CHAPTER VI.

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NAMES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF PARTICULAR WEST INDIA FRUITS WHICH GROW IN THE ISLAND; ALSO OF EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN FRUITS, HERBS, VEGETABLES, AND FLOWERS; WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THEIR PROPERTIES, &c.

The island of Dominica produces every species of fruit peculiar to the West Indies; all which grow there in great perfection. The principal are, oranges, lemons, limes, citrons, shaddocks, water lemons, granadillas, sappadillas, pomegranates, alligator pears, mountain pears, pine apples, rose apples, star apples, sugar apples, custard apples, mamma apples, guavas, sea-side grapes, cocoa nuts, conk nuts, soursops, papaws, cashew apples, and tamerinds.

The oranges in this island are of three sorts, the China orange, the bergamot, and the Seville orange. The first sort is far superior, in flavour and sweetness, to any fruit of the kind to be had in England; the bergamot orange is small, but it is a most delicious fruit; and the Seville orange is very serviceable. The blossoms of their trees have a delighting fragrant smell, which is to be scented at a great distance; and the fruit, when ripe and full on them, has a very pleasing appearance.

The lemon and lime trees bear also very aromatic, scenting blossoms; and the fruit of both is in great abundance, large, and of an excellent quality. Of these, the latter especially, great quantities are often sent in barrels to England and America; the neighbouring English islands are likewise often supplied with them from this country, especially those of Antigua and Barbadoes.

The citrons are large, but are chiefly valuable for their rinds, as with them are made the best kind of sweetmeats.

The shaddocks are of two sorts, the one white in the inside, the other red; they are a large fruit, some of them being as big as a good sized musk-melon; but the red sort of them is most admired. The juice is contained in separate divisions of a thin, skin-like substance, as transparent as diamonds, and which have much the look of them, finely squared and polished. It has a sweet taste, tinctured with a bitter, and when the fruit is ripe is very agreeable, and reckoned a good addition to a glass of Madeira wine after dinner. The rinds of them also make good sweetmeats.

The water lemon is a fine fruit, of the shape and size of a dunghill fowl’s egg. The rind of it is of a bright yellow colour, the inside is full of small, flat seeds, covered with a juicy pulp, which has a very agreeable, musky taste. It grows on a vine, which bears a very beautiful blossom, very much resembling the passion flower; and the vine is much admired, because it affords the most delightful shade when turned over an arbour.

The granadilla is rather larger than the largest sized Lisbon lemon, and is an excellent fruit. It also grows on a vine, which bears a delightful sky-blue and yellow blossom, very fragrant, and of the same appearance as that of the water lemon, but much larger. The rind of the fruit is also of a yellow colour, but not so bright as the other; and the inside is full of seeds covered with a juicy pulp, but not of so musky a taste. The granadilla is much recommended to people in fevers, its juice being very cooling. The rind of it mixed with a little lime-juice, makes an excellent tart, nearly equal to those made with English apples; and so very refreshing is the scent of these fruits, that many people suffer them to decay on their side-boards, for the sake of their agreeable smell.

The sappadilla is of the size and make of a bergamot pear, its juice is of a gluey nature, and of a sweet taste. The tree which bears it resembles a pear-tree, and its timber is very serviceable for mills, or to make cartwheels of.

The pomegranates in Dominica are not so large as those brought to England from other countries; but they are fleshy, sweet, and good, when thoroughly ripe. They bear a delightful scarlet-coloured blossom, which, in size and make, is very like the flowers called blue-bottles; and the skin, or shell of the fruit, being boiled into a decoction, is given to persons afflicted with the flux.

The alligator pear is of the shape of an English bell pear, but is much larger. There are two sorts of this fruit, the one of a purple-coloured rind, the other of a pale green: the latter is the largest, and most esteemed. They are excellent fruit, and are greedily eaten by all kinds of animals; for even horses, who are in general not fond of fruit, will eagerly eat them. This is the fruit which is called in the West Indies “Vegetable marrow,” from its rich melting taste, and it is justly reckoned the best and most wholesome fruit of the country.

