130 



[July, 



TROPICAL FRUITS. 



ABRICO. 



The 1 Abrico" or Apricot of South Amer- 

 ica is the fruit of various trees. That of 

 Ldbatia macrocarpa is a large, yellow, fleshy 

 fruit, in consistency resembling a hard 

 Melon, sweet, but without flavor. Mammea 

 Americana, called 11 Abrico des AnUlhas," is a 

 large yellow fruit, of which the pulp near the 

 seeds and the rind is bitter, but the inter- 

 mediate part is sweet and juicy. It is, how- 

 ever, far better as a sweetmeat than raw. 

 The fruit of Minusops Valuta is small, but 

 very sweet and delicious. Thus we have 

 three trees wholly unlike in fruit, known by 

 the name of " Abrico," and all totally unlike 

 the Apricot of temperate climates. And 

 from this it is easy to see, as this is by no 

 means an exceptional case, how liable trav- 

 elers are to make mistakes in describing 

 what appears by its name to be the same 

 fruit. 



NUTS. 



We have said in a former paper that no 

 nuts except those therein mentioned were 

 found in Brazil. We should have added the 

 so-called "Almond" to our list. It is the 

 fruit of Terminalia Catappa, a beautiful tree 

 with large shining foliage ; the flowers are 

 iu small spikes, greenish and inconspicuous, 

 and the nut has a general resemblance to 

 an Almond, but is without its flavor. 



COPUASSU. 



The "Copuassu" of the Amazon valley is 

 a tree of medium size, much resembling the 

 Cocoa in foliage. The flowers are small, 

 purple, and are produced on the branches 

 and not, as in the Cocoa, on the trunk. The 

 fruit is a large roundish or oblong body with 

 a hard woody shell, covered with a dark 

 russet substance, which can be easily rub- 

 bed off. Inside, the large flat brown seeds 

 are enveloped in a light yellow acid pulp 

 of peculiar and agreeable smell. A ripe 

 "Copuassu" will scent a whole room deli- 

 ciously. This fruit makes a very nice sweet- 

 meat, and is also used for sherbets, but its 

 chief use is as a drink, to make which the 

 pulp is rubbed from the seeds in water, 

 stirred and sweetened. Except the " wine 

 of cocoa," this is the most delicious of 

 drinks, and one can take an indefinite 

 amouut, as it is very wholesome. 



SAPODILLAS. 



Formerly of the same and now of allied 

 families are the " Sapodilla," (Sapota Ach- 

 ras) and the " Abio " (Luciano Caimito). 

 The former is a large tree with russet-col- 

 ored fruit, having a very sweet, white pulp 

 which incloses large black seeds. The lat- 

 ter is round, with rich, smooth, yellow skin, 

 resembling in appearance a large Nectarine. 

 In sweetness and appearance of the seed, it 

 resembles the Sapodilla but is of richer 

 flavor : both, however, are very nice, and 

 are among the best of tropical fruits. 



Thus have we briefly given a description 

 of the many fruits which in Brazil have 

 come to our notice. Many are good, some 

 delicious ; but do not envy us their posses- 

 sion, O reader, for we have nothing to com- 

 pare with the Peaches and Pears of your 

 gardens. E. S. Rand, Jr. 



A FRENCH HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITION, 



The grand Horticultural Exhibition of 

 Paris opened here this morning at 10 

 o'clock; and as the clear sky and bright sun 

 foreboded a hot day, I availed myself of the 

 privilege, kindly accorded to me by the gen- 

 tlemen of the jury, to visit the grounds at an 

 earlier hour, and thus be able to examine 

 the exhibits at my leisure. The grounds on 

 the Champs Elysee are beautifully situated ; 

 no finer and more appropriate place could 

 have been selected in all Paris for the group- 

 ing and general display of the many beauti- 

 ful specimens of plants concentrated here. 

 Large canvas tents', erected for the purpose, 

 afford shade and shelter to the various col- 

 lections of plants on exhibition. 



The largest is devoted to the queen of 

 flowers, the Hose, all grown in pots, and 

 tastefully grouped as to height, size, and 

 color. The tent contained some ten thou- 

 sand specimens, all in full bloom, fresh and 

 sparkling. The finest and most attractive in 

 the collection were Abel Carriere, Due He- 

 mzes, Jean Lambert, Firebrand, Docteur, 

 Andry, Paul Jamain, and Souvenir de Spa. 



Next to the Roses, the Chinese Azaleas at- 

 tracted the most marked attention. The 

 display is really magnificent, and the canvas 

 covers some five thousand finely grown 

 specimens tastefully grouped. The most 

 beautiful among them are Pluto, Flambeau, 

 Alexis Dollicre, Xcptune, Supcrba, Louis 

 Napoleon, Maria Planchon and Imbricata, the 

 latter a new and most beautiful variety. 



Among the large collection of Rhododen- 

 drons the most showy varieties were Stella, 

 Michael Weiterer, Telopidas, Titian, lago, 

 Semis, Old Port, Corito, Ch. Wagner, and 

 Frederic Waterer, all superb and large speci- 

 mens in full bloom. 



