MANGO, iniin'g6 (from Malay maiiggii. Tamil ?mink. mango-fruit), Mangifera. A geniis of about 23 species of evergreen trees of the natural order Anaeardinee:e. natives of India and the Malay Peninsula. The common mango (Hal/pi fcra indica) is a spreading tree of rapid which attains a height of 40 feet or more, but whose undivided trunk is rarely more than 10 feet long. The foliage is very dense. forming a welcome shade. Its leaves are entire, laneeolate. shining, six to eight inches long. The flowers are rather small, reddish white or yellow, borne in dense panicles. The fruit is more or less kidney shaped, smooth. varying in size and color with different varieties, and contains a large flattened stone marly as long as the fruit. The shell of the secd is rough and fibrous; in sonic of the pi, ler vat kin, the fibres are very abundant and apparently make up a considerable portion of the fruit. In the choicer kinds the pulp is more solid and rather free of fibres. This tree exists in nature in India, where it extends up the Hima layas to elevations of 3500 feet or more. it has been extensively introduced into other regions, so that now it is cultivated in nearly all tropical and subtropical eountries. In India there said to he more than 150 cultivated varieties, the fruit of some weighing, a pound or more. All parts of the tree have a turpentine fragrance, in ,onie varieties the flavor of turpentine in the fruit is very pronounced. Others are with out. it and are highly prized for desserts, being luscious, sweet, or with a slight acidity. The un
ripe fruits are used for pickles, sauces, etc., and the kernels are often roasted and eaten. They arc nutritious and in times of scarcity are used as food by the poorer classes of India. The mango was introduced into Jamaica in 1782, and much attention is given its cultivation in that country. Its cultivation has been extended throughout the \Vest Indies and to some extent in southern Florida and California. Eight-year old trees in Florida have borne as many as 5000 fruits iu a season. The trees are propagated either from seed or by Marching of choice varie ties upon vigorous seedling stack. Of the other species Ma ra [(Hid°, called the horse nmn go, is a large tree native of Malacea and vicinity. The fruit, which has a peculiar characteristic odor and tlavor, is highly esteemed by the natives, and is cultivated throughout India. Mongifr ra opposit i [(dia. by botanists called Boula harmonica, IS a wide-spreading lofty tree which grows wild in Burma. It hears an edible yellow fruit about the size of a large plum. There are numerous varieties, seine of which arc sweet, others sour. Mangifera sylratica also bears an edible fruit esteemed by the natives in India. It is • often dried and kept for medicinal pur poses. The wood of the different species is gray, rather soft, and used for building purposes. Canoes and boats are made of the timber of the common mango, and when well seasoned it makes good packing eases.