Chapter 15

CHAPTER XV. 

TROPICAL FRUITS. 

Tropicnl fruits : culture of Natural fruit orchards The Durian A 
macedoine of fruits The Mangosteen " Prada Prada" Mango 
The Rambutan or ' ; hairy fruit " Bread fruit Jack fruit, or 
"Nangka" "Champada" Jintawair, or Manoongan fruits (1F?7- 
lughbeia spp.) Tampoe fruit Eed " Bilimbing " " Mandaroit " 
" Rambeneer " "Mambangan" "Luing" "Langsat" or "Duku" 
u Rambi" (i Mangalin" "Jambosa," or " Rose-apples " Melons 
Oranges Pomoloes Custard apples Cocoanut Wild onion 
fruit Banana, or " Pisang " fruit. 

The forests and gardens of Borneo are remarkably 
rich in native and naturalised kinds of edible fruits, and 
the forests especially nmy be considered as the home of 
the mangosteen, durian, tarippe or trap-fruit, langsat, 
rambutan, and jintawan, all excellent, indeed unapproach- 
able, in their way, but if one would enjoy them a journey 
to the East is unfortunately necessary. They are some- 
what like our own luscious jargonelle pears or green gage 
plums, and must in a sense be " eaten off the tree." The 
mango, one of the finest and most variable of Eastern fruits, 
has been successfully cultivated in the West Indian Islands, 
St. Michael's, and Madeira, and has fruited out-of-doors at 
Lisbon, but those we have named above have hitherto 
resisted culture outside their own restricted habitats, if 
we except the solitary instance in which the mangosteen 
fruited in one of the hothouses at Sion House some years 



ch. w.] Tropical Fruits. 305 

ago, and the trees introduced to the island of Ceylon, 
which have succeeded fairly well. Another extremely 
useful and variable fruit, the banana, is quite commonly 
ripened in our gardens, and with the pine-apple these 
may be accounted the only tropical fruits which lend 
themselves to anything approaching a regular system of 
successful culture in our hothouses at home. Our ordi- 
nary cultivated fruits are naturally found in temperate or 
inter-tropical countries Europe or the cooler parts of 
Asia principally ; and of all those cultivated in the open 
air of Southern Europe, such as the vine, fig, and orange, 
the latter is the only one which can be induced to prosper 
in the tropical lowlands of the far East, where its ever- 
green character enables it to hold its own while its 
deciduous neighbours seem to fail through over-excite- 
ment, the loss of their customary winter's sleep. 

On the other hand the pine-apple of South America, 
the mango of India, and the delicious little Chinese or 
mandarin orange, here luxuriate in the open air, the 
mango yielding two crops in twelve months, while fruit of 
the others may be obtained all the year round. In some 
favoured districts in Malaya the forests almost become 
orchards on a large scale, so plentifully are they stocked 
with durian, baloona, mambangan, varieties of tampoe, 
luing, and oilier native fruits, in addition to those 
already named ; and in many places the pine-apple is so 
abundantly naturalised as an escape from cultivation that 
one might almost be led to imagine it indigenous did we 
lid know that, together with the white guava, the papaw, 
and cashew-nut a trio forming the "weeds" among 
tropical fruits it is a native of the western tropics. So 
abundant are the crops in some seasons that one cannot 
help regretting their perishable nature, by reason of 
which their shipment to Europe in 11 fresh state is 



306 The Gardens of the Sun. [en. xv. 

prevented ; and as to their preservation in the form of 
candied confections or "jam" no one seems to have 
taken up the matter. Fancy a conserve of snowy mango- 
steen pulp, preserved mangoes, candied rambutan, or 
banana marmalade. The late Dr. Lindley once said, in 
his usual incisive way, that " most tropical fruits were 
edible," but that "very few were worth eating;" but 
then the probability is he had never tasted a mango or a 
mangosteen, a tarippe fruit, or the dehciously rich apricot- 
like pulp which surrounds the seeds of the caoutchouc- 
yielding willughbeias, and certainly not a durian. 