A canvas-covered tent, of three hundred 

 feet in length, protected and shaded one of 

 the grandest and most imposing collections 

 of tropical plants I ever beheld. Among the 

 Palms I noticed noble specimens of Lantania 

 rubra, Jj. borbonica, Calamus dealbatus, Cham- 

 aerops Hartwegii, Thrinax argentea, IAvistonia 

 altissima, and others; of Orchids, choice 

 specimens of Angratcum sesquipedale, Ansellia 

 Africana, Aprophyllum giganteum, Cattteya 

 superba, C. Doiriana,C. Loddigesii, C. Mendelli, 

 Cypripedium insigne Maulei, Dendrobium 

 speciosum, Miltonia Regnelli, Odontoglossum 

 Krameri, Oucidiuut luridum, Oneidium vari- 

 cosum "Rogersi, Phalaenopsis Schilleriana, 

 Stanhopca insignis, Vanda tricolor formosa ; 

 of Crotons, well grown specimens of Gol- 

 diana, Lady Zetland, Prince of Wales, War- 

 reni, Stewarti, and older sorts. Fine speci- 

 mens of all the newer Draceenas, Marantas, 

 Mnsas, Pandanus, Tillandsios, and plants 

 remarkable for variegated or ornamental 

 foliage. 



Among the Begonias, of ornamental fol- 

 iage, the choicest were Duchesse de Brabant, 

 Hermine, Leptophylla, Luxurious, Louise Chre-, 

 tien, Madame Champon, Madame Lefecre, and 

 Otto Forster. A circular bed of Caladiums 

 attracted general attention, it contained 

 some five hundred specimen plants, the 

 choicest among them were Albo Inteum, Amoz- 

 num, Anna dc Coudeixa, Augusta Carpentier, 

 Ornatum, Sanchoniathum, Sdlvator Rosa, 

 Mifhridate, Verdi, Sirius, and others. 



The display of Gloxinias was marvelous ; a 

 large bed, oval in form, was devoted to this 

 magnificent genus of tuberous-rooted plants, 

 which in brilliancy of colors is surpassed 



only, if at all, by the noble Orchids. Some 

 two hundred distinct varieties, all named, 

 kept the lovers of this gorgeous plant spell- 

 ; bound for hours at the time, and elicited the 

 I general remark from the knowing ones that 

 no finer collection had ever been on exhi- 

 bition in any part of the continent or Eng- 

 land. Among the choicest, I noticed Baronne 

 A. de Rothschild, Thalia, Pubis, Progress, Dia- 

 dem, Duke of Albany, La France, Mine. Charles 

 Heine, Marcel, Papillon, President Larallee, 

 Sulphide, Pallas, M. (I. Morlet, Mile. Grevy, 

 Emuy Telling, Amozna, Beauty of Surrey, etc. 

 The collection of Ferns was very large and 

 choice, but of Colevs, Pansies, Pelargoniums, 

 and Geraniums, I have seen finer collections 

 exhibited in other parts of Europe. Single 

 specimen plants, in large pots, of the Chrys- 

 anthemum Comtesse de Chambord, from five to 

 six feet in diameter, grown as standards, and 

 covered with flowers, were much admired by 

 the ladies. 



The display of fruit was limited to exotic 

 Grapes and Strawberries, both of which 

 I have seen more extensive and finer in 

 I America. Of vegetables, the Asparagus 

 on exhibition was wonderful, immense in 

 size, and delicious in quality. Of Peas, I 

 noticed some ten varieties, the best and most 

 productive was labeled " Bliss's Ann riean 

 Wonder," undoubtedly an American variety. 

 Of Lettuce, there were varieties, but none as 

 fine and palatable as can be daily found in 

 the markets of New-York and Boston. The 

 collection of Potatoes contained fifty varie- 

 ties, all raised in frames, and well matured 

 thus early. The two largest and finest look- 

 ing sorts were the well known American 

 varieties, Early Rose and Snow Flake, and 

 were much admired by the public. 



Innumerable other interesting and beauti- 

 ful plants and flowers I had time only to 

 notice hurriedly in passing, but if one had 

 days at his disposal, he would find the time 

 all too short for the close examination of all 

 that this enchanting spot contains. 



W. R. Bergholz. 



Paris, France, May 22, 1883. 



A GLIMPSE OF BERMUDA GARDENS. 



A lady correspondent, who spent the 

 winter in that favored climate, writes thus 

 of its floral charms : 



" The beauty of the flowers made me fairly 

 wdld. I was just in time for the marvelous 

 Lily bloom, surpassing anything I ever 

 dreamed of. Think of thousands in one 

 garden ! One lady told me she threw away 

 hundreds of bulbs every spring. The Roses, 

 too, were perfection; and there were miles 

 and miles of Oleander hedges, from ten to 

 twenty feet high, clad in one mass of color, 

 shading from purest white to vivid crimson. 

 Callas, Lantanas, Geraniums, Sweet Alys- 

 sums, etc., etc., grew wild on every way- 

 side. 



" The famous Easter Lily of Bermuda 

 seemed to me precisely like our Lilium longi- 

 florum, except that in that rare climate it 

 grows and blossoms in wonderful luxuriance. 

 But General Hastings assured me it was not 

 the longiftorum. The leaf, I must admit, is 

 less dark and glossy. In a single flower, 

 however, I could see no difference between 

 the two." 



All plants grow here with such wonderful 

 vigor and to such perfection, that one can 

 hardly recognize in them old garden ac- 

 quaintances. 



