THE BANANA. g5 



the water of the cocoa-nut, and apjjease his hunger 

 on bananas and boiled rice, a simple and literally a 

 frugal meal. Out of the midst of these drooping 

 leaves hangs down the top of the main stem, with its 

 fruit decreasino; in size to the end. Some near the 

 base are already changing from a dark green to a 

 bright golden yellow. Those are filled with deli- 

 cious juices, and they melt in your mouth like a deli- 

 cately-flavored cream. Such bananas as can be 

 purchased in om' markets have been so bruised, and 

 taste so little like this fruit at its home in the 

 tropics, or at least in the East Indian islands, that 

 they scarcely serve to remind one of what he has 

 been accustomed to enjoy. The number of the 

 varieties of bananas and the difference between 

 them is as great as among apples in our own 

 land. 



Botanists call this tree the Musa paradisiaca^ for 

 its fruit is so constantly ripening throughout the 

 year, and is such a common article of food, that it 

 corresponds well to " the tree that yielded her fruit 

 every month, ^' and whose " leaves were for the heal- 

 ing of the nations." 



Besides these plants, there are also seen on the 

 low lands Aroidece^ Amaranthcicece^ papilionaceous 

 or leguminous plants, and poisonous Eiqyliorhiacece. 

 The papaw {Cariea papaya) thrives luxm-iantly on 

 most soils. The natives are always fond of it, and I 

 found it a most palatable fruit, but the Europeans 

 in the East generally consider it a too coarse or com- 

 mon fruit to be placed on the table. It was evidei\t- 

 ly introduced by the Portuguese and Spanish frc ni 



