r.i.KE HGRTUS J AM A I C EN ST S. <*) 



Jamaica pepper. Itis*also< l-spice, from its taste apd' flavour being supposed 



to resemble those of many different ?i)ice-s mixed together. This spice, which was 

 first exported for dietetic uses, has been long" employed i:i the shops as a succedaneum 

 to the mure costly oriental arorhatics : it is rcroderStely warm, of an agreeable flavour, 

 somewhat resembling' that of a mixture of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmegs. Distilled 

 with water it yields an elegant essential oil, so ponderous as to smk in the water, in 

 taste moderately pungent, in smell and flavour approaching to the oil of cloves and 

 nutmegs. To rectified spirit ifimparts, by maceration or digestion, the whole of its 

 virtue; in distillation it give., ever very little tj this menstruum, nearly all its active 

 itftttter remaining concentrated in the inspissated extract. Pimenta can scarcely be 

 considered as a medicine ; it is, however, an agreeable aromatic, and, on this account, 

 is not unfrequently employed with different chugs, requiring such a grateful adjunct. 

 Both the Pharmacopoeias direct an aqueous and spirituous distillation to be made from 

 tiiese berries, and the Edinburgh College order also the oleum essentials p : pcii* 

 Jamaicenm, , 



See Bayberuy Myrtle Silver-Tree'. 



PivrtRNCLL Air Broomwelb and Dwarf Pimperneix. 

 I'i.XDARS Act Ground-N UTS. 



PINE-APPLE. DROMELIA. 



CL. 6, ok. 1. Hexdndria menogynia. Nat. or. Corenaria, 

 GcSt CHAR. See Penguin, vol. 1, p. is. 



a Sana, 

 Leaves ciliate-spiny, mucronate ; spike comose. * 

 Tbis is an herbaceous plant, with leaves somewhat resembling those of the aloe, but 

 -rot so thick or succulent, for the most part serrate on their edges, and armed with 

 prickles. The fruit resembles in shape the ccwie of some species of the pine-tree, 

 vhence the name has beei> derived. There are several varieties of this well knoun, 

 elegant, and delicious fruit ; all of which thrive well in Jamaica. Some of the3e have 

 been obtained irom seeds, which, it is thought, if sown more frequently, would pro- 

 duce still mere varieties. The principal known are 1, queen pine; 2, sugar-loaf; 

 3, king ; 4, smooth ; 5, geen ; 6, black Antigua or Ripley ; 7, Granada ; 8, bog- 

 walk ; 9, smooth long narrow-leafed ; 10, Mohtserrat; II, Surinam: but it is im- 

 possible to enumerate all, as- new varieties may arise everyday. They are all propa- 

 gated by planting the crowns or suckers, which latter come more quickly to maturity, 

 iind are therefore generally preferred. The suckers-or crown should be left to dry for 

 a few days ; the crowns especially, for if planted before the bottom is hard and healed 

 over, they are apt to rot : if the' suckers be drawn carefully, they will have a hard skin 

 over the lower part, and need not lie so long ; they should be divested of their lower 

 leaves so high as to allow depth for their planting, but should be thoroughly dried and 

 liealed before put in the ground, as they often perish by rotting when this is not 

 observed. 



Tbe 



