The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-07-24
Guava Jelly and Preserved Figs in
Alachua County.

agreeable to eat when fresh, but do
not make such well-havored jelly as
the tropical guava The small yellow
Chinese gl1ava, which is also growing
in the open, yields jelly from which
the true guava flavor seems entirely
absent Some of the varieties of
guava in the enclosure, especially the
large white, are agreeable dessert
fruits.
There are six large fig trees grow
ing in the open, lower down the hill
on soil which experience has shown
is not suited for oranges, being slight
~ clayey and apparently resting on
ferruginous subsoi These trees
were injured in the great frost of
18o4-5. This year they did not start
we'll in the spring, on account Of the
drought, and were cultivated and ma
nured for the first time They are of
fine spreading dome shape, swell
branched from the base. Two Of
them, measured by the writer, are SO
yards in circumference of spread, the
branches being close and reaching
to the ground The variety which is
used for preserving is called the
Smyrna. 1t forms quite large figs,
which are yellow when ripe. If the
fruits are left on too long they may
be eaten by the black crows, which
have to be driven off or shot Zone
or more of the six fig trees bore
sugar figs and these turn brown when
ripe. They are not so good for pre-
serving, and were not used for that
purpose.) AS it is not possible to
ship ripe figs any considerable dis
lance, and the figs cannot we'll be
dried in the sun on account of insects,
and because they cannot compete, if
dried, with those figs which have
been fertilized by the fig wasp (such
as the dried figs now produced in Cali
fornia) the alternative is to preserve
them in syrup. The figs are picked
when firm, and just beginning to
turn yellow. (There is something
in the fresh figs, perhaps the milky
juice, which is irritating to the skin,
and it may be best to wear rubber
gloves while handling the fruit) The
figs are first boiled in water for one
hour, to remove all acridity. The
water is strained off and the figs
boiled for from two to two and d
half hours in strong syrup made from
white graduated sugar. This syrup
is made as strong as it can be made
without crystallizing. The figs are
then put, while hot, into glass bottles
with screw caps. Figs thus treated
form an excellent preserve, which de-
serves and will doubtless attain wide
popularity. Last year, at Tacoma,
more than hundred-weight Of figs
was gathered from each fig tree
There seems to be a good demand
for domestic guava jelly in the Uni
ted States, since the foreign product,
besides being usually heavily taxed,
is not uniform in quality, and being
made carelessly and often with wood
for fuel with inferior sugar, is not
seldom smoky or otherwise of poor
flavor or consistence. Figs we'll pre-
served in syrup seem to be superior
to the dried article. There appears
to be a likelihood that, with the whole
of the United States to supply, the
preparation of figs in syrup might be
probably extended in Florida Where
fig trees do not do we'll heavy mulch
of perhaps moss, or of water hyacinth,
might be tried.-John Belling, B. Sc,
London. Late Of the Imperial De-
partment of Agriculture, British West
Indies, III Gainesville Sun.