80 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



but Fables to them; for Taste, the Nectarine, Peach, and 

 Apricot fall short." Hamilton, who wrote in 1727, went even 

 farther than this; he declares "The Goa mango is reckoned 

 the largest and most delicious to the taste of any in the world, 

 and I may add, the wholesomest and best tasted of any Fruit 

 in the World/' 



These few quotations will suffice to show the long established 

 prestige of the mango in its native home. After the develop- 

 ment of trade between India and the outside world, its culti- 

 vation spread to other countries. At the present time the 

 mango is a fruit of greater importance to millions throughout 

 the tropics than is the apple to temperate North America. 



In the past twenty years choice budded or grafted varieties 

 have been planted in Florida and the West Indies, and the 

 fruit has begun to appear in the markets of the North. The 

 rich spicy flavor of the mango, its peculiarly tempting fragrance, 

 and the beautiful shades of color which characterize many 

 varieties, make it one of the most attractive dessert fruits on 

 the American market. 



In many instances travelers have made the acquaintance 

 of this fruit through some of the fibrous seedlings which abound 

 in all parts of the tropical world, and as a result may have 

 formed an aversion for it difficult to overcome. It is only in 

 the superb grafted varieties of the Orient, the product of cen- 

 turies of improvement, that the mango exhibits its best qualities. 

 There is more difference between an ordinary seedling and a 

 grafted Alphonse than there is between a crab-apple and a 

 Gravenstein. 



Since the introduction of these choice varieties into tropical 

 and subtropical America, mango culture has there taken on a 

 new aspect. Previously limited to the production of seedling 

 fruits usually of inferior quality though valuable for local 

 consumption, the industry is now being developed with a view 

 to supplying northern markets with fancy fruit. 



