194 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Porto Rico as compared with that ob¬ 
tained by the Subtropical Laboratory, 
due partly to continued breeding and se¬ 
lection, and probably in part to more fa¬ 
vorable conditions and perhaps to better 
cultivation. 
In Florida the plant has thus far been 
grown for home use only and the caly¬ 
ces used in making a sauce similar to 
that made of the cranberry, or in jelly 
making. Besides the two products already 
mentioned, the roselle yields a most ex¬ 
cellent fruit syrup that can be used in the 
home in various ways. It can also be 
used as a flavoring extract at soda foun¬ 
tains. 
When the calyces are used as a sauce 
the seedpods must of course necessarily 
be removed but last fall we found that 
this is not necessary in the making of 
jelly. In the manufacture of jelly on a 
commercial scale this is an important con¬ 
sideration, as the removal of the seed- 
pod is at present a slow and tedious pro¬ 
cess.. 
Several years ago Mr. W. W. Tracy 
of the Bureau of Plant Industry, made 
jelly of the tender twigs and branches, 
but did not follow up his discovery to 
ascertain its commercial possibilities. 
Acting on this suggestion, during the 
past year the writer experimented with 
extracting the acid from the whole plant 
by boiling both the young stems and the 
leaves. The jelly obtained in this way 
was perhaps a little more difficult to 
make than that made from the calyces, 
but it is possible that some mistake in 
making it was the cause of this, for I 
understand that Mrs. P. H. Rolfs has 
made jelly from the stems and leaves that 
she considered fully equal to that made 
from the calyces of the plant. An excel¬ 
lent fruit syrup is also obtained from the 
same source that may be used in the 
household or used as a flavoring extract 
in soda water fountains. Utilized in this 
way the plant can be grown in a large 
territory of the United States and the 
ease with which the plant is cultivated 
probably renders it a cheaper source for 
flavoring extract than any other plant. 
The only disease that has so far been 
observed on roselle is a mildew that at¬ 
tacks all parts of the plant above ground 
and if the disease appears early it is apt 
to do considerable damage if it is allowed 
to spread unchecked. An experiment to 
ascertain the comparative value of dry 
sulphur, sulphuric acid diluted one part 
to 500, 1,000 and 2,000 parts of water, 
respectively, and liver of sulphur as a 
remedy for the disease was made last 
fall at the Subtropical Laboratory. 
Their comparative values as fungicides 
were found to be as in the order named. 
The sulphur should be applied early in 
the morning while the plants are still wet 
with dew. 
In addition to the soft scale ( Coccus 
hesperidum ) another scale was noted on 
roselle last fall. Specimens were sent 
to Dr. L. O. Howard, Chief of the Bu¬ 
reau of Entomology, United States-De¬ 
partment of Agriculture, who identified 
them as Hemichionaspis aspidistrae. It 
appears, however, to do very little dam¬ 
age as, while multiplying itself rapidly, 
the scale is followed by a parasite ( Aspi - 
diotiphagus citrinus) that seems to keep 
it well in check. 
In Queensland the cultivation of the 
roselle has assumed a commercial aspect 
during the past few years and consider¬ 
able quantities of roselle jam are yearly 
exported to Europe. In the Unite! 
States, aside from the home use as a 
sauce, the most popular products would 
