April 1908. j 



317 



Edible Products. 



staple. The selection is regularly practis- 

 ed by all intelligent growers, and to-day 

 it may be regarded as one of the neces- 

 sary cultural methods. Every year a 

 special patch of cotton is grown from 

 selected seed ; the plants in this patch 

 are examined very carefully and the seed 

 of the best individuals retained for plant- 

 ing a similar patch next year, the seeds 

 of the remaining plants being used to 

 plant the general crop. Under such con- 

 tinuous and rigorous selection the length 

 and fineness of the fibre have gradually 

 increased until it is recognized as superior 

 to that grown anywhere else in the 

 world and commands the highest price 

 in the market.* 



With the object in mind of breeding 

 an early-ripening variety of the roselle, 

 the breeder might find it expedient to 

 harvest some of the seed before it is fully 

 mature, as it has been shown that plants 

 from green seeds— tomatoes, for in- 

 stance — have a tendency to mature fruit 

 earlier than plants from ripe seeds. 



FUNGOUS DISEASES AND INSECT ENEMIES. 



The only disease that has so far been 

 noted on the roselle is a mildew (Oidium 

 sp.) which attacks all parts of the 

 plants above ground, and under favour- 

 able conditions appears capable of doing 

 considerable damage in discolouring the 

 fruit and in lessening the vitality of the 

 plant. Where its presence was noted, 

 however, the greater part of the crop 

 was gathered before the mildew made 

 its appearance, making the loss of fruit 

 comparatively small. Experiments have 

 not been made to find a remedy, but 

 sulphuring the plants would probably 

 be found to be effective. Bordeaux 

 mixture would without doubt prove 

 efficacious, but would also in all prob- 

 ability tend to discolor the manu- 

 factured product. 



The most serious enemy of the roselle 

 is the root-knot nematode (Heterodera 

 radicicola). A cheap and effective 

 remedy for this pest has not been found, 

 and infested laud should not be planted 

 with the roselle. 



The soft scale (Coccus hesperidum) has 

 been noted on the roselle, but has not 

 yet assumed the character of a pest. Its 

 activity is restricted to the stem and 

 lateral branches close to the ground. 

 The scale is distributed by a small 

 black ant. 



The cotton stainer (Dysdercus suturel- 

 lus) has been observed on the plants in 

 limited numbers, but does not appear to 

 be injurious. 



* Yearbook, Department of Agriculture, 1899, 

 p. 490. 



The yellow aphis (Aphis gossypii) has 

 been known to do considerable damage on 

 individual plants by attacking the leaves 

 and flower buds and causing the calyces 

 to drop. It has not, to the knowledge 

 of the writer, appeared as a serious pest. 

 Remedies for this species, better known 

 as the melon or cotton aphis, are con- 

 sidered in Circular No. 80 of the Bureau 

 of Entomology of this Department. 

 SUMMARY. 



The roselle is an annual from the Old 

 World Tropics. 



It is extremely sensitive to frosts, 'and 

 can at present be grown for its fruit only 

 in tropical and subtropical countries. 



Being easily cultivated when the 

 climate is favourable, the roselle should 

 be in the garden of every family, and on 

 account of its excellent qualities for 

 making jellies, jams, etc., it is certain to 

 become an important plant in the manu- 

 facture of those products. 



The young stems also make good'jelly. 

 For such use the plant can be grown 

 almost anywhere in the North or South. 



By proper methods of breeding it is 

 possible to obtain strains with larger 

 calyces. Probably earlier bearing races 

 can also be obtaiued by careful selection 

 of the earliest flowering plants.— U. S. 

 Department of Agricidture, Farmers' 

 Bulletin, October 24, 1907. 



CACAO IN ECUADOR. 



The September number of the Mexican 

 Investor contains the following parti- 

 culars with regard to the production 

 of cacao in Eucador 



The principal product of Eucador is 

 cacao, of which it furnishes nearly one- 

 fifth of the world's production, which is 

 now estimated at 300,000,000 lb. 



The cacao tree grows on the warm 

 lowlands and in the valleys tributary 

 to. the coast. The valleys adjacent to 

 Guayaquil produce the greatest quan- 

 tity of any district in the world In 

 1900 there were 4,827 cacao plantations 



?oif 1 I ?o S i lnEcu ^ dor ' with a total of 

 58,551,142 trees. The yearly production in 

 pounds was : In 1900, 41.184.000 : in 1901 



51,311,000; in 1902, 53,621.300; in 

 49.921,300; in 1904, 61,339,000 in 

 47,225,400 ; and in 1906, 51,690,500. 



1903, 

 1905, 



Guayaquil cacao has special character- 

 istics of its own, both in shape and in 

 aroma, and is easily distinguished from 

 the cacao of other districts. The lower 

 grades are very strong and coarse in 

 flavour, while the better grades contain 

 a large percentage of theobroma, making 

 them more valuable. Here the cacao is 

 divided into two classes, viz., up river 



