742 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



woi'k llic slaniiuate tyiie will be elluiiiKiled. Duriiiji; tlie course of breediuj^ 

 work au elongated fruit has increased in percentage which gives promise of the 

 nltiniate development of a pure strain of unifomily cylindrical fruits of good 

 quality. The future breetling work is to be confined to the elongata tyi)e. 



Attention was also called in the previous bulletin on i)apayas to authenticated 

 Instances in wliich male i>apayas had been changed to fruiting trees by cutting 

 the tops off the male trees. Such an experiment was conductetl at the station 

 by y. H, Holt during the past summer, in which the tops were removed from 

 22 sterile stannnate trees selected from different varieties. Two of these trees, 

 which had been selected from the above-noted type which yielded 95.37 i>er 

 cent fruit-bearing trees, did become fruit-bearing trees when the top grew out 

 again. In lieu of more definite knowledge this ])henomenon is attributed to the 

 preponderant tendency to fruit bearing in the tyi>e from which the two trees 

 w^ere selected. 



Data have been accumulated showing the various types of trees in the mango 

 and avocado orcliards. The average age and time of bearing of niaugo seedlings 

 was G years 3 mouths; budded mangoes, 3 years 8 montlis; inarched mangoes, 2 

 j^ears 10 months; avocado seedlings, 7 years; and budded avocados, 2 years 11 

 months. 



Heavy paper bags have been used with success in protecting ripening fruit 

 from the attacks of the Mediterranean fruit fly. The individual fruits ripen 

 more uniformly, but lack the color of those exposed to the sun. Several varie- 

 ties of the Indian mango have been found to be practically immune to tlie 

 attacks of the fruit fly. 



The work of breeding ornamental hibiscus plants (E. S. li., 30, p. 838) lias 

 been continued. A number of new varieties has been secured, one of which. 

 a yellow variety, is described. A description is given of a spineless cactus which 

 was collected by the station several years ago in Honolulu and which is be- 

 lieved to be worthy of attention as an ornamental hedge and as a fodder jdant. 

 The wampee (Clausena lansium), a tree whose edible berries are highly 

 esteemed by the Chinese, is also described. About a dozen of these trees are 

 in bearing in Honolulu. 



A further report is given on two lots of pineapple seedlings which were se- 

 cured from a single fruit in each case (E. S. R., 30, p. 838). The plants con- 

 tinue to show a great variation in height, spread of foliage, color, and other 

 characters. A number of these plants give promise of developing into superior 

 plants, and the best of the seedlings are to be grown under field conditions to 

 determine the character of tlie fruit. 



Report of the superintendent of the rubber stlbstation, W. A. Anderson 

 (Hawaii aS7«. Ri)t. IDlJf. pp. 5J-56). — An experiment was started in 1912 to 

 determine the feasibility of transmitting high yielding proi>erties of individual 

 Ceara rubber trees through cuttings. Cuttings of good yielding trees plautetl 

 in February, 1912. and grown under cultivation with companion crops of broom 

 corn and roselle were tapped with a single cut in January. 1914. The new 

 growth on these trees, 1 ft. above the original cutting, averaged lO.S in. in cir- 

 cumference. They yielded 10 oz. of washed rubber from one tapping of one 

 cut per ti'ee. This yield compared favorably with the average reported from 

 6-year-old unselected trees, tapped in 1912. The yield from the different trees 

 was more uniform than on the plantations as a whole. The results thus far 

 secured indicate that iiropagation by cuttings will assure more desirable latex- 

 yielding qualities than propagation by seedlings. 



The work on roselle as a companion crop with rubber shows that large yields 

 can be obtained. To be pi'ofitable. however, the fre.sh fruit should sell for from 

 3 to 4 cts. a pound, whereas the highest i>rice now paid for drying purposes in 



