16-t 



THE AGllICULTURAL NEV?S. 



:May 29, 1909. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



LIME GROWING AT NEVIS. 



The interest than is being .shown in many ]y.\rts of 

 the West Indies in efforts to increase the variety of 

 crops grown is an e>;conraging sign. An in»~tance m 

 point is reported fi'om Nevis, wliere — as at Tortola — 

 efforts are being made to'bring about tlie e.xistence of 

 a lime industry. In his report for the nmntli of A[iril 

 last, Mr. J. O. Maloney, Agricultural Instructor, 

 writes : — 



At present some attention is being paid to growing 

 limes on a .small scale at Nevis. 3Iany thousands of seedlings 

 were distributed from the E.xperiment Station in 1907, most 

 <;>f which are now growing well. I might also mention that 

 some other spots weie planted in 1005, hut have not thriven 

 well, on account of the fact that they have not received 

 proper attention. 



Orders have just been received at the .Station for 

 70,000 lime seedlings, of which 2,000 have already been 

 delivered, and it is hoped that a large supply will soon be 

 ready for distribution. 



It is tjuite evident that with a certain amount of care, 

 limes can he successfully grown at Xevis, although the rain- 

 fall is somewhat small. 



LIME INDUSTRY IN VIRGIN ISLANDS. 



Allusion w^as recentl}' made in this journal to the 

 fact that the prospects for the (leveloi)ment of a small, 

 Ijiit reniuneraiive lime industry in tlie Virgin Islands 

 H-ippear [iromisini,'. A short report has lately been 

 received from 3Jr. W. C. Fishlock, Agricnhuial In- 

 structor for the rrc>ideiicy,' giving particulars of the 

 work done in this direction during lOO.S-i). 



Linies were purchased at the Kxpeiiment Station 

 throughout the yi.'ar. and up to the middle of .March 

 of this year, Mr. Fishlock had bought iO.-27:i lb. of 

 fruits, or about 2.52 barrels,, The sum jiaid out for 

 tliis quantity was .£34 ll.s. d'l. 



Lime juice was prepared from the purchased fruits, 

 and at first the plan was tried of e.xporting this juice 

 in the raw slate. About 200 gallons were shipped, 

 but it was found, however, that the cost of casks, 

 freight, etc., was too large to allow this method to be 

 remunerative. The raw juice has been boiled down to 

 the concentrated condition, and later shipments have 

 consisted of concentrated juice. In March last about 



1.50 gallons were exported to London, and this quantity 



was valued at al)r)iit £45. This ph) 



cely to prove 



more yirotitable than that of shipping the raw juice. 



With further exuerience, and as the industry 

 develops, the cost' of preparation may j)ossil)ly be 

 somewhat reduced, and by-productb, such as the 

 essential oil, mav be saved. 



PREPARATION OF GRAFTING WAX. 



A useful recipe for the ]ireparatii>ii of giafting wix 

 was lately given in the American Jin'i-iml <i/ Aijri- 

 i-iiUitre. It is as fcillows : — 



The best grafting wa.x is made from 4 parts of resin, 

 2 parts of bees '-wa.x, and ) part of tallow, all by weight. An 

 iron vessel of some kind should be used for melting the 

 components of the mixture, which should be done over a slow 

 fire. The resin is melted first, then the bees'-wax is added, 

 and finally the tallow. The three ingredients are gently 

 stirred so as to bring about a thorough mixture. 



The melting process Avill take from twenty minutes to 

 half :.n hour, and card must be taken to avoid burning the 

 melted mixture. When properly mixed, a small portioa 

 is poured into a bucket of cold water, and in a short time it 

 will l)e cooled sufficiently to be lifted out \^ith the hand and 

 worked in any way desired. During this process, the hands 

 must be kept moderately greased with tallow to prevent 

 sticking. 



When the ci.lour of the grafting wax mixture has 

 become pale yellow, if''has been worked snfticiently, and may 

 lie made into rolls of convenient size — ."i or 4 inches long, by 

 about 1 inch in diameter — and pliced in another vessel of 

 cold water to harden. 



!More of the melted mixture is now poured into the cold 

 water and treated as before, and this process is repeated 

 until the whole lot is worked up. The rolls of wa.x soon. 

 harden, and can be \n\t away until required ingrafting. 



This wax wheii applied to the trees will not 

 melt and run down in warm weather. If, however, 

 the weather is very warm at the time grafting is 

 done, it is well to allow the wax to lie in cold water for 

 a time before using in order that it may be of the jiroper 

 consistency. 



In applying the Wax around the grafts it should bo 

 pressed very closely. 4 It is advisable also that the hinds 

 should be rubbed with a very little tallow before starting the 

 grafting process. This, however, must be done with judg- 

 ment, since if the haMs arc so grea-sy as to afiFci't the wax, it 

 will not stick properly to the cut surfaces of thr grafts. 



