196 



THE AGKICULTUKAL NEWS. 



June 24, 1911. 



FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES. 



DOMINICA AND THE FESTIVAL OF 



EMPIRE EXHIBITION. 



As was stated in the Agriculunal xVec.sfor jAIay 13, 1911, 

 p. 1.56, the Permanent Exhibition Committee of Dominica 

 has been making efforts in connexion with the provision of 

 an exhibit to represent the island at the Festival of Empire 

 Exhibition, which is being held at the Cr3'Stiil Palace. The 

 results of these efforts are shown in a report published in the 

 Dominica Oj)ii-ial Ckiiette for May 19, 1911. This contains 

 a letter and a list of the exhibits, compiled by Mr. J. .Jones, 

 Curator of the Botanic Tlarden, who fills the post of Honor- 

 ary Secretary to the Permanent Exhibition Committee of the 

 island. 



The information shows that the exhibits were forwarded 

 in order to make more complete the collection of products 

 from Dominica that is kept at the Imperial Institute, and to 

 cause it to be more easily possible for the Director of that 

 institution to release, for some months.a part of the Dominica 

 collections held there, in order that the island may be repre- 

 sented at the Exhibition. 



The list of exhibits which is given shows that the num- 

 ber of these was sixty-two. They included lime juice and lime 

 oil, the former both concentrated and raw, and the latter pre- 

 pared in the several ways that are in vogue in Dominica; nut- 

 megs; mace; coffee of .several varieties; different kinds of cacao; 

 jumbie bead seeds {Abrws precatorius): Job's tears {Coit; 

 lachryiiia--lobi.); cassava starch: bay oil; C'arib baskets; honey; 

 ground nuts; kola nuts; and seeds of the West Indian neck- 

 lace tree (Ormosia dasycarpa). 



With reference to information coictained on pages 1.56 and 

 184 of the current v(jlume of lheAi/ri<-u/li(inl. J/^cirs. relating to 

 apparatus for extracting lime oil, it is of interest that Messrs. 

 Allport and Davenport supplied, for the purjtoses of exhibit, 

 one bottle each of otto of limes and otto of oranges, extracted 

 by machinery. ^ 



In additicm to the firm just mentioned, the following 

 estates assisted by presenting samples of the produce of 

 Dominica : St. Aroment, La Haut, Antrim Valley, Everton, 

 Melville Hall and the ,]!ath. l^xhibits were also sent 

 by the Dominica J'ermauenjt lOxhibition Committee, the Agri- 

 culturiil School and the Botanic Gardens. 



LIME CULTIVATION IN MARTINIQUE. 



UAgricidlnre PratlqiiK des Payx Chatidsjor Afiril 1911, 

 states that the cultivation of the lime in 5Iartinique has 

 entered upon the experimental stage: demands fr,r planting 

 material have been received from several jilanters, and these 

 have been satisfied by the experiment stations in the island, 

 which possess large stocks of the [ilants reipiired. The 

 records show that, during 1910, these stations distributed 

 nearly •22,000 jilants for cultivation in the island. Certain 

 planters have taken up the matter keenl)-, and have put in 

 considerable areas of limes. 



The journal mentioned, and from which this information 

 is obtained, states that this tendency in the colony of Marti- 

 nique toward the adoption of a diversified agriculture is 

 a favourable feature, and that the lime plant is^particularly 

 suited to the conditions which obtain in the island. 



After giving attention to the chief diseases and pests of 

 the lime, to the conditions required by the jilant itself, and to 

 the making of concentrated juice and citrate of lime, the 

 article draws attention to the possibility of the exportation 

 of carefully packed fruits, as well as of limes prcserveil in sea- 

 water or brine. It jiroceeds to make suggestions concerning 

 the kinds of plants that may be grown while the trees are 

 attaining maturity, quoting in this case the experience of 

 Dominica and Montserrat. It also refers to the uses of 

 citric acid (from citrate of lime) in dyeing, as a substitute for 

 tartaric acid in wine-making, in the manufacture of mag- 

 nesium citrate, and in connexion with [ihotography. 



In relation to the commercial aspect of the matter, 

 reference is made to the fact that both the English and the 

 American markets are open to limes and lime products from 

 ilartinique. As regards France, enquiries are being made 

 for information concerning the openings that may exist in 

 that country for the produce, and this information is beinc» 

 sought fi-oui both official and .scientific sources. 



The Proaedimis of the Agricultural Society of J'rinidad 

 and TnUi;/o, for May 1911, .show that the export of cacao 

 from Trinidad, up to the end of May 1911, was 29 SSf) .529 lb. 

 The amounts for the similar periods in 1908, 1909 and 1910 

 were 26,642,905 lb., 2!t,6 18,547 lb., and 32,507,935 lb., 

 respectively. 



