TROP-EOLUM 



TROPICAL FRUITS 



1861 



EE. Pijtiih entire. 



10. tuberdsum, Ruiz. &: Par. Root produoing a pyri- 

 forin iri-fKular tuber 'K'. in. \ui\y:: stt-ui cliiubiu^% irla- 

 brous; Ivs. peltate near the ba.se, eurdate-orbieular. .')- 

 lolu'.l uearly or quite to the middle: tis. rather .siu;dl. 

 tlir calyx and loui,^ spur red. the [>ftals ycliuw, small 

 and nearly erect and little t-xeffdinir the calvx. IV-ru. 

 B.:\l. -MU. F.S. 5:-to2. P.M. r.:4;t. K.H." bs:>:i:;i41 

 (tuhers). J.H. III. :iO r^S."). -Plant stands some frost. 

 lu Peru, the tubers are eaten, and the plant is souu-- 

 times cult, in Europe for the tnb.-rs. It ai>pears in tIjp 

 Amer. catalo,i2:ues of European dealers. The tubers are 

 usually boiled. 



DDD. Lvs. oifirc or only inuhthilr. 

 E. Phfilt pUo.'yC. 



11. Lobbiinum, Veitch. Annual, climbing, hairy all 

 over except the under parts ,if the Ivs. and the I'etals: 

 Ivs. very long-stalk. -d. peltate, nearly orbicular, undu- 

 late aud with points on the margin: tls, large, long- 

 spurred, orange-red, the two upper petals large, broad 

 aud entire, the three lower ones small and clawed and 

 coarsely toothed and also fringed on the claws. I'olom- 

 bia. b'.M. -tOitT. F.S. 2:f;7. P.M. 11:271. Var. hmbri- 

 atum, Hort.. has all the petals touthed or fringed. R.H. 

 ISoo : 101. — Seldom seen in its pure state. 



EE. Plant [jtahrons. 



12. majus, Liun. Figs. 2.185, 2r)Si".. Strong-growingr 

 somewhat succulent climiiing annual : Ivs, peltate- 

 nearly orbicular aud andulate-an^'h-d : tls. large, mostly 

 in shades of yellow or orange, with straight spur, the 2 

 upper petals entire or undulate (not apiculatel, the I! 

 lower ones narrower aud fringes ou the claws. Peru. 

 B.M. ^SrSyT.l (var. 'tt ro.sanijuiiietoii \. F.S. 12:12S(; (var. 

 afropnrpi(rt'fi in ininiin/]. P.M. l;17f> (vai'. n! rosn injiti- 

 neum). There are double-tld. forms. G.C. 11. 11 :'(ii;,j. 

 These appear to have l.>eeu iutrudnrr.l iuto tliis country 

 about 1885 <.tr \'>. There are aK-.> dwarf forms. — This spe- 

 cies has been in cult, in Eun-pe since lit.sl. It is the 

 foundation of the common climbing Nasturtiums. Some 

 of these ^-arden forms are i-robalily the offspring of hy- 

 bridization witli T. L"hh'i<iniun 



K'jns ]>y hybridi- 



hI 1 



■'i, 



258;. Flower of Trop^o- 



lum minus (X ;' 3). 



Oue of t)ie lower petals 

 sli'twu at a. 



2586. Trop^olum majus. 



13. minus, I^inu. Fig. 2.187. Dwarf annual, not clim!-- 

 ing, smaller ill all its j.arts: Ivs. apiculate at the ends 

 of the veins: tl«. with narrow apiculate petals. Peru. 



B.M. 08. -Very likely blended with T. 

 zatiou, in garden forms. 



T. (Jif]if('ft>im.K:irf^t. Climber, wit h root til.rmis: 

 ri-7-lolic<l : tls. yellow. 1 in. iu diani., ilu-' s|iiir loiit; 

 petals liuibriatL-. Venezuela. — 2'. ■'•lulr, I'axt, <_'hiiiiirr; Ivs. 

 orbicular, with .'. or Danow Ifts. : 

 tis. in sha]je liki^- tlios*- of 'J\ 

 majus, but smahHr, yelUiw. Pro- 

 duces tuberous e d i li 1 e ronls. 

