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the stem of which is called Manga. This tree is like a pear tree, and bears like the pear. This Amba is made like one of our walnuts in the month of August, and has that form; and when it is ripe it is yellow and shining. This fruit has a stone within like a dry almond, and is much better than the Damascus plum. A preserve is made of this fruit, such as we make of olives, but they are much superior.1 Another in calling the latter "another fruit ;" and I am gratified to find that this inference is in a measure confirmed by the following valuable remarks communicated to me by John J. Bennett, Esq., of the British Museum, to whose kindness I am also indebted for several subsequent notes on the different fruits mentioned in this chapter :

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"The fruit of the Jack is compound, and made up of a number of single-seeded fruits cohering together. It is singular that this fact, which is not very obvious at first sight, should have been partially noticed by these old writers. Roxburgh's description of it is as follows: 'Fruit compound, oblong, murexed (muricate), from twelve to twenty inches long, from six to twelve in diameter, weighing from ten to sixty pounds. Seeds uniform, one in each germ, were all to come to maturity, which can never happen. They are about the size of a nutmeg, enveloped in a thin, smooth, leathery sheath, lodged within the fleshy edible part of the fruit, which formed the exterior coverings of the germ, already noticed...The fruit of this tree is so universally known that it is unnecessary for me to say anything respecting its excellence, as well as that the seeds, when roasted, are not inferior to the best chestnuts. In Ceylon, where the tree grows most plentifully, and where the fruit attains to its greatest size, the inhabitants make them a very considerable article of their diet.' Flora Indica, vol. iii. p. 532."

1 Though he misapplies their import, it is remarkable that Varthema uses these two names in connexion with this fruit. Am, Amb, Amba or Anba, appears to be derived from the Sanscrit Amra; but, as written by Ibn Batuta, 'Anbû, it resembles so closely the collective form 'Anab, and the singular 'Anbah, the Arabic for grape, that I scarcely wonder at Professor Lee translating it by that word, more especially as there is no original name for the Mango in the Arabic language. The fruit is not indigenous to any part of Arabia, though a very inferior quality is now to be found in the southern parts of Yemen, and in the province of 'Ammân (Oman). I am able to fix the date of its introduction into the latter country (but, unfortunately, not the place from whence it was imported, though in all probability it was from India), by the following extract from a manuscript history of 'Ammân in my possession, entitled El-Fath el-Mubin. The author, writing of El-Fellâh ibn el-Muhsin,

fruit is found here resembling a melon, and it has similar divisions, and when it is cut, three or four grains, which look like grapes or sour cherries, are found inside. The tree which bears this fruit is of the height of a quince tree, and forms its leaves in the same manner. This fruit is called Corcopal; it is extremely good for eating, and excellent as a medicine. I also found there another fruit, which is exactly like the medlar, but it is white like an apple. I do not remember by what name it was called. Again, I saw another kind of fruit which resembled a pumpkin in colour, is two spans in length, and has more than three fingers of pulp, and is much better than a gourd (zuccha) for confections, and it is a very curious thing, and it is called Comolanga, and grows on the ground like melons. This country also pro

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who ruled over a portion of that country towards the end of the fifteenth century, says: "It was he who planted the 'Amba at Makniyât, and it increased in 'Ammân where before it was unknown. It had been sent to him as a rarity, and described as an excellent fruit, so he caused a great many of those trees to be planted."

The word Mango, according to Crawfurd, is a corruption of Mangga which, though used by Malays, he says was picked up by our traders at or Bantam, on the coast of Sumatra. (Hist. of the Indian Archipelago, vol. i. p. 425.) The seafaring Arabs of Malabar probably borrowed it from the same source.

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The names given by Varthema to the fruits mentioned in this chapter do not appear to be in use at the present day, and Malayalim scholars fail to recognize them as belonging to that language. With regard to the Corcopal, Mr. Bennett remarks: "I can hardly give a guess. It might be the Papau, but differs in the character of the leaves, and in the number of seeds. Or, it might be a species of Diospyros."

2 "The medlar-like fruit here described may be either the Rose-apple or the Guava, of both of which there are white-fruited varieties. The large open calyx in either may have suggested the comparison to a medlar." BENNETT.

Probably nearly allied to, if not identical with, the Water melon." With regard to the Corcopal and Comolanga, Mr. Bennett observes : “I find that Julius Cæsar Scaliger has been poaching in Varthema, whom he translates somewhat differently, not naming the source of his information. The following are his chapters with their headings : :"Melo Corcopali et Mespilum. Corcopal Indiæ provincia est: in qua

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duces another very singular fruit, which fruit is called Malapolanda. The tree which bears this fruit is as high as a man or a little more, and it produces four or five leaves which are branches and leaves. Each of these covers a man against rain and sun. In the middle of this it throws out a certain branch which produces flowers in the same manner as the stalk of a bean, and afterwards it produces some fruits which are half a palmo and a palmo in length, and they are as thick as the staff of a spear. And when they wish to gather the said fruit they do not wait until it is ripe, because it ripens in the house. One branch will produce two hundred or thereabouts of these fruits, and they all touch one against the other. Of these fruits there are found three sorts. The first sort is called Cianchapalon; these are very restorative things to eat. Their colour is somewhat yellow, and the bark is very thin. The second sort is called Cadelapalon, and they are much superior to the others. The third sort are bitter. The two kinds above mentioned are good like our figs, but superior. The tree of this fruit produces once and then no more. The said tree always has at its stem fifty or sixty shoots (figlioli), and the owners remove these shoots by the hand and transplant them, and at the end of a year they produce their fruit. And if the said branches are too green when they cut them, they put a little lime upon the said fruits to make them ripen quickly. You must know that acydonii magnitudine et foliis arbor prægrandem gerit fructum, melonis figura, eodemque sulcatum modo. Intra quem terna quaternave grana, acinorum uvæ facie, acore cerasi. Ubi est adversus tuam subtilitatem naturæ simplicitas. Non enim granorum numerus, uti tu volebas in Punicis, certus est: sicuti neque in Ciccara. Melonem hanc et edendo esse, et ad medicinas utilem. Ibi Mespilum colore albo, Malo magni- . tudine.'

