537 



Palmce. 



It is unnecessary to do more here than refer to the coconut. Of 

 other palms but few give any fruit worth eating. 



I he fruits of nearly all the rattans, Calamus and Doemonorops, 

 are eaten by Malays. The eatable portion being a thin layer of 

 sweet pulp around the seed. The fruit of the Salak, Zalacca 

 edulis, a bushy thorny palm, native of Java is regularly sold in the 

 streets in May. It is a dark brown scaly fruit, containing three or 

 fewer seeds enclosed in a firm white flesh. It is very popular among 

 natives, but seldom eaten by Europeans. Plants of the Salak grown 

 for many years in Singapore Botanic Gardens have never yet pro- 

 duced fruit. 



The Asam Paya, or Kelubi, Zalacca conferta is an aquatic species 

 growing in great thickets in jungle swamps. It is stemless or nearly 

 so with immense thorny leaves. The fruits are borne in clusters at 

 the base of the leaves, and are of a light yellow brown color, and # 

 covered with scales. The pulp surrounding the seeds is white and 

 juicy but very acid. It is gathered and eaten by Malays, but is not 

 cultivated anywhere. 



The fruit of the Nipa palm Nipa fruticans so abundant along 

 tidal rivers, contains a small quantity of slightly sweet albumen in 

 the seed which is eaten, being something like the albumen of the 

 young coconut in flavour but sweeter. 



AGRICULTURE IN BAHIA AND SERGIPE, 



BRAZIL. 



The Consular Report for 1901 has the following under the above 

 heading : — 



Cocoa. — The quality of cocoa exported in 1901 was in excess of 

 the figures for 1900, but the actual value of the exports is consi- 

 derably less. New plantations come into bearing every season, 

 and the cultivation of this article continues to prove profitable to 

 the planter, notwithstanding the fall in prices. 



Increased production may safely be looked for, but the progress 

 will be slow owing to the limited area of land suitable for cocoa 

 planting, and the length of time (five years) required for the deve- 

 lopment of the tree. He vy rains affected the quality of the crop, 

 but this might to a great extent have been mitigated if the planters 

 would only bestow adequate attention on the drying of the gather- 

 ed beans. They are often collected when clamp, and subsequently 

 smoked in order to dry them. The methods employed are primi- 

 tive, and the operation scamped, with the result that the bean 

 acquires an unpleasant smoky flavour, and is unsuitable for the 

 manufacture of chocolate. Local British and German firms prac- 

 tically monopolise this trade, but the buying orders appear to all 

 emanate from Hamburg. The United States purchase direct, but 

 not to any extent. 



Coffee. — The important trade of coffee again showed a falling- 

 off, prices proving so unsatisfactory to planters that they preferred 