 Chile. P.M. !l:rJ7.— ''r. hedera;- 

 folia " is offered by A. Blaiic in 

 VMA—T.Lindcni, G.Wall, Beau- 

 tiful climber with iHrtce, peltate. 

 uuilul.ate-Iobed Ivs. that are pur- 

 plish l.ieneath and lieautilully 

 veined with white above: tls. on 

 long pedicels, the long tube red 

 and tlie calyx-lulies tureen. Co- 

 lombia. l.H. ■ll:li(J7. L. H B 



TROPICAL FRXriTS. Trav- 

 elers hailing from the temper- 

 ate Zone are generally sur- 

 prised and deliL;hted. at tirst, 

 with the li-uiis they hnd in 

 tropical markets. This is 

 due to the fart that such 

 things are for the ujost part 

 new to them. They taste 

 everything they see and not 

 infrequently |>uljlish their ex- 

 periences in languav;e where 

 ]>raise is not stinted. Some, 

 on the other hand, yii.-w nearly 

 ever}' trojucal fi'uit with prej- 

 udiee and <lts(l;tin and cannt.it 

 lie persuaded \v taste, and if 

 eventually persuaded, only to condemn with aversion. 

 Fnder su(di circnnistam.'es it is not to lie wi.mdered at 

 that in some (jmirters tropical fruits should be held in 

 I'igh esteem, ami in others be considered of doubtful 

 \'alue. That good tropical fruits d(j really exist cannot 

 he dis])uted, although on careful exaniiiniti<.in they are 

 found to be few iu uumljer, and sonie kinds far from 

 common even in the local markets. True tropical fruits 

 may be describe<l as those requiring a temperature from 

 10^'' to :i2° centigrade or (iO° to !)U^ Fahr. 



Among the subtropical fruits there are some which 

 appear to thrive in the tropics as well as in their motive 

 place, btit whether this is really so m;iy be questioned. 

 An\' differences in the conditions nf the fruits on reachin.g 

 the ripening stage will account fiu- diflh-ulties often met 

 with in preparing them for export. Such is the orange, 

 for instance; it thrives well under tropical conditions 

 aiul gives (when the class of plant grown has been well 

 selected I fruit excellent iu apjtearance, large in size, 

 and possessing a tine tlavor. If such fruit is grown for 

 export, it must of necessity be packed at seasons of the 

 year when our trrtpical atnn_isphere is charged with hu- 

 midity to within 15 per cent of the saturation point, and 

 this fact constitutes an important difficulty often over- 

 looked by beginners in the export trade. Such difficul- 

 ties can, however, be overcome by careful methods of 

 packing and preparation, and by selecting fruit which 

 ripens in the "dry season" when packing facilities are 

 as good as those of a temperate climate. It is very 

 doubtful, however, whether sulitropical fruits grown in 

 a humid climate can ever equal in their keeping qualities 

 those produceil in a lower temperature aud drier cli- 

 mate. It has been proved that fruit can be safely trans- 

 ported to long distances if pro]ierly hamlled, but the 

 treatment to bo undergone differs considerably from 

 that whiidi the fruits of temi)erate climates require. 

 .Many tro|.ical fruits are nothing more than what should 

 l)e called wayside morsels, that is to say, although edi- 

 Ide, they are seldom of a quality suitable for dessert, 

 and are consumed mostly by children and wayfarers. 

 By selection and cross-breeding these same fruits are 

 being much improved, and strains will probably be pro- 

 duced which in the future will be largely sougiit for, as 

 there are .good imiications of success in varieties which 

 have already appeared. This is work which must be 

 systematically adopted to sustain a regular export trade 

 ill tropical friiits, and a good start has been made from 

 several points 



