186 GARDEN PLANTS. TART IT. 



as to be quite unbearable to persons of a weak stomach, or to 

 those unaccustomed to it. 



If the edible pulp of the fruit be taken out and boiled in 

 some fresh milk, and then be strained off, the milk will, on 

 becoming cold, form a thick jelly-like substance of the consistency 

 of blanc-mange, of a fine orange colour, and of a Melon-like 

 flavour. Treated in this way the fruit affords a very agreeable 

 dish for the table. 



There are said to be two varieties : 



1. The Kujja or hard kind, distinguished by the large size of 

 the edible pulp, and by the abundance and thickness of its juice. 

 The exterior of the fruit is smooth to the hand, and green, and 

 the nuts or seeds comparatively small. The leaves, too, are of a 

 rounder form than those of the second variety. 



2. The Ghila, or soft kind, is reckoned a much inferior fruit, 

 with the inner pulp small in quantity, and its juice scanty, thin, 

 and watery. The fruit is much smaller than the preceding, 

 with a rough exterior, and with the seeds very much larger. 



The Jack-Fruit is not borne, like most other fruits are, from 

 the ends of branches, but upon stout footstalks projecting from 

 the main trunk and thickest branches of the tree. In no other 

 way, indeed, could its ponderous weight be sustained. The 

 situation of the fruit, moreover, is said to vary with the age of 

 the tree, being first borne on the branches, then on the trunk, 

 and in old trees on the roots. Those borne on the roots, which 

 discover themselves by the cracking of the earth above them, 

 are held in highest estimation. 



The tree opens its blossoms and sets its fruit in November, 

 and continues to do so even until March. The flowers when first 

 opened give out a sweet, agreeable scent, very similar to that of 

 the Magnolia pumila. 



The tree grows to a considerable size, and is found in nearly 

 all parts of India, but in greatest profusion in Lower Bengal. " It 

 is very rare," I learn, " in the Punjab ; though the few trees they 

 have in Lahore thrive well and bear fruit." Major Drury states, 

 " that if planted in a stony soil it grows short and thick ; if in 

 sandy ground tall and spreading, and if the roots happen to 

 come in contact with water the tree will not bear fruit." 



The following ingenious mode of training the tree is some- 

 times resorted to by the natives. Sow the seed imbedded in its 



