DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.3461#0130
THE FRUITS OF INDIA. HQ
true West Indican sort, has the flavour of the rasp-
berry; and another, a large and very rich kind, has
scarcely any of the strong- taste of the bazaar gua-
Vas. There are some very fine varieties amongst the
Malay Islands; for with the Malays and Chinese, as
^tk the natives of India, this, like all high-flavoured
lruits, is a favourite. By Europeans it is more gener-
f"jy eaten and stewed in wine, and for the well known
{£-% made from it, when much of its flavour disappears,
■••he leaves of the tree are somewhat aromatic, and
nnich used in the Eastern Islands medicinally, or as a
substitute for the betel-leaf. The wood of the old
w'ees is exceeding close-grained and tough, and in
Some degree resembles boxwood. It is much used
amongst the natives of India for gun-stocks, as it
takes a good polish, and is rarely known to split with
ueiit, or fracture from blows.
■The Plantain (jnusa paradkiaca), called by the
natives Jtela. The varieties of the plantain in India
ai'e innumerable both as to size and taste. ' With re-
spect to size, there are the diminutive cliumpa, which
niight be clasped by " an alderman's thumb-ring,"
?nd the great Dacca plantain, which- is nine or ten
lnches long, and proportionably thick. Indian plan-
tains, however, are but dwarfs compared to the great
Madagascar ones, which are as large as a man's fore-
arm; and those, even, are small, compared to a sort
produced in the mountains of the Phillipine Islands, of
which a single fruit is said to be a load for a man!
•A-8 to quality, there are some of the wild kinds, which.
Sa.ys Roxburgh, are "not even fit for a monkey to
^atj' and others, of the cultivated sorts, of which the
flavour approaches to that of the richest pear. Some
aiso, and those are in great demand amongst the
natives, require, like potatoes, to be boiled, or roasted
°n the embers, before they are eatable, though many
°f them become excellent. Of this kind are all the
true West Indican sort, has the flavour of the rasp-
berry; and another, a large and very rich kind, has
scarcely any of the strong- taste of the bazaar gua-
Vas. There are some very fine varieties amongst the
Malay Islands; for with the Malays and Chinese, as
^tk the natives of India, this, like all high-flavoured
lruits, is a favourite. By Europeans it is more gener-
f"jy eaten and stewed in wine, and for the well known
{£-% made from it, when much of its flavour disappears,
■••he leaves of the tree are somewhat aromatic, and
nnich used in the Eastern Islands medicinally, or as a
substitute for the betel-leaf. The wood of the old
w'ees is exceeding close-grained and tough, and in
Some degree resembles boxwood. It is much used
amongst the natives of India for gun-stocks, as it
takes a good polish, and is rarely known to split with
ueiit, or fracture from blows.
■The Plantain (jnusa paradkiaca), called by the
natives Jtela. The varieties of the plantain in India
ai'e innumerable both as to size and taste. ' With re-
spect to size, there are the diminutive cliumpa, which
niight be clasped by " an alderman's thumb-ring,"
?nd the great Dacca plantain, which- is nine or ten
lnches long, and proportionably thick. Indian plan-
tains, however, are but dwarfs compared to the great
Madagascar ones, which are as large as a man's fore-
arm; and those, even, are small, compared to a sort
produced in the mountains of the Phillipine Islands, of
which a single fruit is said to be a load for a man!
•A-8 to quality, there are some of the wild kinds, which.
Sa.ys Roxburgh, are "not even fit for a monkey to
^atj' and others, of the cultivated sorts, of which the
flavour approaches to that of the richest pear. Some
aiso, and those are in great demand amongst the
natives, require, like potatoes, to be boiled, or roasted
°n the embers, before they are eatable, though many
°f them become excellent. Of this kind are all the