THE CUBA REVIEW 13 



is full of small seeds, has a somewhat musky flavor with a characteristic and penetrating 

 aroma. 



The strawberry guava {P. cattleianum) is another species which has been introduced 

 into California and other subtropical countries. Its fruit has a deep purplish maroon 

 color and the flesh is translucent and yellowish white, very soft and has an agreeable 

 strawberry flavor; it is used extensively for making preserves or jelly. A varietal 

 form, also grown for its fruit in California, is called the pineapple guava. This is the 

 South American feijoa, a fruit much esteemed in Paraguay, Uruguay, South Brazil 

 and Argentina, where it grows wild in great profusion. This variety is cultivated 

 also more or less extensively in southern France and in Italy. 



All varieties of guavas have a pleasant and agreeable taste to those who have 

 become accustomed to it. They are eaten out of hand, sliced with cream, stewed, 

 preserved, or in shortcakes and pies. But they are most highly cherished for making 

 jams and jellies. In Brazil a thick jam is prepared that flavors the guava cheese 

 of the West Indies and Florida, where the trees grow so abundantly. 



Throughout the West Indies and Spanish Main bordering the Caribbean Sea the 

 guava grows so plentifully that it would be possible to establish an industry of con- 

 siderable importance by gathering the fruit from the wild trees and preparing jams and 

 jellies. In certain parts of Costa Rica and Panama large tracts of land are covered 

 with an almost pure stand of guava trees, and no matter how dry the season or how 

 poor the soil, so long as the roots can anchor firmly in the ground, the tree is sure to 

 bear an abundance of rich juicy fruit and there seems to be no reason why these 

 should not be collected systematically and turned into some article of food which could 

 be sold readily in many parts of the civilized world. It is believed that hundreds 

 of thousands of tons of these nice large yellow fruits go to waste annually in Tropical 

 America, which the natives would be glad to gather and deliver to central stations 

 for a very small amount, if someone would provide the capital and the factory in 

 which they could be prepared. The guavas are of too perishable a nature to permit 

 of their being brought to the north in their natural state, but if properly treated and 

 preserved in the form of a jelly or jam the product could be sold at a profit in very 

 considerable quantities. 



The Tamarindo Tree of Cuba 



The tamarindo is one of the best known exotic trees of Cuba. It was one of 

 the first trees of the Far East to be introduced into the West Indies, and it has now 

 Ijecome thoroughly naturalized in Cuba. The botanical name is Tamarindus indica; 

 the specific name indicates that the tree's natural habitat is India. 



It is a large evergreen tree, often eighty feet in height, and sometimes six feet 

 through near the ground. Some writers describe it as being one of the most beautiful 

 of the common fruit trees of the tropics. Its crown is large, rounded, and somewhat 

 open; the branches are twisted and more or less erect. The trunk is short and thick 

 and the bark rough and flaky; that of the branches is thick, and corky. The leaves 

 resemble those of the mesquite or our common locust, only much smaller. The 

 flowers are pale yellow, formed into small, drooping panicles resembling remotely 

 those of our locust, to which the tamarindo is related. The season of its flowering is 

 generally about June or July, in which state it presents a rather interesting appearance, 

 the calyx being of a straw color, the petals of a clear yellow beautifully striped with 

 red, the filaments purple, and the anthers brown. 



The tamarindo is not indigenous to tropical America; it is a native of India and 

 southwestern countries of Asia. It was introduced very early in the eighteenth century 

 into Jamaica, and from there it was distributed to Cuba and all parts of the tropical 

 west. It grows abundantly in the islands of the South Sea and is now thoroughly 

 naturalized in all tropical and even subtropical countries of the world. While the 



