164 



rUF. AGRICULTURAL NKWS. 



May 24, 1913. 



FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES. 



CITRUS FRUIT IN TSE PHILIPPINES. 



Uiilil recently nothing had been done in the Philippines 

 to stimuldte and impiove the cultivation of oranges and 

 limes. .A movemLMit in thi-s direction, however, has lately 

 been set on foat by the Bureau of Agriculture, and an article 

 in the PliUippim Journal or Science for December, 1912, 

 contains useful results that accrued from an investigation by 

 the Bureau of Science into the commercial possibilities and 

 chemical comp'jsitiou of a few of the m vst important citrus 

 varieties grown in that territory. 



Describing first, in a general wjy, the condition of the 

 orange cultivation, it is stated that ths trees are often 

 planted too close, and that no attempt is made to prune or 

 otherwise improve them, and the orchards are frequently 

 overgrown with bushes. Plant lice and scale in.sects in 

 places, occasion much damage, and injury caused by borer.", 

 and serious cases of gummosis are also to be found. Nearly 

 every tree observed was a host of Lorant/rus jihili/ipensii!, 

 a parasitic plant of the mistletoe family. 



The chemical investigations on the Philippine orange 

 (Cilrus nohilis, Lour ) concerned analysis of the orange itself, 

 the juice and the pulp. The average percentage gross com- 

 position of the fruit is as follows: peel 23-4: pulp and 5eed.«, 

 T6'6; seeds, 3 0. The average weight "f 788 oranges was 

 138 grammes, and the average number of seeds in each fruit 

 ■was twenty-two. It is of interest to remember in this connex- 

 ion that the average weight of an orange of the California 

 Washington Navel type is about 280 pramuies, and the peel 

 weighs, on an average, only 24 grammes, being but slightly 

 heavier than that of the much smaller Philippine fruit. 



The percentage composition of the juice of the 

 mature Philippine orange is indicated by the following 

 figures; solids, IISO; sucrose, 7 11; reducing sugars. 344; 

 protein, 0'75: ash, 4f<; citric acid, 60. The juice of 

 the AVashingtoM Navel fruit is composed as follows: solids, 

 139; sucrose, 11 3; reducing sugars, 79; citric acid, 0873. 



In order to determine if any special difficulties were to 

 be encountered in the preservation of orange juice, the liquid 

 was stored in bottles, to some of which 5 to 15 per cent. 

 sucrose solution was added, and then sterilized at 80"C. 



After about a year the percentage of reducing sugars 

 increased with a corresponding decrease in the sucrose and an 

 increase in acidity The beverage is somewhat bitter to the 

 taate, but the addition of sugar is stated to make it palatable 



to all. It is believed that mucli of the bitterness could have 

 been prevented by adopting methods of pressing that would 

 avoid crushirg the seeds and the segment covering. 



Another investigation concerned the fermentation of 

 orange juice. Complete fernn^ntation took place in seventy- 

 two hours and the product was found to contain 0*i per cent 

 of reducing sugar and ij oS per cent, nf alcohol. The 

 flavour was good, but greatly im|iroved on being kept in 

 wood. Pot still methods were employed. 



Af;er another set of exjierinients on the extraction of 

 orange oil, the question of the manufacture of paper from 

 orange pulp was investigate<l. The paper [iroduced by the 

 orange tibre p' ssesscd special waterproof and semi transparent 

 properties, and although it is rather weak, there is cause for 

 the belief that a special use may be found for this paper. 



The final section of the article concerns limes. The follow- 

 ing figures showing the composition of the Philippine variety 

 are interesting; iine fruit, 44 grammes; peel, 7'36 grammes; 

 pulp, 366 grammes; seeds, 1 gram. The juice contained about 

 7'7 per cent, of citric acid, and the ash of the fruit G.j'GQ per 

 cent, of potassium carbonate. When pressed by hand, each 

 fruit yields about 7 c c. of juice which, if heated between 60* 

 and 70^ in the manner described for the orange juice, keeps 

 well and is much preferred in the Pliilippines to the imported 

 lime juice, which contains excessive quantities of sulphurous 

 acid. 



FEEDING VALUE OF BENGAL BEANS. 



The following interesting report, by the Imperial 

 Institute, on a sample of Bengal beans (Stiiolohium 

 iiterriinum) forwanied for exanunatinn a few months 

 ago, to that institution from St. Vincent, has lately 

 been received from liie Agricultural Superintendent 

 in that Colony: — 



The sampli' ci insisted of beans of an oval shape, about 

 ;4-inch long, ,',.,->nih wide and J inrh thick. The beins had 

 a brittle, shiny, black testa, and a hard straw-coloured 

 interior. In a number of cases they were slightly soft and 

 iliscoloured internally, owing to their not being completely 

 dry. The taste was faintly bitter 



The Iteans were plump and free from insect attack, and 

 the sample was generally clean and free from extraneous 

 matter. The results of examination expressed on the 



