Fairchild: The Man^osteen 



345 





ORIENTAL VENDOR OF MANGOSTEENS 



The fruits are seen piled up in the basket on the left-hand side; among them are the fruits of the 

 rambutan, Nephelium lappaceum, covered with long, fleshy protuberances while a small tray 

 contains the fruits of the Doekoe {Lansium domestkum), an Interesting fruit which is 

 known in the Philippines as the "lanzon." The rambutan is closely related to the licher 

 {Litchi chinensis) , a fruit with which every traveler in South China is probablv familiar. 

 (Fig. 3.) 



Maui, mangosteen trees fruit regularly, 

 bearing good sized specimens of excel- 

 lent flavor. Francis Gay, who planted 

 the tree at Makaweli, Kauai, wrote 

 that where the tree is growing the water 

 is about 6 feet below the surface of the 

 soil, that the tree is irrigated twice or 

 three times a month, and that the 

 rainfall of the region is 6 to 7 inches a 

 year. This tree of Mr. Gay's is about 

 25 years old, fruited first when 10 years 

 old and now bears only a few fruits 

 per year; which latter very from 23^ to 

 3 inches in diameter. It stands about 

 15 feet above sea level in a spot well 

 protected from the winds by windbreaks 

 and is growing on a sandy, alluvial soil. 



Mr. Gay finds that only a small propor- 

 tion of the young plants set out, live, 

 the most of them dying the first year, 

 but whether proper protection was 

 given to the tender leaves of these young 

 plants or not he does not state. 



Dr. J. C. Willis, formerly director 

 of the Botanic Gardens in Ceylon, 

 assured me that trees grew well in the 

 Gardens at Burliar in the Nilgiri Hills 

 in the Madras Presidency of India. 

 There are a ntunber of trees in the 

 Sulu archipelago of the Philippines, 

 and even in islands much farther north, 

 and fruit is shipped to Manila in the 

 season. The mangosteen has even 

 been brought into fruit under the grey 



