The Memoirs of Bābur 932.11.6

932.11.6

The monkey-jack (H. _badhal_, B. _burhul_, _Artocarpus lacoocha_) is another. The fruit may be of the size of a quince (var. apple). Its smell is not bad.[1853] Unripe it is a singularly tasteless and empty[1854] thing; when ripe, it is not so bad. It ripens soft, can be pulled to pieces and eaten anywhere, tastes very much like a rotten quince, and has an excellent little austere flavour. The lote-fruit (Sans. _ber_, _Zizyphus jujuba_) is another. Its Persian name is understood to be _kanār_.[1855] It is of several kinds: of one the fruit is larger than the plum (_ālūcha_)[1856]; another is shaped like the Ḥusainī grape. Most of them are not very good; we saw one in Bāndīr (Gūālīār) that was really good. The lote-tree sheds its leaves under the Signs _S̤aur_ and _Jauzā_ (Bull and Twins), burgeons under _Saraṯān_ and _Asad_ (Crab and Lion) which are the true rainy-season,—then becoming fresh and green, and it ripens its fruit under _Dalū_ and _Ḥaut_ (Bucket _i.e._ Aquarius, and Fish). The (Sans.) _karaūndā_ (_Carissa carandas_, the corinda) is another. It grows in bushes after the fashion of the (T.) _chīka_ of our country.[1857] but the _chīka_ grows on mountains, the _karaūndā_ on the [Sidenote: Fol. 284b.] plains. In flavour it is like the rhubarb itself,[1858] but is sweeter and less juicy.