250 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Oct. 1, 1886. 



The planter of earlier times contracted rust from 

 paucity of social intercourse, and plodding iu his own 

 groo\c till any change of liabits or duties became a 

 terror to him. He would do his possible to avoid 

 meeting strangers, and, alas ! iu too many cases he 

 tooic to solitary tippling ending iu D. T. and death. 

 The old CVylon planter can tell many a sad talc of 

 the neighbours, acquaintances and intimate friends of 

 from thirty to forty years age, and can never feel 

 tliankful enough that he himself escaped the dau 

 gens to which the life he was obliged to lead exposed 

 him iu common with those who succumbed. 



Yes, truly, it is an mimanly and ignoble thing for 

 one who has been taught some tincture of letters 

 .•md the habits of the civilized society to become deg- 

 raded into a sloven or a sot or even one who defers 

 as long as possible a disagreeable duty, But send 

 .'society's brightest ornament into the jungle five 

 miles from a neighbour, and compare him with his 

 old self at the end of four or five years : you will 

 probably find that he has deteriorated not a little. 

 The planter's safeguard in a new country or a new 

 district is a taste for science or literature, or art, or 

 a good stout Hobby on which he can mount at 

 will and gallop away into the brightest regions of Utopia. 



FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CULTIVATION IN 

 THE WEST INDIES : A TRIP TO CHIRIQUI. 



On reaching that portion of our route where the 

 surrounding districts consisted of flat alluvial, we 

 noted several extensive Banana plantations. I was 

 informed on reliable authority that from the time of 

 planting to the production of fruit only some nine 

 or ten mouths were required, and the plants from their 

 thriving and luxuriant appearance would assist to bear 

 out this statement. They were planted in straight 

 rows some 10 to 12 feet apart, and were producing 

 enormous bunches of splendid fruit at the time of our 

 visit. So productive are these plantations becoming 

 on this and other rivers iu the locality that large 

 steamers begin to come iu regularly to load for the 

 American market, and when it is considered that.the 

 depth of water in the lagoon is sufficient to allow 

 thera to come to within easy distance of an hour or 

 an hour and a half's journey by canoe, it will easily 

 be seen what a profitable business it is likely to be- 

 come in the near future. The transit of the fruit 

 from the plantations to the steamers is all performed 

 by large (Jedar canoes similar to the one in wliich we 

 were travelling, or in larger ones dug out from the 

 enormous Cotton trees. Rice was growing wild on the 

 river banks, and appeared to ba of good qusility. 

 Several large Cane fields were also seen, and Canes 

 1-5 to 20 feet high were common objects. 



Near the house was a large leguminous tree, which 

 was here known as the " Guanga," but though it 

 bore considerable resemblance to the tree known under 

 that name in Jamaica, it was not ♦^he same. It is a 

 tall umbrageous tree, with bijugate leaves and brown 

 hairy pods, somewhat falcate in outline, and 6-8 

 inches in length. These, when open, are fouad to con- 

 tain a sweet mucilaginous pulp, which envelopes the 

 .seeds, which when freed from their covering were of 

 a chocolate colour. The pulp much resembles that 

 covering the seeds of Theobroma, and h is a pleasant 

 sub-acid taste. There were also plenty of Coconut 

 trees, which foiuid a congenial home iu the sandy 

 soil of the beach, but on tasting them as " water 

 Coconuts " we found that they were much inferior 

 in flavour to those grown on the islands in the lagoon, 

 but the ripe nuts are ecjual in size and quality to those 

 grown in other places. 



"We also procured seeds of "Samba (lum" tree. 

 These were about the size of small Nutmegs, and, like 

 them, were covered with a redilish arillus, or fleshy 

 covering, nuich resembling the JIaco of commerce. 

 The " Sandja Gum," when first produced from the 

 tree, is a yellowish creamy-looking liquid, which after 

 n time becomes hard and somewhat resinous, and 

 when in that condition resembles the " Hog Gum " 

 of Jamaica, the produce of Symphonia globulifera, if, 

 iudeeil. it is not the pm Imc nf lln-i same tree, for 



it has not yet been our fortune to obtain seeds and 

 botanical specimens of the Jamaica plant. 



