tR-alK' into-two parts at the hase, and henco very caducous. Jacquin. {Browne savi- 

 tliat ilic number of filaments varu's from fuur to twelve, l)ut iliateigat is die most com- 

 mon nuinl)er ) Acconlinij; to Gajrtner, there is no pericarp, and certuinly this plant 

 geriamatcs in a very extraordinary manner, as will be observed in the following account, 

 Iroiii Browne's liisiory : 



" This tree is generally found on the borders of the sea,, in whose waters alone it 

 seetr.s to tlirive ; and tlien only in such places as have a soft and yielding. bottaiu; Its 

 larger branches frequently emit soft and weakly appendicles, that have tiie a[)peara:v^fr 

 of so many slender apiiyljQ;>s branches, and ben ' always down%rards ; but as these ars- 

 ^ofttr, and furnished each with a large column of a lax spongy pith i:i the centre, tliey, 

 grow more luxuriantly than the other parts ot the tree, and reach the mud in a short 

 time 4 where they throw out a numberless series of slender fibres, which in time turra 

 into roots, to supply the stem uKjre copiously with nourishmentj while they become so 

 iany pro]5s or limbs to the parent tree. Thus it coiitinues to enlarge its bulk, at its 

 weight increases, or its oranclies spread, (these constantly throwing out new appen- 

 dicles as they multiply their shoots) and by these means forms those interwoven groves' 

 we so frequently meet with on the sea-shore, which, besides many other advantages, 

 serve to stop the mould that is sonstantly washed down by rapid Hoods, and therebj', 

 in time, tuEU, what might have otherwise continued useless ponds, into rich and fer-. 

 tile lands.. 



" The fruit of this tree geraiinatesiwithin the cup, and grows from the top down* - 

 wards, until it acquires a due deg.ree of weight and perfection: then it falU off, and 

 as the root part is aUvays thickest, and hangs lou est, it drops in that -direction, and is 

 tlius received in the natural position in ilie mud below. The leaves immediately un- 

 fold, a'.Ki, in a few minutes, you see a perfect plant, sometimes of ten or twelve inches . 

 in length, which soon begins to shoot its roots, and push its growth liive the parent 

 f tem ; for the germ is frequently a foot in length ijcfure it falls, and always furnished 

 with two leaves at tiie top, which are folded up and inclosed within tlie cup while it 

 continue3;upon the tree. 



' " The trunk of the mangrove seldom grows to any considerable thickness, but the 

 wood is very tough and hard, bear.'^ the water well, and is much used for knees and ribs 

 ill long boats and other smaU craft, for which the archings and angles of its limbs most 

 naturally adapt it. Its lower limbs become frequently the siipj)orters of the American 

 oisters, which has given rise to the fabulous account of the growth of this shell-fish. ^ 

 Piso says that a piece of the root toasted, and applied warm to the painful wounds in- - 

 flictedby.the sling, of the fish ni.gid, soon quiets thepain." Broivne 



The bark of the red mangrove is made use of here for tanning, and ck)es it to that 

 perfectioi. in six weeks that oak-bark will not do in six months tune, and it is reckoned 

 to give the most lasting sole- leather in the world. It is a most excellent restringent : 

 I have made a, strong decoction of the mangrove-bark that would stop bleeding, and dry 

 \ip the great defluction of running ulcers. I had a son that was exti-aordinarily full of 

 the conliuent small-pox, whose soles of his feet separated, antl came ofi' like the sole 

 a shoe, and left his feel raw, and so.tender that he could not set them upon the ground ; 

 upon which 1 sent fur some of the tan-fat or liquor of this bark, such as they tan their 

 leather with, and added a little alum, and boiled it up very stnjng, with which he bathed . 

 his feet every day ; and in about a week's time, his feet were as hard and as firm as ever, 

 ^jA he was able to walk about without shoes on. Barham, p. 101. 



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