128 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



acre, though theit is said to be one of eighteen acres. I don't 

 think any are shipped from the island at present. They can be 

 bought there very cheap, as low as six cents per hundred. I can 

 see no reason why orange growing would not pay. 



There are three kinds of lemons. They have a sweet lemon, that 

 is flat at the ends, shaped somewhat like an apple. It is intensely 

 sweet and is used only to a limited extent for i)reserving. One 

 variety is very large, as large as a child's head, with a skin some- 

 times one-half an inch thick. No practical use is made of it. Limes 

 are u«ed for making a drink. Grape fruit is merely seen. The fig 

 is seldom seen, although it seems to thrive. The date is occasionally 

 seen, but is not prolific. The cocoanut is found along the seashore; 

 trees producing about 100 each year. Thousands of acres could be 

 planted and would no doubt yield profitable returns. The natives 

 use the cocoanut almost exclusively as a drink before fully ripe; also, 

 as a dulce, or preserve. 



Of bananas, there are said to be eight varieties. This fruit is neg- 

 lected and must look out for itself. It suckers to excess, thus 

 draining the strength from the main stalk. It is extensively used 

 as food by the laboring people. One variety, which we never see 

 here, is called the "finger banana." It is very fine in quality, but 

 too small to ship with profit. The plaiutain is used extensively in 

 place of bread. It is pulled green and baked, resembling a baked 

 potato. We are told that the banana is one of the most nutritious 

 of all foods, but from observations in Porto Rico among those 

 who are said to live on it, I must say I have lost faith in that theory. 

 People seem not to be well nourished or well developed physically. 



The alligator pear is as large as two fists, with a large seed in 

 the centre. The flesh is as insipid as a cantaloupe, without any taste. 

 It is said to be quite nutritious, but is rarely seen in our markets, 

 as it will not ship. 



There are two varieties of bread fruit. One variety looks and 

 tastes like boiled chestnut. The other variety is less common. 

 There are a number of varieties of custard apple. One kind, when 

 ripe, is eaten with a spoon. Coffee is the main product of the island, 

 1he annual exports amounting to ten or twelve million dollars. It 

 is said to be superior to the Brazilian i)roduct. It is not generally 

 sold in this country, being sent to Spain, France and Germany. 

 The industry is said to be in a deplorable condition. There are two 

 or three kinds of plums and cherries, but not the fruits we know 

 by that name. The fruit is inferior, but makes a fair preserve. 



The guava is a small fruit resembling a small api)le. which seem* 

 to ripen nearly the whole year. It is used chiefly for jelly. 



Several varieties of cactus bear fruit, but of no value. 



