6 



with the fungus spores on the cut and exposed surface of the portion used for propagation? As a 

 preventitive against this possible cause of inoculation, the cut surface might be painted with a solution 

 of Bordeaux mixture immediately on being cut, and repeated at intervals. 



It has been observed that the fungus causing the sugar-cane disease develops readily on the 

 young leaves of the bamboo, the same may prove to be true of other members of the Oramineae, hence 

 a careful search should be made for such possible nurse-plants, as the spores would be carried for a 

 considerable distance by the wind. 



Finally all diseased canes should be burnt, and not allowed to remain to rot, during which condition 

 they are simply producing fresh material for the inoculation of other plants. 



Previous to the receipt of the material reported on above several consignments of diseased sugar- 

 cane had been received at Kew from Mr Hart^from Trinidad, caused by the same species of fungus ; 

 but as the material was either dry or preserved in spirit, no cultures or inoculations could be made. 



G-. Massee. 



April 4th, 1893. 



CULTIVATION ABROAD. 



West Indian Lime-Juice. 



The area under lime-tree cultivation in the Island of Montserrat is now about 1,200 acres, three- 

 fourths of which bear fruit. In Dominica also a good deal of lime-juice is made, although not to 

 the same extent as in Montserrat. It is expected, however, that If the roads that have been projected 

 in Dominica should be carried out, the cultivation of lime-trees will be greatly extended, as the in- 

 dustry is believed to pay handsomely. The average yield of juice from an orchard in full bearing is 

 about 500 gallons per acre. The average shipments of lime juice from Montserrat for the last five 

 years have been 800 puncheons of raw lime-juice of 120 gallons each, 200 54-gallon casks of concen- 

 trated juice, and 2,500 lbs. of essential oil of limes, in addition to green and picked limes. Chemist 

 and Druggist. 



Lemon Growing in Santa Paula 



We extract the following paragraphs relating to Lemon-growing at Santa Paula from the letter 

 of a private correspondent, as we think that they will be read with interest. Our informant, writing 

 under date of January 21, says : — " We have been busy for the last three weeks picking Lemons, 

 washing, wrapping in paper, and storing them away in the curing-house, we have been through the 

 orchard three times, each time with a different sized ring. Three men work on a row of trees taking 

 one at a time, one man picks all round the bottom and centre, another does the middle on a step-ladder, 

 and the third picks the top of the tree with a ladder about 15 feet high fastened on a frame with 

 wheels. All the Lemons have to be cut green. We have a ring 2^ or 2^ inch in diameter as the case 

 may be in one hand and a pair of clippers in the othei-, and none but those which will not pass through 

 the ring are to be cut ; bags are slung over our shoulders wherein to place the Lemons, and as soon 

 as these are full we carefully empty them into boxes scattered over the orchard. I am the box-fore- 

 man, and have to see to the proper distribution of the boxes, also that they are not too full, otherwise 

 they would get bruised and rot, for the Lemon is so delicate that if handled more severely than an 

 egg, the skin is liable to get abraded, the essential oil evaporates, and the Lemon will not cure. The 

 chief drawback to the fruit is that the most important picking is in the winter and early spring, 

 and the market is not, of course, open until the summer ; in the meantime the Lemons must be 

 preserved. The management of their curing in this country is at present very crude. The Lemons 

 here are hauled up to the packing-house, then sorted into several grades, those smutty or dirty in 

 any way first being washed in tubs of tepid water ; they are then roughly wrapped in t'ssue paper, 

 placed in shallow wooden trays, and stacked one above the other in the curing house. They are care- 

 fully examined every few weeks, and all showing a tendency to decay are thrown away. The Lemons 

 are picked monthly throughout the year, but the present is the most important crop. The April- 

 May bloom yields the true or normal Lemon, the February, March, June, and July the abnormal or 

 bastard ; the first-named cures the best. More than 1,000 dollars (according to present exchange 

 j6206 5s.) is made a year ofE this 11-acre orchard of 20 year old trees, mostly Eurekas and Lisbons 

 which are considered the two best varieties here; 8 dollars (£1 13s.) per box of 300 Lemons is some- 

 times paid here in the mid-summer. 



" The best stock for budding on, is considered by most orchardists to be the ''Florida sour stock," 

 or wild Orange, as it makes a strong growth, and is less liable to "gum," and other diseases The 

 great enemies of the trees here are the black and barnacle scales, but these can be kept down by the 

 caustic soda spray. 



" The Lemons in this state are not, in any opinion, nearly so good as those raised in Sicily, but 

 a good deal to do with that is the "crudeness" of the soil, want of judgment in the selection of the 

 stocks, and location of the orchard, The Lemon to be grown to perfection must be planted on a 

 sunny slope, that looking towards the south is best, at an elevation of from 500. to 1,000 feet within 

 5 or 6 miles of the sea, in a situation free from wind and frost, on a well-drained sandy loamy soil, 

 and last, but not least, plenty of water, for " water is king" in California. 



" From what I have read and heard, the " Mesas" or table-lands of San Diego county embody 

 to a near extent all these requirements ; this country is in the extreme south of California, and the 

 land must be nearly synonymous with the slopes of Mount Etna, where the finest Lemons in the 

 world are raised. Most of the orchards here are protected by wind-breaks, as we frequently have 

 high winds ; three or four rows of Blue Gums (Eucalyptus), an(^ one of Pepper Trees make the best 



