r^ 



M.6- ' H O R T U S J A M Ai C EN SIS. . c.ANDi.it 



sons cannot inclose itliem. This trunk,., when old, emits sparks of fire, but oFso .s\iUtIe' 

 a nature a^i i!Otfe"i^w to injure the hair of,tli.osc.\vhQ afe i>ear it.,. 



Pure caniphii'C i.s very wliite, , pellucici, somewiiat, unctuous to the. touch ; of a bit- 

 terish aromatic tusto, } ct accoujpaBisd w^tti a sense of coolness ; of a very fragrant 

 KiTieli, somew'hat like that of rosenuiry,, but much stronger.. It.has b_een very longOs- 

 teenietl one of the lapst etKcacioui;- diaphoretics v.aad has ben x;elehrai:ed in fevers, 

 ilialignant and epidemical distempers. In dehri*,. also,, where opiate.s couiil not pro- 

 cure sleep, but. rather aggravated the symptonuj, tliis medicine has been often observed 

 to procure it. All these eifecis, hou-v:vcr, Di't Cuil.en attribulejs to its, sedative property, 

 and denies that caiuphire has any other m.etiicinal vutues than those of an antispasmodic 

 and sedative. He allows it to be ver^' powerful, and capable of doing much good or 

 much harnu Fxom experiments made on different, brute creatures, camphire iippears. 

 to be poisonous to evei;y cue of them.. In some it prodaijed sleep, follo\ved by cieatli, 

 without any ojjier symptom. Iji others, before death, they were, awakened into con- 

 vulsions and rage. It seems, tgo, to act chiefly on the stomach ;. for an entire piece 

 swallowed, proauced tiie above-mentioned effects with very little diminution of weight. 



See Ayo.c.\Do-PiiAii B.^v Trees Benjamin Cinnamon Cogwood SASSAFiijiS.,- 



GANDLE OR ROSE WOOD. . AMYRIS. 



Cl. 8, OR. \.^-Octandria monogyyiia. "Nat. or. Tercbinthacea;. 



"This name is derived from a Greek word signifying ointment or balm. 



Gen. CH.4R. Calyx a one-leafed perianth, four-toothed, .acute, erect, small, peiv 

 manent ; corolla four oblong, corrcare, spreadpg. petals ; stamens awl-shaped, 

 erect filaments ; anthers oblong, ereet, the. length of the corolla ; the pistil has a 



superior ovate germ, a thickish. style the length of tlie stamens, and four- cornered 

 stigmas; the pericarp a drupaceous a^oujidish berry ; seed a i^ound shining nut. 

 'Several specie^ are natives of Jamaicar 



1. .balsamifera. balsamic. 



Arhoreii^, foliis bijugatis ovatis glabris, raccmis hxis termvudibu?, 

 Browne," p. 208, 



Leaver two-paired.; . 

 This tree grows frequently among the gravelly bills in this island, and rises to a con- 

 siderable heiglit, Tlic trunks are remarkable for liaving large protuberances on them. 

 The leaves are laurel shaped. The fiowers are small and white, in branched spikes. 

 The fruit i^ described as follows in A Robinson's manuscript: The full grown ripe fruit 

 is of a black smooth and shining hue,.. orrather of a verj deep purple, about three- 

 quarters of an inch long, and when green marked with many deep specks, like a green 

 lime or lemon, which. aire small cells replete, with a most fragrant essential oil or balsam. 

 The ripe fruit consists of numerous green globules or vesicles, not unlike in form and 

 make to fish si^awn, rejileie with, and iiiiraerged in, a juice sweetish and aromatic. 

 The shell of the nut is jjurple, brittle, external!}' rugged, having a bilobous kernel, 

 rrovered with a thin moist skin of a very deep purple. The nut is turbinated at botjx 

 eudsi the kernel highly aromatic. .Thistre,Qis known also by the name of shvubbjj 



