Report on Agricultural Investigations in Porto Rico (1905)

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.U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRI ~UI,. TU-RE~ orrio~. Or EXP&RIMENT STA110NS_:BULI:;ET_IN .NO. 171. v A . C . TRU,E , Direc tor.

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. RECINTO •.· DE iUO ·-PI£DRAS :

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AGRIC.~LTURA L. ,INYESTiGATIO NS ·INPORTO RICO,

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BY

. D. W . \rAY. M. Ann._,

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- s ,;ecial A f]f'Ut in ('/u,rge, / 'orto Uir·IJ . l yrit·ullu r(tl

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.. NOSE PRES'rA . FUERA DE LASALA

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.W .ASHINGTON: OOV.·} ;RNJ\IENT PIUNTI.NO .O la' l ' E • I

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BON poUeot10~ " 190168

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. LE'ITER OF TRANSMIITAL. .

U . .8;. DEPARTMENT , - - -.

D. . iT,~i. Agr,. pt.rial Agent in Oharg~ Wtd A~imal llu3bandman. • · W.·V. Thwu, B. .,:EnllmwlogUt and Plant "Pathologillt."

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. '. H. ~.'ll& al ,_ l!ll, B. 'Agr.,"Horticultwt.

• J. w." UN Li£1'10 Pr, Cof u E~,;ut. : ,~!).F. Cmr:r, Farm Supril

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OF AoRJCULTUJ.tE,

OFFICE OF .EXPERIMEN.T

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· .. Washtngton, D. 0 ., April 30, 1906.

Sm: I have th ,honor t~ trans~t herewith.I}J;id to recommend for publication ~· Bulletin No. 171 of this Office the Report on the Agtjcultuj'al fuv?EJtigations in l't1rto Rico for the fiscal· year . 1905, by •· D. W. .¥&Y, ·M. Agr, Special Agent in Charge of the Porto Rico ~ 1 . Agricultural Expe~ent Station. . ~c- ~ · · • Res~ctfully, · ' · A. C.. ~UE, . .Director.

Hon. Joos WILSoN, I. 1 · • ,S ecretary' of Agriculture..

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. PORTo RIC'O AUIUCULTURAI. fl?iPEJ1UUt,NT STATiON.

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NO SE.PltESTA ..fUERA DE LA SALA . r

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iblioteca · General U: P.. R. ·.

OCT . ;71

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r~troduction ......

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CO . TE TS .

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Tobacco . ... ... .... : .........•. --· .. ··-.-·············· ····· ·· .. ·•········· Cotj.on ....... :: .. : ......... _.....•.. ·......... .. . .... __ .................. . , ( Com ..... . . .. .......... : .. ... .. __ .................... __ .. · · '· ............ .

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Fibers, .. : .......... : .... : . ·.......... .. .................. .. ..... : .. ...... .

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Report of the cntomologis,t a!)d botanist'. :. : .. , ....... ... , .. , .... : . . : . ....... .

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Investigations in entomology and plant pathology ... : ... .. , .: ............. .

Report or the horticl)lluriat ................................ ...... ......... ..

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The' new method .. : .......... ... ... ....,. ........ . . , ............. .

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t. angoes .................. ...... ........................... .. .......... .

Avocadoa.. .. .': ..... .................. .... .................. . ......... .

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Rer,ort or

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Rice ...•.• : . .' ..... !. : ...... .. ...... -· .......... ····-··- .. ·· ·· .. - --~··.' ... =

:. ..Cit,~~:~~- Je~J;~: : :::::::::: :~:: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :·:: ~~:a~~~~- ~~r-t~~:i~.:::::::::::::::::::::::::;: _::: ::::.:::: ::: Dlse- , ....... ........ .. ·.......................... , ......... ·.... .

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Potatoes............ . ........ .. , ............................... .. ,. ~ . . ....... . .Forage cl;(>ps ............................ .... ........ ...... ........ , ....... .

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Coffee.' ..................................................... . .... . ........ .

Cane... .. ......•. . ...• .................. .. ......................., ..•.•... :

~he co~~- &pecialist

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Improvement of an old coffee grove ..... : .......... .. . ! ............ _. ... .. .

D.iaea.ries and insec~ pests .. ... ............ .... .. . : .......... ; ........... .

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l{EPORT ON . A~RICULTUR L INVESTI(;ATION IN ·PORT · RICO; 1_905: . .

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Pu.n ' I. Vi.ew ot,r. portion or-ih str.ti n plr.t~t; Mr.y~z·.. ~ - ..... . ·.'. : ...... .' 16 · If. Fig. l ..-('.o':'•per.s, f.o,rt ; nin ' dap ' frol):l seedin i~, '2. i!llli,P~t ~) _two."!'done-half'ylljl,n~.'pJd_ ..... , ..................... .... .... .. _ ' 16 Ill. Fag. I. . . dlelbi'CIJ ta.lli n, Thornton McDonr.ld 2237: Fig. 2.. C.bHonr. pin(a.ppl , h wing·mctbo<l of plantmg:: ........... '· .... • ,IS V. ·.Fig. 1.-~~~ tree two yer.rs !Wm seed. F: . 2.-Avooado two y

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,fn>m.seoo .... ·........ ' ....'.... ' ........ : .. : ........ . ...... .':"'. .

avy cl~y • - 110il. F~g. 2.~\VeU- fi)led branch of '6o1Tee · F' ' .. .. .. . .. . .. .. . . .. .. . .. .. . · · ~- I. ee lmp,r onm n~; 2·year old-tree produced over2 pollndso( ·CoiJee. Fig. 2.-RQ8C!IIe (llib~nalxlariffa). in c'ruit. : .. .... .'.....

VU. Fig. I. ee substr.tion; N>lld , tm~king ·in nf\tural Corest Fig. 2.~ COffee SU~lioo ; t.il> b &vy h'\de .... • .... · .... .. .. ,-........... · ·Fig .t.

~illoa rub~r l~ o! samll.afi'e in fcrtil? loam and b

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llfT:RODUCTION.

:J'he work of. an agri ultural experiment station in th Tropi s js in ·many ways qujt. different from that of tations in the Temp rat Z n . This ems pe uliar, as it would appear at first glance that me.thods whi ·b ar succe ful in th Temperate ZOne ,would prove feasibl' in the Torrid ·ZOBe, but th conditions are so· different .that 'pre upposed considerati9n~ are often in error. The gr~wing sea.Son . ex~en4s t~o~ghouL.th twelve mo~ths of the year,· but t here is quit o. var1at10n 6used largely: by ramfall and pe.rhap other causes that are not n·o w· known·. · Exp rimental. w rk · in the Tropics 'is almost ·altogeth r pion er work, for in obtaining re ults methods work · out' in1 other regions "8JEe of no a vail and sometime~ apt to prov misleading.

• · With the pre nt lolowledge of. the methods o d i emination and · · control of "ell wand mtclli.rial fevers th r is de tin d to be at an early .

J . date o. j¥ . o.t fonyard mo~enient in th production ~nd r sultant pro ·]>E)'I'ity o( the Tr6'pics. Already th re i a dist!;lct immi~ration of ·n6rth ffi P. . Op) S intO this zone, &n~ th returnS from Capital invested •.a.r, b~con:ling more and ·more T_ emunerative.· In furthering the interests .'of this region of th earth, ·bringing into it incr!)a, ed pro~perity, 'tllere is no fac or capable of doing so inuch good .as agricultural ex peri~ ment stations.' The problems facing th se stations 1!-r ma.nifold; tho qu~stions befor · the investigator b i~g o·many o.n~ !!O varied ho ap~ peat's almost oVerwh' lmed at the beginning o,f the work. With o many questions lor solution 'it is rea.d.ily apparent that the men ann• .:p1caris available a·r whollyinade(\uil.te to ~he work in nand. In view of this condition tho policy of the Porto Rico E~periment. Station is to , c~nfine· its efforts t~ a 'few lin s li,nd carry .them to a. succe . fiil ist~ue before taking up others. In selecting lines of work it has sought t'o develop those productions and m thods that with q~ick results will redound to the greatest goOd the inhabitants of the is)and. . It is n~rjt th~retore, that th~ ·~rst experiments _be o! ~ prac~ical nature, Ieavmg the more obscure problems for later -consideration.

During the p~t ye!Lr there he., been a decided improvement in the · agricult.ur&l conditions of the islapd .. ~me cropa .- that ·have ~

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th ustom formerly to tak . up wild plants growing in ~the woods, set them at. th proper djstan , :roughly prune them with a ma.ehet , and give th m littl.6 or.no cul~ivation. · .

I , ·.. . CANE.

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Since th American Occupation cane growing as undergone an ntire revolution. American capital' has come in and btillt large SUgfl.r mills Or Central I r Ulting ll th abandonment Of the many ·small r mills which dotted t h cane r gion . Th cane gr()\vers find it mor profitabl '~o sell th ir canes to the lacge c' Iit.rals than to grind th m in th }r small n:iills, often Using O."<On for pow r and boiling the' juice in open kettles. · · Some of the .~arg r centrals are carrying on experiments in growing cane and they are very urg nt that the station undertake exp, riments ._in this luie. ~ Some exp rim nts with can have ,b en taken up, by the c 'statiQn,• but ~ur limited funds prevent very extended work in.this line.

By coop rating ~th me of the larger plantatJon.s the station hop 8 to obtt\in some valuable results along certain lines in a.ne produ'ction.

At th pre ent ti~ 'th gr atest inter st i in th methods ol planting ' ti.nd th prop r fertilization of this crop. Th fertilization of Porto Rican soils is v?I'~·importo.nt as it has not had nm h ~tt ntion in' the pa.st, and it is not known just wha.,t these soil most nlled. The 'resu lts of pr limina.rj te ts indicate that cane responds' very readily to commercial f rtiliZers, and while no very definite conolu ions can be drawn nt 'this time;it seem that f~lizers containing ~h three elementsnitrogen, potash. and phosphoric acid- are advi able. On the ground _.n of the stati n pota h showeclesp citdly favorabl results.

(-~ In buyin fertiliz~rs ~ Porto Rico planter ·a e urged .to buy highgrad~ go ds. It is b f· course the nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric '1 aci~ .t hat co~tit_ute the value of a fertiliz r 111nd·, owing" to th high freight' rates; there is no advantage in transporting an excess of filler in ·th g ods. The last legislature 6f Porto Rico passed ' o.n act, pre, p~red by tne experiment station, providing for the in pection of fer- · tilize111 sold .in the i land. This forms a guaranty enabling the plaat~r to prot ct hip1self in ' the pur hase of f~rtiliz ts, and at the same time -tP,e printed' label ~nli.hl him to follow inore closely the composition and the results of its us . . .. .Th'e station ) s securing SOfiE\ of the more promising seedling canes with the object·of introducing. these, n,fter. trial, upon ~he plantations.

As in th - case Of many of the other economic plants o~ Pprto ·Rico there is great need .of bre ding up the varieti of cane now grown. . The centrals ~ave been purchasing canes upon grosS weight and are'now discriminating in-price only with varieties·. With the economies that · are coming in .sugar production m Porto Ric9 th'ey will shortly, stim~te the v:alue by the sugja.r contep.t, th~refore improvement in· cane

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producti~n m~st W'oceed..'along se~ernl ~in .

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cattle will be fed in the neighborhood of the centrals. 4t present the <tb the States ;nd mcorporated' fu specially . ·prep~ stock feeds. · .

I ' ;- TOBACCO. .

~ld be me~~: but th percentage of sugar m th~. juice ·must be · . mol 'asses . i~ shipped

raised. .Again, lt 18 observed tha.t some v.ari ties are more resistant to certain insOOt ~ a~d ~ dis9 . On well-known variety.that h~ n gro~,ll m Pon,o.RIC? for· many ears is now' being abandoned because of msect depredatwns toward which otller vo.neties are · istant; , . .· ·:· . At t~iS ~tiilg no .y~ ri~s insect pes~ or diseases a~ prevai~nt m th · ca..n. ~eJds, alth~ug~ wtth th largely inc'':6a8ed, plantings and . lack of rota •on ·such are lik ly to occur. Som uch ot~tbrea:k came· \ .' ab9ut thirty · , a~ ago, wh . n C'~ gro~~· in Po~to Rico ~as pa!ising . · tMc>u_g~ on ' th mor pro. perous perwd of its histq~ · Late., · .m ~ . d can . were brou~ht to th statio 't hat · infested With larv of a pe 1 <;~f · ph,enophorus. Th p. n'on who Jan a) . . fou.n.d said the can pre nted m~ch t ' ame ~p .

11~ ... as tiurmg, e·serJOu trouble' in.the seventies. . __p . ' ) .· . '• '· • : ':fh? . mo't~ b~r r (J?iatr~ "aceharalis F'ab.). has ee~: r~portei as l ...'. ,. . domg dam.t Pe m. v nous ~tions. ·~t. i · o.dvi!!4 d th t can • ed be· so~ked fortwenty-four h<??rs Ui l~ewater b fbfe plo.ntif!g to· d'~s ro ~ . . .11nd I as a hindr nc;:e to. other :trpttbles at -mi'ght be pre. f!t m· th .

Th'i I>~t.i~ i r be ·· d to favor. th ·g rmina~top. of the ' 'ed. · ·~ ·· . · · · , · · ···. '.-' . . . __~i.. tuz:th.·r ·C~Xper.ime:n~ :ha~ . be~n ·.made ·aiOJ1g thl~ ·line to. t- st: th~ , · · ilifluence of seV.era111olutions ~ t:he· ge.rm in.at iorrand early g~o~.th of '· c:ane . ·Le . th_a~ 5.per cen~ so~~ti~n .were?TI~de up of lime, i1agn· siB.,.: . lim. an~~~ 111., ammon) a, mt rate of soda and a mixture of nit~ · of. ~~. a 1d uperpho, phate arid 1nudate, "Of potash.. Th cari s ..~~ .d SIXteen. hou~ in fl. lution of l.in1e ajld -l'no.gnesia.germinate qm it; . t ~nd m~d~ ' the bes.t early ~th. That SOilked limewater·· • &S.· ;x:t. m th':"ftu'l!l . ]he can~ ·s oaked in the ammonia water g~r:· ·:. ~ted secon~ b t but m a ~ho " ti'me fellh hind . .. : Those soaked i~ ·. . ~h . o~her hltJO?B ~ere' .lower in s tarting apd le 't hrifty than those · .../ ' . m the .check plat; wh1 h. were not soaked o.t all .... ~id~. t~. .growing of cane the tO:tion has taken up s01p.e.problems ,m th ,;;utdJ.zatton of ~he by-pr~duc~s .Qf cane.. ~ present ~·great many oxen are used on the plarttatJOns, 11.nd as ~ore ~nd mor~ ~~ ;a .being broke:D and planted the feeding of th~ animals i beconiiha a~· t . Durin h • -e> ~ous qu 1on. g t e .~nding 8611;80~ cane · top!! are fed in ' I ·rge . arno~ts ~ the oxen and t.t. seems posstbl' that a way may ·be found for preee~mg these. f~r future u~. · . As a dry f~ed they do not . : to be re!isbe?! but' Jt. IS probable thai some means.may be found for prope.rl~ ensiling them. _With these and .o ther .by-productS .of cane · pl"'ductlo~ ~d manuf~ctuz:e, like m?la8ses, .i't. is n.o t irnprobahte that ~ the .futwe not onty the work ,anunals b~t large nutnbenJ of beef .. . ,• ~·

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During the .y ear ,the · station issued a buUetin (1'\_o. 5) <?li Tobacco lnvestiga~ions in ~orto Rico. · This includes a 'descriP,tion of 'tobacco

oils and methods now followed in ·groWing tobacco in Porto Rico.

