CULTURE OF THE MANGO. 
157 
parted, deciduous. Petals four or five, spreading at the top, white, streaked with 
yellow. Stamens five, four of which are usually barren. Style one. Drupe kidney- 
shaped, smooth, somewhat compressed, containing a woody fibrous nut ; when ripe, 
the leathery crustaceous coat or skin is yellowish-green, tinged with red, and some- 
times speckled with black ; the flesh is orange-coloured, soft and pulpy, and replete 
with a fine aromatic juice. Seed ovate-oblong. The plant is a native of the East 
Indies, and is extensively cultivated in every part of the world within the tropics ; 
the fruit is esteemed very wholesome, being quite equal to a well-grown and fully- 
ripened peach. Gentlemen there, eat scarcely any other fruit during the hot 
months. And also whilst in an unripe state they are formed into jellies, tarts, 
preserves, and pickles. The varieties are almost innumerable, scarcely two trees in 
a large plantation bearing exactly the same shaped fruit ; some are round, others 
oblong ; others, again, are kidney-shaped, (which is the prevailing form) ; some 
differ in colour, others in the flavour and consistence of the pulp, and perhaps there 
is as great a variation amongst Mangos, as amongst the apples and pears of our own 
country ; the flesh of many of those grown in the East Indies is stringy, and when 
cut or much handled, the juice oozes out, and the fruit becomes insipid ; others, 
however, are melting, and separate freely from the stone ; these latter are the kinds 
chiefly cultivated in the West Indies, and are in all countries by far the most 
esteemed. They cut nearly as solid as an apple, but contain more juice, and 
have a flavour altogether different ; some are as large as a mans fist, but the 
most common size is that of a golden pippin apple. The kind known in 
Barbadoes as the Peach Mango, is perhaps the best ; the sub-varieties of it are 
numerous ; and all exceedingly good. They have a peculiarly rich, sweet-perfumed 
flavour, accompanied with a very grateful acidity, a melting flesh, and are exceed- 
ingly juicy. 
Mangos are considered by Europeans amongst the most delicious of all tropical 
fruits, and during the hot months are rarely absent in a ripe state, from the tables of 
the gentry of Hindostan. 
The tree is most ornamental, growing from fifty to seventy feet highland 
continues blooming in succession from June to September ; in Brazil it is stated by 
travellers to be planted along the streets of their towns, where the majestic wide- 
spreading branches and dark green foliage, afford a grateful shade during the season 
of most powerful heat. 
The wood of all the species is porous, soft, and of little value, except for the 
fire, which is the chief use to which it is applied ; persons of distinction generally 
add a small portion of sandal-wood, which in connexion with the smell of turpentine 
diffused from the Man go- wood, gives a very pleasant perfume to the apartments. 
The wood of M. fcetida is, however, sometimes used for flooring and a few other 
common purposes ; it is generally seasoned by first soaking the logs in water, and 
then exposing them to be well dried; being, however, of such short duration, it is 
lightly esteemed. 
