196 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



Northern Bengal and the Deccan. In the Hono- 

 lulu preserving factory large quantities of juice 

 are obtained by crushing the course and parings 

 by running them through rollers of the sugar 

 mill type. The refuse may be used as fuel for 

 the furnaces, while the juice may be converted 

 into pineapple brandy, vinegar syrup and 

 extracts; and it has been recently suggested 

 that possibly pineapple sugar might be made 

 by boiling the juice in a vacuum to the crystal- 

 lising point. 



Such is a rapid glance at the pineapple in- 

 dustry as practised in the countries named ; and 

 it may possibly be worth the while of some one 

 to consider whether it could not be successfully 

 established in one or more parts of India. We 

 may add that the imports of fresh fruit into 

 India last year were valued at R2,85,381, and, 

 although the imports of pineapples are not 

 separately recorded in the Customs returns, the 

 figures go to show that there is a substantial 

 demand for fresh fruit which, under present 

 conditions, this country is unable to supply.— 

 Indian Trade Journal, Jan. 21. 



PINEAPPLE GROWING IN CEYLON. 



We asked recently whether there was any- 

 one in Ceylon who grew really first-class pine- 

 apples. We have since had the opportunity 

 of seeing and ^tasting a Very fine large pine, 

 grown on Mr. Jacob de Mel's well-known 

 estate, Ulukewella, eight miles from Kurune- 

 gala, on the Kandy road. We are told that 

 very much larger ones are frequently grown on 

 the same estate, though this was well over 12 

 inches long and 18 inches in circumference. If 

 pineapples of such size, quality and richness of 

 flavour can be produced in Ceylon, surety it 

 would be worthwhile for the industry to be 

 taken up here on a large scale by some enter- 

 prising agriculturist. Mr. de Mei's are of the 

 kind known as Kew pines, and are far more 

 worth growing than the ordinary common little 

 country pineapple, such as is commonly sold 

 in the markets in Colombo and Kandy. 



RECORD WEIGHT OF PINEAPPLE. 



Jan. 28th, 



Dear Sie,— The ordinary weight of a good 

 Kew pine (Smooth Cayenne)— as grown here at 

 the Government Stock Gardens— is 15 or 16 lb. I 

 find in a Royal Botanic Garden's circular (series 

 1. No. 15) the statement that the fruits of this 

 variety sometimes weigh over 20 lb., but no 

 definite maximum figure is given. Last year Mr 

 W A de Silva, Veterinary Surgeon, Colombo 

 Municipality, sent me a fruit, grown in bis pro_ 

 perty at Waga, which turned the scale at 21 lb" 



A few days ago, however, Mr M Suppra- 

 maniam, Broker, of Colombo, brought me one 

 which, on being carefully weighed, was found 

 to be 24lbs o£ oz. 



Has this record been beaten ?— Yours truly, 

 C. DRIEBERG, 



THE STRAITS COPRA INDUSTRY. 



Why not D.C. Nut? 



Viewing the increase that Singapore has 

 established in its trade in copra, which is yearly 

 expanding, a correspondent thinks it is sur- 

 prising that local merchants do not import 

 machinery for desiccating coconuts. This has 

 been found to be a large and profitable indus- 

 try in Ceylon, and might conceivably do as 

 well in the Straits.— L <b C Express, Jan. 1. 



MR. J. D. CARRUTHERS' NEW 

 APPOINTMENT. 



Mr. J. B. Carruthers, formerly Mycologist to 

 the Ceylon Government and at present Director 

 of Agriculture and Government Botanist in the 

 F. M.S., has, accepted a post in Trinidad. Mr. 

 Carruthers has done excellent work both in 

 Ceylon and the F. M.S. and tropical agriculturists 

 in the East generally will regret that his services 

 are being transferred to the other side of the 

 globe. What the precise post Mr. Car- 

 ruthers has accepted is we are not told ; but 

 it is thought at the Secretariat, and we think 

 it very likely, that he has been selected to 

 succeed Mr. J H Hart, f.l.s., as Superintendent 

 of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Port of Spain, 

 Trinidad, who after 32 years of valuable work 

 to Tropical Agriculture recently retired. A 

 new Department of Agriculture has recently 

 been formed in Trinidad and in the latest papers 

 to hand we note that subject to the approval 

 of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, His 

 Excellency the Acting Governor has appointed 

 Professor P. Carmody, F.I. a, F.c.s., to be 

 Director. This appointment (which Professor 

 Carmody will hold in addition to his office as 

 Government Analyst and Professor of Chem- 

 istry) will date from November 1st last. The 

 following previously separate Departments 

 have been amalgamated to constitute the new 

 Department of Agriculture : (1) the Govern- 

 ment Laboratory; (2) the Botanic Gardens 

 (including the Experimental Station, Trinidad; 

 Rever estate, Trinidad ; and the Botanic 

 Station, Tobago) ; (3) the Government Stock 

 Farms at Trinidad and Tobago, and (4) St. 

 Augustine estate. 



Jan. 27th. 



Dear Sie, — That is interesting news you 

 published stating that Mr Carruthers is going 

 to Trinidad to succeed Mr Hart, as Direc- 

 tor of the Botanic Gardens, etc. It seems 

 almost a pity that Mr Carruthers has been 

 moved so soon from the Malay States, where he 

 is in the early stages of a lot of experimental 

 work, which he has now no chance of bringing 

 to a conclusion, and of which there will 

 likely be no results as his successor will, in all 

 probability, not continue on the same lines. As 

 he stated at the Ceylon Rubber Exhibition, he 

 has a number of rubber experiments in hand 

 and these will take some years to bring to any 

 result ; his departure will be a loss to Malaya 

 planters. In the field of literature, too, Mr 

 Carruthers has been active, and has shared the 



