14 



390 YEAEBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the trees propagated in this way appear to be generally weak and short 

 lived because of the imperfect union of stock and scion that commonly 

 results. In Jamaica and elsewhere in the West Indies little progress has 

 been made in propagating by any other method than the growing of 

 seedlings, though a few trees of several choice varieties have been 

 successfully inarched. 



Prior to 1889 none but seedling mango trees were grown in Florida. 

 In that year an importation of eleven grafted or inarched trees of five 

 varieties was received from Bombay, India, by the Division of Pomol- 

 ogy, and placed with fruit growers on Lake Worth, in Florida, for 

 testing. The trees were in poor condition on arrival, and through 

 gradual deterioration and the effects of the freeze of February, 1895, 

 all save one perished before maturing fruit. The surviving tree, a 

 Mulgoba, quickly recovered from the effects of the freeze, and has 

 borne regular annual crops of fruit of very superior quality since 1898. 

 Its introduction marks the beginning of systematic, rational mango 

 culture in the United States. Recent experience indicates that the 

 mango can be successfully grafted in Florida, and the variety is now 

 quite generally distributed along the lower east coast, where it appears 

 to thrive. The specimen illustrated was from the original imported 

 tree now standing on the grounds of Prof. E. Gale, at Mangonia, Fla. 



The success of Mulgoba since it has become established in Florida, 

 and the marked improvement in the methods of propagating this fruit 

 by budding and grafting, should encourage judicious effort to intro- 

 duce other choice varieties of the mango that have long been known 

 to exist in India. Several of these are considered of greater value 

 than Mulgoba, some because of their greater productiveness, others 

 because of their superior quality, and still others because of their 

 earlier or later ripening. 



While the efforts to grow this fruit in California have hitherto not 

 resulted in the production of fruit of choice quality, it seems not im- 

 probable that through the introduction of early ripening varieties, 

 mango culture may yet be successfully established in the frostless 

 thermal belts of the southern portion of that State. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Form roundish, oblique, reniform; size large, weighing from three- 

 fourths pound to 1 pound; surface smooth and undulating; color yel- 

 low, beautifully blushed with red and faintly dotted with numerous 

 brown dots; skin thin, tough, tenacious; seed reniform, oval, rather 

 large; fiber scanty, fine, and tender; flesh rich, apricot yellow, very 

 tender, melting and juicy, sweet, rich, fragrant; quality very good. 



The Mulgoba surpasses in flavor and quality the seedlings previously 

 grown, but its most distinctly marked features of superiority are the 



