ow, the enclosed substance is
white, tough, and hard. In the raw state it is flavorless, but when
roasted in hot ashes, or cooked with meat, it makes a fine dish.

When the platanos of the uppermost row, that is, those which form the
base of the conical-formed reflex cluster, begin to turn yellow, or, as
the natives say, _pintar_, the whole is cut off, and hung up in an airy,
shady situation, usually in an apartment of the Rancho, or hut, where it
may quickly ripen. The largest fruits are cut off as soon as they are
yellow and soft, and so the cutting goes on gradually up to the top, for
they ripen so unequally that those at the base show symptoms of decay
while those at the top are still hard and green. As soon as the
_cabeza_, or cluster of fruit, is cut, the whole branch is immediately
lopped off, in order to facilitate the shooting of the fresh sprouts.
Each branch bears only one _cabeza_, and eight or ten months are the
period usually required for its complete development.

The platanos belongs indisputably to the most useful class of fruit
trees, especially in regions where they can be cultivated extensively,
for then they may very adequately supply the place of bread. In
northern Peru and Guayaquil, the platano fruit is prepared for food in
a variety of ways.

Pine-apples (_Ananas_) are not much cultivated on the coast of Peru. The
market of Lima was formerly entirely supplied with this fruit from the
Montana de Vitoc. When brought from thence they used to be cut before
they were ripe, and packed on the backs of asses. The journey is of
sixteen or twenty days' duration, and the road lies across two of the
Cordilleras. After being several days in the cold snowy region of the
Puna, the fruit came to Lima in a very indifferent state; but since the
communication by steam navigation with Guayaquil, pine-apples are
brought from the latter place in large quantities. They are large,
succulent, and very sweet.

The Granadilla (_Passiflora quadrangularis_) is about the size of an
apple, but rather oblong. The skin is reddish-yellow, hard, and rather
thick. The edible part is grey and gelatinous, and it contains numerous
dark-colored seeds. The fruit is very agreeable, and in taste resembles
the gooseberry, and is very cooling. The Granadilla is a shrub or bush,
and it twines round the trunks of trees, or climbs up the walls of the
Ranchos. It is less abundant on the coast than in the adjacent valleys.

The Tunas are f