ORANGES AND BANANAS. 101 
sub-acid juices of the former were particularly agreeable and grate- 
ful. They soothed and gratified the nerves of taste, took away 
the rough edges of appetite, and prepared the stomach for the 
heavier work it was soon to be called upon to perform, At din- 
ner the same thing was repeated, except that the order was re- 
versed, and the tempting dish of golden and yellow fruit came 
to stimulate the appetite after it had been subjected to the tempt- 
Ing influences of along and varied bill of fare. It does not take 
a great while for hese agreeable customs to become deeply and 
firmly rooted. Oranges to daily break our fast in the morning, 
and delightfully crown our afternoon meal, are felt to be a neces- 
sity. Without them the most elaborate feast fails to satisfy. 
New Providence relics upon Abaco for a very material part of 
the oranges which its market requires, and in the spring of 1879 
our landlord imported some from Florida, and yet the island 
abounds with wild, waste land and idle people. 
The banana resembles the pear in this, that its quality is im- 
proved when it ripens dissevered. The long stem, thickly 
covered with fruit in various stages of development, hangs pen- 
dent, with a large purple terminal bud, which constantly ma- 
tures rings of fruit blogsoms as it grows and gravitates towards 
the earth, with its leaves—narrow, very long, green and grace- 
fully drooping,—rising from a green sheath, is beautiful to 
behold, and its novelty never wore off, so that almost daily we 
had to stop and admire it. Our readers are all familiar with 
this fruit, for it is in New York and in other northern cities 
what it is in and near the tropics; its habit of growth, aside 
from its large and beautiful terminal bud, is readily seen in the 
bunches so extensively exhibited wherever at the north southern’ 
fruits are offered for sale. 
The opinion we heard frequently expressed that the banana is 
unhealthy. Some assured us that it always distressed them when 
