FOOD PRODUCTS. 39 



careful wrapping of fruit in tissue paper to prevent bruising, 

 and giving them as much air as possible in a cool storage." 



Apples, pears, oranges, lemons, and a great variety of 

 well-known fruits came from the Australian colonies and 

 New Zealand ; while from the Cape and Natal came similar 

 fruits, as well as many others of indigenous growth, such as 

 the Amatungtjlu or Natal FLVM^Carissa grandiflora), the 

 Kei Apple (Aberia Caffra), and others. Though both of 

 these fruits have a pleasant acid and refreshing flavour, and 

 have been introduced to notice before, so long back, indeed, 

 as the International Exhibition of 1862, they are not yet 

 known in this country, except as curiosities ; the same may 

 be said of many of , the Eastern fruits, such as the Rambdtan 

 {Neplielium lappaceunC), Lovi Levi {Flacourtia inermis), the 

 Caeambola {Averrlioa Caramhola), the Mango (Mangifera 

 indica), and a large number from the West Indies, including 

 the Cherimoyee (Anona cherimolia), the Sweet Sop {Anona 

 squamosa), the Ginep {Melicocca bijuga), the Sweet Cup 

 (Passiflora edulis), the Nasebeeey {Achras Sapota). These 

 and many others have been introduced to notice during the 

 last fifty years, but have never found their way into English 

 commerce as regular articles of trade, either in a fresh or 

 preserved state. We may, however, hope, and are led to 

 exjject, that with the interest awakened in the subject 

 during the past year or two, a new and profitable brancli of 

 commerce in this direction may be established ere long 

 between the British colonies and the mother country; and 

 as an example of the benefit to be thus derived, we may 

 refer to the case of Fiji, one of the newest of our colonies, 

 where the value of the exports of fruit to Australia has 

 increased from £507 in 1877 to £23,994 in 1884. We have 

 thus far referred to those fruits that were only occasionally 

 brought to us from distant parts of Greater Britain. As an 

 illustration of the progress of the regular import trade in 

 certain fruits, we will quote the following table, as given by 



