324 



THE AGKICULTURAL NEWS. 



October 20, 1906. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



CITRATE OF LIME FROM DOMINICA. COCOA-NUT INDUSTRY IN PANAMA. 



As briefly announced in the A(jr'iiulturid iVeirs 

 (Vol. V, p. 268), the first shipment of citrate of lime on 

 a commercial scale was recently made from Dominica. 

 As it is likely that the manufacture of citrate of lime 

 will now be taken up in Dominica on a considerable 

 scale, much interest attaches to the following note, 

 which has been forwarded for publication by Mr. J. 

 Jones, Curator of the Botanic Station : — 



Citrate of lime is now being shipped from Dominica on 

 a commercial scale for the first time. The question of 

 making citrate of lime instead of concentrating the lime 

 juice, has e.xercised the minds of several planters in Dominica 

 lor a long time. As far back as 1902, the Hon. Dr. F. Watts 

 gave a demonstration of the process of making citrate of lime 

 before an assembly of planters at the Bath estate works. 

 Dr. Watts also wrote a paper on the subject, which was 

 published in the Weit Indian nuUetht, Vol. 11, p. 308. The 

 matter was also discussed before the local Agricultural 

 Society. 



It is only during the present year that the matter 

 has been actively taken up, and the first shipment 

 made. The reports on this product have been uniformly 

 favourable, the citrate of lime being quite crystalline, and 

 containing 69 per cent, of citric acid. It was stated to be 

 equal to the best .Sicilian citrate. 



To make citrate of lime demands greater skill than the 

 concentrition of lime juice and the expense is probably 

 greater. Chalk has to be imported, driers erected, while the 

 consumption of fuel in drying the citrate is verj' considerable. 

 On the other hand, the planter who makes citrate produces 

 a superior product, which commands a higher price than 

 concentrated lime juice ; also the great loss of citric acid that 

 is known to occur when boiling down lime juice, is prevented. 



It is found that evaporators built on the principle of the 

 cacao drier at the Botanic Station are suitable for drying 

 citrate. Particulars of this drier were given in the West 

 Jiididn BuUttin, Vol. II, p. 173. 



Now that a successful start has been made, it is likely 

 that Dominica will follow the example of Sicily, and in the 

 course of a few years it may be that all the lime juice 

 intended for citric acid makers may leave the i-sland in the 

 form of citrate of lime. 



It may be added that the treasury returns show that 

 30,045 lb. of citrate of lime had been shipped from Dominica 

 up to September 30 last. 



The U. S. Montldjj Consalar Reports, for June^ 

 contain the following interesting account of the cocoa- 

 nut industry in Panama. The industry is at present 

 confined to the exportation of nuts, no copra or 

 cocoa-nut oil being shipped : — 



The largest percentage of cocoa-nuts shipped from this 

 district is gathered by the San Bias Indians, who occupy 

 a strip of coast territory extending on the Caribbean Sea 

 from Point San Bias to Cape Tiburon, a distance of 12.5 miles. 

 The largest percentage of cocoa-nuts from the .San Bias coast 

 is traded by the Indians to the masters of small coasting 

 schooners, who give in exchange manufactured articles, such 

 as prints, niachete.s, shotguns, hats, shoes, etc. Most of 

 these cocoa-nuts are shipped to the United States direct. 



The cocoa-nuts exported from Colon and vicinity are 

 raised principally by native Panamans on small p)lantations 

 of 500 to 1,000 trees. The only large plantation is that of 

 the Caribbean Cocoa-nut Company, located at Toro Point, 

 just across the bay from Colon, and owned by an American. 

 This holding is the only" one of any size, and consists of about 

 20,000 trees. The fruit grown on this plantation and on the 

 small native places are shipped to the United States by 

 steamers at the freight rate of !?4 a thousand. No cocoa- 

 nuts are dried and shipped as copra, being simply husked, 

 and no use is made of the fibrous material enveloping the 

 shell. 



From the entire consular district of Colon about 

 5,000,000 to 6,000,000 cocoa-nuts are exported to the 

 United States annually. The number of cocoa-nuts shipped 

 from Colon to the United States during 1905 amounted to 

 about 1,500,000, and were valued at .'j54,600. The market 

 price of prime cocoa-nuts fluctuates from §15 to §25 

 a thousand, according to the demand. 



In selecting land for planting cocoa-nuts, light and free 

 soil .should be chosen for nursery purposes, and the seed nuts 

 should be selected from the produce of health}', heavy- 

 bearing trees. The nuts are placed about 6 inches in the 

 ground and 2 feet apart. When about eight months old the 

 young palms are transplanted from the nursery direct to 

 the field, and placed about 18 feet apart. In the best lands 

 the tree should bear in the fifth or sixth year. After the 

 palms are si.x years old, they require very little attention, 

 except to keep them free from weeds and other plants. 

 Of course, the Ijetter the cultivation the larger the fruits and 

 the better their qnaliry. 



