DURIAN, the fruit of Durio zibethinus, a tree of the family Bombacaceae, which attains a height of 7o or 8oft., has oblong, tapering leaves, rounded at the base, and yellowish-green flowers, and bears a general resemblance to the elm. The durian is culti vated in Sumatra, Java, Celebes and the Moluccas, and northwards as far as Mindanao in the Philippines; also in the Malay Penin sula, in Tenasserim, on the Bay of Bengal, to 14° N. lat., and in Siam to the 13th and 14th parallels. The fruit is spherical, and 6 to 8in. in diameter, approaching the size of a large coconut; it has a hard external husk or shell, and is completely armed with strong pyramidal tubercles, meeting one another at the base, and ter minating in sharp, thorny points. On dividing the fruit at the joins of the carpels, where the spines arch a little, it is found to contain five oval compartments, each filled with a cream-coloured, gluti nous pulp, in which are embedded from one to five seeds about the size of chestnuts. The pulp and the seeds, which latter are eaten roasted, are the edible parts of the fruit. With regard to the taste of the pulp, A. R. Wallace (The Malay Archipelago, 1872) re marks, "A rich butter-like custard, highly flavoured with almonds, gives the best idea of it, but intermingled with it come wafts of flavour that call to mind cream-cheese, onion-sauce, brown sherry and other incongruities; . . . it is neither acid, nor sweet, nor juicy, yet one feels the want of none of these qualities, for it is perfect as it is." The fruit, especially when not fresh from the tree, has an exceedingly offensive smell, which has been compared to that of rotten onions or of putrid animal matter.