Vol. V. No. 114. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



277 



COLONIAL FRUIT SHOWS. 



The following letter ha.s been addressed b}- the 

 'Secretary of the West India Committee to the various 

 Permanent Exhibition Committees in the West Indies: — ■ 



Vrhen the exhibitions of colonial fruit were first 

 inaugurated by the Royal Horticultural Society in 1904, the 

 principal colonies represented were the West Indies. Since 

 then, however, interest has fallen off to such an extent that 

 at the last exhibition, held on June 5 and 6 last, the West 

 Indies sent no exhibits direct, and were only represented by 

 firms at home, though such distant colonies as Australia and 

 South Africa made very representative displays, the former 

 of citrus fruits, which are likely to compete keenly with 

 similar fruits from the West Indies. I think that you will 

 agree with me that this lack of interest is a pity, more 

 especially as these exhibitions are well attended and ' noticed ' 

 by the pres.s. 



Everything is made as ea.?y as possible for exhibitors ; 

 space is free of charge, and exhibits are brought over freight 

 free through the kindness of the Royal Mail Steam Packet 

 Company. In the circumstances, I venture to ask for your 

 kind assistance towards securing the more adequate represen- 

 tation of the West Indies in the future. 



The next exhibition of the series is to be held on 

 December 4 and o next, and it has occurred to me that this 

 would be a gond opportunity for following the example of 

 Cape Colony, whose Government hired the whole of the hall 

 for the night preceding the exhibition in March last and gave 

 a reception to which the press and those interested in fruit 

 were invited, thus securing a very excellent advertisement 

 for her produce. 



I believe so implicitly in these exhibitions, that I have 

 already engaged the Horticultural Hall, with cloak-room and 

 storage accommodation, for the purpose of an evening 

 reception, at a cost of £7 17?. 6(/., including heat and light, 

 feeling that, with your valuable co-operation, it should be 

 possible to get together a collection of fruit sufficiently 

 representative in quantity and quality to make it worth while 

 doing so. What I have done may at first seem premature, 

 but as the matter was under consideration by another colony, 

 it was desirable, and, indeed, necessary to take immediate 

 action. 



With regard to expenses, it would be a case of cutting 

 our coat according to the cloth. The expenses would be for 

 (1) the hire of the hall; (2) carriage of the fruit from port of 

 arrival ; (3) assistance for setting out the fruit on tables 

 provided free of charge ; (4) the reception. The latter would, 

 of course, be controlled by the number of people invited, but 

 I think myself that at least 1,000 invitations should be sent 

 out. At any rate, if the colonies could provide among them 

 the sum of from £80 to £90, we should not have to ask them 

 tor more, but should, I estimate, be able to show a balance on 

 the right side. 



As regards my own position in the matter, I need hardly 

 say that I shall be only too glad to assist in making the 

 arrangements if I can secure your valued co-operation. 

 I trust that you will give this matter your consideration, 

 and favour me with a reply at your early convenience, as time 

 is of object. 



Readers of the Agricultural News are, no doubt, 

 fully aware of the importance attached by the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture to the desirability of 

 securing the adequate representation of the various 

 West Indian industries at these exhibitions. It is 

 hoped that the Permanent Exhibition Committees will 

 take this matter up and give every assistance. 



COCOA-NUTS IN NEW GUINEA. 



In Australic To-day, a special issue of the 

 Australasian Traveller, of December 1-5, 1905, 

 containing valuable information for the use of intending 

 settlers and others, the following account is given of 

 the cultivation of cocoa-nuts in New Guinea : — 



Great attention is now being paid to the cultivation of 

 cocoa-nuts. Copra, as the commercial product of the cocoa- 

 nut palm is called, is a highly profitable article. From it 

 cocoa-nut oil is extracted, and oil-cake, which forms a most 

 excellent cattle food, is made. Although the product has, 

 at times, been subject to variations in price, the history of 

 the last few years has shown that the demand for it is 

 steadily increasing, and in many parts of the South Seas 

 large areas have been, and are being, placed under cultivation. 



The cocoa-nut palm, which supplies so many wants of 

 the natives that it is almost possible to maintain existence by 

 it alone, will grow on any part of the coast line of New 

 Guinea, and to some short distance inland. It will grow on 

 soil which is but little better than the shifting sea sand, but 

 of course higher results are obtained where planting is 

 carried on in land of superior quality, though really first-class 

 land is not the best for the purpose. Little labour is 

 necessary after the palms are planted. All that is required 

 is to keep the ground clean and wait till the trees arrive at 

 maturity. This they do in [leriods varying, according to the 

 situation of the plantation, from five to ten years. A certain 

 amount of capital, therefore, is necessary to enable the 

 intending cocoa-nut grower to wait until his trees are in full 

 bearing. The gathering of the crop can be performed by 

 men without any preliminary training, and the extracting 

 and drying of the fruit from the husk-covered shell is a work 

 presenting no difliculty. Hitherto, owing to the cheapness of 

 labour, this work has not been carried out by machinery, but 

 experts consider that it would not be impossible to devise 

 a machine which would be capable ot doing what is necessary. 



COPRA. 



The practice at present is to send the copra to Sydney 

 or Melbourne, where it finds a constant market ; but should 

 the cultivation of the product materially increase, an opening 

 might exist for a local oil-mill, and so save a large portion of 

 the freights which, owing to the bulky nature of the article 

 in proportion to its weight, are comparatively heavy. 



There are upwardsof sixty varieties of cocoa-nuts known, 

 and care should be taken to select those which bear fruit in 

 the greatest number, and of the best oil-producing quality. 

 They should be planted about 2-5 to 33 feet apart, and where 

 the climate is at all dry, should be sunk in pits 3 or 4 feet 

 deep, which will serve to retain the moisture. Some 5,000 

 to 10,000 nuts, according to the .size, are requisite for the 

 production of 1 ton of copra. It is calculated in the South 

 Pacific that a cocoa nut palm in full bearing is worth about 

 4s. per year. This would give a return of about £14 per acre. 



There is at present a good deal of Government land 

 available for leasing for cocoa-nut plantations, on the 

 following easy terms : Period of lease, sixty years ; rent for the 

 first five years free, for the .second five years, 6d. per acre ; for 

 the balance of the term, 1.?. per acre ; the only important 

 condition being that at least half the area leased shall be 

 planted in cocoa-nuts within the first five years. 



It has been already stated that a cocoa-nut planter 

 requires sufficient capital to tide him over the non-productive 

 period, but there are other more quickly maturing products, 

 such as cotton, maize, and sisal hemp, which may help him 

 through the period of waiting for the full returns from his 

 palms. 



