8o MANILLAISLANDS. 



drone i([:in(\Sf znd gives a very faithful defcription of the fruit and 

 its ufes ; Lord Anfon^ and his great follower Cook^ are full of its 

 praifes. Of late years we caught the benevolent idea of tranf- 

 porting this tree of life to our own iflands; captain Bligh had 

 the honor of being the perfon deputed to convey this manna to 

 our wretched negroes. A Satan counteradted (under the feigned 

 form and name of the mofl beneficent of fe(51:s) this great benefit 

 to our hard-fated brethren ; like his great prototype he fucceeded 

 in the onfet, but the adventure is refumed under the aufpices of 

 the fame faithful leader, and I hope that I do not make a falfe 

 prophecy if I prefage fuccefs. 



This fruit is the bread of the iflands on which it has been be- 

 ftowed ; it grows on a tree of the fize of a middling oak, and to 

 the bulk of a child's head, and even to the diameter of twelve 

 inches. Rumphius diftinguiflies the varieties into Granojus-, Lano- 



Jus^ and Soccofus; the firft is the parent tree, and has in it feeds. 

 Joh}i Reinbold Forjler.) plate 51. a. gives us an idea of the whole 

 fruit, with the rind hexagonally reticulated ; the majority have no 

 feeds, as we find is often the cafe with the Barberry^ and a few 

 other fruits ; thefe, therefore, are incapable of propagation, ex- 

 cept by fuckers. In the generality of the iflands, the feeded fort 

 is quite loft, the other kind cultivated in orchards. The account 

 of the fruit as given by Dampier, abnori7tts fapiens^ is worthy the 

 reader's attention ; ** When it is ripe it is yellow and foft, and the 

 " tafte is fweet and pleafant ; the natives of this ifland ufe it for 

 " bread : they gather it when full grown, while it is green and 

 « hard ; then they bake it in an oven, which fcorcheth the rind, 



' " and makes it black, but they fcrape off the outfide black cruft, 

 a " and 



