THE CUBA REVIEW And Bulletin. 



17 



though the pineapples of Ceballos were 

 sweet enough in all conscience. But 

 in April, when the rain ^ begin, the axils 

 of the leaves become perfect reservoirs 

 of water and the pine snugly ensconced 

 within sucks in the moisture greedily and 

 it becomes even more sweet. 



THE POPULARITY OF GRAPE FRUIT INCREASING 

 IN THE UNITED STATES. 



The popularity of grape fruit is a sign 

 of the times that invites consideration. 

 Three times a day in some households 

 does it appear at table, so complete is 

 its vogue, and no one is ever heard to 

 say that he is weary of it. Grape fruit 

 holds its own, now that it has really 

 come into its own, as not all fruits can. 

 For, besides the fine flavor of it, it has 

 certain properties, it is said, that make it 

 healthful, and that is a coinbination al- 

 ways desirable. — Boston Transcript. 



BANANAS AND LIMES PROFITABLE FOR EXPORT. 



The following is extracted from an ar- 

 ticle written bv a Canadian correspondent 

 to the Demerara Daily Chronicle : 



Throughout the West India Islands, 

 notably Jamaica, Dominica, St. Vincent 

 and St. Lucia, the development of the fruit 

 industry to replace the crippled business . 

 of cane-sugar production has been occupy- 

 ing attention for some years. In Jamaica, 

 the tendency has largely been in favor of 

 bananas, the markets of New York and, 

 to a lesser extent, of Great Britain, read- 

 ily absorbing the crops. In Dominica and 

 St. Lucia, thp attention of planters has been 

 occupied bv the cultivation of limes and 

 oranges, which, although requiring a longer 

 period to come to maturity, have the ad- 

 vantage that, once being established, they 

 require little attention compared with ba- 

 nanas. Dominica has by this means arisen 

 to comparative prosperity, and this year its 

 exoorts will, for the first time since the 

 collapse of sugar, top $500,000. These ex- 

 ports at present, in a very large propor- 

 tion, go to the United States. 



Another important industry concerns the 

 manufacturer of citric acid, an article of 

 commerce which has increased enormously 

 in value of late years. As a matter of 

 fact, owing to the large increase in the 

 demand for citric acid a>id the shortage of 

 the supply of limes, that commodity has 

 Dracticallv doubled in value in the course 

 of a year. It is an article which is largely 

 used in many processes of manufacture, 

 particularly of mineral waters. — The Agri- 

 cultural News, Barbados. 



DISEASES OF COCOANUT EALMS IN THE WEST 

 INDIA ISLANDS. 



As many cocoanut palms were reported 

 as havinp^ died in Trinidad, and owing to 

 the anxiety felt in regard to the cocoanut 

 industry in that place, Mr. F. A. Stock- 

 dale, B. A., the mycologist on the staff of 

 the Imperial Department of Agriculture, in 

 July,_ 1906, paid a visit to that colony, and 

 in his report printed in the Trinidad Royal 



Gazette, February 14, 1907, describes three 

 diseases attacking cocoanut palms in Trin- 

 idad, which he calls root disease, leaf dis- 

 ease and bud rot. He calls the root dis- 

 ease the most serious, because most widely 

 distributed, and causing considerable loss. 



It may be recognized by the yellowing 

 and hanging down of the leaves, by the 

 disorsranized condition of tlie cortex of the 

 roots, bv the red rina: of aiscoioration that 

 may be seen in the stem, and by the pus- 

 tules bearine fungus spores that are in- 

 variably seen, sooner or later, on the dead 

 leaf-stalks (petioles). 



The leaf disease may be recognized by" 

 the yellowish spots on the leaflets, espe- 

 cially near their tips. These spots gradu- 

 ally increase in size, the distal leaflets of 

 the leaf turn yellow then brown, and even- 

 tually die. When the leaflets of the 

 terminal 2 or ^ feet of the leaf have died, 

 this portion breaks off and hangs vertic- 

 ally downwards from the end of the dying 

 leaf. (This is characteristic of the disease, 

 and is probably due to the weight of the 

 dead tio causinar it to break off.) Eventu- 

 ally the whole leaf dies, and others become 

 infected. 



Bud-rot disease. The cause of the 

 trouble is somewhat obscure. The roots 

 and stem of the rialm appear to be quite 

 healthy, while the bud is involved in a vile- 

 smelling soft rot. In one instance, a fungus 

 was present in the advancine- margin of 

 the diseased part, but generally bacteria 

 were the only organisms present. Three 

 kinds of bacteria were noticed, and two of 

 them had previously been found in trees 

 that were suffering from other causes. On 

 no' occasion could it be established, with 

 certainty, how the bacteria gains an en- 

 trance, or whether thev are the primary 

 cause of the trouble. The remedy lies in 

 the destruction, preferably bv fire, of hope- 

 lesslv diseased trees, and repeated spray- 

 insrs of Bordeaux mixture, of aifected 

 palms, particular attention beinar given to 

 the vouna-er leaves. — From the Agricultural 

 News. Barbados. 



CUBAN COCOANUT PALMS AFFECTED. 



Professor W. T. Horn, the head of the 

 bureau of vegetable pathology, Cuban Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station, has gone to 

 Baracoa to investigate disease in the co- 

 coanut groves in that vicinity. He was 

 sent in answer to the petition of a commit- 

 tee who appealed to Governor Magoon for 

 an investigation of the trouble and a po's- 

 sible remedy. 



THE SEVEREST DROUGHT IN 63 YEARS. 



With the exception of a slight shower 

 in Manzanillo and a slight fall of rain in 

 Pinar del Rio, Habana and Santa Clara, 

 the severe drought continues. Wells in 

 Alacranes have dried up and it is feared 

 that the same thing will happen in 

 Guines. All along the coast where there 

 are forests and thick woods, heavy fogs 

 and dews have nourished vegetation to 



