454 RKPv)RT OF OFFICE OF EXPKKTMENT STATIONS. 



i l)y 4 feet, uiul llie shade trees, wliicli are re[)re.sent<itive of Porto 

 Rico, liave been planted hetwocii them. 



COFFEE LEAF MINER. 



So imich damat,^e is ciiused hy thi.s insect thiit experiments in exter- 

 miiiatinii- it hv collectinj^f and destroviny all infested leaves have been 

 tried on several occasions. The first attempt was made at Mammeys 

 on a patch of old coffee, in which nearly all tlu^ leaves were infested. 

 After pickin<i' there were so few leaves left that the following' crop 

 was \-erv much r(>diiced. The succeeding;" one, how(»vei', was very much 

 better. 



The new nurser\' beds ai'c situated in the \iru-in forest, a ])art 

 of which has recently been felled and burned. Thei'c is no coti'ee 

 growini;" neaici- than 1,000 feet of these beds, and they arc further 

 sheltered by strips of stjinding forest which act as wind-breaks. Not- 

 withstanding this isolation, these beds sufl'ered in the beoinning of 

 May from an extremely heavj' attack of leaf miner. As a remedy all 

 the heaves attacked were continuously cut off and ])urned. The growth 

 of the plants was retarded considerably, but they recuperated and ai'e 

 now in ver}- tine and health}' condition, without any sign of the leaf 

 miner. 



At the station headquarters in Mayaguez the cti'ect of i)icking the 

 leaves is being tried on an isolated patch of about one acre. The pick- 

 ings arc being made at intervals of about two weeks, and a complete 

 record is kept of the time required and the lunnberof leaves collected 

 at each picking. 



The indications are that this method of extermination would ]m)ve 

 such a stupendous task that it would l)c out of the question. 



REPORT ON OBSERVATIONS IN PORTO RICO. 



By Prof. F. S. Earle, nf the New York Botnniral (Uinlen. 



In accordance with the instructions of the Director of the Office of 

 Experiment Stations, 1 visited Porto Rico for the purpose of studying 

 its horticultural possil)ilities and of making observation on plant dis- 

 eases. Owing to the short time at w\\ disposal, it was impossible to 

 make any extended investigations. The following notes are the result 

 of a brief and hurried inspection of a small portion of the island, and 

 are to be considered as suggestions indicating some lines along which 

 work is needed, rather than as giving results of permanent value. 



The horticultural crops now attracting most attention in Porto Rico 

 are oranges and pineapples. Bananas are grown extensively, but mostly 

 in the interior, where difficulties of transportation w'ould prevent their 

 becoming an article of export. Some of the lowlands near the coast 

 are well adapted to the culture of bananas, and there seems no reason 



