mm.wv WORTTf'^ JAMAICENSIS.' 1,-7 



rroUi 



aiucli longer legumes or po;ls. It was intnxlticed into t'.iirf island fr 



aad tiirives very luxuriantly ; inci-easiiig indeed so fast as to becoaiie very troiablciouie 



in most pastures. 



Pcpova.r. Tlii&is z name, but very erroneous, that t'acr in Juniaica giVe to a plant 

 Vii;cb is qi'tlie acacia kl^d, and is mare exactly like tiie Kgypliiin ffif w, or t-liqi'jti..lt..i^ 

 rtporlecl, tluit a certain person brouglu t!.-e seed of it to Jauiaica, and plaviteti it, and sai(^ 

 if he lived to see it grow, lie sbouUT >et an estate by it.j biitbow, remains a mystery to 

 this day, unless it is for its dying quality- it&ikwereisre indeed-very odoriferous. The 

 , dyers use tbe hus^ of the pods to dye black ; they also soak seme of the pods all night 

 in water, then uiix a little alum witii it, and boil it to a due t&ickrress, which makes a 

 TCr\^ fine black and str/Jng ink. I have ofcen uiaee it, and wr^jte with it, and observed 

 it never fades or turns yellow, as copperas infe will, i tarried soriie of th' pods with 

 me to England in j?J7, and gave tiiem to a dyer, who tried them, and said, ,they.rtwc- 

 cecded gaiis for dying of linen, and, if they w"on!d come as cheap, .would be prefei-a- 

 ble : but I also observed, the worms destroyed the pods and seeds qrbicklr. 



'It is certain.tbat the sUccvs <u-ai:i(i, thai-is one of the ingredients of rnithrHlate,' shi 

 Venice irtacle, is only the-hardened juiOe extracted by decoction of .ihe-fl.c(v'rt or'Eg}])- 

 tian thorn, .wliich I- take to be this tree, or at least to be hs good> if not better, liaviug 

 rather a ni^re restringeut quality, and thereiore proper in ail sotts of il-iixes. 



The name of poponax, tfeat they give to ihis plant, I take to be the corrupted word 

 q{ opnporia.v, which is a gum, or inspissated juice, of a plant csiied pana.t lieracUum ; 

 but this .is. not the tree. Barhatn., p.lBQ. 



The planiers Hiadefenceswith it in the southern ]owIanQ< and s'avannas, but its seeds 

 dispersing about, It soon sprouted spontaueously, and now it over- nms vast tracts of 

 iiuid, and nia!ntains.its ground so firmly, that so long as the leasi particle of the root 

 remains, it never ceases-throwing up its tiiorny plants ; whence it is next to impossi- 

 Jxle to eradicate.'it entirely from a piece of land in which it has once flourished. The 

 pods are ricbly impregnated with a sticky astrin<rent gum, easily to. be extracted. 

 When t}<ey are half ripe, this juice may be made use cif for cementing 'broken china. 

 The trunk, .when wounded, emits a transparent giuu, like gum arable. The pods are 

 liable to.be destroyed by a.*vorm, but they might pr-jbablv be preserved by steeping a 

 little while in lime-water, by luniigation with. brimstone just belbre they afe packed^ 

 or by putting a small b;ig or box of camphor into the package. 



The roots, when bruised, yield a very. offensive smell; and a decoction made fro'-n 

 them is said to be mortally poisonous. 



But, since this plant is no.v grown so common, and even troublesome, might it not 

 be worth while to try if .some henefit could be made of it in trade? The jierson who 

 first gave it introduction probably mistook it for the true ffrar/fir, which yields the me- 

 dicinal gum andsw<r.j of the shops; experiments are required to determine, 'whether 

 the gum obtainable from the trunk of these trees is not of similar use 'and efHcaey in 

 jriedicine ? and v.'hether the gummy juice of the pods may not be extracted, and "pre- 

 pared in a proper form, for a remittance to Europe ? Thirdly, whether they cannot 

 be brought into tlemand anil consumption among the dyer?, as they yield so fine and 

 strong a black tint, which is much wanted for linens. It is evident, from the affinity 

 cf these plants, that the Egyptian might, if it v/as introduced into. this island, bepro- 

 pagated with equal facility, Lovg, p. d,lZ^ ' ' 



