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BULLETIN OF THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTE.
A QUARTERLY RECORD OF
PROGRESS IN TROPICAL AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIES
AND THE COMMERCIAL UTILISATION OF THE
NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE DOMINIONS, COLONIES,
AND INDIA.
PUBLISHED BY MR. JOHN MURRAY.
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION 14s. By Post 15s. 4d.
Extract from the section "Notices of Recent Literature"
in Bulletin, Vol. X.V.III..., No. 4..., 1920
MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUB-TROPICAL FRUITS,
EXCLUDING THE BANANA, COCONUT, PINEAPPLE, CITRUS
FRUITS, OLIVE AND FIG. By Wilson Popenoe, Agricultural
Explorer, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Pp.
xvi + 474, Med. 8vo, illustrated. (New York: The
Macmillan Co., 1920). Price 30s. net.
This volume presents in a convenient form the information at present available regarding about one hundred different kinds of tropical and sub-tropical fruits, and indicates that there are a large number which are not yet cultivated on a commercial scale. The reason given by the author for the exclusion of some half-dozen well-known fruits, which are articles of considerable commercial importance, is that they are fully treated by other writers, but it is to be regretted that the works which deal specifically with these subjects are omitted from the bibliography appended to this volume. The author advances, as one of the causes for the lack of really first-class fruit in tropical countries, the ignorance of the art of grafting on the part of the natives. It is well known that temperate countries are far better supplied with fruit of good quality than are tropical and sub-tropical regions, but this is due to the fact that the fruit has been improved by cultivation. Left to themselves, these improved varieties would quickly deteriorate, or become extinct, and they are only maintained by systematic cultivation and artificial propagation. That tropical and sub-tropical fruits are capable of improvement is evidenced by the results obtained with the few kinds that have been subjected to systematic cultivation, and there are possibilities of further successes in this direction. One of the most promising, in the author's opinion, is the avocado of Central America, which is being cultivated on a considerable scale in California, Florida, Cuba, and Porto Rico. As a means of supplementing the food supply of native labour in tropical countries, the cultivation of fruit is strongly urged. Hitherto, the crops that have engaged the planter's attention, such as rubber, coffee, tea, cotton, etc., have been intended primarily for export purposes, and have not increased the local food supply. The author therefore pleads for broader views in connection with tropical developments, and urges that the food supply of the native population should receive consideration, as well as export crops. The book contains a large number of text illustrations of fruits and sectional details which should prove useful for identifying the various kinds. The plates from photographs are also interesting, but they require a scale order to make them of value for identification purposes.
