FRUITS. , 355 



pointed me, from having heard and read so 

 much of the delicious fruits of Batavia, both for 

 flavour and variety ; the dessert was miserable ; 

 the Rambutan (fruit of the Nephelium echinatum) 

 or hairy fruit, (Rambut signifying hairy,) and 

 some Mangoosteens,* were good ; the oranges 

 were insipid ; and the " Sour-sop" (introduced 

 from the West Indies) was the best fruit upon the 

 table ; indeed, I may observe with truth, that I 

 hardly tasted a good fruit during my stay at 

 Batavia, except the Pine-apple and Mangoosteen ; 

 but it seems that fruits arrive at perfection in 

 particular districts of the Island of Java ; there 

 being one in which Mangoosteens abound ; at 

 another, where the land is cool and elevated, 

 pears, apples, and strawberries are produced : 

 every kind is cultivated about Batavia, but 



* The " far-famed Mangoosteen" is certainly an agreeable 

 fruit, but still I cannot join the various writers who have 

 lavished such praises upon it — it may be want of taste in me ; 

 and probably the fruit will still retain " its luscious qualities, 

 surpassing all other fruits in the world, combining the excel- 

 lence of the whole ;" but I must candidly confess that I am 

 not so great an admirer of this or other tropical fruits, al- 

 though I at the same time allow many to have excellent 

 flavour, yet none can bear comparison with the delightful 

 acidulated European fruits ; and the Mangoosteen is even, 

 in my opinion, beneath the orange or pine-apple, although 

 still a very agreeable fruit. 



A A 2 



