BREAD FRUIT. 



445 



It must be roasted before it is eaten, being first divi- 

 ded into three or four parts. Its taste i-i insipid, with a 



Mew hat rawmblingthat ofthecr 



ofwheaten bread) mixed with a .Irniv K-m artichoke." 

 Dr Haivkesworth, in another p.ut, ;;r. flat- 



tering picture of the advaiu Iting from the 



bread fruit tree, which, as will ;ippear, is rather 

 fanciful th;m correct. He s.iys, " Of the many 

 vegetable* that have been mentioned already, as 

 serving them (the natives of the Society Islands) 

 for food, the principal is the bread fruit, to pro- 

 cure which, co..ts them no trouble or labour tr.it 

 to climb a tree. Tin; tree which produces it, does 

 not indeed shoot up spontaneously ; but, if a man 

 plants ten of them in his lifetime, which he may do in 

 about an hour, he will as completely fulfil his duty 

 to his own and future generations, as the natives of our 

 loss temperate climate can do by ploughing in the 

 cold winter, and reaping in the summer's heat, as of- 

 ten as these seasons return. Even if, after he has 

 procured bread for his present household, he should 

 convert the surplus into money, and lay it up for his 

 children. 



" It is true, indeed, that the bread fruit is not al- 

 ways in season; but cocoa nuts, bananas, plantains, 

 and a great variety of other fruits, supply the defi- 

 ciency." 



Of a tree, respecting which so much has been said, 

 it is very interesting to know every circumstance con- 

 nected with the cultivation ; andCaptain Cook, whose 

 enterprising mind lost nothing worthy of record, 

 made sr>me valuable observations, which will be most 

 satisfactorily exhibited in his own words. " I have en- 

 quired very carefully," says aptainCook, "into their 

 manner of cultivating the bread fruit tree at Otaheite ; 

 but was always answered, that they never planted it. 

 This, indeed, must be evident to every one who will 

 examine the places where the young trees come up. 

 It will be always observed, that they spring from the 

 roots of the old >nes, which run along near the sur- 

 face of the ground ; so that the bread fruit trees may 

 be reckoned those that would naturally cover the 

 plains, even supposing that the island was not inha- 

 bited, in the same manner that tt e white barked 

 trees found at Van Diemen's Land, constitute the 

 forests there. And from this we may observe, that 

 the inhabitant of Otaheite, instead of being obliged 

 to plant his bread, will rather be under the necessity 

 of preventing its progress, which I suppose is some- 

 times done, to give room for trees of another sort, to 

 afford him some variety in his food." 



Captain King, in his valuable work, notes a singu- 

 lar fact, that the bread fruit tree does not thrive, in 

 point of number, so will in the Sandwich inlands as 

 in the plains of Otaheite, but that they produce dou- 

 ble the quantity of fruit. The trees, too, in the for- 

 mer, are of the same size with those in the latter j 

 but differ in having their branches striking out much 

 lower. 



Admiral Bligh remarked, that the inhabitants of 

 Otaheite take up the young shoots from the parent 

 root, with best success after wet weath -r, when the 

 earth forms balls around the roots. The plants so 

 removed, are not then liable to suffer. 



It will not be uninteresting to give some ar. 



of tii' madu by I to cultivate tli- 



unit tree . A far as 



we know, i he .'' n this coun- 



'1 have !) An intei- 



nirrative of li fur the purpose 



. 



fruit trees, to the \V.- : .t h.ili.i . n lung 



given to the public, by the gentleman who com- 

 d both of the expeditions tliit have [;_< n sent 

 out to the South Seas. We shall give a correct out- 

 line of that narrative, as well as an abstract of Ad- 

 miral Bl'gh's MS. narrative <,f . >yage, with 

 which lie lias, with the utmost politeness and kind* 



. lurmshrd us. 



Iii consequence of the urgent applications of many 

 West Indian merchants and proprietor?, hi:, M 

 determined on sending out an expedition to the South 

 Sea islands, fiom which plants of the bread fruit tree- 

 were to be conveyed to our West Indian settlements. 

 This was the first voyage undertaken to that part of 

 the world with a view to advant that had 



preceded it, having been directed rather to discovery, 

 than to immediate benefit. 



A bhip named the Bounty, was fitted up for the 

 voyage, and, on the 16th of August 1 87, Lieutenant 

 (now Admiral) Bligh, who had accompanied Captain 

 Cook in his last voyage, was appointed to command 

 her. The character of this officer is now so well 

 known, by his daring zeal in the public service, that 

 it becomes scarcely necessary to remark on the ex- 

 treme propriity of the selection which was made. 

 Tiie crew consisted of fortv-four officers, petty offi- 

 cers, and seamen ; besides, " two skilful and careful 

 men were appointed, at Sir Joseph Banks' recom- 

 mendation, to have the management of the plants in- 

 tended to be brought home : the one, David Nelson, 

 who had been on similar employment in Captain 

 Cook's last voyage ; the other, William Brown, as 

 an assistant to him." The whole number of men or 

 board of the Bounty amounted to forty six. " The 

 burthen of the Bounty was nearly 215 tons ; her ex- 

 ! ngth on deck ninety feet ten niches ; extreme 

 breadth twenty-four feet three inches ; and height in 

 the hold, under the beams at the main hatchway, ten 

 feet three inches. In the cock pit, were the cabins 

 of the surgeon, gunner, botanist, and clerk, with a 

 steward's room, and store-rooms. The between decks 

 was divided in the following manner : The great ca- 

 bin was appropriated for the preservation of the 

 plants, and extended as far forward as the after hatch- 

 way. It had two large sky-lights, and on each 

 three scuttles for air, and was fitted with a 

 floor, cut full of holes, to contain the garden poi in 

 which the plants were to be brought home T.ie 

 deck was covered with lead, and, at the foremost cor- 

 ners of the cabin, were fixed pipes, to carry off ;he 

 water that was drained fiorn she plants, into nibs 

 placed below, to save it for future use." Being thus 

 completely fitted up for carrying the design oi the 

 expedition into complete effect, Lieutenant Bligh, 

 after having been baffled by contrary win :s tor 

 nearly a month, at length sailed oil his memorable 

 voyage on the 2^d of December, 17b7. The ia- 





