FRUITS AND NUTS 129 



South America and of the West Indies. It bears green round 

 fruit 2 to 5 inches in diameter and weighs 2 or 3 pounds, with 

 a pitted rind. The opinions expressed as to the flavor of this 

 fruit must be purely personal since it is highly esteemed by 

 some and detested by others. The cherimoyer is propagated by 

 grafting. The tree appears to prefer dry hills. It is widely 

 cultivated in Madeira, Canary Islands, and also to some extent 

 throughout all tropical countries. It thrives best perhaps in 

 stony soil and the planting distance is 10 by 10 feet. There 

 is a great variation in the quality and flavor of the fruit of 

 different varieties. The best varieties are propagated by graft- 

 ing. The fruit commonly contains 1.5 per cent, protein and 

 about 18 per cent, sugar. 



Sour sop, sweet sop, cherimoyer, and other custard apples 

 grow and fruit in Florida, but the cherimoyer does not always 

 fruit well. It has been found that it is pollinated by insects. 

 Crosses have been made between the sweet sop and cherimoyer, 

 which promise to do better than either of the parent forms. 



LOQUAT 



The loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is a small or medium- 

 sized tree, native of China, and extensively cultivated in Japan, 

 India, Australia, Italy, Sicily, and to some extent in Hawaii, 

 California, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The 

 only commercial cultivation of loquat in the United States is in 

 California. The loquat is an evergreen tree, rather closely 

 branched, and much used as an ornamental as well as for its 

 fruit. The leaves are alternate, dentate, densely tomentose be- 

 neath, and the small cream-colored flowers are borne in ter- 

 minal panicles. The fruit is pear-shaped, about i to ij^ 

 inches in length, and lemon-yellow or orange-red in color, with 

 I to 4 or more large black seed and a small amount of pulp 

 with acid-agreeable flavor. 



The loquat is propagated by seed, cuttings, budding, or graft- 



