310 The Gardens of the Sun. [ch. xv. 



Malayan islands, where the forests had been cleared for 

 cultivation, and these trees left standing for the sake of 

 their produce. Their clusters of large white flowers are 

 produced about April, and form a great attraction to an 

 enormous species of semi-diurnal bat, a kind which is 

 said to be one of the greatest pests of Eastern fruit- 

 groves. It is from cultivated trees that the finest of 

 fruits are obtained; and, without exception, the best 

 fruits I ever saw or tasted were from a tree in the grounds 

 of Government House, Labuan. It does well in Sumatra, 

 Java, Celebes, and the Spice Islands, and even as far 

 north as Mindanao. Forests of it exist on the Malay 

 peninsula, and very fine fruit is brought to Singapore 

 from Siam about July or August. On the coast of the 

 Bay of Bengal it grows as far north as Tenasserim, in 

 lat. 14° N., but it does not succeed well in India, and 

 cannot be grown in the West Indies. In Sumatra groves 

 of this tree exist near the Palembang Biver, and in the 

 primaeval forests there are specimens fully 150 feet in 

 height, the fruits being in perfection about September 

 and October ; but two crops are produced each year, and 

 throughout the Archipelago one finds its seasons of 

 ripening to be very various. 



There are many different varieties, doubtless the result 

 of promiscuous seeding, or, perchance, cross-fertilisation, 

 and one variety actually produces flowers and fruit on its 

 exposed roots. 



Of all Eastern fruits the mangosteen is perhaps the 

 general favourite with Europeans, and of all fruits it is 

 one of the most delicious and refreshing. It flourishes 

 in nearly all the islands from the south coast of Java to 

 Mindanao, the most southern of the Philippine group, 

 and on the mainland it flourishes as far as Bangkok, 

 and in the interior to 1G° N., but on the coast of the Bay 



