familiar fruit trees introduced from distant lands and laden with golden
fruit, is a most beautiful sight. The fruit trees stand their ground
even against the most aggressive shrubs, and it is often no easy matter
to reach the ripe hiding fruit in the dense network of branches thrown
around and between the branches of the imprisoned tree. What a blessing
these acid fruits are to the natives, sweltering under the rays of the
tropic sun! How easy it is for them to make a cooling, refreshing drink!
Take a young cocoanut, open it at one end, and add to its milk the juice
of a lime or a lemon, and the healthiest and most refreshing drink is
made.
Bear me, Pomona! to thy citron groves,
To where the lemon and the piercing lime,
With the deep orange glowing through the green,
Their lighter glories lend.
THOMSON.
It is claimed that the large apple family is the descendant of the
Siberian crab-apple, modified by climate, soil and grafting. This
statement appears to me incorrect, as I have seen a tree in the Hawaiian
forests which bears a real sweet apple which in shape and taste has a
strong resemblance to the apples of our orchards. The tree is from
twenty to thirty feet in height, slender and few branched. The same tree
is found in the forests of Tahiti, and its fruit is much sought after by
the natives. It would be difficult to connect the wild apple tree of the
South Sea Islands with the Siberian crab-apple, to which it bears no
resemblance, either in the appearance of the tree or its fruit. Let us
now consider a few of the fruit trees which adorn and enrich the forests
of Tahiti:
_Alligator Pear_, or _Avocado_.—This is the most delicate and luscious of
all the fruit-products of the Tahitian forests, where it is found in its
wild state in great abundance. It is the fruit of the _Persea gratissima_,
a tree belonging to the natural order _Lauraceæ_, an evergreen tree of the
tropic regions of America and the South Sea Islands. It attains a height
of from thirty to seventy feet, with a slender stem and dome-like, leafy
top. The branches, like the stem, are slender, and ascend on quite an
acute angle from their base. The leaves resemble those of the laurel.
The flowers are small, and are produced toward the extremities of the
branches. The fruit is a drupe, but in size and shape resembles a large
pear. The rind is green, thin, and somewhat rough on the outside. In the
center of the pulp is a large, heart-shaped kernel, wrapped in a thin,
paper-like membrane. The pulp is green or yellowish, not very sweet, but
of a delicious taste and exiquisite flavor, and contains about eight per
cent, of a greenish fixed oil. The way to eat this delicious fruit is to
cut it in two lengthwise, remove the kernel, season with sweet oil,
vinegar, salt and pepper, and eat with a teaspoon. In the form of a
salad it is one of the daintiest of all dishes. The softness of the pulp
and the richness in oil have led the French to call this fruit
"Vegetable butter." The seeds of the alligator pear have come into
medical use at the instance of Dr. Froehlig, and particularly through
the efforts of Park, Davis & Co., a manufacturing firm. The alligator
pear is a very perishable fruit, which accounts for its scarcity and
fabulous price in our markets.
_Pawpaw or Papaya_ is the fruit of the _Carica Papaya_, natural order
_Papayaceæ_. It is an exceedingly graceful, branchless little tree, which
grows to the height of from ten to twenty feet and is of short vitality.
Its natural home is in South America and the islands of the Pacific. The
cylindrical stem is grayish white, roughened in circles where the
previous whorls of leaves had their attachment. The leaves are from
twenty to thirty inches long and are arranged in the form of a whorl at
the very top of the stem, where also the fruit grows, close to the stem.
The fruit when ripe is light yellow, very similar to a small melon, and
with a somewhat similar flavor. The skin is very thin and the pulp
exceedingly soft, hence a very perishable fruit. The seeds are numerous,
round and black, and when chewed have, in a high degree, the pungency of
cresses. It requires time to acquire a taste for this healthy, very
digestible tropical fruit, but when once developed, it is keenly
relished. It is eaten either raw or boiled. It possesses digestive
properties of considerable value, which have been utilized in the
preparation of a vegetable pepsin. The acrid, milky sap of the tree or
the juice of the fruit much diluted with water, renders any tough meat
washed with it, tender for cooking purposes, by separating the muscular
fibres (Dr. Holder). It is said even the exhalations from the tree have
this property; and meats, fowls, etc., are hung among its leaves to
prepare them for cooking. The tree is of very rapid growth, bears fruit
all the year and is very prolific.
