7 



result. At present our knowledge of the mango is so elementary that no 

 satisfactory system of classification can be drawn up, the subject requiring 

 much more study and investigation than have so far been given it. 



Recent investigations seem to indicate that all mangos can be divided 

 into two classes, monoembryonic and polyembryonic, which in a classifica- 

 tion might form the first great division. The Indian mangos as a rule appear 

 to be monoembryonic, while those in the Philippine Islands, as well as some 

 now grown in Florida, Mexico, and the West Indies, are polyembryonic. 

 The polyembryonic varieties have the characteristic of reproducing them- 

 selves fairly true to type when grown from seed, by some authorities be- 

 lieved to be due to the fact that the embryos are adventitious and not 

 formed from the germ cells in the ovary, i. e., they are not tJie product of 

 the fertilization of the ovule, as is the single plant produced from the seed 

 of the monoembryonic type, whose progeny is variable. 



Following this division into two primary classes might come the sub- 

 division of each into distinct races or types. Indian horticulturists already 

 recognize a number of more or less distinct types, such as the Langras 

 and Maldas, each of which includes a number of closely related varieties, 

 having in common certain characteristics which prove their affinity. Maries 

 divided the mangos of his acquaintance into four classes, — Bombays, Maldas, 

 Langras, and Budayas; Rolfs divided the mangos of Florida into seven 

 groups; while Wester has found three distinct types in the Philippines, 

 Many so-called varieties are in reality races or types embracing a number 

 of very closely allied forms. 



A Key For Classification. 



It would be an easy matter, by means of a key taking into consideration 

 the distinguishing characteristics of each type, to determine the affinities of 

 any variety which appeared, and quickly place it in its proper division. A 

 comparison with the other members of the type, again by means of a key, 

 would determine the right of the variety to be considered distinct. 



The great practical importance of such a work as this, especially the 

 placing on record of complete descriptions and accurate illustrations of 

 every variety, will be easily understood. With mango culture coming to 

 the front as it is at present, particularly in the Western Hemisphere, there 

 is great need of accurate information for the guidance of planters, so that 

 laying all scientific interest in the subject aside, the practical value of the 

 work alone is sufficient to justify an effort on the part of mango enthusiasts 

 throughout the world. India, with her undisputed preeminence as a mango 

 country, should be the first to take in hand the systematic study of the 

 "King of Tropical Fruits," but the work should be carried on simultaneously 

 in all parts of the mango-growing world. 



There is, at present, a dearth of literature on the mango, though a 

 number of valuable publications have appeared within the last, few years. 

 The following are some of the principal ones, and will be of interest to 

 every student of the subject: The Mango: Its Culture and Varieties, by G. 

 Marshall Woodrow (Paisley, 1904); The Mango, by P. J. Wester (Bui. No. 



