THK PLANT WORLD 245 



enough land for the natives but not sufficient for the cultivation of coffee, 

 cacao, sugar, tobacco, or rice for export. The natives will not readily 

 part with their land. They take great pride in their ownership of 

 farms. All, or nearly all, are planting coconuts, copra being the only 

 article of export from this island. The natives say it is as good as money, 

 as every ounce of it can be sold. It would be a great benefit if some 

 method of drying it could be introduced, in which the meat of the coco- 

 nut would retain its whiteness and not become rancid. Its market value 

 would surely increase. There is no reason why good edible oil should 

 not be extracted from it, taking the place of lard or butter in cooking and 

 in making confections. 



My own ranches are in flourishing condition. I have many broods of 

 young chickens and several hens sitting. The other day one of the nests 

 was broken up by a cat, which ate the eggs. A lizard ( Varaymus) 

 ate up two of my pigeons, but there are ten more in my ranch above 

 San Ramon. I am fast reaching the state of the natives, in being inde- 

 pendent of markets and shops. I now produce nearly everything I need ; 

 but I have not yet followed the example of the natives in evaporating my 

 own salt from sea-water. I find that the chickens flourish better on corn 

 than on grated coconuts. The universal theory among my neighbors 

 seems to be, " What is the use of paying money for what you yourself 

 can produce ! " I find that I must confine myself pretty closely to 

 vegetables which have become well established here ; and I am glad to 

 eat taro, yams, and bread-fruit with relish. Too few settlers in the tropics 

 try to learn to like things distasteful to them on first trial. My attempts 

 to cultivate beans, pease, sweet corn, melons, and other vegetables like 

 those at home have not been successful . They grew rankly at first ; but 

 the fruit rotted before it matured. Perhaps I shall have better success if 

 I plant the seed at the close of the rainy season, so that the dry season 

 shall in a measure correspond with our summer. 



[to be continued.] 



Pussy Willows. 



By Dr. Ci.ara Barrus. 



The cheerless windy days of March offer but few inducements for a 

 ramble over fields and in the woods, still, when the children begin to 

 bring in the pussy willows and the partridge berries we may know that 

 there is something worth searching for out of doors. Even though we 

 found only the willow catkins we should be well repaid for the tramp 

 after them. One has a tender feeling for the gray silky " pussies " just 



