i 



flower of a good orange tree, perhaps, will be fertilised by pollen from inferior varieties or from a 

 Seville orange, and the result may be that not only the seed but the whole fruit may be affected, so 

 that we shall have a fruit which is neither a good sweet orange nor a good Seville, and seeds which 

 will grow up into trees yielding fruit of some intermediate chai'ucter. 



" I do not think that a thoroughly good orange will have any but thoroughly good seeds, but if 

 cross-fertilisation with an inferior variety bus taken place, then the fruit will tell the tale, and warn 

 us against the seed. Now, if this be true, that cross-fertilisation affects the fruit, how can we ever 

 expect to have good fruit for export so long as there is such an abundance of inferior trees ? There 

 is no use whatever in going to all the expense and trouble of budding the best varieties, unless first 

 some pains be taken to extirpate the worthless varieties, and secondly it is determined to thoroughly 

 cultivate them." 



The climatic conditions are so much against the operation of budding that, in my opinion, it will 

 not be found worth while ever to adopt it in the island. But there is a mode of grafting, viz., inarch- 

 ing, which has been practised with great success for years in the Gardens, and thousands of these 

 grafted oranges have been distributed. Appended to the coiTespondence from Kew is a letter from 

 Mr. Geo. Syme to the "Gleaner" newspaper in March, 1884, describing this method as practised in 

 Castleton Gardens, where Mr. Syme was at that time Superintendent. There is no evidence that any 

 attempt has been made to adopt this plan by any of the orange growers in the island. 



Royal Gardens, Kew, 14th February, 1893. 



Sir, 



I am desired by Mr. Thiselton-Dyer to inform you that an application has been received at Kew 

 from the Director of Gardens and Plantations at Jamaica, for information in regard to the steps to be 

 taken to accelerate the production of early crops of oranges, and thus improve the value of an important 

 industry in the Island. 



2. The subject is one in which the Governor, Sir Henry Blake, is deeply interested, and there are 

 good grounds for believing that if the wishes of his Excellency could be carried out, Jamaica would 

 occupy a very advantageous position as regards its oranges in the markets of the United States and 

 Canada. It would in fact come first into these markets and anticipate by a month or so the orange 

 crops of Florida and California. 



3. There is no doubt about the desirability of the object to be sought. The difficulty is to suggest 

 some simple and practicable means whereby it can be attained. Kew has taken some trouble in the 

 matter and the result of inquiry, on this side, is contained in the enclosures which I have the honour to 

 forward with this letter. 



4. The opinion of two of the most successful growers of fruit trees in this country — Messrs. Rivers 

 and Bunyard, tends to show that a careful selection of the site for orange cultivation is of great im- 

 portance. Warm sheltered spots are essential. The trees should be highly cultivated, and the branches 

 somewhat severely thinned to allow plenty of light and air to penetrate into them. Under these cir- 

 cumstances " budded trees" are likely to be more easily controlled than seedling trees as the buds could 

 be selected from the earliest fruiting sorts already existing in the Island. Further budded trees on fiully 

 matured stocks come into bearing in two j^ears so that little time is lost in the procees. 



5. A-ctual experiment can alone decide the best stock to use for budding purposes. In Florida and 

 in the Mediterranean region the sour or Seville orange is generally used. Mr. Rivers on the other 

 hand prefers the lemon stock. Both these might be tried as also the Pumelo or Shaddock stocks. 

 The budding of oranges in Jamaica has hardly been practised at all. It is a simple process and its in- 

 fluence in improving the quality and production of oranges cannot be over-estimated. 



6. There are several very early sorts of oranges known, and it might be desirable to introduce some 

 of these for trial in the Island Mr. Rivers speaks of one called the " Egg orange" (although it is 

 round) which ripens about three weeks in advance of the ordinary St, Michael's orange. If a few 

 plants of this were obtained it might be budded on to stocks in Jamaica and probably prove very useful. 



7. Another early orange is described in the extract taken from Mr. Moore's work on " Orange 

 Culture in Florida" as the " Thornless Bell" or the " September Orange." This is not so good as the 

 ordinary Florida fruit but it possesses several good points: (1) it is best when it is gathered before it 

 yellows on the tree, (2) it cures with a skin as thin as the Sicily oranges, and (3) it possesses early 

 ripening qualities and a wonderfully prolific nature. 



8. It may also be possible to utilize very late oranges. The object should be to supply the north- 

 ern markets at all times when oranges are in special demand and to confine the production or at least 

 the shipments as much as possible within those limits. The capabilities of orange production in 

 Jamaica are exceptionally favourable, and provided, the subject were dealt with in a skilful and enter- 

 prising manner the value of the industry could be enormously increased. 



I am, &c., 



D. Morbus 



Edward Wingfield, Esq., C.B. 

 Colonial Office, S. W. 



Royal Gardens, Kew, 4th January, 1893. 



Dear Mr. Btjnyard, 



I wish to ask you for information for the Government of Jamaica in regard to orange culture. The 

 point is one of general application to fruit trees, so it is not necessary for you to know anything specially 

 of the treatment of orange trees. The Jamaica Government is wishful to set to work to try and pro- 

 cure very early crops of fruit so as to forestall the Florida oranges. Jamaica is much further south 

 than Florida but the distance of Jamaica from the Northern markets almost cancels its advantages as 



