Prev | Current Page 275 | Next

"New National Fourth Reader"


ter'mi nates, _comes to an end_.

* * * * *


TROPICAL FRUITS.

Those who have not visited tropical countries, can scarcely imagine the
wonders of their vegetation. There is nothing in the northern half of
the United States, with which to compare the richness of the vegetable
growth of the tropics.
In the Southern States of our Union, as well as in Mexico and Central
America, there are found many of the same plants and trees that grow in
countries lying still nearer the equator.
The various kinds of fruits which grow in these countries, form a very
large portion of the exports. Among those that are most commonly sent to
us, are bananas, oranges, lemons, dates, cocoa-nuts, and figs.
In countries where the banana grows most abundantly, no article of food
which the natives can obtain, requires so little trouble in its
cultivation.
One has only to set out a few banana sprouts, and await the result. In a
short time, a juicy stem shoots up to the height of fifteen or twenty
feet.
It is formed of nothing more than a number of leaf stalks rolled one
over the other, and grows sometimes to a thickness of two feet.


Pages:
263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287