Pineapples from Papua New Guinea..

 

 

Date of Issue : 25 May 2011

PINEAPPLE FRAGRANCE

“Pineapples, Papua New Guinea”. It doesn’t ring-a-bell. The both may not have anything in common economically or culturally significant that is known to the world, but a trip to any local market in Papua New Guinea from the months of November to January will certainly change one’s perspective if pineapples were introduced.

Nearly every subsistence farmer has them in their gardens. In fact, its popularity over the years has made it the common fruit for dessert in restaurants and at tribal feasts all over Papua New Guinea.

Relating to the resemblance of the pineapple, the fragrance it gives out and the vowel sound in the name that landed with it (pineapple), different tribes came up with their own version of the name.

The Kitava Islanders, in the Trobriand group of Papua New Guinea call it “Painapa”. The thorny specie is referred to as “Painapa kagonigouni” while the Hawaiian (thornless Specie) as “Painapa Kaigadobu”.

Pineapple Fragrance - 2011

The pineapple, as it is known today, was given “Ananas comosus” as the botanical name. Native to South America, it was named for its resemblance to a pine cone -- the pine cone reference first appearing in print in 1398.

History has it that Christopher Columbus is credited with discovering the pineapple on the island of Guadeloupe in 1493, although the fruit had long been grown in South America. He called it piña de Indes meaning “pine of the Indians.”

South American Guarani Indians cultivated pineapples for food. They called it nanã, meaning “excellent fruit.”

The pineapple, being a favorite fruit to most Papua New Guineans, the Post PNG Philatelic Bureau, in its quest to produce innovative products have subsequently incorporated the actual fragrance to the postage stamps.

The following are denominations assigned:
K1.05 - The African Queen specie sliced and arranged in a horse-shoe K1.05 - An African Queen and one Hawaiian species sliced open.
K5.00 - Two African Queen and one Hawaiian specie displayed.
K7.00 - One Hawaiian and two African species contained in two tradidional baskets format.
K10.00 - A display of a three part slit African pineapple specie.

 

: Post PNG Ltd.

Stamps on Viticulture from Luxembourg

 

 

 Date of Issue : 17 May 2011

On 17 May 2011 Luxembourg Post issued two stamps on Viticulture.The one features wine bottle and grapes commemorating 100th Anniversary of the ‘Wenzerverband’ and the other commemorates 20th Anniversary of the Cremant de Luxembourg.

100th Anniversary of the ‘Wenzerverband’

On 28 May 1911, the district commissioner invited winegrowers to a meeting with the aim of combining all the regional viticultural associations into a single federation. At the time, there were 39 winegrowing associations, of which 30 accepted the invitation. The fundamental objectives of the federation were defined at this constitutional assembly.

They were:- to protect the interests of the profession, that is, to preserve and maintain the interests of viticulture and wine distribution;- to specifically provide continuous up-to-date education and practical training for its members and - to organise the centralised sale and distribution of different viticultural products.

20th Anniversary of the Cremant de Luxembourg

Creating a crémant requires constant vigilance, rigorous control and specific know-how, beginning with the vine. The etymology of crémant originates from the word “cream”, which underscores the consistency rather than the vinosity of a festival wine combining fruit, freshness and smoothness.

A crémant is the qualitative pinnacle of a traditional method controlled for a long time, which involves extra effort in the vineyard and a rigorous selection process of grapes and base wines. To produce sparkling wine, one may use any one of the types of vines certified in Luxembourg. The grapes must be very clean, quite ripe and intact until pressed. The “Crémant de Luxembourg” is made from the best types of vines of the Luxembourg Moselle region. Each winegrower chooses his own blends, which results in a great variety of wines and their specific flavours.

Club News

Colorful envelops used by Jabalpur Philatelic Bureau

Now a days Jabalpur (M.P.) Philatelic Bureau is using a beautiful multicolored envelop for sending supply to it's Account holders. It is also thick and durable.

- Sudhir Jain, Satna (MP)

Fruits and Butterflies on new Hungarian Stamps…

Date of Issue : 6 May 2011

Hi ! I In this Post some nice stamps featuring fruits and Butterflies…Well this is the time of fruits…..Magyar Posta issued a set of two stamps on 6 May 2011 featuring fruits from Hungary.The HUF 145 stamp shows the domesticated apple and the HUF 310 stamp depicts the cat’s head pear. Another set features beautiful butterflies and Moths with a nice MS. Both the sets are colorful and very attractive and sure to be liked by all stamp lovers !! This is all for this evening ….Till Next Post …Have a Nice Time !!

Domesticated apple

Its origin is uncertain but it was certainly grown in the 16th century in France. In Hungary it is still grown in small gardens and vineyards on the Great Plain. It ripens in August. Its 240-300 g fruit is a flattened ball with a whitish yellow flesh and stripy skin, and there is also a single colour clone version. Its flesh is hard and highly acid with little flavour. It is favoured for its size and is widely used in cooking. The tree has a large crown with big leaves and remarkably small buds. It starts producing late but then produces well, albeit in phases. The species tolerates a va-riety of growing locations but it likes alkaline soil the least. The tree is excellent for old fashioned gardens and requires minimal care. The fruit can be kept until the end of September in a cool larder.

Cat’s head pear

Already cultivated in 1590 in the Bamberg nursery, it became known in French areas as well as West Hungary. Its fruit is large, about 9-9.5 cm in diameter. Its stem is thick and strong and does not drop easily. Hard skin and yellow flesh are typical with a reddish-brown skin on the sunny side. Its flesh is crispy and coarse but not stony. Sweet, but a little tart, it is the typical kitchen type. It used to be popular for stewed fruit and jelly. In France it was also fermented to make perry. During November and December after-ripening is finished but it can be kept until spring.

Moths and Butterflies from Hungary

Date of Issue : 6 May 2011

Insects with scale covered wings (Lepidoptera) include moths and butterflies, which are thought to be the last order to have evolved among arthropods. To date about 150,000 species of moths have been identified, and 3,500 are known to have occurred in the Carpathian Basin. Insects belonging to the Lepidoptera order are commonly described in Hungarian by a number of words, which can be summarised in English as moth and butterfly. Most of the species representing 40 moth families living in Hungary are small and fragile, but there are some which are large and fat, and they usually fly at night. The ones that are nocturnal are called moths in everyday speech. The word butterfly is mainly used for the splendid dainty species with beautiful coloration, which are on the wing during the day. All butterflies belong to one family only, which is represented by 4 species in Hungary. These, compared to their wonderful rela-tives living in the tropics, are elegant but modest in appearance.

The stamps of the set show, in order of ascending face value, on a white background Freyer’s Purple Emperor (Apatura metis), which is characteristic in the Danube’s catchment area, Esper’s Marbled White (Melanargia russiae), which used to live in our forest steppe areas but has now disappeared, Garden Tiger Moth (Arctia caja), now a less frequent visitor to our gardens, and the Willowherb Hawk-moth (Proserpinus proserpina), still quite common in wet meadows. In the border and the stamp design of the numbered block the splendid Large Copper with its original coloration is repeated in a delicate drawing, imparting a special rhythm. This butterfly occurs in marshland in Hungarian areas. Butterfly motifs are likewise repeated in the design of the first day cover and the special postmark.

: Magyar Posta

Wolfgang Beyer, Germany

David Jastrzbski, Dijon - France