152 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTtTKIST, 



[August j, 18S3, 



The fniit tratle of Jamaica has now become au estali- 

 lisheJ industiy, which is rapitUy being taken up by both 

 European and ncffi'o settlers. Nearly the whole of the 

 fruit is shipped to the United States, to the ports of 

 Xcw York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Some of the 

 trade is, however, iu course of being diverted to New 

 Orleans, which is only within three days of . Jamaica, 

 and in close communication with all large centres of 

 industries iu the "Western States. The fruit trade of Jamaica, 

 inasmuch as it fosters and strengthens other and more 

 permanent industries, is desernng of every eucjm-agcment; 

 and it is no doubt with this view the Government ha.s 

 jiromoted facilities for the employment of contract 

 steamers betweeu Jamaica and the TTnited States, so as to 

 iiudaready andexpeditiousmai-ketfortheproducc. As shown 

 when discussing the prospects of cacao cultivation in Jamaica, 

 the proiits arising from the sales of bananas, for instance, 

 enable planters to establi.sh the land in cacao, aud similai-ly 

 the same facilities are ottered for the cultivation of Liberian 

 coffee, spices, india-rubber, aud numerous other j>lauts which 

 would otherwise be beyond the reach of persons possessing 

 small means. The present position of the fruit trade in 

 Jamaica will appear from the following table of exports for 

 the year 1S82:— 



Fruit. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



Total ... — 138,3.59 



The great increase in the value of this trade during the 

 last ten years may be gathered from the fact that in 1873 

 the export value of fruit shipped from Jamaica was only 

 8,750/. That it will still continue to increase, aud that, 

 ultimately, numerous other industries will be promoted by 

 it. is proved by the fact that greater attention is continually 

 being paid to it; and by the increased demand which is 

 arising in the L'nited States and the Dominion of Canada 

 for tropical fruit . These countries possess a prosperous 

 population, nearly double of that of the United Kingdom, 

 and fruit of all kinds forms an important element iu their 

 daily food. 



For men \vith only moderate capital. I know of no industry 

 so promising as this cultivation of fruit, either for its own 

 sake or for the purpose of ultimately establishing other 

 and more permanent cultivations. 



The cultivation of spices, such as nutmegs, cinnamon, 

 cloves, black pepper, and vaniUa. has also been taken up, 

 not only in Jamaica, but also ii> Trinidad, Grenada, and 

 St. Vincent. Nutmegs especially do well at Grenada; .and 

 with regard to other .apices, if they are so successfully and 

 so energetically can'ied on throughout the West Indies as 

 in the islands above mentioned, we shall have them known 

 in the future, not as the sugar islands, but as the .spioe 

 islands of the West. 



With regard to the jneld from nutmeg trees in .Tamaica, 

 trees .it sut years eld give a return of about 1,500 to 

 2,000 nutmegs per annum. With trees, say, 30 feet apart, 

 aud allowing one-third to be male or barren trees, this 

 would give a return of 1,500 x 30=45,000 nutmegs per acre. 

 Tak-ing an average of ninty nutmegs to the pound, the 

 return in cash value would be 500 pounds of nutmegs at, 

 say, 2s. per poiuid. eijnal to 50/. per acre. 



Iu the Botanic 'hardens. Trinidad, the jield per tree 

 tiet in the market h.as been over twenty pounds i at nmety 

 to the pouud this would be 1,800 nutmegs) with an average 

 price of 2^^. 2(f. per pouud during the year. The value here, 

 per acre, is at the rate of 00/. per annum. 



In both the above instances, it is only fair to mention 

 that the calculations have been based on a comjMiratively 

 small numlier of trees. The average yield over a large area 

 of, say. 40. 50. or 100 acres wotild be correspoiuliugly lower. 

 Ijuteviaimder any cii'cumstances it is evident that where 



suitable and favourable circumstances exist, as I believe 

 they do in the We.st Indies, a nutmeg plantation ishkely 

 to be a very successful and remunerative undertaking. 



The cardamom, a valuable East Indian spice, has lately 

 been introduced to the AVest Indies mth satisfactory results. 

