22 



California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



Stutlitultuvc, 



-^;d 



Culf Coast Fruits. 



TP.OPICAL FEUITS. 



INE-APPLE (Ururmlia Ananas) . 

 This delicious tropical fruit, which 

 can only be enjoyed in perfection 

 when allowed to ripen on the plant, 

 has been cultivated with considera- 

 .e success on the small islands and 

 eys" near the extreme south and 

 itwest edge of Florida, more particu- 

 ly in the neighborhood of Key West, 

 e pineapple plant is very easily propa- 

 ;ed, comes rapidly into bearing, and 

 .y be made a source of very considera- 

 I trade and profit when its culture is 

 ;euded to its utmost limits, it must 

 remembered, however, that it is 

 ictly a tropical plant, not capable of 

 luring even the slightest frost; and 

 it it can only be grown south of lati- 

 le 40". Properly organized colonies, 

 small communities possessing the 

 piisite capital and energy, could easily 

 tke the pineapple culture, in south and 

 ithwest Florida, a certain success; but 

 retofore the remoteness of the most 

 ■orable localities from all commercial 

 lilities — the difficulties attending trans- 

 rtatiou — and the almost total lack of 

 ;ial, religious and mail privileges, 

 ve deterred immigration and operated 

 :y seriously against isolated individual 

 ort in this promising enterprise. 

 Banana (Miisa sapienium) , and Plan- 

 n (J/, paraclisiacaj , both ripen their 

 licious and wholesome fruit somewhat 

 ther north, and stand a little lower 

 gree of cold than the pineapple. Wher- 

 sr the mean temperature reaches 70" 

 75" Fahrenheit, the banana and plan- 

 n can bo raised very profitably; but 

 Dse plants will thrive and fruit ripen, 

 th a slight protection, where the mer- 

 ry descends to 45", or even lower, 

 iking this allowance for superior hard- 

 ;ss, and extending the range of the 

 nana at least one degree north, the 

 eceding remarks touching the culture 

 the jiineappe will apply to the very 

 olific and healthful fruit now under 

 r notice. It will be remembered that 

 e great Humboldt calculated that, in 

 proper clime and under favorable cir- 

 mstances, the yield of food from the 

 nana when compared with wheat was 

 twenty-five to one; and he also .assert- 

 that no plant grown on earth for bu- 

 rn food could at all compare with this 

 •rticular tropical fruit in combined pro- 

 ictiveness and nutrition. There is a 

 de field for the profitable culture of 

 e banana on the Gulf Coast of Florida, 

 aero it is a perennial plant, at all points 

 uth of latitude 2a". It also very fre- 

 lectly iiroduces ripe fruit much farther 

 )rth, as in the city of New Orleans; and 

 metimes, when slightly protected, on 

 e coast of Mississippi, Louisiana and 

 jxas, where the plant is very generally 

 iltivatcd for its highly ornamental ap- 

 iarance and beauty. As a sure and re- 

 iblc fruit-producing plant, however, the 

 mana can only be recommended within 

 geographical limits above mentioned 

 ■namely, near the Gulf Coast, and south 

 latitude '2'J". 



The Cocoa Nut (Comn miciferaj, the 

 ate Palm fPhcrnix dacUjlifera) , the 

 uava fPsidinm), the West Indian Paw- 

 iw (Varim Papaya), the Anchovy Pear 

 Vri«.s cax/i/Jora^.^the Alligator or Avoca- 

 3 Pear ( Imwiis Persea). and possibly 

 her tropical fruits are cultivated to a 

 inited extent,, both for use and orna- 

 ent, at the extreme end of the Florida 

 ;ninsula, in the gardens at Key West 

 id Its neighborhood, but as yet, bo far 



as I am aware, none of these fruits have 

 been planted there on a large scale, nor 

 attained any commercial importance. 



SEMI-TKOPICAIi FP.niTS. 



Sweet Orange {Citrus A^(ranllum) . This 

 almost universally-known and favorite 

 fruit ranks deservedly at the head of this 

 list, and is worthy of far wider and more 

 careful culture than it has yet received 

 among us. We can cultivate success- 

 fully every variety of the sweet orange 

 known in America; and it is an import- 

 ant and noteworthy circumstance, that 

 the seeds of the sweet orange from the 

 West Indies, Southern Mexico, and other 

 tropical countries, when planted on the 

 Gulf Coast produce fruit far superior in 

 size and flavor to that which we import 

 from those countries or from Europe. 

 This now well-established fact, and the 

 ease and certainty with which fine native 

 seedling orange trees can be produced, 

 should encourage our people greatly to 

 extend the propagation and culture of 

 this noble fruit — this "golden apple of 

 the Hesijerides' ' — to its extreme northern 

 limit. I find it quite difflcult to define 

 these limits with much accuracy; having 

 seen and eaten fine oranges grown on the 

 Atlantic coasts of South Carolina; in the 

 northern interior of Florida; near the 

 southwestern edge of Mobile Bay (north 

 of latitude 20"), and at all points along 

 the Gulf Coast, from the border of Ala- 

 bama to Galveston, in Texas. The im- 

 mediate shore or margin of the Gulf 

 Coast — the islands of the Gulf sufflcient- 

 ly elevated to escape overflow and pro- 

 tracted submergence in severe storms; 

 and the banks of the rivers, bays and 

 bayous emptying into this great Gulf of 

 Mexico, embrace thousands of acres per- 

 fectly adapted to the culture of the sweet 

 orange and many of its congeners. 

