104 PANDANUS OR SCREW-PINE. [169I. 



the work of a Carpenter, and set there to bear up the 

 Plumes or Branches which are quite about it, and thus 

 make a sort of Cage or Tent of the Tree. 'Tis true, the 

 greatest beauty of this Tent, is in its charming Outside, 

 though the coohiess and shelter of the inside have also their 

 Charms ; 'twas unhappy that its Fruit was not good to eat. 

 Those of us who had the Curiosity to eat it, found it Sour, 

 and knew by Experience, that was all the hurt that was in 

 it. It has the smell of a very fine Quince ; 'tis a sort of a 

 Grape, the Seeds of which are close and all together. It 

 lookt at a distance like the Fruit of the Ananas. For 

 which reason we us'd to call these Trees Ananas ; tho' there's 

 a great difference between the two Plants. As for me, I was 

 for calling it the Pavilion or Tent. The Leaves are of an 

 admirable Green, and the Stalks of them are so short, that 

 one wou'd think they grew immediately to the Wood. The 

 greatest are four or five Inches broad, sharp at the end and 

 about fifteen inches long. They form a great Bunch, and here 

 and there one may see the Grapes, which are of divers 

 Colours, according as they are more or less Pipe. I have 

 often taken Pleasure to Survey these natural Palaces, and 

 was equally ravish'd with its largeness and singular beauty. 

 We sometimes play'd at Chess, at Trictrac,^ at Drafts, at 

 Bowls and at Scales.^ Hunting and Fishing were so easie to 



of P. odoratissimus, which has flowered and fruited this year (1890). 

 The fruits, two in number, hang from the topmost branches, and bear 

 a close resemblance to pine-apples, while the peculiar development of 

 the long, straggling branches, stout enough for posts or rafters, sur- 

 mounted by a tuft of leaves growing directly from the wood, and the 

 pendulous roots from the main trunk, present a remarkable appearance, 

 and are worth comparing with the description in our text. 



1 Tric-trac, a game somewhat like backgammon. 



2 In orig. : " Quilles", i.e., ninepins. A variation of this game, called 

 "quilles au baton", is played with seven bits of wood set up on end, and 

 a stick ; the player tries to knock over as many as he can each throw. 

 This latter may probably have been the game played by Leguat and 

 his companions. 



