tocifST KGKTUS JAMAICENSIS. 4^3 



it is dissolved in tlio hi^!>hest rectified spirits of wine. It burns readily with a t'car 

 fiiiiiie, emitting a grateful and fraprant smell, lor \\liicli reason it is sonietiiiics ordered 

 by way of fumigation in the chambers uf persons labouring with asdunas, orsufl'ocative 

 catarrhs. Its vapours not only strengthen the head, hut al! |.'arts <.A' tiie body affected 

 with cold. Some a]>jjly it outwardly, dissolved in oil or spii'itj or u'ine. to strcngtheii 

 the nerves. -An oil may be distil ied'frcm it, equally prevalent in all ccj'd diseases, 

 palsies, cramps, and contiTiCtiijiis of the siricws. I'he solution in spirits has been thonght 

 tiot inferior to guaiacuaiin venereal cases, given in a dose of half a s]03onful in wine, 

 find sweating after it. A decoction of the leaves expels flatidciu'ies, and gives ease i.i 

 tho'ickv pains, by gentlyopcning the bowels ; and the inward hurk is an excellent vcx- 

 niifuge in subslanca or decoction. The wild bees are fond of huilding their nests in 

 these trees ; so that if we agree with the Dutch in opinion, that St. .iohn the Baptist 

 fad upon tiie- fruit of .tiiem> we have no difliculty in supposing tiiat he fotind the 

 locust and wild honey, mentioncJ .in Scripture, on the.sam'e 'tree. Lo^if^, p- 7.23. 

 The first I ever saw of these trees was about twentv-seven years past, at one .James 

 Pinpock's, at Liguanea, in Jamaica, wJio told mo it was a Rarbadoes locust-tree. It 

 was a fine sprtadiug tree, in bigness and shape of the English beech-tree. The frui 

 is broad and thick, with a hard shell, and about six in<dies long, of a cinnamon colour; 

 wherein were three or four round, flat, blackish, beans or stones, bigger t'lsm those 

 of the tamarind, inclosed in a whitish substance of line filaments, as sweet as sugar or 

 honey. AVhen fresh gathered it is ^lid to purge; which quality it loseth as it grow;. 

 old. The juice or decoction of, the leaves ex[)els vvind, and eases the cholic pain, by 

 giving a stool or two. The inward bark destroys worms in young or old. Barhavi^ 

 fp. 91'. The wood is looked u-pon as an excellent tiniber, but it must be very old before 

 it is cut, otherwise tlic heart will be but small. It is a spreading shady tree, and found 

 in many parts of Liguanea. .\i is very common hi Antigua,, and there it grous natii- 

 jally. Browne. This tree is in great request for wheel-work in sugar mills, particu- 

 larly for cogs to the wheels, being- extremely hard and tough; it is so heavy that a 

 cubic foot weighs about one hundred pounds, and it takes a fine polish. Jacquui. 



The following observations on the characters of this tree are from the manuscript of 

 -Mr. Anthony Robinson : 



" On the 8th July, 1759, I had the pleasure of seeing the perfect flower of the 

 hymaiaoa of Linneus expanded, from which I took this description. The receptacle 

 of the cup was hell- shaped, permanent ; the perianth consisted of four ovate, coriace- 

 ous, thick, leaves, almost equal, placed scalevvise, which, for the most part, dropped 

 as soon as the petals were expanded. The leaves of the cup were placed on the margin 

 of the receptacle. Tiie petals were white, five in number, ovate, erect-j^atent, and 

 almost equal, as long as the cup : the stamina were ten subulated, erect-])atent, iila- 

 ments, one-fourth longer than the petals; the germen was placed on a receptacle, 

 arising. out of a hole in the centre of the receptacle, compressed aiul small ; the style 

 tubulated, and somewhat longer than the stamens ; the stigma coronated ; the anthers 

 were large, oblong, and the flower has nothin^g of a pyramid in its form. This descrip- 

 tion was taken from a tree raised from the seed, and ten years old. There was great 

 difficulty in getting a complete flower, though the tree abounded with them,- for the 

 leaves of the cup dropped off with the least motion. The petals were considerably 

 permanent, but the siamena more so. LinnEcusluis described the blossom erroneously. 



LOFTY. 