 Throughout the whole of our mild and 

 pleasant coast country, there are number- 

 less locations yet unoccupied and easily 

 attainable, where almost the entire ciliits 

 family ; from the delicate little Mandarin 

 to the huge Shaddock, maj' be raise in 

 great perfection, and with nearly as much 

 certainty of a regular crop, as any other 

 variety of fruit which we cultivate. It 

 affords mo much pleasure to assure the 

 Society that the propagation, growth and 

 culture of this most interesting and pro- 

 fitable family of fruits is steadily increas- 

 ing from year to j^ear; and has of late 

 only been retarded by the great and pe- 

 culiarly embarrassed condition of our 

 section. The variety of orange most in 

 favor and cultivation with us has gener- 

 ally been raised from seed, either native 

 or foreign, and is designated and known 

 as the Creole orange. We have also in 

 cultivation, to a limited extent, the Bra- 

 zilian (C. BrazUiensis) , the Mandarin (C 

 nohilis), the Tabasco {C. ^fexicana), the 

 Seville {liriqaradkr), sour or bitter, the 

 Shaddock ('.'. dccuniana) , the Pample- 

 mousse, the Myrtle, and a few other va- 

 rieties. Of these, the finer sorts of 

 Creole seedlings, the Mandarin and the 

 Brazilian (all sweet), are undoubtedly 

 the best and most profitable; though the 

 most of the other sorts mentioned are 

 valued for special purposes. 



The Lemon (C. Limonnni), the Lime 

 (C. Limetta or acida), and the Citron (C. 

 medica), are also grown to a limited ex- 

 tent; but all these are less hardy and vig- 

 orous than the different varieties of 

 sweet orange, less in demand and, there- 

 fore, not so desirable. 



Japan Plum (Me^pihis Japonwa, l.oquat, 

 PJriobvtrya) . This tree is a broad-leaved 

 evergreen of strikinglj' beautiful form, 

 and fine, free habit of growth. It is very 

 attractive and lovely in foliage, and pro- 

 duces an abundauco of deliciously fra- 

 grant flowers in late autumn and early 



winter. These, if not injured by frost 

 (which rarely happens south of latitude 

 30"), are followed early in the spring, 

 from last of January to middle of April, 

 by profuse clusters of fruit, the size of a 

 large plum — juicy, sub-acid, refreshing, 

 and altogether delightful and unique in 

 flavor and quality. This fruit may be 

 gathered four or five days before it is 

 fully mature — will ripen perfectly in the 

 house or in Iratis'du; and, if it were large- 

 ly planted, in proper localities, could be 

 made a source of very great profit. The 

 most favorable localities seem to be in 

 the vicinity of New Orleans, ranging 

 from twenty to thirty miles above to 

 sixty or eighty miles below the city, on 

 the Mississippi river coast, and thence 

 south and southwestwardly, throughout 

 the entire region lying near the Gulf, 

 between the great river and Eastern Tex- 

 as. The Japan plum is said not to suc- 

 ceed well in East Florida, but I am at a 

 loss to find any good reason for its fail- 

 ure there. Within the particular limits 

 I have mentioned, and even as far east 

 and north as Pascagoula Bay, on the 

 Gulf coast of Mississippi, this attractive 

 and very desirable fruit tree bears a crop 

 three or four years cut of five, and is 

 generally grown on a limited scale, both 

 for use and ornament. 



Fig {Ficus Carica), What the apple, 

 the currant, the strawberry, the Concord 

 grape, and other every day household 

 fruits of the easiest production are to the 

 people of the North and West, the fig 

 most emphatically is to us of the Gulf 

 Coast, the "fruit for the million!" It 

 grows from cuttings as readily as the 

 grape or willow; these cuttings often 

 producing a few ripe and edible fruit the 

 first season, and (with proper culture) 

 nearly alwas the second year. The tree 

 seems subject to no disease whatever — is 

 seldom seriously injured by frost; and, 

 when two or three years old, always bears 

 two, and sometimes three crops of fruit 

 during our long season. This fruit, fresh, 

 is of the most delicious, nutritive and 

 wholesome quality; and may, when fully 

 ripe, be eaten directly from the tree, or 

 prepared for the table in many attractive 

 forms by the skillful housewife. It is, 

 however, mainly of the fig as a marketa- 

 ble and commercial fruit that I here wish 

 to say a few very particular words. As- 

 suming that the production of this fruit 

 in our section, so far as quantity is con- 

 cerned, is practically without limit, our 

 next consideration is, how to preserve it 

 in such a manner as to admit of long and 

 safe keeping and distant transportation. 

