228 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Oct. 1, 1886, 



A TEIP TO CHIRIQUI : CACAO, BANANAS, 



VEtiETABLES, COCONUTS, &c. 

 From au article so headed in the Gardeners' 

 Chronicle, we quote as follows: — 

 Leaving Kingston, Jamaica, on November 8, we 

 entered the lagoon of Chiriqui on the 14th by a 

 zigzag course between an island and a point of the 

 mainland through a passage known to navigators as 

 liocas del Drago, or Mouth of the Dragon, but 

 locally known as " Boque's Mouth." Once inside, a 

 broad expanse of water was before us almost deserving 

 the term of inland sea, for certainly the term lagoon, 

 as it is generally understood, is not an appropriate 

 name for these waters. 



In the provi.sion fields we found Plantains, Bananas, 

 Pumpkins, Cassava, Sweet Potatoes, Yams, &c., grow- 

 ing in the greatest profusion; the only enemy they 

 appeared to have to contend with being the " ^\'e-we," 

 or Umbrella Ant. This insect — although very destruc- 

 tive, it is true — did not appear to effect the general 

 results of the cultivation, and the groves of Cacao 

 on the outskirts of the field were in most instances 

 untouched by it. We found large colonies of this 

 insect in every part of these islands, and it is without 

 doubt ill a great measure due to the labours of these 

 little creatures, assisted by the numerous land crabs, 

 that the probably once barren coral rocks which 

 form the foundation of these islands are raised from 

 sea-level to become fertile fields adapted for the pro- 

 duction of food for the human race. 



Plantains and Bananas produce large bunches, 

 which meet a ready sale on the spot, at the hands of 

 captains of trading schooners running to and from 

 the Isthmus of Panama. "8arse," the roots of a 

 species of Smilax, known to commerce as Sarsaparilla, 

 also meets a ready sale, large quantities being grown 

 at various places in the lagoon, and not a little is 

 produced and brought down by the Indians from the 

 mainland. 



The varieties of Oacao (Theobroma Cacao) were 

 numerous. The most commonly cultivated were the 

 white and red-skinneJ varieties, the green-skined is 

 a .very heavy cropi)er, and produces beans of excellent 

 quality. 



Ohocolate of good (juality is manufactured locally. 

 The beans are firot roasted, then deprived of their 

 skins, and afterwards ground on a small, flat, porous 

 stone, the crushing instrument, also of stone, being of 

 a shape similar to a housewife's rolling-pin. A\^e had 

 frequt-nt opportunities for testing this preparation, and 

 often declared that, if travellers of the olden time 

 tasted as good a mixture as it was our fortune to 

 drink, it was no wonder that they described it as 

 being "Food for the Gods." 



Another distinct species of Cacao was met with, 

 which, though of doubtful value as an economic plant, 

 was of sufiicient botanical interest to induce us to 

 spare no pains to introduce it into Jamaica, in which 

 endeavour I am glad to say we were primaril}' success- 

 ful, as growing plants reached King.'^ton in safety, 

 and are now contributed to the Castleton Botanical 

 * Garden. The plant has not as yet been scientifically 

 determined, but I may venture to state that it will 

 probably prove to be Theobroma bicolor. 



The tree itself is of a stout spreading habit, its 

 trunk and branches being much thicker than these of 

 the ordinary kinds ; but it is not so erect in its mode 

 of growth. 



In the Cacao groves we saw many trees of the 

 ordinary kind reaching a height of over 40 feet while 

 the "Tiger Cocoa" .seldom reaches more than 15 or 

 20 feet. 



Several plants of a tree locally known as the " Wild 

 Cocoa " were met with in the forest, and botanical 

 specimens duly secured, which will probably prove 

 the plant to be, not a Cocoa at all, but a species 

 belonging to the allied genus Herrania. The plant 

 has but a small single stem, its leaves resembling 

 at a short distance tho.se of the common Papaw 

 (Carica papaya). The pods are small, ten-ribbed, with 

 roundish seeds, covered with a thick sweetish pulp, 

 much sought after as • a "bush" delicacy by the 

 /uvenile members of the community. 