The remaining days of our visit were spent mostly 

 indoors, on account of the very inclement weather 

 which prevailed at the time ; but even during this 

 time I was fully occupied in drying and properly pre- 

 serving the specimens I had already secured. One of 

 tde specimens thus brought to us was the fruit of a 

 Pas.sitlora, called the '' Wild Granadilla" locally. It 

 was a ripe fruit 1 inch in diameter, bright scarlet in 

 colour, having a very thin papery pericar]) witli light 

 coloured transverse and longitudinal markings. ft 

 contained a very pleasant sweet pulp, and, being fully 

 ripe, seeds were duly secured, and 1 am glad to say 

 safely transported to this island, where they are now 

 growing freely. It is a pretty species, and was found 

 on a small island called Careening Cay, forming the 

 tougue of the Bidl's IVIouth. Another plant of 

 interest of which seed was brought to us was Elais 

 guineensis, or the African Oil Palm, which has prob- 

 ably been introduced in a similar manner as it was 

 into Jamaica from the coast of AVestern Africa. "\V'e 

 also hn.d a fruit of the true Passiflora quadrangularis 

 brought to us under the name of " Granadilla." 1 had 

 not seen the fruit of this plant for some twenty year.s, 

 but it has often occurred to me that the name "Gra- 

 nadilla " was probably applied indiscriminately to the 

 two kinds, i.e., Passiflora macrocarpa and P. quad- 

 rangularis, the former of which is known and grown 

 in Jamaica as the " Granadilla." The difference 

 between the two varieties is not so much in the size 

 and shape of the leaves, which are very similar, but 

 in the different form, size, and flavour of the fruit 

 [and specialljf in the construction of the flower, l^u.]. 

 The fruit of P. quadiangularis is in size about one- 

 third less than that of P. macrocarpa, more oval in 

 •shape, and of a darker green colour. It is nuich 

 superior to the ordinary fruit known as the " Grana- 

 dilla." 



The fruit of Bromelia pita was also brought to 

 us. This is the "Silk Grass" of the district, and 

 is the plant from which all the Indian hammocks, 

 bags, &c., are manufactured. It has leaves some- 

 times over 10 feet iu length, in appearance not unlike 

 those of the " Penguin " of Jamaica, but the fruit of 

 the plant is much more like the Pine-apple, as it rises 

 on a stem 3 or 4 feet long from the crown of the 

 plant, and the pips,- are aggregated together, in a 

 similar manner to that fruit. The bracts are nuich 

 more distinct, bright scarlet, and close together, and 

 the pips are much smaller than those of the Pine- 

 apple, and not of such succulent nature. It is very 

 handsome, and were it not for the somewhat uuwieldly 

 proportions of the plant producing it would be of 

 some interest as an ornamental fruit. 



The bread-fruit was a tree we found abundant in all 

 the islands, and was tended in every place with much 

 care, as it is one of the favourite plants selected by 

 the " AVe Wo " and for the display of its depredatory 

 powers. It nevertheless thrives well, and produces 

 fruit in abundance. " Ca.ssava," as a rule, is not so 

 prolific as in some of the drier districts in Jamaica, 

 but it is generally cultivated by both Creoles and 

 Indians. Tobacco is grown, but is of very inferior 

 quality. Limes are plentiful, but Oranges are scarce, 

 rendered so by the constant attacks of the " We-We " 

 upon the leaves of the tree. 



The Star-apple was fairly common, and several 

 trees of Blighia sapida, the " Ackee," were in cultiv- 

 ation near the settlements. 



There is one variety of Coconut which is deserv- 

 ing of special mention. It is called the "green- 

 skinned," and though to all outward appearance it is 

 smaller than the ordinary kind, it is found that when 

 denuded of its husk the nut is very much superior in 

 size.- It is apparently quite as jirolific, the trees are 

 as quick in growth and quite as hardy as the ordinaiy 

 variety. The nut when ripe is about one-third 

 larger, and is much handsomer than the commoi\ one. 

 As water Coconuts they contain a very large quan- 

 tity of liquid ; one we had given us produced sufficient 

 t'j fill a soda-water tumbler once and a half, and 

 we were informed it was not selected for its extra 



