344 



The Jotirnal of Heredity 



gives Mr. Wri<^ht the credit for first 

 finding it out. 



Another important detail relates to 

 the matter of transplanting the younj^ 

 seedlings. Mr. Daniel plants the secds- 

 in a small pot or in a coconut husk, 

 and keeps them well watered and 

 slightly shaded with a coarse matting 

 of coconut leaves. He transplants from 

 this small pot to a larger one when the 

 roots have filled it; and in removing 

 he cuts off the top root if the latter is 

 exposed. For two years these young 

 plants are kept in the pots and grow to a 

 height of 2 to 23^ feet. It is useless to 

 transplant them before they are at 

 least 2 feet high, for the check given 

 them, if too young, by the transplanting 

 is so great that they refuse to grow, or, 

 to use Mr. Daniel's expression, "they 

 only croak." 



SHADE IS NECESSARY 



When transplanted, the plants are 

 set in a hole 3 feet cube in size. Stiff 

 soil is best but not absolutely necessary, 

 as they will grow in light soil if the 

 subsoil is a good paddy mud. From 

 the first the young trees should be 

 shaded with a matting of coconut 

 leaves, which is suspended 2 feet or so 

 abo\'e the top of the plant. This is to 

 prevent the wilting and subsequent 

 death of the two red, partly developed 

 leaves, which first appear from the 

 seed, and which must be kept alive if 

 the i^lant is to make a rapid growth. 

 If these i^recautions of jjotting, shading, 

 and selection of soil arc followed, trees 

 should come into bearing seven years 

 from seed, producing a small crop of a 

 hundred fruits or so. The sub.sequcnt 

 treatment of the mangosteen orchard 

 seems to be very simple, — no pruning 

 f)[ any kind is commonly practiced, 

 although it might be advisable to prune ; 

 and little cultivating is done. A mulch- 

 ing of coconut husks about the base of 

 the tree to keep the surface soil con- 

 tinually moist, and the application of a 

 small amount of earth from the poultry 



2 The fruit is technically a berry, conlainiriK many ovules or seeds; but most of these in each 

 fruit are aborted, for which reason it is difficult to get mature, well -developed seeds from good 

 strains of the mangosteen. The pulp which is eaten is technically an aril, an extra coat that is 

 developed in the same way as the original integuments are. The abortion of the ovule does not 

 interfere with the growth of tliis aril. 



yard sprinkled about underneath the 

 trees each year, are the only attentions 

 given them. Whether or not artificial 

 fertilizers could be employed with 

 ])rofitablc effect is a question that has 

 not been answered. 



Favored with the conditions de- 

 scribed, the trees on Mr. Wright's 

 place have done remarkably well. They 

 produce two crops of fruit a year: the 

 first ripening in January, being from 

 blooms produced in August, is a small 

 one, not more than 100 fruits to each 

 tree, while the second, from flowers 

 produced in January or February, is a 

 large one and matures in July and 

 August. Mr. Wright estimates that 

 each tree of his orchard produces from 

 600 to 800 fruits a year, counting both 

 crops, and he has been selling these for 

 six to nine rupees ($1.98 to S2.97) a 

 hundred, making his gross receipts, 

 figured on the lowest price, $11 to S15 

 per tree. The work of picking, packing 

 and transporting to the railway station, 

 although repeated every other day, is 

 not expensive in a land where laborers 

 earn only 12 to 16 cents a day. There 

 can be no question that such an orchard 

 pays well even in Ceylon, where the 

 fruits are sold for from 2 to 3 cents 

 apiece. What the profits would be if 

 they were sold for such fancy prices as 

 would be offered by the fruiterers of 

 any big metropolis can be easily 

 imagined. 



AMERICAN POSSIBILITIES 



There are many essential questions 

 to be considered in connection with the 

 introduction and establishment of the 

 mangosteen industry in Porto Rico, 

 Hawaii or Cuba, or in America generally. 



The possibility of the plants living 

 outside of their own home has been 

 abundantly demonstrated. Trees are 

 growing and have fruited well in Trini- 

 dad and Jamaica in the West Indies. 

 Specimens have even been shipi)ed from 

 there to London. In the Territory of 

 Hawaii, on the Islands of Kauai and 