_Mango_ is the fruit of _Mangifera Indica_. It is a stately,
broad-branching, very shady tree, from thirty to forty feet in height,
belonging to the natural order _Anacardiaceæ_. The stem is short, from
eight to ten feet, when it divides into long, graceful branches, with an
impenetrable foliage, a fine protection against the rain and the
scorching rays of the sun. The bark is almost black and somewhat rough.
The leaves are in clusters, lanceolate, entire, alternate, petioled,
smooth, shining, tough, and about seven inches long, with an agreeable
resinous smell. The flowers are small, reddish white or yellowish, in
large, erect, terminal panicles. The fruit is kidney-shaped, smooth,
greenish yellow, with or without ruddy cheeks, varying greatly in size
and quality, and containing a large, flattened stone, which is covered
on the outside with fibrous filaments, largest and most abundant in the
inferior varieties, some of which consist chiefly of fibre and juice,
while the finer ones have a comparatively solid pulp. The size varies
from that of a large plum to that of a man's fist. The largest and
finest mangoes are found in Tahiti. The fruit is luscious and agreeably
sweet, with an aromatic flavor and slightly acid taste. The kernels are
nutritious, and have been cooked for food in times of scarcity. A mango
tree laden with its golden fruit is a pleasing sight, and reminds one
vividly of a Christmas tree.
_Lime_.—The fruit of _Citrus Planchoni, Citrus Australis Planchon_. The lime
tree of Tahiti was undoubtedly introduced from Eastern Australia, where
it is found as a noble tree, fully forty feet high, or, according to C.
Hartmann, even sixty feet high. In Tahiti the tree is small, and in the
dense jungles hardly exceeds the size of a shrub. The stem, as well as
its numerous slender, wide-spreading, prickly branches, is very crooked.
The fruit is similar to the lemon, but much smaller in size, being only
about one and one-half inches in diameter, and almost globular in shape,
with a smooth, green, thin rind and an extremely acid, pungent juice.
For a thirst-quenching drink, the lime-juice is far preferable to the
lemon.
_Pomegranate_.—The fruit of _Punica Granatum_, a shrub belonging to the
natural order _Granataceæ_. This historic and useful shrub grows
luxuriantly and with little or no care, in the fertile, sun-kissed soil
of Tahiti. More than one-half of the interior of the oval purple fruit
consists of large black seeds. The seedless variety has evidently never
been introduced. The juice is subacid and very palatable. The flowers
are ornamental, and sometimes are double. The rind of the fruit and the
bark of the roots possess valuable medicinal properties. Consider for a
moment what nature has done for the support, comfort and pleasure of the
inhabitants of Tahiti, and we are ready to admit the truth of what the
prince of poets said:
Here is everything advantageous to life.
SHAKESPEARE.
And we can answer with a positive yes the question proposed by another
famous poet, in the beautiful stanza:
Know'st thou the land where the lemon trees bloom,
Where the gold orange glows in the deep thicket's gloom,
Where a wind ever soft from the blue heaven blows,
And the groves are of laurel and myrtle and rose?
GOETHE.
THE FORESTS OF TAHITI
The primeval forests are the pride of Tahiti. Indirectly they are the
wealth of the little island. They have been spared the ravages of the
woodman's ax. The forests have been kind to the natives and the natives
to the forests. The avaricious lumberman, the greatest enemy of public
wealth and general prosperity, has fortunately so far not had a design
on the magnificent forests of Tahiti, and may he never be permitted to
carry on his work of destruction in this island paradise! The giant
trees, growing the finest and most valuable timber, hold out much
inducement to get-rich-quick men, but they have been destined for a
better purpose; they, with the more menial companions, the humble, lowly
shrubs, attract the clouds, determine rain, retain moisture and fill the
river-beds, creeks and rivulets with the purest water. The forests
extend from the shore to near the highest mountain-peaks, making up one
great green sea of foliage, interrupted here and there by the summits of
hills, ridges, and bare spots of brown, volcanic earth, where vegetation
of any kind has been forbidden to take a foothold. Along and near the
coast are the charming groves of cocoa-palms, where the ordinary trees,
out of deference to the queen of the tropic forests, are few and modest
in their ambition to compete with her in height. Here the guava shrub,
groaning under the weight of its golden fruit, adds to the beauty of the
grove. A walk through such a grove, with glimpses of the blue ocean and
the verdant tree-clad hills and mountains, will bring the conviction
that
The groves were God's first temples.