Expet:inients in growing, curing, and·fermenting toQacco are described in de~ail, and suggestionS made for tho improvement•of our tobaccos both in culta.i'e and fermentation and ~n seed improvement. Our ·tobacco expert resigned to enter the Bureau of Plant Industr-y of the U. S. Dep~tmf)nt cif Agriculture, arid since that tirpe _no work h~ been carried on ~ith t.he cigar tObacco growing in the interior. It i very neCesSary that further studies be made with this im~qrtant _crop, s~o.uld opr. means allow. The ~bacco soils 'of t~e.islan~. sh~uld be mil.pped out and further stud1es made of therr fertihzat10p .

Rese.arches ·with . the curing ·and fermenting of f cigar ;tobaccos are v~y in~ch needed. · · · · . . . .' ·Some of the larger companies ·located iri the interior va~leys are pr0d11cing -a very....Ji.ae quality of tobacco, both filler and wrapper.

The soils .of the s'iation and th~ir proximity to the sea.-forbid th production of the· :fift!Jr· quali.ties of cigar tobacc~s: Experiments are being carried '!Sut, however, in the production of other kinds used in man il.cturin_g. It has been1smd that the White. Burley, s~ch as is grown ~ Kentucky, .do,es very well oh the soils o~ the• statJOn, p.ro- _n . ducing a very large. fi_ne plant. Further exdenments are berng •( -carried out ~th this variety. .- \ .

COTTON•

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1 · Tiler~· has been quite an incre~e in the area de~oted to sea-island cotton in. Porto Rico: ThiEl. bas been fostered by the experiment station, which distribuw.d several tons of improved seed . to vari- . :ous sections.: The special agent in charge. ho..s also prepared dur~ng · the pre'sent ye~ a citcular on cotton growing, w]:J.ich hl\8 been dis.: tributed over- tpe iSland. ·· . . .

Tl;le quality of the ·cotton,grown in Po~~o Rico is very ~ood and it is a crop that is especially &.dapted to .the ·country, ~cause the- poorer farmers can·pro<luce it in linii~ amoU,IltB without the aid of capita) : and e!Jlploy t.heir iamJlies in the various operations in .i~ pro?uction . · There is no boll weevil in: Poito Rico, and the ~nly iD'Bect pests · eported as in any way seriously affecting the crop ·a re the cotton caterpillar (.Alabama argi_llticea Hbn,:) and the cotton staiJier (j)ylllerC!U H.:.Sehf.). The cottOn c•terpillar . .uturellw . ' . ·has cauaed serious . .

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tion of th seed produced. Bett r ultur ~ust be gi n. o\jr cotton :and it must be fortiliied : Old ·otton plants muAt bfl destroyed and not allowed to grow' into aJf: . . uch cotton is inf rior and th y ields are t90 in.ail. Bbcau ' co ton. grows naturally in Port~ Rico 'the industry must not·be given ov r wholly to natur .

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me com.is grown m certain tions of Porto Rico, but its -production should be gr atly 'tended: The uativ.e varieti~s especially ne d improv ;m nt, as they ·ar mall, With l~rge cobs and inferior grains. · ·'th station has b n xp rimentiilg with com from e ds grown in th tates nd al o .in improving th native varietie ; 9 far our re ults ds from \ h tates have not been promising. There is some with peculiar con<lition here that pr vents such com from proper! devel_oping .. This ~eo.son has not y t b en d termined; but i is ·hoged that some ·way will be f und to utilize th improved vari tics from the · nited. tates. In 'the niea.ntim . the tation i endeti.vori,ng to d~velop an jrll:proved com from native sc d. Doubtle in tiq1e a very fmc · ..' variety will be obtained, but could com from the tat s be grown here that.r ult-would~ach d mu h quicker. · · The only rio6.s insEct pe t ~ th om plant is th cotton bollworm . (Flelio_this obsolet<t,Fab.), which attacks it -duri'ng·most easons of the y ar. This is:'espe ialJy bad in r gions of the greatest rainfall . It is rathe hard fO combat this"-ies t, and planters as a rule. in comgrowing_s ctions plant at tho ti.mes when the in ~ct is less numerous. -~

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RICE.

Porto Rico iiiJportS an~.mally large quantitie · of rice, whi h con~titutes' a large part of the food of the p opl~. By far.. th larger a.mount.eome8 fi.om th port qf N w Orlean~ and consists of ~he cheaper gra-des of th Louisiana rice . . At the pr nt tin1e mo.H patch of upland rice are grown, but thor is practically none of tho .lowland rice.

It will Jbe necessary t~ introdu rotations on· those. fi_elds dev9ted ·to cane, and rice. will probably prove ·tho most profito.bl crop to use in such. a. rotation. Tho fields that are now well ·fitted for irrigation can· be very re~jly devoted to rice growing. But to grow ri ·o successfully in Porto Rico in compe~ition wi~h ot~er oountries, it will be, necessary to usc ma.ch.inery as in Louisiana.., Although labo~ is plent~l and cheap, it can not coqipete with · ma.ch.inery in the production of'this staple. The exp_eriment sta~ion is growing rice in an experi.Inental way under-irrigation, and o far the indications' are t~t this· c~op can be very successfully produced in Porto Rico. · It is' pra.ctica.lly a new industry ano ·it will probably' be· seve~al yeam befo~e it lWi.u a.Ssume the positi n that itl! impor- ·

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At present th plantings of upland ri consist 0 of plats laid off. for testing various legumes · •. ut th abir of th poo r I · ; who harv t thi and other f r'ag . crop . . (Pl. I.) f th legumes the cowpea is the J kJ and potilid it ut with ~dIP-ills. m t p~omi ing.1 Quit & number of varieti .have .beelllplanted and all do well when the oils are-inoculated. The earlier varieties proPO't.ATO:U. · duced ripe ed' ~ v nty: day . The only seri u p t 'of this crop is the le,a f hopper, which cuts a good many hOles in leaves, but not . •uough to damage ·the plant greatlf. 1'he rainfall in the vicinity of th station is v ry heavy, ~nd soils for cowpeas should be. fairly well drained . In some of the drier sections it is .probable t~ crop will do ven better than at the tation. In general the cowpea in its growth not ma~ally differ from· the same plant in the tates, except d that .the stem is somewhat thicker. A number of varieties have been planted throughout the· twelve months, and while all seasons are favora.bte to their growth, they do better in regions of hea.-/Y,ra.inCall if plan~ed dyr.ing the drier months. , .

Tlii legum i on of th finest oil renovators known, not only storing large amounts of nitrogen in the soil, but'leav:ing tbe ground in fine phy i al C<Yndition. It has been reported as d,oing well in the -north sid of the i laJ1d among the orange groves. A.t)y section·growing_ owpeas ma~ve no fear of failure ip. improving the condition of i il. Tlfe growth of .thi I gume is on of the ino t ptomising dev lop men of. Porto Ri an .agr1cultur . (Pl. II, fig. 1.)

Tli b ggar wood mak a fair growth, but d~ not reach the height it dqes on t~e light sandy oiW of Florida. It will 1 p rhapt~, do better on tb .lighter soi ls of Porto Rico. In sandy soi( on the north sid of_.n the i land it has m~e a very rank growth. It\is omewbat damaged( - · by th am leaf hopper that troubles the cowp~a. . . eJyet beans do well on the station grounds e,nd do not 8 em to be eriou ly damli:ged by in ct or fungus p ts ... They do· not make a 'r adk growth on the heavy cls.y. soils at the station, and for a qci.ck grpwing crop are not equal· to the cowp a . ."Alfalfa. on soi l proper) drained and inoculated is a very promising . crop. Th ,plat own to this i now in full blo om three months frofll di Jg, and it is th b t the writer bas seen anywher at that age. .Further obae~vafion · wil\ ben c . ary,· but at tl;le.pr ent it appears to .be a very proniising crpp for Porto ~ico under pr r conditions. ·So far no insect or fungu pests have d' veloped. This crop has ~n on a pieCe of well-drain~ land .near tl:ie ri~er, which is largely composed of clay and rather heavy for alfalfa. Ow: exP.eriments on hea-Yy clay uplanp soils hav resulted in failure. . .

So far red clover, Japan clover, and Genge .clover have not done well, but further trials-are ad!i able: Ct~ver sown the Tropics shouJd follow. some h~ rop, and the ground hould be fertifued with ~am­ yard manure in order to ~et .a quick stand. The e are certain rankgrowing gr that p~g up so quickly that there is a tendency for

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1 U 5 . Oeot of A& •·· Bul . 171 ~ Offtc:e of E1.Dt Staf•Mt

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PL.ATE II .

Bul. 171. Offtc of E•pt. StaNm•

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FIG. 1,. -COWPEAS FORTY-NINE DAYS, FROM SEEDING.

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17 ,· . . P~anuts ~re grown in all. sectiolli!. o{ Porto ~ico, the_sole variety j)eing the· smalL red Spanish. · Improved peanuts from tlui .States have Jx!en planted and have._ been found to do a's well alf the.·Spanisli variety in -the expenmentaf_grounds of the station, Ji,nd·seed' produced from theSe have upon .replanti.D.g. given . equalfy favorabl~ results.'· The high food v.alue '()f this plant being well known, ~ethen'{ith. the fact that it is a nitrogen gatherer, its planting is recontmended for all · sections of the island. _;Horse ·beans :ijave ma9-e on'ly a. stimted growth of some 12 inches in 'height and havQ flowered ;; so _ f ar in our ·expeiiri:lents they are cl.assed as a lailu.re. A number .of other fo.rage plants have been tes~d, but at this' time no report can be made; some exper!ffients . have not gone fa, enough and others have fa.l.led for tb.e reason of' n.obgei;ffiinl\~i~n of seed. ·It is found tl:ui.t seed deteriorat' very rapidly in this clim,a.te, probably on account of t~e great variation in lihe humidity oi the atmosphere between day and night. ' ·

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E~peri~ents '\vith' fiber crops .as reported ,last year 'are being con··hiriued, with one or two additions·. Indian h~mp _(Cannabis sativa) ha_s beQn tested, ~1ade a very poor and ~tunted gro~tli . . Of the otMr fiber crops that _have been under test, Sisal. s emsto b the inost· . promising from a ~financial point of view'. Maguey grows luxuriantly and is native to the ishind, but the yield of fiber is small coinpared vith .sisml. Sansevieri~ill make a good growth on certain . soils, but. the yield of .fiber is much below sisal, a.~. the soils that wiJI ~_f) grow.this. crOJp will a.ls~ grow more prdfita.ble oro s, like suga.~ cane. C - .

01). h1gh ground that plant ,makes a very Ipea.g.er.g owth.. The msular· . gov 111&1lnt has .decid' d upon. taking up the growing of sisal on a . cpm!l/-~r~~al _footiitg settin_g 10~,000 plants und~r the direction and superVISIOn . of' the experunent statwn. The· fiber expert of the · Bur au of- Plant Industry, tJ. S. Department of ' Agricu.l ture; Mr. . Lyster H. D ·wey, made .a visi't to the ·island in the fiU.mmer. and ·. looked jnto the fiber ·situation in different ·sectiops. He recom-. mended' that· I} commercial. trial be made with sisal as the most pro_mising of th.e se~tlral fiber crops -tested -the experiment station. ~ Upon l:lls retuni. to the St~tes, a box each of sisal and maguey were , .sent. to ·Paterson' N. J ., for e~tra.ction in ~he macbihes. Mr. f)ewey .. ·· returned samples of th~se fibers. extracted . . COmmenting upon that ·.from .the siSal,-he Writes as f~llowiiJ : · · \ ~ ·

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, ,. - This fiber is softer and more ~yisb io coior than most of the isal on .the market, ~ -chiefty to the faet that it is from lencs -only 2~ yeani old, w,hiJe practically all o[ tho com• mercia! aisal fiber i8 obtained ·from l~aves at least 4 yeat:a old . . Thill tibet, bowev~r, is of remarkably good strength (Pl. 11, fig. 2). ·· . . . .

We.tried ~~ mague}t lea es_in tbe.jachine ~t Pa~rsoo, but t~e machine -:ould,l!,ot clean theml!l a· rua~~ner at allatisfactory. Tbe fiber <>f tlie Porto Ru:an tnaguey 18 weaker than that ol liaaJ and tt... .Jiav~s are Jess fir.m in texture. . ·. . ·

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PLATE Ill.

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FIG. 1.-SADDLE-BRED STALLION, THORNTON

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'tation· h purcha ed frq,Tfl f&rm ,receipts a stalliod reJnst~medlll . :in.\th. Arite.ri<:l'.fl a~dle· Horse Br.e de~s' A' o. ia.tio11 (:'PI_. .I.I I, , It 1 • v ry much destred that th qualtty of the Porto ·.RICan llol"SE:s• · · , be'·improvl'd. as·. 't he havo very·_ · rio_usJy ·deteri~'ra.ted. At tQ: y ar mall and a at many ·unsoun(l. vera! impona,t;tcms-m• · ' ho have b ~ mad .into th~ island, and in the writer's v1Juuuu 1• th lighter · br .eds, lik · the stancl!Jor<!· br d American tro...tting , abd the saddle tock that has SRrUng from · the thoroughbred, ar ' better _adapted to Porto ·Rican conditions. One imp@rtation of 70 · heaft 'o (·Norm&n 'horse ·' 'made by· a su_gar company, his not out v ry well, .a number ' of th m hav.i?g been . lost . • : Th ' e hA:Il.V'\1'. draft h~rse unlike th"o'" of lighter breed can not withst~(l warm cl¥nate . . Quite a nulliber.·of 'mU,les ar · now being imported by the uga,r plan rs and are supplanting the oxen on the ' · }.ful' d very 'Y~Il where prope'rly handled. , Th station owns 5, which hav been. on th ,island . from two to. five· years. 'l'he native mules ar · small and W~Cd only in -th interior as pack anima,ls; theJ· will no.t d() for work. on. th carie pl~ntations. . . ..

FIG. 2 : -CABE ZONA

Pl ~ eAPPLES,

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· .SOme cattle have been imported ·dur4!g tho yel'r, and (.rom resuJts · 1t is probable ther:e will ; be more brought .in from year to .year: . The nt~tive ~ttle will doubtless le.!ld themselves v ry' readHy to·improv6- · lllent, tieedil)g especially \0 00 bettered iri the line of early maturity ·.md milk prodt,~etion. As work cattl they are very fair, a.nd con- ·. ~idering th lack, of care·in breeding they are reQlarkaQiy good ..

