MANGO. 19 



The oronoco and Colorado are red bananas very much like those 

 offered for sale in our markets, and their flavor is not the best. One 

 of the samples reported in Table IV was purchased in Washington. 

 The indiano is a large, }~ellow, angular fruit with a salmon-colored 

 pulp and a rather disagreeable, acid flavor. The Johnson is the variety 

 exported to this country from Jamaica and Central America. It has 

 rather an inferior flavor when compared with the smaller fruits, but 

 stands shipping better than other varieties. Two of these samples 

 were bought in Washington. 



MANGO. 



(Mangifera indica. ) 



The mango is the popular tropical fruit of the native Cuban. It 

 grows in all parts of the island, on trees by the roadside and in 

 orchards of highly prized cultivated fruit. The kinds that have been 

 cultivated onh^ slightly appeal but little to the foreigner, being very 

 fibrous and having a strong resinous flavor. Both of these objections 

 are overcome in the well- cultivated varieties, however, and ver} 7 soon 

 a taste is acquired for all. 



The fruit is heart-shaped, some being long and narrow, while others 

 are broad and short, or almost round. The skin is like that of an 

 apple, but thicker, and varies in color from green to yellow, alwaj^s 

 shading to red on one side. The pulp is not unlike that of a peach in 

 texture and color and is extremely juicy. The stone or seed is very 

 large compared with the rest of the fruit, and this is especially true 

 of the uncultivated varieties. Long fibers cover the stone and run 

 through the pulp of the fruit. The season in Cuba lasts from May to 

 September. The mango is preferred in the raw state, but is used 

 somewhat in the preparation of jams and jellies, and the green fruit 

 when stewed resembles rhubarb. 



The " manga" is one of the uncultivated varieties growing in all parts 

 of Cuba. It has the strong resinous flavor characteristic of the com- 

 mon fruit, a large seed, fibrous pulp, and inferior flavor. The amount 

 of sugar present, however, is about the same as that in the cultivated 

 varieties. 



The manzano, or apple mango, is one of the smaller cultivated varie- 

 ties, nearly round in shape and very highly colored. The seed is 

 large in one case it was over half the weight of the fruit. This 

 variety is not so sweet as the others, the flavor being rather too acid. 



The Filipino is the finest mango grown in Cuba. It is the largest 

 of the native varieties, often weighing over half a pound. In flavor 

 it is superior to any other, having none of the resinous flavor of the 

 common fruit. It stands shipment well, which, combined with its 

 other fine qualities causes it to bring the highest prices. When other 



