The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1892-03-11
DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES.
THE GUAVA.


West India, was early introduced
here and has now spread over many
parts of the islands, growing wild
and forming close thickets.
There are q number of varieties
growing and cultivated here, but the
most common species is the p. Qua
yava, the variety which produces the
bulk of guava fruit used in com.
merce in other countries. The two
varieties which are the most valua-
BILE, are the p. Guayava, var. pyri-
forum, the white guava, with pulp
of II light yellowish tinse and having
sweet acid and somewhat aromatic
flavor, and the p Guayava pomife-
rum, the red or pink guava consider
ed not to be so finely favored as the
other.
Another variety is the +. Cattle
yanum, the so-called Chinese guava,
or better known as the strawberry
guava. The fruit is small and COM
monty of deep claret color with an
agreeable acid sweet flavor. Some
times the fruit is produced white or
of delicate shade of yellow.
Guavas are easily raised from
layers or slips or from the seed. 1t
is thrifty grower and prolific bear
err, will fruit in eighteen months from
the seed and can be made to produce
its fruit the year round. 1t is in full
bearing at from two to three years of
age. 1t is bush, rather than a tree,
growing from twelve to fifteen feet
high, though in congenial locality
it will attain height of twenty feet
and can be trimmed to resemble a
small tree. If planted about twelve
feet apart or about 200 to the acre
and carefully cultivated they will
yield about bushel of fruit each
annually. They will withstand
long drought but respond generously
to good culture, fertilizing and mois-
ture.
The guava is not as yet cultivated
to any great extent in any of the
localities where it grows. The West
Indies manufacture some guava jelly
for export, but by no means adequate
to the demand, and it is an article
scarcely known in the markets where
fruit jellies are largely consumed.
The small quantities of guava jelly
that have been exported from these
islands either in trade or as presents
has been universally regarded as SUI
perior in flavor and quality to that of
any other kind of fruit jelly. But
the high United States tariff renders
its import into that country almost
prohibitive. Undoubtedly with
free market in the United" States
guava jelly would rapidly come into
favor and there would be Il profitable
market for all that these islands could
possibly supply,
Florida is just waking up to an APP
probation of the proper commercial
value of the guava and many thou
sands OF plants have been set out the
past year.
There appear to be three varieties
OF the common guava growing in Flo
rida, one with bright pink flesh,
one yellow, and the third and favor
lite, white. But these are believed
to be the same variety, for the seeds
do not come true and often change
the color of their fruit.
The "Cattley" or strawberry
guava (P. Cattleyanum) has been
recently introduced in Florida and is
rapidly gaining In popular favor and
is considered to be the most desirable
and useful of the guava tribe. 1t
attains maximum growth of ID to
20 feet, of compact form, with dense,
glossy evergreen foliage, which
makes it very ornamental tree, es-
pecially when loaded with its rich
colored fruit. 1t bears early, pro-
ducing fruit at a year old from the
seed, and at two years will bear
nearly five hundred guavas. The red
variety is the most popular, the yell
low being rare in cultivation.
The guava is not Il fruit that can
be shipped any distance, and there
lore must be disposed of locally. In
Florida there is considerable of a
local demand for the fresh fruit which
sells at from one to two dollars a
bushel. But the most of the fruit is
made into jelly. A new industry
which has sprung up and promises to
extend into considerable proportions
is the evaporaling of the guava fruit
for shipment. The method used has
proved successful and the fruit so
preserved is shipped away for use the
same as dried apples are, and large
quantities are sent in that way to
central factories to be made into Jelly.
The evaporated guava is as sweet as
any other dried fruit.
The evaporating of fruits has here
tofore not been very successful but
DR.. Ryder's american Fruit Drier,
or Pneumatic Evaporation" has cor
rected all the errors of the previous
methods and successfully obtains the
required result, and with the intro
ductiOn of this machine evaporated
fruits are rapidly coming into public
favor. The drying af guayas for
home use and for the northern mar
kets is destined to be one of Florida's
great industries, for already the ar
tiCle has become nODular and nausnd