Porto Rieo is infes~ with one of t~e ca tie ticks, Boophil'U8 a'U8trali8, and it is neceS~~&ry that imported cattle be inoculated either lw.(ore or immedi~tefy after landing to prevent ther,n from cotitract- · ing tick fever. Twq. sh1pm nts o( inocu lated · cattle.: made during the · present year have done very -yv II. 'I'he three he~d that were lr'ft at the station for .a time apparently show d no signs of_ .tick fever. A. later importation of cattle is now at tho station undergo··: .i.ng inoculat~on_ again t this disease. There is a belief among ;some stockmen that 'tick fever docs not prevail upon the island, but·the hureau Qf ' AniQlal Industry of the U. . Depo.rm~nt. of 'Agriculture lm receiv d ticks froin Porto Rico and has infe,ste,d cattle in the to.tes :with them, bringing on the disease. TJte station is furtlier testing this question hi cooperation with tho. Missouri Station,· and ml.til .d finite instructions to the contrary are given ali'.ca-ttle coming ·to the island· shou~. inoculated unless they ·orne frol'(l. below the quarantine ·line.· . _ . ··· . . . · ' · . Some eheep are· ra1sed in P rto Rico, but their CQndition can not be ~aid to be thrifty. They lose a great part of their wool, and in the .,;cction of gr~atest rainfall are v~ liable to disease. . · · .

Goats are found all over the island and add much ~- the nourishment. of the poorer p ople. Th~ station is endeavoring t obtain imported mil(lh goatS of Swiss breediJ,lg for the improvem,!l t of thi!l class of · ·rtnim!\ls. • -A. great many sections of the island, in the inte~or espe!'i(\Tiy, ar~'ll.dapted ·to_goat raising and. to·no othe~ cfass of animals. ' . . Severall.mporta.'tions of swine nave been made into Porto Rico and; •ts far, as th writer's knowledge-goes, all have done well. The no.'tive uig is of the ra~r-back type, and it dges not seem advisabl to· try to improve ih buti.rather to substitute pure-bred stock. No hog chqlera· _. or swine plague prev~iJs on the island so far as, the writer)s experience . goes. · . · . . · .-. . · . .

All ciasses of Poult.j thrive in J>orto Rico, but the· stock found at. pre8ent .is greatly 1n need of impro.vement. · . Chic~en& consist mainly • ·of the game breed,· and are small. and aotiv!l, but not well adapted l<,> meat. or tfgg. proiiuction. Sev(lral importations have do~e- well .

J.)ucks 'thrive, and quite a mnnber 'of turkeys and guine~ are raised ~ There is a good ~ocal deman~ for poultry products, -O:nd there ,are no · . rious hindrances to ~he pruductiori. . · · '

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20 1118C'BLLAD0118 B'OT:U.

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DUring the past year.besides' the Annual Report for 19if4 the statioQ

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ircular No. 5, on Coffee Growing in Porto Ric.o ; Bulletin No,. .i, on.'l'oba<:co Gro..ying in Porto Rico, and Bulletin -No, 6, on'Yautias v r Tanier8. · ~B.T op' THE EBTOKOLOGIBT AB'D ~B'IBT. · By 0 . W. BAJUUI:TI'.

Foll~wi~g is a ·bri f aceount ot the various_lines of. work c~~ducteq hy the entomologist and botanist, until the spring of !905, when he p•a•u""ul• ~overed his connection with the s ation.

Th lines of work were more or leSB identical with those carried .on in 1904. During'July, August, and September attention was directed.

11\fgely to 'the- study of the coffee leaf-miner parasites and toward the general s~udy fof the fungus diseases of native crops. , The various <'ollections of native crops, like yams, yautias, etc., were harvested during December and January and r planted on a larger scale in JanuILry and February. ·Many specimens were a~ded to the herbarium. · The banana collectio~ was increased by ~he addition of the Cuban varie~ies, and so f~possible the eighty-five or more numbered sorts w r.e classed intcf distinct types, which were mostly grouped in the permanent vari t test plat in' .the' alluvial soil between the station office and the· river' y aguez. It was found nece$stj.ry to allow about cQ<>per• twelvtt group · or types to 60jJtain the said num:t.>er of varieties.

During the arrangement of this. collection it wa:s discovered that entO~iC&t• .s vera) native varieti~s, largely peJi ved to be i~entical, were quite distinct as re~ards the ·f ruit itself. It is hoped .t~t this test plat of_ ban.an& _vatieties from yarious tropical countries of tlie ·world will d~finitely aecide· the qu tion of synonymy of.. thj'l local names, as Has "d .. ide everal questions in regard to the adaptability of certa:in tYMS to 'the manufacture of ~anan11. flour, banana coffee, etc. 'fhe yautia. collection was ·increased by the addition of a few varieties fro~p Panama. and Central America. The present number of vari ties tinder observation is about fifty. ·. A bulletin" giving ·a·· general res\)roe of ' the subject, together ·w:ith .t he results of fertilizer tests, analyses,' arid 'pro pooti;Ve uses of the tubers; which, so far as 'is knoWn, is the first bulletin to ~ issu d oti this subj t, ba& been pub,. . li bed'. Th crop is believed to ,be the oldest ·One 'in the. history of · agricultur · · _ · Th · cassava collection was enr'ched by the addition of a 'full set of ·. the Colombian vadeties, ~cut:ed in Jamaica. by Pr9f. P. H. Rolfs, .of the ubtropica:l Laboratory of Miami; Fl.a . About fifty named soria ~ no"': on the vari,ety list. ·

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• .r:estuwu in the almoat comple~e ·destruction of the coffee leaf..: miner1 .

•~!though one yea~ previc;>us ·e~h c~ffee pla~t. at t~e E_!tatioli grounds 0 ar.ried on an a'rrag~ something like twentY;-fiye l~re,,of t~ leafnri.Der . . · Unfortunately, the good r ults of t4e. parasttes work were not so much in evidence other sections of the iSland. , The se-veral ~<;ts injurio\111 to cotton were stu~d dunng the ~ear ttnd a l~rge . cotton plantation was visited! in .the vicinity of Aguadtlla, where ·~at damage by a. c~~:terpillar had been report~d. It. was found hat although· the- cotton caterpillar (Alabama ar.g1-llacea Hb~.) had somewhat destructive in smal.l areas through the plantat10n the pupm were nearl;y all parasiti:wd. Ollalcis annu.lat<b Fab. was reared from a few pupm which were obtained in the plantation. . . . ..

Teri speci ·'of mosquito-eating dragon-flies were studted on thestation grounds. . . .~ , The ,principal fungus disease not ~entwned· ill l~t yea: s report, whf h deser~es much study and which: should be carefully ·guarded against in all the 'Orange plantations o~ ~he islaind;_is t~e Flori~a. lco.f­ .spo't .fungus Wolbetotrichum glmospcri'ioides). Thtdun_gus a~peared ·during the last yea.r i~ ~he station's citrus nw:sery,.espe01~~~ on rough lemon stock. It_.ha.d been previously noted ill s veral diStrtcts of the i J~nd and it !8 doubtful whether this disease, which o.ppeax:s. to· be ·recently introduced cari be.. checked in its · spread over the tsland.

The ·peculiar root r~t of the roselle _(Hi~r:uB ·st,L,bdariffa) o.ttacke? a . few ~of tlie p)ant of this. sp~ . It ~~ so.•d. t? be_<;ommon ~hroughout ·Florida, and it appear to be of.bacterl.al ongm. . . .

The·exchange 0 ( ds and plan }VIth other statiOns m the Trop1 has beeom· a very ilnportant part of the st~tion's work.

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.. ii.EPO:B.T ' OJ' THE HORTICULTlTRIST.

By H . c.

. DfVES~GATIONS IN :BNTOK();ooY Alm PLABT lj'ATB:O~Y.

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A . . ond par~iteof ·t-~ cofre ' leaf-min~r{ieucqptera.~.t[u.ZlaSta~.) was discover d worki~ in tli~ same leaf ini.Q.es witll the . common (Jhry. ocluzri8 livida Ashm. l'his rare : parasite, which 8ee~· to be stPictly prin:uu-y, has~ d~tenrifu db Dr. William H. Ashmead as .

Zagrammosoma multili7Ua:ta, and was first described by him from the looust .leaf Tin1lid · ·(Lithocolle'tia drnatella Chambers) of Kans8.s s&~pl . of inr ted . of! I aves were ~ques~i to ~ senHn to· th~ ta.~1on fr~m aU t10n of the island, and,.contrary to expectation~ . the ~arasite (Jhrysoc'!W-rii li~ prov~ to, be ~tJibuted f.~ughoui the_ . ~and ; he th b.~g·_ e~nment:s were ~ontinued. Th~ .action of t~ latte~r patasJ.te at t he experunent stat1o~ grotinds' has . ' ..

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· / Horticulture is yet in its.infancy here, ~nd it has b~eti. fou~d neces- :. ary to do much pio.neer work of a practical nature m o.rder t? form a ba!is. for more scientific work. This ·h~ been· ~specially difficult on· account ·of the unskilled herp, whi ~;h has made it' Dl!cessary for the hortic~turist>to attend to practical details which could and prop-. ~rly .should hi) left to the' ga~dener.. It is nop?d ·_that-it ma! be ~os­ sible to ~cure the services of ·f!. tramed .man w•thi.n o. short t1me. .

The climatic conditions of ·Porto Rico~ru:e such that results ~an be obtained iri .;.~ch shorter time than is·required In t~ !fempera.te ~l'le. This is 'especially tru'e when experirhepting with atu).~a~, but even perennial yield quic~ results. While 'this is .a n advantage ill . time saved it must not be imagined· that it is wot:k saved i on ~he. <:<>n~ary ,, i~ often~ recl.uires th~ .work .of t~ree or four years con~enSe.d II_ti.o . ·one. On'tha..t accoul).t it lhas been found n~ary to take up one ~e ·.. . \

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f !)rk and-carry-it throu h to a fini h , or M farM practicable

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iug o l her; ork itl 1Jch·. hapo, t h&:t it can · be_. d v loped at th fir 1 opport"Umty. · ... .. --~hi. 'y<'~ more ~la,n half th tin~e w de ot d 'tQ ~egetable growm_g, on ~h.t h .. ubJe t P. b Jl tin ha b n publi .hed . The ex peri~ · me? . ~h. pmeappl . ar -w 11 forward d and wi'll b made · th<· m&Jn . ubJ . t: for th comii;Jg y ar, after whi .h fhe' propagation of ~h . mango_and · avo do hould be far en<iugh ad van d to- tak tht> '·ad. Work_' on citFu cultttre hM 01\tl.!l'ally required considerable t~m and n d ubt · ~ill for a number of :y~ars, though with the addi_- t10n saf ~n . ntom~logi t a~d ~..,plant pathQI g· t to the lii.tion ta:fT th h r ultural 1d of thi \\iprk will b reduc . .. J .

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,0 n ~ be be_y:ond ~ecov~ry.,' QJld st_ a nd a$ scarecr~ws ·for th~· would-be . . .mnge grove.

If on the oth r hand the trees are we.ll ca:red for, new growth will ~tnr~ from close above tho -uruon. This, if trained a d kept free from ~eale will form the new tree, and the-old ·s ly stut may well be cut off 11 ~ s;on · as possihl , as it seldom m.akes much growth and ~t always · as." a breeding.and·distributing pia~ (or scale: . ,But after all the d fort:s of the grower about two years of labor and xpenso has been . ltl t.

Of course, ~his is th dark- side of'the ituation , nevertheless it shows exactly the conditions as th y appear in many of t.h e ~~-· · p)!\nted groves. · · ·

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TilE NEW llflfiHOD.

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~o~~rs wh~ star.ted. 6iil.nge groves ~-Po~

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p~aying; the trees a~ n~t thoroughly ~orked and fertil~zed :they :Will

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An.,or these ' obsto.~les can be overcome by using methqds which . readily sugge t themselves to the . observant grower . . .The .firs~ ~nd t~ert&i,n·Jy th most , i.m portant fact.or is shade o.nd 'Ytnd_ prptectlon. 'fb hind hould be cleared , well worked, and the rows hud out, after ,~hich a row of bananas · hould aitemate with each r-ow of trees . . In about- six ltJOnth,..u:le'bananas will b large enough to afford prot~ction. . Plants like t.h e~pigeon pea (native na~e,· ganc;lula) or c~stor bc~n may also serv:e. as t m porary protection , but th first named 1s undestr'n.ble, because :it harbor in e~ like the mn.y .beetl _s and orange le.nf,\·e 'v ii and tl{e other i subj ect to scale of vartous kmds. In· plantmg . h~nana it should be rem em bored tha~ t9is plant is1gros~ feeder and will _rD ·. ln' plJlflti~lg an. orl).nge tre by ~I) usuai ~ethod of trim-~g ~ rob the oran~e trees i( pot che ·ked. In order to 0 thts a deep furrow _of ~e. '-l"~ls MJ4 a cor,r · ponding ..number ' Of hranc,he and leav , sh.oul<! be plowed on ~ach side about 4 feet ·from hi' bana~a row, and · the .tr c •·. verely eb~ k('d e pecially if it is shipped on1e 'di tanc Tf the we·a her i. J)Ot very favomble th top is l iabl~ to die bitck more .. ~ hi operation ·should b'c repeated at least three or_four t1~es a year. ·~~ t'_ after plant~ng •. nn it will · ~e· ~oni _ti.me· b?fo~.e the new gro~vth ,; l'l'he 1 ba~an~ s~qke-rs should be ,thinned out and1lot a-ll~wed to spread · t~rts.. If th 17rov . ·1s ex~ I'd to.. l~tgh wtnds thts new growt)1 will be · too far. " The yi ld of-fruit may b found to be of constderable value, ..,inn' in four to five years t he 'plants may be taken out or left in the. ~ore~ m one chrectton, gi\' JOg· the tre~ 1\ lopsided appeti:rapce which oil for fertilizer . . Tho boles for th orarige tree should be dug not less · •JS dilltcult to overcome. .Thi i not (he worst' feature ho ever but than 2!feet deep and 3 to 4 feet in diam ter. ·_The top soil should ·be _the high wtnd and hot un 'r etard the-growth of th tr~e.l !f th~ tree filled in in alternate layer with dry .g~ass, _ manure, o'r any other ·i pl... nled· in uncultivat_ed ground· with just a hoed circl around 1i.y.ail~ble organic mn,t~fial , together with 1 to 2 pounds of commercial and not.~ II fertjliz~, ~hi ~b is . ~ten tb~ cas· , the gro _t.IJI i '· ure to fertili~~r, prefe ably in organic form like tahkage· blood and bon~, be a~ thi~~ but rapid . then; May ~eetl~s and the orang ·Je~f­ dried- blood, or- native guano 'ni..ixed with tob,acco stems. 'the fer-. w eytl •.n to eat _the foltage, which til y often do, the tree will ave tilizer shouid b ·well mixed wit h tho uppe't layers of soil. Tb trees mad .but ht~Je b'I'Owth the:fir t ix Jl10nth after planting. · · .

