ISLAND DEPENDENCIES 



ISLAND DEPENDENCIES 1701 



Several varieties of taro (Colocasia antiquorum var. 

 esculenla) are cultivated, some of them in marshy 

 places, others in clearings made in the forest. On the 

 island of Tutuila there is not much marsh taro in com- 

 parison with upland taro. The latter is usually planted 

 in virgin soil in holes made by a digging-stick. Very 

 little care is afterward bestowed upon it except to 

 keep the patches weeded. Marsh taro requires a con- 

 stant supply of fresh water. The starchy roots must be 

 thoroughly baked to destroy their acridity, which, like 

 that of our Indian turnip, is caused by minute needles 

 of oxalate of calcium (raphides). Closely allied to the 

 taro is the giant taro, Alocasia macrorhiza, called "ta' 

 amu" by the Samoans. Several kinds of ta'amu occur 

 in Samoa, all of which are probably varieties of ,4. 

 macrorhiza. They are propagated like upland taro. 

 The roots, which sometimes reach a great size, in 

 times of scarcity are an important food staple. The 

 enormous satiny leaves are used for covering the native 

 ovens. The young leaves of taro are cooked in various 

 ways as a vegetable. One of the most agreeable dishes, 

 called "palusami," is composed of the expressed cream 

 of grated coconut meat combined with young taro 

 leaves and a little salt water ^Tapped in an outer cover- 

 ing of leaves and baked in a native oven. The fermented 

 paste made from taro known in the Hawaiian Islands 

 as "poi" is unknown in Samoa. 



Yams(D(oscorea Batatas), called "ufi" by the Samoans, 

 resemble the forms known on the island of Guam as 

 "dago." The tubers often grow to an enormous size. 

 The plants are propagated by cuttings, each of which 

 must possess an eye or bud from which the new plant 

 springs. The plantations are made in clearings in the 

 woods, stones are laid around the young plants and 

 stakes are placed for the plants to climb upon. In 

 about six months after planting the tubers are ready for 

 food. As the propagation and gathering of yams are 

 more difficult than in the case of taro, they are not so 

 exiensively grown, though they thrive well and are 

 well liked by the natives. 



Tacca pinnalifida, Forst., called "masoa" by the 

 Samoans and commonly known as "Polynesian arrow- 

 root," yields an excellent starch, which is used prin- 

 cipally for pasting together the filmy beaten bast of the 

 paper mulberry in making bark-cloth (siapo). It is 

 also an article of food and is sometimes prepared with 

 coconut custard in the form of dumpUngs or puddings. 

 In Tahiti the natives braid beautiful hats from the 

 epidermis of the flower-scapes and petioles of this 

 plant. As with the yams, the tubers are mature when 

 the plants die down. When fresh they are bitter. The 

 starch is prepared by grating the tubers to a fine pulp 

 which is put into a vessel of water. This becomes 

 milky and the solid particles are removed by straining. 

 After standing for some time, the starch settles and 

 the clear liquid is poured off. This plant grows spon- 

 taneously in Samoa, but it is sometimes cultivated. 



Rice is not cultivated. Though it was introduced 

 into the island of Guam before the discovery of that 

 island by Europeans, it was entirely unknown to the 

 ancient Polynesians of the central and eastern Pacific. 



The breadfruit {Arlocarpiis incisa) is planted about) 

 every village. It grows in the form of a symmetrical 

 tree with spreading top. Its curved hmbs furnish the 

 Samoans with rafters for the roofs of their best houses; 

 the viscid milky latex is used by them for many pur- 

 poses; and the large lobed leaves are eaten with relish 

 by all herbivorous animals. The fruit, gathered before 

 it is quite ripe, is prepared for food in a variety of ways. 

 It is often eaten with pork, fish, or fowl, sometimes with 

 a sauce of cooked custard ex-pressed from grated coconut 

 meat; or in the form of dumplings cooked in this cus- 

 tard. As the breadfruit season is limited, quantities of 

 the fruit are placed in pits and allowed to ferment, 

 somewhat after the manner of sauer-kraut. Though 

 the fermented substance has a very offensive smell, it 



is nutritious, and is made into cakes and baked. 

