Vol. XVII. No. 41 ?. 



THE AGPJCULTUKAL NEWS. 



135 



March, the crops ia the Experiment Station were making 

 very slow progress. Plant distribution during the month 

 included 1,650 onion slips, 9,000 sweet potato cuttings, 

 165). seed corn (maize), 597tt). selected cotton .seed, and 

 1 ft), of Guinea corn. Concerning staple crops it is mentioned 

 that the young canes throughout the island are very poor, 

 and in some places the germination has been very bad. 

 Pieaping of the old crop is still in progress. Cotton lands 

 have nearly all been prepared, and planting has been done on 

 a few estates, but in consequence of the dry weather germin- 

 ation has been poor, and the crop is making little progress. 

 Piegret is expressed that old fields of cotton arc still found 

 standing about the island. Prevailing weather conditions 

 also affected the planting of provision crops in the lowlands. 

 In the highlands, however, where the weather is not so dry, 

 there is a fair acreage of provisions planted, and the crops 

 are doing fairly well in these parts. The rainfall for the 

 month was 2'75 inches; for the year to date, 8'20 inches. 

 VIRGIN isL.\N'r).s. Mr. W. C. Fishlock, Curator, mentions 

 a continuation of dry weather during the month of March, 

 which prevented cultural operations to any extent. Plant 

 distribution was limited to ifiOo onion seedlings. The 

 condition of the cotton crop is not satisfactory, dry weather 

 and pests having con.^iderably reduced the anticipated yield. 

 Leaf-blister mite was observed in all districts visited. The 

 attempt to revive the Tortola ( )nion Growers' Association 

 has been abandoned, consequent on the lack of interest 

 shown at two meetings held with that object. The rainfall 

 recorded at the Botonic Station, Tortola, during the month 

 totalled 160 inches, as compared with an average of 2 41 

 inches for the same month for the preceding seventeen years. 



BERRIES, OLD AND NEW. 



A very widely distributed order of plants throughout 

 the tropics is known as the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae). 

 Of the many thousands of species grouped under this order 

 nearly all are natives of the tropics, either of the Old or 

 New World. It is true that the common myrtle, from which 

 the order takes its name, and the pomegranate, another 

 member of the order, probably originated in the subtemperate 

 regions of Western Asia. Another genus of the order 

 (Eucalyptus), now widely spread throughout the warmer 

 portions of the world, is indigenous in its many species to 

 Australia. To this order belongs several tropical edible 

 berries, the best known of which is probably the guava, 

 {Psidiiim gitavin\t). Attention has been drawn in previous 

 numbers of tlie Agriciiltui-al Nrws to two other members of 

 this family, the Jaboticaba {Myiriaria cauliflord) of Brazil, 

 and the pine-apple guava {Feijoa se/lo'wiana), as being 

 possibly desirable introductions to these islands. In fact 

 we have been informed that specimens of Jaboticaba are 

 now growing in the Botanic Garden, Dominica. 



Another genus of this order (Eugenia) comprises several 

 hundred species, some of which are indigenous to the West 

 Indies, and .some have been introduced for the sake of their 

 edible berries into these islands from tropical Asia. Amongst 

 the latter are the Malacca apple {Eugenia Ma/aav/is/s), the 

 pomme de rose or ro.se api)le {£. /am/w), and the Java 

 plum (£. /aTaiicjisis), all of which are natives of the East 

 Indian Archipelago. Among the native Eugenias there are 

 .some which are also esteemed as fruit, such as E. iiniflora 

 (the Surinam cherry), E. pnh\ra (the black cherry), and 

 E. flon'h/nda (the guava berry of the Virgin Islands). 



In common with most of the members of the order the 

 Eugenias are distinguished for generally possessing pungent. 



aromatic flavours and odours. As is the case with most 

 tropical berries, no attention has ever been paid to improving- 

 their qualities by hybridization or selection, and yet many of 

 them possess most agreeable flavours By the introduction 

 of other species of the gfnus, and judicious hybridization, it 

 may be possible for liorticulturists to produce superior- 

 varieties in the future. 



The I )ffice of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction of 

 the United States Department of Agriculture, in the inventory 

 of seeds imported during 1914, makes mention of several 

 apparently desirable species of Eugenia originating in Brazil,, 

 which might be found to be so well adapted to West Indian 

 conditions as to be an addition to our somewhat scanty list of 

 refreshing berry fruit. Eii^^enia dombeyi, called in Brazil 

 'Grumichama', both for its ornamental value and its fruit, 

 seems specially worthy of trial. The tree grows to 25 or 30- 

 feet in height, well shaped, and thickly covered with glossy, 

 deep-green foliage. In general appearance the fruits very 

 much resemble cherries. They are round or slightly flattened, 

 and of a deep crim,son colour. The thin skin encloses a soft, 

 tender pulp of mild and delicate flavour, containing from one 

 to three rounded small seeds. Mr. Dorsett, the Department's 

 collector in Brazil, says that the Grumichama is one of the 

 most agreeable myrtaceous fruits which he has tasted. 



Another of these Brazilian Eugenias is E. /iisih?ia//iia?ta. 

 Mr. Doisett procured seeds of this fruit from near Bahia, 

 where it is called by the natives, 'Pitomba.' He describes 

 the tree as a very handsome, compact tree of from 20 to .30 

 feet in height. The fruits, which are produced on the small 

 branches, are about 1 inch in length and ^ inch in breadth 

 on an average. The colour of the fruit is deep orange yellow 

 when fully ripe, with a thin and easily broken skin enclosing 

 a soft, melting pulp, bright orange in colour, very juicy, and of 

 an acid aromatic flavour. The tree does not produce as heavy 

 a crop as the Grumichama, but the fruit is especially esteemed 

 for making jellies and jams, it being .somewhat acid when 

 eaten raw. It is a vigorous and easily grown tree, and might 

 probably be successfully grown in the tropics of the northern 

 hemisphere. 



A larger fruited Eugenia is £. klotzschia>ia, known in 

 Brazil as 'pera do campo,' which means field pear. This is 

 not a tree, but a shrub, growing to the height of 4 to 5 feet, 

 with very few branches. The fruits are strikingly similar in 

 appearance to a small russet pear. They vary from 2 to 

 3 inches in length, and are russet-brown in colour, with 

 a thick down on the suface; the skin is thin, and surrounds 

 a whitish, very juicy and aromatic pulp, so fragant that 

 it can he smelt several yards away. The flavour is rather 

 acid, but very aromatic. Mr. Dorsett considers that this 

 shrub seems, on the whole, unusually promising for trial 

 in the warmer parts of the United States. He calls 

 attention to three other species of Brazilian Eugenias 

 which he thinks worthy of trial in other tropical reg- 

 ions. He describes E. campesfris as a small, highly 

 ornamental tree, which bears small, yellow, rather acid 

 fruits, which are appreciated by the natives. Another 

 small tree is E. myniaiifhes which produces oblong, pur- 

 plish-red fruits about the size of an olive, with greenish 

 flesh. It is said to bear profusely, but the fruits are rather 

 hard when ripe, and for this reason are usually crushed into 

 a paste before eaten. The third species is E. speciosa. which 

 is a large, much branched tree, the fruit of which is said to 

 be of value. 



Perhaps some of our horticulturists in the West Indies 

 misht interest themselves io obtain, and make experiments 

 witli one or more of these new species of E«ige«ia. 



