Vol. XI. No. 258. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



85 



recently to be coniplL'te, and the description of the work done 

 in determining the distribution of the different species; 

 together form a large part of the work under review — a part 

 which is provided with very-accurate figures and with admir- 

 able plates It is upon tlie.<tonc]usiiins given- that future 

 researches, for the purpose of completing the botanical study 

 of kola plants must be based. It will suffice at present to 

 give a translation of the table in which A. Chevalier has 

 presented a classification of the kola plants discovered by him 

 or known previously. This may be detailed as follows. 



(1) Vi>l<i nitiSa (Vent.), A Chev. This is the most 

 generally cultivated species, and from it are obtained nearly 

 all the nuts in commerce; its seeds always posse.ss two 

 cotyledons. It comprises numerous varieties that may be 

 grouped in sub-sp6cies as follows: — 



(a) Cola riiZ/va, A. Chev., which yields only large, 

 red nuts; 



(b) Cola alha, A. Chev., which gives only large, 

 white nuts; 



(c) C'lla inixta, A. Chev., from which may be ob- 

 tained red nuts, white nuts and sometimes rose-coloured 

 nuts, from the same tree: it is the form that is most 

 widely dispersed in cultivation; " ■ 



(d) Cola pallida, A. Chev, which yields nuts of 

 small size, often rosy in colour. 



(2) Cola acwm/na^a (Pal.), Beauv. This ahvays 'gives 

 nuts possessing more than two cotyledons. 



(3) Cola Ballayi, Cornu. This yields nuts having four 

 or five cotyledons, but it is easily distinguished by its very 

 large leaves, grouped in false whorls. 



(4) Cola rertii-ill'-Ja (Thomni. in .Srhum.), Stapf.-This is 

 easily distinguished by its leaves, in whorls of three or- four; 

 it gives red nuts which are mucilaginous and possess more 

 than two cotyledons. 



(5) Cola sjJiaeiocarpa, A. Chev. This constitutes 

 a species about which little is known at present; the plant 

 yields large, white nuts with more than two cotyledons 

 which are probably not edible. 



A chart placed at the end of the volume shows the 

 distribution of these species : Cola uitida is found chieHy in 

 .West Africa, while those .'species with more than twc coty- 

 ledons occur most commonly in Equatorial Africa. 



EARLY AGRICULTURE IN THE BAHAMAS. 



In the year 1874, thfe Bahama Islands were visited by 

 Dr. .lohaVin David Schr.pf, a German traveller, who among 

 other matters published the book that is regarded as the first 

 work on American geology. The Tnivels of this savant 

 have been translated into English for the first time, from the 

 copy in the Library of Congress, of the United .States of 

 America. The information below has been taken from 

 extracts supplied by the tran.slator. and published in Bulletin 

 No. 16 ol the Lloyd Library of Botany, Pharmacy and 

 Materia Medica From a perusal of this, it will be seen that 

 the agricultural conditions of the I'ahamas at that time were 

 very different from those which obtain at present, and the 

 contrast may be heightened by reference to an article entitled 

 Agriculture in the Bahamas, 1910-11, published in the last 

 volume of th6 Ai/ricultuml Xeiis, page 3P-5. 



In describing Providence Island, mention is made of 

 deserted plantations and ruined houses, and the reason for the 

 e.xistenceof these is found in the fact that the exploitation of 

 the timber in this and other islands was comparatively easy 

 and lucrative, and replaced to a great e.xlent the raising of 



ordinary crops. As regards the chief agricultural products 

 Of the dav-, coffee is said to have thriven e&cellently, and it is 

 stated that several large «offee plantations were to be seen in 

 and near Nassau. The sugar-cane also -grew well, but the 

 rocky nature of the soil prevented the land from being 

 properly exploited, and only enough sugar for local con.sump- 

 tion was madej^ the product being obtained by merely boiling 

 the cane juice to a thick syrup. Indigo was growing abun- 

 dantly; no large manufactories had been set up, how- 

 ever, on account of the character and small supply of the 

 available water. 



Cotton was grown to a greater extent in the other 

 islands, than in Providence, and was regarded as one of the 

 most certain crops. Yams were raised in large quantities, 

 chiefly for local u.se. and there was some small export to 

 North America The dry climate did not permit of the 

 growing of more than one crop of maize iii the year, and the 

 production was so insufficient that many cargoes were contin- 

 ually sent from .-\merica to supply the deficiency. 



The tamarind tree is mentioned as being planted now and 

 then. There was an export of the produce, which was pre- 

 pared by removing the shells of the pods and placing the 

 seeds, with their acid cove/ing, between layers of brown sugar. 

 Orange and lemon trees are mentioned, as well as iwhat seems, 

 to be a shaddock or grape fruit under the name .Soursoop. The 

 citrus fruits grown most abundantly were limes, which, are 

 stated to have been exported in great quantity, from Provi- 

 dence and other West Indian Islands, to North America, 

 'where they are preferred greatly for punch, being juicier and' 

 sourer than lemons.' ■ There was aJ-o an expprt of lime juice. 

 Pine apples were raised in some large quantity, and exjtorted 

 to America and l<'urope; tliey are stated to have been sold in 

 London at 4s. to 8s. apiece, the purchase price in the Bahamas 

 being 4s. to 5s. a dozen. In addition to the export of the 

 fresh fruit, there was a trade in the fruit conserved in sugar 

 or brandy. 



It is stated that almost all the Bahama Islands, except 

 the Keys, were thickly overgrown with bush; nevertheless, 

 large timber trees existed on some of the larger islands, which 

 could be cut by anyone, at will. Wood cutting was, however, 

 becoming more dilficult and less lucrative. Mahogany (not 

 only the product of Sv';ieleiiia Mahagoni, but that of several 

 other trees, including Cedrela odorata) was exporte.l to 

 Europe. There was also a considerable output of Bruziletto 

 wood (from Caesalpinin Ijiasiliensis). Exports of lignum 

 vitae, from (iuauicnm officinale and (J. sanctum, took place at 

 times, ;ind there was a commencement of a trade in logwood, 

 employing trees that had been rai.sed from seed brought from 

 Honduras. 



Under the names White Cinnamon and Eluthera Bark 

 is mentioned Eleuteria bark {Croton Eleiiteria), many tons 

 of which were sent to Curai;ao and other Dutch colonies for 

 making cinnamon water, and perhaps also cinnamon oil. 

 Cascarilla bark (from Croton Cascarilla) was also gathered, 

 on some of the islands. An onion known as Squills, or the 

 Sea Onion, was collected on the sandy shore, dried and -.-nt 

 to North America. 



Among the remarkable or useful plants that are st.iU'd 

 to have been growing, in addition to the above, there are in- 

 cluded the papaw, guavas, the avocado pear, the banana, the 

 common fig, th-e cashew, various palms, the custard apple and 

 similar fruits, the wild cherry {Malpighia i/ltibra), the sapo- 

 dilla, the hog plum, and the manchineel and the mangrove. 



In conclusion, an interesting list is given of the com- 

 moner plants flowering in the Bahamas in April and May. 



