CHAPTER IX 



FRUITS AND NUTS 



Tropical fruits are gradually becoming more familiar ob- 

 jects in the markets of the United States. Citrus fruits, 

 bananas, and pineapples have for years been of nearly as gen- 

 eral distribution as apples and peaches. Pomegranates and 

 fresh figs are to be seen here and there in fruit markets and on 

 the carts of the street venders. Preserved figs and dates may 

 be obtained in any grocery store, and these products have be- 

 come a part of the ration of a large percentage of our popula- 

 tion. Occasionally, mangos and avocados make their way to 

 the markets of larger cities, where they are sold mostly as 

 luxuries. These fruits are not yet produced in sufficient quan- 

 tity to bring the market price down below the level of luxuries. 

 Avocados sell at retail for prices ranging from 15 to 75 cents 

 which, like the price of the occasional mango which appears on 

 the market, is too high to allow this fruit to be considered a 

 regular part of the diet. Now and then one sees the sapodilla, 

 or papaya, on the market, particularly in the Southern States. 

 While the most of the tropical fruits, except bananas, citrus 

 fruit, and pineapples, are still for the most part curiosities in 

 the general market of the Northern States, a widespread inter- 

 est is being awakened in tropical fruits and a taste for these 

 fruits is being gradually developed. 



It is possible that larger quantities of these less familiar 

 tropical fruits may reach the northern markets with the use of 

 cold storage. The only systematic experiments thus far car- 

 ried on in the cold storage of tropical fruits have been con- 

 ducted at the Hawaii Experiment Station. In these experi- 



82 