The mangoes, oranges, bananas, pomoloes, and pine- 
apples are all cultivated fruits in the East, just as are our 
best gooseberries, strawberries, apples, pears, and grapes 
at home ; but on the other hand we have no wild fruits 
which can in any way be compared with the durian, 
jintawan, langsat, trap, tampce, mangosteen, and ram- 
butan, all of which are more truly wild in the Malay 
islands than are the so-called wild cherries, gooseberries, 
currants, and raspberries of our woods. It is to the 
tropics one must go for a drink of fresh cocoanut milk 
a taste of the fascinating durian, for a luscious mango, or 
the delicious mangosteen ; and while in the matter of 
flowers our cultivators at home certainly have the advan- 
tage, in the case of fruits this much can scarcely be said. 

The regal durian (Durio zibcthinus) , like the finest of 
nectarines or melting pears, must be eaten fresh and just 
at one particular point of ripeness, and then it is, as 
many think, a fruit fit for a king. So highly is this 
vegetable-custard valued that as much as a dollar each is 
not unfrequently paid for fine specimens of the first fruits 
of the durian crop brought into the Eastern markets. It 
is a universal favourite both with Malays and Chinese, 
but the opinions of Europeans vary as to the merits of 



cir. xv.] The Durian Fruit. 307 

this " delectable epitome of all that is perfect in fruit 
food." It is a paradox, " the best of fruits with the 
worst of characters," and, as the Malays say, you may 
enjoy the durian, but } r ou should never speak of it outside 
your own dwelling. Its odour one scarcely feels justified 
in using the word " perfume " is so potent, so vague, 
but withal so insinuating, that it can scarcely be tolerated 
inside the house. Indeed Nature here seems to have 
gone a little aside to disgust us with a fruit which is 
perhaps of all others the most fascinating to the palate, 
when once one has "broken the ice," as represented b}' 
the foul odour at first presented to that most critical of 
all organs of sense, the nose. As a matter of course, it 
is never brought to table in the usual way, and yet the 
chances are that whoever is lucky enough to taste a good 
fruit of it to begin with, soon developes into a surrep- 
titious durian eater; just as a jungle tiger becomes a 
" man-eater " after its first taste of human blood. 

There is scarcely an}- limit to durian eating if you once 
begin it; it grows on one like opium smoking, or other 
acquired tastes; but on the other hand, the very sug- 
gestion of eating such an " unchaste fruit " is to many as 
intolerable as the thoughts alone of supping off cheese 
and spring onions, washed down with " stout and mild," 
followed by a whiff from a short " dudeen " by way of 
dessert, and yet, while these incongruities are consumed 
at home with enjoyment, one must not be too hard on 
those abroad who relish the fragrant durian. About the 
middle or end of July durian fruit are very common in 
Singapore, and their spiny skins lie about the streets in 
all directions. As you pass along you become aware of a 
peculiar odour all around you an odour like that of a 
putrid sewer when half suppressed by holding a perfumed 
handkerchief to the nose a blending of a good deal that 

X - 



o 



08 The Gardens of the Sun. [ch. xv. 



is nasty with a soupgon of something rather sweet and 
nice. On opening a fruit for yourself, however, you find 
that the perfume, like that of the musk plant, ceases to 
be evident after you have once had a fair whiff at it at 
close quarters. The flavour of the straw-coloured, custard- 
like pulp which surrounds the four or five rows of large 
chestnut-like seeds is perfectly unique : to taste it, as 
Wallace tells us, is " a new sensation, worth a journey to 
the East to experience ; " hut much depends on a good 
fruit being obtained when perfectly, not over ripe. You 
then find the pulp sweet, rich, and satisfying ; it is indeed 
a new sensation, but no two persons can agree as to the 
flavour no two descriptions of it are alike. Its subtle 
action upon the palate and perhaps this best explains 
the unceasing popularity it enjoys is like the music of a 
well-played violin on the ear, rich, soothing, sweet, 
piquant. The flavour of durian is satisfying, but it never 
cloys ; the richness seems counteracted by a delicate 
acidity, the want of grape-like juiciness is supplied by the 
moist creamy softness of the pulp as it melts away ice- 
like on your tongue. 

