July  i,  1892.] 
THP  TROPICAL  AQRICULTURSST. 
57 
USEFUL  PLANTS  AND  VEGETABLES  IN 
NEW  ORLEANS. 
The  British  Consul  at  New  Orleans  has  recently 
furnished  to  the  Foreign  Office  a report  on  the 
cultivation  of  useful  plants  and  vegetables.  In  the 
matter  of  fibrous  plants  it  seems  that  the  Ramie  or 
China  grass  plant  (Boelnnerianivea)  has  been  grown 
with  good  promise  of  success.  The  plants  were 
raised,  not  from  seeds  but  from  roots,  which  were 
obtained  with  considerable  difficulty,  so  much  so 
that  only  85  acres  were  put  under  cultivation.  The 
method  pursued  was  to  plough  and  prepare  the  land, 
taking  care  that  the  earth  was  well  pulverised. 
Three  ridges  were  formed  in  the  way  usual  for  sow- 
ing cotton.  The  ridges  were  4 feet  apart,  and  each 
root  or  piece  of  root  from  three  to  four  inches  long, 
and  less  than  one  inch  broad,  was  placed  in  the 
furrow  previously  prepared,  of  about  5 inches  to  6 
inches  deep,  and  12  inches  to  18  inches  apart.  The 
ridges  or  rows  were  slighty  enriched  with  stable 
manure,  and  before  a week  the  sprouting  was  dis- 
tinctly seen,  and  before  48  hours  the  lines  were  well 
marked.  Four  months  afterwards,  when  the  growth 
had  become  rapid  and  the  crop  was  7 feet  to  9 feet 
high  and  well  matured  for  cutting,  there  was  a 
severe  drought  of  several  weeks,  followed  by  hail- 
storms and  heavy  rain,  all  of  which  the  plants  with- 
stood with  little  or  no  injury.  Roots  planted  in  June 
were  ready  for  cropping  in  October.  The  crop,  al- 
though a first  yield,  was  abundant,  and  was  cut 
and  gathered  in  less  than  24  hours.  As  three  crops 
a year  in  a tropical  climate  is  a certainty,  it  is  con- 
sidered reasonable  to  expect  two  profitable  crops  in 
Louisiana.  It  is  intended  to  plant  at  once  250  acres 
of  the  plant.  With  reference  to  the  idea  that  Ramie 
would  grow  well  in  wet  and  undrained  lands,  it  is 
stated  that  in  Louisiana  the  plants  perished  if  water 
remained  sluggishly  on  the  ground  between  the  roots. 
The  crop  was  taken  off  with  difficulty  in  consequence 
of  the  planting  having  been  made  in  ridges.  It 
has  been  decided  in  future  to  plant  on  a dead  level 
in  rows  only  two  feet  apart,  and  in  beds  of  20,  40, 
or  60  feet  wide,  and  as  long  as  the  field  allows  each 
bed  to  be  sufficiently  wide  apart  to  allow  a moving 
machine  with  mules  attached  to  work  between  them. 
It  is  confidently  expected  that  Ramie  culture  will 
prove  a profitable  industry. 
Jute  {Cor chorus  capsularis  and  C.  olitonus).  The 
cultivation  of  these  plants,  which  has  been  known  in 
India  for  centuries,  has  only  recently  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  planters  of  the  Southern  States  of 
America.  In  the  cultivation  of  jute,  a warm  humid 
climate  is  essential  to  success.  It  will  grow  upon 
comparatively  dry  lands  or  in  flooded  valleys.  The 
land  intended  for  a jute  crop  must  be  thoroughly 
broken  up.  The  time  for  sowing  the  seed  varies 
with  the  condition  of  soil  and  climate  ; March  and 
April  are  the  best  months  for  sowing,  which  is  done 
broadcast  from  15  1b.  to  201b.  to  the  acre.  It  ma- 
tures in  twelve  weeks,  and  grows  to  the  height  of 
from  12  to  18  feet.  The  yield  is  from  3,000  to  4,000 
lbs.  of  fibre  to  the  acre.  The  plant  should  be  cut 
while  it  is  in  flower,  as  the  fibre  is  then  more 
glossy.  In  about  five  weeks  after  flowering  the  plant 
fully  ripens  and  the  fibre  then  becomes  woody  and 
loses  much  of  its  commercial  value. 
Okra,  or  Ochro  (Hibiscus  esculentus) . This  is  a 
well-known  tropical  plant  belonging  to  the  Malvaceae, 
valued  alike  for  the  fibre  of  its  inner  bark  and  for 
the  fresh  green  fruits.  It  is  easily  cultivated  and 
will  grow  on  almost  any  soil,  requires  but  very 
little  attention,  and  when  the  stems  are  passed 
through  a similar  process  as  that  adopted  in  the 
preparation  of  jute,  produces  a long,  silky  glossy 
fibre.  The  okra  is  said  to  yield  about  the  same 
amount  of  fibre  as  jute,  and  it  is  much  easier  to 
work.  The  fibre  is  useful  for  cordage  twine,  bagging, 
matting,  upholstery  work,  mattresses,  &c.  The  fruft 
is  a highly  esteemed  vegetable,  and  is  used  parti- 
cularly in  thickening  soups.  Boiled  okras,  served 
with  proper  dressing,  are  said  to  be  very  palatable, 
lhe  fruit  forms  the  chief  component  part  in  the 
dish  called  “Gumbo/’  a name  which  is  sometimes 
8 
applied  to  the  fruit  itself.  This  dish  is  described  as 
a highly-flavoured  stew,  made  principally  of  fowl, 
fish,  or  oysters.  The  okra  grows  extensively  in  the 
West  Indies.  In  Florida,  the  seed  is  sown  late  in 
spring  in  rich  soil.  It  is  said  that  the  fruits  may 
be  preserved  for  winter  use  by  cutting  them  in 
halves  and  hanging  them  up  to  dry.  The  ripened 
seeds,  when  roasted,  make  a good  substitute  for  coffee. 
