Fruit Growing in the Gulf States. 213 



The report states that the fruit can be canned, pre- 

 served, and used in any way in which the apple and 

 pear are prepared. The wood is said to be used in 

 tropical climates for waggon building, for which its tough- 

 ness recommends it. I am 'not aware of the timber of 

 the mango being thus utilized in the West Indies or in 

 Guiana. 



Sixty-one varieties are mentioned as growing in 

 Florida, many of them introduced from Cuba. The 

 famous No. 1 1 from Jamaica has been introduced, but is 

 not yet fruiting. Single specimens in that island are 

 said to weigh 4 lbs. each. 



No tropical fruit is cultivated over a larger extent in 

 the Gulf States than is the banana, which has been 

 found to be of easy culture, and so far hardy that it 

 sends out strong suckers soon after it has been killed to 

 the ground by frost. A healthy banana plant will 

 stand a temperature as low as 25 degs. Fahrenheit for a 

 few hours without much injury. One has seen in some 

 of the public gardens at home, such as Battersea Park, 

 one of those exiles grown as a foliage plant, struggling 

 against the fog and cold of a London October day, and 

 looking very miserable under the circumstances. 



The banana is grown from Southern Texas to Saint 

 Cardine often as a merely ornamental plant. In some 

 parts of Florida its culture is profitable, since it sells in 

 most cases for as much as 5 cents a finger, a larger price 

 than is obtained in New York. At Orlando and in 

 Orange County they fetch wholesale i£ and 2 cents a 

 finger, and retail at i\ cents each. At Manatu the price 

 for the last six years has been one cent each. 



It will be seen that these prices would leave the 



