Edible Products. 



204 



[March, 1912, 



The mango (Mangifera indica), so ex- 

 tensively grown in several provinces in 

 Lazon, is rather sparingly planted in 

 the southern islands. No trees of this 

 species were seen in Catbalogan, though 

 they are probably planted further in- 

 land, and there were notably few 

 in Taclobau, otherwise so rich in 

 fruits, and at several other points. 

 Even in Cebu the mango is not planted 

 extensively as in certain districts in 

 Nueva Ecija, Bulaean, and Cavite, 

 though Cebu mangoes form an article of 

 export during the fruiting season. The 

 mangoes examined in Cebu were of the 

 same general character as the carabao 

 variety in Luson and fully equal to them 

 in flavour and quality. Seemingly per- 

 fectly at home on the eastern shore of 

 Cebu, the almost total absence cf the 

 mango in the interior, in going from 

 Carcar to Barili was striking. The 

 neighbouring island, Bohol, is said to 

 produce considerable quantities of 

 mangoes. Mango trees of the type 

 referred to are scattered through the 

 country around Iloilo and adjacent 

 towns, and are seen here and there from 

 the railway going from lloilo to Capiz 

 on the north shore of Panay. The 

 general character of the mango trees in 

 Dapitan would seem to imply that they 

 are a type different from those noted 

 elsewhere in the Philippines, In the 

 market of Cagayan, mangoes of the type 

 known as ''pahutan" in Cavite were 

 sold under the name of " paho." The 

 " pangi" mango, an unidentified relative 

 of Mangifera indica, of which a few 

 specimens were obtained in Iloilo, is a 

 tall upright growing tree with com- 

 paratively smooth trunk and small 

 greenish fruits, the pulp very resinous 

 and distinctly flavoured, gelatinous, 

 rather fibrous and having a large seed. 

 Experiments may show this to be a desir- 

 able stock for the mango, but the fruit 

 does not seem to possess any charac- 

 teristics that might, to advantage, be 

 imparted to the mango by hybridiziug 

 the two species, 



The breadfruit (Artocarpus spp.) is 

 very generally grown in Tacloban and 

 the places visited in Occidental Negros 

 and Iloilo ; in fact, it appears to grow 

 wild along the roadsides. It grows 

 luxuriantly in the Visayas wherever 

 planted, but is not generally grown 

 except in the places mentioned. How- 

 ever, the trees appear to be almost 

 exclusively of the poorer kinds that are 

 propagated from seed, the natives 

 evidently not knowing how to propagate 

 the seedless variety. It is probably safe 

 to say that the introduction of the 

 twenty or more Polynesian varieties 



into the Philippines would prove of 

 greater value to the Archipelago than 

 the introduction of the same number of 

 kinds of any other food plant. The 

 jnk (Artocarpus integrifolia), a species 

 closely related to the breadfruit, seems 

 to be a general favourite in Tacloban and 

 adjacent town in La Carlota and Pulu- 

 pandan.and is also planted to a consider- 

 able extent in Dapitan, where a fruit 

 was obtained that weighed approxi- 

 mately 25 kilos. The prevalence of the 

 breadfruit in Iloilo and its luxuriant 

 growth there has already been com- 

 mented upon. It was therefore surpris- 

 ing to see its near relative, the jak, 

 thriving under the same conditions, so 

 seldom giown in that locality. In Cat- 

 balogan not one specimen was seen. 



The papaya (Carica papaya) is planted 

 very universally throughout the islands 

 visited, and its growth is all that can be 

 desired ; but the variety grown is mostly 

 a degenerate, dioecious type, the fruit 

 of which is almost universally small and 

 seedy and of very poor quality. 



Three species of the genus Anonce are 

 grown in the Philippines: the soursop, or 

 "guanabano" (Anona muricata), the 

 sugar apple, or " ates" (A nona squa- 

 mosa), and the custard apple, or " anona " 

 (Anona reticulata). Of these the sour- 

 sop in many places appears to be the 

 favourite in the "Visayas, markedly so in 

 Tacloban and neighbouring towns where 

 the other species are rare. In Iloilo the 

 sugar apple is very common, while the 

 other species are less in evidence, 

 the custard apple seems everywhere to 

 be less esteemed than either the soursop 

 or the sugar apple. All species luxu- 

 riate wherever seen, and the sugar apple 

 and the soursop are abundantly product- 

 ive. The fruitfulness of the sugar 

 apple is due to the presence of certain 

 species of Coleoptera that abound in the 

 Philippines and which pollinate the 

 flowers of this species. In Florida the 

 writer found the same species of Coleop- 

 tera act as pollinizing agents for both 

 the sugar apple and the cherimoya 

 (Anona cherimolia), and with tbe 

 species noted here it is, therefore, prob- 

 ably safe to predict that the cultiv- 

 ation of the cher imoya, the most esteem- 

 ed species in the genus and one of the 

 most famous of the tropical fruits 

 recently introduced into the Philippines 

 by the Bureau of Agriculture will be 

 successful, 



The sapodilla, or "chico" (Achras 

 sapota), is not universally planted, per- 

 haps for the reason that it is of slow 

 growth and more tardy in the produc- 

 tion of fruit than most other tropical 

 f ruits, few being seen outside of Taclo« 