On  the  subject  of  the  sweet  potato  (Ipomcea  Batatas). 
It  is  described  as  a leading  article  of  food  in  the 
British  West  Indies,  especially  amongst  the  negroes. 
The  tuber  can  be  easily  desiccated  in  the  same  way 
that  peas  and  other  fruits  are  dried,  by  slicing  and 
exhausting  it  of  its  moisture.  Like  dried  fruit,  it 
will  retain  its  saccharine,  as  well  as  its  nutritious 
properties.  It  is  expected  that  the  business  of  dry- 
ing sweet  potatoes  for  the  export  trade  will  in  due 
time  become  a profitable  industry.  It  wood  probably 
find  a market  in  many  parts  of  Europe,  as  well  as 
in  South  America.  The  plant  may  be  grown  so 
easily,  cheaply,  and  abundantly  in  the  southern 
parts  of  the  United  States,  more  so  than  in  any  other 
part  of  the  globe,  that  the  ramifications  of  an  export 
trade  in  the  article  might  be  extended  to  embrace 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,  it  being  one  of  the 
cheapest  of  cheap  and  good  food  products. 
Amongst  other  root  crops  the  beet  may  be  specially 
mentioned,  as  being  specially  cultivated  in  and 
around  Pensacola,  where  it  grows  to  a very  large 
size,  and  of  excellent  quality. — Journal  of  the  Society 
of  Arts. 
PEPPER  PLANTING  IN  PENANG  NINETY 
YEARS  AGO. 
(From  the  Perak  Government  Gazette.) 
The  following  account  of  how  pepper  was  planted 
in  Pinang  some  90  years  ago  will  be  of  interest 
to  District  Officers  in  those  parts  of  the  State 
where  the  natives  are  vigorously  taking  up  the 
cultivation  of  the  vine : — 
“ The  Manner  of  Cultivating  the  Pepper  Vine. 
The  Result  of  Personal  Experience  of  a Cultivator, 
being  an  Appendix  to  ‘A  Short  Account  of  the 
Settlements  &c.,  of  Prince  of  Wales’s  Island,  in 
the  Straits  of  Malacca,’  Sir  George  Leith,  Bart, 
Major  17th  Foot,  and  late  Lieutenant  Governor. 
London:  1804.” 
The  vines  are  propagated  from  either  slips  or 
cuttings,  and  planted  in  rows  at  the  distance  of  6 
or  8 feet,  varying  in  this  respect  according  to  the 
judgment  of  the  cultivator.  The  supporter  to  the 
line  is  Usually  planted  at  the  same  time,  or  very 
shortly  after,  the  vine.  There  are  several  sorts  of 
supporters — the  dedap  and  *mongkudu  trees,  are, 
however,  generally  preferred ; the  former,  which  is 
propagated  from  cuttings,  is  esteemed  the  best,  its 
spreading  branches  and  thick  foliage  affording  more 
shelter  and  support  to  the  vine  than  the  latter,  but 
the  uncertainty  attending  the  rearing  of  it  in  many 
soils  causes  the  mongkudu,  which  is  raised  from 
the  seed  without  difficulty,  to  be  more  commonly 
used,  particularly  since  the  improvement  introduced 
in  training  it  with  three  or  four  perpendicular  bran- 
ches instead  of  one,  which  was  the  usual  mode ; 
this  is  done  by  cutting  off  the  leader  when  the 
plant  is  between  four  and  five  months  old ; this 
causes  it  to  throw  outside  shoots,  three  or  four  of 
which  only  are  suffered  to  remain  and  trained  in 
a perpendicular  manner.  When  the  vine  is  first 
planted  it  is  covered  with  the  branch  of  a tree  call- 
ed piah,  something  like  the  nipah,  to  protect  it 
against  the  effects  of  the  sun,  until  it  has  taken  root, 
and  is  fit  to  be  brought  to  the  stick;  this  happens 
usually  about  six  weeks  after  planting,  when  a stick 
of  about  three  inches  in  circumference,  and  seven 
or  eight  feet  long,  is  planted  near  it,  to  which  it 
soon  adheres  (being  first  slightly  attached  to  it  by 
a string),  and  creeps  up  towards  the  top.  In  eleven 
or  twelve  months  the  vine  generally  begins  to  show 
* Mongkudu. — A common  jungle  tree.  The  Malays 
make  a medicine  frum  its  fruit. 
