No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 127 



t'xcept gallic, the use ol' which is almost uuiversal. Egg plant is 

 giowu aud much used, usually being taken when quite young and 

 wrall. One variety grows on a tree, but it is poisonous and not used. 

 Garlic is not grown on the island at all, and I never saw horse-radish 

 there. A\'ater and musk melons are seen occasionally. It is said 

 they do not grow well in the tropics. Onions are used extensively, 

 but; are imported from Spain. They will come from there in per- 

 fect condition, while those from the States would spoil. Si)anish 

 onions are put up in ropes and seldom decay. Parsnips I did not 

 see on the island. Peas are left to ripen on the stalks. They do not 

 seem to know how to use them green. The green pepper grows 

 there, but the red varieties are seldom seen and not put in food. 

 The Irii^h potato is much used, but not extensively grown. The 

 sweet potato grows almost wild. There are at least tw^o kinds of 

 red and two of yellow. They are larger than New Jersey sw'eets, 

 but watery and not so good. Some grow to an enormous size, ten 

 or twelve pounds. Pum])kins grow wild and are much used. Ead- 

 ishes can often be had in the markets, but, like lettuce, they are 

 inclined to be bitter and rough, lihubarb I did not see. 



IJice i® on the table there at almost every meal, and is mostly 

 imported. Nearly all the native farmers have their little field of 

 upland rice. It is boiled alone and annetto added to make it look 

 n'cher, but it does not seem as nutritious as the imported. Of 

 squashes, I did not see either Hubbard or Bush Scallop, but what 

 appeared seemed to be a cross between the squash and calabash. 

 I saw no spinach on the island. 



Tomatoes are small, like marbles. An American on the south side 

 of the island experimented with tomatoes, and grew some as fine 

 as I ever saw. I think turnips can be grown the year round, but 

 are little used. Yams, or roots, of various kinds are largely used. 

 There are many plant® of the lily family that produce bulbs that 

 are used as food. They seem to be mostly woody matter, with not 

 much nutrition. While a number of our vegetables are not grown 

 in Porto Eico, every vegetable w'e have here at home can be seen 

 in the markets there. On the north side of the island a number of 

 gentlemen planted seeds, but without much success. Many failed 

 to germinate aud those that did germinate did not grow well, of 

 which no explanation is offered. 



As to fruits, all tho^e coming from the tropics can be seen in Porto 

 Rico, The mountains are full of orange, lemon aud lime trees, 

 but there is no attention paid to them whatever. There are sweet 

 and sour oranges; the sweet ;ne eaten, the sour used for cooking. 

 Some contend that the oranges are not good, but in my opinion they 

 are, on the average, as good as we have them here. I do not know of 

 a grafted tree on the island. I never saw a grove of more than an 



