The St ra wherry Guar a. 213 



-vvliito walnut or hiittcrnut is a j^reatcr favontc than the black 

 wahiut. the latter having a strong? Havor not generally relished. 



Salted and well-roasted almonds are now considered almost 

 indis])ensahle among the accessories of a well served dinner in our 

 larger cities. Hazelnuts, walnuts, and often other kinds, are served 

 in the same way, but the almond is the general favorite. The Texas 

 ])ecan-nut is exceedingly jjojjular, and the trade in this nut is now 

 immense, although it was scarcely known commercially twenty 

 years ago. The trees which produce these nuts were in years past 

 cut down for firewood, or even to get a bag of nuts, l)ut they are 

 now carefully preserved, and not only the old trees cherished, but 

 new ones ])lanted in large numbers, and yet the demand for pecans 

 is far ahead of the supply. The kernels or meat of the pecan is 

 highly valued l)y confectioners, and in no form arc thev better liked 

 than in '])larines,' a Mexican confection made by droj)ping the 

 shelled kernels into melted sugar, clean brown and vmrefined, as it is 

 found at its best on Southern plantations. An enter]orising con- 

 fectioner has taken out a patent for their manufacture, and is said 

 to be doing a flourishing business. 



THE STRAWBERRY GUAVA. 



(From the Aiiwrii-tiii Afiriciilliirisf, 1. 'M\.) 



The Cattley Guava ( I'sidiuni Cattlcyanum ), l)ettcr known as 

 the strawberrv guava, is ra])idiy gaining in popular favor through- 

 out Flonda and Southern California, and has been highly recom- 

 mended for cultivation in .\rizona and New Mexico. It is unques- 

 tionably the most desirable and useful of the many varieties of 

 fruits known under the name of gaiava. It is a shrub or small tree 

 that ada])ts itself to a dwarfish hal)it when grown in the house in 

 cold climates, but in a congenial clime attains a maximum growth 

 of fifteen to twenty feet in height, of comjjact form, and with dense, 

 glossy evergreen foliage, which makes it a very ornamental tree, 

 es])ecially when loaded with its rich colored fruit. 



It produces earlv, bearing fruit when less than a year old, and 

 producing in abundance at two and three years. Every branch will 

 be heavily loaded with the luscious rij>e fruit, green fruit in various 

 stages of growth, together with ever present clusters of fragrant 

 flowers. The thick, dark green leaves protect the fruit partially 

 from the sun, but at a temperature of 140° F. there is a tendency to 

 bum. It is called hardy in England, but requires protection in the 

 northern United States, where it is gaining in favor as an orna- 

 mental greenhouse plant. The fruit is of a dark red or purplish 