It is said that the best of whisky is that made by 
blending several good kinds together, and Nature seems 
to have blended four or five good flavours together when 
she made the durian. "A macedoine of fruits," says a 
modern author, "when well made and judiciously flav- 
oured, is a delicious sweetmeat. The grape, the peach, 
the apricot, and the pine, meet in welcome harmony ; 
the pear, the apple, and the cherry, and their friendly 
companionship, and all these opposing elements of flavour 
are blended with a soft and soothing syrup." In a word, 
the durian is a natural macedoine one of Dame Nature's 
"made dishes" and if it be possible for you to imagine 
the flavour of a combination of corn flour and rotten 



ch. xv. i A Mactdoine of Fruits. 309 

cheese, nectarines, crushed filberts, a dash of pine- 
apple, a spoonful of old dry sherry, thick cream, 
apricot-pulp, and a soupqon of garlic, all reduced to the 
consistency of a rich custard, you have a glimmering 
idea of the durian, but, as before pointed out, the odour 
is almost unmentionable perfectly indescribable, except 
it be as " the fruit with the fragrant stink ! " 

The fruit itself is in size as large as a Cadiz melon, 
and the leathery skin is protected by sharp broad-based 
spines very similar to those of a horse chestnut. The 
name durian, in fact, is derived from these the word 
duri in Malay meaning a spine or thorn. There are 
many varieties in the Bornean woods, some but little 
larger than horse chestnut fruits, and having only two 
seeds ; others larger, but with stiff orange-red pulp, not 
at all nice to eat, however hungry you may be ; and even 
the large kinds, with creamy pulp and many seeds, vary 
very much in flavour. The trees are monarchs of the 
forest, as a rule varying from seventy to one hundred and 
fifty feet, or even more, in height, with tall straight boles 
and spreading tops, and the foliage is oblong acuminate, 
dark green above, paler and covered with rufous stellate 
hairs or scales below. The fruits of the finer varieties fall 
when ripe, and accidents sometimes happen. 

I saw a native who had the flesh torn from his shoulder 
by a blow from one of these armed fruits, and saw several 
narrow escapes, but personally I gave the trees a wide 
berth at fruiting time. Some varieties, especially the 
" durianburong," or wild-bird durians, do not shed the 
fruits, which hang on the branches until the valves open, 
when the seeds fall to the ground, or are eaten by horn- 
bills and other large fruit-eating birds and monkeys. I 
saw some magnificent specimens of durian trees in the 
Bornean forests north of the capital, and also in other 



310 The Gardens of the Sun. [ch. xv. 

Malayan islands, where the forests had been cleared for 
cultivation, and these trees left standing for the sake of 
their produce. Their clusters of large white flowers are 
produced about April, and form a great attraction to an 
enormous species of semi-diurnal bat, a kind which is 
said to be one of the greatest pests of Eastern fruit- 
groves. It is from cultivated trees that the finest of 
fruits are obtained ; and, without exception, the best 
fruits I ever saw or tasted were from a tree in the grounds 
of Government House, Labuan. It does well in Sumatra. 
Java, Celebes, and the Spice Islands, and even as far 
north as Mindanao. Forests of it exist on the Malay 
peninsula, and very fine fruit is brought to Singapore 
from Siam about July or August. On the coast of the 
Bay of Bengal it grows as far north as Tenasserim, in 
lat. 14 N., but it does not succeed well in India, and 
cannot be grown in the West Indies. In Sumatra groves 
of this tree exist near the Palembang Biver, and in the 
primaeval forests there are specimens fully 150 feet in 
height, the fruits being in perfection about September 
and October ; but two crops are produced each year, and 
throughout the Archipelago one finds its seasons of 
ripening to be very various. 

There are many different varieties, doubtless the result 
of promiscuous seeding, or, perchance, ^cross-fertilisation, 
and one variet}' actually produces flowers and fruit on its 
exposed roots. 

