to be in use there, very much as it is among the Creoles of 

 Jamaica, as a masticatory, being chewed for the sake of its 

 sustaining and tonic power. In Western Africa it is said to 

 have acquired a reputation for curing liver diseases, and a 



variety of disorders which may be classed as dyspeptic. 



The notices of this plant contained in accessible standard 

 botanical works are all very short and insufficient. Thus 



Balfour, in his "Manual," a work specially prepared for 

 medical practitioners, and which is usually full in all that re- 

 lates to medicines, simply mentions it, saying, "The kola 

 mentioned by African travellers as being used to sweeten 

 water is the seed of Sterculia tomentosa or acuminata" 

 Khind's History of the Vegetable Kingdom, which is a com- 

 pendious work, and specially devoted to tropical fruits, does 

 not even mention the kola. In this dilemma as to botanical 

 authorities, I have gladly availed myself of the very kind 

 proposal of Mr. Faw.cett, the Director of the Public Gardens, 

 to prepare an abstract on the botanical characteristics of the 

 Kola tree. I am greatly indebted to him for the following 

 comprehensive notice:- 



" Botanical Notice of the Kola Nut. The genus 



Cola belongs to the order Sterculiace;e, which is very nearly 



allied to the Mallow family, (Malvaceaj), 



" Many of the properties of the two families are similar. 



The mucilage, so abundant in the okra, one of the mallow 



family, is found more or less throughout both families; in 

 the Sterculia family the best example is the bastard cedar 



((Uiazuma tomentosa) from the pods of which the mucilage 



obtained by infusion was formerly used instead of gelatine 



or albumen in clarifying cane-juice. 



*' The oily seeds of cotton in the Mallow family and of 



chocolate in the Sterculia family may be cited as a general 



characteristic, though one of the advantages of the kola-nut 



is that it is not oily. 



" The seeds of a tree (Sterculia Carthaginensis), which 



grows well at Half-way Tree and Kingston, are eaten as nuts 



in Brazil and Panama. The seeds of an Indian species 



(Sterculia urens) are roasted and eaten, and also used to make 



a kind of coffee; from the bark a gum somewhat like traga- 



c an th is produced. 



" The name kola nut is applied apparently to seeds of 



several species belonging to the order, but those most j^nzed. 



in the African markets are the produce of Cola acuminata, 



11. Br., and its varieties. 



" The kola tree varies much in the form and size of 

 its leaves and flowers, in the appearances of the pods and the 

 colour of the seeds. But the strangest variation occurs in 

 the number of the cotyledons. In the pea and bean, the 