Some people eat them with salt and black pepper, others with lime-juice and syrup, and some without either; but the generality of the French eat them with fish or flesh, with which they are very relishing. The seed of the alligator pear, which is nearly one-third part of the fruit, and shakes within it when ripe, has the appearance of the inside part of a horse-chesnut, and has a very firm colour; for which reason it is commonly used to mark linen with. This is done, by covering the seed with the cloth, and pricking out the letters with a pin; the juice filling up the punctures, stains the form of the letters so durably, that they are not to be washed out, only decaying with the cloth.

The mountain pear is found growing only on barren heights, or on the sides of steep precipices; it grows on a tall, fluted-like stalk, that has the appearance of a well-wrought, fluted, slender pillar, full of strong, sharp prickles. The fruit is of the size of a pippin, its skin is of a beautiful crimson colour; when this pear is cut open, it presents an innumerable quantity of fine black seeds, which are covered with a juicy pulp of the same colour as the skin, its taste is much like that of a strawberry; by which name the fruit is sometimes called.

Pine apples grow in Dominica to a great size, and are in general very juicy, but they are not so good as in most other islands, owing to the too great moisture of the ground, which makes them grow too luxuriant and watry. Pine apples sliced, covered with brown sugar, and left some time to drain out their juice, make an excellent drink, after being strained, and set by for a time in bottles.

The rose apple is chiefly esteemed for its fine scent, which resembles that of the flower after which it is called. It is, however, eat by many, but is reckoned unwholesome; being put up with linen, it gives it an agreeable scent, equal to that of lavender.

The star apple, so called from the blossoms of the tree which bears it, resembling a star, is a fine fruit, of the size and shape of a large plumb, of a purple colour; and its juice is of an agreeably sweet taste, and of a gluey nature.

The sugar apple is a singular fruit, about the size of a middling-sized English apple, but in appearance differs from any fruit of that name, as it does also in quality. The rind of it is crossed in divisions, the shape of diamonds in a card, which are considerably raised above the furrows between each, and stand in regular rows. The outside is of a pale green colour, the inside has a great number of hard, black seeds, which are nearly as big as peas, and are covered with a moist, gritty pulp, which has the taste of sugar; and it is reckoned very wholesome.

The custard apple is of much the same nature with the former, only the skin of it is smooth, of a rust colour, and the inside pulp less gritty, resembling in taste a custard, after which it is called.

The mamma apple is a large fruit, of the size in general of a middling-sized musk melon, but some are much smaller. The rind of it is thick, strong, and has the appearance of leather; the inside has three large nuts, or kernels, which are covered with a thick substance, of the colour of a carrot, very juicy, and in taste much resembling that of a peach. It is a delicious fruit when ripe, but is reckoned to be unwholesome, from its indigestive quality, yet they make tarts of it. The timber of the tree which bears the mamma apple is a very beautiful wood, durable, and is used for furniture.

Guavas are of three sorts, the white, the red, and the yellow guava; the first is the largest and most esteemed, but they are all very good. The white sort grows in general as large as a good-sized apple, the red rather smaller, and the yellow about the size of a golden pippin, which they also much resemble. The outside of these fruits is much like that of an apple, especially when half ripe, when they are used to make puddings or tarts of, which they make equal to an English apple, and are by many preferred. The inside of them is full of small, hard, and indigestible seeds, that are taken out when prepared for pastry, or for jelly; which latter they make in great perfection, and exceeding any thing of the kind.

The guava tree is of the shrub kind, but some of them grow tolerably large and lofty, especially those which bear the white guavas. Their timber and branches are very serviceable; and being durable, and of a supple nature, are used for making bows for cattle yokes, knees for canoes, or boats, baskets, &c. These trees have a singular property in them, as they are to be seen bearing ripe fruit, fruit just left by the blossoms, and blossoms in full bloom, all growing on the same branch. The blossoms close during the night, but being touched with the hand, or receiving the heat of the sun in the morning, they expand, diffusing the most delightful, fragrant scent.

The sea-side grapes are of the size of other grapes, but are the produce of a large spreading tree, which bears them in small clusters. They have only one seed, which is nearly as large as the fruit, by which it is covered very thinly; have a very agreeable taste, but are of an astringent nature.

