Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1903-09-29
THE FRUIT OF The FUTURE.
1T is TIE MANGO THAT GROWS
UNDER ALL SORTS OF CON-
DITlONS.

1
In the Tropics d. outranks ths
Banana and is u Equal Favor With
the orange--rhe Fruit Sometimes
Weighs Four Pounds.
Uncle Sans experts are pushing
the mango, it is said, with the expec
tation that when it becomes as well
known, it will be as popular in this
country as the banana. In the tropics
1t outranks the banana, and is in
equal favor with the orange. Whether
the departments expectations for il
in the temperate zone will be real
lied is question to be determined
henceforth.
1t is said that European residents
in the hot belt almost always acquire
a fondness for this fruit. AS yet,
however, it is little known In the Uni.
ted States, being represented only
by small amounts in our markets,
which the experts claim, give no sug-
gestion of the qualities of the better
sort, and tend rather to discourage
Imam increase demand.
II an effort similar to that which
brought the banana TO favor in this
country could place On adequate sup
ply of mangoes before the public. it
is believed that this tropical fruit
would repeat the history of it's popu-
lar predecessor. Already the tree
which bears ii has been planted to a
considerable extent in Florida, seeds
of fine varieties having been brought
from India, and soon planters in Flori-
da expect to be sending mangoes lii
large amounts to market. Some of
the Florida trees are yielding as
many as 10000 fruits per tree in a
season, so it is said.
The mango tree grows under all
sorts of conditions, and requires little
cultivation. It is so prolific that with
70 to 100 trees to an acre enormous
quantities of fruit may be pro
duced on a small tract. The mango
varies, according to variety, from lit
tie more than a bush to a tree so to
~ AOOb hAShs AIo lOWSI0 dI6
and reddish, white or yellow. The
fruits of some kinds are only two or
three inches in diameter but others
are three or four times that size,
weighing as much as four pounds. In
shape they vary from nearly spheri-
cal to long and narrow, like a cucum-
Der. In the best varieties fiber is al
most entirely absent, and the entire
fruit consists of mass of juicy or
ange colored pulp. In some kinds
the pulp is so firm that it may be
sliced with knife; in others it is
soft enough to be eaten with a spoon.
The mango is said to have orginat-
ed in Southern Asia and the Malay
archipelago. It is now found wild IN
the forest of Ceylon, and in regions
at the base of the Himalayas. It was
introduced first in Brazil on this con-
tinent, and thence was taken to the
Barbados in 1912.
At the present time it is common
throughout the tropics all around the
world, but is finest in India. There
are over 500 varieties 1t is the most
highly priced fruit of the Island of
Guam, receives more attention in Ha
wall than any other fruit, and -four
ishes with special luxuriance on the
south side of Porto Rico. The mango
is used principally as fresh fruit,
but is also employed green for jelly
and sweet pickles. 1t makes an eX-
cellent marmalade. In Porto Rico
one may buy 100 mangoes for cents
at which price their cost for jellies
and marmalade is normal. They are
one of the chief INCIDENTS of the FAM
Gus chutney sauce of India. The un-
ripe fruit, peeled, cut from the stone
and dried, is reckoned superior to lime
juice as a preventive or cure for
scurvy. In India the bark and leaves
are utilized for dyes, and Indian yellow
so familiar as water color paint, is a
product of the mango, as has recently
been accertained, through previously
it's origin is unknown. The gum of
the tree is a good substitute for gum
arabic. IN fact, the mango may al
most be said to rival the olive in re-
spect to the multitudinous ways in
which it is serviceable to man.-New
Yory Fruit Trade Journal
Harvard's Increasing Mail.