378 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



stomach, and pain of the heart. The pomegranate has six 

 flavors, like the apple, and is commended for its delicacy, its 

 quick dissolving, and its elegance." 



In the United States the fruit has been more highly valued 

 for its decorative effect than for other purposes. It is used 

 on banquet-tables and as an adjunct to fruit salads. The 

 principal chemical constituents of the pulp, as determined in 

 Hawaii by Alice R. Thompson, are as follows : Total solids 

 17.52 per cent, ash 0.73, acids 0.13, protein 0.52, total sugars 

 16.07, fat 0.30, and fiber 0.32. 



While the pomegranate can be grown throughout the tropics 

 and subtropics, it produces good fruit only in semi-arid regions 

 where high temperatures accompany the ripening season. In 

 this respect it somewhat resembles the date-palm, although it 

 is less exacting as regards heat than the latter and more frost- 

 resistant. Like the palm, it requires plenty of water at the root, 

 if good fruit is to be produced in abundance ; nevertheless, it is 

 able to withstand long periods of drought. Minimum tem- 

 peratures of 15 or 18 above zero may not injure the plants 

 severely. The sour varieties are said to be hardier than the 

 sweet. No climate is too hot for the pomegranate, provided it 

 receives ample water. 



In regard to soil, the species is not exacting but it is considered 

 to succeed best on deep, rather heavy, loams. It is on soils of 

 this type that the excellent pomegranates of Mesopotamia are 

 grown. A small amount of alkali is not injurious, nor does 

 excessive moisture seem as detrimental to the pomegranate as 

 to many other fruit-trees. George C. Roeding remarks: "I 

 have used the pomegranate for a number of years in depressions 

 in my vineyard where the ground was so damp for a good part 

 of the year that grape vines invariably died. The pome- 

 granate luxuriates in these spots." 



When planted in orchard form, the bushes should be set 

 12 to 18 feet apart. Pomegranates are often planted in hedge- 