IT\II.Y be planted .by the old, meth~d, but much better'sUC04lSS can be T~e nu . y tr . _are. seldom en.trr Jy fr e from the purple scale, and .-obtained by planting '_Vith a ball 'o f earth. , . · · ... . :. a .th1. pe tm~r~a . raptdl_y, peC!ally whenth~tre isnotinavigorous If the n~ry i~ well fei:tjlized. and cultivated, the bu.d ded tree ~11 roWJ_ng conditiOn, ~h con ' qu~n . is hat, · . ix t'o · ight months after. · .he large enoug~ for transplanting, eight to ten mo!I'ths fro~ buddmg, plan l'nf, th tr wil( co;ver d with scales I;> fore t he grow r realizes odourte n to shc.t n montJ:Is from seed. The -nursery tree shoul~ be w~at ~ do. praying is the n~x~ thing; b~t a continuous sp,r-1\yirig . ~J.t~ mJXtul' trong _ n~b 'W kill th purple sca:fe is su'r to cause ·· .trtii11ed to" stak ·in order to llnake a.''straight trunk and made to branch · when not over 3 feet i}igh. ·The branching s~o":ld be carefully attended ' · ~Juty th half-starved, w~d- ~ept, scale-sapped tree. If., a-fter·· he

to

ioo three .. .five CIIJ"S a f llowed the m thod pre:vailing in''Flori . . and . lifornia . .' au~ th: g .n raJ te' urt ha e ~ en ui.lsatisfac tfQry, bu t:he e4'perien g~1n ~} ··l~ e.lua?le: Thi~ r_eport, giving a brief stl\temeJlt . of the . (' p •rlmept ' t tlu Si ation, as -well as"f.ield .,tWt~s obtailled whe.D visiting gi' ~e ill' O.ll.part~.~f-t~. 'isfan·~ -, i ~nten t~ :ser:ve fl.li ·a·guide .for-. tb - .. gi!ill r.,.w1th \l:i ho~ that lt w11l carry htm over maJ'ly of the · . . · · old pitfall . . .

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26 . In fertilizing, ~ost of tb _growers apply a small amount three io . mr tunes a year, w}\ich of oourse is good' practice, \)ut .the amount ·is erally t~ li!Dall, This i an otrhand statement,·as no ex~riments ·. so far be~n,.mad iri fer~iHzing the orange tr~es in-.f~r_to Ri<?O, but he groves .whtch have recetved a large ·~mount of fe~thzer are cer•1tinly far ahead of those which have received less. As tO the amount kind of fertilizers, thll qu t~on seems to be l~ted to how much tree will take.up:'.· Large applications ci'f nitrogen organic forms not so fat been followed bydie-back;_in fact, di~backhasnotyet on the island and there seems -to be rio dimger o~ that '\ . .

INSEOT PESTS. 1· _Numerop.s e~periments for comb.ating t~e chief dise~ a!ld ~ts'· · O~t of k~tilig tru with />all of t41'"'1.11. ' ve been conducted by the horttcultuns~ . as well as by mdlVIdual • <;enta.

• oJra.nJ{Il 'growers throughout the last year. In order w ~~ly d~ri~e ~hole4Qby~~y ·24~oc~esdee~:.':-: ....... l: .......... .... :.•,3 it. would require. more space than· would be destrable m _this _ R~61~~g ~ ~d - mpnng 101lw•th fel,'t1hz:e~ .. . _. .•. ·. '. ·: ··:· . . :"t.,· · . . .. . 2 . wrllnort.· furthermore, it is questionable whether it would be necessary.

Diging tee w•tb b&ll or .e arth 2l to.3 C!!et m d•ameter, ......•. ·.\--· ...•. . . 8 firmly ~elieved ~the - horticulturist and by m~ny ·ofthe ~owers ,. Cart!===~:!:~7·:.·::::: :: : :::~:::::::s: ;:: ::: :::;:::.:: · ~ the present irilpe~ments .to orange growing m. P-9rto Rtco .are · •) · ·· trifling ~roubles which caJ;i htrgely b~ overcome by intelligent l'o~ .. .. ;.. .. .. : ~ .. .' ..... ~.: . ..... . . .... .. ~' ... .". ..... .. .. 10 •J)IIl.Jrit.rng-and cultivation. ·· . · ·· stale (Lepidosa~ beckii Newm.).-Ip studyl_n~ the · This ··i · -prob.o.bly. 10 cents me>r:e .expensive p r thai~, · of co~ating this pest it ~as found that .on ·a few trees m the . m ~h~l but.it ret!-dily r p8:ys the extra~cost, because when a"e lean . SL!l,t.llOn orchard which Were well protect.e~ from wtn'fl and sun the scale_ · i ·plf'nt9d th re will be but little spra)'ini to ~o and at least one'· kept i.a ch~ck by three speciCS"of fungi .. An at~mpt was made f?, . t~-~- sa~~ in 'the ,growth of the tre . .

• ,. u.:.ow.~.u.u,p.~ th~ through. the grove, but It was not successful; eVI. CULTivATING 'AND .FER'tlUZING. . ,.lt>.nt.lv the oondftio~ were unfavorable.

Trees ll .natural.. groves, ~ ' " : . ' . .

• llin lf'.n ~ p:tote((~d from wind alld -sun an~ where..the a:ir is ~~rmly' ··'It. has been the practi~ with ·:p1any of' the growerS to .leave tho are ·always free from scale, ahd several attempts to diStnbute wliole fi ld in: we.eds an:d .hoe a -ci~le ar:_(nmd each tree. Th..is has SJicli trees have afways resulted in failures. Practically ..given .th be.. t. re uJts; because in h~ihg the s<>iJ 'is not loosened' and Same resultS have been·obtained in other groves, although ·a~r a. pulv ~d ... ln other gi:OV the 1netho_d of cuftivating strips arouncj has l;Jecom~ literally.covered with_scale the fl!ngi Ca?-.no.t be relied . • ,'the ~ and leaving_th 'middles .unci.t!livated h,as been practiced, even when conditions are made favor.able. to thetr growtb. It While this is an &,)roo tid~al _ way tO enricp th' SOiJ jf th. ~ middles arP therefo;eibe tne to ,plant 'the Shll.de ·~rst, 'a nd to set no tree planted wit~ legum · and plowed once ?r_twi~ a ;rear, it has n~eer1 which 1s not perle tly free from ~le. . ·' · wh,ol,ly su~ful.h re, because'any-growt.h of grass or weeds.serves M · The orange ,snow scale ( Ohipnaspis citri Oomst.) n~arly always fol. feeeJ.ill.g and hiding place for the ~y beetle, orange leaf-weevil, and a sever~ attack of the purple scale . . It Is _difficult to overcome, ants.. It has beell found neceS88ry 'in many gr.ov s to keep the aoil· the· trees are at 'that stage ·.n ot generally in condition~ wi~h. : pe.rfectly cl_ean by _going through it often with ~Is' like disk and drag .;tand concentrated sprays. .It is improbable that. thijJ scale will cause. barrows and tootJ:t cultivatOrs. If_this,method, is fo'llowed part of the . much damage.if the purple sca.Je is kept in check. . . _ · . year, it js not a good practice to tb w~ds ~II enotrgli t11 ,The red seale (0hry.somphaltt8ficus Ashm.) has gai.I\ed a foo.thold m n~tate th USf3 _of a.·turn plow.- ~cause th!'t implement will d.~trox ome:of the groves; but it has.l?~n ca~~ng but li~tie dama_ge so f~. :. manY'·roots a!:!d prob~bll' chOOk the gi-o.~h of the tree ai:J.(l lessen it.<l 'rhe .orange Jeaf-weevil _(&dp'h.taZmus 11pengleri' and alhed spectes 18 '· vitality. . · considerable da,mage·in groves which. ar~ not given clean cultivation.' ~xperi ents made to destroy these .pes~ w.ith poisons hav~ . '· t<> bec&u

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will, with thi 1'11 thod; fonn the tl'e(•, ho~ld ·be.dug around the t~ee at .• dis~n ~·f not I than 1U t .frort lhe. trunk and d p enoug to' go below th lateral 'roots. · The··bal} of arth inelosmg the root c&n be lOosen by cutting '~lie taproot with a spade. Two men be able to lift ·the ba.{l whil t.~ third lips a piece of burlap uni1Af·· • neath.·· This may then .be tioo, 8ol! tO incTose 'he ·whole ~all, whic c&n be .Jlfied. onto a we,gori &ns transp<irted any <liatanee withou b~king. Of ~~~'!~& th' caq be don . o:nJy wh r the soil . . enoufh elay to.pr vent the -bal~ .f,rom preaking. · · . · . 1'1:1 . t of tnis method of planting was asee ilierl at;~ grove .\ · ~~m& . .,Pueblo:Viejo .b~t~themenwerr.ejust''be~ ained~1 .· '1t, ~t J.S ~robabl that the ~-can bef du _d abo,.,·t 5 cents. ..

When ready for transplanting, it. 'trench

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.. ·t· ry s<>mewhat gwiuny ~ubstft.n~e tmder the bark whi_ch is Without . I a ~ptible odor.

The cambium layer or inner b_ar!t is not ~estro:red, r>er .

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Th d' b· . been .md the e -is abie to r cup~rate. e 1se~ · ~ m no case . .. bserved to e tend b Jow - th~ soil or on the roam roots. It.has been .,b ned on sweet ' orange, I mon, gx:ape fruit, a. sour ~range, >Lit~h x10t ·oftel;l· on th latter. This :di ease is ~ftt:n ~escnbed as 1, • of a bacterial origin ':1-Iid CO\ltag10us. While 1t IS ~o dou~t - --,.•.__.. .to treat it as .such ,:t.h . mdlcations are th~t the ~-au_ses are pbystnlogical. It has been found on aU classes of s01l! hut 1t ~~ roue~ more . . preyalent on the heavier soi.ls than _on tho e. whiCh cons1st I_lla1~ly of . and It is al 0 frequently found m the ramy season, wh1l m th~ ~I y ·e~n ' the tree have -been known to overcome' it imtire~y. It ~1~ b en ob e.rved fr qu ntly on tre less than two year8.old a~d n_ot often on .tr e over _thr . It appears that an -ovcrsttpp)y of mots:lure 1 • the us<.ui.l cau e, and probably a_ll. oversupply of -plant food tend ·to aggravate the di a e. , . \ ·owndi ease . has. often ben confounded with th . effect . ?~ an uu•u•~···• .attack ·by ants, ~e au~ _ants u ually foll?w and gr. atly_aggrava~ ' the case. .Severa!.._.wnedie have been tned,_ am~ng ~Inch _ ar~ tar and grrdl paint .the )ji.'tter ma,d according to chrecttorn? g•ven m rrcular N o. 4 of this' t:.a.tion. Botli of th.ese are gQod -if the di eased bark . is first' cut aw!).y and the material painted over . the ope~ sore_only. ases have been observed whe~f these mixtme were apphe~ w1thout r~~Vi.ng the 'diseased bark, and the disease ?ontinued under th_e bark _-f) · without · int.erruptiori . Also where the mtxtu"s we~e apphed all ~( - · · around the firun k th ·. effect would be the same \I.e a t1ght band~ge, . which &oulp be de.tecte~ . twelve to eighteen rrio~~~ts ·a fter the apphcatioll wa.S made: ·· A thick soap mixture conta1-9mg about..five parts Of crud . ca:rbQlic acid is now being used succe full y'. It covers the sore11 and . a:cts as an antiseptic as 'well as a repellant. for ants. · Beaf sp~t ca.used by a fungus ·( CoZletotri,chum glmosp~es~ i~ found 6n ·the grape fruit in some groves, and thes trees are als~ occas1onnl)y attack~ by · ·a.b. Both of these . can be cb ck~d w_It~ BordeauJC DI EA. ES. mixture or aQlllloniaca\ copper carbonate,.but. t,hese ~tmes shou.ld ? . . ' .

With our pr ent kno~l dge -this ubject ·must b ~eated· with riot b applied un nec~ary, becau ,e they also the fungus som cauti !1• ince :m any. ymptOm ~r~ ascrib _d to diseas~ ~ich . parasites of the cale. · as IL matter .of fact ar cau b som phy iological derang ment.

THE PRESENT OU:TI.;OOK. · " .l:Jmming" or " gum ·.di ", occurs very frequently' in somt·. .T he que tion ~f growing an or~n?e tree in Porto · Ri~ s~ ~ to grov . . When appearin·g on th~ liinb or upper part of the trunk . :.j~ r mbl . p rosi ' a di . known as "tea,rs," 'from the .f¥t thai. . obtain the maximum r(l ult at ·mmrmum expefls~ ca.n be expre~d With the one word "exper\erice<' Groves tJ:rree: to fo~ years. ~I <:I, tb gum oft n oozes tlrrou h' th , bark in single .droP. ·. When· a'ppearwhich have been lntelligently tr~a.ted, are looki~g . ;ery prom1smg , ing ori the- trunk abo-ve. th collar roots .it re$embl~s f<>Qt rot Or maland some are b arfug con iderable fruit of good q1_1ahty.. A~ to :the di:-gom'ma in so:tp r pects; whiJe it is ~~oily dissimilar in. 'Other (m6st d~irable vari ties it impossible to state defi_rntely at_ .th~ r ts: . Th , ymp~om,s ar~ exuda:tioil.. of ~u:n ~ bark' becomin~ . pr~nt time. . ·ora~ fruit· is e:rtensively ~la~ted and 1s yery vtgor. brown ~ pots, fr q1,1 n 'Jy e~tending all .around ~he :trunk, a,nd r. no

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OU8 · 11.8 w -~ as proli.fi . tangerine is also P!Offilsmg 1 res ~- . Tb .lronon a! _ll.l promising1 imd th are bemg planted by som p'a rti · . itr.on growing i very ~rig, _ th 'orsica ti.t~~riing a larg . i1Al ·and good· qua~ty. It is Wt'lllc.nown as th oth r citru fiui , ·and this station ha therefore pl~nted 200 .• tr in .ordei:. to demonstr te th ··possibility of. thi . mdustty._ · · · · . · ~IlfE.A.l"Pi.Es.-.' . . ~- t_atlon· .Pin.e'?' ·now:. contains t~ehty~ ix v~rieties, · most · f which . w1ll )> a.r tins .ear:. All of . the vari ties are r markably · h~thy _and far ver · v_igorous. . An attetn t was ni'a.~ · · to fertili; e . m Of th plats, but· those., xp riments wre discont!rl .d. beca.u e ·th nditi9n wer st~ch t4at ~h(l results would .8.~~ been· ~littl .- or. no vaJ~ . Th _exp rlm~J1 ~Ill be . ntinued t . year io a ,[I ar-by .~}d WIUt a umfonu. sail w~ch ~as not b c ltivated ~ r' many ·years. · t . ·' • .. Tw~ ot _th pi . ·in tl)o pinery have ·b piante with ' r'!.l~n.~:ou:,•.• -~~~ a~ll- 1 wh~cl;l . are .gro ing. vig rou Jy: · ev~r~l~n w' plats a 0 ~wg ·pla'M d Wlth V!l-rloi.l .·shad '- p'o.nts which will · b . a11owed : to gro until)' -~ge en·~,ugh .t0 ha~l.e ,the gr®nd l;>efo~ t e. pines· arc p' anted. ,' ' · · V ' . ·. .~ ~~ are ·. are 'now' b'kg pl~nted to p~e in various ~~tio~s of ' · _the ~ nd, ·and it -alr ady __ 'be~n ~.emonstra:ted ' that pipes can Pt' '· . grown _uc. ssfully :Ill vera! ~j tricts,.although ml.i h land i$ und·oubt~ .. 4 Y-~¢g_·pl~ted .l :qich will ¢ ,v. but poor r 11sults. I.t ·i ·v ry ~-ffi~ . ~u~ t_<1 ~ ter~e w~ether a so~ is f.ft for p~ea.pple grp' 'ng or not; (' . OnJ.r.·rnli~~~ . t Q 1n,g to cult1vate: a · ~all - ar~a as_a triaL Hshou tl · n?t -b.e fol'g()tten .,_however, that 01ls vary :very much within a short ·: -~~ , and th, uc e in on ~ corner of.a 50 to' 100 acr pl~t js • e~te~on !o~ ·the who! .fi _Id . Iri)o.Dd about whicli: there may be any· . qu tJ n 1t IS- a_l~ay saw t to wo~k th~ oil-up in beds 6 to1...feet wide. · .• ,Th R~d P.amsh can be .planted fo.t trrows 1 by 1 inch s in beds 6 ~ . f~t Wid ~nd th . a.J.w.zonas three rows 24 by 24 in h 'S iin beds 6 '.feet . WJd.,.-' · This leaves 1 ~<X?t. oneach. side ~-th utside rows, and if tht·· paths are l~ft 6 feet WJ.d ~~~ excavat d ~to 12 inches ... p, he top of t~e . d w~ll ~ 1 t:O 2 fi t higher tha~ t,ho b!)ttom of the path<---.~hich ~11, gJV. 1;\mple dramage. . D_rrder those ~onditions the pineap~ r~lant · will ,thrive wh re oth rwlSe 1t would fat!: · · ~ th fall of ~903 about 2 acres wer plant.ed at Rincon with the. v:an ty abezona, · Th . plants were reported 0 be· diseased and th ~eld was visited in .A,.pi-il 1.~03! at th owner's requ t. The ~lantS· ~ere found to be of. n~rma.l SIZe, hut the co,lor of th' )~aves was .of a . light ·red to p~ Wl\JX white, !l'!:>o~t 50 per .eent b6ing ~ntirely_ ~evoid. of _chlorophy!_and ~ . ~han 1fi per ~t !"howing'green, the rest \. green , and white DllXi d: ~fie)~ was located n ar th . ocean, ,but in

