1 26  Shaddock  and  Forbidden  Fruit.        { AmMJa°rS,^m- 
interesting  from  the  fact  that  they  practically  corroborate  Mr.  Mac- 
fayden's  observations,  made  some  fifty  years  before. 
"  Shaddock  (Citrus  decumana).  This  tree  bears  the  largest  fruit  of  the  Citrus 
tribe.  It  grows  to  about  the  same  height  as  the  lemon  or  orange  trees,  with 
similar  leaves,  which  are  downy  on  the  under  surface.  The  flowers  are  larger 
than  the  orange  blossoms,  though  similar.  The  fruit  is  of  the  shape  of  a  huge 
orange,  measuring  8  to  12  inches  in  diameter  (large  ones  weigh  from  7  to  8 
pounds),  and  is  covered  with  a  pithy  rind  from  %  to  1  inch  in  thickness.  The 
membrane  that  surrounds  each  '  fig '  of  the  pulpy  interior  is  very  bitter,  and  is 
much  thicker  than  is  the  case  with  the  orange.  It  is  customary  to  carefully 
avoid  this  when  eating  the  fruit.  As  compared  with  the  orange,  the  fruit  is  less 
juicy;  a  marked  difference  also  exists  in  the  flavor.  Two  varieties,  having 
respectively  red  and  white  pulp,  are  known.  There  is  little  perceptible  differ- 
ence between  them  in  flavor,  the  red  is  the  sweeter,  the  white  the  more  juicy 
of  the  two.  The  peel  is  candied  and  is  in  great  demand  among  the  inhabitants 
of  the  West  Indies.  This  fruit  should  not  be  confounded  with  either  the  grape 
fruit  or  forbidden  fruit." 
"  Grape  fruit  and  forbidden  fruit.  These  two  trees  of  the  Citrus  family  are 
so  closely  allied  as  not  to  be  distinguishable  in  leaf  or  flower.  The  fruits  are 
similar  in  the  color  of  the  pulp,  which  is  pale  yellowish.  The  grape  fruit 
looks  like  a  double-sized  orange  with  a  lemon-colored  rind,  while  the  forbidden 
fruit,  of  about  the  same  size  and  color,  is  pointed  at  one  end.  The  flavor  of 
these  two  fruits  is  different  from  that  of  the  orange,  and,  while  they  closely 
resemble  each  other,  the  forbidden  fruit  seems  to  have  more  of  the  shaddock 
flavor  than  the  grape  fruit,  which  is  the  more  juicy.  The  rind  of  the  grape 
fruit  is  thinner  than  that  of  the  forbidden  fruit,  and,  while  hardly  much  thicker 
than  the  rind  of  an  orange,  it  is  tougher  and  stronger.  These  fruits  are  grown 
in  the  West  Indies  in  much  less  quantity  than  oranges,  but,  while  not  sought 
after  to  any  great  extent  for  export,  command  a  much  larger  price  proportion- 
ately in  the  local  markets.  The  skin  surrounding  the  segments  of  the  fruit  is 
bitter,  as  in  the  case  of  the  shaddock.  While  the  shaddock,  grape  fruit  and 
forbidden  fruit  are  not  equal  to  the  Florida  orange  in  richness  of  flavor,  they 
are  preferred  to  the  West  India  orange,  which  is  extremely  acid." 
The  first  mention  of  the  shaddock  is  antedated  many  years  by 
references  to  the  forbidden  fruit,  which  was  fully  described  in  many 
early  works  on  plants,  before  the  science  of  botany  had  evolved 
itself  from  the  great  mass  of  independent  facts  collected  by  early 
observers.  Several  very  old  references  were  found,15  one  of  which 
is  here  quoted  verbatim,  with  some  correction  of  the  antiquated 
spelling. 
15  1591,  D.  Jacobi  Theodor  Tabernac,  Kreuterbuch  ;  1597,  Gerarde's  Herbal ; 
1640,  John  Parkinson,  The  Theatre  of  Plants,  quoted  above. 
