148 



"WEST INDIAN FRUITS AND ESCULENTS. 



cessary to procure a crop, it can form no part of profitable agri- 

 culture. The quality of it is but inferior at the best ; and it may 

 even be questioned whether it is perfectly wholesome, for it is 

 nearly related to the kidney beans, whose tubers are poisonous ; 

 and its employment by savage people, who eat it as we eat pig- 

 nuts, is not an entirely satisfactory proof of its salubrity. 



XXIII. — West Indian Fruits and Esculents that may be ad- 

 vantageously introduced into Cultivation in England. By 

 Sir Eobert H. Schomburgk. 



(Communicated March 10, 1847.) 



The following catalogue, in which the countries wherein each 

 fruit can be best obtained are separately enumerated, will, it is 

 hoped, be the means of introducing many valuable tropical pro- 

 ductions to the tables of Europeans. 



BARBADOS. 



The Guava. {Psidium pyriferum, L. ; ft. P. pomiferum.) 

 The French Guava, a variety which has been improved by 

 cultivation, is particularly good at Haynes Hill, the property 

 of Sir Bowcher Clarke. 



The Java Plum Tree. (Spondias Spec ? ft, S. majigifera, 

 Pers.) 



It is superior in taste to any other fruit of that kind. I 

 have seen trees at the Sugar Estates, Halton, and at Quentyn's. 

 It is a large tree. 



The Golden Apple. (Spondias dulcis, Forst.) 



A large tree, with fruits of the size of an apple ; it is very 

 generally cultivated in the orchards in Barbados. 

 Jamaica Plum Tree. (Spondias Mombin, L.) 



A tree of a moderate size. 

 Hog Plum, Gully Plum, Moupee. (Spondias lutea, L.) 



A very large tree, with fruits of an agreeable vinous acid. 



Custard Apple. (Anona reticulata, Linn.) 



A moderate-sized tree. The fruit is much esteemed, and 

 the pulp is of a sweetish agreeable taste. 

 Sugar Apple — Sweet Sop. (Anona squamosa, L.) 



The fruit of this species is generally preferred to the pre- 

 ceding. They surpass in Barbados those of any other island. 

 The tree is of a moderate size. 



