BOTANICAIi INDEX, 
99 
Fig. 63. 
DIOSPYROS KAKI. 
BY REV. HENRY LOOMIS, SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 
ID it ever occur to our readers how little attention is paid to the culture of 
fruit by a large portion of our people, and especially by the laboring people 
who pride themselves on their nice little homes. Good, ripe fruit should 
not be a luxury to be enjoyed by the few, hut one of the necessary articles 
of every-day life; and one of the greatest mistakes of our people in pre- 
paring their homes, is the neglect to start fruit among their first improve- 
ments. It requires only a small outlay in money, and the time required to 
plant would never be missed. The same may be said of the care and 
attention requisite to successfully cultivate fruit trees; hut small fruit, such as black- 
berries, raspberries, strawberries, etc., require the weeds to be kept down and the 
ground kept light and mellow, to produce large, choice berries. 
At the head of this article we give a picture of one of the most delicious fruits of 
Japan, the Diospyros Kaki, or Japanese Persimmon — “the fruit of the gods,” from Dios, 
Jove, and pyros, fruit or grain, (Greek). Like many of our botanical names, this one 
has a strange and harsh sound to our ear, and when we attempt to associate it with our 
American ideas, we invariably associate it with something unpalatable, at least until 
frost has eradicated the astringent and bitter taste of our native persimmon, Diospyros 
Virginiana. But this Japanese fruit is really the most important fruit in Japan, and 
is to the Japanese what the apple is to us. Like our varieties of apples, and, in fact, 
nearly all our cultivated fruits, they have succeeded in changing the character of the 
persimmon by hybridizing, until now their cultivated varieties number a hundred, 
some of which produce fruit each one weighing a pound. Some of the varieties are 
seedless and quite valuable for drying, resembling dried figs or dates, but are far 
superior in flavor to either. Like all other fruit, climate, soil, and especially culture, 
to a large extent govern the size and flavor; but unlike many of our choice fruits, 
they appear to be more constant in their fruiting, — at least, foreigners who have 
resided several yearsin Japan say they never knew a year when thefruitwas scarce; 
and they also tell us the important fact that neither the curculio nor any other insect 
stings or effects the fruit. 
The fruit commences to ripen in September, but some of the varieties last until 
March. These last varieties must be picked and kept cool and dry to ripen. Again, 
some of the varieties are soft, with a custard-like flesh, and may be served with sugar 
and cream and eaten with a spoon ; while others have a firm, solid flesh, and corre- 
spond to our apples. To say the fruit is delicious, only feebly conveys an idea of its 
richness. Prof. Hilyard says: “The flesh resembles in texture that of a heath cling 
peach just ready for preserving, while the flavor seems to resemble both the persim- 
mon and mango.” The Pacific Kural Press says : “ When cut, it resembles a mass of 
rich jelly-like sweets, and with a flavor remindingone of both the apricotand plum.” 
As before stated, some of the varieties would not be worth importing and growing, 
but we will add here a description of the best and that are really valuable varieties. 
They are — 
