THE ORIGIN OF A NONAS. 20& 



" 5° Sur le continent americain on la donne pour cultive'e. Cependant H. 

 Andre m' a communique un I'chantillon, d'une Jocalite pierreuse de la vallt'c 

 de la Magdalena, qui parait appartenir ;i cette espece et etre spontam'e 

 Le fruit manque, ceqni rend la determination doutense. D'apresune note sur 

 1' etiquette, c'est un fruit delicieux, analogue a celui de 1' A. Squamosa. M. 

 Warming cite l'espece comme cultivee a Logoa Santa, du Bresil. Elle parait 

 done plutut cultivee on naturalist a Para, a la Guyane et dans la Nouvelle- 

 Grenade, par un eft'et des cultures. 



En definitive, on ne peut gucre douter, ce me semble, qu'elle ne soit d' Ameri- 

 que et mAme specialement des Antilles." 



I shall now give my own impressions, as the original home of this fruit is 

 still a matter of doubt With the information derived from De Candolle and 

 other savants, I shall endeavour to prove conclusively that the custard apple. 

 as well as A noma Reticulata, was introduced into India by the Portuguese. In 

 all the principal languages of India, such as, Bengali, Hindi, Mahrati, Konkani. 

 Tamil, Malayalam, Singalese, etc., the Ata is known by the same name ; un- 

 doubtedly an American name and not Malay, as stated in the Konlani- 

 Portuguese Dictionary by Dr. Dalgado, and it is the same name by which the 

 Portuguese have known the fruit in South America. The same may be said, 

 mutatis mutandis, of the Annona, a word that did not come to us from the 

 Latin Annona, meaning mouth provisions (*) food, but from the American 

 word, according to the already quoted Oviedo. The Hortus Malabaricus of the 

 Dutch H. Tan Kheede, says, that the Ancna is, by the Malabars, called, 

 " Parang/ Jaca " foreign "Jack fruit " or Firinghi Jacca (from the Malayalam. 

 Chal'Ii-a) and by the Brahmans of Cochim ijina pennoss, '• China Jack," the 

 plant not being native on the Malabar Coast, where it came from afar. To the 

 custard apple they give, on the same Coast the name of Manil jack or Manil- 

 ponnoss (Skt. Pauas) "Manil Jack." Now, a Hindu enthusiast of the great 



common in the thickets of the islands of St. Croix and Yirgin Islands. I do- 

 not see that they have found it in a wild state in Cuba. 



" 5. On the American continent thej' speak of it as cultivated. However.. 

 M. Andre has forwarded to me a sample of a stony locality of the valley of 

 Magdalene which appears to belong to this species and to be spontaneous 

 The fruit is not developed which renders the decision doubtful According to 

 a note, it is a delicious fruit analogous to that of V A. squamosa. M. Warming 

 quotes the species as cultivated at Logoa Santa in Brazil. It then appears 

 rather cultivated or naturalised at Parra in Guiana and in New Granada 

 by an effect of cultivation. Definitely there is scarcely any doubt, it appears 

 to me, that it is from America and more especially from the Antilles." 



(*) In Sanscrit and ilahratta Anna meaDS iruvisions, food; the same word exists in 

 Koakairi. The Latin Annona cones perhaps from it, with the 3arn.e meaning. Iq Sanscrit 

 Anaona means m» uth. In Marathi ananam meaning " to eat," csei only in the following 

 proverb : " Adkim ananam magta nanam f \.e. f first eat then sing. 



