FKUITS VARIETIES AND CULTURE. 497 



reddish, tender, melting, very juicy; rich and excellent 

 when fully ripe. Ripens early in May. 



Early Richmond or Kentish. — Fruit small to 

 medium, round, a little flattened; grows in pairs; skin 

 bright red, growing dark when ripe; stalk one and a 

 fourth inch long, stout, and set in a pretty deep hollow; 

 flesh melting, juicy, and of a rich, sprightly flavor. A 

 hardy variety and excellent for cooking. 



Late Kentish. — Resembles the above, but is two 

 weeks later; a little larger and excellent for cooking, pre- 

 serving and drying. 



Marketing. — The 24-quart crate is suitable for this 

 fruit when shipped in quantity. The best varieties, how- 

 ever, may be shipped with profit in the climax basket. 



COCOANTJT. — (Cocos nucifera, Linn.) 

 This plant is propagated by seed. The nuts are placed 

 in holes one and a half to two feet deep, partly covered 

 with earth, and as the seedling grows the hole is grad- 

 ually filled until the surface is reached. The seedlings 

 are transplanted to the field where the trees are to per- 

 manently grow, and set out twenty-five or thirty feet 

 apart. They will begin fruiting, under favorable circum- 

 stances within seven years, and will continue bearing- 

 nuts for more than sixty years. These nuts grow in 

 bunches, with five to fifteen in each bunch, and a well- 

 grown tree will produce from eighty to one hundred nuts 

 each year. The cocoanut is peculiarly adapted to the 

 coast of South Florida, and extensive plantations are to 

 be found in that portion of the State. But little attention 

 has been devoted to developing varieties. 



CUREANT.— (.Riles.) 

 The currant is a low shrub, a native of Great Britain 

 and the northern parts of Europe and America; with 