BRYANT.
Raising the eyes and looking up the steep incline of the mountains
clothed in perennial verdure by a dense virgin forest, we are almost
instinctively reminded of the beautiful lines of Dryden:
There stood a forest on the mountain's brow, which
overlook'd the shady plains below;
No sounding axe presumed these trees to bite, coeval
with the world; a venerable sight.
The forest in the tropics has no rest. From one end of the year to the
other, it appears the same. There is no general disrobing at the bidding
of an uncompromising, stern winter. There are no arctic chills to suffer
and no burden of snow to brave. Most of the trees are evergreen, and the
few that imitate the example of their kind in the North by an annual
change of their leaves, perform this task almost imperceptibly. There
are no bald crowns and bare arms. Spring, summer and autumn mingle
throughout the year; blossoming and ripe fruits go hand in hand in the
same tree or neighboring trees. A walk through a tropic forest is no
easy thing, owing to the dense interlacing and often prickly
undergrowth, but the visitor is amply rewarded for his efforts. Every
step brings new revelations, new surprises. Nowhere are there any signs
of deforestation, either by fire or the cruel, thoughtless hand of man.
You are in a forest
Where the rude ax, with heaved stroke,
Was never heard the nymphs to daunt,
Or frown them from their hallow'd haunts.
MILTON.
The biggest trees are in the shaded, rich ravines and far up on the
mountainside or hill-tops. They seem to be conscious of their
superiority and power in the selection of their abode. Look at one of
these monsters, with wide-spread, giant branches and impenetrable
foliage, and
View well this tree, the queen of all the grove;
How vast her bole, how wide her arms are spread.
How high above the rest she shoots her head!
DRYDEN.
But in these forests, so full of life and perpetual activity,
indications of death are seen here and there. The numerous climbing
vines which, serpent-like, creep up and embrace in their deathly grasp
some young, vigorous tree, have no good intentions for their patient,
helpless host. The struggle may last for years, but the ultimate result
is sure. The cruelty of the unwelcome intruder increases with his age
and, strength. The fight for life becomes more and more intense. The
plant-serpent throttles its victim more and more, penetrates its body
with its additional roots, and sucks the very life-blood from its
vitals. What promised to become the giant of the forest sickens and
succumbs to a slow, lingering, ignominious death. The victory is
complete and he now stands with
Pithless arms, like a wither'd vine,
That droops his sapless branches to the ground.
SHAKESPEARE.
The ruthless climber has accomplished its purpose and it has become so
strong and has made such intricate interlacements with adjoining trees
that it holds the corpse erect in its cold embrace for an indefinite
period of time, until some strong wind lays low forever the victor with
the vanquished.
Like everywhere else where the soil is fertile and other conditions for
plant-growth favorable, so in the Tahitian forest, rank plant-life
prospers. The lantana (Lantana Crocca) a shrubby plant two to four feet
high, with beautiful little yellow and purple flowers arranged in
umbels, has overrun the whole island. It is here, as in some of the
other islands of the Pacific, the most aggressive and most troublesome
of all weeds, and it is this plant which interferes with a more abundant
growth of grass and consequently with a more productive pasturage in
wild and cultivated grounds.
The sense of isolation and solitude is nowhere more profound than in a
tropical forest, and more especially so in Tahiti, as here animal life
is scarce. The only game found are domestic hogs and chickens, which
have run wild, and these are scarce. There are no birds of plumage and
few song-birds. Chameleons frequent sunny spots, and butterflies, of all
sizes and colors, enliven the air. There are no snakes and few poisonous
insects; no deer, bear, leopards or monkeys. Even the ordinary
water-birds, with the exception of a small species of sea-gull and
occasionally a crane, seem to avoid this island.
