MANGOSTEEN 



1989 



remarkably fine mangoes in several parts of the Indian 

 peninsula, most notably, perhaps, in the vicinity of 

 Bombay, at Poona, at the Portuguese colony of Goa 

 (where, in fact, it is thought by some writers that 

 vegetative propagation of the mango was first intro- 

 duced, the Portuguese having been instrumental in 

 establishing this method which has meant so much to 

 Indian horticulture), at Madras on the eastern coast, 

 and in several districts toward the northern part of 

 the peninsula, such as Malda, Darbhanga, Saharanpur, 

 and Lucknow. 



Grafted Indian varieties were first introduced to the 

 United States in 1889, when the Department of 

 Agriculture obtained from Bombay a collection of five 

 kinds, which were placed with fruit-growers on Lake 

 Worth, Florida, for trial. In the freeze of February, 

 1895, all save one of the trees perished; the surviving 

 tree, a Mulgoba, came into bearing in 1898, and the 

 superior quality of its fruit gave a marked stimulus to 

 the cultivation of the mango in this country, resulting 

 in the introduction of numerous other Indian varie- 

 ties of reputed excellence. These have been added to 

 by introductions from Indo-China, Ceylon, the Philip- 

 pines, and other regions where good mangoes are grown. 

 Among the best now grown in Florida and the West 

 Indies are the following: 



Mulgoba, which in delicate, aromatic flavor, smooth- 

 ness and fineness of pulp, freedom from fiber, and 

 attractiveness, must be placed in the very first rank. 

 A good specimen will weigh about one pound, is broadly 

 oval in shape, plump, clear yellow in color, blushed 

 around the base with crimson-scarlet. Its season in 

 Florida extends from July to the first of September. 

 Unfortunately, it has proved irregular in its fruiting 

 habits, and does not usually come into bearing as young 

 as some other varieties. In some seasons considerable 

 quantities of the fruit have been shipped from south 

 Florida to northern markets, the growers realizing $9 

 a crate of thirty-six fruits. 



Haden is a fruit very similar in general characteristics 

 to Mulgoba, of which it is believed to be a seedling. It 

 originated at Cocoanut Grove, Florida. Good speci- 

 mens weigh sixteen to twenty ounces, and are highly 

 colored. The flesh is scarcely as smooth as that of 

 Mulgoba, and the flavor not quite so piquant, but 

 nevertheless very good. Its season corresponds to 

 that of Mulgoba. 



Paheri (probably synonymous with Pairi, which is 

 now considered by the best Indian authorities the cor- 

 rect spelling of the name) was introduced from India 

 in 1902, and has been found of excellent quality hi 

 Florida. Near Bombay, India, it is considered the 

 finest flavored of all mangoes, but because of the 

 superior keeping qualities of Alfonso the latter is pre- 

 ferred commercially. It is a fruit of about twelve 

 ounces in weight, oval, plump, orange-yellow in color, 

 blushed with scarlet on the cheek, the flesh deep orange, 

 very juicy, and of rich, spicy flavor. It ripens in Florida 

 in July and August. 



Amini is a smaller fruit than any of the above, 

 averaging six or eight ounces in weight; in form it is 

 oblong-ovate, in color almost identical with Mulgoba. 

 The aroma is remarkably penetrating and agreeable, 

 while the flavor is unusually spicy. The tree is more 

 productive than some of the larger varieties, and seems 

 slightly more resistant to blight. It is a little earlier 

 than Paheri in season. 



Cambodiana, mentioned above as a polyembryonic 

 seedling race, was introduced to Florida about 1902, 

 and several of its seedlings have been propagated by 

 budding. While they cannot be considered equal in 

 flavor and quality to the best of the Indian mangoes, 

 the tree is much more regular in its fruiting habits. 