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wa.y inju:red .by sait·water. . The soil, which was a ~Sc~· Sand, had ·CeD;t~y been cleared of iU:~atural growth, cE>ilsisting.~of c~oa1ut, Ilea grape, co¢o plum, a few sour orange, aJ,l.<,l the usu.a) trop1cal !lore lirie plimts. . The top soil; which was of · il. very fine texture, .dmost dust lil,ce, was found to be only 18 to 21 ~ch deep.·upderlaid ,, ith a hard formation of cemented san9. particles. Moisture was · . stratum, indicating the imperpr nt in an ovembundanc in th top · iousness of the subsoil. · While it was''tqlly b8iieve4 that the physical coiulition of the soil was the chief cause of th trouble, the extreme white color of the leaves · ,·night indicate some chemic.al derangement, and' exi>erimelits were . t!\rted June 2 t~ demonstrate the -effect of fertilizers. The field was c!!vided ~to ten plats, of which No. 1 was planned to be drain_,ed with surface ditClies, No. 4 rec ived an application of native guano, .No. 9 :iron l'ul_phate, and No. 10 was left for check. ' The other six plats were fertilized with.commercial fertilizer in v~ri_ous comb~ations, which was applied under the direc ion _of the horticulturist, one plat nlso receiving a'libehd amount of lime. · ·. · · . The field was again -visited October 15 and it Wa& found' that the owner had faile~~ain plat No. 1 as agreed. The plimts in 'all the plats were practically unchanged in color, but 20 to 30 pet cent 'were f<?und to be otting in the ·h eart and the h~rt leaves falling out, l<•avin_g th~ outside whorls intact. This is often met with in wate:toaked soil, llo)ld can sometimCf'be partly remedied ·by drainage and nerati,ng. Unfortunately that part of this ex~iment was not car- ~~ ~ied out, bu~ in all pr.ob~bility it· woula have be of no avail in this case. It is s'-fe to saj'tha~ the soil was physicall unfit .for pineapple . ~ro~-. ·. · . · The station pinery planted with Cabezonii.S" iii the fall of 19.03 ~ Pl. III,)ig. 2) yielded a crop' which was far ·above the average for tim ·vari ty in Porto Rico or in Florida . . Fully 95 per ·cent of the pla'nts bore fruit 1 none of which were much below 5 pounds· and the majoritiY ran:ged from 8 to 15 pounds. As the soil .in which, the~­ were.ptante<,l ~ e entially the same as t~e -gta)ority of upland soil in this ~cinity, -i~ wou!d probably .be safe to-apply the, following figures to ·a .large field : Planted 24 by 24 inches i.p beds 6 fe t wide, with pa.tP.s (i fe.et. wi4e bet~een, will give s-.~45 plants. per n.cre. . Reckoning on &. ~-ield of 5 per cerit of marketab1e fruit th.e :fust cutting, this ·would · ~~verage 4,62 . piri s per acre. These pines grown at the !!t~tion were experimented with. in varioUs ways, to demonstrate t~e keeping ·a~d . hipping qua.li~ies. One barrel was packed May 5 and sent l;>y coastwise l:>oat tb San J'uan, where it was transferred to the steamship 'Ponce, which left that port May 9 for New York, A report blank was ' B nt to the ste!V&rd, asking~ to open· the barrelMaylO and'l'emove one fruit every day ~d r.eport on the conditi!)p.. He . r_eported as I

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pt~int wh1 h may b ·.' g tabl can b gr~,v~ u 1 · ~~cn b . planted any ·tun of .. th I h wint~r ason. I Thi i ' no ratur in t ti mti n diflicult. l" · irrigatfon. · . . . . . . .· Although v g ta I growing in th 1'rop1cs· 1. m ~any ~ P cts 'I t · tha in'. thI Temperlttc Z01i , some exper•e. nee 1. neee ary in lUI UT , .

• . ' M el r to make market gnrdeniJ)g r truck farmmg o. U$.! .e. . . .

The u · ual . tru k rop of th . outh -can b p~~~ably ~own m . l'orto Rico for th . northern mark .t, :•m lo ·aht•. s bem~ m_ore . ravora lo than ther for certain . rop . But b! knowm~ the 'r qutr.~ the men t of . . . ·d ired crO]) and choo ing tH nght locality u cess 1s r'easonablv 'rtain . · · Th ,df ~aset; and in ect pe ·t nr pract.icollv t.h arne a tho ·e uf the . outhern part of the nit d tate. .

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Mango have been exp riment . d with in.odd m.ome~1ts throug~':>Ut th y a.r but on,lllcCOunt of pr~ ure of other work and Ja k .of ~ktlled .h lp it h~ been i po. ible·to' d vole much timet~ them. Larg: ~rees d1fh ult have been· t op .b udd d , u i g various methods. ·It wah found b d \1 h to make a union and ven ~re diffi ult to force t ~ u. . . uc l~a le information ha beerr' obtained, however, ·as a gu1dan e for · . i • D -~ further work. · Ninetee~'nnrched J;r have been received fT m th~ . • · part·cultur Some of th e wer inar bed mto large tr.e~ . m.en t of . . d . tb nd ~me· into ·2,..jrear-o'ld to k, after w~ h they ':ere pln;nte m e lor hard.. The .tre.es in the or~hard, wh1ch ar~ flow 2 years old, fr.om eed average 6~ feet high with a spread of 4J feet. ~1. IV! fig. 1.) 'en thou and ed were pli)Jlted in a nursery tht umm r. These 'were brought in by boy and paid tor at t~e rate of ~0 ce~ts per 1!000.

A lar e percentag djd not germinat . fho~e wh1 ~ dtd ge~uunat_e were ubj ect to a fungus disease w~ h d~ ~rQ~ea more than 50 per cent.

One thou see~ were soaked Ill a olUtJOn of ·opper sulphate ~1 .pollnq to 50 ga)lons water) for twelve hours and were then pl_a.nte~ ;n seed bed: d bed ' wh.i h bad form rly. been used for;d a bv.egetable aEisee t . I th two hty to 90 pet; cent of the eds germina~e , u m. ess ~n · weg ks th~ pl'a.nts began to die off. Both the plants and tfe.sOLl were rayed with Bordeaux mixtur every week, but very f w _rla.nt-s .s~­ Jved. This disease is not ,d · ~cti"'e to p,la.nts after r~ac~g the SL~ . of a lead pencil; a'Q.d 1t doe comP,a.ratively little d~ma.ge m andy soli · free fro,m vegetab!' matter. In Florida the tr.ouble·wa.s o've-~come by

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VEG~TABL~S ;

imp rtan of veget~~:bl :?ro ing w'a.s r ·ogri.ized by the eariy m nt of this tation " idem' d hy previ.ou anntl.al r port -.. .• The r ult of th for. mer exp rini n ·; -altbo':'gh .Jarg I i:ui,(ative, are n. t witho~t.inter t , rem . ri.1beri..ng t_Q.a.t. by making prop ~deduction n ,: n a~ive ·r ult is'. valo:ahl a.s . po iti..v ... . Th exp . ri.ments condu ted thi p t _yeat wer plan,ned to deter~e if ve,g ~aJ>l s .can he su fu_IJy grown in Po~. ' Ri o and if not, why not. Pl~~:nti~were iDla~ein -¥a:y, Julv 1 pt mber, o.nd~Ndvemb i:, 19.04, and Janu'ttfy aiLd · !arch, 1905. All of the ;pri.Rcipal ga:rden v g tables were ·planted in 'larg , enough qu~ti ti to' m ke the·r ults of pr,a. tical value. ~ lari c not, d. »;umber of vari ti wer tested and the prin ipal d' Vari u places on the i:>limd hav be~n vi. it d· th horticulturist h6 has noted the growth. and' beh~vi<?r of · eg tJ~.'bl under different . nvironment , and obt&ined numero!JS rep r· froin prli. tical gr.o~er'.

This ·h bee~ fUlly tre~ted ~{!,' bulletin of the ta'tion. ' m' ot.tl e

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· ~ u ing pur t, and in th germinating 'b d, which has al o b en fou nd ~nt~r ly atisfa.~t~ · - h re~ ·but the p.l nts ~oul~ 1~ot ~· transplanted until tb wood 1 well matured . Th1s eedlmg dJsense ts very·de tru ti.,< • .nd ver·~: fe'\\· volunteer . ed lings UrVJV. . There nre erl~ll plo<> on tb . island, how 'ver, \\·hero t>edling ·n.re·p.l.~ n'tj ful under th t' lor:r tr . ;;, tu'\d ther it ";ould pro~ably 11ot· be difiJ ul t to grow a

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Th 2-yenr..Qid tr 'es in the ;11iscellancou . .'orchard avemgo .11 feet . bi,gl\ with · a; !olj)rcttd of i ft'et. ·(PI, I\', fig. 2.) ·Fifty m'ort' have beeu plant dand n.nur t'r): eon~ainir~g about 1,000 plant ' has been started .

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AVOCADOS.

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U . S . Dept. of Air' Bu l 17 1' Qff,c e of EJ.pt. Stltlo,".' · ,

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Th conditi n of. the tl-e<:s is .m uch s .. · eport. _.The 'entrnl ·Amen('an .rubber tr cs (fias ttlloa 1e a t!ca) wh1 ·11 ave · beeu plaflterl \hre )'.~!Ill's in· ver~· r.ieh oil nre now f et higli ~v1 l: il , prel)(l of. 1"2 fe t (Pl.\", fig. 1), 'Yl)i'J · the other pllm ed i n th ' ·u tial b ·avy ·rln •; oi l ar niv 4.

6 feet hi"h. · Trees whic \~'!lre · ent to ArC<'fl>o Q;ul: Bo.yaim};l ·ha\·El' marl gro\\·t·h .imil ' · to the· t>e t of 'th . e· . when n cul i a ted and· fertilized oif. om of th '•tree~~ the tation.

P,lan.tation .. . tJbl 1'8ug ll'l growth th r suit so far 1!'begnttve. Til xpen- . · m tt~ have brollght o11t ft,~l,lowing fncts which corr spond wit~ he · ·· .. ·ext>ericnCi of t~c ho:ticul tur,ist_in £loti~ a.. The astilloo. ucce.ed~ b · .. '~ n not, tran plant d or when tran planted very yo ung, so as not;to d~. ur~ the,. roots:. A tree ix to t\vch·e 1~onths old i sever Jy'' t un ~y ..tran '}~la~tin '· · The method of ft)ant:ing. in sod and. keeping f!:ll\!!'tir<.~ clef\lltiround the trees h ns·l')o~ provCd :U ce, ' fuJ 1 ex ept ill soil w.h·i' h wquld hn\· !!Tmvn nny other tropical tr:ee ~nder· the ·snm11 ·condiH n . 1/eved. brazili n's' has. n1a.de but slo~\' growth . Manihot .. · g(f!ziO/ni has maHe a. fuiriJ'tood gr ' wth n ar · an Juan, wher a few tr ·-. are planted in a ):nrd. It i of courr.e' nltivo.ted and pl'obo.bly fcrtiliz d. . mall eed lings in the tati01r nur ry .have been .n,ttacked b ,the c avo. bud-magg?t, which , however, does not daiitag(l !urger tre . ·

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~OE-LLANEOUS PLANTS.

Th following r port does ~ot in .lud e all of thp plimts under ex , Ji:.. · ment by the horti ultural d partmeut. ~fany have been ()rnit ted beca · it w'as thought that the condition ).meier which tl11iy were , plante<i'&nd th ·. carer eived 'afterward were wholLy unsuitable. Th .m lliay .b aid about some of tho ·reported upon, becau e. a,field · inade h re can not b aken as a. cr'terion for the whole i' land. 'rh chi~f aim of th . ex~riltlent ' is' t'p se ure ~lata for :r: port ~pon plan ,whi · h may b of. e-onomic. interJ:lst. This :wiil· bring them· to ' . . ,• . ...... .

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' FIG. 1 .-CASTILLOA _RUBBER·

TRE~S OF. SAME

AGE IN f;ERTILE L OAM AND HE.AVY

· CLAY SOIL.

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1h attention of t.h planters, a; nt~mber of whom are alwJJ.y glad lo r·ooperat.e with th tat.i n. After il. plant bas been tri d in'the various lo ation it will b po · ibl i:.<z ~nak . an int llig nt and full report.

J{Er APPr-il (Aberid ca.ffra).- Plo.nted mall plant' ptemhrr, 1903; pre nt.h ight,6f i; spr a~,7fe t; planl ~tealtlty; hav not.fruit. d, ·hu els wher fruit r ported to b of f1~ir quality. r mising as a hedge plant" for Porto Ri . · . AP nn.J.A (.Acllra-9 sap6ta).- Thi i comm oly gro\vn in Porto · Jmo, bi.tt it i of slo-.: gr9wth 'whil young. Two-Y. ar-old plants 'i n · th orchard ar . only 2- fe .t high. It j a promi ing market fruit, and it c~n b gr wn su e fully in t.h drier ettions of lh i la~d.

ANnLE~'Vf (.AleuriLis m.oluccana and A. corda ta ).- The first mentioned i · found . mare or le s frequently on the i ·land and i a · fairly · qui k-growing _tr . Th latter was s cur d from the . . D partmerit of Agri ultur and plant d in July 1904. I~ i a tree of outh bin se.origio amd ought to thrive here but it has been r port as a practical faih,u: from all over the i land. n would l1tw been a valuable a cjuisition, as i~ yields an ex ellent lac varni h. ' · , O.a !niw (.Anacardiv.m occidentalc).- Thi s is a tree commonly grown in Porto Rico. Th fruit 'i edible and lik d h~· the natives;. but of . que tionable. mar~ue. Tre plant d ptembcr, 1!)03; are now 7 feet high, with a spread of 5 f 'et.· . · IIERI'MOYA (J,I.nona chmmoli<t).- Tbi i 'one of ·the be t fall the aoono.s and highly prized for it lu •iou fruit. mall plants set in the ·· ·orcharc ptember,l903,ar n~6fee high ,witha spr it.dofGfe t.