Of all Eastern fruits the mangosteen is perhaps the 
general favourite with Europeans, and of all fruits it is 
one of the most delicious and refreshing. It flourishes 
in nearly all the islands from the south coast of Java to 
Mindanao, the most southern of the Philippine group, 
and on the mainland it flourishes as far as Bangkok, 
and in the interior to 16 N., but on the coast of the Bay 



ch. xv.] The Mangosteen. 311 

of Bengal only to 14 N. Attempts to cultivate it in 
India have failed, and in Ceylon success is only partial. 
In the West Indies all attempts to grow it have proved 
abortive. In Borneo trees are not uncommon in the 
forests, but the fruits generally are below the average 
size, the divisions within are fewer rarely more 
than four and each segment of pulp contains a fully 
developed seed. "When cultivated in richly-manured 
gardens or orchards, however, as in Penang or Singapore, 
not only are the fruits larger and the carpellary divisions 
more numerous, hut rarely more than one perfect seed is 
found in each fruit, the remaining segments consisting of 
edible pulp only. Similar effects may be observed in the 
case of the iambi and duku, or langsat fruits, and the 
best of cultivated mangoes are remarkable for their thin 
and comparatively small stones, while the edible part on 
the other hand is much augmented. Under cultivation 
the mangosteen forms a low round or conical-headed tree, 
its dark leathery evergreen foliage reminding one of that 
of the Portugal laurel, only that it is of a bolder charac- 
ter. The waxy-petaled flowers are borne near the 
extremities of the branches, and are succeeded by round 
fruits, which when fully ripe are as large as a medium- 
sized orange. On cutting the leathery dark purple rind 
transversely about the middle of the fruit, it is found to 
be of a port-wine colour in section, and encloses from 
three to six segments of snow-white pulp, cool and re- 
freshing to the taste, and with a flavour which is some- 
thing like that of the finest nectarine, but with a dash of 
strawberry and pine-apple added. It is one of the very 
lew tropical fruits of which even delicate invalids may eat 
with advantage ; and the dried rind, when infused in 
boiling-water and drank as tea, forms an astringent which 
has been proved serviceable in dysentery after all other 



312 The Gardens of the Sun. [ch. xv. 

medicines had failed. It is the general native remedy 
for this disease throughout the Malay Islands, and the 
dried skins strung on strips of rattan are commonly met 
with in the bazaars. 

"When exploring near the capital city of Brunei in 
North West Borneo I frequently came across a species of 
garcinia sometimes in flower, sometimes in fruit which 
my native followers called " Prada Prada," the duplication 
of particular names being usual in Borneo, for the sake 
of emphasis, as also among various native tribes in South 
America and elsewhere. The foliage and flowers are 
somewhat like those of the mangosteen proper, the fruit, 
however, is curiously shaped like a boy's " top," and of a 
bright red colour, changing to purplish black when fully 
ripe. The segments of edible white pulp are usually 
eight in number four containing fully developed seeds, 
and four are abortive or seedless the flavour being 
similar to that of the mangosteen proper, but more 
acidulous. 

Of the luscious mango, Kumphius tells us that it was 
introduced by the Dutch from the Moluccas to Java in 
1655, but it grows in India, and as the Makvy name and 
that of the Javanese as applied to this fruit are evident 
corruptions of that in the Sanskrit tongue, Mr. Crawfurd 
thinks that it was brought to the Archipelago from the 
Continent, and that it should not be considered as indi- 
genous. Be this as it may there is no doubt that the 
mango has long been introduced to the Malay Islands, in 
many of which it is now perfectly naturalised, and a fruit 
exactly like the mango in structure is often found in the 
Bornean woods. It has the mango flavour of the most 
ultra tow and turpentine type, but its juice is very grate- 
ful during hot weather, as I can testify by experience. 
The cultivated mango forms a round-headed evergreen 



