WINTERA AROMATICA. ORD, XXXIX. Tricocce. 649 
copied from Clusius. No more was heard of this bark till the 
Dutch Fleet, under Admiral Van Nort, returned from the 
“ Streights of Magellan, in the year 1600. Afterwards all the 
“ navigators who passed through the Streights of Magellan took 
notice of the tree, on account of the usefulness of its bark: 
but none furnished any description that could make it bo- 
tanically known before Mr. George Handasyd came back from 
the Streights of Magellan in 1691, and brought with him some 
dried specimens, which he gave to Sir Hans Sloane, and are now 
preserved in the British Museum. From these specimens, and 
the account Mr. Handasyd gave of this tree, Sir Hans Sloane 
drew up a history, and gave a figure in the Philosophical 
Transactions. Still the systematical botanists could not give it 
a place in their catalogues, being unacquainted with its flowers 
“ and fruit.” However this loss was supplied by the industry of 
Mr. Wallis, Captain of the Dolphin, who returned from the South 
Seas in 1768, bringing with him several botanical specimens of the 
-Winter’s Bark Tree, one of which came into the possession of 
Dr. John Fothergill, who caused an engraving of it to be made by 
Ehret, which is published, together with its botanical description 
written by Dr. Solander, in the fifth volume of the Medical Obser- 
vations and Inquiries. From the plate here alluded to, the annexed 
figure is taken. ~ | 
Though Winter’s Bark has been very generally confounded with 
the canella alba, yet they are well known to be totally different. 
Winter’s Bark is of a dark brown cinnamon colour, with an 
aromatic smell when rubbed, and of a pungent hot spicy taste, 
which is lasting on the palate, though imparted slowly. 
The bark has been thought to be a useful _antiscorbutic ; but in 
this character it seems to possess no advantage over the other 
pungent aromatics, and is now generally superseded by the canella 
alba. 
In natural order the Wintera has. been ranked with the oleracez, 
but to this class it seems to have very little affinity. 
No. 50.—vou. 4. 8B 
