THE PIvANT WORLD 277 



present a yellowish or white, cellular, pulpy substance, in appearance 

 slightly resembling the crumb of a small wheaten loaf. Its color, size, and 

 structure are, however, the only resemblance it has to bread. It has but 

 little taste, and that is frequentlj' rather sweet ; it is somewhat farina- 

 ceous, but not so much so as in several other vegetables, and probably 

 less so than the English potato, to which in flavor it is also inferior. It 

 is slightl}^ astringent, and, as a vegetable, it is good, but it is a very 

 indifferent substitute for English bread." * 



Dampier tells us also that the natives of Guam use it as bread, ' ' gather- 

 ing it when fully grown, while it is green and hard, and then baking it 

 in an oven, which scorches the rind and makes it black ; but they scrape 

 off the outside black crust, and there remains a tender, thin crust, and 

 the inside is soft, tender, and white, resembling the crumb of a loaf." 

 Comm. Anson, whose visit to Guam has already been noticed, further 

 tells us that "the Spaniards slice it, and expose it to the sun, and when 

 brought thereby to a crispature, they reserve it as a biscuit, and say it will 

 bear long keeping when so prepared." According to Mr. W. E. Safford 

 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture the natives of Guam also dry 

 these slices in ovens, a photograph of one of these being given in PI. 14 

 of this volume. t The fruit, according to the same authority, is rather 

 tasteless, unless eaten with condiments such as butter, salt, gravy, etc. 

 The Chamorro population of Guam have abandoned the custom of fer- 

 menting the fruit in underground pits, a custom which is retained, how- 

 ever, by the Caroline Islanders, who sought refuge on the island from 

 tidal waves in their own group years since, and who have retained many 

 of their primitive customs. 



Home, J writing of the fruit from the Fijis, says that "the quality of 

 some of them is excellent, dry and mealy like a potato ; that of others as 

 watery and insipid. They are either baked or boiled, and eaten alone, 

 or with pork or fish. Sometimes they are made into puddings, or buried 

 under ground, and made into ma7tdrai, i. e., native bread." 



CONCIrUSION. 



This short sketch of the natural history, history proper, and uses of the 

 breadfruit does not pretend to even approach completeness in any of the 

 three categories mentioned, owing to the absence of literature of a useful 

 character. It only strives to be a foundation, if possible, for future 

 work on the subject which will put the subject-matter in a stronger light. 



Flowers, fruits, and trees have always figured largely in song and 

 story ; and oriental imagery in particular is full o f references to natural 



* Ellis's " Polynesian Researches." 



+ W. E. SaflFord, "Notes of a Naturalist on the Island of Guam." 



X Home, "A Year in Fiji," pp.82, 83. London, 1881. 



