THE CUBA REVIEW 



become any sweeter, says James D. Dole 

 in a letter to the New York Evening Fast. 

 This is in contrast to the banana, which in 

 its unripe state is composed largely of 

 starch, much of which during the ripening 

 process is converted into sugar ; and with 

 the banana the ripening process seems to 

 proceed almost as satisfactorily after the 

 banana has been cut from the plant, as 

 when left to ripen naturally. 



(lifferent combinations of toe-marking are 

 possible. If only one mark is employed 

 lor all chicks hatched in a given year, no 

 farmer would tind it necessary to use more 

 than three or four of these marks, but, if 

 it were desired to show ages more closely, 

 or to mark pedigree stock, all the forms 

 indicated might be found useful. — Bureau 

 of Animal Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agri- 

 culture, Washington, D.C., Bulletin No. 141. 



MARKING POULTRY TO DETERMINE AGE 



At the present time. 9.j per cent of the 

 farmers have no positive method of de- 

 termining the age of their poultry. From 

 an economic standpoint it is very desirable 

 that when a farmer markets a part of his 

 stock, he should be able by some accurate 

 method to ascertain the age of the fowls 

 which he sells. Such a plan would tend to 

 decrease the enormous number of pullets 

 and yearling hens which through lack of 

 system are now being disposed of, while 

 old hens are often retained. Yearling 

 hens and pullets especially will in the 

 course of the year return to the farmer a 

 greater profit from the eggs which they 

 produce than will the older fowls. Hens 

 can be kept at a good profit until they have 

 passed their second year, but they are not, 

 as a rule, profitable beyond that age. 



The most common method of marking 

 poultry is to leg-band them. These bands 

 are manufactured from aluminum, wire 

 and composite metals, and are placed 

 around the leg of the fowl and fastened in 

 numerous ways. This system, while emi- 

 nently satisfactory, requires more labor 

 and attention than most farmers would 

 care to give. A more practical method is 

 by punching the web of the foot at the 

 time the chick is hatched. The operation 

 is simple and an entire liatcli can be toe- 

 marked in a short time. On this page is 

 shown a diagram of a system by which 16 



e. 



a A A '« A A 



Method of toe-marking chicks to determine age. 

 Sixteen different toe marks. 



PICKING ORANGES IN SPAIN 



Oranges are gathered in flexible baskets 

 of palm leaf and are transported to the 

 l)acking store in carts of three stories. 

 The lowest is a suspended floor between 

 the wheels, reaching to within 1 foot of 

 tiie ground, and each floor accommodates 

 about 1(3 baskets, each containing 30 to 35 

 pounds of oranges. In the store the fruit 

 is piled in heaps 2 to 3 feet high and left 

 to "purge" two or three days, according to 

 the relative moisture or dryness of the 

 weather conditions at time of harvesting. 

 This purging is really incipient fermenta- 

 tion, in which the excess of moisture in 

 the skin of the orange exudes through the 

 i)ores, leaving it dryer, more flexible, and 

 better adapted to the very tight packing 

 in Valencia standard cases, which average 

 about 165 pounds of fruit each. — V. S. 

 Consular Report. 



AGUACATE TREE YIELDS 



In the matter of yield, mature aguacate 

 trees of the large varieties are often known 

 to produce 500 to 1,000 fruits in each sea- 

 son : the small purple varieties are some- 

 times extraordinarily prolific, some trees 

 having been known to bear as many as 

 4,000 fruits in one season. With respect 

 to the size of the fruit, the mistaken opinion 

 is often held that this should be as large 

 as possible : under conditions in the United 

 States, a fruit weighing from 15 to 20 oz. 

 would appear to be the most suitable. 



For export, it is the best for the form 

 of the fruits to be oval or nearly spherical; 

 those possesing a neck require much care 

 in packing, and are best suited for local 

 consumption. Uniformity should exist, 

 not only in regard to form, but with re- 

 spect to size, particularly as this increases 

 the attractiveness of the fruit when it is 

 exposed for sale. As regards color, the 

 nurple varieties have been most in favor 

 in California: in Florida those having a 

 (larf crimson color seem to be preferred. 



In the case of avocados for shipment, the 

 thickness and toughness of the skin are 

 matters of importance. Many of the 

 Mexican varieties possess a thick skin, 

 while in others it is very thin ; thickness 

 is particularly a feature in the skins of 

 Cniatemalan types. In the matter of flavor, 