 The race is characterized by an elongated, compressed 

 fruit, frequently rather sharp at the apex, and of a 

 light yellow or greenish yellow color. The flesh is 



yellow, juicy, of a pleasant flavor, but lacking the rich- 

 ness of Mulgoba or other good Indian mangoes, while 

 the fiber is somewhat more abundant. In season it is a 

 little earlier than Mulgoba. 



Bennett is a select strain of Alfonso or Alphonse from 

 Bombay which has been grown for several years in 

 Florida. In quality it ranks very high, but it has been 

 somewhat at a disadvantage in the markets because 

 of its rather dull orange-yellow color. It is a fruit of 

 about one pound in weight, oval to somewhat cordate 

 in form, plump, with orange-yellow flesh and a seed 

 almost entirely free from fiber. The season of ripen- 

 ing is July and August. 



Sandersha is a very large fruit, frequently two pounds 

 in weight, of elongated, somewhat curved form, orange- 

 yellow in color. The flesh is free from fiber, and, when 

 properly ripened, of pleasant flavor, though a trifle 

 coarser than the best varieties. It is excellent for cook- 

 ing, and because of its regularity in bearing is considered 

 valuable. It ripens very late, beginning in late August 

 and extending through September. j\ \\r, PQPENOE. 



MANGOSTEEN (Fig. 2321), Garcinia Mangostana 

 (which see) , is a handsome fruit-tree 25 to 30 feet high, 

 of compact growth, regular in outline, with dense, 

 dark green foliage which reminds one slightly of the 

 rubber tree. It grows slowly and comes into fruit late, 

 not before eight or nine years of age. Its flowers are 

 \Yi inches across with four rose-pink fleshy petals and 

 a large superior ovary. In Ceylon the trees bloom twice, 

 once in August, producing fruits which ripen in January, 

 and again in January, producing fruits in July and 

 August. In Trinidad the fruiting seasons are July and 

 October. The January crop in Ceylon is a light one, 

 however, not amounting to over 100 fruits to a tree, 

 whereas the August crop amounts in good years to 500 

 or 600 fruits, according to Wright, of Mirigama, Ceylon. 

 The fruits are borne from buds produced near the tips 

 of short branches mainly on the outside of the tree, and 

 are striking by reason of their persistent large leathery 

 light green calyx-lobes. 



This delicious fruit is about the size of a mandarin 

 orange, round and slightly flattened at each end, with 

 a smooth, thick rind, rich red-purple in color, with here 

 and there a bright, hardened drop of the yellow juice 

 which marks some injury to the rind when it was young. 

 As these mangosteens are sold in the Dutch East 

 Indies, heaped up on fruit-baskets, or made into 

 long regular bunches with thin strips of braided bam- 

 boo, they are as strikingly handsome as anything of the 

 kind could well be, but it is only when the fruit is opened 

 that its real beauty is seen. The rind is thick and tough 

 and hi order to get at the pulp inside, it requires a cir- 

 cular cut with a sharp knife to lift the top half off like a 

 cap, exposing the white segments, five, six or seven in 

 number, lying loose in the cup. The cut surface of the 

 rind is of a most delicate pink color and is studded with 

 small yellow points formed by the drops of exuding 

 juice. As one lifts out of this cup, one by one, the 

 delicate segments, which are the size and shape of those 

 of a mandarin orange, the light pink sides of the cup 

 and the veins of white and yellow embedded in it are 

 visible. The separate segments are between snow-white 

 and ivory in color and are covered with a delicate net- 

 work of fibers, and the side of each segment where it 

 presses against its neighbor is translucent and slightly 

 tinged with pale green/ The texture of the mangosteen 

 pulp much resembles that of a well-ripened plum, only 

 it is so delicate that it melts in the mouth like a bit of 

 ice-cream. The flavor is quite indescribably delicious. 

 There is nothing to mar the perfection of this fruit, 

 unless it be that the juice from the rind forms an indeli- 

 ble stain on a white napkin. Even the seeds are partly 

 or wholly lacking and when present, are very thin and 

 small. 



Notwithstanding the fact that it has for at least two 



