The state herald., 1890-08-29
rAg poMElo.
\ Southern Fruit New Bsstnning 10 Ap
pear In Northern Markets.

Florida Is notably tho land Of forests,
but It 10 quite As truly land Of fruits,
says the Garden aud Forest. Her cit.
rus fruits Hre known the world over,
and her large grapefruit and shaddock.
hitherto littlc appreciated BY northern
people. are beginning to appear
regularly on our market-stands along
with her oranges, lines, lemons,
bananas, pincapples, and dates. Many
persons use the words shaddock and
grapefruit lnterchangeably. and tho
shaddock Is, In fact, near relative Of
the grapefruit, but Ia much larger.
often weighing from three to i've
pounds. II Is also coarser than the
grapefruit aud has not yet proved very
useful. but the tree aud fruit ID they
adorn the lawns Of many southern
homes are strikingly beautiful. The
fruits grow singly on the trees and
look like verlta6le pumpkins suspended
from twigs. The tree comes from
China and japan and was first brought
TO the West Indies by one Capt. Shad.
dock. from whom the name was taken.
There are said to DO upward of forty
distinct varieties Of the fruit in Florida.
some Of which are very large and Of
use for canning or preserving In the
same way that citron Ia put up. Tho
shaddock is also known as pompcl.
mouse or pummellow. II IL not oil
sufficient value to warrant shipping II
north, for even the natives 10 Florida
seldom take the trouble. to gather It.
1t will doubtless be found Of use In
time. however and until then Il will
ripen and die upon the trccs In south.
eru groves.
The cultivation Of the pomelo. OF
grapefruit. Is extending rapidly In the
south. and It 10 becoming Hrst-class
marketable fruit, very valuable In the
spring and early summer. after oranges
are about gone, and by many people
esteemed equal to the orange. When
It becomes better known 1t will be Q
popular fruit during the spring months.
1t Is prepared for the table by removing
the bitter white membranes and
sprinkling tho pulp with sugar. In
warm weather. after It has been iced.
the melting pulp and juice from be.
tween the membranes arc deliciously
refreshing. The pomelo eau be grown
more easily than the orange, and
1t yields more to the tree than any
other member Of the citrus family.
The fruit grows in clusters, two. three.
or four hanging togctherfrom one stem.
from which popularity the name OF
grapefruit was given TO II. The trees
are beautiful objects. covered over
with rank. glossy. dark green foliage.
aud loaded with thousands of bright,
pendent yellow globes. have seen u
twig no larger than my little finger
with live or six big pomclos hanging
from 1t. A comparatively small tree
will often bear as many rs 1000 at y
time.
California also produces these fruits,
but most Of them come from Florida.
They are sold on fruit stands accord.
ing to size at from 8 cents apiece to Is
cents apiece for the large ones. They
vary in quality As much us oranges do.
and. while the good ones are very good.
the bad ones. II green. are very bad.
Those with smooth. white skins are tho
best. and little rust on them will not
hurt their flavor or juiciness. The fruit
Is always cut from the tree rs the
orange is, wrapped in tissue paper. and
packed carefully in barrels rather than
boxes. They are not sized rs oranges
are. hut are sent north with the num-
Der Of fruits In each barrel marked on
the outside.
]. has been said by more than one
southern fruit-grower that fortune
was waiting the man who had the
courage 10 plant grove Of grapefruit