THE BREADFRUIT AND ITS RELATIVES 415 



as big as an oak. Its fruit is produced from the trunk, and 

 not from the branches, and is something marvelous to see, 

 being as big as a great lamb, or a child of three years old. 

 It has a hard rind like that of our pine-cones, so that you 

 have to cut it open with a hatchet ; inside it has a pulp of sur- 

 passing flavor, with the sweetness of honey, and of the best 

 Italian melon ; and this also contains some 500 chestnuts of 

 like flavor, which are capital eating when roasted/' 



Like other early travelers, Marignolli was inclined to exagger- 

 ate the merits of the new fruits with which he made acquaint- 

 ance. The jackfruit is not generally considered first-class by 

 Europeans. When preserved or dried it is better, but in tropical 

 America the fruit is commonly not eaten except by the poorer 

 classes. In the Orient, where it has been cultivated since 

 ancient times, it seems to be held in greater esteem; H. F. 

 Macmillan says that it " forms a very important article of food 

 with the natives of the Eastern tropics." Both Theophrastus 

 and Pliny, early writers who mentioned the jackfruit, give 

 the same impression ; Pliny describes it as the fruit " whereof 

 the Indian Sages and Philosophers do ordinarily live." 



The jackfruit is less exacting in its cultural requirements 

 than its congener the breadfruit, and since it resists cool weather 

 much better it is adapted to cultivation over a wider area. 



The tree is large, stately, and handsome; under favorable 

 conditions it may reach a height of 60 to 70 feet. The leaves 

 are oblong, oval, or elliptic in form, 4 to 6 inches in length, 

 leathery, glossy, and deep green in color. The flowers resemble 

 in general those of the breadfruit, except that the pistillate or 

 female blossoms are commonly produced directly on the bark 

 of the trunk and larger limbs. The fruit is one of the largest 

 in the world; some writers affirm that specimens have been 

 known to weigh 80 pounds, although half this is a safer estimate. 

 They vary from oval to oblong, and are sometimes 2 feet in 

 length. The surface is studded with short hard points, and is 



