54 



porter's journal. 



may be thought by some superfluous. I have but little 

 new to offer on the subject. Yet, as a description of it 

 may not be disagreeable to such as may chance to peruse 

 these pages, and as they are written chiefly for the im- 

 provement and information of my son, it is proper that I 

 should instruct him on every subject which has come with- 

 in my knowledge. The bread-fruit tree of this island 

 grows with great luxuriance, in extensive groves, scattered 

 through every valley. It is of the height of fifty or sixty 

 feet, branching out in a large and spreading top, which 

 affords a beautiful appearance and an extensive shade from 

 the rays of the sun ; the trunk is about six feet in circum- 

 ference ; the lower branches about twelve feet from the 

 ground ; the bark soft, and on being in the slightest degree 

 wounded, exudes a milky juice, not unpleasant to the taste, 

 which, on being exposed to the sun, forms an excellent 

 bird-lime, and is used by the natives as such, not only for 

 catching birds, but a small kind of rat with which this 

 island is much infested. The leaves of this tree are six- 

 teen inches long and nine inches wide, deeply notched, 

 somewhat like the fig leaf. The fruit, when ripe, is about 

 the size of a child's head, green, and divided by slight 

 traces into innumerable six-sided figures. This fruit is 

 somewhat eliptical in its shape, has a thin and dehcate 

 skin, a large and tough core, with remarkable small seeds 

 situated in a spongy substance between the core and the 

 eatable part, which is next the rind. It is eaten baked, 

 boiled, or roasted ; whole, quartered, or cut in slices, and 

 cooked. Either way it was found exceedingly palatable, 

 was greatly preferred by many to our soft bread, which it 

 somewhat resembled in taste, but was much sweeter. It 

 was found also very fine, when cut into slices, and fried in 

 butter or lard. It keeps only three or four days, when ga- 

 thered and hung up ; but the natives have a method of 

 preserving it for several years, by baking, wrapping it up 

 in leaves, and burying it in the earth. In that state it be- 

 comes very sour, and is then more highly esteemed by 

 them than any other food. The bread-fruit tree is every 

 thing to the natives of these islands. The fruit serves 

 them and their hogs for food throughout the year, and fur- 

 nishes large supplies to be laid up for a season of scarcity. 

 The trees afford them an agreeable and refreshing shade ; 