The s\veet op, sour· op, and ·u tard o.ppl (t1f:onr£ squa.mo a, A. muricata, .and .A . retic:tflata) are· grown all OYer the islancl. A. squa:mo a is \1 mlly called cherimolia here hut the two ·hm,tld not be · ._ cottfoun~r d; as they ar' quite di ·t inct. Of th tr es planted in the . -orl::hal"J(i two car ioce, the .A. muricata i. the mO'!l '"igorous.:_h ight , 11 feet; ad ; 5 fe t. · ' P 'No APPLE (.Anona glabra).:-Plan ted eptemher, 1903; pre nt h ight., 12 fe Li 'spread , 11 feet; prolifi bear r, hut frui t f no comm r-

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cial valu e. . .A.PPLE.-The - Early Harvest and Re(l \ strachan vnrif)ties were re6ejved from 'Fl rida and ·planted March ; 1905 . . Both have made ati factory gr w~h, aithough the I ave ho.v been disea eel.

BREJ\Dl'RUIT (Artocarpus sp.).~Both th ·e d~bearing and. eed l varietie ar. found 11:11 ov r the island . Th t e ar qui k growing, but succe d best hen not transplanted. The eeill variety ~s .prop~Y gated from cuttings: Tree in orchard planted from u tings 0 tober, 1903, are no . 9 Jeet high, with li. pread. of 5 f ct. · . · . J K FRUIT (.Artoear-jn.Ls integl'ifolia).- Thi is highly re ommended from lnd:i!lo and e-ylon. vera! trees have been planted in the orcho,rd • and'a.ro groWing vigorously.

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tt MUO (A. •m-h:oo carambola . - ed were -obtained from Lu<'ia and .. ~linf?S· plan~ed .,in th · orc_h ard F brt~,ary; ~004. Th art- making V<·~~ I \v gro~:th . . \n , . rro(Bkaor tlana).7"":'ThL plantproducingth annattocolorinpht\.i not b <'n o.f mmercial v.al :e. of lat(' years, hut inquid have been 1'f t'iveu lat ly from firms in. the · nit cl. tates, and the~c · eems to b · a po · ibilit ·'for th.e pr 'duct coqn1wrcially: Th tr e ·grow readily lH•re, and hear .a good croP. in righteen to twen.t y-four months .froril ·planting. Tr e .rilan~ed in Hte OJ:'chard ptemb r, 1903, ar-c now in b aring. . ·

. .. in t h ' world' market, and alt hough t.ho indu try . rank t\lD~~g the b ~ . . f ~- mean importance to the I land . No . is not so" ry ~t nstvet tt I odn:o d ''t is v ry important that the bac.. dl e e has b n note ' an I . serlOU , d !er ial heart tot h O!J.ld n t be introduced. · f 05 wht h appeare . · t d 'nth smnrner o 19 A disease was mve ti"'a r 'd tl caused by an outflow f sap . n th trunk as black pot ' evl en y f d to extend about ·half k th sn.ots wer oun ' .

•\.ftor plitting th ~nm ' ~ . e h.- · t' lly with the softer portiOns . ....., . d (rt0 me es v r L a ' . .. ld b vay to the c nt~r .an . . x 0 d. . everal spot wou e deca ed and the mdiVldual fibers .P t d A small borer beetle, found clo tog ther, ·but •ldom co.nn cf ~;,leboru w'as though to · ·Thovr· l. PAPAW · (f'ariropa[XJ:ya~ grow · to perf 'on in a l _rt I not d~ternuned , bu probably a p cbes :f ~ho e in e~t ~ r~ ente} ing of_ the isla~d; hut C'. quercifn.tia a n;to~ hardy p i~s ha · .inv~ bly \ fall d .. . . . . be th primary c_ause, a a large numh ter firs t drop som I ay ard . f . d' 'd al tree uc re Th . t 1 of this Sp y hrub v . ) . ~~ Tt' NG!-I:.A (raris a arauinp). ne plant . the trunk o m lVI u . . h l and finally' die. ' e lf!SeC · • p lant<>d . ltgu t; I 903, and is n ow .lfearing fru it. The-'<' .·· t i' of pirrk then ' the fruit an~ the rest of t fa: 'It i repelled by a c6ating of olor : ubacid,. not tmli ke · a small pltim without tlie pit. · It is w II enters chi fl y a:t a heig~t of61~obe to whit wan the r:unk of all· · ~t . ortl e. t,.;n ive ·Hi an tin .for horne ta' . · · · l; . , · .' ; t~ick wqitew~h, and ~~ '~ou le . Where the in ects are ntlmerous .aJ?. . ' the trees .1\.S htgh as pra~ttca.b . cl robably l:ie beneficial , ·. ·· Dtv~-DIVI { •. a_lpinia coriaria).-Thi s leguminou tr.ee, t!r 'po!l!!. of . the or hard ·ate vigorous . ·. ad-dition of crude carbol tc actd wou.l p : rhich ar j ich .in' tn,nnin, i · makihg· 's~tiS~'i\,Cto'ry ~m~th , and; _it ~ee~s . t~W'i:d:tt) me trees m fru ·t [.. probable t.ltat ft llJII.Y be of ,.ro!Jlll1l'rt<ra.l 1m.portan n, Porto· !ij1 o, rf . . AKEE· (Oupama s/.c ... :, . ree can be grown here. The l pt nll'd i 1 larg() enough quMi'ti.oc~. . · ••. ·and h althy, indicatm that thd tT . :I d and .it 'outrht to be grown . .

J ~ · a an -rtmc a . o · · Ill hlv prized m amatc .·. TE ,~ ·am Ilia t/ira).-;-.·orie ofthe fou r arieti~s p.lan~ed in.Jt:IY, , , IS g • . .h '} I $, has . f t" made · ati factory growth; . ~lant hav~ been u is- · in Porto Ri oJor orne use. ) - ""Jhis plant grows in most cl~y sot s • ltibiite<fto olh r,part of. the island, but it i ye t-too early to renort . Tun!in<lRIC ( 'l,lTcuma .longa . . . ne of the wor. t weeds rn ome n tbei;t>. ' · -·without th I a t care; m ~act, Jt ~~l~w· dye which has been largely .

T.A R . A'fP~ (C'hry~ophyllum· cainito) ..;Two va~ieties of thi a're localities. Th root ont.am ' I~ yd. s but as ther has heen some . · m c ially by an1 · · t an ce· ·. comr:n· hly'~-,~wn on the .i land . Both were planted·. in the orchard replaced corn . .m ) ' sibly be of ome 1mpor inquiries dbou t_t he l?lant 1~tely It m~y k~ The varieties, H akume, . ,pteinber, !903,.ft..nd the tr a:r now 7·feet J1igh, with a spread of 7_ •. ' T,A_ pAN PERSI~Ul0N (Dta pyros d~ t . ·h. e e·p)anted fnApriJ , 1005. f t. ·.AltJl ugh th frutt i of~fa:ir qu~Jity, it is not prob.abl~ that it . "r- r N · d y e "o-1c 1w r . h ill he om of commerci-al valu .

- 'H achy Oka'jlte, Tana-J as111, a.nr . to nd the leaves &re !dTe ted Wlt The g 'O wth ha not been satts a . bry a b erv d on the ,north ~ide of . ~- 'oc A,. P~n! (('hry ,obolanw ·icaco).--;-Th.i i one of th co.mnron ..

Tree have een o · .::. ' hore-J;ine'.pla.nt ' whi h bears prolifically in' the b~ach 's and without s~m;te ·fun!!lls d tsease. . . . no better condition . . · ,..ny care,. It i · q.ot dependent. ori that environment, however1 a8 it the i land ,, in sandy sot!~ '~htc~'l '~ete~me trees set·in the orchard a ·few . LoQ AT (Eriob_o tryf!o Japon~ca .- I h t 'n n·o large t rees have been . grow ,i·ea~i!J In the.o.r .hard. 'the fruit i often_y ed~fbr P.r er':es ~~d kin"' ra ptd growt 1 , u . f. d t I t'h .p lant IB an acqm rt1on to Ufe hqme garden. . · ' : months on y a:rc Ta •':? \d b im ossible to judge o t_ts a ap aobs rv: don the tsland tt. wou I ~ . p ell-drained s il and not culMPH R (Ci7tnam&mum ca,;plWra) ...:_Tbe ~a:mphor tree is ·not'::i· bility.. .It should ~lw~y. be P ant ·fe~~~~. . · . ' · promi ing in thi .vicinity. La.rger tr e hll:ve' b en ob erved in al'\dy il, but .n oq that'-would indicate. a profita.,ble indu try. tivated too de~ply, ~ ~~ IS~ su:fa)c~This is thoroughly at hom~ here . RosE .APP,LE (Eugenw.. JaTYt .~s . \ , C1. · A.M ·; ( inna~um. cassia).-The cinnamon of commerce is ,a~d Ca.n .be grown all ~er .thebisla land-). -One tree planted' September;. ·C.. zey#lnic:tim. Tlu specie i said to yield ·a good bark, however, an,d ( FJ o na · · · it ms to be promi ing her ' on tree in the orchard ' be'ing 11 feet.

JAVA PL M ~uge":w. 'Jam . h ·as read of 4 feet. , . . high, with a. pr ad .of 7 f e.t ..

1903, is·~ow 5! feet high wt.t. m~tchelii) -This small ·bush, beanng ~ SuRINAM CHERRY ('Eugenw. II . .th Florida a~d will probably C' UT ( .OC08 nuci ~):-Th r are .no _ l arge areas pJ@ontecJ. )Vith · • • red cherryi.Jtk fruit, grows ~e . mld~ul in the orchard have not · Oc.oanut in P orto Rico but it ~·alw&\- ·pte nt tn th hor line flora · ., succ~ . d well here·' The .t.wo-,year-o p an . . . . whe -y r: th conditions are favorable~ T:he cocoanut of 'f'orto 'Rico ' yet borne fruit~

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Or II ' I:fE .\P PI. f: llU£ o hlltd t\N' nuw I 0 ( t h irr't ·' tl1 . 'l'wo-y r-old lr iri thl' · . r-,' " '' a pr ad of 6 f t .

A Or M . E P I \S T ( F.rytl ( .· . tri_ t ·rej)('t\l dly in ·!he ·· r~iltmi b~~~~ ~"~ ~ora) .:-:-Pit\n.t8 hav b n· h n a. frw in lt hi" h ft . ·h' h ) .U. ~' ay bloom and b ar fru i 11 b tb I . .. I r. \\ IC t h ,. d II' h u u 1ze of tl plR.nt . 1 b · · . u , 6 f t high. f M~.~· L~'ll indl<.'ating ' n:a:t,~t 'nil :b rved Ill a yar_d _i n th cit ,'. ' (' nd1t1 n . . ~rown h r under favo rabl 1 Fr ( i-' trt/ ' 8 rortea) · · · · ' --~ram· y • r· 1 · /. buJ_all_ltan-· failecf. . . - . ~ fig.tr .;rjl, :; 1a.ve b n t ri d at th tatiqn. lo· md lcatr that firr~ r an he y • -;Tct heeJl oh erv d in Porto Ric'o und · grO\m urr<'ssfull y <E · . r way .t ~raft nt o F · ~ .. 1. . ·. 5' .·pertml'~nl't· 0 t. 1 111 , wt•1I make 8 mor · , .·ppo "tt o ta and F· glo1 a ta, w ~ ir IUifo'rtnly n all thl.' fi ,, tr . IJ:tborpu plant. . A I af(i 'Nl. oc u. I , ". e o.. rved ·· • · h c·k ~''•1.1 h. B· r caux nu:Xture.

• . her an prob~ Y be ke 1. 1 . :• t : • f. • 00 !EEK .((;arrillia· ). . . . ) man;v-t b tb Ill t d li<·· . l a frmt, ro~id red 'by with a t this~ tation . Thl:ut~ If\~ l lr'·orld~ r no w b ing l'xp r'meil.Ced , . r<'e 1 o •ery Jo, .

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• V gi'O W t, I V.~ ' J y • U' O<>,_ • • • . • II. lO ll nr small YC't 0 • ] ' p Je t t)le (; ,mango lana i · .. . .. . . . tnt ted, . n allted 1 ohta' d · T · · ' · c~Jin g wmu t· ::. .• • 10 ) In _rtnld a.tr and I Ji "I 1 th LTC . t:US·~\'Cre h .~ght r-t ft'(' t ; spread 3· fr l'l ' . ... P anted ~J ar h, 1903. P r Jl t . ·~E.N i r>A·r or Ji\ot:A (f,'f·Jii . ·. part (' th i ·land T l f I . _mrncet71a ).--: I h! grows \Vild in' o t ·.· ..,. · · · lC run I ' eaten by tl · · · mon I,\ by for<' ign . It i of · ' ·. IC nat1vc , but not ~m- : H HIE u'! 'b·' . no rommE'rr Juh·ulue.

• · • • ·~· .

1 ur-us sa& darij(a ) - TJ · ~ , ·. J mal il. s rrel i' l>:·c'o . . . 11 ptan t, whtch is ofJ cn called :fi · · · ' " mm,g prom m nt · · 11 · 1g .. 2). lt an l1e - urce fu ll . . a a J<' Y pl ant (P.I VI ·d • · • ·. . n . . 1 am 1 pr f •rabl T' !!rown . 1 m -all 1. e. 0 f so•.1-, although a ea h WC're pl ant ed a t tlli . s t t' o ~ a\ about one-ci!!hth of an acre . ·. rj pen fnti'L. in •ptcrnbc~ al;d!O'n mt .. 1(!-rlc h. T he pfaril b gan to t' f D · · · r n mucc fruit iA" : · On 1 t ' .. _.

P,a ,_on 1ow !!rotmd which wa flo d ,-· ,. un I em_be r . .rh_ . n did not produce much f ~~ sl"verltl tim throughout rl ptoduc _d·-l pound of frui t· ·r I nllt. Pl ~ni on wcll-dra iA d .th u fu l 'part. Plant . oh . . dp an~ avemrr•ng 2 pou nds of:'cnlyx ·· · n e at .n 1eblo · · · . . I<'JO, m . a nd . loaiil " ere e l llllll.t<'d to yield doul J·e ~th the ca lyx hould ·J;e porat >d .f at a~l unt. T pr par the .frui ' may he fed to h 'gs and' goat m t e ' e d . apsu fe . The latter' Th~ cal_v . ~·an b tnade int o. ·.<>II'' ~e eed~ nrc a l · good p ultry f ed. ":hl~h. the j lly r . mble wr~- ~uc~l th~ u ual way, ljk _cranberries, _q ual amount of water 'qu •zec1 thr. t -cnn al ~ b lied \ ith an bottl ' which ma,r th n be ter 'liz ~u?.J~ a colander, ·and filled into fu~ur u . ugar and ye . t rna al( ~~~ ho t wat r a.n_d co~ked for . !d to mak<' a Vl'ry good b&t -~ ·.t add d .to thJs, when it is a.J ~ air--dried or dri d in ~ fnJ· k\ or r o~ ~eer . . Th - alp r an· ut vap<>ra t r, m whjch on 'tion it

?:

m.ang~tan. --'!'hi&

o

;a a . .

