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tree will not bear transplanting unless when very young. In a moist heat they will push in six weeks
or two months. To cultivate ior fruit, plant in the centre of the area of a house, 25 ft. wide, and either
lofty, or with a movable roof, which will admit of being raised as the tree advances in height. In this
way, with a strong heat, there can be no doubt this tree would produce fruit in England ; but even if it
did not, or did not for a great many years, th e magniflcence of its appearance, under such a mode of
treatment, would compensate a curious horticulturist for the labour and expense. Though th e cocoa-
nuts to be obtainetl in the shops are supposed to be gathered before being ripe, yet they have been found
to grow with no other care than planting in a large pot or box of rich earth, and plunging in a bark-bed.
It may be observed here, that this is almost the only palm th at could be cultivated in this country for
perfecting its fruit ; for, the others being dicecious plants, unless a great number were grown together,
there would be no legitimate means of impregnating the female blossoms.
4949. The P la n ta in T re e {Mhsa para d isìa ca L. ; H e x . Monog. L. and Musàccce P . S.) rises w ith a soft,
herbaceous, conical stalk, 15 ft. or 20ft. high, with leaves issuing from th e top, often more than 6 ft.
long, and nearly 2 ft. broad ; the spike of male and female fiowers appears from the centre of the leaves,
and is succeeded by pudding-shaped fruits, 8 in. or 9 in. long, above 1 in. in diameter, pale-yellow when
ripe, of a soft, sweet, luscious flavour; the spikes often so large as a* to weigh ----------upwards ii,-
of 40 lbs.
It is a native of the East Indies,T„.,:............. and J other parts OT. of ../• Asia, and — J — probably »'"My of c
Africa, and was cultivated at
Hampton Court in 1G90. Gerard says, th e pulp eats something like that
;hat of a musk-melon ; he calls the
plant Adam’s apple tree, from a notion th a t it was the forbidden fruit of ]
plant' E d e n ; others suppose it to have
been the grape brought out of the promised land to Moses. Dampier says, it is the king of all fruit, not
excepting the cocoa itself. There are numerous varieties.
49.50. The B a n a n a Tre e (M. sa p ién tum L .) (^g.845.) differs from th e plantain in having its stalks
845
marked with dark purple stripes and spots, and the
fruit is shorter and rounder. Some botanists, however,
consider them as only one species. The fruit
is mellower than the other, is eaten raw or roasted,
in fritters, preserves, marmalades, and the fer.
mented juice affords an excellent wine. It has been
fruited for upwards of seven years, at Wynnstay,
the seat of Sir W. W. Wynne, in Denbighshire.
Specimens were sent to the Horticultural Society
in August, 1819, which were between 4 in. and 5 in.
long, and possessed an agreeable, luscious, and acid
flavour, and the produce from a single plant is “ so
abundant, as to entitle the banana to be considered
as an useftil fruit for the table.”
49.51. P ro p a g a tio n a n d c u ltu r e . Suckers rlsefrom
the root, which should be planted in light rich
earth, in pots, and afterwards, if th e plant is cultivated
for its fruit, planted in a bed or pit of earth,
k ept ra the r moist. Plants of a Chinese species
called M . chinénsis, or M . Cavendishn, were in tro duced
about 1829, have been successfully grown in
both England and France, and fruited abundantly.
The mode of culture practised a t Versailles is as
follows : —I Young suckers, are planted out in a pit
or low greenhouse in a bed, prepared of light, rich
leaf-mould, with a gentle bottom h e a t; and, in
eighteen months from the time of planting the
suckers, th e ripe fruit will be ready to cut, often from 80 lbs. to 100 lbs. in weight. When fru it of the
banana is wanted, this kind is preferred to all others, on account of its dwarf growth, as it rarely exceeds
6 ft. in height when it bears fruit.