A day spent in the wonderful forests of Tahiti will bring no regrets; on
the other hand, will be replete with pleasure and profit, and will leave
charming pictures on memory's tablet which time can never efface. On the
brightest day, darkness reigns underneath the almost impenetrable roof
of branches, vines and foliage. Here and there the sun's rays penetrate
through the gigantic bowery maze, and fall upon the ground with almost
unnatural intensity, frequently appearing and disappearing as the wind
plays with the leaves.
The green leaves quiver with the cooling wind,
And make a checker'd shadow on the ground.
SHAKESPEARE.
The solemn silence of the forest, the grandeur of vegetation, the
effects of light and shadows, are impressive, and the visitor will carry
away from Tahiti an inspiring and lasting mental picture of
Her forests huge,
Incult, robust, and tall, by Nature's hand
Planted of old.
THOMSON.
NOTED FOREST TREES OF TAHITI
The forests of Tahiti comprise many species of trees, the timber of
which would command a high price in the market, but it is my intention
here to enumerate and briefly describe only a few of the trees which
interest the visitor the most, as he will see them wherever he goes as
shade trees, and as component parts of the magnificent forests.
_Purau or Burao_ is the _Hibiscus tiliaceus_ (Linné), (syn.: _Paritium
tiliaceum_), order _Malvaceæ_. The flowers are bell-shaped, of a beautiful
canary color, but quickly fall and turn to red or reddish brown. They
are made up of five imbricated petals, painted a dark brown at their
base and inner surface. The glaucous leaf-like calix is five-parted. The
five stamens form a sheath for the pistil, which is five-parted and
brown at its apex. The large leaves are used by the native housewives in
lieu of a table-cloth. It is said that the macerated leaves and flowers
are used to heal burns, bruises, etc. (McDaniels). The trunks of the
largest trees are made into canoes. The inner tough bark serves as a
substitute for hemp in the making of twine and ropes. The roots of this
tree have earned a reputation as a valuable medicine in the treatment of
diseases of the gastro-intestinal canal. This is a common and beautiful
shade tree in Papeete, and if the traveler visits the island in January
or February he will find it in full bloom. The dark green leaves and the
light yellow flowers form a very pleasing contrast. It attains a height
of from forty to sixty and more feet. The short and often very crooked
stem sends off numerous large branches, clothed, like the stem, in a
rough black bark. The branches are often so crooked and tortuous that
they form such an intricate entanglement that even the woodman's ax
would meet with difficulties to isolate and liberate them. The branches
appear to have an intrinsic tendency to reach the ground, and when they
do so strike root and become daughter trees, growing skyward, and soon
rival in height the parent tree. In the woods it is not uncommon to find
the parent tree surrounded at variable distances by numerous daughter
trees. Many such ambitious branches are formed into graceful arches
before they attain the wished-for independence. This tree, with its
numerous offspring and interlacing branches, contributes much in
rendering the jungles in which it grows impenetrable in many places. The
wood is white and soft. The leaves are as large as an ordinary small
soup-plate, long-petioled, seven-ribbed, broadly cordate and acuminate,
dark green and glossy on their upper, and strongly veined and paler, on
their lower surface.
_Banyan Tree_.—The _Ficus Indica_, a native tree of India, remarkable for
its vast rooting branches, outstripping in this respect by far the tree
just described. It is a species of wild fig, has ovate, heart-shaped,
entire leaves, about five or six inches long, and produces a fruit of a
rich scarlet color, not larger than a cherry, growing in pairs front the
axils of the leaves. The branches send shoots downwards, which, when
they have rooted, become stems; the tree in this manner spreading over a
great surface, and enduring for many years. The banyan tree found in the
island of Tahiti docs not spread as much as the Indian tree, and the
aerial roots which later become a part of the trunk after they strike
the ground and develop an independent existence, become supplied with
new roots. Most of the aerial roots of the Tahitian tree take their
origin from the lower part of the trunk and remain in close contact with
it after they strike the ground, and many of them remain dangling free
in the air in vain attempts to secure an independent existence, the
branch roots being comparatively few. The tree is found at short
intervals along the ninety-mile drive, and the largest one I saw was in
the front yard of the Cercle Bougainville, the French club in Papeete.
