The eatable part of the
nut in this way was so small, as to be not worth the trouble of sucking
it out from the fibres. They were about the size of a walnut; within the
outer skin was a hard shell like that of the cocoa nut; and within this,
two, or perhaps more, almond-like kernels. The nut, as taken from the
tree, was an assemblage of these kernels set into a cone, and was from
the size of a man's two fists, to that of his head. Its size, and the
furrows or indentations upon the surface, appeared on the first view like
the exterior form of the bread fruit, but a pine apple may be a better
object of comparison. The stem of the tree was short, and none were
observed to be two feet or even eighteen inches in diameter. The branches
did not ramify into twigs, but preserved their size to the extreme, where
the leaves were produced surrounding the fruit. One or two smaller
branches here and there struck off from the main branch, and produced
their leaves in the same way, without fruit.
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