4952. The B r e a d - fr u it is th e A r to c á rp u s inc isa L. {R u m . Am b . 3. t. 33.) ; Moncc'c. M a n a n . L. and
U r tic e a J . R im a , or F r u it à p a in , F r. ; and R ro d b a um , Ger. It is a stove tree, growing in the South
Sea Islands to the height of a moderate-sized oak, with alternate leaves, deeply gashed, glaucous, and
2 ft. long. Aments on the outmost branches, violet-coloured, peduncled, male and female on th e same
twig. The whole tree and the fruit, before it is ripe, abounds in a very tenacious milky juice. The
fruit is about the size and shape of a child’s head, and th e surface is reticulated, not much unlike a
truffle ; it is covered with a thin skin, and has a core about as big as th e handle of a smal! knife ; the
eatable p a rt lies between the skin and the core ; it is as white as snow, and somewhat of the consistence
of new bread. It must be roasted before it is eaten, being first divided into th ree or four p
is insipid, with a slight sweetness, somewhat resembling
that of th e crumb of wheaten bread mixed
with Jerusalem artichoke. Five plants were
brought to England, the remainder of the stock
brought from Otaheite by th e unfortunate Captain
Bligh in 1793. In Professor Martyn’s edition of
Mille r 's Dictionai-y will be found a variety of interesting
details relative to this tree, and another
species, th e A . integ rijb lia , or Ja ca T re e { fig . 846.),
which also well merits culture for its fruit.
4953. P ro p a g a tio n a n d c u ltu r e . Thi.s tree will grow
either from seeds, layers, or suckers ; the latter the
plants send up abundantly in their native climates.
They succeed best in a rich soil ; and, to induce
them to produce fruit, should be treated as already
advised for other stove fruits not easily fruited.
As the bread-fruit tree has been introduced in the
West India Islands, th e shortest waj' would be to
procure good-sized plants from Jamaica or St. Vincent’s,
though they may be occasionally obtained
r parts ; its taste
from the London nurserymen.
4954. T he T ru e L o tu s {Z iz yp h u s 'L ò tu s 'L sm .),th e
Ju ju b e Tree {Z . Jùjuba L a m i) , and the Kaki{T>ios-
p i/ro s Kàki W .) , are branching shrubs or small trees o fth e easiest culture in Italy, Barbary, and China,
and abundant bearers. They might readily be cultivated in this country, and, as the jujube grows in
hedgerows about Genoa and Nice, it is probable it would bear fruit abundantly in a greenhouse. The
jujube is served up in Itaiy as a dry sweetmeat. T h e fruit o fth e kaki are orange or appie-shaped.
4955. Other exotic f r u i t s . The followmg havebeen enumerated by L indley {H o r t. T ra n s ., vol. v. p. 83-),
meriting introduction, or, where already introduced, to be cultivated as dessert fruits.
4956. o f A fr ic a n fruits we might have, from Sierra Lee
plums and figs ; from Congo, th e conte, mabocche, gangi.
B, th e creara-fruit, country cherries, country
ifu, and A n ò n a senegalénsìs ; from Loango,
t a f e Z o Z ’ “ t o ''“ " ' ‘'re '" M te g a s c a r, tho voanalo, voutaca, voaucrome, azonualala, and
4957. F tom rne W e st In d ie s , the sapodilla plum (ff'chras S a p h la ), country cherries lyhich are various
species of Maiplghio, th e callimato tree (Chrysobilanus IcAco), the star apple (Chrysophillum Cmmto)
thecountryplums(ipondias) vanous species, tiio sea-side grape (Coccóloba uvifcra), th e g irlie pear (C tL -
tai v a T á p ta ), and various species of Cactus. Most of these fruits are cultivated both in the West India
Islands and on the American continent, and plants o t all of them may be had from the London nurseries
