520 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[January i, 1884. 



have eaten the East Indian fruit in a fresh state, to be 

 in all respects equal. Only a few trees exist in the Island 

 till now, these not having been so much propagate-^' as 

 usual, owing to the failure of the seeds produced, x'his 

 want of vitality in the sueds I find, however, to arise 

 from the popular but erroneous notion that all seeds should 

 by some means be dry before being sown — the condition 

 really being fatal to the \atality of the majority of trop- 

 ical fruit tree seeds. I'urther, the tree is not so prolific 

 as fruit trees usually are here. This arises in a great 

 measure, however, from want of full light or exposure, 

 and thorough drainage ; these conditions being present the 

 tree will well repay by its fruitfuiness any trouble taken 

 to promote them, or otherwise expended m its careful 

 cultivation. It should not be forgotten also that the fruit 

 is here as readily dried and made suitable for after use, 

 or exportation as in the East Indies. ludeeJ, it may be 

 regarded for a troijical country as perfect a fruit as the 

 grape is for more temperate regions. 



Lacoocha (Artocarpiu Lacoocha). — This, as its botanical 

 name shows, is an ally of the Breadfruit tree ; but, unlike 

 the fruit of that tree, is suitable for dessert. It averages 

 about 5 oz. weight; is of an irregular form, rich orange 

 colour, and of a pleasiug sub-acid Ilavoiu-. The tree devel- 

 ops rapidly from seed, and bears the third year. 



ToXGA-BEAN' (Dipteryx odorata). — There are large exam- 

 ples of this valuable tree in the Botanic Gardens, which 

 afford eWdence of the habit of growth of the tree and 

 its requirements under the usual conditions of soil and 

 chmate here, and which in some districts appear to be 

 exactly similar to those of the Tonga-bean districts of Vene- 

 zuela. In the face of the commercial value of the Tonga- 

 bean — arising from a widespread and ever-increasing ap- 

 preciation of its use in Europe and United States, as a 

 Savouring in articles of enormous consumption which come 

 under the head of indispensable luxuries as well as the 

 more necessary food product — cacao. The price has already 

 reached <.2 per lb. Its cultivation in this Colony may be 

 regarded as of the highest prospective importance and 

 value ; the more so as the tree will thrive in laud alto- 

 gether too poor for cacao or sugar, and the forming of 

 plantations (as with cacao) would have the great attendant 

 advantage of maintaining the climatic and other conditions 

 characteristic of full afforestation (without its attendant 

 drawback of malaria") so important m tropical agricultm-e, 

 on land which once cleared is very liable to lapse into 

 useless '*bush" or ''jungle" overborne with malaria. The 

 cultivation of the Tonga-bean tree is therefore such as 

 may be regarded as eminently suitable for the lowlying 

 and sandy {and for sugar or cacaoj unproductive lands of 

 the upper Oaroui, Oonupia, Caraijichaima, Chaguanas and 

 Valencia — established by a process of succe-ssional devel- 

 opment to annual crops of plantations, corn, peas, &c., 

 which the land would bear (as affecting the surface strat- 

 um) for 3 or 4 years, after which the Tonga-bean trees 

 would themselves be sutficiently developed to be productive 

 and profitaMe. The stock of plants of thir; important tree 

 is as yet limited, extensive demands ha\dng already set 

 in, but as there is every probability that a stock will be 

 acquired in the course of the next few months, sufficient 

 to meet all probable requirements, attention is specially 

 directed to t)ie subject in view of extensive planting next 

 season. JMeanwhile, it is strongly recommended that a few 

 trees be planteil by way of ex]>eriment on estates present- 

 ing the conditions of soil alluded to in the districts men- 

 tiunevl. Plants being put in at once would indicate by 

 their condition at the end of the next dry season what 

 extent of land it might be desirable to devote to the cult- 

 ivation as well as in great measure the method of plant- 

 ing to be adopted. It should not be laid down, however, 

 that the condition of the plant at the en<l of the dry 

 season be accei)ted as a definite and certain augury for 

 the future, for the phases and effect of the dry season 

 are so varied that in respect of plants not deeply rooted, 

 while one year the condition of drought might prove fatal 

 to many plants, the next year it may not be attended 

 with a casualty. 



