Many Persons In Europe Are Under The Impression That Fruits Of
Delicious Flavour Abound In The Tropical Forests, And They
Will
no doubt be surprised to learn that the truly wild fruits of this
brand and luxuriant archipelago, the vegetation
Of which will vie
with that of any part of the world, are in almost every island
inferior in abundance and duality to those of Britain. Wild
strawberries and raspberries are found in some places, but they
arc such poor tasteless things as to be hardly worth eating, and
there is nothing to compare with our blackberries and
whortleberries. The kanary-nut may be considered equal to a
hazel-nut, but I have met with nothing else superior to our
crabs, oar haws, beech-nuts, wild plums, and acorns; fruits
which would be highly esteemed by the natives of these islands,
and would form an important part of their sustenance. All the
fine tropical fruits are as much cultivated productions as our
apples, peaches, and plums, and their wild prototypes, when
found, are generally either tasteless or uneatable.
The people of Matabello, like those of most of the Mahometan
villages of East Ceram and Goram, amused me much by their strange
ideas concerning the Russian war. They believe that the Russians
were not only most thoroughly beaten by the Turks, but were
absolutely conquered, and all converted to Islamism! And they can
hardly be convinced that such is not the case, and that had it
not been for the assistance of France and England, the poor
Sultan world have fared ill.
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