which possibly might he had from Madeira, or even St.
Michael’s, where fair crops are obtained when the seasons
are propitious, and even in Europe proper fruits have
been produced in the open air. This was in 1874 at
Necessidades, near Lisbon, the residence of the King of
Portugal, the tree—a dwarf one—bearing nine fruits
about the size of ducks’ eggs.
Of varieties there is literally no end, a result doubtless
brought about by indiscriminate propagation from seed.
Some are small with tough skins, large stones, and fibrous
pulp, with a strong turpentine-like flavour. Others are
large, with thin stones, the skin being tender and the
thick pulp quite soft, like that of a real Beurré pear, the
flavour being most luscious and delicate, without a trace
of the turpentine-and-tow-like combination so marked in
the case of inferior kinds. The flavours of the different
fine varieties are most varied, much more so than in the
case of our best pears, and two or three good mangoes
before breakfast form a treat sure to be appreciated by a
lover of good fruit, and much as I appreciate a good
durian, the mango seems to me a far more delicious and
refreshing fruit for general consumption under a hot sun.
The rambutan is a common fruit in Singapore, and is
the produce of a pinnate-leaved tree, thirty to fifty feet
in height, the hairy fruits being borne in clusters near
the extremities of the branches. On the husk being removed
the edible pulp is seen surrounding the solitary
seed, and is of a white jelly-like consistency, with a
brisk and refreshing sub-acid flavour. There are several
varieties. The common one has a red outer husk, but
there are yellow and purple skinned varieties of excellent
flavour. The Malay name, “ boi rambutan,” or
hairy fruit, refers to the soft, thick hairs on the outer
husk. Two other species grown in China afford fruits of
a similar character, which, dried, are sometimes met with
in this country under the name of “ litchis.” The fruit
is common in gardens or orchards throughout the Malay
islands, and is quite wild in Borneo.
In Batavia it ripens in February and March, and is
common in the streets of Singapore during July and
August. In the forests of North-West Borneo it ripens
in September, large basketsful of it being, collected by
the natives and brought in along with tampoe fruit, and
occasionally mangosteen and fine durian. A basketful of
this fruit at first sight reminds one of strawberries, it
being singularly like them in size and colour.
The bread-fruit tree is frequently met with, but the
fruit is not so much used by the Malays as it is by the
natives of the .South Sea Islands. Another member of
the same group, the $f nangka,” or Jack fruit, is much
more generally grown, and produces immense fruits,
varying from ten to seventy-five pounds weight. Like
the bread-fruit, it has a rough netted coating, the portion
eaten being the golden pulp which surrounds the seeds.
A smaller fruited, and altogether more delicate flavoured
species, affords the “ champada,” and the habit of the tree
is much like the Jack fruit, but the “ champada ” maybe
recognised by its leaves being hairy below, those of the
Jack fruits being smooth and glossy on both surfaces.
This kind is liked both by Malays and Europeans.
The “ tarippe,” or “ trap,” is another allied fruit
borne by a round-headed tree, having entire leaves much
larger than the last, and hispid on both surfaces. They
are also of a pale, rusty-green tint, and the fruits are
borne near the extremities of the spreading branches,
as in the bread-fruit, and not produced from the main
branches or the bole of the tree, as in the case of the
Jack fruits and “ champada.” This is the most palat