Edible Products. 



418 



[November, 1911. 



and are, of course, worth a foremost 

 place in a selection. 



Tree-tomato. 

 A small herbaceous tree, of the tomato 

 family, originally introduced from South 

 America, bearing a profusion of fleshy 

 egg-shaped fruits, yellowish-red when 

 ripe. There is also a variety which bears 

 purplish-red fruits. Though rather 

 acid for use as dessert, these fruits are 

 excellent for stewing, &c. The tree is 

 easily grown, up to 6,000 feet elevation, 

 and no garden should be without, it- 



Purple Guava, or China Guava. 



Guavas are not, as a rule, particularly 

 palatable, but this species may be said 

 to be an exception, being distinct from 

 all others and bearing a profusion of 

 small round fruits, which are purplish- 

 red when ripe and of a pleasant acid 

 taste. The tree thrives at moderate to 

 high elevations, is readily propagated 

 from seed, and produces two crops a 

 year. The fruit makes excellent jam or 

 jelly. 



Cape Gooseberry. 

 Although this is sometimes found 

 flourishing in a semi-wild state near 

 some up-country bungalows, few people 

 who have tasted the round pleasantly 

 flavoured berries will deny it is well 

 worth a place in the garden, It is a low 

 straggling quick-growing herbaceous 

 plant, producing its berries concealed 

 in a wrapper of its leafy calyx. The 

 fruit makes a delicious jam, quite supe- 

 rior to that of the English gooseberries, 

 and is thus an article of export from 

 South Africa. 



Passion-fruit. 

 This ever-green climber grows so 

 readily and without any attention, pro- 

 ducing its egg-shaped fruit in great 

 abundance, that it may well be recom- 

 mended to any estate which does not 

 already possess it. It may be planted as 

 a screen on fences, or against unservice- 

 able trees, &c. Its principal season is 

 from May to July. 



Peijoa, or Pineapple-guava. 

 A shrub of the myrtle family, native 

 of Brazil, recently brought under cultiv- 

 ation in California for its fruit. The 

 latter is of the size and shape of a hen's 

 egg, and is said to be suitable for des- 

 sert, or for stewing, crystallising, or 

 making into jams or jellies, in any of 

 which it is described as delicious. The 

 plant comes into bearing the third or 

 fourth year from seed. 



FRUITS FOR THE DRY DISTRICTS. 

 Practically all the fruits that are 

 given for low elevations will also thrive 



in the drier districts, provided good soil 

 and drainage and sufficient moisture at 

 the roots are available. With irrigation 

 the dry districts are in fact more suit- 

 able for fruit culture than the wet 

 regions, a dry climate favouring the 

 setting of fruit, as well as the develop- 

 ment of their best flavour and even of 

 their proper colour- 



The Grape vineflourish.es and produces 

 good crops in northern part of Ceylon, 

 while it entirely fails in the wetter dis- 

 tricts. Almost the same may be said of 

 melons, which are especially adapted 

 to a dry climate. 



PASSION FRUIT CULTURE. 



By J. Farrell, 

 Orchard Supervisor. 



(From the Journal of the Department 

 of Agriculture of Victoria, Vol. IX., 



Part 9, September, 1911.) 

 Owing to the increasing demand for 

 Passion Fruit (Passiflora edulis), the 

 area under passion vines, particularly 

 in the Wandin district, is being con- 

 siderably increased. There are at 

 present many new blocks of land being 

 prepared for planting, and growers look 

 forward with confidence to the further 

 successful establishment of local and 

 export markets for this fruit. 



The crop was heavy this season, and 

 consequently prices were somewhat 

 lower than usual at the commencement. 

 Towards the end of the season, however, 

 they recovered to such an extent, on 

 the whole, growers obtained a fair 

 average return. 



Preparation op Soil. 

 Soil of a deep loose chocolate nature 

 is the most suitable. The Wandin dis- 

 trict is particularly adapted for passion 

 fruit culture. The plants thrive best 

 on new land, and on elevated positions 

 are less affected by frosts than when 

 grown on low lying ones. After clearing 

 operations have been completed, the 

 land should be ploughed and allowed to 

 remain fallow for one year. The follow- 

 ing year, prior to planting out, the soil 

 should be well worked and kept free 

 from weeds. When it is intended to 

 plant on land which has been previously 

 cropped, it is only necessary that the 

 soil be kept in a good state of cultivation. 



Raising Young Plants. 

 Young plants are raised from seeds 

 which should be saved from fruit which 

 ripen during May or June. These seeds 

 give a higher percentage of germination 



