214 



According to Mr. W. E. Safford the breadfruit groWs so plenti- 

 fully on the island of Guam " that it might prove profitable to 

 utilize it there for the manufacture of starch, or ' arrowroot.' as has 

 been successfully done in the French colonies of Martinique and 

 Reunion, and in Brazil." Horses and cattle are fond of the leaves 

 and they are often used as fodder. In some of the Pacific islands 

 the natives say " that no one eats the breadfruit raw, except hogs," 

 and these animals grow very fat in the breadfruit season. 



During the Cuban insurrection many refugees sought sanctuary 

 in New York, and it was then that an attempt was made to trans- 

 port fruit from Jamaica to the metropolis in accordance with a 

 desire for the fruit among the patriots. Mr. J. W. Gruber, of 

 Montego Bay, Jamaica, claimed that fruits with their outer surfaces 

 charred will keep for months and be readily transportable to New 

 York, but before the experiment could be tried the war was over 

 and a seemingly favorable market ruined. No other similar attempt 

 has been made, so far as records are known to us. 



According to Engler in the " Naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien," the 

 roots of the breadfruit possess astringent qualities, a decoction 

 being taken internally in cases of diarrhoea and dysentery, while 

 it is also applied externally to cutaneous disorders. 



In the tropical Pacific, where it is peculiarly at home, the bread- 

 fruit serves as a food-staple along with the banana, yam, taro, and 

 sweet potato, and is also responsible for the development of many 

 interesting culinary customs. A research into the culinary methods 

 employed in the Pacific islands would be an interesting ethno- 

 botanical study ; but we can only linger over a few of the leading 

 features and leave origins and migrations alone. 



A method spread throughout the Pacific is that of fermenting 

 the fruit in underground pits, in which condition it keeps from year 

 to year. Captain Cook describes the process from Tahiti as 

 follows : 



"The fruit is gathered just before it is perfectly ripe, and being 

 laid in heaps, is closely covered with leaves ; in this state it under- 

 goes a fermentation, and becomes disagreeably sweet ; the core is 

 then taken out entire, which is done by gently pulling the stalk, 

 and the rest of the fruit is thrown into a hole which is dug for the 

 purpose, generally in the houses, and neatly lined in the bottom 

 and sides with grass; the whole is then covered with leaves, and 

 heavy stones laid upon them ; in this state it undergoes a second 

 fermentation, and becomes sour, after which it will suffer no 

 change for many months ; it is taken out of the holes as it is 

 wanted for use, and being made into balls, it is wrapped up in 

 leaves and baked ; after it is dressed it will keep five or six weeks. 

 It is eaten both cold and hot, and the natives seldom make a meal 

 without it, though to us the taste was as disagreeable as that of a 

 pickled olive generally is the first time it is eaten.* 



*" Cook's First Voyago," Vol. 2, p. 198 (Hawkesworth Ed.) 



