The Plant World. E-book. Formato PDF - 9780243647873

We crossed a stream called the Sadog Togcha by fording, and shortly afterwards we came to a little shed on the margin of the sea, in which a woman was sitting by an iron kettle braiding miniature baskets of young coconut lea?ets, which she filled with the almond-like kernels of Ter minalia nuts (t Under the kettle a fire was burning and in it was sea-water. The old lady was making salt. Here, I thought, is an ex ample of thrift. She will sell the salt at Agaiia and will probably send the nuts to Manila, where they will be made into confections. A young girl was collecting fuel for the fire. From time to time we heard a crow caw. This bird (corvus kubaryi), the old lady said, is very fond of the Terminalia nuts as well as of corn. After resting awhile we proceeded on our way, the Old lady and girl joining us and leaving their fire still burning under the kettle. Then I realized that this was Dofia Francisca, the owner of the farm in the valley Of tarofofo, for which I was bound. She asked why her son-in-law had not accompanied us, and was much distressed when she heard of his accident; but I reassured her, telling her that our doctor had already drawn the stick from his foot, and that he Would receive the best of care at the hospital. As we proceeded on our way we caught up with a man on cow-back who was playing bugle calls on the hollow petiole of a papaya leaf (caricapapaya). Some of the calls were quite elaborate, and when I first heard him I thought that he had gotten a new bugle in Agafia and was trying his skill as a trumpeter. We were now opposite a break in the barrier reef called the Demon's Passage (saguan A and soon afterwards we climbed up a promon tory called As Kiroga by means of steps cut in the solid rock. This is named in honor of Don José Quiroga, who won great distinction in the early history of these islands on account of the relentless war he waged against the natives, alternately driving them from island to island in the north and reconcentrating them on Guam. On this rocky promontory the most conspicuous plant was Cyrus circz'ualz's, which grew in great profu sion. The general effect of the landscape was that of an ideal sketch of vegetation during the Carboniferous age. NO living plant is more inter esting to me than these strange palm-like trees, with their rich green.