374 



HISTORY OP THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



it was the 2d of October before the captain 

 reached his old friends at Coupang. He re- 

 mained there for a week, replacing with plants 

 from that island those that had died on the voy- 

 age ; and then he came to the Atlantic by the 

 Cape of Good Hope,, which he contrived to pass 

 so closely, as never to have a lower temperature , 

 than sixty-one degrees of Fahrenheit. 



On the 17th of September he anchored at St 

 Helena, collected there a number of trees, and 

 among others the akee; and leaving twenty-three 

 bread-fruits, and some other valuable plants, he 

 sailed, and reached St Vincent on the 23d of 

 January, 1793 — where he left with Dr Ander- 

 son, the superintendent of the botanical garden, 

 three hundred and thirty-three bread-fruit trees, 

 and two hundred and eleven fruit trees of other 

 kinds, receiving at the same time nearly five 

 hundred tropical plants for the botanical garden 

 at Kew. From St Vincent, Captain Bligh sailed 

 for Jamaica, where he left three hundred and 

 forty-seven bread-fmits, and two hundred and 

 seventy-six others, which were a selection of all 

 the finest fruits of the east. Some of the plants 

 were also left on the island of Grand Cayman ; 

 and the ships finally came to the Downs on the 

 2d of August, 1793. 



But after all the peril, hardship, and expense 

 thus incurred, the bread-tree fruit has not, hith- 

 erto at least, answered the expectations that were 

 entertained. The banana is more easily and 

 cheaply cultivated, comes into bearing much 

 sooner after being planted, bears more abundantly, 

 and is better relished by the negroes. The mode 

 of propagating the bread-fi'uit is not, indeed, dif- 

 ficult ; for the planter has only to lay bare one 

 of the roots, and mound it with a spade, and in 

 a short space a shoot comes up, which is soon fit 

 for removal. 



Europeans are much fonder of the bread-firuit 

 than negroes. They consider it as a sort of 

 dainty, and use it either as bread or in puddings. 

 When roasted in the oven, the taste of it re- 

 sembles that of a potato ; but it is not so mealy 

 as a good one. 



The Otaheite IIoo Plum (spondias cytherca). 

 The tree which bears this fruit is large and grace- 

 ful, rising to the height of fifty feet, spreading 

 and shadowy. The fruit is oval, of considerable 

 size, a fine golden yellow when ripe, very smooth, 

 disagreeable to the smell, but having a fleshy 

 pulp, and a great stone covered with fibres, which 

 penetrate the flesh. It is peculiarly grateful 

 from its cooling, and, at the same time, aromatic 

 qualities, and its flavour very much resembles 

 that of the pine apple. It is a very beautiful 

 tree when in fruit. The leaves are of a dark 

 clear green, among which the smooth fruit hangs 

 in clusters, like burnished goH. 



The Mammee (mammea Americana). The 

 niammee is a native of the West Indies, where 



it grows to a large tree, sixty or seventy feet in 

 height. It is ;i handsome straight-growing tree, 



' The Mamuiee. 



h Tho Custard Apple. 



with a spreading head, and the leaves are oblong 

 and obtuse, with very many fine, closely set, par- 

 allel veins. The fruit of the mammee is yellovir, 

 not unlike one of the largest russet apples, either 

 in shape or in size. The skin, which easily peels 

 off, and the seeds, of which there are two or 

 three in the centre, are resinous, and very bitter; 

 but the pulp under the skin, which, when ripe, 

 is of a deep yellow, resembling that of the finest 

 apricot, and of considerable consistency, is very 

 fragrant, and has a delicious flavour. It is eaten 

 raw alone, or cut in slices, with wine and sugar. 

 To people with weak stomachs it is said to be 

 more delicious than healthful; but still it is 

 highly prized, very abundant in the West India 

 markets, and accounted one of the best native 

 fruits they have. The mammee was found by 

 Don in the vicinity of Sierra Leone ; but whether 

 native there, or imported from America, cannot 

 be ascertained. It was introduced into England, 

 in 1739, by Miller. 



The Alligator Pe.vk (laurus Persca). Tlie 

 avocado, or alligator pear, grows upon a tree 

 about the size of the common apple. It is a na- 

 tive of the West Indies. The leaves are oblong 

 and veiny, the flowers of a yellowish green co- 

 lour, and the fruit, which is the size of a large 

 pear, is considered the most delicious in the 

 world. It contains a kernel, inclosed in a soft 

 rind ; and the yellow pulp, which is fii-m, has 

 tho delicate rich flavour of the peach, but infi- 

 nitely more grateful. It is sometimes called 

 Vegetable MaiTOW, and is eaten with pepper and 

 salt. It appears necessary, on account of the 

 richness of the pulp, to apply some spice or acid, 

 and thus lime-juice is also frequently added to 

 it, mixed with sugar. Of the three kinds, the 

 red, the purple, and the green, the latter is the 

 best. The fi'uit is eaten with avidity, not only 

 by men, but by birds and quadrupeds. 



The Anchovy Pear (grias canliflora). The 

 anchovy pear is a fruit also much esteemed in 

 the West Indies, of which islands it is a native. 

 The tree on which it gi-ows is tall, upright, and 

 handsome, rising to the height of about fifty 

 feet, with leaves two or three feet long. It bears 

 large whitish flowers, that come from the stem : 



