:oions imported furnis. and most of tliese are 

 being planted lui the station i;ronnd -.iliiir wind-lireaks are 

 needed. Some ha,\c heen distrd ntcd and others will he sent 

 out a.s fast as it is deemed ad^ isalile. Various methods dl 

 grafting, hudding, anrl inaieliing arc bring given ti'iat, with 

 more or less )ironiising residts. It is imr desire tn tind i! 

 j)Ossiblesome rapid, simple way by wliicli tlii' si'i'dlings may be 

 grafted nr budded in nln with nmo' iirlainly cif sneiess than 

 by any of the methods thus tar used. Such a na'thod will 

 do a\v:iy with inueh of the ]iresent neeessary labour :uid 

 danger of loss, and will give an impetus tn what should be 

 a |irominent industry in the isl.uid. 



Shipping trials of mangos xmic made during the season 

 to further determine the best methods of packing, handling, 

 etc., and the carrying ipialities of the fruit. These exper; 

 menls were successful so far as keeping (jualities aic con 

 cerned, and it seeins only a matter of \\\w for the m.mgo 

 to become a valuable factor in oar e.\|iort trade. 



It was found that the best time to ]iick the trnit loi 

 ship'ping was when it began tc^ show the biintest colour ol 

 approaching maturity. Fruit packed at tills stage arrived at 

 its destination in excellent condition and developed a Havour 

 and ipiality a]i)iroac!iing tliat found in the fruit ripeneil on 



the tree 



lv\periments were also made with the mango liuil lor 

 other purposes. .\t certain stages of maturity the fruit was 

 fouml to make excellent Jellies, butters, ami sauce.s, aiul it is 



probable that it may be canned. More woik is to be clone 

 along these lines in the connng year. 



The banana plantation is .showing excellent growth and 

 a number of the new varieties are now fruiting. These new 

 types are being described and tested for their economic value. 

 A number of kinds secured from ditl'erent section.s, but bear- 

 ing different names, are found to be the same, thus rcdtitaiTg 

 the nundier of varieties in the trial grounds. A'arieties that 

 have no merit are discarded. 



The chief and vital objection to the growing of banana.s 

 for export has been the fact that the bunches were too small. 

 In I'orto liico a bnneh with six or eight full hands is consid- 

 ered huge. Whether this characteristic of small bunches is 

 due to the variety, soil, or cultural methods is yet to be 

 determined. The (pudity of the fruit is excellent, and the 

 nnnihcr of bunches produced on a given acreage is fairly large, 

 so that if the ."ize oiV the bunch could be increased, or more 

 prfilihc varieties grpwn, bananas could well be raised for 



export. 



AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISE IN THE 



PITCH LAKE DISl'RICT, TRINIDAD. 



Some iiiti'i'ef-ling details in ixgard to the enter- 

 prise .shown by liie New Trinidad Lake Asplialt 

 (Vunpaiiy, Limited, in tlie ctiltivation of ]iiiie-apph's, 

 (n-.anges, eacao, and rubber, ill tlio neighboni hood of the 

 i'ite-h Lake, were contaimd in a letter recently received 

 by tile Imperial Comtnissicnier of A<,MienlLiire from 

 Mr. Kobert AVii,irlit, Geiieial Agent of the Company. 



following is an extract 



W !■ have aboijt 30 acre; 



canned J."), (100 frnit,s, and c\im 



riie following is an extract liom .Mi'. Wright o letter: — 



in pine ai>ples, and last year 

 t to can this year in our factoiy 

 here at least 40.0U0, We .-et out last October 60,000 of Ited 

 Spanish plants inul about 1,000 Abbakkas with whicii wc 

 are ex|ierimenting. We have an orange grove consisting 

 entirely ol standard budded \arielies, including a large 

 proportion of I'omelos, amounting at present to about 3,000 

 trees, some of whic^.h arc in their third year. We have J, 000 

 more in our nursery to set out in the ])resent season. 



We are starting tliis year to put 1 .000 acres of good 

 land into cacao and rubber at the rate of ahmtt 1 OO acres jier 

 year if possil>le. 



Vou will see fiom the above that oar interest in West 

 Indian agriculture is very .great, and any assistance that the 

 Imperial department can give ns will be greatly appreciated. 



