196 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



.1. m: 19, 1915 



FRUIT. 



COCO-NUTS IN THE WINDWARD AND 



LEEWARD ISLANDS. 



!n St. Vincent, during 1913-14, the planting of coco-nuts 

 was still continued, about 29,000 being imported for the 

 purpose. In St. Lucia an extension is also taking 

 Planting has continued, and preparations are in progress 

 • mi sevi 1. 1 1 estates for further extension of the area under this 

 crop. The quality of tin- nuts in St. Lucia is, on the whole, 

 very good. With careful selection it is possible t.> get local 

 nuts lit excellent quality for propagating purposes. The local 

 demand I'm- selected SL.-t.-iI nuts has been very considerable, 

 and the exports in consequence showed but a .slight increa e 

 in 1913-14: 80,097 nuts valued at £234 0*. L lrf., and 69 cwt. 

 ni copra valued at £68 18«. trf. were exported. 



The coco nut palm flourishes wish great vigour in I > inica, 



and a very considerable industry has I n established, though 



there is plenty of room lor further extensions. Over half 

 a million nuts were exported in 1912, and the continued 

 investment of capital will lead to still greater shipments in 

 the future. 



In Antigua there were abouf I'i acres of coco-nuts 



planted in the island during the year. The interest in this 



industry is being maintained, for sotne 5,000 nuts are ordered 

 for planting purposes next year. On the whole, the planta 

 tions are in a promising condition, but there are instances 

 when- drainage is necessary if success is to be secured. This 

 point lias been brought forward on previous occasions, but 

 its importance is such as to allow of repetition, for it would 

 seem that if some eases are neglected success cannot be 

 looked for. The coco-nut trees are, on the whole, singularly 

 free In mi disease. Scale insects are somewhat common but 



these have caused up to the present littl ■ no apparent 



damage. 



The coco-nuts at Fiiineys estate in Nevis continue to be 

 satisfactory; the trees are perfectly healthy, and are bearing 

 well. The area now under cultivation is about 220 acres. 



Arrangements are being made to carry out manurial 

 experiments in the plantation under the supervision of the 

 Department of Agriculture. 



During the year. I1.IOO nuts wen- collected. A fail- 

 number of these were used for planting purposes, and the 

 rest were shipped to the New Ymk market, where good 

 prices were realized. 



Other small plantations exisl in the island. 



During 1913-14, the planting of i nuts by the 



Government and proprietors of land in the Virgin Islands 

 received much attention. The interest displayed in the 

 orders for plants this season must in a gnat measure be 

 attributed to the example shown by the Experiment Station 

 in planting out a 4-acre demonstration plot of this palm. 



In order to meet the demand for plants in the Virgin 

 Islands, selected nuts were obtained locally from a group of 

 trees growing at Cappoons Bay estate, the property of 



.1. I'i. R aey, Esq. Trees on this estate are quite free 



from any insect or fungoid pests, very prolific, and producing 

 a nut over 4 inches in diameter. 



In view of these facts, together with the risk that is run 

 in importing disease by the importation ol plants, the Depart 

 merit deemed it wise tn propagate from local sources. 

 Up to the time of writing, approximately 35 acn 

 coco-nuts have been established. Particular attention must 

 be drawn to the establishment ot i .' plantation by 



it settler in Tor tola. The soil on this plantation is of 

 a sandy loam nature^ ind should the proper subsequent 

 treatment be given to- the plant-, it is reasonable to expect 

 that a remunerative yield will be obtained. 



Continued interest has been shown in the planting of 

 this crop, and it i- estimated that approximately 50 acres 

 will be put into coco-nut cultivation next season. It is 



Imped than the interest will be kept Up, as there is great 



scope for the development of a coco-nnt industry in the 

 Virgin Islands. 



THE WILD CITRUS FRUITS OP 

 MADAGASCAR. 



There has appeared in commerce in London during the 

 last two years a curious bronze-coloured orange, marked with 

 one "i" two longitudinal orange-yt-llnw stripes, but having the 

 odonr of the edible orange and a sweet juice. 



On enquiry of the fruiterers (who charged kf. each for 

 them) these oranges are stated to come from only one grower 

 in Spain, whose name is kept a secret by the trade at present. 

 and who is believed to bave used a graft of a bronze-coloured 

 Madagascar orange on the ordinary Spanish sweet orange. 



According to a note in the Juurnal of the Royal Society 

 of Arts (April 2, p. I'iT) there are wild -pecies of Citrus, but 

 in the centre and on the east coast of the island oranges and 

 mandarines are grown in small quantities from planted trees. 



The wild oranges, known as 'Voasary', are most common 



on the east coast, growing either near the shore in sandy soil, 

 or more in the interior in compact, more or less flinty rock, 

 but as a rule on pom and arid soil, and are usually scattered 

 amongst bushy growth. 



A small lemon about the size of a hens egg, railed 'Vba 



Sary mahirana', grows on the north-west coast ot the island. 

 ( >u the east coast there are two local varieties of the mandarin 

 orange and one variety imported from Zanzibar, and also an 

 imported variety ot grape fruit. 



Dr. Ilaeckel published a list of the different Citrus fruits 

 of Madagascar, giving their native names, but descriptions ot 



the different native fruits are not yet available, and it is diffi- 

 cult to determine to what type they approach, and how many 

 are ..I the Orange and how many of the lemon type, since the 



.Malagasy word 'Voasary' seems to In- used generally for fruits 

 of both orange ami lemon type. 



These names are as follows; Tsoko, Voahangibe, Voangy, 

 Voantsoa, Voasari-kelinandria maintra, Voasari-raabirona (evi- 

 dently the small lemon above mentioned), Voasari-mamy, and 

 Voasari-mandina. 



In the Flora of Mauritius, however, Bojer describes 



a speeies said to be a native of Madagascar, but cultivated in 

 Mauritius under the name of Citrus Vangasay, Boj., and called 

 'Vangasaille' in Mauritius. 



In Mauritius also, a small bronze coloured orange, 

 a native of China (Citrus fitted) appeals t.. be cultivated, but 

 this is not mentioned by Ilaeckel amongst the Citrus species 



cultivated in Madagascar. 



t'ntil we know whether some of the above-named wild 

 Mad igascar Citrus fruits have a bronze skin, it is not possible 



to guess further at the exact botanical source oi the curious 

 bronz ange imported into this country. Hut the long list of 



wild forms in M ... I igascar show that then- may possibly be 

 yielding essential oils that might become Useful articles 



of commerce. (The Perfumery and Essential Oil Record, 

 April 20, 19150 



