974 



OCEANICA, OR OCEANIA. 



forming a ball on the top, between the teeth of the calyx. Its use in giving flavor to dishes 

 and wines, and as stimulant, tonic, and exhilarating in medicine, are well known. When gath- 

 ered, they are dried by the fire or in the sun. The berry is preserved in sugar and eaten afte'' 

 dinner to promote digestion. The nutmeg tree (Jllyristica officinalis) is also a native of the 

 Moluccas, and ciiiefly of the Banda Islands, where il bears both blossom and fruit at all sea- 

 sons of the year. Jl/ace is an inner coating covering the seed or nutmeg, which, when dried, is 

 soaked in sea-water and impregnated with lime, to preserve it from worms ; the mace is also 

 dried and sprinkled with salt-water. The pepper vine (Piper nigrum) is cultivated in Penang, 

 Sumatra, &c., and its seed is highly prized as an excellent tonic, calculated to create appe- 

 tite and promote digestion, for which it is especially valuable to those whose diet is almost 

 wholly vegetable, like the Asiatics. Black pepper is the pepper-corn covered with its natural 

 husk ; when this is removed by soaking it in water and drying it, the grain forms white pepper, 

 which is less pungent than the black. Among the fruits of these islands, are the guava (Psi- 

 dium pyriferum), the mango (Mangifera Indicas), the delicate mangosteen {Garcinia man- 

 gostana), perhaps the most exquisite of known fruits, the durion [Durio zibethinus), certainly 

 the most rich and luscious, and the Malay apple (Eugenia malaccensis) , which is highly prized 

 by the natives. The true ginger (Zinziber officinale) is indigenous, but is now extensively 

 cultivated in other countries. The teak is also a product of Malaysia. The Raffesia Jlr- 

 noldii, a plant without a stem, without leaves, with roots of the slenderest texture, growing 

 parasitically upon the stem of a vine, yet produces the largest known flower ; its diameter 

 being not less than 3| feet, and its weight 15 pounds. This superb flower, however, which 

 Is a native of Sumatra, has a disagreeable odor and soon decays. The pitcher-plant (J^epen- 

 thes distillatoria) takes its name from its pitcher-shaped leaf, which contains a quantity of lim- 

 pid fluid. The Australian islands, on the other hand, although they produce a great number 

 of singular vegetable forms, interesting to tlie botanical student, are remarkable for the almost 

 total absence of any that are of economical value. 'J'iie palms are few ; there are several cone- 

 bearing trees of a large size, such as the celery-topped pine (Podocarpus asplenifolia) , several 

 species of callitris and the Araucaria excelsa ; the singular grass-tree (Kingia Jlustralis), the 

 pandanus, and numerous species of swamp oak (Caauarina) ^ remarkable for their long, weep- 

 ing, thread-like branches, are also common ; but the gigantic gum-trees (Eucalyptus), and the 

 icattle-trees (Acacius) , are, perhaps, as numerous as all the other vegetable species taken to- 

 gether. The numerous small islands, which are scattered alone or in groups all over the ocean, 

 contain many highly valuable plants. The bread-fruit (Jlrtocarpus incisa) is the principal 

 article of diet among these islanders, and the tree, besides producing three or four crops annu- 

 ally, also furnishes resin, cloth from its bark, and a valuable timber from its trunk. The fruit 

 is eaten raw, or cooked by baking it in pits, over which hot stones are placed. It is some- 

 times allowed to undergo fermentation when it is called mahi. The cocoa-nut tree is abundant 

 in the tropical islands, and is the next valuable tree to the bread-fruit. It grows also in the 

 most barren, rocky, and sandy spots. The bark, the wood, the leaves, the fibres, that cover the 

 base of the leaves, and the fruit, are all serviceable. The maia, or plantain (Musa sapientum) , 

 and banana (JSI. paradisiaca) ^ for the natives apply the same name to both, is at once sweet and 

 nutritive, and when the bread-fruit is not in season, the mape or native chestnut (Inocarpus 

 edulis) furnishes a good substitute. For clothing the natives chiefly make use of the bark of 

 the paper mulberry (JWorus papyrifcra) , which is beaten out with mallets, and tastefully dyed, 

 but is not durable. The leaves of the hala (Pandanus odoratissimus) afford a large and 

 fine mat. The sandal wood (Santalum Freycinetianum) is exported in large quantities to 

 China, where it is used for preparing incense for the temples. The tutui-tree (Aleurites trilo- 

 ba) affords a nut which, before the introduction of oil by the whites, was used for candles by 

 the islanders ; 30 or 40 nuts are strung on a rush, and being full of oil, they make a good light. 

 The to or sugar-cane is indigenous in the Sandwich islands, and was eaten raw by the natives, 

 until they were taught by the whites to make sugar from it. The ti [Dracoena terminalis), 

 whose root is sweet and palatable, and yields by fermentation a wholesome beer, has been 

 made to produce by distillation a spirituous liquor, called kava, which has spread ruin and de- 

 bauchery over some of these Edens of the sea. The roots of the yam (Dioscorea alata), and 

 the taro (Arum esculentum) j are also much used for food ; the latter is made into a sort of 

 bread called poe. 



The JVew Zealand flax (Phormium tenax) is superior to anything that is produced in any 

 other country for the purposes to which it is applied. Of the leaves, the natives make cloth 