 Up to the present time, the fig, so deli- 

 cate and perishable when fully ripe as to 

 almost preclude the idea of handling or 

 shipping at all in its "fresh" state, has 

 only been cultivated and prized for home 

 use and immediate consumption. It is 

 true a few attempts have been made to 

 dry figs m the sun; and our tasteful 

 house-keepers have prepared fig pre- 

 serves, pickles and confections, in many 

 attractive forms; but thus far, with the 

 honorable exception of one firm in the 

 city of New Orleans, no one within my 

 knowledge has attempted to utilize this 

 fruit on a large scale, or render it an ar- 

 ticle of commercial importance and great 

 profit. I think I hazard little in saying 

 now, however, that what cotton was be- 

 fore the day of Whitney and his gin, the 

 fig has been until the successful advent 

 of Bulkley, Alden and other inventors of 

 fruit-dryers and evaporators. I fully be- 

 lieve that the problem is very near its 

 solution — that this excellent and most 

 proline fruit will soon assume its right- 

 ful importance among us; and that be- 

 fore many more meetings of this Society 

 dried figs of Southern jiroduction will be 

 found plentifully in our markets, and 



prove an important and acceptable ad- 

 dition to our home luxuries. The dried 

 fig being the only form in which this 

 wholesome fruit has heretofore been of- 

 fered to the general public, it may not 

 be inappropriate to say that our figs can 

 also be very successfully pickled (sweet 

 or sour), preserved in syrup, candied 

 and crystalized in sugar, and put up in 

 many other attractive forms and ways. 

 All varieties of the fig, thus far tried, 

 succeed perfect!}' on our Gulf Coast; and 

 reckoning upon the value and efficiency 

 of the most improved fruit-dryers and 

 evaporators, there is no fruit which can 

 be grown in our section that offers a 

 surer or more liberal return for a moder- 

 ate expenditure of cajjital and labor. 



Pomegranate {Pun'wnGranafiim). This 

 graceful and beautiful fruit tree thrives 

 everywhere on the Gulf Coast. Of the 

 fruit-bearing we have three or four vari- 

 eties, and at least as many ornamental 

 sorts. Both fruit and flowers are very 

 beautiful and attractive, and the pulpy 

 seeds of the former, when prepared with 

 sugar like the northern currant, furnish 

 a juice sweet, cooling, refreshing and 

 agreeable, especially in the sick room. 

 This juice is also used for jellies and con- 

 serves, and has often been made into a 

 delicate and peculiar wine. The thick, 

 leathery rind, or outer skin of the fruit, 

 and the bark of the roots, possess very 

 marked astringent and anthelmintic pro- 

 perties, and have frequently been used 

 in medical practice with good results. 

 The pomegranate, however, aside from 

 its great beauty, and the uses to which I 

 here advert, does not possess much at- 

 traction as a popular fruit for the market 

 or dessert; and can only be recommend- 

 ed for limited cultivation. 



Olive (Otea Europea). We have sev- 

 eral varieties of the olive, including one 

 wild, native sort {Olea Americana), a 

 pretty broad-leaved evergreen, bearing a 

 small fruit of no value. The European 

 olive tree grows freely and luxuriantly, 

 wherever properly planted and eared for; 

 but its fruit production is not generally 

 satisfactory. The dry uplands and 

 rocky ridges of the interior are, doubt- 

 less, better adapted to this fruit than the 

 low, moist, sandy lands on the coast; 

 and. as the olive can resist a much lower 

 temperature than the orange, it may be 

 tried successfully in the more elevated 

 and hilly portions of our Gulf States. 



Jujube {Zizi/pliussaiivus). This tree is 

 a native of Syria, but flourishes every- 

 where on the Gulf, and as far north and 

 east as Raleigh, North Carolina. The 

 tree is of medium size — sometimes twen- 

 ty or thirty feet high — with alternate and 

 singularlj' tortuous branches, armed with 

 long, curved thorns, and having very 

 glossy and beautiful dark green leaves 

 (deciduous). The fruit, which ripens in 

 July and August, is about the size and 

 shape of an olive; and of a sweet and 

 pleasant taste, somewhat similar to that 

 of dried dates. There is little doubt that 

 the Jujube (sometimes called Jujeb) is 

 the true Libyan Lotus of Herodotus, 4, 

 177, and that it is also described as the 

 Lotus by Pliny, among the ancients, as 

 well as Shaw, Uesfontains, Beechy and 

 Park, among modern travelers, It is the 

 Scedra, of the .\rabs, and was formerly 

 much cultivated in Southern Europe, and 

 the fruit use for the making of a mild 

 kind of wme or mead, and the well- 

 known jujube paste. Of late years, this 

 once popular confection has been re- 

 placed by a cheaper preparation of mu- 

 cilage and sugar, and the culture of the 

 fruit has greatly fallen off. It is a very 

 ])rctty and aftiactivo fruit tree and de- 

 serves a limiti-d share of attention. — Fx- 

 trnct from address by D. Redmond before 

 the American I'omoloyical t>ociely, 1875. 