{I

',

..

will k p for a I ng timeJ The fr h fruit ither with or ' ~ithout the d cap ule will ke p ·for at l .a t two w k and may P shipp d to the tate \lt. w ll-vefltilat.ed' <frat · . It is firmly believ:ed th8.t Lhis fruit wiil b of considerable valu · when in troduced in the United tate . The ri h red · color nnd acidity hould mak it a j> pular arti I for oda-water- fountain . It would al o be we adapteel for mi.x.ing \vit.h other jelly fruits for color· and a id ity, whore artificial pr~aration ar forhidd n. or ttnQ irable. The stem ar reported to contain a fiber qu'til to jut . This ha not l.>een 'te ted her , but it i well worth' consid . ring at th present .pric of fib i-. This plant · su' c ed b t wben not transplanted, and it is th r fore b tter to 1 Jay off row 5 by -5 f · t and drop a few seeds in o. '11 check. · The seed germiqat_: quickly, but the fi rst few months the plants do not row v ry rapidly. After the plan ar well developed all b t ~ne in each ~ull' hou)d· be removed, and the soil should oe k pt clean until th growth makes cult ivation impro. tico.bl .

BAnRADO 'HERRY ( .illalpighia glabra) .- This tr e gp)WS r adily ' lu~r . and frui ts at an ' arly au . Two-year-old tree in _the or ~ard · a·r 5-f et high with a spr ad of 5 fe·e t and bore fruit thi _year. The _fn1i t is ·v ry good f~i and d erts. · · · · ) L\MME APPLE ( Mar~m.ea amu.ica71a).- This grows r adily all over the island. Two-year-old trPe in the or hard il.l;e· 4~ feet high and well bran hod, h'om whi ch it will b seen that it is not of rapid growth 'the firs years. / Th frui t i eo.~ in jam by I he native -and ~o some extent hy · foreigners . . Th tre i a prolific bearer; and if th frui t could bo u~iliz d commercially it woultl b • of om lmp9rtance to the island . ·' .

PA.NISH J . IM E 0 r GL EP ' ( M f licocoa bijuga) .- 'this g~o,vs readily .h qre, llltJ ough not very fast. The frui t i aten,J:mt it will-probably n •ver be of importance ommcrclally. ' ' atA'N ( M ons taa deli ciosa.).- This aroid bearing tt deliciou · fruit js .not found in Porto Hi co, bu t a 'few cuttings were 'recently di tributed by the epar t ment of Agricul ture, and tho o r> ·oived by th ~ ' lo.tion ar growing,w n. T~le plan t u ·c cos be t in a rath r rhoist, .· half"shady . ittla.,t ion,,pli:mtad c\o[,J c lo the 'L r\1nkof a. tree, or hett r, o.~l old tump. These ondit i ns can of course, be found nearl y an ywheF in Porto R! o, and the plant i w II ·'vorth exten ·ive· ulti at ion.• BANA N A ( M 1.L8a p .) .~The botanical collectioh at 'the station compri .es sev •nly -va.rietic . The be t of these are being planted in order -to lest th rn horti ulturally. · \ · , M LBE RRY (.M ortL8 alba).- Thtl thre varietie , Engli h, Frencl~, apd bin ; hav b n plant d ·n·the grchard 'a few months only, but the ·t rees have made:a growth f 7 to 9 fe tin height· and :4 to 6 feet in , spread , th French b ing th -more·-vigorous. ·One. variety obtained on the i land h.as been gr wmg in tlie orchard ·r~r more than a year . . \

.!

.

'

40

41 irtm fTlUI-fawJ. , P . mollr, P . guineens , P . friedrichsthalianum ; and- P. utltl yamttn.. Th<· 2 P'' irs ar . repr nt d by muncrou -varieties, oll of which su ~ d wkll here' 6xc pt th cattl yanum , ~ hich are . ubj ct to ' ~he hrinking or mummy disco refsrrrd ·tO a.b.ove.

Mo NTAL'f PL M. , (Rheedia edulis).-This is a. slow- rowing'. tree related to t,h ma.ng te n. On plant in' th or ho.rrl 's making ~atisff\ tory, although low growth. · -T""l'ARIND ('Tamarindu.~ in4ica).-Both a sweet IUld an acid var.i ty ate f und emi-\vild in f»ost p rts of the i In rid. . l'wO:.yeltr-old trc~s in th or hard or· now 7 rc:et high wi~h a spre~~:d of 7 fe i.. · It is not improbablo that o. mark t could· b ·reatcd in the nit d' tates for 1 thi fruit, o. d it o Pqr_to Ri o would b abl to supply ltnY, reo. onable d mand. Th . tr_· succ ds w II on th nry dric t portions of the isl~~:nd weil a '"h r it is v ry w t, although it d not produc so mu h. frui~.in' tho httt r lo -aliti s. , · ' CA AO (Theobroma cacao).-This is not produce4, in omtnercial qua.ntiti nth i land, althourrh'a. few'tr es a.re often grown ,for home · t .• _Nin ' va.ri tie' fron1 Trinidad, tog th r with two · qornmonl_y _·grown hi>re, w r planted in June, 1903, in a. thickly for sted vall y. ~h natural growth ~en cut out from time to tim anll cuttings of Erythrina micropleryz and Gliricidia mac-ulata have been plnnted.

Th first n.a.med i .far' uperior to the ~thor; two-y~ar-old trees from cuttin 'S a_r now i·s £ et high and well branched. The cacao is growing well, th tre srb ing 5 to 10 f~high according to location. . This moth d of planting i very uccessful and serves to ilf tstntte the difthis a.nd. the rubbeF r ported upon \cp.

In this ference b tw: th natural growth '\\:U left and the soil i ){ept .n\Oi t and in go d ·wrule in t~ vn11ey\vher the rubber wns pla._n t d the-natural _- gro~th ~a.d been cl 'arcd off and th soil wns in vezy poor condition : for tr e gro-ivth. ' 'y be mentioned that where the cacao is w II shnd d it-is v ry ·It healthy, while if -th larg r proportion of hade is suddenly removed tb I aves p_ie off and the lr i ch eked in growth . · VoA-VANOA (l q,nglJ:trici edulf.s). ed were obtained in l'rinido.d dlings pla~ted ill the orchard in Mo.r ' h, 1903 . . 'l'bese trees are . and now 7 fe thigh with a. spread oJ f t. Th fruit is reported as being · worthy of cultivatqm, but ou"rs have not yet fruited.

VANILLA (Vanilla planifolia).-'l'hi i not'cultivate commerically in Po:rto .Ri o~ A f w plants ha.ve b en r ported- from vapQUS pia , but the writer ba.s n vcr had the opportunity to insp ct ·the'm: lfl cor? ponding with per on who desir to pla~t vanilla: the advice·. has. always been givell to b 'careful in ·_importing. uttings, so· as to , avoid -the introdu tion·of the vanilla disease of some of· the other W rst Indian islancm.

1.

en~

.,

.\

3~) .

-rD

• 1

l .

_,_

42 . '

)'

43 . .

.

UPO:aT ·oF_THE COFFEE SPECUus~.

Dy,J. \v. ''A>~ i..,;&Nnon·

._ Tllt- irn• tigatiot) .. with . co free ha ~ .. . . . . .. .

9."1'e€m .nt Ill ell i ned in prev.iou e -b en contmued . under thP . :In .t h sc parts of " 11~ ''I' .. .r-eports. ' " " rop1r wh th I' ' bl_e to th, ·.' .rth AI'neri o:r E . ere c nnat is esp~cially agree./ Th.i$ coJ~dil'ioil- P!'t>vails in ~~ hi .,:~o:ean, _coffee.' _P: a rul_ ; grow - be t. . , \' . P!)rto Rrro ; no fin('·r dimnt c·a~ be- f greeiJ.n the ~ountam dl tricts -of tur.t> rangto bt>tW(Jen 60 to 5o .F ....oduncl J_n th ·World. Tho temp ra· ·c · an wule -durin th · · p t mbe-r. t o· Dl'o<'mber, rnin fall .., . . . . g ramy sea.son m nth alld the' 'veatlwr c~nd-.t. ·. s -contmuou ly up 20 . . ' I !ODS "-rC )(' . eit) · · ~<'1:1·' ·b'Y t}.te. we,ather con-ditio · . plea an t, t ·t-his , .• ' 1Y. th~· fi~t four, mo~t hs. of of fhe e:ftt remtiin· 1g, and '· ~~~ar . 1~0. toi ::.O inrhes. . . e !e~r. he total r . fall for >t . : ,ffe Ctln.-be pFofita.bh· grown. on noarl . ,. . . '. .. ~bey d .not r tail). wnte~' Th h . Y. all k-mds of soil provided . ~o bt' 9~ ·idet!'<J. before tlto ch:r:c:r ::!Cal ~o~diti~ . of tlie oil aJ. . ~ t~l I st.Jo an·~ it~ (_'an still he had at a.b mposJtJOn . VI~g-in - ft\re t .s H - ~ . lp to a f{.,,. j·pup.;·_arro th~ cult.' ' t ' .out 10 Pf~-~re. . .1_· . · duct · "' · '• "~~"a 1on · ' · . ed I·1~ a Wry primitive'' . of'coff .

CO ·as generafl • • On(' t.l:iHsJiinent of a con'no' e..> . -~: . rn.r.e that t ime, however t~, · · · ·~" Apcnrn!'nt t t' , 11..c tn mod<>rn .pmctlcrs~a" f .• . .· . a JOn 1, ll,l-S .brou<>ht about . n - 1 ~ -.J , "' or exam ple th 'i t d · · ur;w~;~ uvus. "hidt nr!' now found .. .' - e . ~~ '"o u~tiot). of eed lfnd . and Pt'inuJo tqfl"c dl tri t h . evN)" here m ·t he Important Pofl were :d-\ .. . .c s w ~re II. few yea~ li.go on..l.r volunteer,plan~: . . Tli!-'N h{l , iiPf' n a prono . d .. .. .

• . f · - . . unce 1m · · o _P.orto Hicp . . The crop f t] provem_e nt .m the coffee industry th . 1 . or lt' '8 on . f HIO . . . ·. . ere ~as,J>e!'n an a.ppr~ciable dv . ·, . o . 5 JS ~1Uch larger· and . ~n:unf>n . e ta.blished ·'a a?ce.•m pnc~s . . The insular gov- . · P''l'nl'~"' ·' f . . mmermal a"<'nc,· lii NT 1. . .-_· ~--.v""' v . mtroducing. thf• Po~ Ri "' "· ~ ew ork for ' the . ... hi.-e- t te · . and also to •rve witho /~n cofJ;e .. to ' the ~e t t rade . m p ante . . . . . . . u cost a_ a sellmg agency for. o' A k'' ur .

-~d of;hitter ta-ste 811d , po ibl . · - . .

I_ r~ n. preventing- the introduct(o y " e~k. r str~ng-tli w~re gi en as ·~ mted tales at remunerati~e IJ r? ou r o~ee. mto the markets ot' ~ace tomed to the fin e .J.~~-va coff:e Ice ~ a i tl}e fust---ela. trade tliere .· where a larg-_P and fin!' IDokin Qean. i In tho~ cotmtnes of Et~rope coffe find a good mark~t. fhe l ll<J.>preCiated, our .first-grade .;: . gn;>~>~ bean, poli hed and colored -~' lr~et demand a _l~rge, cl~n ID\1Ch ompla.int in the nited t 't~ Jc 1 atter pr?~e ing has callS(!d· .

Th -la...,.er ae . . .

-.., pa.rt of last y a.r's cro of t h . ·. ' ~ c n p r pound d liv red in -P op f eh.ixpe-mnent station sold at et . cond grades wer sh.i ~.. ~~~or s P.me~t to European mar.

• • PJ""'-' m large qu antitie to Cub ~"' · .a. at a

·an

t:S

u.

!m

co

f

pric of .about 10~ cents pel' pound ·this being due to the fa o.rable tariff concl,itions with that countrr. _ . . !n order t() ·obtain tM.e higbe i prices for our coffee in t he nited tates we 'm ust be.abl to eOinpete with tho fine gt:ades ~f Java coff e, arid with thi . end in view the coff c' experiment st.ati.on i~ow grow'i ug fine coffees from all parts _f the world . Samples of these add the result of thei·r c'ro br edin g w.ill be ont to tho. · nited States mtl.rket, and af.ter,due consideration of their diffe rent qualitie , selections wilt be - . made and· the planting 'iif the selected varieti'e -recomine.nded to our coffe growerS an'd if possibl!' seed or · eed lings will be pli~cecl at their rdi riosaf. At the arne time, !'xperin;ent _are under w·ay to increaso the produ t ion ·per !WI' , which now _averages nboilt 350. pound · a . .

• ,. against far larger_outputs in other countries.

- · 'l'h~ iht rior of Porto Rico seems J> culiarly adapted to produc.i11g t~le finer grades 0~ coffee, and it would seem that those varictie t)lat bring the "top prices in the _Dnitcd tat~s are ·the ki.nps ~oward '"_hich we should. turn OU~ lttt~ntlon . ro grow l_Wh ·offees wou,ld menn It · ery materia) in rease in 'the prices re eived. In this cpn'ne ·tion the ·station- is exp erimenting with differel1t methods for incrc.asing the :rield and- iJnproving t)m\iltality ofthe product . Thi work is not.only alon<Y he lm es of better cultural -m.ethod , b.u t test 'methods ·af pruning, kind and . a1~o~nt of fertilizer; cro sbre djllg, etc.

The cofTee-expe.r:iments consi t of: (·1) Introduction of new vari!'ti!'s; · .of wh}ch ~roves of tho follo"·ing 'lltf.ve been -planted : Abeokuta.from St: Lucia, Alta Verapaz f,-om Guatemala, Haitian ; Harrar from Aby8sinia, h,y brtds from C!lylon. Konu ffo m Jln.w~ii , J.,iberin. from !VIn.ragogype from Java, }larago{!y pe from. Guat~malu., Mauritius _ • Java ,· Menadq. froni. elebe , :Multipll~ !'ed hom Porto Rico, ~- PadJi;ng from Sumatr~_t, Philippinean , Pren.uger fra:m Jn._vn., Robustu. ' 1 from JaYa, ·.stendphylla from Jan\. . Although among the. fore going _· S vern ·a esir b)e Ones wiJI probably be found ,· th!'y l' present' onJ r IL sma-ll number ofthe varieties of the world. It is recommended tlutt step be Ll).ken to secure a ~ompletc colle ·tion of the differ~nt .hi~h­ l!rade coffees of other .countries, so as ~o be able t o determin e. the liest for Porto Ricah ()~ndit~on . .

(2) Selection of varie'tie of d!'sirable quality for th market of tho United States and~ distribution and· reprodu('lion of sfl.me. - ome of · • t li introduced' varieties will benr .iheir fir. t -crop 'duri'·n g the corning ·year,.a~d it isheped ' that in a hort time it will ·be .possible to determi11e th ir quality when grown in Porto Rican soil. As soon a d:o ir. -abl .selections ca.n be made, ·coffee seeds or plan_ts wiH be distributed · . in various e.ctions o.f the Island' amohg repres 1'1 tative planters. . .

