1V^ 



THE TROPXCAL AGKICtrLTURIST* 



[Mays, 188;, 



EHEA IN EGYPT. 



A correspondent of the Manrh ester G7'rjrfJian, writing; 

 of tlio progress of this industry says that " there are over 

 40 millions of establishel yearling Khea plants ready for 

 sendi?iir to Zagalouu, near to Zagazig Station on the Cairo 

 Suez Kailway, and supplies of selected plants from the 

 same source— the Franco Egyptian Ehea Company 

 (Limited) — are not only being forwarded to other intend- 

 ing gro\v(>rs in Egypt itself, but are now ready for ex- 

 portation to India and Central America," Rhea admit- 

 tedly thrives best in Egypt, sun, soil, irrigation, and cheap 

 labor being in its favour. It does well so in India ; but 

 the plant being at its best in the rainy season, iu 

 India there will always be some difSculty in collecting 

 and preparing it for market. It is said that amazing 

 profits can be made from the cultivation of the new 

 plan) and it is expected that we shall see, before many 

 months are over. Ramie bpcoming a formidable rival 

 to cotton and even to wheat cultivation in the purely 

 agricultural land of Egypt. The whole of the produce 

 raised, however, is likely to flow to France for the 

 exclusive use of continental looms, unless Euglish capi- 

 tal and English enterprise bestir themselves. 



There is room for twenty Companies of the kind, 

 and the native proprietors would be more willing to 

 invest their money in organisations conducted by com- 

 petent Englishmen, than embark in any enterprize 

 controlled by French administration. In time small 

 landed proprietors will begin to cultivate this hardy 

 plant to the almost total neglect of cotton, wheat, and 

 rice, which have not proved lucrative recently. It is 

 estimated that the yield of an acre of Rhea fibre will 

 produce from £15 to £20 per acre at one cutting, but 

 in good years from four to five cuttings can be counted 

 upon, or better still, the stems may be cut from 

 day to day as they attain a fixed standard height, 

 and are stripped by hand, when even the highest 

 estimate of profit will be exceeded. The plant is 

 perennial, and the two best seasons for planting out 

 Ramie Joots are March and September, although it is 

 possible to transplant the stools at almost any time 

 if water is abundant. — Fiji Times. 



THE FEUIT TRADE OF THE WEST. 



As the orange trade of this island with the States 

 is increasing every year, the following extract from 

 the Boston Evening Transcript may prove interesting 

 to the general reader and instructive to growers and 

 speculators who may be erroneouslj- anticipating high 

 prices this year: — "I said in my last letter that 

 estimates of the amount of damage done to the orange 

 trees were merely guesses and that the facts could 

 not be known until the sap started. Since that time 

 I have been pretty well over the State and can give 

 tlie results of my observations. In the northern portion 

 of the State quite a number of trees were killed or 

 severely injured by the January frost, and Jacksonville 

 shows thp effects of the freeze more than any place 

 I have visited. In the cputral portion of the State 

 about Ocala and Citra, but little damacre was done 

 beyond the destruction of the fruit on the trees. The 

 trees are all putting out their new growth and seem 

 an healthy an last February. Lemon trees, howe\'er, 

 ♦)ftV6 beeia generally killed throughout the State. 

 Early vegetables were scarcelv hurt at all, and cabbages, 

 lettuce, turnips, etc, are simply a little backward. 

 Strawberrit'S are unitijured, though they will not come 

 in as early ^i* Ksiial, owing to the long-continued cold 

 Weather. Above J.'alatfed to tile soltth, one sees little 

 to remind him of the !o* temperature of last month, 

 and in another week the Mew growth of green will 

 assume such luxuriance in all difecllonfl that the 

 past will be forgotten and forgiven. 



About Enterprise and Sanford pfiovt was made to 

 ,«ave the oranges, but all iu vain. Immense fires were 

 lu'lt and kept burning duiing the three days of_ cold, 

 1 ufc strange to say, scarcely a man thought of picking 

 h s (Tanges after the first cold night and thus surely 

 feiivirg them. If the "lady from Phil.ndelphia " of 

 tie » Peterkin Papers" had been ubiquitous, J^our 



feari^ri wigfet ''C eating eowe Fitrida oranpw sow 



instead of the once-frozen-never-to-be^forgotton-delusive 

 fruit which is on the market. Indian River I have 

 not visited yet. General Chamberlain of Maine told 

 me on my arrival in Jacksonville that he saw one-half 

 inch of ice on the India River, Feb. 5, when the 

 South was visited by that entirely unnecessary second 

 edition of frigidity." — Dominica DiaJ. 



