cultivating in England. By Mr. John Lindley. 107 



considered next to the Mangustin, notwithstanding its pecu- 

 liar offensive odour, which creates in strangers at first a violent 

 aversion to it, and which is said to arise from sulphuretted 

 hydrogen.* The tree which bears it is Ml of boughs, and 

 is about the size of a Pear tree. In external appearance the 

 fruit has some resemblance to the Bread-fruit, the outside 

 being thickly covered with tubercles in a similar manner. 

 As it ripens it assumes a yellowish colour, and consists of 

 five longitudinal cells each containing from one to four large 

 seeds as big as pigeons eggs, enveloped in a rich white pulp, 

 itself covered with a thin pellicle. Though extremely rich 

 and nutritious, and one might almost say, partaking more of 

 an animal than vegetable nature, it never cloys nor palls upon 

 the appetite, so that a taste for it rather increases than dimi- 

 nishes.f One traveller compares it for colour and taste 

 to an excellent meat much used in Spain called Mangiar 

 Blanco, which is made of hen's flesh distilled with vinegar.}: 

 The large seeds when roasted resemble Chestnuts in flavour. 

 The natives and those who fall into their habits are passion- 

 ately addicted to the fruit, and during the time of its con- 

 tinuing in season live almost wholly upon its luscious and 

 cream-like flesh.|| It opens at the top when it is ripe, and it 

 must be eaten in its prime, for it will not keep above a day 

 or two before it putrifies and turns black or of a dark colour, 

 and then it is not good.§ Rumphius describes three prin- 

 cipal sorts : 



The Borneo Durian, which is often as big as a water- 



* Abel's China, page 277. f Crawfurd, Vol. i. page 419. 



t Van Linschoten, Voyages into the East and West Indies, chap. 57. 

 fj Marsden, page 98. § Dampier, Vol. i. page 319. 



