MONKEY BREAD NUTS, OR FRUIT OF THE BAOBAB. 349 



are nearly globular, or like a cocoa nut ; the majority, however, being of an 

 oblong form, from nine to twelve inches in length, and about four inches 

 in diameter. They are pendulous, the penduncle in the African species 

 being long, in some cases no less than twelve or eighteen inches, whilst in 

 the Australian variety it is very short, this variation in the length of the 

 peduncle constituting the sole difference between the fruit of the two 

 species. 



The shell of the nut is brittle, but moderately hard, and about T S T or 

 a quarter of an inch thick, covered externally with a soft rind or epi- 

 dermis of a dingy green colour. It contains a number of pulpy carpella, or 

 compartments, separated from each other by partitions of reticulated fibre, 

 and arranged round an imaginary axis, similar to the fruit of the orange. 

 In these pulpy layers, small kidney-shaped seeds are imbedded, two or more 

 in each compartment. The pulp is of a pale cream colour, and of a porous 

 nature ; it is both farinaceous and mucilaginous in quality, and possesses a 

 delicate acid flavour somewhat resembling cream of tartar, which is very 

 pleasant to the palate. It is highly appreciated by the natives of' Africa 

 for its grateful and cooling properties, and is esteemed by them even as a 

 luxury, the wealthier natives eating it in combination with sugar. The 

 Australian aborigines likewise use the pulp as an article of food. The mu- 

 cilaginous and acetous qualities of this fruit are found to be very serviceable 

 in treating the putrid fevers so common to Africa ; a cooling drink, formed 

 from the expressed juice of the pulp, and sweetened with sugar, being the 

 form in which it is administered. In Jamaica both the pulp and rind or 

 shell of the fruit are employed medicinally, though in what form I am 

 unable to say. An excellent soap is made in Africa from the ashes of the 

 shell mixed with palm oil. 



A moderate traffic in Monkey Bread nuts has existed amongst the 

 Africans probably for many centuries, but I can find no account of their 

 value in any of the travels recently published. Dr Baikie purchased forty 

 or fifty good nuts for about the value of a shilling ; but even this appa- 

 rently low price was most likely far beyond their legitimate value. The 

 pulp dried and powdered is to be found, I understand, in the markets of 

 Egypt, and more particularly at Cairo, where it is sold under the title of 

 Lemnian earth. (1) In the island of Jamaica, where the Baobab trees are not 

 very abundant, the nuts are occasionally exposed for sale in the markets at 

 Kingston and elsewhere, the usual price being l^d. for each nut. 



The practical observations I have to offer, as suggested by the foregoing 

 account of the Monkey Bread fruit, will be necessarily brief. If once fairly 

 introduced into the English market, I feel persuaded the nut would soon 

 become a favourite table fruit with all classes. So delicate and pleasant is 

 the flavour of the pulp, that even little children once tasting it apply for 

 more, as I have tested on more than one occasion. The nut is also well 

 worthy of attention for its medicinal properties. Most of us know the value 

 of a mucilaginous and acid drink in fevers of all kinds, and barley-water 

 flavoured with lemon-juice is an old specific that might fairly be set aside 



