374 



Seneca. An excellent and productive variety which ripens at 

 mid-season between the early and late kinds. Fruit large, oval, 

 black, with a slight bloom, juicy, and well flavoured. 



SAPODILLA PLUM. 



The fruit known under this name is the product of Achras Sapota 

 (*<ij>:>ta Achrus), a large evergreen tree witli white flowers indigenous 

 to the West Indies and tropical South America. It belongs to the 

 order SapotaceSB, which embraces many genera that yield useful 

 edible fruits. Achras is the Greek name for the Pear, and was applied 

 to the genera in allusion to the shape and colour of the fruit. The 

 fruit is as large as a medium-sized Quince, with i-eddish-yellow flesh 

 which has a rich perfume and a delicious flavour-. In addition to its 

 value as a fruit tree the Sapodilla Plum yields gutta-percha in 

 considerable quantities, and medicinally the bark is a useful tonic, 

 while the seeds are aperient and tonic. An Australian species, Achras 

 australis (Sideroxylon a/istrale), an evergreen tree indigenous to 

 Queensland and the coast river districts of Northern New South 

 Wales, bears a Sapodilla Plum that is tolerably good fruit, but which 

 is greatly inferior to the exotic kind, though the tree is more hardy. 

 This species is also known under the name of Australian Apple. (For 

 full description see page 202, volume 1). The Sapodilla Plum 

 requires a rich loamy soil, and the West Indian species, as a matter 

 of course, can only be grown, successfully in tropical or semi-tropical 

 regions. The Australian species, being somewhat more hardy, may 

 be grown in medium warm districts. Being handsome evergreen 

 trees, both species are worthy of attention for ornamental purposes 

 as well as for their fruit in congenial localities. Propagation is 

 mostly effected by seeds, which should be planted an inch and a-half 

 deep. Plants may be obtained from layers, and ripened cutting's of 

 the current season's growth strike readily in sand under shelter. 



SAPOTA. 



This is a handsome evergreen tree, known to botanists as Casimiroa 

 i*. belonging to the natural order Auraritaceae, and closelv allied 

 to the Citrus family. It is a native of Mexico, where it grows up to 

 an elevation of about seven thousand feet. By the Mexicans it is 

 called Zapote. The tree attains a height of about thirty feet, and 

 makes a compact and dense growth. The fruit is about the size of a 

 Cherry, pale yellow, and must be dead ripe before it is fit to eat. 

 When fully matured the flesh is melting like that of the Peach, has 

 a. rich sub-acid flavour, and is said to induce sleep. The seed is said 

 to possess deleterious qualities. The Sapota may be grown success- 

 fully from medium warm to tempi-rate rey-ions. where the frosts are 



