May 2, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



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FBUIT GEOWING IN FLOEIDA. 

 Fiji is far behind Florida as a fruit-growing country, 

 as evidecce the following statements in the Scientific 

 American supplement of 26th Nov., headed, "Profit 

 of Fruits and Vegetables grown in Florida." The writer 

 commences: — "I now speak from my own knowledge 

 of what can be done at Orescent Oity, Putnam Co., 

 Florida. Of the orange, banana, and pineapple, I can 

 speak with more certainty than of any other product. 

 Upon each acre of ground seventy-five orange trees may 

 be successfully grown. Some persons plant more than 

 this number per acre, but I will assume 75 as a basis 

 of my statement ; when in full bearing it is far within 

 the truth to estimate 1,500 oranges as the annual yield 

 of each tree, and it is not at all difficult to realise S 10 

 per 1,000 for them, which gives the aggregate of § 1,225 

 per acre. The orange tree may be brought to bear in 

 fii-x years ; the first crop will be light. 



Pineapples are propagated by setting out the shoots 

 of mature fruit ; some thousands or more plants may 

 be successfully planted upon one acre, and, at S15 

 per 100, would yield an annual income of §1,050 per acre. 

 The banana is propagated by planting out suckers, 

 and will bear from the second year, and annually, there- 

 after, for an indefinite period. It requires no culti- 

 vation, and only needs to be let alone to grow, and 

 constantly enrich its owner. About 500 plants may be 

 successfully grown on one acre. As each plant produces 

 from five to seven bunches of fruit, it follows that the 

 return to the grower at, say, fifty cents per bunch 

 would be $1,500 to §1,700 per acre. To convince my 

 readers how far within the truth I endeavour to keep, 

 I will say that a party, in Bradentown, Florida, has 

 just sold his banana crop, from off one acre, for $3000. 

 The coconut is a good paying tree ; the yield 

 annually is about 150 nuts per tree; they come into 

 bearing seven years after planting the nut, and there 

 can be put about 300 trees upon one acre. They require 

 no cultivation. Under these circumstances an acre 

 would yield, at a net return of $3 to a tree, $900 

 per acre. — Fiji Times. 



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Fbuit Trkes in Oalifornia.— The number of fruit 

 trees in California is : Apple, 2,700,000 ; peach, 1,200,000; 

 pear, 500,000 ; plum and pruen, 600,000 ; cherry, 400,000 ; 

 apricot, 500,000,; orange, 1,600,000; lime anl lemon, 

 500,000. It is estimated that there are 70,000 acres 

 of grape-vines. — Planter and Farmer. 



Manilla Hemp in India.— There is reason to 

 believe that this fibre has been placed in a position 

 of importance to which it is not entitled. Traditon 

 has no doubt handed down the fact that it is of 

 great strength and durability, and capable of sustaining 

 a great strain. It is possible that in Manilla, where 

 probably fibre-yieldmg plants are not plentiful, and 

 in its native soil, the Miisa textilis takes a high place 

 among fibres, but the results of its cultivation in 

 India have certainly not realized the expectations 

 entertained of it. We have in these columns from 

 time to time noticed the results of experiments with 

 this plant in different parte of India, and in no one 

 case do we recollect these results to have been 

 satisfactory in any sense of the term. The Government 

 of India has doubtless spent a great deal of money 

 in the conduct of these experiments, and it is our 

 opinion that they should now cease. SuflScient time 

 ha^ been given to the Manilla hemp, and after many 

 trials, it has been found wanting in two of the 

 essential qualities necessary for the successful cultiv- 

 ation of any ecocomic plant in this country, viz., low 

 cost of production, and cultivation without artificial 

 irrigation. There are numerous plants, indigenous to 

 the country, which yield a fibre in every respect 

 equal, if not superior, to that of Manilla hemp, and 

 which can be grown with the minimum of trouble, 

 and at a very low cost, in addition to which they 

 have the further advantage of being known to the 

 people. When one of our commonest fibre-plants. Sun 

 hemp, (Crotolaria Junce'a), yields a large crop per 

 acre, at less thsn one-third the cost of a better quality 

 of fibre, it is time the Musa textilis was given up. — 

 Indian Ayriciiltwist. 

