C8 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



March 11, 1905. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



SHOW OF COLONIAL FRUIT. 



In reference to a note in the A(/ricultui'(d Av;r.s^ 

 (Vol. IV, p. 20) to the effect that a second show of 

 colonial fruit was to be held by the Royal Horticultural 

 Society on Thursday and Friday, JIarch :]0 and .31, it 

 may be mentioned that the prize list shows that 

 provision has been made for, amonp^ others, the follow- 

 ing exhibits with which fruit growers in the West 

 Indies are more particularly interested : — 



DIVISION I. COLONIAL-i:ROWN )l;lJIT. 



Class 5. — Pine-apples. 



,, (). — Rananas. 



„ 7.— Mangos. 



„ 8. — Grapes. 



„ 9. — Oranges. 



„ 10. — Limes and Lemons. 



,, 11. - Shaddocks, Pomelr 



and other like fruit. 



„ 17. -Any other colonial-grown fruit. 



DIVISION II. COLONIAL-GROWN VEl^KTABLES. 



Class 18. — Yams, Sweet Potatos, and other tubers. 



DIVISION III. — PRESERVED FRUITS, .JAMS, ETC. 



This division includes exhibits of colonial-grown and 

 oulouial-prepared fruits — bottled, tinned, or dried; colonial- 

 grown and colonial-preserved vegetables; and colonial-grown 

 fruits made into jam, jelly, sj'rup, etc., in the colony. 



CANNING PINE-APPLES IN HAWAII. 



In the Ai/ricultaral Xewd (Vol. Ill, p. .S40) an 

 extract appeared with regard to canning pine-apples 

 in Hawaii. Writing on the subject of pine-apple 

 cultivation m those islands in the Hnivdiicii Foir^'tcr 

 iijul Agriculturist, Mr. J. Kid well states : — 



Perhaps the most important thing in connexion with 

 this industry is to have an efficient canning plant, for as has 

 been said before, the shipj)ing of fresh pines has many 

 <lrawback.s ; but given enough growers in one neighbourhood 

 to support a well-equipijcd cannery, then, with reasonable 

 effort, success ought to be assured. ^Vithout any desire to 

 advertise any particular system of canning plant, it may not 

 be amiss to .say that the ' Piaker Process ' is a very convenient 

 <nie, so far as cooking the fruit is concerned, and there may 

 be others cjuite as good. 



This is the one that was installed hy the Hawaiian 

 P'ruit and Packing Company, Ltd., of which the writer was 

 manager. It had a cajjacity of 10,000 cans per day, and as 



the process could be regulated to a nicety, the output was 

 entirely uniform. Much testimony was received by us that 

 no pines had ever been put on the American market that 

 could come near ours in (juality. The last shipment made by 

 us brought 82 ■^'l•") per dozen cans, of 2i lb. each, ex ship at 

 San Prancisco. 



THE PAPAW IN THE TRANSVAAL. 



In an article on 'Some Tropical Fruits' in the 

 Transvaal Af/rieulturul Journul the following mention 

 is made of the papaw : — 



The papaw is largely grown in the warmer districts of 

 the Transvaal. It would be too much to say that it has 

 received any encouragement in the way of careful cultivation, 

 but, notwithstanding this, it has grown and fiourislied to 

 a very considerable extent. In some parts it has attained 

 luxuriant pro[)ortions when growing in an absolutely wild 

 condition. The fruit is offered for sale on many of our 

 markets, but prices obtained have not been such as to 

 encourage propagation commercially. 



Latterl}', a new use has been found for this fruit which 

 may possibly change its history in this country, as it has 

 already done in some of the i.slands of the AVest Indies. 



Owing to its medicinal cjualities, certain manufacturing 

 chemists in America have been utilizing the juice for the 

 purpose of [ireiiaring a medicine, having man)' similar 

 qualities to pepsin. The demand has been such as to have 

 caused inquiries to be made as to the availability of the 

 resources of this colony as a further source of sup[ily. 



BEE KEEPING. 



Pigeon Pea as a Honey Flower. 



Mr. A. J. Brooks writes from Dominica with 

 regard to the value of the pigeon pea as a honey Hower 

 as follows : — 



It does not appear to be generally known that the 

 pigeon pea (Cajanus iTidicus) is a fairly valuable bee plant. 



Honey produced from this flower is of an excellent 

 standard, being of a clear light-amber colour, free from that 

 rankness which new honey often po.ssesses, and of a good 

 thickness. This Hower has an additional advantage in that 

 it Howers in the fall of the year when bee flowers are very 

 scarce. This honey is preferable to the ' lime ' honey owing 

 to its more delicate flavour and thickness. In my opinion, it 

 is only surpassed by the noted ' logwood ' honey. 



