310 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



AN INTERESTING FRUIT FOUND IN Tl 



Although belonging to the Solanacese, t\ 

 to that of a fine cantaloupe. The fruits are 

 and very refreshing. 



in agriculture and who gave us much 

 valuable information and data from 

 which we could plan our further move- 

 ments. 



In the market at Tuxtla we found a 

 quantity of cotton said to have come 

 from Acala. The bolls were exception- 

 ally large, running 38 to the pound. 



Inquiry about the town also led to the 

 discovery of a very interesting small- 

 boiled cotton, known here as "culluche." 

 The variety is without economic impor- 

 tance, but it shows such weevil resistance 

 that it seemed worthy of careful study. 

 The plants are perennial, those seen 

 being about 10 feet high with trunks 

 about 3 inches in diameter. They were 

 heavily loaded with very small bolls and 

 still flowering, the lint being short and 

 brown in color. 



Weevils were present in large numbers, 

 but were doing comparatively little darm 



[E MARKET OF SAN CRISTOBAL, MEXICO 



e odor and taste of this fruit are very similar 

 almost seedless, the flesh firm, of fine texture, 



age. The bolls are protected by prolifer- 

 ation much more completely than in any 

 cotton thus far studied. Hardly a single 

 boll could be found which had not been 

 punctured, but in all the bolls opened 

 we could not find a single live larva. In 

 fact the proliferation was so complete 

 that the bolls were hardly deformed, al- 

 though as many as 7 or 8 eggs had been 

 laid in a single boll. Proliferating tissue 

 had formed to such an extent that it was 

 forced out through the opening and dried 

 as a coiled mass on the outside of the 

 boll. In many cases these coiled masses, 

 if straightened out, would be at least two 

 inches long (see page 305). 



Curiously enough the buds of this cot- 

 ton showed no proliferation whatever. 

 They were protected, however, in a very 

 interesting manner. The bracts were 

 tightly closed except at the base, where 

 there was a small aperture, and in nearly 



