August i, 1891.I 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
103 
PROMISING INDUSTRIES FOR JAMAICA. 
Valcadlk Lbcture by Mr. Mobbih. 
Not long ago Mr. O. Morris, assistant 
Director at Kew Gardena, England, delivered a 
lecture under the auspices of the Kingston 
Horticultural Society, in the Exhibition Hall. 
There was a large attendance, and among thote 
present were His Excellency the Governor, Lady 
Blake, the hon. Dr, Phillippo President of the society, 
the hon. S. C. Burke, the Committee and Offioersof 
the Kingston Horticultural Society and many ladies. 
The platform was decorated hy the Botanical 
Department in a most tasteful manner with 
numerous plants and flowers, among which were 
the Oanna or Indian shot, (sent by Mr. Bowrey) 
some beautiful Euoharis lilies (sent by Mr. T. 
Oughton) and specimens of the coffee, oocoa, nut- 
meg, and CO 'a plants, while on the table were a 
floe oollcotionof tomatoes, sent by Mr. Bowrey and 
a bas'ret of green peas sent by Col. White 
Oaklands. There wore also samples of sisal 
hemp, bow string hemp, manila hemp and china 
grass. * . » « 
Mr. Morris, who was received with applause 
said: — The lime is a small acid fruit which eon bo 
used in more ways than you, I am sure, are 
aware of. It can be planted between the banana 
tress at 1C or Id feet apart and it springs into 
a small tree when it is 10 or 12 inches high. 
Where the bananas are exhausted then the limes 
are ready to be reaped for the first crop. The 
latter then can be used in many ways. They can 
be shipped raw, in barrels to Boston or other 
towns where they are used in that condition. 
The raw juice can also be shipped to England or 
the States. The raw juice is concentrated; being 
holed diwn in large quantities until it is reduced 
to one twelfth of the original volume. It then 
turns of a black color and is called donoenlrated 
time juioo. It is sonti homo for the preparation 
of oitrio acid which is in much demand by the 
Isrge factories of Yorkshire and Lanoashiro. In 
the oentres of Iho hme industry, womtn sit in 
the plantations with brass basins in their hands 
in which by a simple process they bruise tlie 
rind of the lime from which a fine delicate acid 
exudes. At the end of the day the woman or 
girl gets paid (id., gd. or 9J. for the quantity she 
has obtained during the day. It is then filtered 
into a large bottle carefully stoppered, and sent 
home. This is the essence of oil of limes f»r 
which there is a large demand. I can assure your 
that there is a wide and profitable field for any- 
one starting the cultivation of limes in this 
island. * , , # 
1 now come to the oooua or chocolate industry. 
Qome years ago we thought the ehooolae industry 
had almost died out in Jamaica. It had been so 
neglected that eaoepl in some few places no ooooa 
trees were left. Then the endeavour was made 
■9 induatry. There is not the slightest 
ttitliouity in establishing a cocoa estate, you have 
already got your banana shadiugiuH that is hft 
to uo IB to raise the pt mte and put them undut 
the shade of the bananas. The ooooa trees only 
tequiro to be carefully planted and pruned — young 
plants like the (ice here should be very oaiolully 
pr(rned indeed -all the shoots should be removed 
and the trees encourage 1 to send out their female 
hranohes so that the pods borne on the stem of 
the plant may have plenty of light and air. The 
trouble here is in preparing the produce. I nm 
sorry to say that out of HO samples in the Ex- 
hibition there are not more than four or live that 
good. Good ooooa properly cured sent from 
Jamaica would fetch 70/. it now fetches only ,'50 
to 60/— a loss of 10/ to 20/ solely due to th 
curing. 
When the pods are broken and the beans taken 
cut they should be fermented in such a way as 
to produce a change in the beans; instead of 
being bitter and adheriug to the beans the skins 
should readily come ofl, I appeal to those interested 
to try and do something to remedy these things. 
Jamaica cocoa is at the bottom of the list of cocoa 
in the London market ; you lose 10a. per owt. on 
account of bad oocoa. It is not reasonable that 
the people of Jamaica should throw away a sum 
equal to about £20,000 or £30,000 a year because 
they will not cure their oocoa properly. It is not 
because they do not know, for from the number 
of pamphlets that have ,, been issued and infer 
matioQ given by myself and Mr, Fawcett it should 
bo well known. There are two points with regard 
to the ooooa industry that may possibly assiss to 
do good ; first it would be verj desirable that 
some one acquainted with the black people should 
go among them and lalk to them and explain to 
them exactly what should be done to cure the 
cocoa properly ; then the merchants of Kingston 
should not buy the half ripe, badly cured cocoa 
which is being shipped in such a way as to 
bring discredit on the island. The matter is in 
the hands of the merchants, they should refuse 
to buy the oocoa that is dried in the sun and 
allowed to become covered with dust and dirt. 
Those who ehip it home and call it Jamaica 
cocoa arc doing a bad turn to Jamaica. If they 
would offer a better price to the grower for good 
cocoa they would find the men willing to cure it 
as they ought. I do not think Jamaica deserves 
to bo at the bottom of the list in anything. Blue 
Mountain coffee is at the head of the list ; pimento 
is uriique, your sugar there is nothing to ^ be 
against and with regard to ooooa I think it is 
your duty to raise it above its present value and 
condition. I may say that the cocoa of Trinidad 
Grenada, Dominica and other parts of the world 
are 1 11 taking rank above the cuooa of Jamaica. 
Gron ida cocoa is not of the beat kind, they have 
not got as good sorts as you have, but seem to 
take greater care in curing and thoy^ get better 
price 4 than you, and near the prioes in Irinida^ 
In Ceylon they took to preparing oocoa and although 
lately they have many enemies to contend against, 
their ooooa at the present time gets 110/ to 120/ 
per Gwt. The other day a planter in Montserrat 
cured it in the Ceylon way and got 90/ per owt. 
That shows in regard to oocoa that it is purely 
a mutter of curing it.— Jamaica Gleaner. 
I’LANTING IN THK NOIlTlI-CENTBAh 
PKOVINCK : 
Cotton — Coconut — Palmyrah. 
Tl.a first Provincial Report for last year has 
reached us from Government this afternoon, 
Mr. levora’ tor the North Oeiitral Province. We 
can Jo no more today (ban say that Mr. levers is 
a firm believer in the future of his Province with 
its restored irrigation works and thousand village 
tank-^. But that is in the Nuwarakalawiya division : 
Mr. levers is now anxious that something should 
be done for tho Tammaiikaduwa district, and he 
sketches a road (already partly voted for), head- 
works on streams and sluices for tanks. Mr. 
levers considers Nuwarakalawiya “ the best-, 
roaded district in the island," and yet Mr, 
