104 



HOCKINGS* GARDEN MANUAL. 



extending like a fir. It is an evergreen tree, with 

 oval leaves about seven inches long. The fruit is about 

 the size and shape of an orange, and is divided inside 

 in the same manner, having an outside covering like 

 the shell of the pomegranate. It consists of a " soft, 

 juicy pulp, of a delicious flavor, partaking of the straw- 

 berry and the grape, and is esteemed one of the richest 

 fruits in the world." Dr. Garcia, an eastern traveller, 

 from whom the tree is named, says ( Phil. Trans.) " it 

 is esteemed the most delicious of the East India fruits ; 

 and a great deal of it may be eaten without any incon- 

 venience ; it is the only fruit which sick people are 

 alio wed to eat without scruple. It is given with safety 

 in almost every disorder • and we are told that Dr. 

 Solander, in the last stage of a putrid fever in Batavia, 

 found himself insensibly recovering by sucking this 

 delicious and refreshing fruit. The pulp has a most 

 happy mixture of the tart and sweet, and is no less 

 salutary than pleasant." 



Soil, propagation, &c, the same as the mammee. 



MATINGCLA PLUM-(Arduina Bispinosa). 



The fruit of a thorny, evergreen shrub, having 

 handsome, shining leaves. It grows hereto the height 

 of seven or eight feet, and bears white, perfumed 

 flowers, resembling the jasmine, throughout the spring 

 and summer. 



It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, where it 

 has a summer temperatare of 60° to 65°, and does not 

 often bear fruit in the higher temperature of Brisbane. 

 The fruit has the form of a plum ; it is about two 

 inches long, and one inch in diameter, and is full of 

 small seeds. 



It is propagated by seeds, cuttings, and layers, and 

 it thrives best in a sandy loam. 



