429 BORTUS JAMAICENSIS#:. airoiGO 



2. GUATIMALA. 



As.ntr^n^cns vihiusqiie divisa, mmidis crasshrtlus striutls, spicis axil- 

 la rihus. Browne, p. 302. 

 "This is much hardier than the foregoini^, and affirds a finer pulp; hut it Goes not 

 J'ield so grcai a quantity of it, and is only cultivated where the seasons are not certain, 

 or in uiixt fields. It grows commonly to tlie iicis^nt of iliree or lour ieet, and throws 

 out a good many sub-erect branches as it rises. Browne, 



3. AML. . 



Cohitete ajpnisfrutki'saargeniea, flofihts spicatis, eviridi purpitreis,, 

 sitiquis .JaIcAt:s. 8!oane, v. 2, p. 37, t. 17(,, 1'. 3. ^JssurgenXy, 

 siib-vt'/losa et sub-cinerca; ranmli's crass'oribux ; siiiquis arcuatis, 

 brevioril'us, reftcxo patcntibus. Browne, p. 302. 



Leaves pinnate, lanceolate ;. racemes short ; stem suflruticose. 



This has the iia!>it and appearance of the first sort. Leaflets olilong, bluntish, the- 

 younger ones sharpish, nakeJ above, lioary underneath, all euual. liacemes lateral, 

 sub-sjjiked, shorter tliaii the leaves: legumes declining, r.-curved, inclmed to co- 

 lumnar, many seeded, more gibbous at each suture, mucronate. Linneus. This is 

 very common in Jamaica, and grows wild in all the savannas, where, doubtless, it has 

 been cultivated in former tunes; althougli the manufacture is now altogether lost and 

 neglected, and must jjiobably never will be restored, from the baneful effects of op- 

 pressive taxation. Tills plant has a siuader leaf than the other, but a much larger 

 woody stem, growing to the height of eight or ten feet ; it is also much iiardier, and 

 tiie d}C extracted from it generally the best; of a fine cop]jerisn cast, a^.t close grain,. 

 All the species thrive best in a free rich soil and warm situation, frequently refreshed' 

 by moisture. The following is the mode in which it was generally cultivated and pre- 

 pared for market : ' ' 



It may be planted at any se.aso of the year. (The best time is considered the month, 

 of March). The land is first hoed into little straight trenthcs, about two inches deep, and 

 from twelve to eighteen inches asunder ; the seed is sown in tl;ese trenches, not very 

 thick, and then lightly covered in with eartlx A bushel of seed is allowed for six or 

 eight acres. If the weather proves warm and serene, the plant will appear above 

 ground in a few daj-s, and, with moderate sliowers to bring it forward,, will be fit to cut- 

 in SIS or seven weeks. The ground must be hoed and cleaned as soon ,as the young 

 plants appear, to loosen the soil about them, and facilitate tiieir growth. In some 

 pares, they do not come to perfection under two or three months; and are generally 

 observed to answt r best wiien cut in full blossom, as the leaves are then thick, and full- 

 est of juice. The French distiiiguisli the time by squeezing a plant in the hand ; and, 

 if the leaf cracks, the v suppose it to have acquired the due maturrty. The vats for 

 map ufactu ring it are generally three, placed in a regular flight, like steps, one ascend- 

 ing to the oiuor. The highest, which is the largest, is caded the steeper, aiid the di- 

 mensions about sixteen feet square,, and two feet anJ a half in depth. This opens by 

 one or two holes, made tlirougii a junk of bard timber (built in the front wail towards 

 the bottom), into the .^econd, which is of greater depth ; and the second opens in the 

 like uianner into the third, or smallest, 'i'hese latter are called batteries, or beaters; 

 and some make them both of equal size, which, in proportion to the dimensions above 

 tjiven, ou^ht to be twelve feet length by ten breadth, and four and a half depth in the 



clear. 



