those
of the almond tree; and are hard, compact, and glossy to the touch,
like those of the orange tree. The Filipinos prize them for their use
in cooking, as we do the laurel and the rosemary. This tree is very
hardy, and most often flourishes in rocky places; it has a natural
tendency to produce roots over almost the whole surface of its trunk
so that it appears to be covered with a beard. The Chinese, who are
really ingenious, are wont to plant one of these trees on a stone
(so small that both the tree and stone can be held in the hand),
just as if it were in a flower-pot, and then it can be carried from
one place to another; and the tree, like a dwarfed orange tree,
grows in proportion to its roots, hardly reaching five palmos in
height. As this method of planting these trees on a stone may seem
as difficult as it is curious, I shall describe how I have seen it
done. They take a sprout of the tree when it is already covered with
roots, and a stone which must not be too hard, or smooth, but not
very solid, and somewhat porous or hollow. These stones are found
there in abundance among the reefs and shoals of the sea. They tie
the little tree or sprout to this stone, covering the latter so far as
possible on all sides with the fibres and roots; and to make it grow,
they cover the stone with water. With the water the tree clings much
more readily to the stone, entwines about it, and becomes grafted
into all its pores and cavities, embracing it with remarkable amity
and union. A large balete stands in the patio [_i.e._, inner court]
of our house in Manila, near the regular entrance. In the year 1602,
in the month of April or May, I saw it all withered, with its leaves
falling. Thinking that it was dying I was greatly grieved, for I did
not wish to lose so fine a tree. My sorrow was increased when I saw
it next day almost without a leaf; and I showed it to our procurator,
who chanced to be with me while I was inspecting the tree. But on the
third day I beheld it covered with new leaves, tender and beautiful,
at which I was as rejoiced as I had previously been saddened; for
it is in truth a beautiful tree. In this I saw represented, as in a
picture, the truth of the resurrection.

There is another tree which they call _dabdab_. [58] Its leaves also
have an agreeable taste and serve as a lining for the inside of the
kettle in which they cook their rice, preventing the latter from
adhering to the sides. This tree is very s