 96 



CUBED VINE. 



Another new product suitable for Oeylon cultiva- 

 tion has quite recently been brought to my Hotice by 

 a Mincing Lane broker, who inquired why no 

 attention has ever been given by any planters in your 

 island to the growth of the cubeb vine. The ciibebs 

 of the druggist are the product of a vine having all 

 the appearance of, and grown in a similar manner, to 

 the pepper vine ; and as we all know that pepper was 

 largely grown in Oeylon by the Dutch for the pur- 

 pose of packing amongst their cinnamon, there can 

 be no good reason why cubebs may not also be pro- 

 duced. From some cause not understood in Europe 

 the production of ciihebs in Java has seriously de- 

 clined during the last six or seven years ; whilst on 

 the other hand the demand for them, at any rate in 

 the United States, has considerably increased owing 

 to their recent use in the cure of asthmatic affections, 

 and in many cases of catarrh. From the very low 

 price of 30s. per cwt. the article has advanced 

 steadily until it stands now at £21 to £23 per cwt ! 

 A trade report on this article says : — " The consumption 

 of the article cannot now be said to be on the in- 

 crease ; in fact, during the last few years the im- 

 ports in America have been falling off. At present 

 our stock has been very much reduced, and at the 

 commencement of the mouth amounted to only 41 

 bags in the first hand, while from £21 to £23 is 

 quoted for stalky to good genuine berries. In Holland 

 the imports during 1886 amounted to about 200 bags, 

 less than half of which belong to the acknowledged 

 genuine variety. The !Dutch market is now said to be 

 very bare, the stock at Amsterdam not exceeding 

 1,050 lb., 600 lb. of which are grey berries. The 

 quotations at Amsterdam for genuine berries appear 

 to be slightly in excess of those prevailing here. If 

 recent mail advices from America can be trusted, 

 the stock at New York is also very low, being esti- 

 mated at less than 7,000 lb., or barely sufficient for 

 one mouth's requirements. All indications, therefore, 

 point to the maintenance, for some time at any rate, 

 of the excessive prices now prevailing. It is true 

 that several shipments are reported on the way from 

 the East Indies, but unless these should be of ex- 

 ceptional magnitude they will in all probability be 

 quickly bought up for consumption." No doubt the 

 present high price will not continue, but the pro- 

 duction for some reason do'^s not seem to be on the 

 increase in spite of these figures. The eastern resi- 

 dencies of the island of Java produce the bold grey 

 berries, the genuineness of which has been a matter 

 of considerable doubt, and is generally disputed in 

 this country and in America. The small, dark-coloured, 

 genuine berries are all grown in central and western 

 Java, notably in Baujoemaas and in Bantam. The 

 shrub is occasionally met with in the wild state, but 

 it is more generally cultivated, sometimes in special 

 plantations, but usually in the coffee gardens. Some 

 years ago the Dutch Indian Government, with a view 

 to encourage the cultivation, distributed a large num- 

 ber of your plants to coffee-growers throughout Java. 

 The Pi2ier Guheba requires very little .attention: it 

 climbs round the large trees which are grown for 

 shading in coffee plantations, and attains, when full 

 grown, a height of 18 to 20 feet. The statement 

 formerly often made that cubeb plantations in Java 

 were being uprooted in order to make way for coffee 

 gardens may therefore be regarded as fabulous. 

 Oubebs are also grown largely in the Lampong dis- 

 tricts, the extreme southern portion of Sumatra, and 

 in certain parts of southern Borneo. The yield is 

 collected by Chinese dealers, and exported via Batavia 

 or Singapore. Shipments from the former place usually 

 find their way to Holland, while the cubebs exported 

 via Singapore are generally forwarded to London or 

 New York. An important part of the crop is con- 

 sumed in Eastern countries. In the belief that the 

 cultivation of this climber might be profitably carrii'd 

 on in the low districts of your island, such as 

 Kurunegala, Kalutara, Yatiyantota, and other such 

 localities, I paid a visit to Kew Gardens, where I 



