1883.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



31 



iscollaiipouf* 



TROPICAL FRUITS, 



NUTS. 



Castanea, or Brazil Nuts, as they are 

 called in the United States, are the fruit 

 of Bertholletia excel sa, and the trees form 

 large forests on some of the Amazonian 

 tributaries. The nuts come to the mar- 

 ket in large quantities, but are mostly 

 exported, the home consumption, except 

 among the Indians, being comparatively 

 small. They are used in thick drinks, the 

 kernels being ground up in water, but the 

 fresh nuts are not as good as the dry ; and the 

 Brazil Nut is better in the United States than 

 in its native country. Two allied species, the 

 " Sapucaia," are much less common and the 

 fruit more highly esteemed. The lid of the 

 great capsule of these trees opens when the 

 nuts are ripe, and the fruit falling to the 

 ground is greedily sought by monkeys, par- 

 rots, and some species of rodents. It is very 

 sweet and of pleasant flavor, and commands 

 in the markets a much higher price, selling 

 for eighteen milreis, about nine dollars, a 

 hectolitre here in Para, while Brazil Nuts 

 bring only seven to eight milreis. 



We have seen no other tree-nuts in Brazil, 

 though some wild fruits have hard, woody 

 capsules. 



PIQUIA. 



A most peculiar fruit is the Piquia (pro- 

 nounced Peeheea), botanically, Caryocar 

 Urasiliense, or butyrasum. It is as large as a 

 good-sized Apple, with hard, russet-colored 

 shell. "When ripe, this shell is easily broken ; 

 within is the seed, covered with a thin layer 

 of a rich, yellow, buttery substance, of pleas- 

 ant smell. These seeds are boiled for about 

 an hour, when this layer becomes soft and 

 can be scraped off with a knife or spoon. It 

 is very rich, oily, of very pleasant, but pe- 

 culiar taste, and somewhat resembles the 

 richest butter. Although at first too rich for 

 one not accustomed to it, a taste for it is 

 soon acquired, and it is very wholesome. 

 The tree is a giant where all the trees are 

 large, and often so tall that, to the naked eye, 

 the great fruit looks the size of a big marble. 

 The flower is large, white, with many stamens, 

 and has a disagreeable odor. 



There are two kinds of Piquia, which differ 

 only in the fruit of one being bitter and only 

 of use for making soap, while that of the 

 other is sweet and palatable. The propor- 

 tion found in the woods is about five of the 

 bitter to one of the sweet. 



COCOA. 



The Cocoa (Theohroma Cacao) we have 

 described in a former number of the Gar- 

 den. Besides the consumption of the seeds 

 in the form of chocolate, the ripe fruit is in 

 much demand for the acid pulp which sur- 

 rounds the seeds. It is a very pleasant sub- 

 acid, of which one does not tire, and should 

 I write the number of Cocoa fruits from 

 which a lazy man can suck the seeds in a 

 day, it would be set down as a "traveler's 

 tale." This juice, which, when pressed out, 

 forms the delicious "Wine of Cocoa," is very 

 wholesome, and is the most delicious drink 

 of the many in Brazil. Unfortunately it soon 

 ferments, and cannot be preserved in its 

 freshness more than a single day. 



INGA. 



Other trees also yield fruits which have 

 an acid, or sweet pulp surrounding the 

 seed. Of these we may especially mention 

 the species of Inga, which have long pods full 

 of large black seeds, enveloped in a very 

 sweet pulp, and which are often seen tied in 

 fagots and carried around the streets for 

 sale, on women's heads. 



The trees are almost always in fruit and 

 flower, and the flowers, which are white 

 and very fragrant, are favorites with the 

 many bright humming-birds, and, at night, 

 of the large moths. The fruit of the ' ' Mari- 

 mari" (Geoffroya superia) much resembles 

 that of the Inga, but is not as sweet. The 

 tree is one of the most beautiful in the 

 forest, and when seen covered with the 

 great spikes of bright yellow flowers is in- 

 deed " superb." 



E. S. Rand, Jr. 



A MAGNIFICENT CAMELLIA, 



Among the curiosities of Southern Califor- 

 nia is a Camellia growing in the garden of 

 Col. Bond, of Santa Barbara. This plant 

 measures over six feet in height and about 

 the same number in breadth, and has on it, 

 during its season of bloom, over three thou- 

 sand flowers. This plant is well worth a pil- 

 grimage to see it in its pink-and- white glory, 

 and has more than a local reputation. Not 

 all the plants of that sort in the beautiful 

 Valrosa attain such a height by any means. 

 There are very indifferent Camellias grow- 

 ing in the lovely gardens there as well as 

 elsewhere, and bitter complaint that the 

 buds drop off, and that, as plants, they 

 are not adapted to the climate. Some rea- 

 son must lie behind all this difference of 

 opinion, and it would repay some study to 

 find it out. 



