CHAPTER IX. PRODUCTIONS.--Continued. 1. THERE are other esculent roots, peculiar to tropical climates, which have not yet been introduced, but which, no doubt, would thrive well in Liberia. I have alluded particularly to those only which have been introduced and which are cultivated there-those which I have seen and eaten myself. And in addition to those articles to which I have alluded, I may name a few other garden vegetables that I have seen growing in Liberia, the most common of which are Lima or butter beans, snap beans, black-eyed peas, cabbages, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons, pumpkins, muskmelons, cantelopes, beets, radishes, and carrots. 2. Lima beans may be raised abundantly at any time. during the year. In consequence of the absence of frost, the vines live and bear for several years; and as the beans are being continually reproduced, they may be gathered from the same vines during every month in the year, and for three, four, five, or more successive years. The vines yield in a few months after the planting of the bean, so that no family ought ever to be without this excellent vegetable. They are equal to those raised in any part of the United States. 3. Black-eyed peas may be raised in any necessary quantities. They come to maturity in about six weeks from the time of planting, and they may be raised at any time during the year. Cabbages do not thrive so well in Liberia as they generally do in the United States—that is, they do not produce so fine heads. They grow very rapidly, and sometimes the stalk attains the height of several feet. They do not generally go to seed. When, however, good seed can be procured from other countries, and proper attention is given to the cultivation of the cabbage, fine, large, tender heads may sometimes be produced. 4. Tomatoes may be easily raised; and when the seed are procured from abroad, the fruit is large and well flavored-equal to the produce of most other countries. Cucumbers will perhaps thrive as well in Liberia as in any other country. Watermelons thrive as well in some parts of Liberia as in most parts of the United States, especially when good seed can be procured from abroad. Some as fine watermelons as I ever saw were raised in the vicinity of Monrovia. So far as I could learn, the best time to plant the seed is in March or April. 5. All the other articles that I have enumerated, and several other garden vegetables that seem to belong more properly to temperate climates, may be raised in Liberia without any difficulty, if the seed can be obtained from those countries to which these vegetables seem to be peculiarly adapted. Hence the necessity of importing seeds, if persons wish to have American vegetables on African tables. And here I would particularly recommend to persons who intend to emigrate to Liberia, to take with them a variety of garden seeds. And in order to protect them from being injured by the salt air of the ocean, I would advise that they should be sealed up in vials or bottles, or wrapped in paper and packed away in saw-dust. 6. A great variety of fruits is raised in Liberia, many of which are indigenous. The principal fruits are the orange, lime, lemon, pine-apple, guava, mango, plantain, banana, okra, papaw, cocoa-nut, tamarind, pomegranate, grandilla, African cherry, African peach, sour-sop, sweetsop, sorrel, cacao, rose-apple, and chiota. 7. The orange tree thrives as well perhaps, and bears as fine fruit, in Liberia as in any other part of the world. The tree, when full-grown, is about the size of ordinary apple-trees in the United States, but much more handsome. One tree usually bears as many oranges as an apple-tree of the same size bears apples. Although ripe oranges may be procured at any time of the year, yet there are two seasons at which they are more plentiful than at other times. One season is about the middle of the year, and the other about the close of the year. It is not uncommon to see blossoms, buds, young fruit, and full-grown fruit on the same tree at the same time; so that while some of the oranges are ripening, others are being produced. In the town of Monrovia many orange-trees may be seen adorning the sides of the streets, as well as in the yards and gardens of the citizens. 8. Limes and lemons are in superabundance in nearly every settlement in Liberia. Pine-apples grow wild in the woods in great abundance, and when allowed to ripen, before being pulled, they are very finely flavored. The apple grows out of the center of a small stalk, one or two feet high, and it is surrounded by prickly pointed leaves or branches. I have seen thousands of them in half an hour's walk. They are considerably improved by cultivation in good, rich land. They are not, however, a wholesome fruit, although very palatable, and many persons have made themselves sick by eating them too freely. 