6gi 



run TROPICAL AGRICULTURrsr. [April I, 1887. 



Regarding Indian cigars, though there has been a 

 considerable sale of Trichinopoly and Burmese cigars 

 of late, it was stited at the Conference that they 

 could never compete with those produced in the best 

 cigar producing cjuntries, and their only competition 

 would be with those of British make. Indian cigars 

 are described as being too hard filled and that instead 

 of being packed in a bunch-like manner the filling 

 of Indian cigars went through the entire length : this 

 makes them heady and difficult to smoke. It was 

 " urged that every consideration should be subordinated 

 to the effect on duty, since it is the heavy import 

 duty that kdls the Indian cigar trade, and therefore 

 light weight was of primary importance. 



Since the Exhibition closed Mr. Morris, the ener- 

 getic Assistant-Director of Kevv, has read an elaborate 

 paper on " Fruit as a Factor in Colonial Commerce." 

 It occupies many closely printed columns of the Colonies 

 and India. Its length, however, precludes us from 

 reprinting a paper which is of the highest practical 

 interest. It must suffice to say that Mr. Morris called 

 attention to the possibilities of our colonial empire 

 as a source of a large supply of fruit, illustrating his 

 subject by reference to the display made in the colo- 

 nial market throughout the whole duration of the Exhibi- 

 tion from various colonies, the most remote as well as the 

 nearest. Mr. Morris shows how most of the fruit con- 

 sumed in this country, that is not home-grown, is 

 derived from foreign countries. The value of the fruit 

 in round numbers is £8,000,000 sterling per annum. 

 This might equally well be earned by our fellow- 

 countrymen in the colonies, who are able to supply 

 lis with the fruits of tropical as well as of temperate 

 regions. Mr. Morris 'alluded to the inter-coloaial fruit 

 trade, and to the supply of the Americin market from 

 Jamaica and other West Indian Islands. Of Apples, 

 the home country imports barrels to the value of 

 £700,000 annually, the larger portion of which comes 

 from the ITnited States, Canada only supplying fruit 

 to the value of £91,000 annually. Mr. Morris then 

 passed in review the fruit-producing capabilities 

 of the several colonies, and showed how much their 

 resources might be increased by attention to fruit 

 culture and exportation. Mr. Morris' labours for the 

 development of .so-c.iUed minor industries in Jamaica 

 and elsewhere, as a means of alleviating the trade 

 depression which prevails in some colonies are so well 

 known and appreciated that his remaks were listened 

 to with much attention ; and as an illustration of 

 the practical character of his a Idress it may be men- 

 tioned that an important section of it was devoted 

 to the proper means of packing and shipping. 



Another exhaustive paper was read lately before 

 the Society of Arts by Dr. George Watt on the 

 ♦= Economic Resources of India." Heve, again, the 

 import ince of "minor" products was dealt with as 

 only a botanist could deal with them. The paper is 

 pubHshedin full in the Journal of the Societi/ of Arts 

 for February IS, to which we must refer the reader, 

 merely saying that the greater part of the paper is | 

 taken up with the discussion of products, the Europ- 

 ean trade in which is capable of greater extension, 

 or of products practically unknown in European com- 

 merce, but which promise to lie of very considerable 

 importance. The products are classed under the heads 

 of foods, drugs, fibres, and oils. Dr. Watt's remarks 

 illustrate forcibly the waste of resource that arises 

 from imperfect appreciation and want of application 

 of the knowledgfe acquired by the botanists. 



Another paper of great interest in the same number 

 of the Journal of the Societi/ of Arts is that on Colo- 

 nial Woods, by Mr. Ransome. Our readers will re- 

 member the magnificent samples of various kinds, 

 many of which were alluded to in our reports at the 

 time, and they will be glad to have in a convenient 

 form the record of the experiments made by Mr. 

 Ransome to test their value for dififercnt purposes. 

