312 



towns. We in Pinang have no reason to deplore the passing of 

 the horse," to which we would add, neither should the growers 

 of coconuts. The passing of the horse is creating new demands 

 from old-established industries for substitutes for horsehair. In- 

 cidentally, coconut fiber is fast taking the place of horsehair for 

 the stuffing of chairs, omnibus, railway and other seatings, and 

 bedding mattresses, and is found to be a cleaner and more whole- 

 .^ome, germ-proof article, with equal resiliency. — Tropical Mail. 



UNRECOGNIZED LUXURIES. 



It is astonishing how little is known in England of any fruits 

 outside a very limited selection. Yet there are a large number of 

 excellent fruits which, if the public taste could only become famil- 

 iarized with them, would become popular and important items in 

 tropical imports. 



There are few fruits which surj)ass in exquisite flavor the 

 mango, such as may be got in Bombay and other parts of the 

 eastern tropics. Difificulties of carriage of this rich, juicy fruit 

 have perhaps chiefly interfered with its introduction into Euro- 

 pean markets, but once let its merits be appreciated by the public 

 and these difficulties would not prove insuperable. 



The mangosteen, again, is a most delicately flavored fruit — the 

 cherimoyer of Peru, a species of anona, as is also another species 

 of the same fruit, the sugar apple. 



The avocado, or alligator pear, which grows in many ranches 

 in tropical America — the chico or sapodilla ; the guava ; the roselle 

 and the papaw (papaya), a large fruit not unlike a melon. 



All these and many other fruits, varied in character and flavor, 

 are well worthy of attention on the part of the European gourmet. 



Bananas are every year more in evidence in the London mar- 

 kets, and will grow still more in public estimation as their mode 

 of ripening becomes better understood. Today they are only 

 too often eaten in a half-ripe condition, their appearance when 

 perfectly ripe being misunderstood for one of decay. — Tropica! 

 Mail. 



THE EOOD OF THE PEOPLE. 



It would be difiicult to imagine a foundation for investiuent 

 more sure, more j^ermanent and more steadily remunerative than 

 that of the food of the peoi)le. Under pressure of urgent neces- 

 sity or misfortune many articles of daily use might be dispensed 

 with, but food is indispensable. And food is one of the chief 

 products of the tropics in which investment is invited — butter, 

 lard, confectionery, cocoa, cofifee, fruits, etc. 



Second only in importance to food are a number of articles 

 intimately associated with our daily life, which may almost be 



