COOL FRUITS GROWING ON HOT SAND. 233 



fresh supplies of moisture from the soil. That such 

 is the case, is made evident by the fact that fruit 

 severed from the stalk quickly loses a great deal of 

 its delicious coolness, consequent upon the cutting off 

 of this, its source of supply. Sir James Emerson 

 Tennent, some time Lieutenant-Governor of Ceylon, 

 in his fine work upon this island, has been one of the 

 few who has called attention to this subject; and he 

 is careful to point out that : " even an interval of a 

 few minutes after it has been pulled, is sufficient to 

 destroy the charm ; for once severed from the stem, 

 it rapidly acquires the hot temperature of the surround- 

 ing air."* 



It is therefore (though we regard this statement as 

 to a certain extent, overdrawn) necessary that fruit 

 should be eaten the moment it has been gathered, in 

 order to enjoy to perfection the full benefit of its icy 

 coldness. "Under a blazing sun," the same authority 

 justly remarks, " no more exquisite physical enjoyment 

 can be imagined, than the chill and fragrant flesh of 

 the pineapple, or the abundant juice of the mango, 

 which when freshly pulled, feels as cool as iced 

 water, "f 



The extent to which evaporation can reduce the 

 temperature of vegetables below that of the air, is 

 well illustrated by some experiments made by Dr. 

 Hooker in the valley of .the Ganges; who found that 

 the fresh juice of the Mudar (Calotropis] was only 72 

 F., while the damp sand, on the bed of the river, 

 where it grew, was from 94 to 104 F. Dry sand 



* Ceylon, by Sir James Emerson Tennent, K.C.S., 1859, Vol. i, 

 p. 120. 



f Jbid., p. 120. 

 Ibid., p. 122. 



