Edible Products. 



312 



[April, 1910. 



troduced into Jamaica by Governor Sir 

 John Peter Grant, and known in other 

 West Indian colonies as "Peter's." This 

 mango is free from fibre, has a small 

 stone and possesses a delightful subacid 

 flavour with a mellow luscious quality 

 that surpasses all other mangoes grown 

 in Jamaica. I am inclined to the opi- 

 nion, therefore, that Sir Peter's Bom- 

 bay mango is the most promising 

 variety to grow for export. It is a 

 hardy tree of prolific bearing and fre- 

 quently fruits quite freely out of season 

 when mangoes should be in great de- 

 mand in America. Remarkable success 

 has frequently been achieved in shipping 

 this fruit to America and England, and 

 its keeping qualities are exceptional. 



Varieties of Mangoes. — An exhaustible 

 account of the history of the mango in 

 Jamaica and a description of all the 

 varieties then growing in the island by 

 Mr. W. Harris, F.L.S., was published 

 in the Bulletin for 1901, pages 161 to 178. 

 Practically every mango tree in Jamaica 

 is a seedling, and although certain 

 varieties appear to come fairly true 

 from seed, there is undoubtedly a con- 

 stant variatiou and no two "No. 11" or 

 "yam" mangoes are strictly alike. 



It is very regrettable that the fine col- 

 lection of Indian mangoes introduced 

 by Sir John Peter Grant in 1869 was set 

 out at Castleton Gardens. In this situ- 

 ation the moisture of the air is so great 

 that the mango gets into an unhealthy 

 state, and it is rarely possible for tbe 

 flowers to be fertilised. Some of the 

 varieties have not fruited yet, although 

 forty years of age, and it must be 

 admitted that the department^has been 

 very lacking in enterprise, until quite 

 recently, in extending the best varieties 

 of Indian mango in Jamaica. 



In 1901, the idea of budding mangoes 

 was suggested by the publication of 

 some successful experiments in Queens- 

 land. Mr. T. J. Harris, of the Experi- 

 ment Station, operated on these lines and 

 was the first persou to bud mangoes 

 successfully in Jamaica. The original 

 tree was a fairly large yam mango 

 of a good age. The buds consist of 

 "Bombay" and "Alphonso" varieties, 

 and the rapid growth has enabled the 

 new buds to restore the old tree to quite 

 respectable dimensions at the end of tbe 

 fourth year from budding. Fruit was 

 borne for the first time when the buds 

 were three years of age This experi- 

 ment is one that demonstrates the great 

 possibilities for budding mangoes in 

 Jamaica, and it is hoped that during the 

 next ten years many thousands of tiees, 

 at present bearing inferior fruit, may 



be converted into budded trees furnished 

 with the choicest varieties of dessert 

 fruit, 



To test the practical aspects of the 

 matter, it is now in contemplation to 

 bud one thousand large seedling trees 

 growing on the old slave quarters' of the 

 Hope estates, as part of the operations 

 of the new farm school and thus secure a 

 good trial of the possibilities of growing 

 high-class Indian mangoes on ordinary 

 wild trees. A stock of 105 grafted plants 

 of the choicest varieties of Indian 

 mangoes was obtained from the Calcutta 

 Botanic Gardens and despatched by the 

 immigrant ship Ganges in Septeinber 

 last. The plants arrived in capital order 

 and the department will now be able to 

 propagate these esteemed varieties and 

 have them tested in Jamaica,. The 

 following varieties have thus been added 

 to our collection of mangoes : Alphonso, 

 Bombay, Fuzli, Singapur, Madras, 

 Langra, Kisenbhog, Kemsagua, aud 

 Maid a, 



As at present advised, the " Peter's 

 Bombay" should be selected as the most 

 promising variety for cultivation for 

 the export trade. 



The variety " Alphonso " or "Afooz" 

 is highly esteemed in India. The late 

 Colonel Griffith of Hodges, St. Elizabeth, 

 imported at great cost, two trees of the 

 Alphonso mango. It is possible, how- 

 ever, that " Alphonso" may prove too 

 shy a bearer for profitable exportation 

 in Jamaica, and its cultivation cannot at 

 present be recommended. We have a 

 large number of mangoes from all parts 

 of the world under observation at Hope. 

 So far, none have iudicated any approach 

 to " Peter's Bombay " as a commercial 

 fruit. The majority are decidedly in- 

 ferior varieties. 



Hints on Culture. — The mango, when 

 grown naturally from seed send:? down a 

 deep tap root and it is characteristic of 

 young seedling mangoes that they root 

 very deeply in the earliest stage of their 

 growth. Experiments have shown that 

 a good seed from a strong growing 

 variety (planted at stake), will give far 

 quicker results in establishing: a tree 

 than a seedling set out from a pot. 

 Indeed, in a dry district, the establish- 

 ment of a maugo transferred from a pot 

 to the soil is always a matter of consider- 

 able uncertainty. It is desirable, there- 

 fore, when setting out an orchard, to 

 plant seeds of the yam or other strong- 

 growing variety of mango. When these 

 are 1| to 2 years old they should be stout 

 little trees of just the right size for 

 budding. 



