THE MANGOSTAN. 403 



nary orange ; and has a little cap on the extremity, 

 under which it is plaited into rays. The shell of the 

 fruit, which is at first green, but changes to brown 

 marked with yellow spots, has some resemblance to 

 that of a pomegranate, but is thicker and softer, and 

 the contents are more juicy. The pulp is divided 

 internally by thin septa, like those in an orange, and 

 the seeds are lodged in the divisions. The flavour of 

 the pulp is said to be that of the finest grape and 

 strawberry united ; but those who have tasted the 

 fruit in perfection, and attempted to convey to others 

 some idea of the impression that it had made on 

 them, are not agreed as to what it resembles. Abel 

 says that " he and his companions were anxious to 

 carry with them some precise expression of its fla- 

 vour ; but after satisfying themselves that it partook 

 of the compound nature of the pine-aple and the 

 peach, they were obliged to confess that it had many 

 other equally good but utterly inexpressible fla- 

 vours." 



There are two other species of this tree. These 

 are the Celebes mangostan (Garcinia celebica), and 

 the horny mangostan ( Garcinia cornea). The first is 

 found wild in the woods of Celebes, near Macassar, 

 whence it has been transplanted to Amboyna, Java, 

 and other places ; but the fruit, which is rather larger 

 than that of the true mangostan, does not always 

 ripen. The corneous species is found in the high 

 remote mountains of Amboyna : it is a lofty tree, 

 though not of very great diameter. The fruit is so 

 excellent as nearly to equal the true mangostan. The 

 wood is very hard, heavy, and tough, and of the 

 colour of horn, from which latter circumstance the 

 specific name is given to it. 



