PREFACE 



When in Queensland, Australia, carrying on the business 

 of a tropical produce merchant, I was much surprised 

 to find that no reliable book could be procured giving a 

 complete description, in a small space, of the various 

 kinds of food, suitable for human consumption, which 

 could be obtained in tropical countries. 



I thought at first that there was a scarcity of such food, 

 but soon came to learn that every constituent of food in the 

 temperate zone can be obtained in one form or another in 

 the torrid zone, and that the indigenous products of a 

 tropical country are more suitable as food for the inhabitants 

 than any which can be imported from another country 

 having a totally different climate. 



My object in writing this little book is to explain, to the 

 best of my ability, the various kinds of products found in 

 different countries, with the local names they bear, the 

 various properties they contain, and how they can best be 

 utilized for the purposes of food. 



T. M. MACKNIGHT. 



Geneto, Laguna, Teneiuffe, 

 December, 1903. 



