Page transcription
ORCHARD AND FARM—IRRIGATION
JANUARY, 1912 9
The Feijoa: A New Commercial Fruit
By F. W. Popeno, Altadena, Cal
AMONG THE FRUITS which have been exploited as commercial possibilities in California within the last quarter of the century there are few which possess so many commending characteristics as Feijoa Sellowiana, and although subjected to a severe test by the orange, it has been thoroughly proven to withstand greater cold than almost any other subtropical fruit. More than the value added to its culture in this State is great.
The cultivation of the Feijoa in this country dates back about ten years, when in 1901, the first shipment of plants was received from Southern France by Dr. F. Franchetti, of Santa Barbara, though whose retiring services during the past twenty years an immense number of valuable plants have been introduced to us. These plants were set out in different localities in the southern end of the State, and in the course of a few years they proved their worth. It immediately became evident that the Feijoa was pre-eminently adapted to California's climate and conditions. The cultivation of the plants, however, was not attested as much by those planted in Southern California, which were all grown in nursery and home localities as by its behavior in France, where it had been cultivated since 1876 and recorded to thrive without shade, even temperatures of 5 degrees Fahrenheit above zero. But the fruit produced here was fully the equal in quality and production to that of the native home of the Feijoa, Uruguay and Brazil, and attention was soon attracted to it as a very desirable addition to our already long list of fruiting plants. A number of trees were propagated, and many now come into bearing, and the popularity of the plant has become such that commercial plantings are being made, and the next few years will undoubtedly see countless acres devoted to the cultivation of this promising fruit.
Feijoa Sellowiana, as this plant is called, is native to the countries of Southern Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. It is highly esteemed in its native home and this fact led Dr. Edward Stearns, the noted French botanist and landscape architect, to take home with him on his trip to South America in 1884 several live plants, which he planted out at his villa on the Riviera. Here the plant was a great success and attracted wide attention in Southern France.
In growth and character the Feijoa is quite similar to the Guava, it being a member of the order Myrtales, or Myrtle family, to which the Guava also belongs. The plant is valuable even as an ornamental, the contrast between the glossy green of the upper surface of the leaves and the silvery white of the lower side being very striking. The flowers are also charming, and are produced in the spring. The ultimate height attained by the plant is about 10 or 12 feet, and it is broad and spreading in nature. The foliage is thick and leathery, being admirably adapted to the intense sun, partial shade, and very cold.
The fruit is so small, lemon-like, about the size of a small cherry, dull green in color, and when ripe is whitish and the most delicately edible, combining the flavor of strawberry and pineapple. One of the most notable features of the Feijoa is the extreme sweetness of the fruit. In contrast with this is its curiously seedy gourd-like appearance, which is sufficient to deter the casual visitor from the table, and the fruit is not always available for market until after the fruit is known.
The uses of the Feijoa are numerous, indeed it is almost as useful as the guava, and can be cooked in the same manner. It is a great favorite with the children, and is often used in making jams and jellies. The juice is excellent for making cordials and syrups, and is also used in the preparation of wine. The Feijoa is a very hardy tree, and can be grown successfully in almost any part of the world. It is a very valuable addition to the fruit garden, and should be given a place in every orchard.
We were reminded of all this by Mr. Popeno's article on "Opportunities in Tropical Fruits," printed in this issue. There he invites fruit growers one and all to make use of these new changes in special line to work out the Creator's best designs in horticulture. The mulgoba mango is new to us. The Hindus have made it, we say; but they had a beginning to work on—a threadly, turpentine horrid thing, pendant on a big tree so tall Eve could barely grasp its handle, and unless she wished she hadn't succeeded in doing even that. Some of the fruits now commonest in Cuba are in just about the condition in which that lady knew them when she named them according to what they looked like. We would be willing to bet that the original guava hadn't a seed more in it than the last one we ever tasted on, finding possible mush in a shoemaker's boot.
Think as we will we can fancy no labor more worthy a man than this one: to live in the open, subject to none, and to help bring Creation up to what the Creator intended when He did in truth make Heaven and Earth, in six days, if you will have it so (there is no evidence to the contrary), but made them in potentialities, and gave us all the skill to work them out to the utmost of their possibilities. When we have achieved the fullness of Earth's capabilities, who knows but what we shall find it converted into Heaven itself, and, looking up from hard work, we shall discover in ourselves His likeness, no longer disguised as an orangeman, a mule-driver, or a cold, nor even as emancipated, but in our true shape and nature, such as He had us in mind when He laid the commencement of all things in the core of a single germ—"in the Beginning."
The treaty of commerce with the United States, Cuba, which allowed free trade and duty on Cuban products in the United States. Since the treaty went into effect, the United States has exceeded the previous record of imports brought under it, and has been erected, old and improved, for many additional purposes. The relations between the two countries have been greatly improved, and the United States has invested capital in industries. A careful examination of the equipment developed in the industry, but not in the total amount of $54,000,000, however, are in the hands of American capitalists, and many of the mills are owned and operated by Americans. Their investment amounts to a very small percentage of the whole. The distribution of this total investment among the different provinces of the island is as follows: Pinar del Rio, $750,000; Habana, $3,000,000; Matanzas, $5,750,000; Santa Clara, $14,500,000; Camaguey, $4,700,000; and in Oriente, $25,000,000.
There are in the island at the present time 173 active mills, of which 34 are owned and 2 partly con capital. Another indication that American-owned mills are per cent of the total in Pinar del Rio, 22 per cent; in Habana, 14 per cent; in Matanzas, 14 per cent; in Santa Clara, 26 per cent; in Camaguey, 26 per cent; and in Oriente, more than 50 per cent. In Oriente, the sugar output of the Provinces Oriente and Camaguey, and Oriente continue to develop and extend, the lack of until some unforeseen the industry, the policy by the and the favorable out- ance of at least a very e in the future has drawn the attention of many American capitalists to the sugar industry, and in view of this interest it would seem that a brief description of the methods of culture and the cost of production together with an estimate as to the cost of erecting a complete sugar mill in Cuba might be of assistance. With this object in view the writer has collected, from planters, engineers, and inventors in the industry, data bearing on the cost of production and the profits to be expected. It must be stated, however, that these figures are only approximate and many
