312 



RECREATION. 



larger than the largest orange, and filled 

 with a similar pulp, which contains a large 

 quantity of juice. Owing to its habit of 

 fruiting in clusters it has been called grape 

 fruit. This name is rather misleading, and 

 in California the State Board of Agri- 

 culture has decided that "it shall be known 

 as the pomelo, which is botanically correct." 

 Moreover, it should not be confounded 

 with the shaddock, known as Citrus aman- 

 tium decuman; while the pomelo is C. a. 

 pomelanus. 



Several varieties of pomelo are grown, 

 and the purchaser should reject those 

 which are too acid or lack the peculiar 

 bitter-sweet flavor which is characteristic 

 of this fruit. Pomelos should contain 2 

 per cent or less citric acid, while lemons 

 contain 5 to 7 per cent. According to analy- 

 sis made in California, pomelo juice of de- 

 sirable quality contains 10 per cent total 

 solids and 6.8 per cent sugar. The pomelo 

 may be used for preparing refreshing sum- 

 mer drinks in the same way that lemons 

 are used for lemonade. 



The pomelo is recommended as an aid to 

 weak digestion. For this purpose it should 

 be cut in 2 crosswue and a little sugar 

 added. After remaining 5 to 10 hours in 

 the refrigerator the juice should be 

 squeezed out and sipped a half an hour be- 

 fore breakfast or dinner. 



An appetizing jelly or marmalade may be 

 made from the pomelo as follows : 



Cut large fruit, including the rind, into 

 thin slices and remove the seeds. Add a 

 quart of cold water to each pound of cut 

 fruit. After it has stood 24 hours boil it 

 20 minutes, or until the skin is tender. Let 

 it again stand 24 hours, then add a pint of 

 sugar to each pound of cooked fruit, and 

 boil until it jells. This should give a clear, 

 amber jelly, possessing the delicate, bitter 

 flavor of the fruit. 



The pomelo is in greatest demand fi^rn 

 January to April, but as the season ad- 

 vances the fruit improves in flavor, and 

 when perfectly ripe may be eaten without 

 sugar. In this ripe fruit the peculiar 

 bitter-sweet flavor is most pronounced. 



Pomelo is an attractive addition to the 

 diet. It has been claimed that the bitter 

 principle contained in it has medicinal 

 properties, being useful as a tonic and for 

 warding off fever in much the same way 

 as quinine. The chemical nature of this 

 bitter principle is not known. Other 

 medicinal properties have been claimed for 

 the pomelo, but are,' as far as can be 

 learned, chiefly matters of opinion. 



scrubby tree 10 to 40 feet in height, which 

 bears a great abundance of clusters of 

 fragrant white flowers from May to July. 

 These in autumn are partially replaced by 

 large attractive fruits one to 2 l / 2 inches in 

 diameter. The leaves usually drop off the 

 tree a month or 2 after flowering time, and 

 thus expose the fruit, which often hangs on 

 until the beginning of winter. The transla- 

 tion of the Porno Indians of the native 

 name for the horse chestnut is "fruit tree," 

 an appropriate name, since without excep- 

 tion all Indian tribes eat the fruit in con- 

 siderable quantity even at the present 

 time. 



Even when quite civilized, the Indians, 

 according to Dr. V. K. Chesnut, who has 

 recently studied the subject, regard the 

 horse chestnut with favor as food. When 

 raw, however, it is commonly regarded as 

 poisonous, and recognized by at least one 

 of the tribes near Ukiah as a means of 

 committing suicide. The fruit is undoubt- 

 edly poisonous in the fresh state. Dr. 

 Chesnut found 2 or 3 methods used in pre- 

 paring it for food, both consisting essen- 

 tially in roasting and then washing out the 

 poison. The buckeyes are placed in a hole 

 lined with rock and willow leaves in which 

 a fire has previously been built ; more wil- 

 low leaves are added and the whole is 

 covered with hot ashes and dirt and al- 

 lowed to remain one to 8 or 10 hours. The 

 fruit then has the consistency of boiled 

 potatoes. It may be either sliced, placed in 

 a basket and soaked in running water 2 to 

 4 or 5 days, depending on the thinness of 

 the slices, or mashed and rubbed into a 

 paste with water, when the red-brown skin 

 floats and is removed from the suriace, 

 and placed to soak one to 10 hours in a 

 hole in the sand, as in the case of acorns, a 

 wide and deep hole being used because the 

 water drains off quite slowly. After this 

 process the resultant mass, which has the 

 consistency of gravy, is ready for con- 

 sumption. It is frequently eaten cold and 

 without salt. Buckeyes decay or sprout 

 rapidly, and are therefore not pre- 

 served for use for long periods. After 

 sprouting the taste is said to be disagree- 

 able. The buckeye fruit is also a favorite 

 food for squirrels, but hogs will not eat it. 

 The leaves or young shoots are probably 

 used to a slight extent by the Yuki and 

 Concow Indians to poison fish, but for this 

 purpose they are inferior even to blue 

 curls, Trichostema lanceolatum. 



CALIFORNIA INDIANS AND HORSE CHEST- 

 NUTS. 

 The California buckeye or horse chest- 

 nut, Aesculus calif omica, is a more or less 



He : You are willing to admit, then, 

 that you are afraid to marry me because I 

 may not be able to support you? 



She : Well, I don't go so far as that, 

 because fear implies a possibility of the 

 thing happening. — Exchange. 



