Aug. 1, 1901. J THE TEOPICAL AGEICULTURIST. 
87 
FRUITS IN EGYPT. 
{Annual Reptri : British Chamber of Comvierce 
of Eqijvt.) 
A tree of the orange tribe, known in India as the 
"Bael fruit," or Bengal Quince, (iEgle marmelos. 
Corr.), is very rarely seen in Egyptian gardens, 
but should be extensively cultivated if only for 
its long-recognised merits as an invaluable remedy 
in India in cases of dysentery and allied complaints. 
Its aun-dried unripe fruits, so common in Indian 
bazaars, do not seem to have found their way to 
Alexandria or Cairo though the liquid extract is 
ofiSoial in the Indian Pharmacopoeia, Another medi- 
cinal tree belonging to a different natural order 
(LeguminosBB) the ''Khyar Shambar " of the Arabs 
(Cassia fistula L.) of which Hugh Linddschoten the 
traveller tells us he saw more than a thousand 
trees in Egypt in 1580 A. D., mostly near Daraietta, 
h»s almost disappeared, although an avenue of them 
is still to be seen in flower in the island of Rodah 
in June. Its laburnum-like flowers are highly o'-na- 
mental and fragrant, whilst the pulp in its long 
cylindrical pods is a valuable laxative. The " Habbel 
Molook, " or Physic nut (Jatropha cnrcas L.) is also 
rare in Egyptian gardens. 
The " Mozz, " Adam's fig or Tropical banana (Mussa 
lapientinm L,), with some of its many varieties, includ- 
ing the Plantain (M. S. V. paradisiacal, has been 
cultivated in Egypt for many centuries, principally 
fcbout Damietta, but with no pains to improve the 
quality of the fruit. This lofty species cannot be 
grown with success at Alexandria or anywhere near 
the sea in Egypt, without the protection of a very 
high wall, on account of continuous salt-laden sea 
breezes, and its cultivation has of late years been 
•Imost abandoned. During the last ten or fifteen 
y«ars the low-growing Chinese species (Musa Caven- 
dishii Lamb.) which grows to a height of only 6 or 8 
feet, and is extremely prolific, has been cultivated 
with considerable success near Alexandria and in the 
interior. It is wall-adapted to the climate, and fruit 
of excellent flavour has been produced. The Chinese 
banana is much cultivated in the Canary Islands. 
Dr. Seemman (1) tells us that the species was taken 
to the Samoan or Navigator Islands by John Williams, 
the missionary martyr of Eromanga, from the Duke 
of Devonshire's seat at Chatsworth, and was carried 
thence in 1847 by the Eev. G. Pritchard to the 
Friendly and Fiji Islands where its introduction 
put an eflectual stop to the famines which previ- 
onsly were experienced. It has now spread over 
the whole of Polynesia and has almost supplanted 
the " Musa Sapientum. " 
Of the latter species Bimmonds (2) teln us that 
thelre are 17,000 acres under plaintain gardens in the 
Madras Presidency of India and 24,000 acres of 
bananas in Ceylon. 
Sufficient bananas are already cultivated to supply 
the Egyptian market, and export has commenced ; 
bnt it seems that the fruit from the Canaries, which 
makes a better show but is inferior in quality as 
regards flavour, is preferred to the Egyptian bananas 
in the French market. Direct export to England has 
not yet been attempted. 
The import of bananas into the U. S. A. in 1892 was 
13,000,000 bunches, valued at £2,000,001), mostly from 
Honduras, Jamaica and Centi'al America. 
The Mango (Mangifera indica L. is one of the best 
of Indian fruits, and, although unadapted to the Alex- 
andria climate, has been for some years cativated with 
•uccess in the neighbourhood of Cairo and Ismailia ; 
fruit of excellent flavour, although smaller than that 
grown in India, has been produced, and the markets 
are well supplied with it in August at a charge of from 
P. T. 1 to P. T. 2 per fruit. 
As mangoes arrive in Egypt from Bombay in perfect 
condition, when wrapped in tissue paper and packed 
in boxes in such a manner as to prevent contact 
between (he fraits, it is probable that s mora extended 
cultivation would repay export to the Continent and 
Great Britain. 
