MANGO AND OTHER TROtPICAL FRUITS 
73 
day, wliile fruits that contain much acid are not eaten by the people 
here when warm from exercise. There is one variety of the banana, 
however, that many people here are afraid of when heated from exer¬ 
tion. I do not know the name of this particular one, but it is red and 
much larger in circumference, though shorter, than “the Governor’s” 
banana. The flesh is more solid and has a different taste from other 
bananas. 
Then there are two varieties that are very small. I believe they 
call one the silk fig. They grow to a length of from three to> five inches 
and are only about six or seven eights of an inch in diameter. The 
skin on these is very thin and does not lie in sections as does the skin 
of the larger kinds. 
We scarcely buy any figs (bananas). The people frequently send us 
some, and once in a while some one will send us a whole bunch, perhaps 
more than a hundred. We hang them up as people do in the stores, and 
eat them as they ripen. Bananas are gathered before they are ripe. 
The bunches are so heavy and the bananas so soft when ripe that many 
would be mashed and ruined; for when once a banana is bruised it very 
soon begins to decay and if eaten then in a tropical climate may induce 
dysentery or some other disease. —E. N. Reedy. 
THE MANGO AND OTHER TROPICAL FRUITS 
0 other tropical fruit, to my knowledge, grows so plentifully as 
^ the mango. Still many people do not like it, not because of its 
flavor, but because of a kind of tough string that grows around the seed 
and makes the eating rather an unpleasant job. One can scarcely eat a 
mango without getting more or less of the soft yellow substance smeared 
about on hands and face. 
There are many varieties of the mango. The trees grow to a height 
of forty feet and bear well. Thd foliage is dense, producing a welcome 
shade. All parts of the tree have a turpentine odor, and even the fruit 
of some varieties have a flavor of turpentine. Other varieties, how¬ 
ever, highly prized for desserts, are luscious, sweet or slightly acid. 
The unripe fruits are used for pickles, sauces, etc. 
I will describe a few of the varieties. Mango calabache (see cut) 
is about the largest variety. It does not get yellow, but remains green. 
It has fewer strings than the others, but has a poorer flavor. The 
