234 



FRUITS. 



and boiled. Hindus, as usual, object to its 

 ' heat ; ' the Arabs make from the pips, which 

 taste like celery, a sherbet, which is said to have 

 peculiar effects. 1 



The ' Khwemwe ' tree bears a nut with a 

 hard reticulated skin : this is roasted like the 

 chestnut, and it affords a small quantity of oil. 

 The Sita-phal (Annona squamosa) and its con- 

 gener, the Jam-phal, or sour-sop (A. reticulata), 

 grow wild over the Island and the Coast ; as in 

 the Brazil, little attention is paid to them ; this 

 ' custard-apple 9 is here considered to be a whole- 

 some fruit. The guava is popularly called Zaytun, 

 which means 6 olive,' a quasi-sacred fruit, pos- 

 sibly on the principle that in England many 

 growths become palms about Easter-time. It 

 runs wild around Mombasah, and spreads over 

 much ground by a peculiar provision of nature : 2 

 the guavas are said not to ripen well; yet on 

 the West coast they are excellent. The Jamli, a 

 well-known Indian tree (Eugenia Jambu), whose 

 somewhat austere, subacid fruit resembles the 

 damson or bullace, is everywhere common. In 



1 The 'hot amourist ' pronounces this drink to be 



2 The seeds cannot easily be digested. Thus the lower 

 regions of Fernando Po are a thicket of guava, suggesting the 

 Jackal- coffee of the Neilgherries. 



