FRUIT-GROWING 157 



market, and 6d. in Johannesburg. Seven- to 

 eight-year-old trees yielded last year 50 to 60 

 fruit each. Avocado pears are considered par- 

 ticularly dangerous to eat unripe, though they 

 should always be plucked before they are ripe, 

 i.e., before the yellow tinge appears. 



Loquats grow into handsome trees, producing an 

 abundance of flowers, but they do not fruit well. 

 In India the tree blossoms twice, but it is only 

 from the late autumn flowering that fruit is 

 borne. 



Sapodillas, on the other hand, bear well and 

 the fruits sell for a penny each. 



Much confusion prevails as to the nomenclature 

 of the anonas, authorities differing even in text- 

 books. The generally accepted popular names 

 for the three principal species are as follows : — 



Custard apple, or Sweet sop : Anona squamosa. 



Bullock's heart, sometimes also called Sweet 

 sop: A. reticulata. 



Sour sop : A. Muricata. 



These trees, besides being particularly liable to 

 fly attack, are scarcely worth cultivating on a 

 commercial scale ; the fruit, especially that of 

 custard apple, which falls to pieces, being very 

 tender and subject to injury in transport. 



A large variety of bananas are cultivated in 

 Zanzibar, some of which might be well worth a 



