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.