ORIGIN OF CULTIVATED FRUITS 275 



names for some of them being found in the Sanskrit. The mild 

 acid varieties seem to have first attracted attention, the sweet 

 orange seemingly being the most recent of all, though now the 

 most popular in the West, where it has been greatly improved. 



The banana (Musa sapientum), literally the food of the wise, 

 from an old tradition that this was the special food of the 

 Hindu philosophers. Its near relative, the plantain, sometimes 

 reckoned as a separate species, Musa paradisiaca, is larger 

 and coarser than the banana and generally requires cooking 

 for the best results. 



The banana is without doubt native to the lower regions of 

 southeastern Asia and the outlying islands, where it has been 

 cultivated from antiquity. It was early known to the Greeks, 

 Latins, and Arabs as an Indian fruit, but the only ancient 

 names are in Sanskrit. The ancient Egyptians and Hebrews 

 did not know the plant, which Candolle considers to be a sign 

 that its cultivation cannot be regarded as remote. 



Whether the banana is also native to Africa and the New 

 World is yet a matter of uncertainty. It was certainly known in 

 both continents at a very early day, and Stanley, as well as earlier 

 explorers, found the banana and the plantain both cultivated 

 and wild in the depths of the Kongo. The plant almost never 

 bears seeds. 



The pineapple (Ananassa sativa). Without doubt this is truly 

 an American plant, native in the regions of the Orinoco and 

 northward. It was of course unknown till the discovery of the 

 New World, but has since spread rapidly over all subtropical 

 countries. It is clearly the finest tropical fruit when had at its 

 best, which is rare. 



The grape. The cultivated grape of to-day comes from two 

 distinctly different sources, one the Old World, the other 

 the New. 



one bears fruit of a good quality. The writer speaks from experience in this, 

 for it was his habit in riding over the mountains in eastern South America to 

 depend upon the wild orange for refreshment. The trees bearing good fruit 

 could readily be told at a distance. 