 One great defect in the consideration of woods arises 

 from their faulty or defective nometiclat\ire. In many 

 cases the botanical source is not known, in others 

 the indiscriminate and most inappropriate application 

 of such terms as Ocdar, Cypress, Iron-wood, &c., is 

 a real bar to knowledge. 



We would not in any degree impute blame to the 

 authors of the papers we have mentioned, that they 

 did not specially treat their subjects from the point 

 of view of cultivation ; but we must point out here 

 emphatically that this question of cultivation is all. 

 important. Cultivation is imperative, if the resources 

 we have alluded to are to be continuously developed ; 

 otherwise, we run the greatest risk of destroying 

 what we ought to be propagating and developing. 

 The necessity for cultivation is of course greater in 

 some cases than in others — in many cases it is pro- 

 spective rather than actual — but it is none the less 

 imperative. The first thing is to know thoroughly, 

 we mean not superficially, what our resources are, 

 and this is work for the botanist; the next thing is 

 to know how to develope them to the best advant- 

 age, this is the work of the cultivator, and he re- 

 quires not only practical skill and experience, but 

 extended knowledge of vegetable physiology, the 

 conditions under which plants grow, and how they 

 may be modified and adapted to suit our require- 

 ments. He must grow the best, and he must grow 

 them in the best way. The merchants must do the 

 rest. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 



FRUIT AS A FACTOR IN COLONIAL 



COMMERCE. 



One important result arising from the recent 

 Colonial and Indian Exhibition is the great interest 

 awakened in the possibilities of our Colonial Empire 

 as a source of a large supply of fruit. In the Colonial 

 Market attaclied to the Exhibition there was shown 

 a succession of rich and rare fruits from all parts of 

 Her Majesty's possessions. The Dominion of Canada 

 and the West India Islands, Cape of Good Hope 

 and Natal, the Australian Colonies and New Zealand, 

 Fiji, Straits Settlements, Mauritius, Cyprus, and iSIalta, 

 all were represented by produce in fruit, which, for 

 diversity of form and of representative character, 

 probably surpassed anything previously seen in these 

 islands. 



The shipments of fresh fruits from the southern 

 hemisphere were, in many cases purely of an ex- 

 perimental character ; but the results achieved were 

 certainly striking and suggestive, and will doubtless 

 lead to a trade in fruit between the Colonies and 

 Mother Country of benefit alike to both producer 

 aud consumer. At the present time we import into 

 this country raw and preserved fruit to a large 

 amount annually. Most of this fruit is supplied to 

 us by foreign countries. But within the area of the 

 British dominions is included a fruit climate as ex- 

 tensive as the world itself. We have all the fruit clim- 

 ates of the north temperate and tropical regions, and 

 we have also the fruit climates of the southern hemi- 

 sphere,! which latter can turn winter into summer, and 

 supply fruit in abundance just at the time we want 

 it most. 



As compared with many subjects brought forward 

 and discussed at meetings of the Royal Colonial Insti- 

 tute, the subject which I have the honour to bring 

 before you to-night may seem at first sight of small 

 i:n ) irtance. But having regard to the interest and 

 ch ir n which has always surrounded the subject of 

 fruit, the mention of which "never fails to inspire 

 thoughts of classic form, artistic hue, fragrant delight 

 of palate, a 1 1 healthful service to the body," and 

 having regard also to the possible expansion and the 

 devlopment which the fruit trade, not only between 

 the Mother Couniry and her Colonies, but also bet- 

 ween the Colonies inter se, or between the Colonies 

 and iiiVr.'hbouring States, is capable of attaining, there 

 are few subjects that deserve more careful au'l ex- 

 haustive treatment at our hands. 



The fruit trees that are now cultivated in England 

 and yield such stores of luscious food have travelled 

 here during thu slow progress of centuries from Easteru 

 countries; and, after improving them by scientific 

 culture and skill, we have sent them forth like oar 

 sons, to people the orchards of the South. Fro u 

 these suauy lands, where our sons aud daughters havj 



