261 
for cooking purposes. The rustali is, however, the sort vire sold 
as table plantains, though not of so good a a quality as the form A 
large plantain known in Tamil as monthen is one of the per s 
cooking fruits of the acia The Lits A or flower plantain 
of Madras is described by z as “curious and ra 
In Bengal the table Biaataia'’ is the best. This i s grown entirely for 
the consumption of Europeans and do natives. The champa 
is the next T. e like the preceding, is of finest quality during 
the rains. The term kauch [katch]. holla is oyed generically to 
embrace all field- Oi vated plantains. These are hardly ever allowed 
to ripen, and are mostly used when unripe as a regot 
The dacca plantain (described by Horaninow as M. d "a I 
mentioned as one of the common Indian forms is dismisse Kur 
with the remark that, “although much cultivated in wie hot- 
houses, it is little known out of them." The stem is pruinose ; 
leaves paler-green than in M. sapientum, glaucous ben eath; border 
of petiole red. Fruit 4 inches long by half as broad, remaining tightly 
on the branch; its tip and stalk bright g green ; skin very thick. 
If identical with the dhakkai mentioned by Liotard, and said to have 
a long fruit, s ue pink soft flesh, it is found in abundance iu India, 
but only in the of Bengal It may also be the daccáe mentioned 
elow by Fininger, 
In the neighbourhood of Calcutta, Firminger (Gardening for India, 
pp. 179-181) mentions the principal varieties of plantains cultivated 
there as follows : 
hampa. Decidedly the finest of all the plantains, rivalling in 
lusciousness and delicacy the most delicious pear. The plant has a tinge 
of red on the stem, and the "ide rib of the leaf, both on the upper and 
lower side, is also r The fruit is about 6 inches long, of a pale straw 
colour, and not fit to eat indi it can be removed easily from the 
Cheenee champa. Similar to above, but the fruit much smaller, not 
much larger than a man’s thumb. It is borne in large, densely 
Martaban. A delicious fruit resembling the champa, and by some 
considered equal to it. The „pla ant rye no € midrib, but the rim near 
the base has a slight border of reddish 
e or daccáe-martaban.. Has a pet surprisingly rich and 
grown at Alexan dria, Egypt. It is very angular, and in section the 
placentas are strongly marked. | 
Kuntéla. An inferior fruit, though the one cultivated most exten- 
sively of all, and sold in great quantities in v bazaars. ** The cause of 
the very great demand there exists for this E ar kind among: 
it being the only sort, too, they think right to use for that purpose. 
The plant has n leaves and footstalks of a pure rich green. It grows 
to a great height 
Kutch kela. Fruit of large size, uid only in its unripe state for 
curries. “ When boiled it has somewhat the flavour of the parsnip, and 
is a nice vegetable with roast meat." [The model of a large fruit in the 
Kew Museum, labelled Musa kela, probably represents this var riety.] 
u 82629. Cc 