ch. xv.] The Mango. 313 

tree, rarely over fifty feet in height, and generally not 
much more than half that size. The old leaves are of a 
deep green colour, but the young growth is often of a 
bright red or crimson tint. The dense clusters of pea- 
green flowers are followed by lax-drooping clusters of 
kidney-shaped fruits which, when fully developed, vary 
from two or three to as much as six inches in length, 
and nearly half that in diameter in the broadest part. 
These fruits consist of a tough green skin and a coat of 
yellow pulp surrounding an oblong fibre-coated stone, to 
which the flesh adheres. In the Sulu isles the mango 
is abundantly naturalised, some of the trees being of large 
si/.e. In Indian gardens the best kinds are perpetuated 
and increased by grafting, and this is also the case in 
.Manilla, where the best varieties are equal, if not supe- 
rior, to those of Bombay, the excellence of which is well 
nigh proverbial throughout the East. This tree is of 
robust constitution and regularly produces two crops 
every year, although at times the crops are very scanty, 
owing to heavy rains during the flowering season. 

It is one of the Eastern fruits the culture of which is 
moderately successful in the gardens of the West notably 
in Jamaica, and very fair samples of this fruit from the West 
Indies now and then make their appearance in Covent 
Garden from the Azores. The mango, like its more fas- 
tidious neighbour the durian, is one of Nature's volup- 
tuous productions, of which we have no representative in 
our gardens, although, so far as the mango is concerned, 
it might be cultivated successfully in our hothouses with 
but little more trouble and expense than that which 
attends the culture of pine-apples or bananas. There 
are varieties which fruit freely when only five or six feet 
high, and when only three or four years old ; the greatest 
difficulty in the matter would be to secure the right sorts, 



314 The Gardens of the Sun. [ar. xv. 

which possibly might be had from Madeira, or even St. 
Michael's, where fair crops are obtained when the seasons 
are propitious, and even in Europe proper fruits have 
been produced in the open air. This was in 1874 at 
Necessidades, near Lisbon, the residence of the King of 
Portugal, the tree a dwarf one bearing nine fruits 
about the size of ducks' eggs. 

Of varieties there is literally no end, a result doubtless 
brought about by indiscriminate propagation from seed. 
Some are small with tough skins, large stones, and fibrous 
pulp, with a strong turpentine -like flavour. Others are 
large, with thin stones, the skin being tender and the 
thick pulp quite soft, like that of a real Beurre pear, the 
flavour being most luscious and delicate, without a trace 
of the turpentine-and-tow-like combination so marked in 
the case of inferior kinds. The flavours of the different 
fine varieties are most varied, much more so than in the 
case of our best pears, and two or three good mangoes 
before breakfast form a treat sure to be appreciated by a 
lover of good fruit, and much as I appreciate a good 
durian, the mango seems to me a far more delicious and 
refreshing fruit for general consumption under a hot sun. 

The rambutan is a common fruit in Singapore, and is 
the produce of a pinnate-leaved tree, thirty to fifty feet 
in height, the hairy fruits being borne in clusters near 
the extremities of the branches. On the husk being re- 
moved the edible pulp is seen surrounding the solitary 
seed, and is of a white jelly-like consistency, with a 
brisk and refreshing sub-acid flavour. There are several 
varieties. The common one has a red outer husk, but 
there are yellow and purple skinned varieties of excel- 
lent flavour. The Malay name, " boi rambutan," or 
hairy fruit, refers to the soft, thick hairs on the outer 
husk. Two other species grown in China afford fruits of 



ch. xv.] Rambutau, or Hairy Fruit. 315 

a similar character, which, dried, are sometimes met with 
in this country under the name of "litchis." The fruit 
is common in gardens or orchards throughout the Mala} r 
islands, and is quite wild in Borneo. 

In Batavia it ripens in February and March, and is 
common in the streets of Singapore during July and 
August. In the forests of North-West Borneo it ripens 
in September, large basketsful of it being collected by 
the natives and brought in along with tampoe fruit, and 
occasionally mangosteen and fine durian. A basketful of 
this fruit at first sight reminds one of strawberries, it 
being singularly like them in size and colour. 

