Miscellaneous. 



140 



[FEBRUARY, 1910. 



In the first place the climate of Singa- 

 pore is a remarkably equable one, the 

 temperature during the time of my visit 

 ranging from 80 degrees to 84 degrees 

 F. day and night. Rain falls at frequent 

 intervals, usually in the afternoon, 

 and the atmosphere is saturated with 

 moisture, The consequence is that, 

 although the soil is by no means rich, 

 vegetation of all kinds is extremely 

 vigorous, and many tropical products 

 are grown to perfection. The Island of 

 Singapore has a population of some 

 280,000, the bulk of whom live very 

 largely on fruits, vegetables, and fish. 

 There are several fine markets that are 

 kept remarkably clean, where all kinds 

 of fruits (both fresh and preserved), 

 vegetables (fresh and dried), fish (fresh 

 and dried), butcher's meat, poultry, &c, 

 are sold. Of fruits there are many 

 unknown or only little known, to this 

 State, as well as many with which we 

 are acquainted. Of the former, the 

 commonest in its season is the Durian 

 (Durio zibethinus), a fruit that is greatly 

 appreciated by the natives and some 

 Europeans, but has the gieat drawback 

 of possessing the most disgusting odour ; 

 an odour that must be overcome before 

 one can appreciate the excellence of the 

 fruit. The fruit weighs from 5 to 7 lb., 

 has a hard skin and is covered with long, 

 hard, sharp prickles, The flesh is of the 

 consistency of sour cream, and, when 

 one can overcome the smell, is palatable, 

 though it is not a fruit that I hanker 

 after. It will grow in Ceylon up to an 

 elevation of 1,500 ft. above sea-level, and 

 it is, therefore, probable that it could be 

 grown successfully on the Daintree, 

 Bailey's Creek, or Bloomfield districts. 



The Jack Fruit {Artocarpus inte- 

 grijolia) is grown extensively, and is 

 consumed in large quantities by the 

 coloured population. It is usually sold 

 in an unripe condition, and is used for 

 cooking rather than for eating raw. 

 There are two types of the fruit, known 

 locally as Nangka and Chumpada. The 

 former is similar to the Jack Fruit 

 grown here, but the latter is shaped 

 more like a vegetable marrow, and is 

 considered the better variety. 



The Mangosteen (Oarcinia Mangos- 

 tana) is at home here, and is one of the 

 commonest fruit trees. Its fruit is very 

 highly flavoured and very refreshing, 

 but unfortunately the area in which it 

 can be successfully grown is very limited, 

 and attempts to introduce it into Queens- 

 land have not been successful. 



The Sapodilla Plum {Achras Sapota), 

 the Sheko or Chikus of the Malay, is a 

 fruit that should do well with us. It 

 is a fine flavoured fruit, when fully ripe, 



somewhat resembling a good pear. It 

 is a curious looking fruit, in fact it is 

 more like a potato than a fruit. 



The Rambutan (Nephelium lappa- 

 ceum) and the Pulasan are two fruits of 

 the Lilchi family that f-bould thrive on 

 the coast to the north of Cairn s The 

 Rainbutan bears clusters of bright red 

 round fruit, covered with sof c opines, 

 and the edible portion is the white aril 

 surrounding the seed, There is cer- 

 tainly not much that can be eaten, but 

 the flavour of what there is is extremely 

 good. 



Eugenia Spp.— The fruits of several 

 species of Eugenia, including the Wax 

 Jamba, the pear-shaped Jamba or Malay 

 apple, the Rose apple and Brazilian 

 cherry are common. The term Jamba 

 is applied by the natives to both 

 Eugenias and Psidiums (Quaras). In 

 addition to this there are a number of 

 fruits that are Avell known to most 

 Queenslanders, such as the coconut, 

 betel nut, flaucostia, vi apple, bananas 

 of many kinds, pineapples of several 

 kinds, bael fruit, papaws of several 

 types, pomilos, wampu, arerchoa, anona, 

 tamarind, alligator pear, monstera- 

 granadilla, &c. 



The coconut is largely used both in 

 its ripe and unripe state, coconut oil, 

 &c, and is grown in enormous quanti- 

 ties. The nuts vary very much in size, 

 aud there are several types of trees. I 

 have already submitted a report on 

 coconut-growing, as lam of the opinion 

 that a large area of north-eastern tro- 

 pical seaboard is well adapted for the 

 growth of this plam. 



Of bananas there are many species 

 (some 70), some of which are used ripe 

 as fruit, but many are used solely for 

 cooking. We have as good eating sorts 

 here as in the East, as their best fruits 

 are of the sugar and lady's finger types. 



Of pineapples, practically only one 

 variety, a smooth-leaf, is grown. It is 

 a distinct variety to the smooth-leaf 

 Cayenne grown here, and is decidedly 

 inferior to it in flavour. It is a very solid 

 pine, and cases well, but when canned is 

 lacking in flavour. In my report on 

 pineapple canning I have already gone 

 carefully into the question of varieties 

 and the methods ot culture employed, so 

 there is no need for me to repeat what I 

 have already written. 



Papaws are good, the long type, 

 known as "Madagascar" in Ceylon 

 being the best. This is practically the 

 same fruit as the " Couley " papaw ot 

 Queensland. 



