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H 



MAT U R A 



H 



TOR 



branches and ribs are full of (hort recurved thorns 





nd each rib 



g 



emits 



number of long and flender aculei, from the inter-fpaces of its foliations, or fmalleft 



hich, like fo many needles, guard and defend their tender leaves. The 



fmall, and very apt 



ribs, 



branches of this fhrub are moderately thick j but 



move on every occafion. The Ji Hi qu e s , or pods, are compreffed and hairy 



when ripe, divide 



many fegments, or part 



; and, 

 as there are feeds, which fall 



off leparately : thefe parts or porti 



held, in the natural ftate, between 



ribs, that run along the margins of the pod ; in the inward grooves of which they 

 move with great eafe, when contracted and detached from each other. 



MIMOSA 12.- Nobilijima armata repens, pinnis bigeminatis pinnatis. 



The prickly creeping Senfitive. 



probably, introduced to 'Jamaica from fome other part of 



it 



This little plant was, 

 the world ; but it is now cultivated in many of the gardens about King ft 

 grows in fmall tufts, and fpreads generally from one, to two or three feet about the 

 root. Its leaves are very fmall, and the flower-fpikes oblong j but the pods feldom 

 ripen in that iiland. The foliage of this plant is extremely fenfitive, and 



dily with every perturbat 



or even, a fudden change in the atmofphere 



■ 



MIMOSA 13. Minima herbacea, vix tripolicaris-, capfulis mono/per mibushir- 



futisi 

 An, Mimofa joliis conjugatis pinnatis, partialibus bijugatis fubrotundis % 



caule her ba ceo inermi. L . S p. PI . 

 Mimofa herbacea nonfpinofa minima repens, &c. Slo. Cat, 6c H. t. 182. 7. 



The fmalleft creeping Senfitive of Jamaica. 



This little plant is frequent in many of the paftures of Jamaica, efpecially thofe 



foot of the mountains 



fituated 



Eaft 



thefe feldom exceed three or four inches 



Sixteen- mile-walk % and St. Thomas in the 



It grows in beds, and creeps by very delicate ftalks along the ground j but 



gth 



It 



very fenfitive, and 



tracts its leaves on every flight touch, or fudden change of the atmofph 



BIXA 1. Foliis cordatis cum acumine, fori bus racemolis terminalibus. 

 Bixa. L. Sp. PI. & H. CI. 



Mi tell a maxima tintloria. Tourn. 



Urucu Pif. & Vrucu ^f Knivet. Slo. Cat. 150. & H. t. 13 1. f. 1. 



The Roucouy or Arnotto Tree. 



This curious (hrub is pretty frequent in the cooler vales of Jamaica, and rifes com- 

 monly to the height of eight or nine feet, fometimes more : it thrives beft in a cool rich 



foil, and (hoots moft luxuriantly near fprings and 



All the feeds of this pi 



covered with wax, which is carefully gathered in many parts of Amer't 



what generally goes by the name of terra Orellana, R 



and Arnotto 



and is 

 This 



commodity is manufactured in the following manner, viz. When the feed-veffels 

 are full grown, and in a perfect ftate of maturity, they are picked off and opened 5 and 

 the feeds gathered and put into convenient jars. When they have a quantity of thefe, 

 proportioned to their veffels and defign, they throw in as much hot water as may be 

 fufficient to dilute and fufpend the pulp or wax, with eafe, which is gradually warn- 



ed away from the feed 



wafhed off. 



both with the hands and fp 



When all the wax 



iettle 



d the feeds appear quite naked, they are taken out, and the warn left 



but when the wax is thoroughly fubfided, the clear incumbent waters 



decanted off, and the fediment put into mallow veffels, to be dried gradually in the 



(had 



When this mafs acquires a due confiftence 



made into ball 



cakes 



an 



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