30 
THE PLANT WORLD. 
road we came upon a novel scene. Black women, old and young, 
their heads adorned with gay bandanas, were gathered in groups, 
selling, bartering, gossiping, or wrangling. Here and there stood 
a patient donkey, relieved for a while of his load which his 
mistress was probably bartering after the fashion of a game of 
“ Pit,” bidding for her neighbor’s mangoes in exchange for her 
own yams, or for scallions in exchange for “ pines.” These she 
would sell later in the Kingston market. 
The West Indian yam, uncooked, bears a close resemblance to 
a log of wood. When ready for the table, it is not unlike an 
Irish potato, only that it is more compact. It is bread and meat 
to the West Indian negro. One of the chief foods is the chochoe, 
Fig. ii. —Native Jamaicans, with cocoanuts, yams and plantains. 
a small vegetable in taste resembling the squash. The akee, as it 
hangs on the tree, is a scarlet fruit; it is, however^ used as a vege¬ 
table. The fleshy yellow interior, fried in lard, and served with 
salt fish, is a favorite dish “ on the plains.” The mango, the 
most common of all the fruits, to be appreciated, must be eaten 
where it grows. Its fibrous texture and large pit make it a diffi- 
