CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF SOME TROPICAL FRUITS AND 

 THEIR PRODUCTS. 



I.— A STUDY OF CUBAN FRUITS. 

 INTRODUCTION. 



There has been practically no work done on the chemical composi- 

 tion of tropical fruits other than the banana and the orange, and it is 

 only recently that the pomologist has given them much attention. 

 Even now the majority of these fruits are ignored commercially and it 

 is hoped that this report will aid in calling attention to some of the 

 comparatively unknown fruits of the near-by islands of the West 

 Indies, some of which undoubtedly have economic value. 



Among the fruits examined are some which at least are commercial 

 possibilities. The mango and sapota are both pleasant to the taste in 

 the fresh state; they mature when picked green, and will stand ship- 

 ping if properly packed. The mamey de Santo Domingo and the sour 

 orange make excellent preserves and with some care and ingenuity in 

 manufacture others might be made marketable. The superiority of 

 guava pastes and jellies has long been conceded. 



The fruits were sampled by Mr. E. M. Chace, in Havana, Cuba, 

 in the height of the season of 1902. Both the fresh and preserved 

 samples were purchased in that city and the retail prices are given. 

 The ripe portions of the fresh fruit samples were analyzed by Mr. 

 Chace, in Havana, the green fruits being sent to Washington, where, 

 after ripening, they were examined b} T Mr. Tolman and Mr. Munson. 

 In this way complete data were obtained on all the samples except one. 

 When possible samples of the preserved fruit were purchased in order 

 to test the quality and make a comparison with the fresh sample. All 

 the preserves possessed the same objectionable feature — they were too 

 sweet and contained too little acid, a matter easily remedied, however. 

 As a rule, the preserves were made from good fruit and no glucose 

 was used. 



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