Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-11-27
TRIP TO THE Orient
Clarence e. EdwOrds Touring the
Eastern Countries.
he IS OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.

| INTERESTINGLY WRITTEN IN WEEK
LY LETTERS, WHICH Will AP.
PEAR IN THE RECORDER.
}, Papeetee, Tahiti, July 22:-In
my last letter / forgot to mention
breadfruit as one of the staples to
| be found in the market. Bread
fruit is one of the main dependen-
cies of the natives, for food. 1t
takes the place of bread, cake, po-
tatoes, and sometimes, meat. 1t
grows in great profusion, and on
market mornings one may buy half
: a dozen breadfruit for ten cents.
1t grows about as large as mans
head, and is prepared by baking it,
either whole or cutin halves. When
cooked it exudes sugar and is very
palatable.
| | asked Alexander where the
fruit, which was brought in such
profusion to the market camefrom,
and his reply was "Oh, it grows
J wild all over the hills. Anybody
can get it just for the gathering. :"
1 And the Mariposa is now on her
way back to San Francisco after
more "tired SOULS, things have
returned to normal, and | thought
| it would be a gooi time to 60 to
the interior and see the fruit grow
ing wild. With Alexander as dri-
, yer | went first to the famous wa
! terfall gorge where, if one care to
2 walk three miles after reaching the
/ end of the road, he will see beau
5 tiful waterfall coming down over
: the hills. I did not take the three
mile walk, but / went far enough
S to get on idea of the wonders OF
: tree growth, and to get personal
: experience of picking wild fruit,
+, that is cultivated with such care in
other countries,
After climbing a sharp hill l sat
e down to rest, and at my feet [ no.
r ticed q small, fresh lime. | Won
dered if a picnic party were ahead
$ of me, but on looking up into the
q trees | saw that the lime came from
d a tree against which | was leaning
a and which was full of ripe lines
d / began looking bout and saw sew
Is eral orange trees covered with ripe
O fruit. while below me waved tint
r immense trends Of a great banana
with bunch OF ripe fruit showing
l. through the leaves. Along tn
A. path were a number of pineapple
rs bushes, looking much like a boz
% thistle, and in the center of eaci
| was a ripening fruit. 1t was al
n wild and growing in the midst o
IN dense foliage. The yellow fruit o
ID a breadfruit tree shone on the op
s, posite side of the gorge.
ne On inquiry | learned that all 0
8, these trees, now growing wild, az
0; the result of thought and design
lg The natives have q praisewort
a custom of always planting the see
of the fruit they eat, no matte
an where they may be, and thus
re comes that all these hills are cove
ed ed with wild fruit trees. COTE
in trees also grew in profusion, and a
les the natives have to do is to 60
n the hills and gather all they wal
ID. when it is ripe. The main crop
les the island, in addition to copr
which IS dried cocoanut, is the v
I'm nilla bean. This bean does n
to grow wildso that it can be harves
las ed but is cultivated and tend'
al with great care,
,al In addition to wild fruits a
TO told that the hills are filled WI
mt wild chicken, pigs, goats, and SOL
res horses. These have all becor
NO wild from domestic animals tn
In have wandered away from the farm
Wild chickens are very plentll
of and pigs may be had for the shoe
am ing. In fact they are pests insevel
es of the districts. Natives are tax
nv five francs a year for owning gu
nv and quite a number have the
which they use to kill pigs or chic
oit ems whenever they want fresh me'
inf TIT is to be noticed that all the pl
co and most of the chickens arou
tbe farm houses are tied to posts
for strings attached to their LEI
IN, lAalr 70 tho fandpnnV