Edible Products. 



32 



[July, 1911. 



will be useful by way of comparison. 

 The soil is loose and gravelly without 

 clay, rain 150 inches ; thirty one acres 

 were planted to produce a crop the fol- 

 lowing year. There were besides 135 

 acres yielding fruit, of which fifty acres 

 were plants, and eighty-five ratoons :— 





ab. 



s. 



u. 



Clearing and preparing 







104 



land 



10 



15 



Stumping 



1Q 

 lo 



Q 



y 



mi 



Ploughing 



43 



19 





Trenching 



16 



7 



n 



Procuring plants and 









forking 



33 



18 





Planting 



9 



6 



4* 



Weeding 470 acres 



148 



3 



4" 



Ploughing and harrow- 









ing 580 acres 



121 



13 



44 



Pruning 



28 



6 



4 



Propping 



5 



16 



10J 



Reaping 



78 



17 



10 



Carting , 



, 12 



5 



3 



The total expenditure was £1,250. 



The payable bunches amounted to 

 40,916 or 303 to the acre. 



The receipts were £458 from miscel- 

 laneous sources, coconuts, cattle, cocoa, 

 and £2,210 15s. 3d. from bananas. 



Area under Bananas. 



In the last returns of the Collector- 

 General the following are shown as the 

 areas under bananas in Jamaica last 

 year in each parish :— 



Acreage in Bananas in each Parish 

 in 1900-10. 



Parish. 



Acres. 



Kingston 





St. Andrew 



... 1,295 



St. Thomas 



... 5,864 



Portland 



... 8,891 



St. Mary 



... 28,610 



St. Ann 



... 2,200 



Trelawny 



... 1,460 



St. James 



... 2,285 



Hanover 



... 3,164 



Westmoreland 



423 



St. Elizabeth 



254 



Manchester 



... 311 



Clarendon 



... 1,591 



St. Catherine 



... 12,758 



Arrears 



871 



Grand Total 



... 69,066 



Export. 



In 1901 Jamaica exported 8,248,485 

 stems of bananas, while the latest 

 returns from the Collector-General show 

 this trade during the last four years to 

 be as follows :— 



Years. 



1909 

 1908 

 1907 

 1906 



Fruit, Bananas. 

 Qualities. Values. 

 Stems. £. s. d. 



16,712,210 



13,942,567 

 16,009,662 

 14,981,145 



1,403,829 15 9 



1,038,721 5 1 



880,531 8 2 



842,689 8 2 



The prices given by the Fruit Com- 

 panies per 100 bunches to those who con- 

 tracted to supply a certain number all 

 the year round have in recent years 

 been as follows, although local con- 

 ditions affect the prices paid for bananas, 

 and it is not possible to quote any 

 general prices applicable to all circum- 

 stances :— 



January, £6 ; February, £7 10s.; March, 

 £10 ; April, £12 10s.; May, £12 10s.; June, 

 £11 10s.; July, £7 10s.; August, £5 10s.; 

 October, £6 5s.; November, £6 5s.; De- 

 cember, £5 10s. 



PAPAW CULTURE IN THE 

 PHILIPPINES. 



(From the Queensland Agricultural 

 Journal, Vol. XXVI., Part 5, 

 May, 1911.) 



Mr. Jesse, of Jolo, tells of his method 

 of raising papayas as follows. The pro- 

 cess of cultivation is divided into four 

 stages :— " . 



First. The sprouting stage. The seed 

 should be planted in boxes, about 18 in. 

 by 18 in. by 8 in., containing rich earth, 

 with which is mixed a couple of handfuls 

 of bone ash and 15 drops of tincture of 

 iron. Plant the seed about 1 in. apart 

 and bury about 1 in. below the surface. 

 The surface should be sprinkled lightly 

 with water about sundown. In about 

 a week the young shoot should appear, 

 and at three weeks the shoot should be 

 about 8 in, high. 



Second. The stage of preparation of 

 the soil for the transplantation of the 

 young shoot and its early development. — 

 Having located the site for the tree, dig 

 a hole about 2 ft. in diameter and 1 ft. 

 deep. Procure enough rich earth mixed 

 with bone ash to fill the hole, and then 

 sprinkle 15 drops of tinctuie of iron over 

 the surface. Now dig up your sprout, 

 being careful to retain the earth about 

 its roots, and bury about 2 iu. deep. Iu 

 order to protect the young shoot from 

 the direct sunlight, drive four sticks 

 into the ground around the sprout and 

 suspend a gunny sack. After about two 

 weeks, the young plant will have ad- 

 justed itself to its new home, and the 

 sunshade may be removed. By this 



