FRUIT CULTURE IN THE TROPICS. 



By H. F. MACMILLAN. 

 Superintendent of Botanic Gardens, Ceylon. 



THE subject of this paper, though not new to many 

 people, is, I think, of sufficient importance to justify my 

 presenting the following notes to the Congress. That 

 it possesses considerable interest not only for the colonist 

 or would-be colonists, but also for residents of tropical 

 countries, goes without saying. Few products of the 

 soil present greater attractions to the cultivator than 

 fruit, for the prospect of being able to pluck the fruit of 

 one's own orchard, in addition to obtaining a reasonable 

 return 011 one's capital, has a special charm. Pomology 

 now finds a place in the curriculum of technical colleges 

 in Europe, America, Australia, and elsewhere, and in 

 practice may well be said to be carried to a fine art. So 

 far, however, fruit culture on a commercial scale has 

 attracted but little attention in the tropics, with but few 

 exceptions. Chief among the latter are Jamaica, with 

 its prosperous banana industry, and Singapore, with a 

 flourishing trade in the growing and preserving of pine- 

 apples. In Hawaii Islands also results have shown that 

 pineapple culture for local consumption and export can 

 be made a commercial success. 



FRUIT CULTURE IN CEYLON. 



Hitherto fruit-growing in Ceylon has only been carried 

 on either as an auxiliary means of livelihood or for 

 private consumption, and it is asserted that there is not 

 sufficient inducement to make it a business venture. But 

 if inducements are created, as they may be, there would 

 seem to be undoubted opportunities of developing fruit- 

 growing in Ceylon on commercial lines. The require- 

 ments of the colony and neighbouring countries in the 

 way of fruit, either fresh, preserved, or in jams, are 



