19SU 



MAXGIFERA 



MANGIFERA 



torminal biuls of the younn branolu's: wlicii ii new tUisli 

 makes its :mi(H'ju:iiu'c its loavos aix' usually roddisli or 

 wimMH)lort>il, tho color i-liangiuj; to firci'ii as the leaves 

 inatun'. After the (iovi'lopiiu'iU of caili flush there is 

 usiijilly a jH>rioil of inactivity, followinj: which another 

 flush is made, eacli oiie varying in len);th from a few 

 inches to a foot or more. The flowers, w hich are l)orne 

 in larp' panicles a foot or more in lenj;lh, proihiceil in 

 sprinsr at the ends of llie yoiiiij; liranches, are yellowish 

 or pinkish in color; there aiv sometimes 'J.tHM) or even 

 more on a single panicle, but only part of tlu'm are 

 perfect, the nianjjo beiiiK polygamous, i. e., i)ro(lucing 

 on the s;ime tree flowers in which both sexes are |)resent 

 and flowers which are unisexual. The staminate 

 flowers gn"atly outnumber the jx-rfect ones, as a general 

 thing; there is, however, oidy one ixjllen-bearing stamen, 

 the remaining four being abortive ami reiire.sented by 

 staminodes of varying prominence. The perfect flowers 

 are easily distinguislied from the staujinate ones by 

 the small obliquely round ov;iry, borne upon the 

 swollen disk. The jietals are ovate to lanceolate, com- 

 monly five in numbi-r. 



In size and character of fruit the mango is extremely 

 variable; there are varieties which are scarcely larger 

 than a plum, and there are others whose fruits weigh as 

 much as four or five jiounds. The sliajie varies from 

 round to long and slender, some of tlie commoni'st 

 types being rcniform, obliquely heart -sliai)ed, oval. 

 or elliptical. The skin is smooth, somewhat thicker 

 than that of a peach, commonly yellow or greenish 

 yellow in color, but in some varieties bright yellow 

 overspread with scarlet or crimson, and of extremely 

 beautiful appearance. Other types are uniformly i)ale 

 lemon-yellow. The aroma is often delicious, si)icy 

 and tempting, and this added to the brilh.ant color, 

 makes some of the finer varieties of the mango among 

 the most attractive of all fruits. The stone is large. 

 usually flattened, and in the ordinary seedling fruit 

 covered with long, tough fibers, wliich extend from all 

 sides into the yellow, juicy flesh. In the best grafted 

 sort.s there is no fiber and the fruit can be divided into 

 halves, after making a longitudinal cut through (he 

 flesh, like a freestone peach. 



The flavor, like that of many other tropical fruits, 

 is difficult of description. Lady Bra.s,sev h;us likened it 

 to a combination of ai)ricot and pineapple, and others 

 have compared it to the peach, yet neither of these 

 comparisons convej's an accurate idea of the <lelicious 

 piquancy and fragrance of a perfect mango, rich and 

 sweet, yet never cloying, and overrunning with luscious 

 juice. In seedlings there is often an objectionable ta.ste 

 of turpentine, especially in the skin; this, like tlie fiber, 

 is done away with in the finer grafted varieties. How- 

 ever, it Ls sometiriKw true of the .seedling fruit, as 

 Jumelle remarks, that while "there are those who do 

 not like it because it smells of turpi^ntine, then; are 

 others who come to like turpentine because it reminds 

 them of the mango." 