"How was this Camellia planted was 

 asked of the owner, " and does it belong to 

 any specially vigorous variety ? " To the 

 latter question was answered: "No. I do 

 not even know the variety ; it was purchased 

 in the market in San Francisco, and the label 

 lost accidentally." To the former question, 

 an explanation of the method of planting 

 was given as a response. Forthwith, another 

 Camellia-bed took form and shape something 

 in this wise : A Celestial gardener (of which 

 race a good one is a treasure) was instructed 

 to dig a hole to come to the top of his head, 

 and as wide as it was deep. "Hum, allee 

 same as a well," was the intelligent reply, 

 and nothing more was said until the five-foot 

 hole was ready, when he was shown a pile of 

 leaf-mold and another of sand. He was in- 

 structed to alternate a barrow of each, and 

 as a third ingredient, a layer of chicken- 

 manure. Silently and thoroughly the work 

 went on, until the yawning cavity was closed 

 and the hose-pipe turned on to settle the 

 earth carefully by a prolonged sprinkling. 

 The next day a thriving young Camellia was 

 introduced to its new quarters, which bids 

 fair to rival its famous prototype of Monte- 

 cito. The original soil of this garden was 

 excellent, but too heavy for flowering 

 Camellias successfully. 



Eoses were in their glory at all seasons in 

 the original soil, with a yearly supply of 

 manure, and a monthly irrigation in summer. 

 The Camellia requires a thorough saturation 

 once a week, and a location carefully shel- 

 tered from the winds. The morning sun is 



to be preferred in arranging for a bed, and, 

 if possible, a south-eastern exposure. 



These conditions carefully complied with, 

 there need be no complaint as to falling 

 buds, and the aggravating habit the Camellia 

 has of standing still in the matter of growth. 

 Give it an acceptable boarding-place and it 

 will repay you a thousand-fold. There is a 

 royal road to the culture of Camellias, and, 

 carefully followed, it becomes the very queen 

 of flowers. Three thousand blooms are value 

 received two-fold for all the labor of a five- 

 foot Camellia-bed, — "allee same as a well," 

 in Celestial parlance. 



Mrs. N. W. Winton. 



MISTLETOE. 



The cultivation of this singular parasitic 

 shrub for ornamental purposes is recom- 

 mended in foreign papers, and young trees 

 with Mistletoe growing on them are offered 

 for sale in English nurseries. It is generally 

 found on the branches of Apple trees, but is 

 not very particular in this respect, and takes 

 its habitation also on different other trees. 

 It may be raised from seed placed in the 

 crevices of the bark of young, healthy 

 branches ; or it may be propagated by 

 grafting; in which case, a piece with a 

 portion of the bark of the tree from which 

 it is taken has to be cut with it, and firmly 

 secured to the new position. 



The European species is larger and rather 

 more ornamental than our native kind, for 

 which reason the latter might not prove a 

 success for exclusively ornamental purposes ; 

 but if some enterprising florist should suc- 

 ceed in raising Mistletoe in neat hanging- 

 baskets, which might be hung ingeniously 

 over doors and archways under which young 

 people of both sexes have to pass, — and 

 older ones, too, for that matter, — there 

 might spring up quite a demand for the 

 "novelty" about Christmas-time. 



FLORIDA CROPS. 



The great staple crop of Florida., writes 

 the statistical agent of the Department of 

 Agriculture, must ever be its fruits. The 

 Orange may be trusted as far north as the 

 30th parallel, and in highly favored locali- 

 ties in the northern counties. The Lemon, 

 Lime, and Citron can be safely planted to 

 the 28th, and in favorable locations to the 

 29th. The Grape Fruit and Shaddock are 

 nearly as hardy as the Orange. The Guava 

 thrives well below the 28th, as does also 

 the Custard Apple tribe and Mango. The 

 Sapadillo and Cocoanut thrive below the 

 26th, and in favorable localities to the 27th. 

 Pineapples and Bananas can be grown as far 

 north as the 2Sth, on all the dry lands, when 

 properly fertilized. 



RINGS NOT TEAR-MARKS. 



It has been popularly supposed that the 

 rings of a tree furnished a reliable record of 

 its age in years. But Dr. A. L. Child writes 

 to the Popular Science Monthly that this idea 

 is erroneous. His experiments go to show 

 that the formation and thickness of the 

 rings depend upon the changes in the at- 

 mosphere, and the more frequent these 

 changes the greater the number of rings. 

 Trees which he knew to be only twelve 

 years old proved, upon being cut, to have 

 thirty-five to forty rings. 



M 



