73 Tin*: niOSP^'ROS. 



or small trees; their leaves are evertfrecn and thev bear 

 fruits which vary in size from that of a walnut to that of an 

 egg- Tfie Iruils are eaten "au naturel", or with wine and 

 sugar, llie flavour of some is like strawberries; others 

 are bitter-sweet : otlicrs again have sucii a penetrating 

 odour that the\- are not rehslied hv all. Guava Jellv is 

 much esteemed in the tropics, and it is now being 

 mtrodnced mto Kinojie. 



The wood of the Diosp-\ros, which belongs to the 

 Ebon^' famih'. is of more importance than its fruit. The 

 Ivaki tree [Diospyriis Kalci) is a native of China and 

 japan, and ma\' ',\ell llourisli at La Mortola considering 

 at it can stand the winter, in sheltered places, even 

 on the Rltine. It is a small tree witli ovate leaves, 

 whitish-yellow flowers, and round, reddish-\ ellow fruits 

 about the size of a peach. Th"ese are sometimes 

 produced in great numbers, when from a cHstance the 

 tree appears to be covered with large flowers. The 

 fruits must be over-ripe to acc|uire their full tla^'Ou^, 

 which is something between that of plums and apricots. 

 The^' begin to gather them on the Ri^'iera in tire middle 

 of October but the fruits then taste so astringent as to 

 be hardly edible. For this reason \\\c\ are often left 

 on the trees until the weather becomes too cold, when 

 the)- are brought into well-ventilated rooms to finish 

 ripening. Tliese fruits are Irequenth- to ^be seen in the 

 market at Nice, often in such quantities that a dozen 

 may be bought for one franc. hi the south east of 

 Asia they are considered a great delicacs' when dried, 

 and are called "Kaki Figs''. The wood somewliat 