The mango is prei-minently a dessert fruit, yet it 

 lends itself to an infinite variety of uses, chief among 

 which, in India, is the manufacture of chutneys and 

 pre.serves. Mango chutney, of which there are numer- 

 ous kind£, such a-s Major Grey's, Colonel Skinner's, 

 Lucknow, and Bengal C^lub, is exported from India 

 in con-siderable quantities. The unrii)e fruit is used 

 in its manufacture, together with various other ingredi- 

 ents, principally spices. The unripe fruit is also used 

 to prepare a dish known in India as "mango i)hul," a 

 sort of custard made with milk and sugar. The ripe 

 pulp, properly spicxjd, is riried in the sun to form thin 

 cakes known a.s ambsath, a product whii-h is, a<^(^ording 

 to Woodrow, "the special solace and delight of Indian 

 students in foreign countries." In (^uba and other 

 parts of tropical America, the fruit is extensively used 

 for the manufacture of jams and [ireserves. Kx(|uisite 

 sherbet,s and iced drinks are made from it, the Cubans 



and Brazilians being especially skilful in preparing 

 them. In recu'iit years, canning factories have been 

 started in India for the purpo.se of i)reserving the fruit 

 in the .same maimer as peaches and ])ears ar<' preserved 

 in this country. There are varieties of the mango 

 espeeialh' suitctl for culinary u.se, and others ])referable 

 as dessert fruits, just as with (he more important 

 temperate fruits. 



In the United States, mango-culture has, in recent 

 years, attracted considerable atleiilion in southern 

 Florida, where extensive experiments have been made 

 with varieties from all parts of the world. In 1001 it 

 was found that (he (ree could be successfully budded, 

 ami luu'sery s(o(^k began (o be produced in sufficient 

 quantities to permit of orchar<l i)lantings. The most 

 extensive groves are found in the vicinity of Miami, on 

 the low'er e;ist coast, l.mt theri^ are also mmierous small 

 ))lantations :us far north as I'alm Beach on the east 

 coast, and at Fort Myers and other points on the west 

 coast, extending jus far north as Tanii)a Bay, where the 

 trees are .sf)met'imes injured by frost, but nevertheless 

 grow and fruit fairly well, especially in the vicinity of 

 St. Petersburg. Florida has supplic^d nursery stock to 

 plant several young groves in Cuba, the Isle of Pines, 

 and Porto Rico as well. 



In California, the culture of the mango is limited to 

 the warmest locations, but fruit has been successfully 

 jiroduced at Sierra Madre, Santa .\na, Hollywood, and 

 Santa Barbara. From past experiments, it appears 

 that the tree is nuich better suited to (he so-called 

 frosde.ss districts some distance from the seacoast than 

 to such locahties as Santa Barbara, for the reason that 

 near the ocean there is not sufficier^ heat during the 

 summer months to ripen the fruit. The dry climate of 

 California seems to stunt the tree, and it develops much 

 less rapidly than in the tropics, but with abundant 

 irrigation it has made fairly good growih, especially 

 in (he deep sandy loam of some of the foothill regions. 

 As to frost, the plants, when yoimg, arc easily injured 

 by temjieraturcs lower than freezing, but when they 

 have attained a few years' growth they will withstand 

 temperatures as low as 27° or 28°, provided they are 

 not of long duRition, without serious injury. Protec- 

 tion should be given wherever possible. 



Cultivation of the mango. 



In regard to soil, the mango does not seem to be 

 very particular, but respecting climate it is much more 

 exacting. Deep rich soils, Uke many of those found in 

 Porto Rico and Cuba, produce a more rai^id growth 

 and greater ultimate dimensions, but the shallow sandy 

 soils, underlaid wi(h soft limestone, which are fotmd on 

 the lower east coast of Florida, have .so far proved satis- 

 factory, the mango requiring less fertilizer under such 

 conditions than the avocado or .some other tropical 

 fruits. In India some of (he best mango districts have 

 a deep rich alluvial loam, somewhat sandy in nature, 

 and this can probably be considered the best of all 

 mango .soils. 



(iranting that the mango is grown in a region free 

 from injurious frosts, the most important climatic 

 factor is the amotnit of rainfall, especially in regard to 

 the season in which most of it occurs. In general it 

 may be said that the mango ])roduces the largest crops 

 ari(i mo.st brilliantly colored fruit in regions in which 

 tliere is a well-(lefine<l dry sea.son corresponding to the 

 blooming and ripi'iiing season; damp, cloudy weather 

 while the trees are in bloom, even without any actual 

 precipitation, i.s very prejudicial, and it has been 

 thoroughly demons(rated in Florida that the best 

 crops are produced in seasons when the weather is dry 

 and suimy during the blos.soming period. Moist 

 weatlier favors the spread of lilossom-blight. or anthrac- 

 nose (doUetotrichum gleos-porioidta), a fungous disease 

 that sometimes destroys all of the flowers. Many 

 seedling mangoes, as well as some grafted varieties, 



