AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN 



OF THE 



STRAITS 



AND 



FEDERATE D MALAY STATES. 



No. io.] JULY, 1902. [Vol. i. 



FRUITS OF THE MALAY PENINSULA, 

 Wild or Cultivated. 



By H. N. Ridley. 



In this paper I propose to give notes on the fruits of the Malay 

 Peninsula, both those introduced from other regions and the wild 

 ones or native kinds, that may be or have been considered eatable. 

 Many of the wild fruits which are mentioned in books of travel 

 and the like are really very poor and only fit for natives, but still 

 I consider these worth recording partly as a matter of general in- 

 terest and partly because questions are often asked as to the value 

 of such fruits. Many exotic fruits again which have been introduced 

 into the Straits Settlements and often highly recommended in 

 books are certainly either tasteless or poor here, though under other 

 circumstances they may possibiy be more valuable. 



I have arranged the fruits according to natural orders, as I found 

 it difficult to class them satisfactorily in any other way. This 

 arrangement has at least the advantage of keeping many closely 

 similar fruits together. 



Anonace^e. 



To this order belongs one genus of really good fruits, that is 

 Anona, the custard apples. All are natives of South America, 

 small trees or little more than shrubs, with shining leaves and dull 

 greenish flowers. They arc raised from seed and of fairly rapid 

 growth. 



The custard apple, or sweet-sop, Anona squamosa, Nona Kapri 

 is a large shrub, easily raised from seed. It will grow in almost 

 any soil, unless too damp, but does best in fairly rich soil, in open 

 ground. It has been known to fruit in a vear and-a-half from 

 planting. Fruit is produced rather irregularly throughout the year, 

 but has a tendency to be most abundant in June and July. 



It is green and covered with short warty processes and fair sized 

 Iruits, are about three inches through. When ripe it turns blackish, 

 and becomes quite soft. The creamy pulp surrounding the numer- 

 ous black seeds is not very abundant, but is very delicately fla- 

 voured. It is used in puddings and ices in India and a drink like 

 eider is made from it in West Indies. 