The bread-fruit tree is frequently met with, but the 
fruit is not so much used by the Malays as it is by the 
natives of the South Sea Islands. Another member of 
the same group, the "nangka," or Jack fruit, is much 
more generally grown, and produces immense fruits, 
varying from ten to seventy-live pounds weight. Like 
the bread-fruit, it has a rough netted coating, the portion 
eaten being the golden pulp which surrounds the seeds. 
A smaller fruited, and altogether more delicate flavoured 
species, affords the " champada," and the habit of the tree 
is much like the -Jack fruit, but the " champada" maybe 
recognised by its leaves being hairy below, those of the 
Jack fruits being smooth and glossy on both surfaces. 
This kind is liked both by Malays and Europeans. 

The " tarippe," or "trap," is another allied fruit 
borne by a round-headed tree, having entire leaves much 
larger than the last, and hispid on both surfaces. They 
are also of a pale, rusty-green tint, and the fruits are 
borne near the extremities oi the spreading branches, 
as in the bread-fruit, and not produced from the main 
blanches or the bole of the tree, as in the case of the 
Jack fruits ami '' champada." This is the most palat- 



316 The Gardens of the Sun. [ch. xv. 

able of all the bread-fruits, so far as my own experience 
goes, the pulp which surrounds the seeds being of a milk- 
white colour, and very soft and juicy. The husk con- 
sists of closely packed hispid spikes, pressed closely 
together, and amalgamated at the base around the pulp- 
coated seeds. In North-AVest Borneo this fruit is in 
perfection during August and September, and it is par- 
ticularly abundant around the Dusun villages near 
Kina Balu. 

The leathery coated seeds of all these species of 
bread-fruits are roasted and eaten by the natives in much 
the same way as are chestnuts here at home. All the 
species have india-rubber yielding tendencies, and their 
inner bark is tough and useful for various purposes. 

The "jintawan," or "manoongan" fruit, of which 
there are three kinds, is about the size of an orange, 
and very similar in colour, each containing from eight to 
twelve pulp-covered seeds. 

The " tampoe," or " tampui," is another very common 
jungle fruit, of which but little appears to be known. 
There are three varieties "tampoe shelou," " tampoe 
putih," and "tampoe baraja." The two first named 
differ in the one having yellow pulp and the other white. 
The last is a smaller fruit, having four internal divisions 
instead of six, and the pulp is of a bright chestnut 
colour. The part eaten is the pulp surrounding the 
seeds, which is agreeably sub-acid and very refreshing, 
the pavia-like husks, and the seed themselves, being dis- 
carded. The tree is fifty or sixty feet in height, with 
dark green poplar-like leaves, and the fruits hang two or 
three together in lax clusters, the stalks being produced 
from the older branches. This fruit is eaten in large 
quantities by the natives ; and the pulp mixed with rice 
and water, and afterwards fermented, affords them an 



ch. xv.] Forest Fruits. 317 

intoxicating drink but little inferior to the " toddy " 
prepared from the cocoanut palm. 

A fruit closely resembling the common "bilimbing" 
is found in the Lawas district, and is called " tampui 
bilimbing " by the natives. It is of a bright scarlet 
colour ; and according to the native account it has 
large entire leaves, the fruits being borne on short few- 
flowered peduncles, which proceed from the main 
branches of the tree. The white pulp which surrounds 
the solitary seed is acidulous and pleasant. 

Another jungle fruit, called " mandaroit " by tilt 
Kadyans, resembles a small " rambutan," but the 
leathery husk is quite smooth. It may possibly be 
produced by a species of niphelium, and is very 
sweet and agreeable when perfectly ripe, the fruits 
being kidney-shaped, and but little larger than a black- 
bird's egg. 

" Rambeneer," a still smaller, pale 3'ellowish-green 
fruit, also has sweet flesh around a stone ; but in this 
case the husk is mango-like, having a thin and tender 
skin, which may be eaten with the pulp. 

The fruit known to the natives as " mamhangan " is as 
large as an ostrich's egg, having a rough, brown skin, 
and when ripe the yellow llesh which surrounds a mango- 
like stone is rather agreeable as a juicy sub-acid ac- 
companiment to a dish of plain boiled rice. 

