196 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



mended by Miss Ormerod as a general aphis wash, 

 and which consists of one part of black soft soap 

 boiled in eight parts of soft water, to which paraffin 

 must be added while boiling, and the mixture bottled 

 while warm. When required for use it is to be 

 diluted with water, the strength depending on the 

 state of foliage and severity of attack. Another 

 wash is that recommended by Mr. Whitehead as 

 being of general use in the Kentish hop gardens : 

 viz., 6 to 8 parts quassia boiled in 100 parts of soft 

 water and 4 to 5 parts soft soap. 



The common cuckoo-spit insect, or froghopper 

 {Aphi'Ophora spumaria) often very common in gardens, 

 is also injurious to roses and other plants, and there is 

 also a scale (Diaspis roscc) which is supposed to be 

 peculiar to this genus of plants. 



S. L. Mosley. 



Beaumont Park, Hiiddersfield. 



( To be continued. ) 



THE ECONOMICAL PRODUCTS OF 



PLANTS. 



By J. T. Riches. 



THE Durian Fruit. — This is the produce oWurio 

 Zibethinus, Linn., a tree belonging, according 

 to the latest arrangement in Bentham and Hooker 

 fils' Genera, Plantarum, to the family Malvacere, tribe 

 Durire. It is a native of the Islands of the Malay 

 Archipelago, and is now extensively cultivated both 

 in the Peninsula and Islands. The present cultivated 

 varieties are vastly superior to the wild form from 

 which they have originated, and which still exists in 

 the forests of Borneo and Sumatra. It is a very large 

 tree, growing from sixty to eighty feet high, resem- 

 bling in appearance an elm tree. Leaves alternate, 

 oblong, acuminate, rounded at the base, entire sub- 

 coriaceous, densely covered beneath with minute 

 scales, giving them a silvery-red appearance. Flowers 

 produced in little clusters, on the main trunk or 

 branches of a yellowish-green colour. Fruit variable 

 in form, globular or oval, measuring as much as ten 

 inches long, rather more than half as broad ; it has a 

 thick very hard rind, covered with hard short 

 hexagonal spines, and is divided into five cells, each 

 of which contains from one to four seeds, rather 

 longer than a pigeon's egg, completely enveloped in 

 the firm cream-coloured pulp, which is the edible 

 portion, and its consistency and flavour is in- 

 describable, and during the period when the fruit is in 

 season, it forms a staple part of the food of the 

 natives, and in a good fruit season large quantities 

 are preserved in salt in jars and bamboos, and kept 

 the year round, when the odour is very uninviting to 

 Europeans, but the Dyaks are regardless of this, 

 being accustomed to it, and they very much enjoy 

 them as a relish with their rice. 



Of all tropical fruits this is perhaps the most 



delicious, at least it has been so regarded by most 

 travellers who have written and spoken in the highest 

 terms of it. One thing is certain, if it may not claim 

 rank as the king of tropical fruits, it is the one with 

 the most abominable and offensive odour, which has 

 been commonly compared either to putrid animal 

 matter or rotten onions, and it would be inferred 

 that a fruit with such an odour, would be most 

 repugnant. This is so perhaps upon first acquain- 

 tance, but that is speedily overcome, and the durian 

 in the end becomes a favourite. The old traveller 

 Simchott, writing as early as 1599, says : " It is of such 

 an excellent taste that it surpasses in flavour all the 

 other fruits of the world according to those who have 

 tasted it." And Dr. Paludanus adds : " This fruit is 

 of a hot and humid nature. To those not used to 

 it, it seems at first to smell like rotten onions, but 

 immediately they have tasted it they prefer it to all 

 other food. The natives give it honourable titles, 

 exalt it, and make verses on it." Mr. A. Wallace 

 (" Malay Archipelago," p. 75), than whom we want 

 no better authority, says : "A rich butter-like 

 custard flavoured with almonds gives the best general 

 idea of it, but intermingled with it come wafts of 

 flavour that call to mind cream-cheese, onion sauce, 

 brown sherry, and other incongruities. Then there is 

 a rich glutinous smoothness in the pulp which nothing 

 else possesses but which adds to its delicacy. It 

 is neither acid, nor sweet, nor juicy, yet one fee)s 

 the want of none of these qualities, for it is perfect as 

 it is. It produces no nausea or other bad effects, and 

 the more you eat of it, the less you feel inclined to 

 stop. In fact to eat durians is a new sensation worth 

 a voyage to the East to experience. It would not be 

 well perhaps to say that the durian is the best of all 

 fruits, because it cannot supply the place of the sub- 

 acid juicy kinds, such as the orange, mango, and 

 mangosteen, whose refreshing and cooling qualities 

 are so wholesome and grateful, but as producing a 

 food of the most exquisite flavour it is unsurpassed. 

 If I had to fix on two only as representing the perfec- 

 tion of the two classes, I should certainly choose the 

 durian and the orange as the king and queen cf 

 fruits." Mr. Wallace also remarked upon the 

 dangerous character of a durian plantation when the 

 fruit is ripe, and liable to fall, and it is of frequent 

 occurrence that such prove very serious to many 

 persons during the season, and owing to the great 

 weight of the fruit, and its spiny coating, a very bad 

 wound is caused by a blow upon the head, but which 

 bleeds profusely. At the same time he remarks it is 

 astonishing how rapidly persons recover from the 

 effects of such a blow. 



The Mangosteen Fruit. — This is produced by 

 Garcinia mangostana, Linn., which belongs to the 

 Gamboge family (Guttifereiu). It is a native of the 

 Malay Archipelago, where it is extensively cultivated. 

 It has also been introduced, and is cultivated in the 

 Southern and Eastern provinces of India, but it does 



