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' When the fruit of thcfe trees are defigncd for life, 



• they are gathered, or beaten down from the trees a 



:. little before they arrive to their full fize, and arc fe- 



- parated from leaves, ftalks, or any rubbilli' which 



■ may have accidentally mixed with them ; then the 



• : fruit is expofed every day to the fun, fpread on cloths 



- ! for ten or twelve days to dry, but removed under co- 



' . vcr every evening to fcreen it from the dews; when 



■' the fruit is pcrfeftly dry, it is packed up for expor- 



'- ■ tation. If the fruit is permitted to grow to maturity, 



,'■ the pulp, which furrounds the feeds, is fo full of 



; moifture, and is fo glutinous, as to ftick to the fin- 



' gers of thofe who bruife them, therefore are unfit for 



- thofe ufes to which the dried fruit are applied. 



' It is called by fome Jamaica Pepper, but the moll 



general appellation is All-fpice, from its relilli and 



flavour, partaking of many other fpices, and is de- 



Jervedly accounted one of the bell ; and if it was as 



fcarce and difficult to procure as thofe fpices in the 



eaft, would be much more fought after and efteemed : 



our neighbours the Dutch, who have engrofled the 



fpice trade to themfelves, have alfo been artful enough 



to deceive us with this of our produftion, by purchaf- 



ing the dried fruit of the All-fpice in England at a low 



price, and grinding it to a powder, then felling it 



to us at an advanced price for powder of Cloves. 



This I have been credibly informed of, by an eminent 



merchant, through w^hofe hands great quantities of 



this commodity have paffed. 



" The Dutch have alio drawn an oil from the fruit of 



" this tree, which they vend for oil of Cloves. I had 



afmall phial of this oil fent me from Jamaica, which 



was fhewn to fome of the beft judges of drugs in 



London, who tried many experiments with it, and 



declared they thought it as good oil of Cloves as they 



had feen. 



As there is fo great an affinity between this tree and 



the true Clove, it might be worthy of trial, if the 

 fruit wfien iirft formed, or the flowers were beaten 



down from the trees, and dried in the fame manner 



as the eaftern Cloves, might not anfwer the fame pur- 



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pofe -, or, at leaft, k.would be a good fuccedaneum 

 . for that fpice \ and as it is the produdtion of our own 

 colonies, Ihould have proper encouragement. - 

 This tree is propagated by feeds, which in the natu- 

 ral place of its. growth is conveyed, and fown by 

 birds, to a great diflance ; and, it is very probable, 

 the feeds paffing through them, are rendered fitter for 

 .. vegetation, than thofe which are immediately gathered 

 , from the tree y for I have received great quantities of 

 the berries from the gentleman before-mentioned, 

 /; which were perfectly ripe and frelh, great part of 

 ,' which I fowed in different ways, and communicated 

 fome of them to feveral other curious perfons, who 



- did the fame, but none of them have yet fucceeded \ 

 . and upon informing my friend Mr. Williams of this, 



he told me that a friend of his, wRofe plantation was 



- on the fouth fide of Jamaica, defired him to fave a 

 . large quandty of the ripe berries for him to fow on 

 ■ his plantadon, which he accordingly did, but his 

 «■ friend forgot to fend for them till near two years af- 

 ter ^ during which time, they had lain in a large heap, 



\ atid had fermented, and, on fowin 2; thofe berries, the 

 . plants came up with the firft rains in great abundance ; 



- fo that it may be of great fervice to thefe feeds, either 

 • to pafs through animal bodies, or to be fermented 



before they are fov/n. 



The plants cannot be preferved in England unlefs 



:- they are placed in a Hove during the winter feafon, 



, but they will thrive in a moderate degree of warmth : 



y^^ey fliould be planted in a foft light foil, and in win- 



. ter muft have but little water. In the fummer they 



. fliould have a large Ihare of air, and in July, if the 



feafon proves warm, they may be placed in the open 



air, inawarm flieltered fituadon ; but upon the ap- 



K^^a^ ^f cold nights, they mull be removed into 



. the lloye again. The cxpofing of thefe plants to the 



open air for one month only, will be of great fervice 



. to clean their leaves from infcfts or filth, which they 



; are fubjedl to tontracT:, by remainin 



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fbvc ; but if the feafon fhould prove very v/ct of 

