12 THE MANGO IN PORTO RICO. 



limited until historic times. To the west, it had not passed the Red 

 Sea, being unknown in Egypt, while to the east it had apparently not 

 reached the islands of the Pacific. According to Rumphiiis (1750) 

 it was introduced into some of the islands of the Malay Archipelago 

 within the memory of living men, though the variety of native names 

 would argue an earlier introduction. The species is not well adapted 

 for distribution by natural agencies, and man has probabh^ been 

 chiefly responsitjle for its dissemination. 



In the New World it seems to have been first introduced into Bra- 

 zil, although it is not known at what date. The earliest record of its 

 introduction into the West Indies appears in Hughes's Natural Historj^ 

 of Barbados, 17.50. where it states: ''This tree or its seed was recently 

 brought from Rio Janiero and grows only at the Guiney plantation." 

 The date of this importation is more definitely placed at about 1742 

 or 1743 bv letters published in Transactions of the Society for the 

 Encouragement of Arts, etc., 1786, page 217. In 1782 Captain Mar- 

 shall, of Lord Rodnej^'s squadron, captured a French vessel, bound 

 from the island of Reunion or Mauritius to Santo Domingo, that had 

 on board manv valuable plants, among which was the mango, said to 

 have been in the form of grafted stock. These were planted in the 

 botanic gardens of Mr. Hinton East at Gordon Town, Jamaica. Two 

 kinds — one labeled No. 11 and the other No. 32 — have since been 

 known by these designations, No. 11 being one of the most popular 

 varieties in Jamaica at the present time. 



The mango is now a common fruit throughout the Tropics of the 

 world. It has been developed to the highest state of perfection in its 

 home in India, where the number of well-marked varieties is enor- 

 mous. Mr. Maries, of Durbhungah, has collected over 500 varieties, 

 100 of which he characterizes as good. Thirtv-four of these varieties 

 he describes in Watt's Dictionar}^ of Economic Products of India. 

 Ceylon is also famous for its mangoes. Both the east and the west 

 coasts of Africa have several good varieties. In Australia the culture 

 is fast increasing, and it bids fair to become one of the most popular 

 fruits. One very fine variety is said to exist in the island of St. 

 Helena. The mango is the most highly prized fruit of Guam, where 

 there is a fine seedling variety. Its cultivation in that island is, how- 

 ever, not a success, owing probabl}^ to the thin soil, which aflords 

 such a shallow footing that the hurricanes uproot the trees in all 

 exposed localities. In the Hawaiian Islands, Mr. William C. Stubbs" 

 reports: "The mango is receiving perhaps more attention just now 

 than any other fruit. As many as twelve, or fifteen varieties hav^e 

 already been introduced. It is a delicious fruit, and decidedly orna- 

 mental in an}^ ground."' In the New W^orld, Trinidad and Jamaica 



«Bul. No. 95, Office of Experiment Stations, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Report on 

 the Agricultural Resources aud Capabilities of Hawaii, p. 40. 



