Vol. V. No. 97. 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



GRAPE FRUIT. 



The following extract, containing information 

 respecting the grape fruit in England, is taken from 

 the British Medical Journal, of November 25, 1905, 

 (pp. 1,419-20), kindly communicated to this Department 

 by Dr. John Hutson, of Barbados. We may remind 

 our readers that full information in regard to the 

 origin, cultivation, and the extended use of the grape 

 fruit in the United States is contained in a recent 

 number of the West Indian Bulletin (Vol. VI, pp. 

 284-92), a brief summary of which appeared in the 

 Agricultural News (Vol. IV, p. 357): — 



As a result of the more rapid service of steamers 

 instituted by the enterprise of Messrs. Elder, Dempster it Co. 

 between this country and Jamaica, it is possible to obtain 

 the fruits of the latter island in a fresher condition than has 

 hitherto been the case. One kind of fruit which can now be 

 readily bought in London deserves wider recognition and 

 adoption for its healthful and delicious cpialities, this is, the 

 grape fruit, a variety of the Citrus aurantii * group, looking, 

 in fact, like an exaggerated orange or small melon. From 

 inexperience in selecting and jireparing the fi'uit for eating, 

 many persons who have essayed it are not enthusiastic, and 

 it has not won the approval which it assuredly deserves. 

 This is because the fruit is often sold and eaten in an unripe 

 condition and without preparation. The fruit is gathered in 

 Jamaica while the rind is still green, but when it arrives in 

 England the colour is a light-yellow ; it may acquire some 

 dark-ringed facetted marks, which are the result of 

 pressure, during transit, f and are of no importance. The 

 fruit should be of a doughy softness, and its surface should 

 pit slightly when pressed with the iinger. It should 

 be prepared by dividing it into two hemispheres, by 

 cutting it across in a horizontal plane at right angles 

 to the axis of the 'navel.' In each hemispheie thus 

 produced will be seen a white, pithy core, surrounded by 

 white seeds like those of the common orange. Core and 

 seeds should be freely cut away with a small, sharfi knife, 

 leaving a conical depression or pit into which the juice 

 speedily Hows. It should be prepared some hours before it 

 is required to be eaten, in order to allow the juice to fill the 

 cavity, and powdered sugar should be poured into the hollow 

 according to individual tastes ; in warm weather a lamp of 

 ice put into the hollow adds to the refreshing effect. The 

 fruit is eaten by scraping with a small spoon at the sides of 

 the pit, and mixing the segments of fruit with the juice in 

 the pit. In Jamaica and in the United States, where the 

 fruit is very popular, it is usually eaten at breakfast and as 

 a Iiors d'cKuvre at lunch ; but it is equally palatable as 

 a dessert. It has a wholesome, clean, slightly bitter taste, 

 blending with the acidity of the orange, and has the physio- 

 logical action of stimulating the apimtite and promoting 

 .salivary and gastric digestion. 



* The grape fruit and forbidden fruit do not belong to the 

 oranges but are regarded by recognized botanic-id authorities as 

 varieties of the pumelows or shaddocks {Citnis itixninana). 



+ The facetted marks referred to are not the result oi 

 pressure in transit but to pressure during growtli on the trees. 

 Tlie name grape fruit is derived from the French (/viipiie, 

 a bunoli, as tlie fruits are usually produced in clusters rescndjling 

 a bunch of grapes, as shown in fig. 24 on p. .357 of \o\. IN' 

 of the Agi iiiiUiiral JS^efcs. The facetted marks are sometimes 

 fancifully referred to as the prints of Eve's lingers, hence 

 forlikhJcii fruit. Usually the name 'grapefruit' is confined to 

 the globular fruits and ' forbidden fruit ' to the pear-shaped 

 foi'ms. 



COLLECTING PARA RUBBER SEED. 



The following is extracted from the India Rubber 

 Journcd of November 20 : — 



Kepitigalla estate, Matale, has long been known as 

 a source from which reliable Para seed in first-class condition 

 could be obtained. A representative of the 'Times of Ceylon 

 recently gave the following description of the method of 

 dealing with this seed. He writes that on the estate, besides 

 the tappers and their assistants, there are women collecting 

 the seeds, which are constantly falling, under the trees. 

 Every now and then one heard the crackling soitnd of the 

 shells bursting, followed by the falling of the seed. The 

 estate has done well during the past year out of seed alone, 

 6,250,000 having been sold. Of course, a large number have 

 been used on the estate. The seeds that are not collected 

 germinate and spring up under the shade of the larger trees, 

 and after a short time they are transplanted. A great deal 

 of the planting on the estate has been done in this way-. One 

 of the rooms in the factory was nearly all taken up by the 

 seed. The seed is brought in by the women in bags and 

 emptied into three large cisterns in the cement flooring. One 

 of these is dry, and from this the seeds are packed for sending 

 away to purchasers. !Mr. HoUoway, who is full of resource 

 and ideas, here again has a system of his own for packing. 

 The seeds in the boxes or .sacks are mixed in a certain 

 preparation, which preserves them. A box was opened in 

 which the seeds were placed on August II. About fifteen 

 seeds were picked at random from this and all, except one, 

 on being opened, were found to be perfectly good. In the 

 other cisterns referred to water is sprinkled over the seeds at 

 frequent intervals and they are left until they germinate. 

 This is done by one or two coolie women who pick out the 

 seeds as they germinate and place them in baskets ready for 

 planting. 



FENCES AND HEDGES. 



Leaflet No. 147, recently issued by the Board of 

 Agriculture, London, is devoted to the subject of 

 hedges and fences for farms. The subject is, of course, 

 discussed from the point of view of the British farmer, 

 and the leaflet deals with the formation of hedges with 

 thorn, holly, beech, etc., but the following extracts are 

 of general interest : — 



One of the difficulties with which landed proprietors, 

 farmers, and others interested in estates have to contend 

 is the formation and maintenance of hedges and fences. 

 This difficulty is often increased on estates, where every- 

 thing is done to keej) the fences in good order, by neighbours 

 who own boundary fences paying little or no attention to 

 their maintenance. 



The way in which hedges are trimmed determines both 

 their shape and stability. Dress with an upward stroke, 

 make the hedge wedge-shaped, and never be in haste to raise 

 the hedge to its full height ; these are rules which must be 

 observed to ensure success. Hedges which have been raised 

 too rapidly are often unable to act as a fence owing to the 

 weakness and looseness of growth. Fences which are 

 trimmed regularly for many years sometimes get, in spite of 

 attention, so unshapely and unnecessarily large, that ribbing- 

 in, or cutting back the lateral growth to the main stem is 

 desirable to bring them back to their former shape, and also 

 cutting back to the base all surpressed or weekly stems to 

 encoiu'age growth. Adjoining pastures this operation is 

 rather risky unless the fence is protected for a time. 



