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34-2 



T H.£ DATURA 



H 



TORY 



tinned fer.ies on both fides, and fpread very evenly both ways. Thefe ribs (hoot gra-te* 

 dually from the top; and as the younger ones ftretch out fufficiently to raife thefap;*! 



The flowers of 



the lower ones decline, wither away gradually, and fall off in time. 



this tree rife in fpread in 2 bunches from the alae of the ribs, and are fupported by fo 





many large branched foot-dalks : thefe, while young, are very* thickly befet with 

 bloffoms^and covered with a fimple, thick, fibrous Jpatha or (heath, of an oblong 

 form, pointed at the top, and moderately contracted at the bottom. When all the 

 parts of the flowers have gained a due degree of perfection, the Jp at ha fplits on the 



under fide, .from the bottom upwards, and expofes the common bunch, with alio 

 it-, flowers, to the open air : moft of thefe are males, and fall off gradually^ 



the Jpatha withers, leaving the embryo fruit, which is generally fixed to the lower 



and flronger part of the fialk, to increafe and ripen gradually. Thefe grow very 

 large in time, and are compofed of thick fibrous hufks, containing fo many large, 

 hollow nuts; which, in mod: of the tribe, are trilocular: though in this,3as well 

 as fome of the other fpecies, two of the cells are obliterated, and the third only 

 comes to perfection. The nut or (hell is formed of a hard compact fubdance, and 



a fweetifri water, while young ; but as the fruit advances in its 



filled 



growth, thisPdepoiites 



a f o ft gelatinous crufl; upon 



the fides of the (hell 



hardens gradually with age, until at length it acquires a ftrong concreted tex- 



ture : and then it is not unlike the fubftance of an almond, either in tafte or 

 confidence. The water contained in the nuts, is very pleafant while theydare 

 young, and generally looked upon as one of the greateft dainties of Amerka ; but, 

 as they grow old, the liquor grows more (harp and cooling, and far more agreeable 

 to over- heated habits. The kernel is very nourifhing, and may be ufed indeadriof 

 almonds, in milks, emulfions, and apozems ; and with greater propriety, as it may 

 be always had frefli. The (hells ferve for drinking and water cups; and the hufks, 

 which are very fibrous, are made into various forts of cordage, in fome of the eaft- 

 ern parts of the world ; but in Jamaica they are only ufed to fcour the floors. 

 The leaves of this tree are ufed for thatch, upon occafions; and the tender (hoots at 

 the top afford a pleafant green, or cabbage: the outward part of the trunk is made 



tapping it 



about the 



top, being mixed 



into lattings; and the juice obtained 

 and fermented with molofles, affords a very pleafant wholefome fpirit, which 

 differs but very little from arack. At the bottom of the ribs, we find a coarfe fi- 

 brous net- work, that ferves for drainers; and the kernel is frequently rafped, and 



made into fritters and fmall cakes. 





N 3ffj 



The roots of the tree are very (lender, fimple, and flexile ; they rife (eparately 

 from the bottom of the trunk, and fpread from thence in all directions; fome run- 

 ning to a great depth in the ground, while others creep almod parallel to the furface. 







» 



PALM A 2. Caudice a!tiJJimo y ad itnulum turgido> f hints inferne vaginan 





V - 



Caunga. 



H. M. 



tibus ; foliis angujlis replicatis j fruttu minor u 



< 



*. J 



36 



"X 





A 



p. 3. t. 5. 



he Barbaches Cabbapje Tree. 



This k the mod beautiful tree I have ever feen, and may be very lawfully efteem- 

 ed the queen of the woods : it grows to a very confiderable fize (a) ; rifes by a 

 tall draight trunk, which bilges moderately at fome didance above the root $] and 

 (hoots by a draight cylindric tapering body from thence to the top, where it fpreads 

 into a large and beautiful foliaee, not unlike that of the Cocco-nut tree. The 



lower part of each rib is pretty broad in this plant, and formed into a (heath, which 

 embraces all thofe that grow between it and the center; fo that they continue 



e fo 



,h 



of the trunk for fome fpace\above the real fummit of the ftem, from 

 whence it throws out, on oppofite fides, two large branched bunches, well be- 



270 feet, 



(a) Ray makes mention oi one of thefe trees that was obferved to grow to the heig 

 or thereabouts. 



fet 



• 