DRIED FRUITS. 



We quote from the New York Merchants' Review, 

 the following account, by U.S. Consul Ma'-on, of the 

 French process of crystallizing Fraits :— " The fruit is 

 first carefully assorted in respect to size and uniform 

 degrees of ripeness. Pears, pineapples, and quinces 

 are pared, citrons are cut into quarters and soaked 

 a month in sea-water, and the 'pits' of apricots, 

 cherries, and peaches are carefully removed. Even 

 this preparatory process rpquires a certain degree of 

 .skill, since the stone must be removed with as little 

 injury as possible to the form and solidity of the fruit. 

 This work is done mainly by women, who earn thereby 

 60 cents per day. Thus prepared, the fruit is immersed 

 in boiling water, which quickly jjenetrates the pulp, 

 dissolving and diluting the juice, which is thereby 

 nearly eliminated, when the fruit is subsequently 

 taken from the water and drained, leaving only the 

 solid portion of the pulp intact. This process of 

 ' blanching ' must also be done with exact nicety, the 

 period of immersion in the hot water being determined 

 by the size and ripeness of the fruit. If immersed 

 too long, the pulp is either overcooked or is left too 

 dry and woody. If taken out too soon, the juices 

 left iu the pulp prevent perfect absorption of the 

 sugar afterwards, and, by eventually causing ferment- 

 ation, destroy the value of the product. In this, as 

 in other stages of the process, the only guide is 

 experience. A .skilful workman can tell by the colour 

 and appearance of the pulp when it is properly 

 ' blanched,' and this knowledge invariably commands 

 employment and liberal compensation. After being 

 thus scalded, some fruits, apricots for example, ate 

 again assorted into two or three classes, according 

 to the degree of softness that has been produced, 

 for the reason that if kept together they would take 

 up the sugar differently, some losing their form entirely, 

 while others would remain sufficiently impregnated. 

 For these different grades sugar-syrups of different 

 degrees of density are required, the softer the fruit 

 the stronger the syrujj required for its preservation. 

 For the same reason each of the different varieties 

 of fruit requires a syrup of corresponding strength. 

 Pears, citrons, and pineapples, which remains hard 

 and firm, take best a syrup having a density of from 

 18 deg. to 2-5 deg., while apricots, plums and figs 

 are treated with syrups which gauge from 30 deg. to 

 43 deg. by the aerometer. The requisite syrup having 

 been prepared by dissolving the sugar in pure water, 

 the fruit is immersed in it and left at rest for a 

 certain period in large earthenware pans, glazed inside, 

 anrl having a capacity of about 8 gallons. The syrup 

 penetrates the pulp, and gradually withdraws and 

 replaces the remaining fruit juice, which, as it exudes 

 and mingles with the transparent liquid, produces a 

 certain filmy or clouded appearance, which marks the 

 commencement of fermentation. When this has 

 reached a certain stage, the vessel containing the 

 syrup and fruit is placed over the fire and heated to 

 212 deg. F, This corrects the fermentation and raises 

 all impurities to the surface, whence, if necessary, 

 they can be removed- by skimming. If the syrup ia 

 of proper density, this process >of .impregnating the 

 fruit with sugar will be complete in about six weeks, 

 during which time it is usually necessary to perform 

 this heating process^ as above described, three times. 

 The Impregnation of the fruit with sugar being thus 

 complete, it is taken out, washed in pure water to 

 remove the flaky particles that adhere, and is then 

 submitted to one of two finishing processes, as follows; 

 If the fruit is to be 'glaced,' that is, covered with 

 an ice or transparent coatiug, it is dipped in a thick, 

 vii5cid syrup of sugar, and left to "dry and harden 

 rapidly Id the open »ir; if it Js to be 'crystal 



