Vol. V. No. 111. 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



233 



Agricultural Industries of Costa Rica. 



The principal industry of Costa Rica is coffee 

 cultivation. The vahie of the exports during 190.5, 

 according to the Consular Bcport, was £775,135. It 

 would appear that the banana industrj", which, as shown 

 on p. 228, has made great strides of recent years, is 

 likely in the near future to take premier jjlace. The 

 value of the exports of this fruit has now reached 

 £748,510. 



A trade in other fruits has been started, 

 oranges and pine-apples having been shipped during 

 the year. £19,34-3 worth of rubber — from uncultivated 

 trees — was exported. There was also an increase in the 

 production of cacao. In addition to supplying the 

 considerable home demand, the plantations exported 

 2,930 cwt., of the value of £12,244. 



Jippi-Jappa Hat Industry in Jamaica. 



Several references have been made in the Agri- 

 cultural News (see Vol. IV, p. 313) to this promising 

 industry. In Jamaica, hats, which are excellent 

 substitutes for the well-known ' Panama hats,' are made 

 from the straw of Garludovica jamaicensis. 



Unfortunately, the supply of these hats is very far 

 behind the demand. There seems to be no doubt that 

 a large trade could be done if more attention were 

 devoted to the industr}'. It would appear that the 

 principal drawback is the ignorance on the part of the 

 peasantry of the art of curing the plant and preparing 

 it for the manufacture of hats. 



Good results may, therefore, confidently bs 

 expected from a practical demonstration of the curing 

 of iippi-jiipP'i straw that is, according to the Jamaica 

 Daily telegraph, to be a feature of the agricultural 

 show shortly to be held at Lucea. The demonstration 

 will be given by an expert from Messrs. J. E. Kerr 

 & Co.'s factory at Montego Bay. 



Rubber Growing in St. Lucia. 



Useful information is published on pp. 238-9 with 

 regard to rubber growing in St. Lucia. The Central 

 American rubber tree (Castilloa elastica) has been 

 successfully grown in that island, and marketable 

 rubber of good quality obtained from the tree. 



Mr. Moore gives full directions as to the soil, 

 climate, shade, etc., required by this tree ; also as to 

 the raising of seedlings and the planting out of the 

 young trees. 



In some cases Castilloas are being planted as 

 shade trees for cacao. Separate plantations are also 

 being established. In the latter case, the trees should 

 stand, finally, at not less than 20 feet apart each way. 

 It has not yet been decided whether it is better to 

 plant the trees at this distance at the outset, or 

 whether to place them at half that distance and thin 

 them out when about nine years old, after they have 

 been tapped twice. It is probable that the former 

 plan will prove preferable, using the intervening space 

 for the cultivation of annual catch crops. 



Agricultural Industries of Bermuda. 



In the report of the Board of Agriculture in 

 Bermuda for the year 1905, reviewed elsewhere in this 

 issue, the Superintendent of the Public Garden states 

 that onions comprise about three-fifths of the total 

 output of produce from the colony ; during 1905, 

 400,138 boxes were shipped, valued at £62,454. The 

 industry suftei-ed considerably from the attacks of 

 a fungoid disease (Feronospova Schleideni). Thrips 

 were also partly responsible for a reduction in the crop. 



Potatos continue to yield a small profit to the 

 growers. During the year 28,590 barrels were shipped, 

 yielding £21,214. Sevei'al new varieties have been 

 received from the Department of Agriculture of 

 Canada for trial at the garden. 



The lily industry has suffered considerably from 

 the planting of mixed stock. 



Attention is being paid at the garden to the 

 possibilities of the cultivation of sti'awberries, oranges, 

 avocado pears, bananas, and other fruits. The orange 

 trees in Bermuda have been almost entirely destroyed 

 by scale insects. It is suggested that it may be possible 

 to grow a variety which may prove more or less 

 immune to the attacks of this pest ; the ' Navel ' is 

 being tried for this purpose. 



Avocado pears do not fruit regularly in Bermuda. 

 The cause of this is being investigated. 



Fruit-canning Factory in Jamaica. 



On p. 200 of this volume of the Agricultural 

 News a brief note was published in reference to the 

 establishment of a fruit-canning factory in Jamaica. 

 A recent issue of the Jamaica Daily Telegraph 

 (June 28) contains a description of the operations at 

 this factoiy, which has been established by the Norbrook 

 Canning Company. 



The prime mover in this new enterprise is Mr. G. 

 Loutrel Lucas, who has been engaged in pine-apple grow- 

 ing — in Florida and Jamaica — for twenty- three years. 

 For some time his efforts as a grower and exporter of 

 pine-apples in Jamaica met with success, but the 

 irregularity in the sailings of the vessels, which then 

 existed, and other difficulties caused him to turn his 

 attention to converting the fruit into preserves. 



The factory is reported to be a building 150 feet 

 long by 46 feet in width. An account of the methods 

 adopted in canning pine-apples is published elsewhere 

 in this issue. While pine-apples are receiving primary 

 attention at this factory, mangos, guavas, limes, and 

 many other tropical fruits are also being preserved in 

 one way or another. Mr. Lucas has established a 

 pinery on the land adjoining the factory, where 166,000 

 pine-apples are now growing. 



The development of this enterprise, which, as far 

 as is known, is the first venture of the kind in the West 

 Indies, will be watched with much interest. 



The subject of canning pine-apples was dealt with 

 in an editorial in a recent issue of the Agricultural 

 News (p. 177). A paper on the same subject, with 

 more detailed information, will appear in the West 

 Indian Bulletin, Vol. VII, no. 2 (now in the press). 