The "luing" is another edible fruit, but rarely seen 
even in its native woods. It is yellow, with brown mark- 
ings, and rarely exceeds a pigeon's egg in size. After 
tie' thick, leathery husk is removed, one finds a delicate 
white sul-acid pulp surrounding a small stone. It is 
rather viscid, with a slight flavour of turpentine. The 
albumen of the seed is similar to that of a nutmeg. 

After the durian, one of the most esteemed of native 



3 1 8 The Gardens of the Stm. [ch. xv. 

fruits is, undoubtedly, the "langsat," which is of a 
pale yellow or straw-colour, borne in short clusters of 
four or five together, on a somewhat fastigiate pinnate- 
leaved tree. The individual fruits are as large as 
pigeon's eggs, the part eaten being the four or five 
segments of white gelatinous pulp within a tough, 
leathery husk. Of these rarely more than one contains 
a solitary seed, which, if tasted by accident, is found to 
be remarkably bitter. The seedless segments are always 
sweeter and more palatable than the others indeed, this 
is the case generally, as exemplified in the mangosteen 
and rambi. In Singapore this fruit is known under the 
name of " duku." 

The "rambi," when plucked from the stalk, is singu- 
larly like the langsat in shape, colour, and flavour. The 
tree, however, is more dwarf, having large entire leaves, 
and the fruits are borne in ropes of ten or fifteen to- 
gether, on long drooping stalks. The covering of the 
fruit is straw-coloured, and tough like that of the lang- 
sat, but there are only three segments of pulp in each. 
The best I ever tasted came from the garden of the 
British Consulate at Brunei, but I think the " langsat " 
is preferable in point of flavour. The latter is very com- 
monly seen in groves near the villages of the inland 
tribes; the "rambi," on the other hand, is much less 
abundant, and I never met with it except in European 
gardens. 

The "mangalin" of the Kadyans is a fruit very similar 
in general structure to the "jintawan," and consists of 
ten or twelve pulp-covered seeds enclosed in an orange- 
like fleshy covering. The flavour is sweet, with a sub- 
acid after-taste. 

The fruits of two kinds of jambosa, or rose-apples, are 
met with, but like the papaw, cashew-nut, and the apple- 



en. xv.] Melons and Porno Iocs. 319 

fruited guava, they are not esteemed of much account in 
a country so rich in really delicious kinds. 

The sweet melons grown in Borneo are very poor 
indeed, but good water-melons may now and then be 
obtained, and are cool and refreshing in such a hot 
climate. All the members of the orange family do well, 
especially the delicious little lime, which is perfectly 
naturalised in many places, being with the dwarf bamboo 
one of the plants most commonly used for hedges. No 
cooling drink can possibly surpass that formed by mixing 
the juice of one of these deliciously perfumed limes in a 
tumbler of water with a little sugar, and as they keep 
well they are most valuable to the traveller in hot 
countries. Common oranges may be procured all the 
year round from gardens, as also may the small fruited 
" mandarin " variety, which is a near approach to the 
tangierine orange, now and then to be had in Covent 
Garden. It is rather a surprise to find that the oranges 
cultivated in the tropics have grass-green skins when 
perfectly ripe, the vivid " orange " fruit so familiar at 
home being there almost as great a rarity as a grass- 
green specimen to us in England. 

Of all the orange tribe in the East, however, none can 
compare with the great-fruited pomolo, which under care- 
ful cultivation here attains to a state of perfection else- 
where unknown. The pomoloes, or shaddocks, brought 
to Covent Garden from the West Indian Islands and the 
A/ores, are flavourless as a turnip when compared with 
the pomoloes of Bangkok or Labuan, or even with those 
of Northern China or Singapore. There are many varie- 
ties, differing much in aroma and flavour, but all are re- 
ferable to the lemon-fleshed or pink-fleshed types; it i> 
extremely difficult, however, to say which type affords 
the best variety. A well-grown pomolo is nearly a> large 



