CHAP. XXV.] TROPICAL FRVITS. ' 103 



is delicious iu comparison with that of the old dry nuts 

 which alone we obtain in this country. The cocoa-nut 

 pulp I did not like at first ; but fruits are so scarce, except 

 at particular seasons, that one soon learns to appreciate 

 anything of a fruity nature. 



Many persons in Europe are under the impression that 

 fruits of delicious flavour abound in the tropical forests, 

 and they will no doubt be surprised to learn that the 

 truly wild fruits of this grand and luxuriant archipelago, 

 the vegetation of which will vie with that of any part of 

 the world, are in almost every island inferior in abundance 

 and quality to those of Britain. Wild strawberries and 

 raspberries are found in some places, but they are such 

 poor tasteless things as to be hardly worth eating, and 

 there is nothing to compare with our blackberries and 

 whortleberries. The kanary-nut may be considered equal 

 to a hazel-nut, but I have met with nothing else superior 

 to our crabs, our haws, beech-nuts, wild plums, and 

 acorns ; fruits which would be highly esteemed by the 

 natives of these islands, and would form an important 

 part of their sustenance. All the fine tropical fruits are 

 as much cultivated productions as our apples, peaches, 

 and plums, and their wild prototypes, when found, are 

 generally either tasteless or uneatable. 



The people of Matabello, like those of most of the 

 Mahometan villages of East Ceram and Goram, amused 



