324 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



October 21, 1905. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



DATE GROWING IN THE UNITED 

 STATES. 



Full particulars vere published iti the IVcxt ladlan 

 Bidldlii (Vol. V, pp. 143-5) of the experimental 

 cultivation oi' the date palm in the United States. 

 The following note from the Yearbook of the U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture for 1904 contains recent 

 injbrmation as to the progress of these experi- 

 ments: — 



Encouraging results have been secured in the establish- 

 ment of this industry in the south-western portion of the 

 United States. The date orchard at Tempe, Arizona, is 

 progressing in a highly satisfactory way. The work here has 

 been carried on in co-operation with the Arizona Experiment 

 Station and has been under tlie direct supervision of Professor 

 R. H. Forbes. In co-operation with the California Experi- 

 ment Station, work on the establishment of date culture in 

 southern C'alilVirnia is also being conducted. Ten acres of 

 land have been secured for an experimental orchard, and 

 dates have been and are being planted there. The industry 

 has been further encouraged by the publication of important 

 reports on the subject, pointing out available localities where 

 the crop is likely to succeed. There is a considerable extent 

 of territory in southern California where practically all of the 

 dates of a certain class which are now imported could, in all 

 probability, be grown. These regions have been mapped, and 

 a special effort has been made to encourage the production 

 of the crop therein. Various importations of the date have 

 been made during the year and others will follow from time 

 to time as the industry advances. 



FUNGOID DISEASES OF THE BANANA. 



The cultivation of the banana is now receiving 

 considerable attention in .several of the We.st India Islands. 

 It is an industry that has increa.sed by leaps and bounds 

 during the last few years and .shows considerable promise for 

 the future. 



So far, di.sea.se has not shown itself among bananas in 

 any alarming proportions, but a few notes on those diseases 

 jiroduced by fungoid jiests may be interesting to growers. 



In Trinidad a disease caused by Jlarasmius semiu/tiis 

 (a fungus closely related to that causing the root disease of 

 .sugar-cane) has been a prominent feature. This fungus looks 

 like a small mushroom, having a yellowish-brown pileus, 

 I inch across, and appears on the stem of the banana plant. 

 The mycelium permeates the tissues and attacks the tiower- 

 stalk. It only seems to be prevalent on plants where they 



are grown in unsuitable or impoverished soils, or where the 

 constitution of the growing plants has been weakened by 

 other causes. This disea.se is also known to occur in .Jamaica, 

 but the planters there do not think it is likely to do any 

 damage under the circumstances obtaining in ordinary 

 cultivation (see West Indian finlletin, Vol. Ill, p. 166). 



Another di.sease of bananas in .Jamaica was reported by 

 Professor F. S. Earle as the banana leaf blight. It cau.ses 

 the browning of the vascular bundles in the veins and 

 mid-rib of the leaves. This is soon followed by the 

 blackening of the entire leaf-blade, and eventually by the 

 rotting of the leaf and petiole. It does not seem able to 

 extend from the petiole into the tissue of the stem, the 

 terminal bud continuing to push out fresh leaves. Infected 

 plants are much stunted in growth and do not generally 

 bear fruit. Apparently it is due to a bacterial parasite 

 and may prove troublesome, unless all diseased plants are 

 innnediately destroyed (see West Indian BuUitin, Vol. IV, 

 ]). 6). In the Annual Pie}iort of the Porto Rico Agricultural 

 Experiment Station for 1904, mention is made of two 

 diseases of bananas which are jirevalent there 



One is due to fungus belonging to the Spliaeropsideae, 

 which causes minute clustered dots, beginning on the under 

 side and extending through the ujiper surface, associated 

 with a yellowing of the surrounding area. This attack 

 usually precedes a gradual wilting of all the leaves of the 

 plant, but may continue for months in an immature state. 



The other is a rot, probably of bacterial origin, which 

 does considerable injury to bananas fertilized with nitrogen- 

 ous manures. Streaks of brownish tissue indicate the course 

 of the disease from the root-stock to the top of the stem. 



Although these diseases do not seem to have caused 

 any anxiety at present, yet it cannot be urged upon planters 

 too strongly that they should always be on the lookout 

 for any disease amongst their plants, and that, when any 

 become infected, steps should immediately be taken to 

 prevent the spread of the disease. This can usually be done 

 by either cutting down affected plants or by the judicious 

 use of fungicides. 



Trinidad's Motto. A correspondent writes to ask 

 us for the meaning of the motto of the colony of Trinidad, 

 ■ Miscerique prohat populos et' foedera jungi.' Roughly 

 translated; it is ' He approves the mingling of the nations and 

 linking by treaty bonds.' The line in Virgil, of which the 

 motto is a corruption, runs ' !Misceriue probe? populos ant 

 foedera jungi.' The speaker is Venus, who is uncertain 

 whether -Jove would approve of the union of the Trojans and 

 Didos people. ( Wat In.lia Committte Circular.) 