4J58._irom i t ia « / I n i e r a u numerous Irults m ay b e introduced: from Guiana, the tapaculo Kiárica
ÍG o ro ?S ’g » Z lfe ^ itherToréless ’n o S " ’ r e ' SU-oferpa), the queule or keuie
4959. From ¿ e « the first fruits in the world havebeen obtained, and others are yet to introduce. From
th e Indian Archipelago, the l a ¿ e h (X an sw p domesticum), a fruit considered as n ex t to th e mangosteen
aM d u rio n ,th e ro se -w ¿ erjambuvEugeniflaquea ),andothe rspecies; theblimbing(AverrhiiaCarawioirt),
foe fh® rambutan (Nephehum lappáceum), the tomi-tomi (Flacourtfa inérmis), the
Xanthochymus ¿ I c i s , S u n d om cum mdicum, and some others. From the continent of India the
maredoo, or elephant-apple {M 'g le M á rm c lo s ), the yellanga (Ferónio elephántum), the latti am (’w il-
ughbdia « l ü ¿ ) , the uvara mamaity (Xanthochymus pictlrius), the caraunda {Cartssa Carandas) the
launzan (Buchanama iatilhha), and others. From China and Japan manv new sorts nf n/nrV nnrt
peaches, it is supposed, may be obtained, and probably also apples and other European fruits • tlie Poma-
qese and P ru n ac e« occupying the place in higher latitudes which the Myrtac eJ, Guttifer* and 7’S t
b in th a « « ffl) in countries nearer the equator. From the Society Islands, the Otaheite apple (5p6ndias
c j th e r ¿ ) , &c. Though we think it probable th a t few or none of tbese, grown in this country would be
found tq equal our best peaches, pears, and plums, or even gooseberries In d strawberries : yet wVcannot
horticulturist. ’ ^
¿ 0 0 . OJ the w ild f r u i t s o f N o r th Am e rica , th e r e are probably some that might be improved by culti-
vMiqn, so as to render them fit for culinary purposes or the dessert. Among these it is possible that the
Mad u ra aurantiaca N u tt. {Monce^cia T e trd n d . L. and U r tic e w in s s .) ( J g . 847.) may b e in c lid e T T h f s trS
called by the Indians rabbit-berry, and the beef-suet t?ee The shrub is ? f s f o ™ ® T -
but we believe it has produced fruit in Messrs. LoddfoeVs a rb /retum Tbr^^^^^
i ' S f o f e t S Z Ä Ä e 7 ‘- f r ' “
t e f e f e T e t r o t e e Ä f e 2 2 f a n “ 'o a h ‘e°fruit ä
might come to rival our common popular fruits. ta'iortn America, which by cultuie
S e c t . IV. E x o tic and T ro p ic a l E sculents, not hith e rto cultivated as such.
4961. O f exotic esculents, som e , a s th e y am a n d th e sw e e t p o ta to , a r e w o r th y o f beino-
e x p e n m e n t e d o n w itli a v iew to th e i r n a tu r a l is a t io n a s a r tic le s o f f o o d ; a n d e v e n a s
fu rm s lu n g a v a r ie ty o f e s c u le n t ro o t, th e y d e s e rv e to b e g row n a n d s e n t to ta b le w h e re
tlic re IS a c om p le te o r a n e x te n s iv e g a r d e n e s ta b lis hm e n t.
4962. The West In d ia n Y am (the in h am e of the Portuguese, and ig n am e of th e French) is tho namo
applied to several species, with their numerous varie tie s!of the genus p L c y / l L S v V I ,/;« T
m d . Dioscdre& J . They are cHmbing, perennial, herbaceous plants, with tuberoiis’roots andaxiliarv
f SI / f ¿ / ‘“f f ! Tft® name yam ismo re particularly applied to th eD . sa t\v a {R k e e d . M a i 8
t. 51-) (,^o. 848.). This plant has tender stalks, climbing to the height of 18 ft. or 2C ft and furnished
beautv t Ä ^ ^ ^ the leavesVise spikes of small
troduced here from the latter coiintryin 1733. '^The roots are mealy, e L T o f t a J e s ü o /m b t l b t a
'to o 'fe ta 'ta c ro u s varieties, differing in the sisetond form I f tSeir root .
] .1 ""•* , They may bo propagated like the com.mon potato .and cultivated in
nearly the same manner as the forced potatoes. Browne c f f e rSoti
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