AGRICULTURE. 143 



the southern part of the island; and Pariti tiliaceum, which furnishes 

 the natives with cordage. Besides these a number of plants of minor 

 importance have escaped from cultivation and are spreading over the 

 island, such as the guava, the bullock's heart, the orange berry, Pithe- 

 eolobium dulce, which yields tine tan bark, and Biancaea sapjjan, which 

 is important as a dyewood. 



CULTIVATED FOOD AND STIMULANT PLANTS. 



Garden plants. — In addition to their small farms nearly all the 

 natives of Guam have a town house. Adjacent to many of these are 

 gardens in which grow perennial eggplants, red peppers, bananas, 

 plantains, various kinds of beans, squashes, gourds, watermelons, 

 melons, peanuts, tomatoes of a small and inferior kind, balsam pears, 

 mustard, and perhaps yams and a few vines of betel pepper. Among 

 the fruit trees in gardens the most common are lemons, limes, the 

 sugar apple, and the soursop. Pomegranates are grown more for orna- 

 ment than for use, although a very refreshing drink is made from the 

 acidulous pulp surrounding their seed. In some of the gardens giant 

 taro (Alocasia) is grown for the sake of its leaves, which are used 

 instead of paper for wrapping up meat and fish. Banana and plantain 

 leaves deprived of their stiff midrib are used for the same purpose, 

 and for cordage strings are stripped from their stem, or the leaves of 

 the textile Pandanus are used, a plant of which is sometimes grown 

 in the garden for convenience. Radishes, onions, garlic, and lettuce 

 are sometimes planted, but they do not thrive. (See under Gardens 

 in catalogue. 



Cereals. — The only cereals cultivated in Guam are rice and maize. 

 The natives cultivated rice in considerable quantities before the dis- 

 covery. It was among the supplies furnished to Magellan and 

 Legazpi. The Dutch navigators, who came after them in 1600 and 

 1621, complained that the bales were increased in weight by the addi- 

 tion of sand and stones. These bales weighed on an average from 70 

 to 80 pounds. 



At present not sufficient rice is grown on the island for the use of 

 the natives, though there are several localities well suited for its cul- 

 ture. The methods followed are very much like those of the Filipinos. 

 Buffaloes are used for plowing. The plow is of wood with an iron 

 point, usually fashioned by the blacksmith of Guam out of an old gun 

 barrel. It has but one handle. Many of the best rice growers on the 

 island within recent years have been Filipinos. At present rice is 

 imported from Japan, Manila, and the United States. This would not 

 be necessary if a little greater effort were made on the part of the 

 planters. As a rule, they plant only enough for their own use and do 

 not lay by a surplus. The result is that when the crop is ruined by a 

 hurricane or a drought, which not infrequently happens, there is a 



