20 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



January 21, 1911. 



FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES. 



THE COLONIAL FRUIT SHOW. 



The following exti-acts are taken from an aecount 

 of the recent Colonial Fruit Show contained in the 

 West India Committee Circular for December 20, 

 1910. Reference was made to the success of Duminica 

 fruits and fruit products, at, this show, in the last num- 

 ber of the Agricultural, JVew-r. — 



Through the courtesy of the Council of the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society, the collection of citrus fruits and lime 

 products shown by the Permanent Exhibition Committee at 

 the fourteenth Colonial Fruit Show on Deceml>er 1, 2, and 3, 

 at the Royal Horticultural Hall, Vincent Square, West- 

 minster, were allowed to remain on exhibition at the Society's 

 fortnightly Hower .show on December 6. The fruit, which 

 included limes, shaddocks, oranges, breadfruit, and lime 

 products, was set out in baskets, samples selected at random 

 from the cases for coiupetition being placed on plates in the 

 foreground for the judges, who as already announced, met 

 specially on December 2, to .judge the Dominica exhibits, 

 which arrived too late for the opening day. Among the 

 exhibitors in this section were: The Permanent E.^hibition 

 Committee, the Piotanic Station, the Dominica Fruit Growers' 

 As.sociation, and the following estates: Castle Comfort, 

 Wall House, Gleau Manioc, Everton, Sylvania, Corona, 

 St. Aroment, Ancaster Park, and La Haut; and the follow- 

 ing awards were made: — 



The Permanent Exhibition Committee of Dominica, for 

 the collective exhibit, the (4old Medal of the itoyal Hurticul- 

 tural Society. 



The Botanic Station, for citrus fruits, the Silver-gilt 

 Hogg Memorial Medal. 



St. Aroment J-'state, for lime products. Silver gilt Knigh 

 tian Medal. 



Everton Estate, for citrus fruits, Silver Bauksian .Medal. 



Wall House Estate, for limes. Silver Banksial .Medal. 



Other West Indian exhibitors at the show were the 

 West Indian Produce As.sociation, of 4, Fenchurch Buihlings, 

 who, if rumour speaks correctly, are to increase their operations 

 very considerably after Christmas; the .Jamaica Agency, of 

 Gamage Buildings, Holborn, and the Roseau Valley Fruit 

 Company. The West Indian Produce Association showed, 

 as usual, almo.st every imaginable kind of West Indian 

 produce, for which they were .justly awarded a Cold Medal. 

 The Jamaica Agency gained a Silver Knightian Medal for 

 citrus fruitu, and the Roseau ^'alley Fruit Company 



a Bronze Banksian Medal for colonial preserves. The 

 ■Jamaica Agency has for some time past made a speciality 

 of carefully packed boxes of grajie fruit, mangoes, etc. 

 A plentiful su|ii)ly of literatuie wa.s distributed by the 

 Permanent Exhibition Committee . of Dominica, and the 

 sample bags of fruit marked boldly ' Dominica Limes ' again 

 turned the numerous visitors into advertising agents for that 

 delicious fruit. 



The arrangement of the West Indian section was entrust- 

 ed as before to the West India Committee, whose chief 

 clerk, Mr. Osmond, was indefatigable in his efforts to make 

 the exhibition a success 



The exhibition was opened by Sir Edward Grey, and it 

 was certainly the most successful of a long series. Amon" 

 the numerous visitors were : His Honour Douglas Younc, 

 the Administrator of Dominica: Sir Owen Philipps; Mr. R. 

 Rutherford, Deputy Chairman of the West India Committee; 

 Lady Dorothy Neville; Sir Daniel .Morris; Sir Albert K. i^oUit) 

 L,ady Burton; Licut.-Col. F. C. Trollope; .Mr. E. L. .Marshall'; 

 Mr. H. F. Previte; .Mr. Forster M. Alleyne; Mr. D. Macin- 

 tosh: Ml-. W. G. Freeman and Mr. R. Rust. 



SOME METHODS OF TRANS- 

 PORTING BANANAS. 



In the JoiiiHul 'I'Ai/nciillure Tropicale, Xo. 74, refer- 

 ence was made to an account, in the British and South 

 Alriran E.rpnrt Gaxtitte, of a method of transporting bananas 

 without the employment of refrigerating chand)ers. The 

 investigations mentioned were undertaken in order to find 

 a cheap way of carrying bananas from South Africa, in view 

 of the expensive nature of cool storage, during so long a voy- 

 age as thai to England. Trials were made by the tiim of 

 ^Messrs. Cockburn, Hemehyck it Co., of London, and con- 

 sisted in carrying the bananas in pulverized peat. The 

 account stated that, after several unsuccessful attempts, 

 satisfactory results were obtained. Experiments had demon- 

 strated the necessity for picking the fruit-s as soon as they had 

 lost their green appearance, and of lacking them in a special 

 kind of peat which had been completely freed from all earthy 

 matter. The preserving action of the peat was stated to con- 

 sist in its posses.sion of absorbent proj)erties, by which it pro- 

 tects the fruit from external moisture, and from the decay 

 that results from the presence of this. 



The issue of the .same paper for October 1010 makes 

 reference to the above account, and goes on to describe expert- 



