314 



ripens late, and will keep several months. Skin dull yellowish- 

 grccn, thickly covered with russet dots and patches. Flesh yellowish- 

 white, very juicy, buttery, melting-, w ith a rich saccharine aromatic 

 flavour. Tree strong, hardy, but a somewhat uncertain bearer. A 

 good dessert Pear, and suitable for exporting. 



Zephirin Gregoire. An excellent Belgian dessert IViir. Fruit 

 medium size, roundish-obovate to pyriform, ripens late, and -keeps 

 for several weeks. Skin dull greenish-yellow, clouded and dotted 

 with cinnamon russet. Flesh yellowish-white, very juicy, melting, 

 sugary, with a rich and powerful aroma. Tree robust, pvramidal T 

 and an excellent bearer. Suitable for exporting. 



PIGEON PLUM. 



This name has been given to the fruit of two evergreen shrubs 01- 

 small trees indigenous to West Africa, and known to botanists as 

 Chrysobalanus eUpticus and C. Inteus, belonging to the order Chrysoba- 

 lanaceae. The name is derived from chrysos (gold) and balanus (an 

 acorn), in allusion to the colour and shape of the fruit in some of the 

 species. Another species, Chrysobalanus Icaco, yields the Cocoa Plum, 

 which is described at page 271, volume 1. The species now under 

 notice yield pleasant succulent fruits somewhat like small Plums. 

 They are both compact handsome shrubs, and may be used for 

 ornamental planting in congenial localities, but being* natives of a 

 warm climate they will only thrive in the tropical portions of 

 Australia. They thrive best in a rich deep loamy soil, but may be 

 grown in any fairly good ground. Propagation is most readily 

 effected by seeds, which should be planted two inches deep. Plants 

 may be easily obtained from layers, and cuttings of ripened shoots of 

 the current season will root in sand if protected. 



PINE-APPLE. 



HIST<>I;Y AN I- USKS. 



This popular fruit is indigenous to tropical South America, but it 

 is now naturalized in most of the warmer regions of the globe, and 

 is very widely cultivated. It is known to botanists as A nanas sdtivn 

 (Ananassa sativa, Bromelia sativa), and it belongs to the order 

 Bromeliacese. In habit the plant is a herbaceous perennial, and 

 bears its fruit upon a short stem springing from the crown. The 

 Pine-Apple is in reality a number of small but distinct fruits closely 

 bound together and forming a head. Each separate pip is a fruit in 

 itself. The Pine-Apple is widely cultivated in tropical and semi- 

 tropical regions, and its fruit is considered to be one of the richest 

 for flavour that the world has produced. It is highly valued as a 



