166 Transactions of the Horticultural Society. 



with fruit about the size of the maramee, which when opened 

 gives out a yellow greasy juice, of a strong turpentine flavor, 

 mixed by the natives with their food. 



Chrysophyllum macrophyllum, and obovatum, star apples, 

 like those of the West Indies. 



Tonsilla pyriformis, a fruit like a Bergamot pear, of " ex- 

 traordinary merit." 



Pomegranate, said to be an excellent fruit, but different 

 from the genus Punica. 



Sterculia acuminata ; the seeds ai'e considered as possessing 

 the same virtues as Peruvian bark. 



Tola, seeds used like those of sterculia. 



Codarium acutifolium, two varieties ; velvet and brown, 

 tamarind ; the farinaceous substance contained in the pods is 

 used as food. 



Bromelia ananas, the pine apple. 



" Afzelius says that pine apples grow wild, and are also culti- 

 vated by the natives. Mr. Don states that they are so abundant 

 in the woods as to obstruct the passage through them in every 

 direction ; they grow vigorously, and bear fruit abundantly. 



" The profusion in which those plants are found both in frequented 

 and unfrequented places, sanctions the opinion which is commonly 

 entertained in the colony, that they are not of foreign origin, but 

 indigenous inhabitants. This is contrary to the doctrine of sci- 

 entific botanists, who hold that pine apples have been carried from 

 America into Africa and Asia ; yet it is difficult to conceive how 

 such an exotic should have so established itself as to have assumed 

 all the habits and characters of a native in those regions, and more 

 especially that it should have sported in them into varieties (as is 

 the case more particularly in some parts of Asia) so remarkably dif- 

 ferent from any that are known to exist in the countries of which 

 alone they are supposed to be the original inhabitants. 



" Two sorts of pine apples are cultivated by the colonists at Sierra 

 Leone, one called the white, and the other the black pine apple ; 

 they are not so large as those produced in England, but have a 

 superior flavor. The wild varieties are numerous. A very plea- 

 sant kind of wine is made in the colony from the juice of this 

 fruit." P. 462. 



From the above list, compared with that of the wild fruits 

 of Sierra Leone in the report of Dr. Afzelius to the African 

 Society, it appears that Mr. Don had observed more during a 

 visit of a few weeks than Dr. Afzelius during a residence of 

 several years ; a circumstance highly creditable to the indus- 

 try of Mr. Don. Besides these native fruits, they cultivate in 

 the colony all the best of those grown in the West Indies. 



So ample a list of fruits from one spot, may at first damp the 

 ardor of those who hope to see all the exotic fruits of the world 

 grown in this country; but when once it shall be as common 



