The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-02-24

, uld HoISeii III forming and painting tht
mango. The curves of its outline are
taultlessly graceful-the fruit ovoid
but fiattened little, and with the two
sides unequally developed, giving ii
/ something of comma shape The fruit
when ripe IS a rich yellow, with the side
exposed to the sunlight crimsoned. as in
red-cheekedapples. But then there are
as many varieties of mango as of apple.
! A beautiful sight, but as yet a rare
one in Honolulu, is litchi tree (nephe-
ellum htchi) in full fruit AT a little
distance you would mistake the separate
fruits for exceptionally large and rich
coiored Strawberries, and the trees are
/ so loaded that they seem a mass of
CRIMSON he fruit, which is about one
/ and quarter inches in diameter, con-
/ talns single large brown seed. sur
! rounded by juicy, but rather firm pulp
like that OF a malaga grape, the whole
F. covered with rough skin, thin. but al
! most woody in texture. The pulp is
/ sweet with flavor something like that
| OF r1usky grape, but with a sugges-
I ton OF smokiness that leaves YOU Ovid
/ ed IN your mind whether you care to try
another If you decide in favor of such
| trial, you may come to understand how
| the Ch1naman can consider this the most
| luscious of all fruits
There is nothing beautiful about
guava tree, except its white, rose-1ike
blossoms, and its profusion of golden
yellow fruit. The habit of the tree or
bush IS Struggling, the foliage coarse,
and often dlshgured by a black fungus
growth. 1t is rarely planted, but it grows
spontaneously on the uplands and in the
valleys, forming, over extensive tracts
~,
of the fruit go to waste every year.
Under Annexation we may expect
that these will be manufactured into
delicious jelly, for which there should be
a good demand
The pleb1an guava has an aristocratic
cousin, called the mandarin guava which
forms an ornamental tree of consider
able slze-1tS trunk and branches smooth
from exfoliation of the bark, its foliage
of rather small obovate, thick, shining
leaves-the fruit small and quite acid.
A third species, Psidium Cattleyana, |
with similar foliage, grows only into a.
small shrub, whose fruit is an inch or
less in diameter, globular, red, and quite !,
acid, though OF an agreeable flavor. 1t .
is known as the strawberry guaya.
The orange family IS well represented I
of course, the trees, orange, lime, lemon, /
shaddock, citron, etc, having a very +
strong family resemblance, and all orna-
mental, particularly when in fruit The
trees naturally have a more luxuriant
growth than in California, but are not
more prolific.
A characteristic plant in Honolulu,
especially about the houses of natives is
the papaya. An erect trunk, generally,
but not always unbranched, bearing at
the summit a cluster of large palnately
lobed or divided leaves, fifteen to twenty
inches in diameter on petioles two feet
long, in the axil of each, in the female
plant, bud, blossom or fruit. There
will thus be always fruit in all stages
OF growth, the lowest quite ripe and
yellow, the rest green. The fruit is
in size and structure, obovoid
and four to FIVE inches in diameter, but
the peppery seeds are surrounded with a
aeshy covering. A plant will ripen sew
eral of these fruits each week for sew
ara1 years. The male tree produces great
Danicles of white blossoms having a
delicious spicy fragrance.
Another tree during the summer
months will attract especial notice by
its tempting display of fruit; this is the
avocado, more commonly known as the
alligator pear, Persea gratisslma. The
rec is not usually large, nor is its foll-
age particularly attractive-the rather
coarse, somewhat rough, Obovate leaves
six or eight inches long. The fruit is
elongated pear shape-some-
lines club shaped occasionally curved
ike crooknecked squash, but also
quite spherical, smooth skin
led, green until quite mature, then in
ome varieties, suddenly changing to
lark purple like that of the egg plant :
ruit, in others becoming somewhat yell
owish The weight might range from /
light to thirty ounces. according to the
-ariety, or rather according to the indi-
-idual tree, for each seems to be a law Z
INTO itself. The fruit contains a single
cry large seed, the shape and size of
peg-top; this is surrounded with a pulp 7
f delicate texture which almost meltS
n ones mOuth-not sweet nor acid, but !
aving a characteristic nutty flavor that
it highly to the educated pal g
te 1t is commonly eaten with salt and 7
epper, with or without vinegar, often !
18th mayonnaise dressing, or in a
with thin bread and butter; I,
as an addition to (bouillon u
r consomme) soups Unfortunately "
ne fruit does not bear transportation
ell. or it. would be better known in "
America. n
The custard apple (Cherimoyer) is z
OF much planted in Honolulu, although ~
lie fruit sometimes comes into market -
ON other districts. The sour sop, a =
9ngener, you will meet with more fire. n
tently, the tree with foliage somewhat y,
le that of the avocado. like scales. As "
other custard apples, the pulp con- O.
iqs scattered through II numerous =,
eds 1t is fbrous and quite acid, re ~
.mblng cotton batting soaked in r
dutlon OF cream ol tai tai ie" pc tr
ms profess ioli'illT 7I iol 'lie - u!t' IS
over arPoI9| S'u VIII oI1S" sc 'lalliIH tn
vine o. lu1NllI ldlL y U" lIl' III aiiiP'0' to
- lie
ey