 "Masi," the name of these cakes, is now a general term 

 applied to all kinds of biscuits and crackers. The trees 

 are propagated from suckers, to which a portion of a 

 root of the parent plant is left attached. The young 

 trees grow rapidly and in three or four years bear fruit. 



The Polynesian "chestnut" (Inocarpits edulis) is a 

 magnificent forest tree belonging to the Leguminosai. 

 Its fruit roasted in the shfU has somewhat the taste of 

 chestnuts and is much eaten by the Samoans. Its 

 wood is hard and durable, of fine texture and very 

 tough. It has the remarkable quahty of burning read- 

 ily while green. 



Sugar-cane is grown to some extent. It has been 

 grown by the Samoans from prehistoric times, but 

 not for commercial purposes. No sugar is made on the 

 island. The cane is rehshed especially by the children, 

 who suck its sweet juice. Its principal use is in fur- 

 nishing an excellent durable thatch for the houses of 

 the natives. 



Tobacco is grown in small quantities very much after 

 the fashion pursued in other countries, first in seed- 

 beds, then transplanted. It is consumed by the natives, 

 both male and female, in the form of cigarettes wTapped 

 with dry banana leaves. 



Piper melhyslicum, called "kava" in some parts of 

 Polynesia and " 'ava" in Samoa, is extensively grown 

 for the sake of the narcotic infusion prepared from its 

 root. This is prepared with great ceremony in the pres- 

 ence of the chief or head of a family by young girls. In 

 former times, the root was first chewed and then placed 

 in the wooden bowl in the form of quids upon which 

 cold water was poured from a coconut water-bottle; 

 but now the root is rasped on an improvised grater 

 made by puncturing holes in a sheet of tin. The infusion 

 is not allowed to ferment but is drunk fresh, each per- 

 son present partaking of it in succession in the order 

 of his rank. 'Ava-drinking in Samoa is never indulged 

 in so extensively as to become a vice, but the beverage 

 is a wholesome and refreshing stimulant. 'Ava takes 

 the place in Samoa of the betel pepper (Piper Betel) of 

 the Philippines and the island of Guam, the leaves of 

 which are chewed with areca nut and a little lime. The 

 latter has never found its way into eastern Polynesia. 



In the woods there are valuable hardwood trees, 

 many of which are clothed with epiphytal orchids, 

 lycopods, and ferns, and the slopes of the mountains 

 yield rich returns to the botanist in rare ferns and other 

 plants, especially graceful tree-ferns. 



In the vicinity of Pago-Pago the most common trees 

 are the fau {Hibiscus liliaceus); milo (Thespesia popul- 

 nea); lama, or candle-nut (Aleurites moluccana) called 

 "kukui" in the Hawaiian Islands; toi {Alphilonia 

 excelsa); tavai {Rhus simariibsefolia) ; masame {Anti- 

 desnia sphserocarpum) ; taraanu, a species of Maba; and 

 fetau {Calophyllum iiwphyllum). The futu {Barring- 

 tonia speciosa), a beautiful tree with glossy leaves and 

 white flowers with crimson stamens, bears a peculiar 

 four-angled fruit which is used in Samoa, as in Guam, 

 for stupefying fish in tide pools on the coral reefs. The 

 appearance of the red blossoms (aloalo) of the ngatoe 

 {Erylhrina indica) marks an epoch in the Samoan 

 calendar. The ifilele, which is identical with the valua- 

 ble ipil of Guam {Inlsia bijuga), is prized for its durable 

 hard wood, and is much used for house posts. The 

 fragrant flowers of the langaali (Aglaia edulis), like 

 those of Canangium odoralum, are used to scent the 

 coconut-oil with which the natives anoint theni.sclves. 

 The fruit of the vi {Spondias dulcis) is highly prized 

 by the natives and that of the nonu-fiafia (Eugenia 

 malaccensis) is also eaten. The giant banyans (Ficus 

 sp.), rising like great hillocks above the general level 

 of the forests and remarkable for their numerous ai'rial 

 prop-like roots, are regarded by th(^ Samoans to be the 

 dwellings of spirits (iiitu). The Samoans have legends 

 and songs regarding many of their forest trees and 



