THE CUSTARD APPLi;. 



375 



and these are followed by the fruit, which is of 

 considerable size, brownish, having a kind of 

 pulij over a single oval kernel. The fruit very 

 much resembles the maneo in taste; and, like 

 that, it is often made into pickles before it is 

 ripe. The tree grows in the moist parts of Ja- 

 maica, and other places of the West Indies; 

 where, in addition to the value of its fruit, it is 

 a highly ornamental tree. It may bo reared in 

 England, by the joint effects of bark and the 

 heat of a stove, as is done with the pine apple. 

 In the West Indies it grows readily from the 

 kernel, and is often cultivated in clumps. 



The Custard Apple (anona muricata, anona 

 squamosa). Ten or twelve species of the cus- 

 tard apple are enumerated. They are natives of 

 the tropical parts of Africa, Asia, and America ; 

 but the better sorts are more abundant in the 

 latter part of the globe. 



The Sour Soj), rough custard apple (anona 

 muricata), is a middle-sized tree, growing abun- 

 dantly on the savannahs in Jamaica, and bear- 

 ing a large oval fruit of a greenish yellow colour, 

 covered with small knobs on the outside, and con- 

 taining a white pulp, havingaflavour compounded 

 of sweet and acid, and very cooling and agreeable. 

 It is, however, too common to be much esteemed 

 by the wealthier people, though it is much 

 sought after and relished by the negroes. The 

 odour and taste of the whole plant are very simi- 

 lar to those of the black currant. It was early 

 introduced into England, but has not come into 

 cultivation as a fruit tree. 



The Cherimoyer (anona cherimolia) is a na- 

 tive of the continent of America ; and in Peru it 

 is accounted one of the best fruits they have. 

 Humboldt speaks of it with high praise; but 

 Feuillee, another ti'aveller in South America, 

 Bays, an European pear or plum is worth all the 

 cheriinoyers of Peru. The tree which produces 

 this fruit has a trunk about ten feet high ; the 

 leaves are oval, and pointed at both ends; the 

 flowers are solitary, very fragi-ant, and of a green- 

 ish colour ; the fruit of considerable size, some- 

 what heart-shaped, rough on the outside, and 

 grayish brown, or even neai-ly black, when ripe. 

 The flesh, in which the seeds arc contained, is 

 soft, sweet, and pleasant, and- highly esteemed 

 both by natives and foreigners. It has been in- 

 troduced into England for about a century, but 

 not cultivated as a fruit tree. In the South of 

 Spain it is occasionally found in gardens, where 

 it boars its fruit as an orchard tree. 



The Sweet Sop (anona squamosa) is a very 

 small tree, being, in many situations, little better 

 than a bush. It is found both in tlie East and 

 the West Indies. The iruit is almost the size 

 of the beau of an artichoke, scaly, and of a green- 

 ish yellow colour. The rind is strong and thick; 

 but the pulp is delicious, having the odour of 

 rose-water, and tasting like clotted cream mixed 



with sugar. It is, like many other fruits, said 

 to have a much finer flavour in the Indian Ar- 

 chipelago than in the West Indies. It, too, was 

 early known in England, but has not become 

 general. 



The Alligator Apple (anona palustris) gi'ows 

 wild in the marshes of Jamaica. The fniit is 

 shining and smooth in appearance, and sweet 

 and not unpleasant to the taste; but it is a strong 

 narcotic, and, therefore, not generally eaten. One 

 thing worthy of remark is, that the wood of the 

 alligator apple tree is so soft and compressible, 

 that the people of Jamaica call it cork- wood, and 

 employ it for stoppers. 



Wild Plums (acliras). There are various 

 species of the wild Plum in the West Indies, 

 some of them timber trees of large dimensions; 

 but those most valued for their fruit are the sap- 

 podilla plum (achras sapota), and the mammee 

 sapota (achras mammosa). 



The Sappodilla Phim is a large and straight 

 tree, which iiins to a considerable height with- 

 out any branches, with a dark gray bark, very 

 much chapped. The leaves are smooth and 

 beautiful, and the flowers white and bell-shaped. 

 The fruit resembles a bergamot pear in shape 

 and size, but in colour is like a medlar, and is 

 similar also to that, in being eaten when it is be- 

 ginning to decay. 



The Mammee Sapota grows on a much smaller 

 tree, with larger leaves, and flowers of a cream 

 colour; the fniit about the same size as the 

 former, but brownish when ripe, and containing 

 a pulp resembling maiinalade of quinces in con- 

 sistency, and of a very delicious flavour. On 

 account of this, the tree is sometimes called the 

 marmalade tree, and is, in all probability, the 

 same which Stedman, in his account of Surinam, 

 calls the marmalade box. It is a native of the 

 West Indies and the adjoining coast, and is very 

 much cultivated in the gardens there for the 

 sake of its fruit. 



Star Apple ( chrysophyllum cainito). This 

 is also a native of the West Indies. It grows on 

 a moderately-sized spreading tree, with slender 

 flexile branches. There are some species, or, at 

 least, varieties of the fruit. The star apple, pro- 

 perly so called, bears fruit resembling a large 

 apple, which, in the inside, is divided into ten 

 cells, each containing a black seed, surrounded 

 by a gelatinous pulp. The West Indian damson 

 plum has small fniit, and is chiefly found in the 

 woods. The milky juice of the star apple, both 

 of the tree and the fruit, before it is ripe, is re- 

 markably astringent ; but when the fruit ripens, 

 it is sweet and very agreeable to the taste. 



Grenadillas ( passiflora ) . The passifloras 

 are a very numerous race. They are mostly na- 

 tives of the West Indies and the tropical parts 

 of America, from which some of the species have 

 been introduced into this country, chiefly on ac- 



