Vol. IV. No. 94. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



357 



GRAPE FRUIT AND SHADDOCKS. 



The latest issue of the West Indian Bulletin 

 (Vol. VI, no. 3) contains an article on grape fruit and 

 shaddocks, composed of popular notes written for 

 several journals by Sir Daniel Morris in 1896 and 

 1897. The following summary of this article is likely 

 to be of interest : — 



There is little doubt that much confusion exists as to 

 what is really grape fruit as distinct froni the nllied citrus 

 fruits passing under such names as puraelow (invariably 

 spelled pomelo in the United States), shaddock, forbidden 

 fruit, paradise fruit, and others. These fruits are all, or 

 nearly all, larger than the largest orange, and they are 

 uniformly of a [lale-yellow colour. In texture the rind may 



be smooth or even polished. It 

 Ls seldom rough, nearly always 

 firm and not very thick. The 

 pulp is pale-yellow or greenish- 

 white, sometimes pink or crimson. 

 The juice bags of the pulp are 

 more distinct than in the orange ; 

 very juicy, somewhat sweetish, 

 with a distinct, but agreeable, 

 bitter flavour. In shape these 

 fruits vary a good deal. Some 

 are cpiite globular, others some- 

 what flattened at the top and 

 tapering below, forming a pear- 

 shaped body. 



These fruits have been 

 ranged under the giant citrus 

 Fig. 24. Geape Fruit. {Citrus dcciamina). This is 



supposed to be a native of the 

 islands of the Pacific. It was introduced into the West 

 Indies from China about 1-50 years ago by Captain Shaddock, 

 in compliment to whom, since that time, the fruit has always 

 been known in this part of the world as shaddock. The 

 term shaddock may be correctly applied to any of the larger 

 members of the giant citrus. The word pumelow, so widely 

 used in India and Ceylon, is supposed to be a contraction 

 of pomum mclo, the melon apple. 



All the larger-fruited sorts maj', then, be called either 

 shaddocks or pumelows: these are merely the western and 

 eastern names for the same thing and are perfectly inter- 

 changeable. There are two well-marked varieties, one being 

 globose, with the flesh of a pale-pink colour, and the other 

 pear-shaped, usually with a deep-pink or crimson pulp. 



As regards the small-fruited sorts, these, according to 

 Dr. James JIacfadyen, the author of the Fiord of Jamaica, 

 may be either globose, when they are called forbidden fruit, 

 or pear-shaped, when grape fruit (so called because the fruits 

 grow in clusters like a bunch of grapes) is the older name. 

 The name forbidden fruit (from a fancied connexion with 

 the Garden of Eden) is tolerably old in the West Indies. 



As usually hai)pens, when a name has t)ecome familiar 

 in commerce, it is eventually applied in a much wider sense 

 than the original one. Thus, the term grape fruit has 

 become so general that any moderately large fruit, provided 

 the skin is pale-yellow, thin, and smooth, and the pulj) of 

 a delicate flavour, is designated by it. The fruit conmionly 

 called grape fruit in New York is really the forbidden fruit 

 of the West Indies. The true grape fruit is pear-shaped, 

 and, according to Macfadyen, when obtainable at its best, is 

 preferable to the forbidden fruit. The latter are in great 

 demand, and they are regarded as the most refreshing and 

 wholesome of any of the citrus family. 



The grape fruit is not a shaddock nor a pumelow. It 

 is quite a distinct fruit and possesses exceptional merits. 

 It is in great demand in America chiefly because it has been 

 so highly recommended by the medical faculty for its 

 valuable dietetic and tonic qualities. It is also very refresh- 

 ing and is regarded as a specific for dyspepsia. 



There are, doubtless, many inferior sorts of grape fruit. 

 In fact, in the West Indies, the plants have been allowed to 

 run almost wild. No care has been taken to select the best 

 varieties, or to bud or graft them, so as to keep them 

 uniformly at a high standard. There is no need to grow the 

 thick-skinned and bitter .sorts, and those with a drj', cottony 

 pulp, while there are varieties, both of the apple-shaped and 

 pear-shaped fruits, with a silky skin, full of juice, and of 

 a most delightful flavour, with just enough bitter to give it 

 piquancy and suggest its valuable tonic qualities. 



STRAWBERRY CULTURE IN CUBA. 



In an article in the Agricidtund Neivs (Vol. Ill, 

 p. 55) reference was made to the cultivation of 

 strawberries in the West Indies. It was mentioned 

 that it had been proved possible to obtain crops of 

 strawberries even at sea-level. In the following extract 

 from the U. S. Monthly Considar Reports for 

 June, a grower of these fruits in Cuba gives his 

 experiences: — 



When I started with my plants last fall, I had an old 

 bed of 1,000 plants and several thousand runners which 

 they had made. I set to work to prepare the ground very 

 carefully for the runners, selecting a piece of the chocolate 

 land, as it held moisture and seemed best suited. Former 

 experience had shown me that the red land was too porous 

 and the plants would be too dry. After the land was 

 ploughed and harrowed several times in order to pulverize it 

 as much as possible, I mixed in some good commercial 

 fertilizer and let it lie for a time in order that it should get 

 thoroughly mixed with the soil. Then I had the land 

 carefully ridged up and on these ridges set the plants. 



I had previously ordered a few thousand plants from 

 the United States; but as these got through in bad condition, 

 there was only a small part left to set with my own 

 runners. Previous experience had taught me to expect more 

 from the native runners than from any new plants ordered, 

 so I kept working them carefully, resetting where they did 

 not live, and finally had on my | acre a fair stand. 



In order to get this good stand I was very particular to 

 lirotect the new-set plants in the rows by means of grass 

 and palm leaves. As they commenced to grow and get 

 accustomed to the change, the covering was gradually 

 removed. In January 1905, they commenced to bear, but 

 the bearers were mostly native runners and the plants in my 

 old bed. They have continued to bear up to date, which is 

 the fifth month. During a long, dry spell in the winter they 

 were carefully watered and tended and fertilizer applied as 

 needed. The expenses for them have been about as follows : 

 Commercial fertilizer, .$108; labour, $150; crates and baskets, 

 $15 ; express on fruit, $80 ; total, $10.3. The berries found 

 a ready market in Havana, selling for 30c. and 40c. pet 

 quart. Up to date I have sold $1,000 worth of berries, with 

 a net profit of $597. This seems to be a fair return from 

 the amount of money and labour expended. 



I consider my old bed of greater value for the coming 

 season than it has been in the past. The older plants are 

 the better bearers, and I have picked as many as twenty-four 

 berries from a single plant. 