 It is adapted for cultivation in moist, shady situations, at 

 elevations r.auging from 200 to 3.500 feet. The plants have 

 much of the appearance of the "wild ginger'' of the West 

 Indies, and require little cultivation beyond keeping the 

 ground clear of rank-growing weeds. The retiun per acre 

 is estimated, at the cud of three years, at about 170 pounds 

 of cardamoms, worth 3.<. to 4.<. per poimd. 



Tobacco, rubber-yielding plants, and numerous medicinal 

 plants are also being introduced and cultivated in the West 

 Indies with marked success. M'ith the valuable aid and by 

 the instrumentality of the Eoyal Gardens at Kew. the 

 Botanical establishments in tin: West Indies, .and through 

 them the planters in these possessions, are being continually 

 supplied -Kith economic plants of great value, and by these 

 me.ans new industries are being founded, which in course 

 of time should have most beneficial influences upon the 

 commercial prosperity of these islands. 



So far. tea has not been tried ou a commercial scale in the 

 West Indies. I have some five acres of tea under my acre, 

 which, being some seven or eight years old, indicate that the' 

 climate of .Jamaica is admirably suited to the growth of the 

 plant. I estimate that with indentured coohe labom- and an 

 experienced tea-planter from Ceylon or India, tea might be 

 grown in the West Indies and placed in the market at a 

 cost not exceeding 7i'/. or Si), per pound. At the present 

 time very inferior China tea is sold in the West Indies at 

 4.*. 6</. per pound. Hence there is here a very good opening 

 fora teaiudustry — if only to supply local demands. I am glad 

 to say that an attempt is likely to be made to grow tea in 

 Jarnaica, under very favoiu-able circumstances ; and as the 

 parish of Portland, with its warm moist climate and splendid 

 rich valleys, approaches .so nearly tlie conditions which ob- 

 tain in the best tea districts of India, the undertaking pro- 

 mises every hope of success. 



Among the newer industries of Jamaica, I may mention 

 that of cinchona, or the quinine-yielding trees of commerce. 

 For the first seeds of cinchona, Jamaica is indehted to 

 the Home Government, who, at the recommendation of Sir 

 J. D. Hooker, Driector of the Royal Gardens, Kew, sent 

 liberal supplies of seeds of three species direct from Peru 

 and CJiiayaqiul. The industry owes its initiation, on a com- 

 mercial scale, to Sir John Peter Grant, who estabUshed an 

 experimental Government plantation ou the Blue Mountains 

 iu 1869. 



The fact is,' that for the snecessfnl and remunerative 

 culture of cinchona plants in a new country such a j)e- 

 culiar combination of elevation, soil, and climate is requis- 

 ite that there are ccmparatively few areas wherein all the.se 

 can possibly exist. Hence we find that very few tropical 

 countries can successfully enter upon the industry, and of 

 these, so iar as my experience goes, only two or three 

 possess in so eminent a degree aQ the favoiu-able con- 

 ditions enjoyed by Jamaica 



As confirming this view by independent testimony, I mav 

 mention that a Ceylon proprietor and planter, with some 

 twelve years' experience in the cultivation of coft'ee and 

 cinchona, after carefully inspecting the Jamaica Govciu- 

 ment plantations, refers to the growth and characteristics 

 of the trees as follows: — "I am perfectly convinced that 

 were the bark of to equ.-.!-sizcd cinchona trees, one Ceylon, 

 the other .Tamaica, weighed, the Jamaica tree would out- 

 weigh the Ceylon tree considerably ; this is |)articularly 

 noticeable in young trees. The bark itself has a brighter 

 aud more t.aking colour, looks richer in quinine, and alto- 

 gether healthier. It is generally (copiously) covered with 

 lichen, and the growth of this I believe to have au effect 

 simihir to mossing iu developing the alkaloids. The ready 

 way in which the self-sown seedlings grow, and the num- 

 her of them, siupass anything I have seen in Ceylon, aud 

 prove that the cinchona tree has found a most suitable 

 home and congenial climate on the Blue 3Iount,ains of 

 J.amaica. The land is self-drained, yet canker in the root, 

 which destroys such a large proportion of Ceylon seedlings, 

 is hardly felt, and would not probably be kno\vn were the 

 land drained. The only difficulty I can foresee is lalwur ■ 

 if this were rcmo%-ed (as_it easily might be, by iinportiug 