The cocoa nut is so well known, as to need no description; but they are not in such great plenty in Dominica, as in many other islands, owing to the little pains taken to plant them.

The conk nut is rather larger than a walnut, but grows from a vine, the blossoms of which are much like those of the water lemon. It has a thick, strong shell, full of seeds, like the water lemon, but the juice of it is not so sweet.

The soursop is a fine fruit, large, and much of the shape of an heart. When unripe, it is of a brown colour, and its skin is covered with raised points like prickles, but they are not sharp. When ripe, it is of a fine green colour, the points fall off, and the skin is quite smooth. It is a very wholesome fruit, in taste resembling fine cotton dipped in syrup, with a little tincture of acid, of a very agreeable musky flavour, and much recommended in fevers.

The fruit and the leaves of the soursop have a very singular quality in them, for the fruit will rot on the ground without the least visible appearance of worms, although most animals and birds are very fond of it; and the leaves being scattered in a room infested with fleas, soon clears it of those troublesome guests, by the strength of the smell of the leaves, which, however, is very pleasant.

The papaw apples grow in clusters on stalks, but each of them, when full-grown, is larger than the largest-sized English apple, some nearly as large as a good-sized musk melon, and have nearly the same look. When half-ripe, they are used as a vegetable, and boiled, are a good substitute for turnips; when full-ripe, they are a great antidote to worms, and are recommended to persons afflicted with them: the seeds of the apple especially, which have a hot quality, like pepper, are reckoned good in that disorder.

The blossoms of the papaw tree are of a beautiful white and yellow colour, have a very odoriferous scent, and with the stalks are made pickles and preserves of. The juice of the apples, which, when they are unripe, is like thick milk, has the peculiar quality of making tough meat tender, by being rubbed over with it.

The cashew apples grow of different forms, sizes, and colours, some being shaped like a quince, and of the same colour, some longer, more round, less, and of a purple colour, and others of both colours; but all have the same astringent quality as the quince. These apples have each a nut, which grows out in the middle of their tops, and is of the shape of a kidney; the shell of which nut contains an oil of a corrosive quality that will consume iron; and being rubbed on the skin of a person, it will cause it to blister, as if burnt or scalded. The apple is usually roasted, the juice pressed out, and put hot into punch, to which it gives a very fine flavour. The nut is also roasted, and the kernel of it is esteemed preferable to that of any other nut whatever. Of these nuts, quantities are often sent from this island to England as presents.

The tamarind trees grow here in great perfection, and the fruit of them is excellent, being much used in medicine, for which purpose they are very valuable, and the timber of the trees is very serviceable.

English and American apple trees grow well in Dominica, and several of them are on different plantations in the island; particularly on those of Alexander Stewart, Esq. William Urban BueÉ, merchant, and on some French estates, where the trees bear a juicy, well-flavoured apple.

Also strawberries, rasberries, and several other European and American fruits grow here in great perfection; proving, beyond a doubt, that was a proper attention to be paid to the further settlement of this island, there is hardly any description of foreign fruits but what would flourish in this country.

The gardens produce the black and green muscadine grapes, figs, musk melons, water melons, cucumbers, gourds, pompions, English, American, and West India beans and peas, cabbages, carrots, turnips, parsnips, lettuces, radishes, horse-radish, asparagus, artichokes, spinage, celery, onions, eschallots, thyme, sage, mint, rue, balm, parsley, and all sorts of vegetables and herbs, all which grow in this island in great perfection.

The flowers are, roses, tuberoses, pinks, jessamines, and several other sorts peculiar to the island; which latter grow spontaneously; some are very curious, and most of them have a very odoriferous smell.

The sensitive plant grows there spontaneously, and in great abundance; also the ipecacuanha, and the latter is often fatal to horses, cattle, and sheep, who chance to bite of it in feeding; for which reason it is necessary to eradicate it as much as possible out of the pastures. This plant bears very beautiful, scarlet and yellow flowers, which, with the leaves, are put into boiling water, and given as an emetic; but, without great experience, this method of using them is dangerous, and has proved fatal to many, who imprudently took too great a quantity of the infusion; for which reason great care should be taken in using it.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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