The History of the Island of Dominica: Containing a Description of Its Situation, Extent, Climate, Mountains, Rivers, Natural Productions, &c. &c.Atwood, Thomas
History
The History of the Island of Dominica: Containing a Description of Its Situation, Extent, Climate, Mountains, Rivers, Natural Productions, &c. &c.
Atwood, Thomas
Black people -- Dominica; Dominica -- Description and travel; Dominica -- History; Natural history -- Dominica; Slavery -- Dominica
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.
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