CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



worthless and even dangerous. As it will not ripen well off the 

 trees and must be quite soft when eaten, it will never be of much 

 market value. The tree seems somewhat hardier than the orange. 



THE TREE TOMATO 



This plant (Cyphomandra betacea) is a native of ^Central Amer- 

 ica and is of shrubbery habit, growing five or six feet high, with 

 large, shining leaves, often a foot long. The flowers are fragrant, 

 of a pale, flesh color, with yellow stamens, and are followed by 

 fruit the shape and size of a duck's egg, at first of a purple tint, 

 but gradually assuming a warm, reddish color as it ripens. When 

 ripe the fruit may be used raw as a tomato is. If the skin is removed 

 and the fruit stewed with sugar, it has a slight sub-acid flavor which 

 is very refreshing. It makes a fine jelly. The plants bear the second 

 year from the seed and the fruit ripens continuously for several 

 months. The seeds should be started just as are those of the 

 common tomato, and the plants set out eight or ten feet apart. 



THE KAI APPLE 



This name is applied to the fruit of Aberia Caffra, a native of 

 Natal and Kaffaria, a tall shrub, yielding an edible fruit of a golden 

 yellow color, about an inch in diameter. It is commended as a 

 hedge plant, as it is densely clothed with strong dry spines. The 

 leaves are small and of a rich green hue. The fruit, which is pro- 

 duced freely in the warmer parts of the State, is chiefly used for 

 making preserves. 



OTHER FRUITS .; 



The foregoing enumeration does not include all the exotic fruits 

 which have found a place in California soil. There are many more, 

 some of which are demonstrating their fitness to add to the graces 

 or the gains of our horticultural life. The caricas, carissas, eugenias, 

 hovenia, etc., are all gaining places in California gardens. Even the 

 more strictly tropical mango, the monstera, sapodilla and the like 

 are claiming the attention of amateurs. 



