vni, a, i Pratt and del Rosario: Philippine Fruits 71 



olivaceous or brownish, indehiscent pod usually about 10 centi- 

 meters long and 2.5 centimeters in diameter, the few seeds 

 imbedded in the firm pulp. Tropical Africa. 



Tamarind is an important food product in many tropical 

 countries, and is used in a great variety of ways. The young 

 pods are cooked with fish and rice. The brown paste surround- 

 ing the seeds in the mature bean is removed from the pods and 

 sold in balls weighing about 100 grams. These are used in 

 similar preparations, and to form a refreshing laxative drink 

 popularly supposed to benefit the liver, stomach, and blood. The 

 pulp is also largely used to adulterate guava jelley, as it is 

 much cheaper and supplies the requisite acidity. The substitu- 

 tion may easily be detected by the presence of tartaric acid in 

 the product as this is absent in true guava jelly. The composi- 

 tion of the ripe tamarind pulp is very interesting, since it con- 

 tains more acid and more sugar than any other natural food 

 product. The large amount of acid so masks the 40 per cent 

 of sugar present that the taste is decidedly sour. Large quan- 

 tities of tamarind pulp are available in the northern provinces 

 that might profitably be converted into an alcoholic beverage, and 

 the seeds used as a source of oil. Tamarind oil was submitted 

 to the Agriculture Horticultural Society of India in 1856, and a 

 favorable report made at that time. The oil resembles linseed, 

 but has greater siccative properties, and is suitable for varnish 

 or paint. The seeds are also edible after soaking in water and 

 boiling to remove the outer covering, when the resulting flour 

 may be made into cakes and bread. The roasted seeds are supe- 

 rior to peanuts in flavor, and a valuable food. Indian tamarind 

 pulp is preserved by heating in sugar sirup until saturated, and 

 packing in earthenware pots glazed on the outside only. The 

 jars are then filled with more sirup, and stored until the fruit 

 becomes mellow, when it is shipped to the British market. 

 Similar methods are employed in Jamaica. The fruit is official 

 in modern pharmacopoeia as a laxative and refrigerant. 



MACOPA 



EUGENIA JAVANICA Lam. Plate X, fig. 1. MACOPA, Macupa, T. V. II. 



A medium-sized tree with oblong-ovate, glossy leaves; open 

 panicles of few, rather large, pink or white flowers; and 

 turbinate, pink, fleshy fruits about 4 centimeters in diameter. 

 Malaya. 



The macopa is one of the most attractive appearing fruits 

 found in the market, but the pulp is tasteless and fluffy. Slight 

 importance. 



