Vol. XVI. No. 402. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



291 



AVest Indies. The cultivation of spices, limes, cacao, 

 fruit, and, not least, cotton, in dift'erent island.?, has 

 certainly helped to increase the prosperity of them as 

 a whole, and to give a hopeful outlook for their future 

 advancement. If, in addition to crops such as are 

 mentioned above, the owners and occupiers of land, 

 great and small, co-operate in extending largel}^ the 

 cultivation of food crops suitable -to their localities, it 

 cannot be doubted but that the whole condition of 

 these islands, agricultural and commercial, will be 

 bettered, and placed on a secui-er basis. 



THE NEGLECTED POMEGRANATE. 



Of all fruits at present grown, merely as a fruit pleasant 

 to the taste, the pomegranate is probably the one of which 

 we have the earliest records in history. It is mentioned 

 with honour in the earliest writings extant of the nations 

 who are the parents of modern civilization. Homer mentions 

 it in the Odyssey as grown in the gardens of Pha-nicia, and 

 the references to it in the Bible, from the Mosaic books 

 onward, are frequent, as will be easily remembered. 



The pomegranate is probably a native of the western 

 parts of Persia. Thence it was dispersed eastward and 

 we.stward to China on the east, and along the borders of 

 the Mediterranean to the west, very early in historic times. 

 Wherever it was iniroduced it was held in high esteem as 

 a fruit. The conquerors of the Western Hemisphere, among 

 other fruits, such as the orange and its relative.?, did not 

 fail to introduce the pomegranate, so long cultivated in 

 Southern Spain. Since then the cultivation of the pome- 

 granate has spread through all the- tropical and semi-tropi- 

 cal regions of the New World. And yet to-day it is 

 one of the most neglected fruits in these parts of the world; 

 the reason being probably want of care in cultivation, and 

 no attention to selection, which has caused a deterioration 

 of the fruit. 



In the United States, however, there has been of late 

 more interest in this neglected fruit. There are still 

 descendants of the old pomegranate trees planted by the 

 first Spanish settlers in California. The.se are still of a fair 

 quality, but distinctly of a mongiel seedling type. As a pos- 

 sible fruit for export to northern markets the pomegranate has 

 been the subject of experiments at the College of Agriculture 

 Experiment Station, Berkeley, California. From Bulletin 

 No. ..'in, January 1, 1917, the following particulars as to 

 variety and culture are taken. 



There are two general types of pomegranate grown in 

 California at present, the white-flowered type and the pink 

 or red-flowered type. The white-flowered type is considered 

 undesirable for cultivation as wanting in attractiveness, 

 flavour, and keeping quality. As to the red-flowered type, 

 the different varieties vary in every direction, but among 

 them there seem to have been evolved varieties of great 

 merit. There are only five which at present are found to 

 be of value in the fruit market. Of these the one which is 

 most in favour in California, and which has taken a place in 

 northern markets, is the one which is designated Wonderful. 

 Apparently this is a sport from Florida cuttings brought to 

 California in 1S96. Both from description and from 

 illustration it must be an attractive fruit. " j' I 



As was said above, the pomegranate is a very 

 neglected fruit in these island.s, because, like the Californian 

 variety before selection was brought to bear on it, the 



pomegranate in the West Indies ii only a mincrrel sif-edling. 

 The importation of fine varieties, the selection of promising 

 native varieties, and a little attention paid to its cultivation 

 might bring to public favour in these inlands this most 

 ancient fruit. 



The climate suits the pomegranate for although it 

 is grown in the East in almost desert regions, being well 

 adapted to withstand drought, yet it will grow and 

 fruit well under conditions of heavy rainfall, thus miking it 

 adaptable to dry islands such as Antigua, or to wet ones such 

 as Dominica. The [jomegranate, therefore, in its improved 

 varieties may be well worth experimenting with by our West 

 Indiar horticulturists. 



The propagation of the pomegranate in the West 

 Indies, as far as is known by the writer of this article, is 

 only by seedlings. These can never be depended upon to 

 reproduce exactly the characteristics of the parent plant; 

 hence the failure to keep up a good type of plant. It may 

 however be easily grown from cuttings. Hardwood cuttinas 

 10 to 12 inches long, and from |- to J-inch in diameter, cut 

 from the .shoots or suckers of a pomegranate tree, will grow 

 readily when planted in the open ground. In this way a 

 desirable variety can be maintained and multiplied. In this 

 way also the pomegranate may be employed to form a most 

 efficient and ornamental hedge. Cuttings set out in a double 

 row, say, 8 feet by 4 feet, and pruned strongly in early 

 stages of growth, will soon form by growth of suckers an 

 impenetrable hedge, and one which in the blossoming season 

 is a thing of beauty. 



The pomegranate is no more exacting in its soil 

 requirements than it is in the moiscure that it needs. It does 

 best, however, on deep soils, of a fairly heavy nature. 



It is not probable that any trade to northern markets 

 in pomegranates will soon be accessible to West Indian 

 grower-s, although the tough rind of the pomegranate endues 

 it with remarkable keeping powers; yet as a most refreshing 

 and piquant fruit, when of good variety and in good condition, 

 it is to be recommended to more attention on the part of our 

 local horticulturists for local markets. 



DATE CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



The importiint feature in the development of this new 

 industry will be to get oftshoots of good varieties. France 

 has issued a decree prohibiting exportation of Deglet Jfoor 

 offshoots to any countries, with the exception of Tunis and 

 Morocco. This variety cannot be secured anywhere else, and 

 such offshoots as can be purchased will be very high in price. 

 There is a question whether offshoots of any varieties can be 

 secured from Egypt in the next three or five years. There 

 are very few varieties from the Persian Gulf region that are 

 worthy of propagation in California, as very few varieties 

 from Persia have been found that are resistant in the climatic 

 conditions in the two valleys in the ripening season. 



Thousands of seedlings are beginning to produce fruit, 

 and many of them are producing fruit of good quality, and 

 a larger production is hoped for every year, as the seed is 

 pedigreed pollination from selected males, and results have been 

 gained already that look very promising for the origin ition 

 of new varieties that will help to build up the industry and 

 bring it to a commercial basis much sooner than could 

 otherwise be accomplished. 



There is no question as to the market for all dates 

 crown in California and Arizona, as past experience has 

 shown that when they are placed on the market in a clean, 

 sanitary condition, they are readily sold. (The Colonizer, 

 July 1917.) 