Dates are not cultivated in Egypt to such an extent 
beyond the requirements of the population as to 
become an important article of export. The varieties 
are numerous, some being of the size and form of a 
lemon, and others of a banana ; but there is much 
room lor improvement by the the extended and care- 
ful cultivation of the best kinds which are rare. Of 
the Nakhlet el Basha or Vanille date, {facile princeps 
in Egypt), Figari Bey tells us there were only, in 
1865, four trees in the Ghizeh district near Bedra- 
sheen. Safr el Dunyeh " or Sultani, a large dry kind 
cultivated near Belbeis and Zagazig and of excellent 
flavour, is also rare elsewhsie. 
The average quantity of dates exported during the 
15 years 1884-98 was 645 tons per annum, valued at 
£11,864 or at nearly L.E. 18 per ton. The export in 
1899 was...892 tons vakted at L. E. 14.221 and in 
1900 „ ...834 „ „ 13.849 
or at about L.E. 16 per ton. Of these Great Britain 
took more than one half, Tuikey about 1/6 and Austria 
about 1/9. The import of dates is somewhat larger 
than the export ; probably from the cheapness of in- 
ferior qualities from Turkish ports. 
Out of a total import in 1899 of 1,061 tons valued 
at L.E. 8,187, 967 tons of Turkish dates were valued 
at L.E. 6982 or at a little ovec L.E. 7 per ton. On 
the other hand the superior quality of Tunisian dates 
of the best kind is evinced by 21 tons out of the above 
1,061 tons imported from Tunisia being valned at about 
L.E. 657, or at about L.E. 31 per ton. 
Shammam gawoon, &c., or melons (Cucumis melo 
and Batteekh, or watermelons, ('Citrullus vulgari» 
Scbrad), although cultivated on a tolerably large scale 
(about 15,000 feddans in Upper Egypt and more than 
20,000 in the Delta, much of the latter being sandy 
desert), are not sufficient to supply the Egyptian 
market at all seasons, and there is a considerable im- 
port of them. This amounted in 1899 to 2,492,863 
fruits, valued at L.E. 23, 240 or at less than 1 P.T. 
each, all from Syrian or Turkish ports. 
Of other fresh fruit in general, although strawberries 
during the last fifteen years have been abundant and 
of good quality in the market, there is much to be 
done in the way of improved cultivation and of ac- 
climatizing new kinds. The loquat (Briobotrya japo- 
nica Lindl) is much cultivated but the fruit is of in- 
ferior quality and not worth eating. The Guava 
(Psidium pomiferum L, and P. pyriforme L,) is no 
better) whilst the Pope's Apricot (Diospyros kaki. 
Thunb) of Japan is scarcely more than a botanical 
curiosity. The Boumman or Pomegranate (Punica 
granatnru L.) which has been cultivated since the days 
of the Pharaohs all over Egypt, and as far South as 
Khartoum, and is of good quality in the Delta, 
especially near Rosetta and Damietta, ripens too late 
in the season (August and September) for the Euro- 
pean market, and is more appreciated for the beauty 
of its flowers audfruit (especially the double-flowered 
" gnlnar ") than for the flavour of the latter. But as an 
economic plant it is most valuable, the powdered riod 
being in great request for tanning, and dyeing yellow 
Morocco leather, and as an astringent remedy in 
dysentery : whilst the root bark is considered a 
specific for tapeworm. 
The Kishta or sweet sop (Anona squamosa. L.) is in 
common cultivation and of good quality ; but the 
better species of Ansna, viz., the Cherimolia (A Cheri- 
molia Mill.) the Custard apple (A. reticulata L.; and 
the Bullock's heart or soursop (A. muricata L.) are 
never seen. 
The Papaw apple (Carica papaya L.), which has a 
commercial value in the drug market from the " pa- 
payotin " extracted from the milk of its half-ripe 
fruits, and is a by-no-means unpalatable fruit to eat 
when at its best, thrives in Egyptian gardene, hut is 
grown more for the sake of its handsome foliage 
than for the market. 
