725 
and probably not more than one or two of them are in gen- 
eral cultivation here. Since they are supposed to come 
true from seed, it is quite possible that one or more of 
them may be entirely different species. Their names are 
Sao Paulo, Murta, Coroa, and Bronco ', the variety Sao Paulo 
may be Myrciaria jaboticaba Berg, which according to Barbosa 
Rodrigues is commonly known as Jaboticaba de Sao Paulo. Its 
foliage is much larger than the common jaboticaba which 
grows around Rio. Murta is said to be a large fruited 
variety, but we have seen only young plants of it. Coroa 
we saw in fruit at a local nursery, and it seems to be the 
common local variety, which is described further on. 
Branca ('White') is a little known variety-, small-fruited. 
"The fruits seen in the markets here vary greatly in 
size, but otherwise seem to be alike. A good specimen is 
an inch and a half in diameter, round or nearly so, and 
dark maroon-purple in color, greatly resembling in appear- 
ance some of the grapes of the rotwndifoliu type. This 
resemblance extends bo the internal characteristics of the 
fruit as well, the texture of the flesh, its color and 
flavor, as well as the seeds, suggesting a grape more than 
any other temperate fruit. The skin is thick and very 
tough; it is broken by squeezing the fruit with the thumb 
and first finger, when the pulp slides out into the mouth 
and the skin is discarded. The pulp is translucent, very 
juicy, and of a subacid, pleasant "flavor, with a rather 
peculiar 'twang' which one is not sure to like at first, 
but which is very agreeable as soon as one becomes ac- 
customed to it. The seeds, one to four in number, are 
rather large and adhere closely to the pulp; the boys here 
seem to swallow them, but this may not be a very desirable 
proceeding from a physiological standpoint. The Brazil- 
ians seem almost passionately fond of this fruit, espe- 
cially the children, who spend hours at a time under the 
trees hunting for the ripe fruits and then working them 
off with a long pole, if they are where they cannot be 
reached. 
"Following is a pomological description of the fruit, 
as purchased in the Rio de Janeiro market, and seen grow- 
ing in gardens around the city: " ' 
"General form slightly oblate to very broadly pyri- 
form, with a majority of specimens round or very nearly 
so; cross section regularly round-; dimensions, length 
three-fourths to one and one-half inches, breadth three- 
fourths to one and five-eighths inches; base of fruit in 
some cases slightly extended, in others slightly flat- 
tened; apex usually slightly flattened, with a small disk 
and vestiges of the four sepals; surface smooth, somewhat 
glossy to very glossy, color purplish-maroon to maroon- 
purple when fully ripe; skin one-sixteenth inch thick, 