 cold, it, will not be fafe to truft thdc plants lonp' 

 abroad ^ therefore their leaves foould be now and thcil 

 wadied with a fponge to clean them, which v/ill not 

 only render thcn:i more fightly, but alio promote 

 their growdi. This tree is pretty dirlicult to propa- 

 gate in England, where the feeds do not ripen ; die 

 only method in whicli this has been done, is by lay- 

 ing down the young branches, flitting them at a joint 

 in tlie fuiie manner us is pradlifed in making layers of 

 Carnations. If this is carefully peiformecl, and the 

 layers are regularly but gently watered, they will 

 put out roots in one year ; then they may be care- 

 fully feparated from the old plants, and each planted 

 in a fmall pot filled with light earth, and plunged 

 into the tan-bed, either in the ftove or under a fiarne, 

 being careful to fliade them until they have taken 

 new root, after which they may be treated as the older 

 plants. This plant, being an Evergreen, makes a 

 fine appearance in the flove at all feafons of the year ^ 

 and their leaves having fuch an agreeable fragrancy 

 v^hen rubbed, render them as worthy of a place in 

 the flove, as any other tender exotic plant which is 

 preferved for ornament. 



The third fort grows naturally in Jamaica, from 

 whence I received it fome years paft. This rifes with 

 a divided trunk to the height of eight or ten feet, 

 fending out many branches, which arc placed oppo- 

 fite, covered with a grey bark : the leaves come out 



oppofite, which areihorter and rounder at their points 

 than thofe of the laft fpecies -, they are alio fmoother, 

 and of a firmer texture. The flowers come out from , 

 the fide of the branches between the leaves, upon 

 flender foot-ftalks, about an inch in length, two ge- 

 nerally arifing from the fame point : thefe arc fuc- 

 ceeded by rounci berries, of a brighter colour than 

 thofe of the former, having the empalement on their 

 crowns. The leaves and fruit of this fort have no 

 aromatic flavour, fo are not of ufe, but the charac- 

 ters of the flower and fruit are the fame as in the 

 other fort. 



This tree retains its leaves all the year, which beino- 

 of a fplendent green, make a very good appearance, 

 when it is intermixed with other exotic plants in the 

 ftove ; but the flowers being fmall, and growing 

 thinly upon the branches, do not make any great fi- 

 gure, fo it is only preferved for the beauty of its fo- 

 liage. It is propagated by feeds, and requires the 

 fame treatment as the other fort. 

 The fourth fort was fent me by the late Mr. Robert 

 Millar, furgcon, from Carthagena in New Spain : 

 this rifes with many irregular Items about twelve or 

 fourteen feet high, covered with an Afh-coloured 

 bark, dividing into many branches upward : thefe 

 are garnifhed with ftiff^ oval leaves, placed oppofite. 



the 



or 



The flowers are produced from the fide 

 branches, fometirnes four, five, or fix foot-flalks 

 • arife from the fame point •, at other times, they come 

 out fingle, or perhaps by pairs : thcfe are white, and 

 of the fame fliape with thofe of the fecond fort, and 

 are fucceeded by berries which are rounder, and, for 

 the moft part, contain but one kidney-fliaped feed. 

 I'his fort ao;rees with the fecond in its g-eneral cha- 

 raclers, but not in the virtues, for it Iiath none of the 

 aromatic 'flavour, with which that abounds j but as 

 it retains its leaves throvigh the year, may merit a 

 place in the fl:ove, better than many other plants 

 which are preferved by the curious. This is propa- 

 gated by feeds, in the fame way as the fecond fort, 

 and the plants niuft be treated in the facnc manner as 



thofe. 



The fifdi fort was fent me fi'om the ifiand of Ber- 

 buda, where it rifes to the height of twenty feet -, 

 the trunk and branches are covered with a fmooth 

 brown bark. The branches come out by pairs •, they 

 grow ercft, and arc garniflied with very ilifl-", fm.ooth, 

 lucid leaves, which are placed oppofite, and have 

 very fliort foot-ftalks. The leaves vary much in 

 their form •, fome of diem are oval, others oblong, 

 and fome arc indented fo deeply at their ends, as to 



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