COOK'S SHADDOCK TREE. 29 



to us several pounds of their recent berries, 

 which, when prepared for the table, aiforded a 

 strong and well-flavoured beverage. It was 

 only at Oahu that we had hitherto seen any at- 

 tempt to introduce the coffee-plant into Poly- 

 nesia ; though Mr. Barff informed me, that he 

 had planted it on several islands ; and, where 

 proper attention had been paid to its culture, 

 the result had been always satisfactory. 



Near the northern extremity of the settle- 

 ment I remarked a tall and venerable Shaddock- 

 tree, (Citrus decumana,) loaded with large and 

 ripe fruit. This is the only tree of its kind that 

 exists on any of the Society Islands, and it bears 

 th e reputation of having been planted by Cap- 

 tain Cook, when he visited this island to restore 

 Omai, the Society Islander, who, on a former 

 voyage, had accompanied him to England. The 

 spot on which the tree flourishes is a portion 

 of the land obtained for Omai by Captain Cook, 

 and hence named Beritani, or Britain, by the 

 natives. Ever anxious to compare foreign pro- 

 ductions with those indigenous to then* own 

 soil, the Huahine people name this tree (from 

 a similarity in its fruit and growth) uru papa, 

 or the white man's bread-fruit tree. They do not 

 eat the fruit, but betray a partiality for its 

 odour by wearing fragments of the rind and 



