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



which possibly might be had from Madeira, or even St. 

 Michael's, where fair crops are obtained when the seasons 

 are propitious, and even in Europe proper fruits have 

 been produced in the open air. This was in 1874 at 

 Necessidades, near Lisbon, the residence of the King of 

 Portugal, the tree — a dwarf one — bearing nine fruits 

 about the size of ducks' eggs. 



Of varieties there is literally no end, a result doubtless 

 brought about by indiscriminate propagation from seed. 

 Some are small with tough skins, large stones, and fibrous 

 pulp, with a strong turpentine-like flavour. Others are 

 large, with thin stones, the skin being tender and the 

 thick pulp quite soft, like that of a real Beurre pear, the 

 flavour being most luscious and delicate, without a trace 

 of the tiupentine-and-tow-like combination so marked in 

 the case of inferior kinds. The flavours of the different 

 fine varieties are most varied, much more so than in the 

 case of our best pears, and two or three good mangoes 

 before breakfast form a treat sure to be appreciated by a 

 lover of good fruit, and much as I* appreciate a good 

 durian, the mango seems to me a far more delicious and 

 refreshing fruit for general consumption under a hot sun. 



The rambutan is a common fruit in Singapore, and is 

 the produce of a pinnate-leaved tree, thirty to fifty feet 

 in height, the hairy fruits being borne in clusters near 

 the extremities of the branches. On the husk being re- 

 moved the edible pulp is seen surrounding the solitary 

 seed, and is of a white jelly-like consistency, with a 

 brisk and refreshing sub-acid flavour. There are several 

 varieties. The common one has a red outer husk, but 

 there are yellow and purple skinned varieties of excel- 

 lent flavour. The Malay name, " boi rambutan," or 

 hairy fruit, refers to the soft, thick hairs on the outer 

 husk. Two other species grown in China afford fruits of 