320 The Gardens of the Sim. [ch. xv. 

as a child's head, and unless its segments be very care- 
fully divided when serving, the copious grape-like juice 
which escapes will almost swamp any ordinary dessert- 
dish, and the best sorts have quite a muscatelle-like 
flavour; and in addition to its other good qualities it 
may, like the orange, be kept for a considerable time 
without injury so long, indeed, that pomoloes are fre- 
quently brought home to England from the Chinese ports 
in excellent condition. Two sorts of custard apples are 
commonly met with in Eastern gardens, but neither these 
nor the apricot-like pulp of the ubiquitous papaw are 
much esteemed where far better fruits are plentiful. The 
same remark applies to the " santoel " fruit, which ex- 
ternally resembles a wizened yellow-fleshed American 
peach, but it contains four stones surrounded by white 
sub-acid granular pulp, which clings to the stone as in 
mangosteen or rambutan. The tamarind is naturalised 
near villages and houses in many of the Eastern islands, 
its acid pulp being used in cookery, and by pouring boil- 
ing water over the pulp, and adding a squeeze of lime 
juice and a little sugar, a most refreshing fever-drink 
may be made. 

Of palms the cocoanut is most plentiful, and of course 
the most generally useful. Its top, or heart, may be used 
as a delicious vegetable equal to asparagus, and the 
scraped albumen yields the milk so essential to blend or 
soften a well-made curry. The colourless water in the 
fresh young nuts is peculiarly valuable and grateful as a 
beverage, preferable where drinking water is in anyway 
questionable ; cocoa-nut oil being, moreover, one of the 
most valuable of Eastern palm products. The fruit of 
the " pinang," or betel-nut palm is as essential to the 
Malay races as tobacco to our own, and even the fruit of 
the nipa, or "thatch" palm may be eaten. The astrin- 



ch. xv.] Onion Fruit and Bananas. 321 

gent pulp which surrounds the seeds of several species of 
" rattan " palms is occasionally eaten for medicinal pur- 
poses. Perhaps one of the most singular of all wild 
fruits, however, is the " Bawang utan," or wild onion 
fruit, which is not unlike a walnut in general appearance, 



-l*-- 




uSIoN FRUIT. 



but which is impregnated with such a decided alliaceous 
principle that a small portion of it grated forms an ex- 
cellent substitute for the real esculent itself. Scientifi- 
cally it is known as Scorodoprasum borneense. The foliage 
and branches of this tree when broken or bruised give off 
u strong alliaceous odour. 

Last on my list, but by no means least amongst the 
tropical fruits of Eastern gardens comes the " pisang," or 
banana, which here, as elsewhere wherever it is cultivated, 
is represented by many varieties, which differ in size of 
fruit, flavour, and other particulars. One of the most 
common varieties met with in the bazaars is "pisang 
amas," or golden banana, the individual fruits of which 
are small, but of a bright golden colour and of excellent 

Y 



322 The Gardens of the Sim. [ch. xw 

flavour. One of the most esteemed of all is " pisang 
rajah," or king of bananas, a larger fruit, also of a deep 
golden colour, the flavour being very luscious. " Pisang 
hijau," tlie green banana, is slender and angular, but the 
straw-coloured pulp is of a most exquisite flavour, and it 
is quite a favourite in Singapore, where the " rajah '* 
variety is comparatively scarce. " Pisang kling " is a 
pale yellow kind, bearing large smooth fruits, and for 
eating with cheese this is one of the best, being less sweet 
than those just named. A large horned variety of banana 
is common in Borneo, called of the natives "pisang tan- 
dock," the individual fruits being a foot long and two 
inches in diameter. The outer skin is green, changing 
to yellow when fully ripe, and this fruit is liked by those 
who do not relish the sweeter kinds. 

These fruits are largely eaten by natives, and they may 
be cooked in a variety of ways. Banana fritters is a 
common Eastern dish, and stewed bananas in syrup are 
accounted delicious by lovers of sweet things, and pisang 
kling is really a nice substitute for bread when eaten 
with cheese.