March, 1912. 



205 



Edible Products. 



ban, Iloilo, Cebu, and Argao, at which 

 last point they are grown to consider- 

 able extent. The fruits are in general 

 of good quality but very small. A 

 rather inferior pineapple, " pina " 

 {Ananas sativus), is found widely distri- 

 buted in the southern islands, appearing 

 here and there to naturalize itself. 

 Cultivated fields of this species were 

 nowhere noted during the trip. Many 

 mangosteens (Garcinia mangostana), 10 

 meters tall, in prime condition and in 

 full bloom, were encountered in Dapi- 

 tan where this species appears to be 

 perfectly at home. No mangosteens 

 were observed north of Mindanao. In 

 only two places, Dapitan and Argao, 

 were lanzooes (Lansium domesticum) 

 found planted in any considerable num- 

 bers. The introduction of this species 

 into new territory appears to proceed 

 very slowly. North of Mindanao the 

 durian (Durio zibethinus) is seldom, if 

 at all, grown, aud it is rare even in that 

 island. The ciruela (Spondias purpurea) 

 is well esteemed by the native, and is, in 

 some localities, planted in considerable 

 numbers ; in fact the only fruit orchard 

 worthy of the name seen during the 

 trip at Pulupandan, consisted of ciruela 

 trees. The bilimbi (Averrhoa bilimbi) is 

 very generally grown throughout the 

 south and seems to bear well. Its rela- 

 tive, the carambola (Averrhoa caram- 

 bola), a much larger fruit, is rather 

 scarce. The guava (Pisidium guajava) 

 has naturalized itself throughout the 

 region visited. The duhat (Eugenia 

 jambolana) is scattered throughout the 

 Visayas, and its near relative, the maco- 

 pa (Eugenia javanica) a far inferior 

 fruit, is quite generally planted every- 

 where, possibly because of its attract- 

 ive appearance. The cashew, or 

 "casoy" (Anacardium oceidentale) is 

 not generally grown. The tamarind, or 

 "sampaloc" (Tamarindus indica), at 

 once graceful and majestic, is a conspi- 

 cuous object in most places, but does 

 not appear to be very fruitful. The 

 yambo (Eugenia jambos), and the macopa 

 (Eugenia malaccensis), are perhaps less 

 grown in the southern islands than any 

 other fruits introduced. The santol 

 (Sandoricum indicum) and the mabolo 

 (Diospyros discolor), both species indi- 

 genous to the Philippines, are found 

 throughout the region visited. 



Inseparable from the Philippine 

 villages in the Visayas, no less than in 

 Luzon, is the betel-nut palm or " bunga " 

 (Areca catechu), the fruit of which is of 

 considerable local commercial import- 

 ance, being extensively used as a stimu- 

 lant by the Filipinos. The date palm 

 {Phwnix dactytifera), so important in 



Northern Africa, Arabia, and adjacent 

 countries, has scarcely been introduced 

 into the Philippines ; the only specimens 

 of this species seen during the trip were 

 found iu Iloilo. As far as is known the 

 date has never fruited in the Archi- 

 pelago. 



The grape ( Vitis vinifera) and the fig 

 (Hicus carica) were both introduced by 

 the Spaniards, and the grape is reported 

 to succeed fairly well in Cebu. Unfor- 

 tunately the writer did not have the 

 opportunity to visit any of the vineyards 

 and examine the vines. Fie: trees exist 

 in the gardens of wealthy Spaniards in 

 Bais and Misamis, and probably else- 

 where, but judging from fruits tested, 

 it is doubtful if this fruit can be cultiv- 

 ated to advantage in the Philippines ; 

 the fig being a fruit of the temper- 

 ate zone, this is, in fact, scarcely to be 

 expected. 



Aside from the data gathered, a very 

 complete collection of seeds of the genus 

 Citrus was secured that will be used in 

 connection with the testing of different 

 stocks for the cultivated varieties of the 

 orange, tangerine, pomelo, and lemon ; 

 an interesting miscellaneous collection 

 of plant material of economic and orna- 

 mental plants was also brought to 

 Manila. 



It does not appear, from the observ- 

 ations made, that the presence or absence 

 in certain localities of certain fruits is a 

 reliable guide in regard to the adaptabi- 

 lity, or vice versa, of a certain species to 

 that locality. It shows, perhaps, rather 

 a preference in a certain locality for a 

 certain fruit, and also which were the 

 first kinds introduced there ; it indi- 

 cates probably also the inaptitude of the 

 natives to take hold of a new thing, 

 clinging to early introductions in pre- 

 ference to more recent ones, 



Most, if not all, of the cosmopolitan 

 fruits referred to above have been intro- 

 duced into the Philippines by the 

 Spaniards — a not inconsiderable number 

 of species, but there are many species 

 absent that one might expect here 

 after the long dominion of the Philip- 

 pines by a once great European power 

 with colonies in all parts of the tropics. 

 Yet the situation in the Philippines in 

 this respect is, perhaps,not very different 

 from that in many other tropical colo- 

 nies. 



Exceedingly few cultivated varieties 

 of the genus Citrus have been introduced 

 into the Philippines, and those so re- 

 cently that their worth has not yet beea 

 established, 



