PRESENT STATUS, 25 



GUM. 



The gwn which exudes from the trunks of man^o trees, frequently 

 in c'ousidonible quantities, is said to be a substitute for gum arabic. 



MINOK USES IN' INDIA. 



The nuiltitude of uses the mango has in India, where it is not merel}'' 

 a hixurv but an important food staple. ha\e l)een summarized in 

 Watt's Dictionary as follows: 



AVhen green, the stone is extracte<l, the fruit cut into lialves or slices, and (a) jnit 

 into curries; {!>) made into a pickle, \vith salt, mustard oil, chilies, and other ingre- 

 dients; {c) made into preserves and jellies by being boiled and cooked in sirup; 

 ((/) boiled, strained, and with milk and sugar made into a custard known as mango- 

 fool; (<") dried and made into the native "ambchur," used for adding acidity to 

 certain curries; (/) when very young cut into small j)iei'es, mixed with a little salt, 

 and sliced chilies and milk added, it forms a "tasty" salad. 



When ripe {a) it is made into curry whii'h has a sweet, acid, not unpleasant, taste; 

 (h) it is cut into small pieces and made into a salail with vinegar and chilies (the 

 sour fruit is sometimes s« used); {<■) the juice is s lueezed, spread on plates, and 

 allowed to dry; this forms the tliin cakes known as amb-sath. The kernels are eaten 

 in times of famine, and by the poorer classes in many parts of India they are ])oiled 

 and eaten as greens. They are also ground with meal and mixed with various other 

 ingredients to form the relish known as am-khatai. When stuffed with coriander, 

 turmeric, and other spices, and boiled in mustard oil, they are esteemed a great 

 delicacy. 



THE MANGO IN PORTO RICO. 

 PRESENT STATUS. 



The mango is one of the most common fruits in Porto Rico, and 

 during the .season when this fruit is ripe it is eaten in larger q.uantities 

 than an}' other, with the possible exception of the banana, which lat- 

 ter is used more as a vegetable, cooked in one form or other. That it 

 is a popular as well as common fruit is shown by the fact that when 

 mangoes are scarce people are willing to pay comparatively high 

 prices for them, and this in spite of their being looked upon as luxuries 

 rather than as staple articles of food. 



Porto Rico seems very well adapted to the production of mangoes 

 and, as the plant is strictly tropical and very susceptible to cold, would 

 seem to have a decided advantage over Florida, whe>re good varieties 

 aie already successfully grown, but where, except in the extreme 

 soiithern part, the danger of injury from cold is very great. A really 

 high-grade mango is unknown in Porto Rico, and the first steps 

 toward making their exportation profitable is the introduction from 

 the other islands, or from Florida, Mexico, or the East Indies, of 

 grafted stock of the best varieties. Even seedlings of improved forms 

 would without doubt be a great advance, but until the quality is in 

 some way improved the shipping of mangoes in other than small lots 

 will scarcel}' prove profitable, as the sale of the mango in its present 



