RELATIVES OF THE MANGO 159 



loam perhaps suits it best. Cuttings take root so readily that 

 large limbs, cut and inserted in the ground as fenceposts, will 

 often develop into flourishing trees. P. J. Wester recommends 

 that cuttings 20 to 30 inches long, of the previous season's growth 

 (or even older wood) should be set in the ground to a depth of 

 about 12 inches, in the positions which the trees are to occupy 

 permanently. The rainy season is the best time to do this. 

 The trees should stand about 25 feet apart, unless the soil be 

 very poor, in which case 20 feet will be sufficient. No horti- 

 cultural varieties have as yet been established. By selecting 

 from the existing seedlings in tropical America, many good 

 ones could be obtained. 



THE YELLOW MOMBIN 

 (Spondias lutea, L.) 



This species is generally considered inferior in quality to the 

 red mombin. Its cultivation is much less extensive, but it 

 occurs abundantly as a wild tree in many tropical regions. The 

 name hog-plum, which has been applied to it in the West Indies, 

 has perhaps given it a lower reputation than it merits, but the 

 term does not, as Cook and Collins point out, cast any reflection 

 on the character of the fruit, inasmuch as it refers only to the 

 fact that hogs are extremely fond of it, and fatten on the fruit 

 which falls to the ground from wild trees in the forest. 



The tree is tall and stately in appearance, and under favorable 

 conditions it may reach 60 feet in height. The leaves are 8 to 

 12 inches long, composed of 7 to 17 ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate- 

 serrulate leaflets, oblique at the base and 2 to 4 inches in 

 length. The yellowish white flowers are borne in loose panicles 

 6 to 12 inches long. The fruit is ovoid, commonly 1 inch in 

 length, bright yellow, with thin skin, and an oblong seed of 

 relatively large size. The flesh is yellow, very soft and juicy, 

 and of subacid, rather pungent flavor. Many varieties are 