CoT-A-xuT {Cola acuviinata). — The Cola-nut till quite re- 

 cently has been confined to West and Central Africa as 

 an article of commerce, where it holds u position of im- 

 n\(Uisc importance as an article of consumption by the 

 inhabitants. It has at length, iiowever, attracted the at-_ 



teution of chemists and the commercial world, and is 

 fomid to possess properties analogous to, and attractions — 

 as an article of food — not less important than those of 

 Tea, Coffee or Cacao. As may be expected, the price of 

 the article has lately taken a sudden rise, and there is 

 active enquiry from tropical agriculturists as to the char- 

 acteristics of the tree bearing the Cola-nut and its pro- 

 spective value as a subject for cultivation. As such it 

 may be regarded only second in importance to the Tonga- 

 bean. The general character of the tree is that of a 

 strong growing Cacao tree — attaining the height of 30 or 

 40 feet with proportionate spread, and beginning to bear 

 at about the same age. Unlike the Cacao as to require- 

 ments, however, it flourishes in comi>aratively poor soil and 

 in exposed situations. The Cola-nut tree has been long 

 grown in these Gardens, the original tree being now sixty 

 inches in gu*tb, and from young trees put out during 

 the last few years, a very good idea of the disposition 

 and habit of the tree as well as its requirements may 

 be gained by those desirous of attempting its cultm-e. 

 The young plants progress satisfactorily without shade, if 

 planted in moderately good soil, but in poor sod or dry 

 situations, the usual shade afforded by plantain cultiv- 

 ation is advantageous or even necessary. The cultivation 

 of the Cola-nut tree will therefore be of the simplest 

 possible character. Not particidar as to soil, bearing full 

 exposure, growing quickly from the large seed, the only 

 care required will consist of suppressing native bushes of 

 more rapid growth than it, and when matured and fruit- 

 ing, to clean off the surface gi'owth to facilitate the col- 

 lecting of the seeds as they fall on the ground. Briefly, 

 it will be a cultivation of a similar character but of much 

 less cost than that of Cacao, and suitable for land that 

 may be too dry or poor and exposed for that valuable 

 cultivation. The process of planting up lan<l abandoned 

 as too poor for provision or other cultivation, or indeed 

 any " rastr'o " land would be the same as recommended 

 for the Ceara-rubber tree; only, the Cola-nut would not 

 thrive in such a poor condition of soil as that tree. 

 There are a few Cola-nut trees in the island from which 

 are obtained small suppUes of seeds which are brought to 

 the market, and are appropriated in the same manner as 

 in Africa. 



Vanilla {J'anilla planifoha, var.). — The cultivation of 

 Vanilla continues to be one of the most profitable pur- 

 sued. It is moreover of a nature to require so little 

 physical effort that the proprietor may be regardless of 

 the condition of the labour market, and however limited 

 the cultivation, it may be regarded correctly as a highly 

 intellectual occupation — for intelligence is specially required 

 both in the management of the plant and the proper pre- 

 paration of its Iniit — or Vanilla. The value of the pro- 

 duce of A'anilla. from a few square yards is so consider- 

 able, that the rental of any house may be realised by 

 Vanilla culture in the coui-t yard, provided there be means 

 for, 1 ® maintaining a I'liequered shade or a diminished 

 sunlight — to one-third of that it usually is: 2^ a few hard 

 wood posts and bamboo laths for horizontal trellises, and 

 such vegetable matter or rubbish as is usually met with 

 in yard or street — including, specially, horse droppings ; 

 the' trellising being of course for support, and the rub- 

 bish — mixed with the surface soil — being the compost for 

 the nourishment of the roots, and tlu'ough them the sus- 

 tenance of the plant. Fortunately Trinidad possesses in 

 her forests a variety of Vanilla of the very best kind, 

 both as to size and flavour, and of this plants can be 

 obtained in quantity to meet all possible requirements. 



Ceaha-rubber (Jlanihot Glaziovii). — This rubber-jiehhug 

 plant, which is really only a gigantic form of Cassada, is 

 specially adapted for cultivation in dry gravelly hillsides. 

 It has enormous power of root development and penetra- 

 tion, growing luxuriantly dm-ing the wet mouths, and be- 

 coming dormant and leafless in the dry se-ason when the 

 milk-sap is of great density. It thus shows its adapt- 

 ability for poor soils and arid situations ; indeed, the pro- 

 duction of a satisfactory " rubber " very largely depends 

 on these conditions, for with trees in the Gardens on 

 moderately good and moist soil, under rapid growth as 

 occurs in the wet season, the sap is watery and shows 

 scarcely a trace of rubber globides. The cultivation of 

 this tree is therefore a prospectively vaUiable one for the 

 poor gravelly soils of the north-western hill slopes. No 



