662 
in clusters of two or three from the smal- 
ler branches. The rough rind is irregu- 
larly marked in squares and other figures 
with raised centers. The unripe fruit con- 
tains a milky juice, and when in the 
edible stage it resembles fresh bread, be- 
ing white and mealy. It is then slightly 
tart. Later it becomes yellow, juicy, and 
tastes of decay. In tropical countries 
where it has been introduced and particu- 
larly in its original home, the fruit is 
highly valued as a nutritious food, being 
prepared for use in various ways. 
When baked it resembles plantain 
rather than wheaten bread, being sweet- 
ish, slightly astringent, but otherwise 
almost tasteless. When fresh fruits can- 
not be procured, it is sometimes slightly 
fermented, beaten to a pasty mass, and so 
used. 
Another common way of preparing it is 
to beat it to a paste with cocoanut milk 
and to serve it mixed with bananas, 
plantains, etc. Since the trees produce 
two or three crops annually, and since 
the bearing seasons of different varieties 
overlap more or less, the fruit may be ob- 
tained during the greater part of the 
year. Not alone for the fruit is the tree 
valuable; in the South Sea islands its 
fibrous inner bark is woven into cloth 
resembling, but inferior in softness and 
whiteness to that made from the paper 
mulberry which is similarly employed in 
those islands; the gummy exudation from 
the bark, boiled with cocoanut oil is used 
for caulking canoes, pails, etc.; the beau- 
tiful yellow wood is light and soft, but 
when exposed to the air becomes dark like 
mahogany, and is used for canoes, furni- 
ture, and the interior work in houses. 
The tree has been cultivated to a slight 
extent in Southern Florida, but the fruits 
rarely appear even in the most southern 
markets of the United States, because 
they do not bear shipment well, and un- 
less used very soon after being gathered 
become hard and disagreeable in taste. 
For an account of the introduction of the 
bread fruit tree into the West Indies in 
the last decade of the 18th Century, when 
such feats were more difficult and less 
common than a century later, see Curtis’ 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
“Botanical Magazine” (pp. 2869-71). A 
near relative of the bread fruit trees is 
the jack. 
The Americana Bread Nut 
Brosumum alicastrum 
A tree of the natural order Uritcaceae, 
a native of the West Indies and closely 
related to the bread fruit The tree, 
which is very large, bears shining lance- 
shaped leaves; globose catkins of male 
and female flowers on different trees; and 
yields a gummy, milky juice trom its 
bark. The round, yellow fruits (drupes), 
which are about three inches in circum- 
ference, contain a single seed. When 
roasted or boiled they are used like 
bread, and having a flavor which re- 
sembles hazel nuts, form a pleasant food. 
In the United States the tree has not been 
cultivated. 
THE AMERICANA BroccoLr, How Grown 
in Alaska. See Alaska. 
See Kale. 
BrusH Lanp, Preparation of. See Apple 
Orchard, Preparation of Ground. 
Brussels Sprouts 
This vegetable belongs to the Cabbage 
family. The stem is usually two or more 
feet high with leaves, and at the base of 
each leaf is a small cabbage which is 
seldom more than two inches in diameter. 
These miniature cabbages are much more 
delicate in flavor than the ordinary cab- 
bages, and are the parts eaten. In grow- 
ing, it requires the same treatment as 
the cabbage, except that they may be 
grown nearer together. It is highly 
esteemed by some persons, as an article of 
food, but has not come into general use; 
probably owing to the fact that in our 
markets, not as much attention is paid 
to quality as to general appearance. The 
Dwarf Brussels is the variety most 
highly recommended. 
The plant is a biennial, a native of 
Europe, and like the cabbage succeeds 
well on almost any deep rich soil. 
Varieties 
Secrymger Giant. 
Long Island Improved. 
For DIstaseS AND Prsts, see under 
Cabbage. GRANVILLE LOWTHER 
