S4 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



March 13, 1915. 



FRUIT AND FRUIT TREES. 



Robusta Coffee in Ceylon. The young plants of 

 Robusta coffee planted ou1 nexl the parent plot, h 

 developed both the leaf disease (IJfemeleia vastatrix) and the 

 scale (Ci I both of which are present to a slight 



extent on the parent bushes, which do not seem to be very 

 much affected in general appearance. These young plants 

 have ii" established - b ide. 



Somi year old Robusta stumps raised from the same 

 seed, were planted out in June under dense, established shade 

 of Leucaena glauca, next a plot of Liberian coffee suffering 

 heavily from both pests, and there is no sign of the Robusta 

 plants having bei ed from them (The Tropical 



Agriculturist, Deo mber 1914.) 



Areas Controlled by the United Fruit 

 Company. — An interesting article in Tropical Life 

 (January 1915) contains a review of a report recently issued 

 by the United Fruit Company, which controls such large 

 areas in Central America. It is stated that the 276,821 



acres of improved land, ovi 1 and leased, under croj 



made up as follows: Columbia, under bananas, 18,334 acres, 

 cacao 33 acres; Costa Rica, bananas, 162,73, cacao 625; 

 Cuba, bananas, 88, cacao 846; Guatemala, bananas, 30,311; 

 Honduras, bananas, 15, 117; Jamaica, bananas, 10,521, cacao 

 77; Panama, bananas, 34,552, cacao 1,195. 



Of other crops there are large areas under oranges, 

 sugar-cane, coco-nuts, etc. It is understood that the ! 

 crop is affected considerably with disease in Costa Rica, in 

 which countrj also general administrative matters are in 

 a condition of some instability. It is suggested that the 

 company in course of time may substitute cacao for 

 bananas in < !osta Rica. 



Vanilla in the French West Indies. Vanilla 

 was introduced into Martinique a long time ago (about 1697), 

 but its cultivation has not much, and it seems at 



present to remain stationary. During the four years fi 

 1908 II the greatest exportation took place in 1909 (4,590 Ib.^ 

 worth about £1,520), the least in 1911 (2,536 ll>.. w 

 about £955). 



Vam tbiia was introduced into Guadeloupe in 



1701; artificial pollination was begun in 1839, and afewj 

 later the exportation of vanilla began; In 191 1 it amounted to 

 39,267 ft)., of the value of £13,352. The greatest quantity 

 was exported in 1908, 68.242 ft., worth £10,871. Besides 

 Mexican vanilla (I". plm the native vanilla (V. p 



i ' i is also grow ii to some extent. 



Vanilla plani folia was introduced into Guiana a 

 year 1870 by the Administration of the penal settlement, 

 it « lid not gain a tooting. and its cultivation is now abandoned, 

 (Monthly Bulletin q) Agricultural Intelligence and Plant 

 Diseases, September I !t!4.) 



Testing of Lime Juice in St. Lucia.— The. Wii- 

 cultural Superintendent (Mr. A. -I. Brooks) of the Botanic 

 Station, St. Lucia, has forwarded the following notice 

 concerning the testing of lime juice in St. Lucia, which 

 has been published in the Official Gazeth 



To assist local lime-juice manufactures in establishing 

 a uniform grade of juice, the Agricultural Department of 

 St. Lucia has made arrangements for testing samples of 

 juice submitted to them for examination. 



The examination oi concentrated juice will include: (1) 

 test showing acid content; (2) hydrometer reading; (3) test 

 for sediment. 



A fee of I*, will becharged for each examination of raw 

 juice, and Is. 6d. for concentrated juice. 



Samples of raw juice should lie taken from the storage 

 vat immediately after milling and straining. Samples oi 



titrated juice should be taken from the cooling vat, the 

 contents being first thorough!) agitated before the sample is 

 taken. 



Samples ol juice should be pfft into clean bottles 



containing al t l2oz., securely sealed, labelled with the 



owner's name, ami sent addressed to the Agricultural Superin- 

 tendent, Castries, Botanic Gardens, or the Agricultural and 

 Botanical Station, Choiseul. 



The results of the test will be treated as confidential foi 

 the information oi the person interested. No responsibility 

 attaches to the Agricultural Department in respect I 

 repot t furnished. 



Net Weight of Bags of Cacao ot Different 

 Countries. The following table taken from the B 

 oj thi Department of Agriculture, Trinidad and Tob - 

 (Vol. XIV, Part 1). should prove of interest, owing to the 

 noticeable variation in the weight of the hags t. 

 different countries: 



Cwt. 

 ■< 



\\ to 2 



I] to 1'. 

 1 to ll 



1 ' 

 I to I', 



Surinam 



British West Indies 



( Guayaquil 



( !osta Rica 



I larupano, Sanchez and Sat 



-lava 



I '.all l I 



t leylon 



I lolombia >. 



larai 



St. Domingo 

 Africa 

 Venezuela and Puei to < 'abello I 



Note on Banana Cultivation in Ceylon.— 

 ■annually cutting off and burning the diseased, yellow 

 of plants affected with Fusarium, the disease 

 to be satisfactoi il.\ checked. 



Practically the whole of the first crop oi bunches has 



been cut, save in the red plantains which take fifteen 



months fully t ature, against the ten to twelve of the 



il hi r vat ieties. 



In the Puwalu variety, the parent plant was cut on 

 July 17. i.e., at eleven months, and the two ratoons flowered 



two month- later, yielding bunches tit to CUt in three ip 

 time. That is, the variety will yield three bunches 'i 



35c. each in sixteen months. 



It has been said that the bunches in these plots ire 

 small compared to those elsewhere, but this may be duo 

 either to th on, or to the fact that Ceylon varieties 



are supposed to give larger hunches from the ratoons than 



from the parent a reversal to that which takes place in the 



West Indies. But in any v.<-<-, planting according to the 

 West Indian methods has resulted hen in ruiting 



than planting in the ordinarj Ceylon manner. (The 'J', 

 Agriculturist, I (eccmber I '••! 1) 



