THE CHOICEST OF TROPICAL FRUITS. 89 



covering containing a white, opaque centre an incli or 

 more in diameter. This is divided into four or five 

 parts, each of which usually contains a small seed. 

 This white part has a slightly-sweet taste, and a rich 

 yet delicate flavor, which is entirely peculiar to it- 

 self. It tastes perhaps more like the white interior 

 of a checkerberry than any other fruit in our tem- 

 perate climate. The thick covering is dried by the 

 natives and used for an astringent. 



Several fruits claim the second place in this scale. 

 Some Europeans would place the ramhutan next the 

 mangostin^ and others would prefer the mango or 

 the duhu. The ramhutan {Neplielmm lajypaceum) is 

 nearly as large as an apple-tree. The fruit is globu- 

 lar in form, and an inch or an inch and a half in 

 diameter. The outside is a bright-red rind, orna- 

 mented with coarse, scattered bristles. Within is a 

 semi-transparent pulp, of a slightly acid taste, sui*- 

 rounding the seed. This tree, like the durian and 

 the mangostin^ is wholly confined to the archipelago, 

 and its acid fruit is most refreshing in those hot lands. 

 At Batavia it is so abundant in February and March, 

 that great quantities almost line the streets in the 

 market parts of the city, and small boats are seen 

 filled to ovei'flowing wdth this bright, strawberry- 

 colored fruit. 



The mango-tree (^Mangifera indicd) is a lai'ge, 

 thickly-branching tree, with bright-green leaves. Its 

 fruit is of an elliptical form, and contains a flat stone 

 of the same shape. Before it is ripe it is so keenly 

 acid, that it needs only to be preserved in salt water 

 to be a nice pickle for the tabic, especially with the 