"Comolanga. In eadem Corcopal Comolanga fructus esitatur, sesquipede major, curcubitæ colore. Humi jacet, ut melo. Pulpæ plurimum. Condimenta ex ea, vel cucurbitinis, quas Carabassades Hispani vocant, vel citriis meliora, atque sapidiora.' EXERCITATIO clxxxi. cap, 13, 15." Idem.

very large quantity of such fruits is found at all times of the year, and twenty are given for a quattrino.1 In like manner, roses and most singular flowers are found here on all the days of the year.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE MOST FRUITFUL TREE IN THE WORLD.

I will describe another tree to you, the best in all the world, which is called Tenga,2 and is formed like the trunk

"This is certainly the Plantain, in its several varieties, and very well described. With respect to its dying off after producing its fruit, I need only quote what Roxburgh says: "They blossom at all seasons, though generally during the rains, and ripen their seed in five or six months afterwards. The plant then perishes down to the root, which long before this time has produced other shoots: these continue to grow up, blossom, etc., in succession for several years. Flora Indica, i. p. 663." Idem.

Malapolanda may be a corruption of Vālei pullum, which, according to Ainslie, is the Tamil name for Plantain. See his Materia Indica, vol. i. sub voce Plantain.

"This is, obviously, the Cocoa-nut tree, the Malayalim name of which, according to Ainslie, is Tangha. I am aware of none among the earlier travellers who has so thoroughly described this palm, and the several uses to which it is applied, as Varthema; and the accuracy of his details may be tested by the following quotation from Seemans:-" The cocoanut tree attains a height of from sixty to one hundred feet, and a diameter of one or two feet....It flourishes best in a sandy soil... The wood is devoted to various purposes. The leaves are from eighteen to twenty feet long: the Cingalese split them in halves, and plait the segments so as to form baskets. Under the denomination of cadjans, they form the usual covering of their huts, as well as of the European bungalows. The midribs of the leaves, when tied together, form brooms for the decks of ships...There is one portion of the tree which attracts much the attention of the observer,-it is a kind of net-work at the base of the petiole. It is stripped off in large pieces, and used in Ceylon as strainers, particularly for the toddy. A tree produces several bunches of nuts, and from twelve to twenty large nuts, besides several small unproductive ones, may be seen on each bunch. In good situations the fruit is gathered four or five times in the course of the year. The latter

of a date tree. Ten useful things are derived from this tree. The first utility is wood to burn; nuts to eat; ropes for maritime navigation; thin stuffs which, when they are dyed, appear to be made of silk; charcoal in the greatest perfection; wine; water; oil; and sugar: and with its leaves which fall, that is, when a branch falls, they cover the houses. And these ward off water for half a year. Were I to declare to you in what manner it accomplishes so many things you would not believe it, neither could you understand it. The said tree produces the above-named nuts in the same manner as the branch of a date tree; and each tree is much used as an article of food, both meat and drink, when green or young: in that state it yields an abundance of a delicious cooling beverage. The water, beautifully clear, has a sweetness, with a slight degree of astringency, which renders it agreeable... From the flower spathes, before the flowers are expanded, toddy or palm-wine is made. To procure the toddy, the spathe is tied with strips of the young leaves to prevent its expansion. It is cut a little transversely from the top, and beaten either with the handle of the toddy-knife, or a small piece of ebony or iron-wood: this process having been continued morning and evening, (at dawn of day, and just as the sun declines below the horizon,) for five or six successive days, the under part of the spathe is taken off, so as to permit of its being gradually bent, when the toddy-drawers, for the purpose of keeping it in that position, attach it to some neighbouring leaf-stalk. After a further period of five days, an earthen chatty or calabash is hung to the spathe, so as to receive the toddy that exudes, which is collected every morning and evening, and the spathe cut a little every day: the quantity collected varies much.

"Fermentation takes place in a few hours after the toddy has been collected, when it is used by the bakers as yeast... Arrack is distilled from toddy, which also yields abundance of jaggery or sugar...The rind or husk of the cocoa-nut is very fibrous, and when ripe is the Roya or Coir of commerce... Another valuable production of the nut is the oil... The Malabar method of extracting it is by dividing the kernels into two equal parts, which are ranged on shelves made of the laths of the Betelnut palm, or split bamboo, spaces being left between each lath of half an inch wide: under them a charcoal fire is then made, and kept up for two or three days, in order to dry them. After this process they are exposed to the sun on mats, and when thoroughly dried (then called Koppera) are placed in an oil-press or siccoor." Popular History of the Palms and their Allies, pp. 146-175.

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