THE MANGO. 401 



other. The varieties of a fruit so much esteemed 

 must be numerous, accordingly it is reckoned that 

 there are upwards of forty in the island of Java alone, 

 while those of some of the islands farther to the east, 

 such as Amboyna and Banda, are said to be still 

 finer. The Mango dodol is the largest variety, the 

 fruit weighing upwards of two pounds, generally 

 about the size of a middling shaddock. Some of the 

 others, which make up the five principal heads into 

 which Rumphius (Herbarium Jlmboinense) arranges 

 the whole, are of superior size and flavour : but the 

 fruit, taken altogether, is one of the chief dainties of 

 the vegetable world. 



The mango is never brought from India to this 

 country in any other state than the green fruit 

 pickled, from which no idea of the flavour can be 

 formed. The ripe fruit is very perishable ; and when 

 it begins to decay it is offensive, and tastes strongly 

 like turpentine. It is not easy even to secure the 

 vegetative power of the nut or kernel during the 

 voyage from India, unless it be inclosed in wax ; 

 and the plants are with difficulty preserved as objects 

 of curiosity. 



In the Transactions of the Horticultural Society 

 for 1826, there is an account of some mangos, raised 

 by Earl Powis, at Walcot Hall, in Shropshire. " The 

 mango," says Mr. Sabine, the secretary to the society, 

 in his very able paper upon the subject, " is well 

 known to all travellers who have visited the tropical 

 parts of the world, as being by far the best fruit that 

 is generally produced in those regions, and as that 

 which is the most uniformly grateful to an European 

 palate. In such climates, it is cultivated wherever 

 the arts of civilization have penetrated ; and it may 

 there be said to hold the same station, among other 

 fruits, as the apple possesses among those of northern 

 regions. Like the apple, the number of varieties 



