BY THE REV. J. E. TENISON-WOODS. 85 



called the fruit of Malaysia. It is said that all attempts to 

 cultivate it in India or tropical America have failed. It is most 

 abundant in Java, Sumatra, the Peninsula and Siam, where it is 

 mostly in cultivation, though said to occur in a wild state ; ex- 

 tending to the Sulu Archipelago, but not further into the Philippines 

 (though Crawiurd says the contrary). It is rather curious to 

 trace the different opinions about the offensive odour which, like 

 all the Sterculiads, is emitted from the rind of the fruit. Rumphius 

 and Valentyn state that in their time it was forbidden by law in 

 the Moluccas to throw them near any public path. In the 

 " Histoire des Voyages," copied by Lamarck in his Encyclopaedia, 

 it is said that the Durian diffuses an excellent odour, but the taste 

 is rather unpleasant being that of fried onions. It is needless to 

 state that the Malays are passionately fond of it, and most 

 Europeans also, after a time. There are at least three varieties, 

 in one of which the aril surrounding the nut is hard and leathery. 

 There is, however, a great difference in the flavour in the same 

 varieties, some being luscious and agreeable, while others are 

 harsh and almost acrid with a large admixture of the odour with 

 the flavour. Only a Malay knows how to choose a good Durian. 

 A preserve or comfiture is made from the pulp which I have tasted 

 but once, and then the flavour of garlic seemed disagreeably 

 predominant. 



The Amygdalace^ and Rosacea do not flourish in Malaysia. 

 European fruits cannot be successfully cultivated ; but in Java, 

 on the higher slopes and rich volcanic soils of the mountains 

 almost everything can be produced. Thus very good Peaches, 

 Almonds, Cherries, Cherry-laurels and Plums, with Strawberries 

 and Raspberries, have rewarded the toil of the acclimatisers at 

 Pantaran, Buitenzorg, and perhaps the Tengger mountain. The 

 careful Dutch husbandry at Buitenzorg, with the advantages 

 possessed by the Acclimatisation Society's garden, must soon place 

 Java in possession of the fruits and flowers of every country of the 

 world, whether tropical or temperate. 



The MYRTACEiE produce perhaps a larger number of indigenous 

 and introduced fruits in Malaysia than any other order, the 



