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THE  PAPAIA. 
A paper  in  Science,  by  an  officer  connected  with  the  Porto 
Rico  Experiment  Station,  reports  a change  of  sex  observed  in 
some  papaia  trees  in  Porto  Rico,  brought  about  apparently  by  re- 
moving the  terminal  bud.  A tree  which  had  previously  borne 
staminate  (male)  flowers  only,  had  its  terminal  bud  injured,  and 
shortly  afterwards  was  noticed  to  bear  pistillate  (female)  flowers 
also.  These  flowers  set  and  yielded  fruit,  and  this  was  repeated 
in  the  second  year.  Further  data  are  being  collected  on  the 
subject. 
FLOWERS . 
The  flower  business  of  the  Islands  is  largely  in  the  hands  of  Ha- 
waiians  and  Japanese.  Carnations,  violets  and  asters  flower 
almost  continuously,  especially  at  elevations  above  1,000  feet. 
The  Honolulu  market  is  well  supplied  with  flowers,  such  as  they 
are,  but  a number  of  florists  find  it  profitable  to  bring  consider- 
able quantities  of  the  finer  classes  of  cut  flowers  in  cold  storage 
from  San  Francisco.  The  opportunity  is  open  in  the  production 
of  the  finer  types  and  strains  of  cut  flowers,  ferns,  greenhouse 
plants  and  ornamentals,  as  in  the  case  of  vegetables  of  improved 
types. — Jared  G.  Smith. 
GRAPES. 
Grapes  have  been  cultivated  in  Hawaii  ever  since  the  first 
Portuguese  settlers  arrived,  but  the  industry  has  only  just  begun 
to  attain  commercial  proportions.  There  are  two  wineries  in 
successful  operation  and  plenty  of  room  for  others..  Because  of 
the  equable  climate,  and  the  absence  of  frost,  the  vine  can  be  made 
to  fruit  at  almost  any  season  of  the  year,  by  pruning.  The  main 
crop  comes  in  the  autumn,  but  there  is  hardly  a month  when 
grapes  are  not  obtainable  in  the  Honolulu  market. 
There  is  a good  opening  for  the  cultivation  of  table  grapes  to 
supply  the  Pacific  coast  markets  during  the  six  months  of  the 
year  from  December  to  June.  It  is  believed  that  any  one  who 
understands  the  cultivation  of  this  crop  who  will  undertake  grape 
raising  on  a fairly  large  scale  and  on  suitable  land  cannot  fail  to 
realize  large  returns. 
The  yields  of  grapes,  where  these  are  grown  for  wine  making, 
have  been  considered  satisfactory,  and  the  industry  is  expanding 
quite  rapidly.  The  wines  are  mainly  of  the  Madeira  type.  There 
is  a large  local  market  for  cheap  wines  among  the  Portuguese, 
Hawaiian,  Spanish  and  Japanese  population,  so  that  there  is  room 
for  building  up  a considerable  wine  industry  in  Hawaii. — Jared 
G.  Smith. 