(3) · Improvement of Porto Rican coffee by difTerenbmethod of.cul- · .. tivatron nn:d ·by cro" br eding/with other ·desiru.ql~ v1,1ricties. Up to , the pre ent 2,269 'Porto Ricp.n tree have been pl~11ted in seventeen

.\ .

~nd om .

A!l· th pl-ant ar doing well; of tl1 · m will give first thl year,J>yt n t ' ufli ·i('nt t ·be.ahl ·to show te ult <>r 'permit o(, ·l('ttion for fu'fm ti .c. Ho"'e~er, notigh hns b ·n det rmined to how. tl1 . profitablen '> be improved cu lturaJ :method . · of the t Jnt -bear(!) are .viclding over 2:pourids ·p r tree (Pl. Yf •flg. · 1), wl1ich i .. everal, fold above th avcrnge ·of -Por~o R:ican <'tlfT e, · · . . · ., . ·. · predictl'd· in th . forrner ·1· port the crop of 'I 904 wns a poor one, not nloll(', In I ll<i· (,!Uil.lit.v o( b rrie ' hnrv ted, but .al 0 in ·the weight f niarketoblo r,o(fp~ dbtaii1ed ·from the b<'rries. The heav bloss.o mand ·ath<'r .c'tiuditions of thi e far bett r result fur th~ pl't'. ~·nt <'l:op (Pl. Y, fi~r: 2), . . . . .

· fi fd_. rri

01~e

comifl~·

ftH~orllill<'· w

iU"-

yeor.· pro~i

p~ri.ment ,~-o~k

~he

l:hP e · al ha. no\v app_roached the end of the construe- · ' \ t'v }><'rind. .\II tlw Inn l11 ee .ar.r in immediate fuLure ha8 . . put under uJti~·ntiou and according t~ the gr wth of the rom.~g . difT~>r~ht .·periment~ rnn b.e tit~en.i~ h'un_d , w~1ile in th ~P d. · : e. · ) '~I·Jl~ llf ' 't bus .f111' ·uegun have nePn C0llt1pued ~nd . Oll ld ..i. tlt~ in t!w emni~~~ crop. ~

· ··.

·'

· "t . ::

-U. S. De pt . of Air .• Su i ''1 . Offtc;e of

bo~"20 n~r~~ of:yirgill f~)restl!tnd bave n~~ b n e~ · ared to

p ~

g~

~~ oi'

. 0"'

~~ "'o II)<

·6!-i z ... c z

~,!,

..,0 .-<, •

"'

() > ' O"'

~ ~ -, ,.,o ' ;;! .

1'1 ·

I" "0

· • EXPERillllENTs. WITH iiEw PLANTINos.

. · iJt in' .5 I .fi _lds. ·.3 -tot which nr a ,ig1)ed

,,

·iL la.i(f', '

"'9

experin;tents'wit'~ . offc;e · ·

. a~ 17 to e.x~riiJlenh .with econotnic pl!].n~ \~~lch rttmrove of :v;al

tt~otfe . g'l'ow r (Pl. NII, fig ..],: . ·, . · ·V ) . · · The CO.' t )>l~r a<'r o( pr p&rlng 'lhb,land, ·.planting with coffee, culri atio1i' wn ns. follow · -· . fo.r on ' .vear ' . : · ~· II' C · dhr ' , · . . · · '· f! mg o~ a n u mng .. .. .... .. ................... . ... ..... . SILO() Lining iu, ili•tan,·('~'7 h_,: 7 r.....i·...... . : ... .' ..... ·.... . ;. .. .. .. .. .. . 2. 00

~fald~

f~t,

~~

' ' pl•>n ' ' t.oft:.s 2. h,>· 2 hy 2 a t 10 P.,r .. .. ·..... : .. . . Filling '(>( ,plant: hol•·s. a,t 10 pe........... ·: .............. d,._lind lx>(ls for · . ready for plar,iing......... ...

Plahiinl(, triin . ·, 10 per ........ .......... :.... . · and · plariting .. .. ....... ; .. ..... ... , ..... · hoeirop, I f(J(rt t'ad iu in • <'ir<'le around the tri!c, at 5 i>cr .M each .

F.our at 1..5() per j't : .. . .. ....... .'·. : . .. .. .. .. .. . ..

nu~r.v J)orlibg, .~ l<'.,

Sh•dr-tl'('~•:.~ ting

T~<·o

;,:~ings,

~1. plt~nts ~L

;~·

~

~

r~ch

~

s: .5, ()()' .8.

I . 50 ··. 88 5. 32

.. . · .• and ··

·.,

I

..·

:xJ

o.

IJ>

rn

,..r T.· J:

./

/'

flgu~rs'glv·e·n

th~

~1b

tarion, but may;v Y'

IJt[pROvEMENT ' . OF . AN OLD 'COFFEE GROVE.

.. Experiment 'nf previou .}"ears on the improvement of an old coffee the Crop produced on each of the acre tin4er ?<_Periritenfwas again The t;esults, by the cr?p of 1904, are_a. · follow . . · ·

:. .;:. gro_ve WaS continued arid

'·

nscer~ained.

p 1\)

. TuiJII tosr pf N plant <, <'<>rre. ponding to I arrr , at 1 he end r f · ·. hrstyrar -. ._.:....... . ......... .'.......... :·.......... . . 60.34

All ilre for· locality of the mewhat in other . ection in th i l&nd. .

,

p~ats !l·9'Sho~n

E~tpt.

Stat io ns .

PLAT E VI .

.

l

U. S. De pt. of A1r., Bul . 19' 1._ Office of E11.P1.

Ste tion~,

PLATE VII .

,.·

·'

.. '\

/'\

·\

\

.\

...?

,.. ··-.

.l.· "

,

't/

~y

FIG.

..

'.

·

.\

..;:.

.

'·

'

...

1.-COF~EE

SUBSTATION.

ROAD MAKING IN NATURAl,.

FOR~ST.

45 ) I.

2.

I

.j 3. .

..,...... ............

PIOducl )ll'r lr!!l', In

170

-~-.--,-.-

5.

4.

6.

7.

1 -~1--

Ripe bormo: .· In llt.era.·.. .... ... !~I I, 474 In pounda .. ..... .181 l; llln

Coli rudy lor markol, In poundt .....

I' IOducllve l,..,l ~r

~

Acre No.-

'

36b

113 I u• 1 148

904 ,. &'I 1, 1.

22th

21o\o

742

41!1

9.

428

27{1

,J.

41

188

Gl

I

684

&CI'I'.

4,1m

6, 311111

547. 7 711

llt\11,1114 1, 131 . 5

34t\

";46

1102

0.2979 0.04113 0.0300 ~0 .

pouQdt .... . .... ... 0. 4110

137

ver-

To!al. ~per

10.

trl4

o.11s

746

7 0.0122 ( 6748 .1-0. 1756

Acre pia 1, 3, and 4 wer divided into qu'arter-acre plats, each receiving diff rent tr ~tment . The yield of these plat is given in the following tahle: 'I

.

Yitld of ooft~ on quarltr-6cro pla te.

. ·Acre arid l>lat.

.

'·

I

" .

~.."J; p~~uc-., Prt>d~l

Ripe borrlfoa.

for mAr· tree" prr (K'r tree. kr~.

.

piA(.

- - - - -- - -- - - -;-....--,--- --------AoM No. I : · , j Lil<rl. IPound I . Pound I . N.umb<r. Pouftdl . , ~~=~~~:L::::::: :: :::: :::::: :: ::::::::: : :::: :; . m ·s ~: g ~~ o:: r.:r~~: L: :: : : : :::::::::: ::: ::::::::::::::::: . ~~. 5 ~~ ~-8 . ~ .3859

~·..~1l:~:t:::::::::::::C0:::::::::::~::~ - <•J~- 5 l.<•r(~ (•)~

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Pl'al No. 10..... ......... ................ .......

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565

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299

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170

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.. ·, Tot btrr1ea barv l letl, 4,900 llt.er• - 240! Rlm ude•. which IJI<ve given t.I Sol pound• cof!C<i ready lo r • rp•rk$ ; or po~nda per almu~.

•

.The low percentag of mark tabl coffee obtained in 1904 from the berr!es' r ulted in an in r as of about 20 cent per 100 P!>Unds in the cost for pickil?g, making tb total o t of haJ:Vesting and marketing P.er 100 pot'mds, S2.46. The o. t of we ding and pruning the plantation during the )'e·!lr was 6 p.er acre, or 5f for ~ acre., making th cost per,IOO pound , $4.'30. T~tal paid for la~or per 1OO.pound , 6. 76.

The coffee sold con 1sted of 99 pound of £rst grade at 1J.I2i per 100 pound , and 1 6 pounds of second grade 'at 1'0 and 11 per 100 pounds, O! an ave.r ag price of 11.37 ~per 100 pound . .

Some experiments ~ith fertilizers and leguminous crops dn the . coffoo have been made, but because of the heavy rains, as stated in the former report, 'n o results have been obtained that are reliable:

~

4.6 .

47

~. ~

•.\ : 2, .coti 1 ing '1;09 tree , wa fert"ilized D · em ber , 190;l, ..with ~:o p till Port-o ~leO bat-~uano, and .produced 35 p01mds, as · a~in><t 2 0 ptiu11ds jJ.l 1903, or an inc rl'll e of 144 pou.J:i<l . · . · cro ~·'· 3, whi h i · ituated .pn t bE1- lop immediately hclow acr • to. 2, produ d 32!i p(juud , 8 again t 24.'3 "pound in I OOil, ~'n in ·rna e . . . . of< 2 pou~d . ·. · The are the only acre plat .thnt,•. twtwith tanding the unfavorable v.-ea p .r c nditi · ns ltow d an incre of productidn which tnjght b . aftnbute<t to tli appfi ation or the bat glltlllQ. in a re l o.".2 'and the -suppl~'.ing f plruJt food from th<' nie. to d1e"lower f)ring •o. 3 by rain..: wat r. '& t ~rtrano· an h(· had nearlx nil over th i ·land. . .

Jfftrv(' t,ing b<>gnn ·<;>c . b r l il, : 1004, nnd In .ted until .F bruary 2.. I i!ltH, u.r ing,wliich ti!tle f'ight picking ·ut differ£>nt inti' a l had be ·· inn de. · . · . · ._ .

<\

on Ira r.f to <>xpectMion , t h tw~;~shoot remaining o'h a.c h str I i h ch have now' develop('u into fa ir-sized trees . did n t u•v=v.m . .: ·. 0 • n:/ e. t t1t thi .. '<'Ill'. . .

-..9 · Th ns'J> • t c;f ti)e two plll.t , ~O '.!) and 10, have now chng d-.: . ,, lla't i. :. rul~ hefoN' th .sho in . • ·o .. ,9 without . ha~ grew quicke~· ,· .tfian tho · in , 'o. !'q wheye the shade ·wn . l£•rt , it is no,\:., exn~ly the ·~ ctrary,'and in·:'\0.. 10 the shoot "look much ~tter ~lUI in ·o_. .'9. · '.' · . · lnt Xo. t4, r plant d with ·J64 coffe (ledl',v1gs an~e exi ·tin ld · · · ad<' left is doin~ v~rJ' wrllliritJ i,lw ttcC' arc g rowing nic'c ly. · • •• l'>·l.~t. :'\~~ 16, . rep lahtcd · ' vi til' I 00 · co ffee eedlings and shade N'lll\) .ed ,' is ·not doing. o· wc>ll; me o( the :seedl ing -·have siO\vly · .-developed,·but oth!'rs d p not eem to pr sppr in thc;full 1111 .' .

-:.,' Both th $(' plat ·it.uated at "the 'lowe t ttlti.tude of the grounds; ···an'd ever I hun~red fcet )ower than Ko. 2.' ~. . , • ·. piut . ·a .. JS, ."planted to:a lfalfa: ~vas re ed~d with inoc.ult t d a lfalfa · ~d,d·iichea'rn uf>.'we·IJ , but in e doe not c<in tir:iuetogrow." Insp c.. qol"\ ~f U1e r i did nqt bow an. root tubercles, ai;Jd a a ·, 11hole the phit doc · not look so promising o lu t year~ . .. .a

nil

.. . .

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AND INSEC1' PE!JTS.

.a~ etia ~em~phrerica

Targ. ) is not

o abundan t a

in·

'f rmer :· ars, . hich may be' duet~ vari"ou -para it~. ·Leaf weevils hav done" on ide"!'ble . damage, . eating the le .v 's ..

tan e

..

.;:.

ajld young twigs and in ome· in even ruining the young tree .

It wa noti d that· iri the neighbprh od 'of Higtteriilo tr es.t he w evils wer mo t ab4ndarit. Hand pick~g in the; adult stage was resort d to with ·app rent ucce . In m place in the old plantation the w' vii ..lso attack d th 'rilall gre n Coffee · b rri s, b.ut apparently to no great ' ext~nt. . . .

-L ea f miners (.Uucoptera coff~ella a in.) hince increa.s.ed enor~ous;y, pec~ally in th young coff up to ~~utA feet ,high . . !n ma~y . ,' . .

and

""" .

·'

I.

.. . . . the· ].e aves died otf, leaving ~he cases they w r s aBundant that. e whatever. In a neigh_bo_png oung off tr s wit.hou~ .an~;o~~~ee t rees ar now almos~ entire!!

Planiation about 10 acres of Y9 . lit: d and in th month of May It . d . k' 1!. has b~ n u e ' . . l n v ' ce 9 until u, f •w w •eks ater a "' I •aft<' . Han. piC tn'1 wa:s b ·lie C(l have met '~t~· ~u~wa; wi.t h " II hope to contr I lhe and highl y increased at~ac . 1 . ther observed that t better .the evil by hnnd . picking. lt lS f~~~ the nttack. In th ola.er .PI~n~aoil. t h Je th plant suffe~ f tho leaf min<>r, (Jhrysocha:M..~ l~'!,rida tions "it eems. tha~ th parn.:~~:~t. to k.ec p the rvi l linger control.

Ashiii a re uffiCJentJ y, ..o.b . . t give very valuable results. ., · f the· paras1tes m 1g11 "' t d rved on whl h th leaves 1lau urne Artificial incr n o o me old cofi e t rees were obse . d ing Leaves of such tr <' I to a r ddish color, followed by the_tret~s ywh~re it wn found to be a . '-' ·~t n for examma IOn, . t'" k were nt to W , n um!; o . babl appearing after o.n a .,..c , fung\1 ' C9llet()trichum c~tfe~n~;;~:~~d be~n already destror ~~ before of lettf miner,. T~e. o.ttn.?ke received and no rem<>dH•s ~ rero . f t'l 'n from Washington was ' m orma · , · t ri d. · h ded old coffe (Pl. VII, fi~. 2) ' In about 50 acres. of . heavJI~ s :be kernels · o~ the h:uit to ~e~y . nea'r Juana Din.z a c\lsease. cau smgf d ltn1ples of -o.ttnckN' t\ngs . · · . h t ·~ck wns oun · . . b t vet . and tun~g t . e WI.,-:: . ·w a bin ton for invesllgatlol~, u as,]. and harries wer als sen~ to . . g• . . the cn.use of th e trouble· . JS unknow)l. ·.

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