292 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



September 23, 1905. 



WEST 



INDIAN 



FRUIT. 



SHADING PINE-APPLES. 



The C'lnator of the Botanic Station at Dominica 

 makes tlie following suggestions with regard to the 

 desirability of shading pine-apples diu-ing the friuting 

 period : — 



An expei'iment was made in shading jiine-apple plants 

 from the time of flowering until the fruit was ready to be out. 

 The effect was very marked, the shaded plants being healthier 

 and the fruits more perfect in shape than those unshaded 



Probably pine plants would benefit if grown under 

 light shade from the time of planting, as in Florida, but in 

 any case it is necessarj" to shade during the fruiting period, 

 if the best results are desired. To .shade beds of plants is 

 not an e.xpensive matter. Forked sticks, bamboos, and palm 

 leaves are generally ea.sily obtainable and are very suitable 

 for the work. 



FRUIT TRADE OF CUBA. 



The following brief review of Cuba's fruit trade 

 is e.xtracted from the MoDflib/ Svmmari/ of the U.S. 

 Department of Commerce and Labour for May: — 



The fruit exports of Cuba are not as large as formerly, 

 owing to the competition of Florida and California, and to 

 the decrease in production on account of the war and the 

 old systems of taxation and e.xport tariffs, which threw a wet 

 blanket over all Cuban industries. But during the last two 

 or three years there has been a great revival in the fruit 

 export trade. The island abounds in mau.y kinds of the 

 most delicious fruits, which grow siiontaneously and require 

 little care or labour. Among them are oranges, limes, lemons, 

 bananas, pine-apples, strawberries, grapes, melons, peaches, 

 apricots, olive,?, figs, dates, cocoa-nuts, mangos, tamarinds, 

 guava, and several varieties not so well known in nortbern 

 communities. These Cuban fruits are among the finest 

 specimens of their class grown anywhere, and the oranges, 

 banana.s, and pine-apples, in particular, are of unexcelled 

 flavour. 



The banana shipments fnjm Cuba to the Cnited States, 

 as all are aware, are extensive, and they have been so even 

 in the years of Cuba's greatest deiiression : but since the war 

 they have largely increased. 



The figures of the Cuban june-aiiple export trade of the 

 last few years are yet more striking. About •"if.jO,000 worth 

 of pine-apples were exported in 1899, and !?250,000 worth in 

 1901 ; while the increa.se since then has been truly wonderful. 

 The value if the exports of ])ine-apples for 1903 and 1901 

 was §729,720 and .$620,231, respectively. 



VARIETIES OF BANANAS. 



In answer to a correspondents query, Mr. J. R. 

 Jackson, A.L.S., writes as follows in the Gardeners' 

 Vli rorncle m regard to the ditf'erent varieties of bananas 

 to be found in the English market: — 



The differences in the size and quality of the banana 

 fruits imported from .Jamaica and the Canary Island.* is 

 a question that has recently been asked by a correspondent. 

 In reply, 1 would say that the .Jamaica and Costa llica 

 bananas are the produce of Musa sajuentiim, which grows to 

 a height of some 20 feet or more, and is found in most 

 trojucal countries. It is now cultivated under many varieties, 

 that grown in Jamaica being known as the Gi-os Michel. 

 The bunches and individual fruits are much larger and have 

 tiiicker skins than those grown in the Canary Islands, which 

 are the produce of Jftisa Cavendishii, a plant of nuich more 

 dwarf habit, seldom e.xceeding 5 to 6 feet in height, and 

 producing smaller bunches and smaller fruits, which are 

 thinner-skinned than the former and possess a more delicate 

 flavour. It is known as the Chinese banana, and besides 

 the superior flavour of the fruit it has many characters to 

 recommend it for general cultivation. This form is now 

 being extensively grown at Barbados and shipped to this 

 country in increasing quantities as Barbados bananas. 



I 



PAPAIN. 



It is stated in the Transvaal Agricultural Journal 

 that several correspondents have lately made inquiries 

 respecting the commercial properties of the papaw. 

 In order to ascertain the prospects of the papain 

 industry, a letter was addressed by the Transvaal 

 Department of Agriculture to the American Ferment 

 Companj", New Jersey, U. S. A., to which the fc'llowing 

 reply was received : — 



Replying to yours of the 8th. instant, we beg to say 

 that there is such a vast area in lands of the world suitable 

 for production of papaw, and the aniount of Papaya juice 

 needed is relatively so small, that we doubt if it would pay 

 the people in your locality to take it up. 



Thus far, there has been no improvement over the West 

 Indian plan of .scoring the rind, and receiving the juice in 

 calabashes. It is not received in water, as that would 

 utterly ruin it. After the rind is .scored, the greater part of 

 the juice coagulates on the surface of the ' melon', and Is 

 easily scraped off into the calabash. In fact, the whole mass 

 coagnlate.s, after which it is dried in the sun by .some means. 

 It should be dried in a temperature not to exceed 1.50° F, 



