The Florida agriculturist., 1905-11-22
The Chinese Sweet POme10.


BILE qualities. 1t may be in cultivation
i'm this state but if so we have not
heard of it. 1t is not offered in any
catalogue that we know of, nor is
it described i'm the Cyclopedia of
American Horticulture. If it is one
half as good as it is said to be, it
certainly ought to be i'm general culti-
vatiOn Has any one of our readers
ever seen it? Or do you know any
thing about it?
Consul Anderson called attention to
the DOmelO or Chinese bread fruit, a
member of the citrus family: In a
report from Hangchow on the fruits
of China l called attention to the
fact that, alone of all Chinese fruits,
the pOmelO could. i'm my opinion, be
introduced with profit into the United
States upon more extensive scale
than it has been. The number of in
Quiries received both from individuals
and from government experiment sta
tons. as a result of that report. shows
an extraordinary interest in the sub
ject. and the request for seeds, which
cannot be met until the pOmelOs came
i'm next autumn, promise that some
thing definite will be done about the
matter in the United States and Cuba.
. | understand that the fruit is actually
grown in several portions of the Unit
ed States by few persons who have
introduced it from China themselves,
but it is not grown commercially, or
at least not upon any great scale.
Foreigners agree in declaring that, all
things considered, the pomelo is the
finest fruit i'm the Far East. In my
opinion it is one of the finest fruits
grown. and l would be very glad to
see it produced commercially in the
United States. 1t combines the good
points of the orange with the good
points of the grapefruit. 1t is more
easily handled than the orange, and
has not the peculiar bitter quality
of the grapefruit In general descrip-
ton it may popularity be known as
a cross between the orange and grape
fruit. but it is probable that, if not
the original citrus fruit. it is older
than either the orange or the grape
fruit. Apparently it has been cultivat-
ed here i'm China for at least 1000
years.
1t requires ordinarily only three
years to grow the tree from seed to
bearing period, although, of course
the first years crop will be very small.
and commercially. it will pay to hold
back the bearing period at least
year. Its bearing period with Ord-
nary Chinese care probably ranges
from twenty to twenty-five years The
tree apparently grows upon any kind
of ground. good soil. of course. pro
ducing more and better fruit than
poor soil; but the habits of the tree
require no particular soil or soil con
ditiOns.
Climate and soil required
best pOmelOS are grown farther south
i'm the lower portions of F'ukien pro-
vince. This corresponds i'm latitude
with Key West and i'm winter climate
with central and southern Florida.
although probably the summers are
somewhat warmer. 1t has much of
the characteristics of central and
southern Florida and lower coast
Texas, but its soil will hardly average
as good for citrus fruits as that of the
American states mentioned The best
pOmelOs i'm the world are said to come
from little valley near Chang Chew,
a large Chinese city i'm the interior
from Annoy which has not yet been
open to the foreign trade, the village i'm
this valley named PO Nan being the
center of the trade in fine pOmeloS