TAMARIND

the fruit of a magnificent East-African tree, now cultivated in all tropical countries, which under favorable circumstances reaches a height of eighty feet. It consists of thin, brown shell-pods, three-quarters of an inch to an inch in width and of varying length (up to eight inches or longer), filled with an aeridsweet, brownish pulp, containing acetic, tartaric, and citric acids, and pota ium and other salts, and from one to twelve large, flat, hard, glo y seeds. The pods of the West-Indian varieties are generally short, containing only from one to four seeds. They are identical in flavor and properties. The usual West-Indian method of treatment is to remove the shells and throw the pulp and seeds (together with the network of fiber which covers them) into kegs, usually of fifty pounds capacity, then filling with boiling sirup. The kegs without further preparation are shipped to various foreign markets, to be repacked by local dealers in stone jars, gla es, and boxes. Sugar tamarinds is a higher grade packed Tamarind pulp serves as an excellent addition to chutneys, curries, and similar preparations; and tamarind sirup, highly diluted, makes a cooling summer beverage. Some people enjoy the pulp as a preserve. A pleasant laxative is prepared by mixing it with either hot or cold water.