_Pandanus Tree, Screw Pine_.—The _Pandanus Freycinctia_ natural order of
_Pandaneæ_. There are about fifty species of this tree, natives of South
Africa to Polynesia. The pandanus tree of Tahiti is a palm-like tree
which is found along the shore close to the water's edge, with a short
white stem, much branched with long, simple imbricated leaves, usually
spiny on the back and margin, their base embracing the stem, their
spiral arrangement being well marked. The base of the stem does not
touch the ground, but rests on a cluster of strong roots, which diverge
somewhat before they strike the soil. The leaves are much used for
thatch roofs and the thin, compact, superficial layer serves as wrappers
for the native cigarettes. The fruit is edible and is eaten by the
natives in times of scarcity of food.
_Flame Tree, Flamboyer_.—The _Brachychiton acerifolium_ is the Australian
flame-tree introduced, as is asserted, into Tahiti by Bougainville. It
is a magnificent and common shade tree in Papeete, but is also found
scattered all along the coast of the island. It is an evergreen tree
with showy trusses of crimson flowers. This is the most beautiful of all
ornamental trees in the island. The mucilaginous sap, when exuded,
indurates to a kind of bassarin—tragacanth.
VANILLA CULTIVATION IN TAHITI
The cultivation of the aromatic vanilla-bean is one of the principal
industries of Tahiti. The bean grows luxuriantly in the shady forests in
the lowlands along the coast, and requires but little care. The climate
and soil of Tahiti are specially adapted to the cultivation of the
vanilla-bean, as the very best quality is grown here. The _Vanilla
aromatica_ is a genus of parasitic _Orchidaceæ_, a native of tropic parts
of America and Asia, which springs at first from the ground and climbs
with twining stems to the height of from twenty to thirty feet on trees,
sending into them fibrous roots, produced from nodes, from which the
leaves grow. These roots, drawing the sap from the trees, sustain the
plant, even after the ground-root has been destroyed. Flower white;
corolla tubular; stigma distant from anthers, rendering spontaneous
fructification difficult; leaves oblong, light green, fleshy, with an
exceedingly acrid juice; flowers in spikes, very large, fleshy and
generally fragrant. The fruit is a pod-like, fleshy capsule, opening
along the side. The ripe bean is cylindrical, about nine inches in
length, and less than half an inch thick. It is gathered before it is
entirely ripe, and dried in the shade. It contains within its tough
pericarp a soft black pulp, in which many minute seeds are imbedded. The
plant is cultivated by cuttings. In Mexico and South American countries,
the insects effect impregnation; in Tahiti, this is done artificially.
With a small, sharp stick the pollen is conveyed to the stigma of the
pistil. Artificial impregnation of fifteen hundred flowers is considered
a good day's work. Allusion has been made elsewhere to the fact that the
shrewd Chinamen have depreciated the vanilla industry in Tahiti and
ruined the reputation of the product. If the natives could be induced to
stop their dealings with the scheming Chinese merchants and traders, and
the government would release them from export duty, the cultivation of
vanilla would soon regain its former importance and would yield a very
profitable income. The Tahitians are not agriculturists; they are averse
to hard manual labor; they are
Of proud-lived loiterers, that never sow,
Nor put a plant in earth, nor use a plough.
CHAPMAN.
and hence are anxious to obtain what little money they need with as
little effort as possible. Vanilla, once planted, requires very little
attention, and it grows most luxuriantly in the dark shadow of the dense
forest, where the natives engaged in artificial impregnation of the
flower and in gathering the bean are protected against the direct heat
of the sun. The great advantage of vanilla-cultivation to the island
consists in the fact that this valuable article of commerce can be grown
without deforestation, so essential in the cultivation of much less
valuable products of the soil of the tropics.
THE RURAL DISTRICTS