BASTARD HORTUS JAMAICENSI3. 71 



This plant is, in truth, a vegetable syphon, full of water ; an;l as it nsver fnictifier., so 

 it probably cannot exhaust any soil. A walk of these suckers might be planted on iar- 

 poverished land in a seasonable year, and suffered to stand for tnree years ; and the 

 j^round hoed only till the plants appear to have struck root, an 1 to ris2 with vigour. 

 7n the third year they might be cut down, and left to rot upon the suri'ace. To sup- 

 port them in the early part of their growth, it is necessary to keep the ground clear of 

 v,feeds about them. Hoeinp; performs this, and loosens the earth ; winch faciiiiaies the 

 penetration of rains and dews through the surface. Wiien they are tolerably well 

 grown, their broad expanding leaves will shaOe and cool the ground in such a inauner, 

 as to preserve it alv^ ays nioist and open, and suppress the ascent of weeds; from this 

 period, therefore, hoeing will- not be so necessary. I should not recommend the fnnt 

 bearing plantain for this design, as it certainly exhausts land very much, and therefor* 

 would add to the evil, insteac! of removing it. 



The stems or trunks of any of these species, cut in long junks, are the best provi- 

 sion that can be laid aboard the homeward bound ships, for support of the live stock. 

 Sheep, goats, cattle, hogs, and poultry, are all fond of it ; and, as the stems pre- 

 serve their succulence frr a long space of time, the stock fed with it require little or 

 no water. For the smaller animals the junks are chopped into small pieces. They are 

 stowed behind the niizen chains, where they do not in the least incumber the snip. 

 Long, ^1 Si. . 



2. PSITTaCORUM. 



Leaves on the stem rounded at the base, spadix terminating, flexuose, spathes 

 lanceolate, nectary lanceolate, concave, entire. 



This plant bears a great resemblance to canna, and grows to the height of eight feet, 

 with a simple smooth stem. Leaves ovate-Lnceolate, entire, acute, vcrv smootii, 

 marked with parallel nerves ; petioles stiealtiing, smootti ; spadi.x si.nple ; spathes 

 fewer (f jur to six), alternate, distich, somewhat rcjnHe, divaricated, two in.nes long, 

 sheathed at the base, acute, coloured blood-red, many flowered : bowers piidiceUeu, 

 crowded, upright, an inch long, fulvous, on round peauncles, iiail an inch long ; co- 

 rolla three-sided, two upper petals erect, linear, acute, keeied, converging, glued 

 to the nectary, the uppermost only trifid ; tiie lower petal embracing tiie upper j^etais 

 and nectary at the base, a litt.e wider, keeled, ventricose, brownisli green at tne top ; 

 hinder leaf ot the nectary the length of the petals, lanceolate, concave, a iitiie curved 

 inwards, acuminate, entire, striated, including tlie stamens ; iront leai uiany times 

 smaller, awl-shaped, concave, inserted at the base into tne lower petal; fi.ameius five, 

 include! within the hinder leaf of the nectary, free at the base ; antuers linear, t.vo- 

 celle 1, white ; germ three-sided, truncate ; style sliglitly ttiree-siaej, filitorni ; stig- 

 ma, blunt, three-sided, lientin, pubescent; fruit tUree-cornered, truncate-Uepress- 

 fi', scarlet at top. Swartz says it is a native of this island, ia wet parts of the wooiis, 

 ou the highest mountains. 



BASTARD SAFFRON. CARTHAf^IUS. 



Cl. 19, OR. 1. Syngenesia polygaviia aqualh. Nat. OR. Coviposi'tir, 

 This generic naxne is derived from a Greek word, signifying to purge. 



Gek. 



