The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-02-19
NEW FRUITS AND OLD.
The Majority of Them Had Their ORR
gin in Asia.


The Indian Archipelago, New Guinea,
parts of Africa aud tropical South America
have still much fresh ground for the ex-
plorer who goes more in quest of plants.
birds and beetles than adventures for book
making. OF this we may judge from jour
ney recently made by Charles hose of
Sarawak up the Baram River to the high
lands of Borneo. One discovery he made is
especially interesting. From the Akar
River TO the mouth OF the Salaan River the
banks were covered with fruit trees. and
Mr.. Hose declares that many of the species
are unknown in Europe.
Most of the 500 kinds of fruits we know
have had their origin in Asia, and especially
in that marvellous region south and east of
| the Caucasus and Persia, Asia Minor and
| India. China and japan have also had a
| considerable share in the diffusion offruits.
Only a small proportion have had their
origin in either North or South America,
! but few of these are very valuable. Bor-
neO has given Us one fruit-the mangosteen
| but there may be many others useful in
| the groves just discovered.
The Romans carried the arts of hOrticnl-
! ture with them to Northern Europe. and the
| Arabs extended il in the south The Nor
mans and the Flemings also encouraged
| horticulture. 1t was not until the Reforma-
ton that the gooseb-Try, The currant, straw
| berry and raspberry were cultivated in
England. The apple, which now tiourishes
in temperate regions ali over the earth. is
indigenous in 1rebizond, North Persia,
Northwest India and Europe. Pears hail
from the Southern Caucasus and Northern
Persia. The ounce. originally from North
ern Persia, is OF very ancient fame. 1t is
the CydOnian melon OF the Greeks. and from
that title its present appelatiOn can be
traced The medlar is European, but also
in the (aHpaSnSs the lQnUnt comes
from China and Japan. Representatives
of the plum, cherry and other members Of
the drupe family are found in Europe Rus
sian Asia. Persia and The Caucasus, and II
is impossible TO say when the Improvement
Of the plum and cherry began. From Persia
aud Armenia the cherry spread 10 Greece,
! Italy and Spain, and also was carried 10
India and Madeira. The peach was until
recently considered indigenous TO Persia
but it is now proved to have come from
China. where it has been cultivated from
the TemOteSt antiquity. 1t first appeared IN
Europe in the first century of the Christian
era. Almonds are mentioned in Genesis.
This fruit comes from the Levantine region
and Western temperate Asia, but has spread
all over Asia and been introduced every
where. The grape. 10 origin. Is lost in the
mists of history. In the b bible the fig is
first mentioned, then the olive. during the
food. and then the grape after the flood.
The botanist holds that the grape was in
digenous To the southern border of the Cas-
plan and the shores of the Persian Gulf aud
Indian Ocean.
OF the berry family, some belong 10
Europe and Asa. but the cranberry is also
indigenous to America. The orange has its
etymOl0gy 10 SanScrit, aud has come TO us
in spelling from the Arabs and French. It's
home is in Asia. The Arabs brought the
bitter orange to Spain in the ninth century.
but il was not until the thirteenth century
that the sweet orange, which is supposed 10
have been cultivated in Southern China or
India. arrived in Europe. The citron was
introduced 1900 years previous Lemons
came to Europe from India. but the date Is
not fixed. Lines are also natives of Asia.
but are now IN many lands. Figs are
natives of Asia, from the Aral steppes to
Asia Minor. across the Caspian. Straw ber-
Ties are also Indigenous 10 North America,
AS we'll as Europe and Asia. The mulberry
comes from Southwestern Asia. Pine
ap les are natives in tropical South
America, Mexico and the West Indies.
The mOhstera Of the arace8 family is
| Mexican. Chestnuts hail from Asia Minor,
Northern China and Japan; walnuts from
Persia, America and the Hmalayas.
Hickory, pecan and others Of the caryas
nut fam ~ are indigenous to the valleys of
the United States, and also the butternut
is American. The cOcoanut is a native of
Asia and the Eastern Archipelago The
pistaehio comes from Syria. Afgbanistan
| and Bokhara :he pomegTanate from North
west India and the shores Of the Persian
! Gulf and Indian Ocean. The banana is
native of tropical Asia the date, of North
| ern Africa, from the Atlantic 10 Egypt.
| From China comes the lychee: from Mex
leo, the priekly pear; from the West Indies
and South America the graDadilla. and the
| persimmon Is a United States fruit The
| mango is tropical; the guava is West H.
! dian; the tomato Is Peruvian. and the melon
| family occur wild In India and Beluchistan.
with the exception of the watermelon,
which appropriately is African. 1t is strange
/ that the tomato should have been intro
| duced in Europe before the potato, but two
| centuries later In coming into consumption
as a table edible.