drone iilands, and gives a very faithful defcription o f the fruit and
its ufes; Lord Anfon, and his great, follower Cook, are full o f its
praifes. Of late years we caught the benevolent idea of tranf-
porting this tree of life to our own iilands; captain Bligb had
the honor o f being the perfon deputed to convey this rtianna to
our wretched negroes. A Satan counterailed (under the feigned
form and name of the moil beneficent of fe£ts) this great benefit
to our hard-fated brethren; like his great prototype he fucceeded
in the onfet, but the adventure is refumed under the aufpices of
the fame faithful leader, and I hope that I do not make a falfe
prophecy i f I prefage fuccefs.
T h is fruit is the bread o f the iilands on which it has been bellowed
; it grows on a tree o f the fize of a middling oak, and to
the bulk o f a child’s head, and even to the diameter o f twelve
inches. Rumphius diilinguilhes the varieties into Grdnojus, Lano-
Jus, and Soccofus; the firft is the parent tree, and has in it feeds.
John Reinhold Forjler, plate 51. a. gives us an idea o f the whole
fruit, with the rind hexagonally reticulated ; the majority have no
feeds, as we find is often the cafe with the Barberry, and a few
other fruits ; thefe, therefore, are incapable o f propagation, except
by fuckers. In the generality o f the iilands, the feeded fort
is quite loft, the other kind cultivated in orchards. The account
o f the fruit as .given by Datnpier, abnormis fapiens, is worthy the
reader’s attention ; u When it is ripe it is yellow and loft, and the
“ tafte is fweet and pleafant; the natives of this illand ufe it for
« bread : they gather it when full grown, while it is green and
$t hard ; then they bake it in an oven, which fcorcheth the rind,
“ and makes it black, but they fcrape off the outlide black cruft,
2 “ and
“ and there remains a tender thin cruft, and the infide of it foft,
“ tender,' and white, like the crumbs o f a penny loaf. There is
“ neither feed nor Hone in the infide, but all is o f a pure fub-
“ fiance like bread ; it mull be eaten new, for i f it is kept above
“ twenty-four hours, it becomes dry, and eats harlh and choaky,
“ but it is very pleafant before it is too Hale. This fruit lafts in
P feafon eight months in the year, during which time the nail
fives eat no other fort o f food o f bread kind.”
T h e fruit which M. Sonnerat, p. 99, calls Le Rima, ou fruit a
pain, and which he has engaven in tab. 57. 58. 59. and 60, is the
perfect fruit, orfoecus grdnofus. Jull beneath the rind is a leries
o f large almond-like kernels, adhering to a central placenta, and
o f a farinaceous fuhftance, which when roafted eat like chef-
nuts, The fruit itfelf islarge and fpherical; the natives of thy
Philippines cut it into llices,dry and eat it like bread; it will keep
two years. This,is the variety Mr. Ellis calls the Ducdu, and
feems to make it a feparate fpecies.
A m i n u t e orange, tab. 63, refembling the Citrus trifoliata o f O r a n c e .
Linnieus, is found here; the fruit, is very fmall, o f a bright red color.
It has no fedtions, but only one lodgment for the feeds.
The pulp is llightly acid, and very agreeable. It may be the Ssi
or Karatas Banna o f the Japanefe, Kaempf. Amxn. Ex. 801. 2.
iThunberg, FI. Japon. 294.
In Mindanao are found three fruits engraven by M. Sonnerat:
the Manjfanus or Majfon, tab. 94, refembling a' Jujube tree; the
leaves are alternate, the fruit a berry, covering a hard kernel,
containing two nuts o f a green color.
T h e next is the Menichea rofata, tab. 93. The fruit is be-
. V o l.IV , M tween