RELATIVES OF THE MANGO 151 



by heat, the roasted nut can be eaten without the slightest in- 

 convenience or danger. The kernel is said to contain : fats 

 47.13 per cent, nitrogenous matter 9.7 per cent, and starch 5.9 

 per cent. An analysis made in Hawaii by Alice R. Thompson 

 showed the presence of protein to the amount of 14.43 per cent, 

 ash 2.58 per cent, fat 4.56 per cent, and fiber 1.27 per cent. 



The cashew is not particular in regard to the soil on which it 

 grows, but it is intolerant of frost and can only be cultivated 

 successfully in regions where temperatures much below the 

 freezing point are rarely experienced. An account of its 

 culture in southwestern India is given in the Daily Consular 

 and Trade Reports for November 3, 1914 : 



" Cashew-nut trees can be grown successfully on any soil. They 

 thrive in sandy places as well as on stone, and are not fastidious in 

 point of soil, but are generally grown where no other crop can be 

 produced. In this district there are many sand hills, especially below 

 Ghats, which are utilized for this crop. Along seacoasts which are 

 exposed to severe gusts of wind, the plants never attain the form of a 

 tree, but keep along the ground, producing small branches. 



" Seeds . . . are usually planted in the month of June, at a distance 

 of about 15 feet each way. In many cases this distance proves to be 

 insufficient. The plants are watered the first year only. No other 

 care is taken of them. The plantation is usually inclosed by walls. 



" The plants begin to bear from the third year and continue till 

 the age of about fifteen, at which stage the trees exude a gummy sub- 

 stance in large quantities and then die." 



In other regions the trees live to a greater age than fifteen 

 years. Reports from many parts of the world indicate that they 

 may come into bearing the second or third year. P. W. 

 Reasoner recommended the cashew for cultivation in northern 

 greenhouses, because of its habit of bearing at an early age. 



In Brazil the cashew flowers in August and September and 

 ripens its fruit from November to February. In southern 

 India the flowering season is December and January, and the 

 fruit ripens in March. An Indian writer estimates the yield 

 of a mature tree at 115 to 150 pounds of fruit yearly. "To get 