9m* 



On our return from the morning's outing we 

 examined the locality around the settlement in which 

 we were residing, and it was found that little cultiv- 

 ation was attempted near the dwellings, but that groves 

 of Cacao and (Joconuts abounded ererywhere, while 

 many of the inhabitants took great pride in showing 

 me their " Soopa ' trees. This is a palm well known 

 under the name of tiulielma speciosa, JIart., but 

 now referred by the authors of the Gfnera Plantanna 

 to the genus liaclris. Wallace in his Palms ufth,- A mazon 

 thus describes it: — •• This most picturesque and elegant 

 Palm has the stem slender, cylindrical, and thickly 

 set with long needle-shaped spines disposed in rings 

 or bands. It reaches GO feet in height, and grows 

 quite erect, though in exposed situations it becomes 

 curved and waving. The leaves are very numerous, 

 terminal, pinnate and drooping, forming a nearly 

 spherical crown to the s'lem ; and the leaflets growing 

 out of the midrib in various directions, and, being 

 themselves curled and waved, give the whole m.vss 

 of foliage a singularly plumy appearance." 



" The fruit is the size of an Apricot, of a triangular 

 oval shape, and fine reddish-yellow colour. In most 

 instances the seed is abortive, the whole fruit being 

 a farinaceous mass." 



" This palm appears to be indigenous to the countries 

 near the Andes. On the Amazon and Rio Negro it 

 is never found wild." It is most commonly known 

 as the ' Peach Palm,' from the similarity of its fruit, 

 in size and colour, to some species of the genus 

 Araygdalus, to which the 'Almond, Peach, and Necta- 

 rine belong. 



The fruits are eaten either boiled or roasted, and 

 have a flavour, to our taste, somewhat combining that 

 of roasted Spanish Chestnut and Sweet Potato. As 

 they are very wholesome I ate several, which I 

 particularly enjoyed. They are said by Wallace to be 

 •• also ground up into flour, and made into cakes, 

 which are roasted like Cassava bread, or the meal is 

 fermented in water, and forms a subacid creamy 

 liquid. Parrots, macaws, and monkeys, eat them 

 greedily, but the latter gentry are prevented when in 

 a wild state from obtaining them by the prickly nature 

 of the stem. 



The trees were growing at sea-level, and as the 

 temperature is similar, I believe it would be au excel- 

 lent plant to introduce for growing on the plains of 

 Jamaica. As an article of food it would certainly 

 be a valuable plant to the poorer inhabitants of thi.s 

 island, provided they could be induced to overcome 

 their invariable prejudice against " Buckra tings." 

 The fruit will stand transport with great facility when 

 ripe. I had a single one which I kept for some 

 twenty-five days, and that it was found in a com 

 paratively sound condition on my arrival in .Tamaica. 



[?HE RED SPIDER. 



(tETEAA'YCHUS TELAEIfS.) 



The red spider is not correctly speakmg an insect, 

 though it is commonly .spoken of as such, neither 

 is it a spider, as its name would imply, but an 

 acarus or mite. Whether its name is correct or not, 

 it is a most destructive aud troublesome pest wher- 

 ever it makes its presence felt ; it by no means 

 confines itself to one or only a few kinds of plants, 

 as many insects do, but it is very indiscriminate 

 in its choice of food, and it attacks both plants 

 grown under glass and those in the open air. When 

 these pests are present in large numbers the leaves 

 on which they feed soon present a sickly yellow or 

 Bchorched appearance, for ttie supply of sap is drawn 

 off by myriacls of the.se little mites, which congregate 

 on the undersides of the leaves, where they live 

 in a very delicate web, which they spin, aud multiply 

 very rapidly ; this web and the excrement of the 

 red spider soon choke up the pores of ihe leaves, 

 which, deprived of their proper amount of sap, and 

 unable to procure the carbon from the atmosphere 

 which they .'^o much need, are soon in a sorry plight. 

 However promiscuous the.se mites may be in their 

 choice of food plants — Melons, Cucumbers, kidney 

 Beans, Hops, \ ines, Apple, Pear, Plum, Peach trees. 



