68 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



March 1, 1913. 



FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES. 



CONFUSION IN THIi; NAMES OF CERTAIN 



FRUITS. 



A great deal of antipathy exists amongst tbe general 

 public in regard to the use of the scientific names of jilants. 

 Indeed, the presence of a number of Latin names in italics 

 in a popular article may frequently have the effect of render- 

 ing it distinctly unattractive. The use of scientific names, 

 however, instead of rendering information exclusive, should 

 actually have the opposite effect in extending its utility, by 

 enabling people in different places, rai>y be speaking different 

 tongues, to understand exactly and quickly to what species 

 the information refers. For many species are called in 

 different place.s, and even in the same place, by different 

 popular names; unfortunately, too, some ambiguity may 

 exist even in the use of the scientific names, for what 

 is really one species is often given different names by 

 different describers, or one name may be used to refer to 

 more than one species. In order to avoid misconceptions 

 concerning these synonyms and homonyms, as they are 

 called, it is customary to place the name of the describer 

 after the scientific name; and, from time to time, systemati.sts 

 review these specific names critically, thereby removing to 

 a large extent the ambiguity, by definitely stating what 

 terms are to be regarded as synonymous. Scientific work of 

 this nature is obviously of international iin[)ortance, but it 

 is often much undervalued by the general public. 



A case in point, where the existence of synonyms and 

 homonyms still gives rise to considerable confusion, is 

 afforded by the publicition of a monograpli by Wester of the 

 Bureau of Agriculture, Manila, entitled A Contribution to 

 the Nomenclature of the Cultivated Anonas. The genus 

 Anona includes the Cherimoyer, Anuna clieritnolia, Miller; 

 the sugar apple, Anuna .^ijiia/iiosa, L.: the custard apple, 

 Anomi relicidata, L.; the soursop, Anona muricata, L ; and 

 the Mamon, Anona 'jlahra.^ L. 



The sugar apple, the custard apple and the soursop are 

 ■well-known fruits in the West Indies and the Cherimoyer 

 though not known so well is nevertheless largily cultivated 

 in the sub tropics and in the tropics at high altitudes. It 

 may be remembered that the cultivation of this plant was 

 recently described in ih^ A<j rirull itnil Neirx, \o\. XI, p. 388. 



The point, however, of \V ester's monograph is that, with 

 the increased attention that is being given to the Anonas by 

 fruit growers, it is very necessary to avoid confusion of names. 



At present Anona rherimoHa, Miller, has no less than fifteen 

 different names, most of them popular; Anona, reticulata, L., 

 has twenty-nine; Anona muricata, L., thirty-five; whilst the 

 i-ugar-apple, Anona sijuamosa, L , has no less than fifty-five. 

 In several instances" a name is used to refer to more than one 

 species, for instance, Chirimoya is used for An^na clieriinolia 

 in Cuba, and for A. sQuamosa in Porto Rico; whilst in Mexico, 

 the popular name <>luauhtzapotl is applied to the three species 

 A. reticulata, A. cherimolia, and .i-l. squamosa. 



In spite of public antipathy, then, it may prove to be 

 convenient, commercially, to refer to the different Anonas by 

 means of the scientific names which are given in this article. 



CACAO EXPERIMENTS ON THE 



GOLD COAST. 



An interesting account of cacao experiments 

 appears in the Annual Report of the Agricultural 

 I)epartment of the Gold Coast for I9I1, from which 

 the following is taken: — 



The three old plots of the common variety in this 

 Colony (Amelonado) growing in the Agricultural Station, 

 Aburi, planted in 1891-16!>3 have given a larger crop of 

 fruits than in any year since accurate records have been kept. 



There are now 46-5 trees in these plots. The average 

 number of pods produced by each tree for the three years 

 has therefore been 96'7 pods: many of the largest and best 

 pods are u.sed annually for propagation purposes. As 

 a result of several experiments it has been found that twelve 

 to thirteen average pods yield 1 11>. of cured cacao; and 

 on this basis the average yield per tree has been 7 5 lb. to 

 8 1 lb. of cured cacao, an extremely satisfactory result. 



These trees although they are now nineteen to twenty- 

 one years old exhibit an extremely healthy appearance con- 

 sidering that they have received no treatment other than ia 

 within the reach of the native farmer, namely: a periodical 

 hoeing to keep down weeds, any necessary light pruning, 

 spraying, and general care, and the application of a 'mulch' 

 (grass, leaves, etc.) as available. Two years ago a light 

 dressing of lime was also applied to the soil. 



The increased yield obtained in the second year from the 

 three plots of previously abandoned cacao on the Assuantsi 

 Agricultural Station are particularly gratifying and indicate 

 very forcibly, and in a practical way, the benefits derived 

 from giving proper care and attention to the trees. 



