20 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



January 28, 1905. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



PORTO RICO PINE-APPLES. 



Mr. J. Jones, Curator of the Botanic Station, 

 Dominica, writes as follows in reference to three 

 varieties of pine-apples received from the Porto Rico 

 Agricultural ENi)erimont Station in August 1908: — 



A few plants of each variety liave now fruited and I am 

 able to place them as follows : — 



C<i/'.s:oiiii. — This is the well known liull Head of these 

 islands. 



Pan de A-.ticn: — This is the Blaek Antii^ua piiie-ajiple. 



Caraqtiena. — A form of pine-ajiple known here as the 

 White Dominica. It is inferior to our local variety. 



SECOND SHOW OF COLONIAL FRUIT. 



For the inlormaticju of fruit growers in the West 

 Indies we have jileasure in repr<iducing the following 

 paragraph from the llV.s? India Committee Ciirulur: — • 



The Council of the Royal Horticultural Society have 

 decided to liold a second .Show of Colonial Fruits on 

 Thursday and Friday, March .30 and 31 ne.xt, with a view to 

 the exliiliition of such fruits as could not be looked for in 

 perfection on December 13 and 14 last. As the first Show 

 was so successful, man}' of the colonies wliich did not avail 

 themselves of it will doubtless be glad of this opportunity 

 of di.splaying their produce, and the West India Committee 

 will be very glad to make the neces.sary arrangements for 

 such colonies as may decide to exhibit. Tlie fruit will have 

 to be despatched by the mail leaving Barbados on March 11, 

 and arriving at Southampton on March 23, and should be 

 consigned to the Secretary, The West India Committee, at 

 the I'loyal Horticultural Hall, Vincent Square, Westminster. 



In a letter to the Imperial Commissimier of 

 Agriculture, the Secretary of the West India Committee 

 makes the suggestion that in all the West India 

 Islands jiermanent exhibition committees should be 

 appointed, witii a view to securing adequate representa- 

 tion at all exhibitions in Great Britain. 



LECTURE ON WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



At the (.ieiicral fleeting of the Royal Horticidtural 

 Society, held on December 1-3, in connexion with the 

 .show of Colonial-grown Fruit, ]\[r. W. G. Freeman, 

 B.Sc, F.L.S., Superintendent of the Colonial Economic 

 Collections at the Imperial Institute, and formerly 

 Scientific Assistant to the Imperial Department of 

 Agriculture, gave a lecture on ' The Fruits of the West 

 Indies.' The lecture was illustrated by means of 



specimens of the more important fruits, whilst a tine 

 series of water-colour drawings of Jamaica fruits, from 

 the collections of the Imperial Institute, was exhibited. 



We extract the following from a report of the 

 lecture published in the Wist IinJiii ('oiniiiitteii 

 CiiTutar of December 20, 1!)04:— 



The measures necessary to improve the West Indian 

 fruit trade were next discussed, and the work being carried 

 on in the West Indies in disseminating information, and 

 above all in ])ractically demonstrating the best methods of 

 grading, handling and packing fruit, dwelt ujion. As an 

 instance of the thoroughly practical nature of the efforts made 

 to imjirove the quality of the fruits cultivated, the sys'ein of 

 Rotanii: Stations under the control of the Imperial ] )epartment 

 of Agriculture was described. It was shown how, to take one 

 instance, the Dominica Botanic Station, during a .single year, 

 distributed to planters in the island over .")7,000 plants, 

 including large numbers of budded oi'anges and other high- 

 class fruit trees. Similar work was being carried on in other 

 islands. In Jamaica experiments were in jirogress to imjirove 

 the pine-ap[ile, and some 2,000 seedlings were now under 

 cultivation. By means of budding and grafting, the stock of 

 mangos was being bsttered, whilst it had recently been 

 ascertained that the avocado pear could be successfully 

 liudded, and attention was now being directed to the 

 production of a variety better adapted to transport. 



The history of the production of spineless limes in 

 Doniinica was given, and it was .shown that in addition 

 to being spineless the plant yielded fruits of very high (juality 

 as regards citric acid content. I'lants of the spinele.srj 

 variety were now being distributed from the Botanic Station, 

 the demand being greater than tlie supply. Trinidad had 

 contributed its share to recent iirogress, in the form of 

 a seedless lime, which was being pierpetuated by budding. In 

 addition, new fruits or imi>roved varieties of fruit already 

 cultivated were continually being introduced, many through 

 the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which had done, and 

 continued to do, so much to disseminate valuable [ilants 

 tluoughout the Empire. 



The fruit industry of the West In<lies deiiended ftir its 

 continued [irogress and success on the cultivation of good 

 varieties of fruit plants, on the careful jiicking, grading, 

 and packing of the produce. The agricultural workers in the 

 West Indies were devoting earnest attention to securing the 

 ideals, and in .spite of many disappointments had achieved 

 a tangible measure of success. These efforts, however, would 

 not suffice unless they were su]iplemented by proper ship[iing 

 facilities, that is to say, the regular calls at frequent intervals 

 of vessels properly fitted fn' fruit tran.sport. 