9. Guavas grow very abundantly on trees about the size of ordinary peach-trees. This' fruit resembles the apricot in appearance, but not in taste. It is not very palatable when uncooked, though some persons are very fond of it. It, however, makes the best preserves and the best pies of any fruit with which I am acquainted. The guava jelly, which is almost universally regarded as a very delicious article, is made from this fruit. Though I believe the guavatree is not indigenous to Liberia, yet it grows so luxuriantly as to be a source of much inconvenience in some places. 10. The mango (or mango-plum, as it is usually called in Liberia) also thrives well. It is the product of a handsome tree about the size of an ordinary apple-tree. The fruit is about the size of an ordinary apple, but oval, or egg-shaped. In taste, it approaches more nearly to the American peach than any other tropical fruit I ever ate. CHAPTER X. PRODUCTIONS.-Continued. 1. THE plantain is a beautiful, broad-leafed, tender, fibrous stalk that grows to the height of from eight to fourteen feet. The leaves, which are the continuation of the fibrous layers of the soft, herbaceous stalk, are generally about six feet long and from one to three feet broad. The fruit-stem proceeds from the heart of the stalk, and when full-grown it is about three feet long and beautifully curved, extending about two feet beyond the cluster of fruit, and terminating in a singular and beautiful purple bulb formed of numerous tender layers that can be easily separated. One stalk produces only one cluster or bunch of fruit, and when this is removed, by cutting the stem, the stalk dies; but cions spring up from the original root around the old stock, and in a few months these also bear fruit, and then die, giving place to other new stalks. 2. So that in two or three years from the time of the first planting, the number of stalks and bunches of fruit will be increased six-fold, or more. The venerable parentstock, as if loth to leave her rising progeny unsheltered from the sweeping tornado, generally continues to spread her broad leaves over them until they shall have attained a sufficient size to stand firmly before the destroying blast of the storm-king, and then one by one the expansive leaves or branches wither and fall to the ground, leaving the aged, worn-out stalk to be prostrated by the passing breeze. 3. The fruit of the plantain is cylindrical and slightly curved, somewhat tapering toward the end. It is usually from six to nine inches long and one to two in diameter. At first it is of a pale green color, but when fully ripe it is yellow. It arrives at maturity in about eight months. Most persons in Liberia cut the bunches before the fruit has ripened, but it is much better when it is allowed to ripen before being separated from the stalk. It is usually prepared for the table by being boiled, baked, or fried, and it is perhaps the most luscious and wholesome vegetable of tropical climates, and one of the most valuable fruits in the vegetable kingdom. It may be produced at any time in the year, and with a little judicious management, every family may have this excellent and nutritious article every day in the year. 4. The banana is so much like the plantain in every respect, except in the taste and a slight difference in the appearance of the fruit, that the description of one will answer for both. Indeed, it is difficult to distinguish one from the other when they are growing. The fruit of the banana is only about half the length of the plantain, and not so much curved. It is also much softer when ripe, and is more frequently eaten uncooked, although it may be prepared in the same manner as the plantain. The taste of the plantain very much resembles the taste of apples cooked in the same way, while that of the banana is sui generis-unlike any fruit of the United States. The plantain and banana trees or shrubs are among the most beautiful vegetable growths of tropical climates. 5. Okra is the fruit of a small tree ten or twelve feet high. It is a soft, pulpy, and very mucilaginous fruit, which when boiled forms a thick, semi-fluid, pleasant, and nutritious article of food-an excellent adjuvant to rice. may be raised easily and abundantly in Liberia. It 6. The papaw is a tall, slender, herbaceous tree of very rapid growth, sometimes attaining the height of thirty feet. The body of the tree is usually naked to within two or three feet of the top, and is marked with the cicatrices of the fallen leaves, which wither and fall as the tree continues to grow, giving place to others above them. Sometimes, however, there are several branches attached to the upper part of the body of the tree, each of which branches |