PERSIMMON AND KAKI 



437 



ripe; these are the last to ripen. Some are dry and sugary 



when ripe, and many are always puckery. Saplings three feet 



high are loaded with fruit, and the largest trees reach thirty feet. 



The natives seem to care little for them ; even the negroes 



Fig. 119. Shiino-Shiradzu, a kaki. Natural size. 



scarcely eat them, but do make them into " 'simmon beer." I 

 have come in contact with natives in the mountains who did not 

 know they were fit to eat. I believe that a plantation of carefully 

 selected trees, properly cared for and marketed in the best 

 season, would be a paying investment. 



The Japanese persimmon, or kaki, has been brought 



