prized, very abundant in the West India markets, and accounted one of the best native fruits they have. The mammee was found by Don in the vici nity of Sierra Leone; but whether native there, or imported from America, cannot be ascertained. It was introduced into England in 1735.

THE ALLIGATOR PEAR-Laurus Persea.

The Avocado, or Alligator Pear, grows upon a tree about the size of the common apple. It is a native of the West Indies. The leaves are oblong and veiny, the flowers of a yellowish green colour, and the fruit, which is the size of a large pear, is considered the most delicious in the world. It contains a kernel, inclosed in a soft rind; and the yellow pulp, which is firm, has the delicate rich flavour of the peach, but infinitely more grateful. It is sometimes called Vegetable Marrow, and is eaten with pepper and salt. It appears necessary, on account of the richness of the pulp, to apply some spice or acid, and thus lime-juice is also frequently added to

it, mixed with sugar.

Of the three kinds, the red,

the purple, and the green, the latter is the best. The fruit is eaten with avidity, not only by men, but by birds and quadrupeds.

THE ANCHOVY PEAR-Grias cauliflora.

The Anchovy pear is a fruit also much esteemed in the West Indies, of which islands it is a native. The tree on which it grows is tall, upright, and handsome; rising to the height of about fifty feet, with leaves two or three feet long. It bears large whitish flowers, that come from the stem; and these are followed by the fruit, which is of considerable size, brownish, having a kind of pulp over a single oval kernel. The fruit very much resembles the mango in taste; and, like that, it is often made into pickles before it is ripe. The tree grows in the moist parts of Jamaica, and other places of the West Indies; where, in addition to the value of its fruit, it is a highly ornamental tree. It may be reared in England, by the joint effects of bark and the heat of a stove, as is done with the pine-apple In the West Indies

it grows readily from the kernel, and is often cultivated in clumps.

THE CUSTARD APPLE-Anona muricata-Anona squamosa.

Ten or twelve species of the custard-apple are enumerated. They are natives of the tropical parts of Africa, Asia, and America; but the better sorts are more abundant in the latter part of the globe.

The Sour sop, rough custard-apple (Anona muricata), is a middle-sized tree, growing abundantly on the savannahs in Jamaica; and bearing a large oval fruit of a greenish yellow colour, covered with small knobs on the outside, and containing a white pulp, having a flavour compounded of sweet and acid, and very cooling and agreeable. It is, however, too common to be much esteemed by the wealthier people, though it is much sought after and relished by the negroes. The odour and taste of the whole plant are very similar to those of the black currant. It

was early introduced into England, but has not come into cultivation as a fruit tree.

The Cherimoyer (Anona cherimolia) is a native of the continent of America; and in Peru it is accounted one of the best fruits they have. Humboldt speaks of it with high praise; but Feuillée, another traveller in South America, says an European pear or plum is worth all the Cherimoyers of Peru. The tree which produces this fruit has a trunk about ten feet high; the leaves are oval, and pointed at both ends; the flowers are solitary, very fragrant, and of a greenish colour; the fruit of considerable size, somewhat heart-shaped, rough on the outside, and grayish brown, or even nearly black, when ripe. The flesh, in which the seeds are contained, is soft, sweet, and pleasant, and highly esteemed both by natives and foreigners. It has been introduced into England for about a century, but not cultivated as a fruit tree. In the south of Spain it is occasionally found in gardens, where it bears its fruit as an orchard-tree.

The Sweet sop (Anona squamosa) is a very small tree, being, in many situations, little better than a bush. It is found both in the East and the West Indies. The fruit is almost the size of the head of an artichoke, scaly, and of a greenish yellow colour. The rind is strong and thick; but the pulp is delicious, having the odour of rose-water, and tasting like clotted cream mixed with sugar. It is, like many other fruits, said to have a much finer flavour in the Indian Archipelago than in the West Indies. It, too, was early known in England, but has not become general.

The Alligator apple (Anona palustris) grows wild in the marshes of Jamaica. The fruit is shining and smooth in appearance, and sweet and not unpleasant to the taste; but it is a strong narcotic, and, therefore, not generally eaten. One thing worthy of

remark is, that the wood of the alligator apple-tree is so soft and compressible, that the people of Jamaica call it cork-wood, and employ it for stoppers.

WILD PLUMS-Achras.

There are various species of the wild plum in the West Indies, some of them timber-trees of large dimensions; but those most valued for their fruit are the sappodilla plum (Achras sapota), and the mammee sapota (Achras mammosa.)

The sappodilla plum is a large and straight tree, which runs to a considerable height without any branches, with a dark gray bark, very much chapped. The leaves are smooth and beautiful, and the flowers white and bell-shaped. The fruit resembles a bergamot pear in shape and size, but in colour is like a medlar, and is similar also to that, in being eaten when it is beginning to decay.

The mammee sapota grows on a much smaller tree, with larger leaves and flowers of a creamcolour; the fruit about the same size as the former, but brownish when ripe, and containing a pulp resembling marmalade of quinces in consistency, and of a very delicious flavour. On account of this the tree is sometimes called the marmalade-tree, and is, in all probability, the same which Stedman, in his account of Surinam, calls the marmalade box. It is a native of the West Indies and the adjoining coast, and is very much cultivated in the gardens there for the sake of its fruit.

STAR APPLE-Chrysophyllum Cainito.

This is also a native of the West Indies. It grows on a moderately-sized spreading tree, with slender, flexile branches. There are some species, or, at least, varieties of the fruit. The star apple, properly so called, bears fruit resembling a large