858 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [April i, 1882. 
Among the principal species grown may be named the 
following : — The cherry pepper or round chilli ( Capsicum 
cerasiforme, Willd.), the bonnet pepj>er (C. tetragonum, 
Mill.)', the bell pepper (C. grpssim, Linn.), the spice or 
goat pepper (C. frutescens, Linn.), and the bird pepper 
(C. baccatum, Linn.). The last-named two are more 
acrimonious than the others. The fruits of these sev- 
eral species are of various forms — round, oblong, cordate, 
or horned, and in colour either scarlet or yellow ; in 
some varieties they are so little pungent as to be used 
sliced in salad, in others they are intolerably biting, till 
the mouth becomes accustomed to them by habit. The 
cayenne pepper of commerce is obtained chiefly from 
the pulverised chillies or fruit pods of Capsicum annum, 
Linn., and C. fastigiatwm, Blume. — Journal of Applied 
Science. 
THE BANANA TRADE. 
The Boston Herald, a leading New England paper, 
has lately devoted a large space to information about 
bananas and the banana trade, giving details as to the 
manner in which bananas are procured for the American 
market from Central America, Cuba and Jamaica. 
It appears that, independently of New York, Boston 
is building up a banana trade of its own. This year 
the fruit received in Boston has been unusually fine, 
and has been in such favour that " the public has 
bought it in unstinted quantities." It is stated that 
the value of bananas imported into Boston during the 
season of 1881 cannot be less than 500,000 dols. Of the 
fruit received at that port much is sent from Port An- 
tonio, Jamaica, by a well-known house. So firm and 
enduring is the popularity of the bananas that, the dealers 
say, peaches are the only fruit which interfere with 
their sale in the Boston market, where large quantities 
could be disposed of the year round. On the arrival of 
the Aspinwall steamers at New York, a regular train, 
called the " banana train " is despatched at once for 
Boston with the fruit. 
With regard to the manner of disposing of the fruit, 
the following remarks are made : — 
" Very great improvements have been made in handling 
and protecting this fruit during the past three or four 
years. Since it all has to be shipped green, owing to 
its softness and perishable nature when ripe, a good deal 
of skill is required in caring for it after its arrival. It 
is all bundled upon hay to prevent bruising, and in the 
cold months it is kept hanging up in rooms fitted for 
the purpose, when the temperature can be kept about 
60° — too high for injury from cold, and too low for fast 
ripening. When the fruit is wanted, it is hung in an- 
other room where the temperature is up to 80°, and 
it ripens in a couple of days. Parties who began a few 
yenv:, a o "0 with a dozen bunches shipped to them by 
each Aspinwall steamer, now sometimes take 1,000 
bunches. These steamers now reach New York once 
in five days, and bring in 10,000 to 20,000 bunches. 
Beside tho Aspinwalls received here, there are the West 
Indian bananas to be handled, which come in schooners 
fitted for the purpose. The parties handling this fruit 
sometimes sell cargoes of from 5,000 to 7,000 bunches 
in a single day, and, so well arranged are their plans 
of distributing, that scarcely anything unusual would 
be noticed, except a number of waggons with appar- 
ently small loads of hay ; but under this hay are the 
bunches of green bananas." 
The writer says that the " silver skins," so called 
from tho light colour of the rind, are the most popular, 
and he classes the Jamaica fruit next to that from Colon 
and Baracoa, the " Aspinwalls " being " the largest and 
finest bananas received in the eastern market." 
An increasing fruit trade is growing up from the Bay 
of Honduras to the United States. From the Bay Islands 
and Belize, there arc rogular lines of steamers started 
by American houses, which go to New Orleans, Phila- 
delphia, and New York. There is no quarter from which 
the first-named port can better and with equal certainty 
receive tropical fruits than the coast of British Hon- 
duras. — Journal of Applied Science. 
BOTANIC GARDENS, TRINIDAD. 
We have received a copy of the report on the con- 
dition of the Botanic Garden for 1880. It is a lengthy 
document of nearly sixty folio pages, with twenty-four 
additional pages forming an appendix. Naturally the 
bulk of the report is occupied with matters of local 
interest, but there are several points of interest to home 
cultivators. It is noted, for instance, that Vanda trees 
does not flower if subjected to the least shade, but 
" when placed on an exposed tree or stump every branch 
produces its two or more spikes of lovely mauve, orange, 
and white flowers." "Hybrid Moka" Coffee promises to 
be the most suitable variety for low elevations, vieing 
with Liberian Coffee in vigour and f ruitfulness, with seeds 
smaller than those of C. Arabica, but much more pro- 
fusely produced. It is suggested that a good cross might 
be made between it and the Liberian variety, which is 
deficient in some of the characteristics of high-class 
Coftee. Incidentally the probability of the existence in 
Eastern Tropical Africa of a species of Coffee identical 
with or closely allied to Liberian Coffee is mentioned. 
The Saman or Rain tree does not in Trinidad exhibit 
that phenomenon of exuding moisture from its leaves 
whiah has given it the name. It is excellent as a shade 
tree, however, and its fruits furnish good fodder for cattle. 
The wood of old trees, moreover, is useful wherever 
toughness, dui'ability, and freedom from liability to warp 
are desirable. 
The Mahogany flourishes well at Trinidad, and its 
timber is of excellent quality. The Candle-tree (Parmen- 
tiera cerifera) also thrives, and its highly nutritious fruits 
are recommended as food for stock in the dry seasons 
when there is a scarcity of fodder. The fruit of Musa 
vittata, originally introduced from Fernando Po, and 
cultivated for ornamental purposes only, turns out to have 
very delicately flavoured ■ fruit, which is striped like the 
leaves. The Bamboo timber (B. arandinacea) is extolled 
for its dui'ability ; but, in order to secure this result, it 
must be soaked when green, and, when dry, painted with 
thin paint. Of the Peach Palm (GuOielmia speciosa), 
which produces edible fruit, it is noted that it bears two 
crops a year, the remarkable circurnstance being that at 
one season the fruits produced are destitute of seed, but 
very pulpy, while at another season seeds are produced, 
and the pulp is proportionately less. These few illustra- 
tions will serve to show the valuable nature of this report. 
The facts contained in this and similar publications 
not generally accessible, render it very desirable that 
some means should be taken to secure a periodical ab- 
stract of the facts registered in the several colonial botanic 
gardens. Such a publication would be of great service 
to practical cultivators as well as to botanists and natural- 
ists generally. We do not overlook the circumstance that 
much information of this character is now given iu the 
annual reports of the Royal Gardens, Kew; but these, 
again, are not very readily accessible to the general public. I 
Reverting to the report before us we must not conclude I 
our notice without mention of the valuable meteorological 
records from 1862 to June 1880, given in the appendix. | 
From these we learn that the highest temperature re- g 
corded in eighteen years was 95°-5, the lowest 60°.l, the l 1 
mean monthly temperatures ranging from 76° in Janu- ji 
ary to 79° A in May. As to cloudiness, for which ela- 
borate tables are also given for the same period, the f 
minima occurred in December, January, February, and 
March, corresponding with a low average rainfall (1-88 
inch in March), while the greatest amount of cloudiness 
appeared in August, June, and July, the periods of 
greatest rainfall (11-28 inches on the average in August). 
The average annual rainfall is not more than 66 - 39 inches, 
— Gardeners' Chronicle. 
