THE KANARY-NUT. 85 



species of Lime which the Alu chief grows in his extensive cultivated 

 patches ; a Mango, probably Mangifera indica (" false ") ; the " boro- 

 long," a species of Barringtonia (probably B. edulis) which, when in 

 flower, is at once known by its handsome pendent yellow spikes 

 2i- feet in length ; the kernel of the fruit is eaten, bat it is not equal 

 in flavour to the similar kernels of the " saori " (Terrninalia catappa) 

 and the " ka-i " {Ganarium sp.) ; the " sioko," is aj^parently another 

 species of Barringtonia, the fruit of which ripens in May ; the " usi," 

 a tall tree 60 or 70 feet high (not determined), the fruits of which 

 are juicy, seedless, and have a pleasant flavour ; the leaves have an 

 acid taste and are eaten by the natives. 



Such are the principal fruits and vegetables cultivated by the 

 natives of this part of the group ; but before proceeding to the 

 methods of cooking and of serving them up, I should refer to the 

 white kernels of the " ka-i," a species of Canarium, which form one 

 of the staple articles of vegetable food throughout the Solomon 

 Group. My specimens sent to Kew were only sufficient for generic 

 identification. It is, however, probable that this tree is identical 

 with, or closely allied to, Canarium commune, which is the familiar 

 "kanarie" of the Malay Archipelago, and the "kengar" of the 

 Maclay-Coast, New Guinea.^ This tree is mainly indebted to the 

 fruit pigeon for its wide dispersal. The fruit is of a daik purple 

 colour, oval in shape, and 2 to 2\ inches in length. Its fleshy cover- 

 ing, which is also eaten by the natives, invests a triangular stony 

 nut inclosing the white kernel which sometimes rivals the almond 

 in delicacy of flavour. It requires a little practice to crack the nut 

 readily. For this purpose the natives employ a rounded stone of 

 the size of a cricket ball, the nut being placed in a little hollow on 

 the surface of a flat stone. The fruit-pigeons are very fond of the 

 fleshy covering of this fruit ; and it is their disgorgement of the 

 hard nuts which collect at the foot of the trees, that often saves ths 

 native the necessity of climbing up and picking the fruit for him- 

 self. This nut, which is famiJiarl}^ known in this group as the Solo- 

 mon Island Almond, and in the Malay Archipelago as the Kanary 

 Nut, is in fact an article of considerable importance in the dietary 

 of the inhabitants of these regions, and it is often stored up in large 

 quantities. In order to keep them, tlie natives of Treasur}- Island 

 hang the nuts up in leaf-packages from the branches of the cocoa- 

 nut palms. The Spanish discoverers of the Solomon Islands under 



i " Proceedings, Linnean Society, N.S.A\'."' Vol. .\., p. 349. 



