701) 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



blossoms, but the bees could snatch only an hour 

 now and then — seldom a whole day — to gather the 

 nectar. Some of the very strongest colonies filled 

 a case of sections, mostly in a skimped, rounded- 

 off, indifferent manner, after their fashion when 

 supplies are scarce. 



The rain has continued, day and night, allthetime; 

 and the bees had to live partially on what they had 

 gathered. If it ever clears up, the asters, goldenrods, 

 heart's-ease, and other fall honey-producing weeds 

 will give a good fall crop, the wet season having 

 given them a good start; but that little champion 

 "if" stands in the middle of the path of prediction, 

 defying the wisdom of sages. No honey worth 

 naming is the return from allot the Atlantic States, 

 which I believe will include all the country east of 

 the Alleghanies. E. E. Ewing. 



K.sing Sun, Md. 



TROPICAL FRUITS. 



DESCRIBED AND PICTURED BV ONE OF OUR MIS- 

 SIONARIES ; ALSO SOMETHING ABOUT THE 

 EUUITS OF THE MISSION WORK. 



a EAR BROTHER:— Most of the fruits in this 

 country grow in their natural state; and 

 when your horticultural readers see what 

 splendid specimens we have they will won- 

 der what they might become with proper 

 culture, and effort at improvement. Many of the 

 larger fruits, such as the huge " jack-fruit," on the 

 upper left-hand side of the picture, grow on very 

 big tiees. In the States they would he classed 

 among forest-trees, and they appear very strange 

 to the new comer, with these watermelon-shaped 

 fruits hanging from the trunk or larger limbs, just 

 as though they had been artificially tied or fastened 

 there. The durien (doo-re-eri) tree is also a big one; 

 bigger, indeed, than the "jack." It grows forty 

 and fifty feet, with a spreading top. There is one, 

 however, in our compound that shoots up thirty 

 feet a straight and rather rugged trunk, and then 

 suddenly spreads out, umbrella fashion. The co- 

 coanut is the most kingly and majestic of all trees. 

 The green cocoanut is seen on the left next to the 

 "jack." A cocoauut orchard is a sight never to be 

 forgotten. Their slender, graceful stems, rise from 

 thirty to fifty feet, unbroken by any branch or 

 bump, and terminating in the victorious cluster of 

 waving flouds. The trunk is a drab brown, the 

 branches a rich greeu. The seashores are here and 

 there lined with orchards. Only last Saturday we 

 (Chinese schoolboys, teachers, missionaries and all) 

 went across the harbor and spent the day picnick- 

 ing under the shade of a cocoanut-palm orchard. 

 We bathed in the surf, ate green cocoanuts (the 

 pulpy meat of which is very nice), lunched, gather- 

 ed shells from the beach, and toward evening were 

 rowed home over the two miles' journey by Chinese 

 boatman. They stood in the wide rear end of their 

 "sampans," and propelled their boats, facing ahead, 

 by holding the end of their right oar in their left 

 hand and the end of the left oar in their riffht. I 

 leave it to jour readers to find out how they could 

 do this, but I leave them with the assurance that 

 hundreds of them earn a livelihood working in 

 just that position in rowing. 



The small round fruit with white pulp in a dark 

 purple shuck is the mangostine. It is seen just at 

 the bottom, on the right of the picture. This is a 

 most luscious aud refreshing fruit. The flavor of 



a rich grape comes the nearest to it of any thing 

 you have in the States. It is about the size of an 

 ordinary apple, and the tree strongly resembles an 

 apple in shape and in the appearance of the leaves 

 and fruit. The shell makes an imperishable dye, 

 like the walnut shuck. It stains a knife black, and 

 nothing but the juice of the pulp will remove it. 



The small fruit, of a hairy appearance, down in 

 the left corner, is the ramhutan (ram-bont-an). Its 

 name means "hair." Bambut is the Malay word 

 for hair. The fruit is inclosed in a leathery husk or 

 skin which fits closely upon the egg-shaped ball 

 within. When it is opened, the fruit looks like a 

 California grape, but is not so acceptable for eat- 

 ing. It has a big seed, and the juicy, tart (or 

 sweet) pulp adheres firmly to the seed. It is eaten 

 by being put into the mouth, and worried and suck- 

 ed until the juice is all extracted. It makes fine 

 jelly. Most fruits here are sub-acid, although the 

 oranges on the island are very sour. Some may be 

 seen on the tureen. 



The fruit on the left— long, labeled, and corked, is 

 exceedingly common here. More of this is con- 

 sumed than of any other or all others combined. 

 It produces a peculiar sensation when eaten, and 

 causes sound-minded people to do very foolish 

 things. Other varieties of the same species flour- 

 ish in America, but I think it will be abandoned 

 there after a few years. It affects Tamils and Chi- 

 nese just the same as Englishmen, and yet is a 

 source of very great revenue to the Government. 

 I think all who see the picture will agree with me 

 that it is an evil thing, and should be cast out, root 

 and branch. 



I ought not to leave the fruits without mention- 

 ing how the durien is eaten and relished by some, 

 and how it is not eaten but disliked, even hated, by 

 others. The pulp is very soft, having the consis- 

 tency of a rich cream custard, which is distributed 

 over the surface of a seed about the size and shape 

 of a bantam's egg. The pulp is kept in shape by a 

 thin film covering the custard. If you add a 6trong 

 extract of the odor of Limburger cheese and a 

 slight onion flavor, you have the durien. It is very 

 difficult to learn to eat it. Some rever learn; but 

 when once acquired, the taste for it grows until it 

 becomes almost a passion. I think there is no fruit 

 in the world so fine. They sell for ten and fifteen 

 cents a pound. Two crops of all fruits grow here 

 every year. 



But there are other good fruits I will mention in 

 closing. We have in our Anglo-Chinese school 360, 

 mostly Chinese boys, with their smooth-shaven 

 heads, long pig-tails, and wide coats and trowsers. 

 I teach seventy of them every day, and I have 

 learned to love them dearly, and some of them 

 have already learned to know and to love Jesus 

 Christ. 



We have sixteen of them in the boarding depart- 

 ment, most of whom come from thewealthiest Chi- 

 nese homes in this city of nearly 300,(XH) people,, 

 most of whom are Chinamen. One of these board- 

 ers is a bright fellow of fifteen who is studying 

 Latin, English analysis, English history, and ad- 

 vanced arithmetic. He is something of a musician, 

 and draws beautifully lor one never taught. He 

 heard the Child's Story of the Gospels read at 

 morning prayers for three years; he heard and saw 

 Christianity simplified, and soon came to know and 

 love Jesus. He gave his whole heart to him, and 

 not a day passes but he regularly prays. He has a 



