THE MANGO. 49 



^."■^'■ons is made by drying the unripe fruit. In this form it is con- 

 sidered the best antiscorbutic, curing scurvy, it is said, when Hme 

 juice and all other remedies have been tried in vain. The unripe 

 truit, roasted, dissolved in water and made into sherbet with sugar, 

 IS thought to prevent sunstroke ; and the pulp is rubbed on the body 

 tor the same purpose. The kernel of the seed and the blossom and 

 oark, as well, dried and made into a powder, are a valuable astrin- 

 gent, and much used in treatment of dvsentery and diarrhoea. Steeped 

 m water and reduced to a paste, the kernel is a remedy for 

 x"T^ 1!"^ mflammations of the skin. The gum-resin from the 

 bark when mixed with lime juice or oil is used in scabies and 

 cutaneous affections. A fluid extract of the bark is useful in 

 hemorrhages of the lungs. A gruel made of the seeds is effective in 

 treating asthma and the smoke of burning leaves cures throat 

 affections. The calcined midribs of the leaves are said to remove 

 warts from the eyelids. But perhaps the most curious use for the 

 mango is in tune of plague, or cholera, when the Hindoos make a 

 confection of the baked pulp of the unripe fruit mixed with sugar, 

 which they eat and also apply externally by smearing it all over the 

 body. It is well known, however, that the ravages of the plague 

 have not been staj'ed among the class likely to make use of this pre- 

 ventive. 



Mangoes are eaten unprepared, or they may be peeled and 

 sliced and sei-ved with wine or brandy, sugared and spiced. Young, 

 green mangoes make excellent pickles. Mangoes stewed have 

 been pronounced "as good as peaches." Marmalade and jelly of 

 superior quality and attractive appearance are made from them; and 

 a very delicious dish can be prepared by baking the unripe fruit, 

 well piled with sugar, in a slow oven. Mangoes form one of the 

 chief ingredients of chutneys, large quantities of which are im- 

 ported into the United States and England from India. 



While it is not likely we shall ever emulate the Hindoos in the 

 many uses they find for the mango, it is certain that this new 

 fruit will become as familiar in our homes as are any of the other 

 fruits now in common use among us. On its merits as a fresh fruit, 

 it deserves to be as popular as the orange or the banana, and the 

 writer doubts not that time will see this prediction fulfilled. 



The growing of mangoes in the United States is necessarily 

 limited to Southern Florida and to the frostless belts of Southern 

 California. Florida has made a good start, many trees have been 

 planted and the best methods of propagation are successfully prac- 

 ticed. There is no thought among orchardists there of planting any 

 but the budded, grafted or inarched trees, which will always do 

 what seedlings will not, viz., certainly bear the desired fine varieties 

 of mangoes. Transportation is in favor of the Florida grower, and 

 against the California competitor. When the supply shall be ade- 

 quate, Florida mangoes will be largely shipped to Cuba and other 

 of the West India islands as well as throughout the United States 

 and to Europe. But that will be far in the future, for the demand 

 at home will be greatly ahead of the supply for many years. 



With such an encouraging outlook, the profits of the Florida 

 mango grower may be almost counted in advance. Nor need these 



