116 



THE AORICULTURAL NEWS. 



AriiiL 14, 1906. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



A CURIOUS BANANA STEM. 



A bunch of young bananas, with a peculiarl}- 

 curved or twisted stem, has been forwarded to the 

 office of the Imperial Department of Agriculture by 

 the Hon. J. Sealy, M.D., through Mr. J. K. Bovel'l, 

 F.L.S., F.C.S., Agricultural 

 Superintendent, Barbados. 

 Fig. 1 give.s an illustration 

 of this curious abnormality. 



Dr. Sealy reports that five 

 trees have shown this condi- 

 tion. In every instance, the 

 bunch seems to stick at the 

 base of the leaves, and the 

 s t e ni, elongating raiiidlj', 

 becomes curved. In every 

 case where the bunch has been 

 allowed to remain on the 

 plant, it has finally dropped off, 

 through the rotting of the stem. 



Probably the drying 

 lip of the bases of the leaves, 

 owing to drought or disease, 

 may contribute to this 

 curious growth. In this 

 case the rotting of the 

 stem, above referred to by 

 Dr. Sealy, is due to injuries 

 received, when curvature is taking place, through the 

 bunch sticking at the constricted bases of the leaves. 



Fig. 1. BuNXH of Bananas 

 SHOWING Curved Stem. 



THE WEST INDIAN FRUIT INDUSTRY. 



In Vol. XXIX, Part 4, of the Journal of the 

 Royal Horilcidtaral Society, there is an interesting 

 article on 'The West Indian Fruit Industry,' by 

 Mr. W. G. Freeman, A.R.C.S., B.Sc, Superintendent of 

 the Colonial Economic Collection.s, Imperial Institute, 

 London. 



Mr. Freeman docs not profess to give a comiirehensive 

 account of the West Indian fruits, but rather to sketch the 

 main features of the fruit industry, and the efforts which are 

 being made, by agricultural workers, to improve it. At the 

 present time, fruit forms the third export in value from the 

 West Indies. By fruit here is meant only those fruits which 



are exported in the fresh or preserved condition for human 

 consiunption. 



Compared with sugar twenty years ago, fruit wa.T then 

 exported to the value of only about one-twelfth ; to-day, 

 however, its value is nearly equal to that of sugar. But, 

 during that time, sugar has decreased in value bj' more than 

 .50 per cent, whilst, on the other hand, fruit has increased 

 by nearly 500 per cent. 



Jamaica is, at present, the jirincipal fruit-producing colony 

 in the West Indies. In 1902-3, fruit to the value of nearly 

 £1,250,000 was exported from that island, whilst the exports 

 of all the other colonies together amounted to only about 

 £li,000. Banan.as are the principal fruit exported, followed 

 at a great distance by oranges, grape fruit, and pine-apples. 

 The bulk of the fruit trade of Jamaica goes to the United 

 States of America. This is due, not only to the proximity of 

 that island to the States, but to the well-organized and 

 frequent service of fruit boats. 



Writing on the introduction of plant.?, as one of the 

 requirements for a successful fruit industry, Mr. Freeman 

 mentions, as examples of fruit recently introduced into the 

 West Indies, the niangosteen (Gai'cinid Manrjostana) which 

 has fruited in the Botanic (iardensat Trinidad, Jamaica, and 

 Dominica; and the famous Malayan fruit, tlie Durian {Diivio 

 ZiUf/ii»us). which has been introduced into Dominica. How 

 much the West Indies owe to plant introduction for their 

 chief fruits may be judged from the following tables : — 



('() A'dtive fruils. — 



Pineapple, sapodilla, cashew, sugar-apple, sour soji, 

 mammee-apple, star-apple, and papiaw. 



{//) In tyoduct'd fruits. — 



Banana, plantain, orange, grape fruit, shaddock, 

 lime, mango, cherimoj-er, breadfruit, tree tomato, 

 avocado pear, pomegranate, and tamarind. 



It will thus be seen that the banana and the various 

 citrus fruits which constitute the whole of the present large 

 fruit export, have been introduced, and are not native to the 

 West Indies. 



With the following remarks Jlr. Freeman concludes his 

 interesting article, the value of which is enhanced by illustra- 

 tions of some of the principal West Indian fruits. He says: 

 ' A successful fruit industr_y depends on the loyal co-operation 

 of cultivator and transporter. Each can do nothing alone. 

 The transporter cannot place fruit on the market to the best 

 advantage unless it be intrinsically good, properly picked, 

 graded, and packed ; and all the efforts of the cultivator are 

 rendered of no value if his carefully selected, well-grown, 

 and properly packed fruit be transported under conditlun.s 

 which are far from the ideal.' 



