274 THE PI.ANT WORLD 



Another indication of its value in the eyes of the natives is the existence 

 in Tahiti of a legend which in abstract is as follows : "A father had an 

 only son, whom he loved tenderly and who was unable to eat the red dirt 

 that constituted the diet of the people. After praying earnestly that his 

 dead body might become food for his son , his request was granted and 

 from his buried dismembered body arose a large and handsome tree, clothed 

 with broad shining leaves, and loaded with breadfruit." * 



Ellis also records that the appearance of the natives is perceptibly 

 improved in a few weeks after the fruit comes into season , while Captain 

 David Porter tells of natives in the Marquesas who could not conceive of 

 a land without breadfruit. 



SEEDS. 



The seeded variety of the breadfruit is common in the West Indies, 

 while the existence of the sterile sort in some islands is considered 

 doubtful on account of its scarcity. The tree generall3^ receives the 

 name of "castaiia," the Spanish word for chestnut in these islands, on 

 account of the resemblance of the seeds to that nut. These often appear 

 in a germinating condition in the Porto Rican markets and are ready to 

 be eaten after a few minutes' boiling. (See plate.) The seeded variety 

 is called "dug-dug " or "dog-dog" in Guam, while the seeds, rich in 

 oil, are known as "nangka." 



WOOD. 



According to Grosourdy (2 : 406) the tree furnishes a wood yellowish 

 gray in color ; rather light and soft, but strong, resistant, and elastic, 

 and with a specific gravity of 0.495. It resists the attacks of the white 

 ant and only needs to be kept dry to be fairly durable. The framework 

 of Samoan houses is made of the curved limbs of breadfruit, beautifully 

 rounded, and joined together and wrapped at the edges with coconut sen- 

 nit. Other species of this genius yield valuable woods, among which may 

 be mentioned the " Anjeli " wood (A. hirsuta) and A. chaplasha of India. 

 The wood of most of the genus is light yellow when cut, but darkens with 

 exposure and age to a mahogany color. The wood of the Jak {,A. hitegri- 

 folia) not only takes on a fine mahogany color, but also yields a yellow 

 dye which serves as a mordant for other vegetable dyes. 



CLOTH. 



In the primitive days in the Pacific, before the advent of the trader 

 with his beads and calico, the natives were dependent upon natural prod- 

 ucts for their scanty wearing material. The cloth prepared from the 

 inner bark of the paper mulberry {Broussonetia papyri/era) was by far the 

 most valuable, although the product of the bast of the breadfruit was not 

 despised as a cloth producer. Mr. W. E. Safford of the Department of 



* Full legend is given in Vol. I of Ellis's " Polynesian Researches." 



