A. FE. Verrill—The Bermuda Islands. 609 
The Yellow-wood (Xanthoxylum aromaticum) ,; its History. 
The early historians often refer to a large and valuable timber 
tree that they called Yellow-wood.* Its wood was fine-grained, 
very yellow, and had an aromatic odor. The bark had a pungent 
taste. 
The earliest and best account of this tree was written in 1612 by 
the anonymous writer, believed to be Governor Moore. After 
describing the cedar, he says: 
“The other sorte we have no name for,” . . . “some did think it 
to be Lignum vitae; but it is not so; it is a verie fine wood, of 
colour yellow, and it bears a leaf like unto a walnut tree, and the 
rine [rind] or barke is much like a walnut tree, and the barke, if one 
taste of it will bite one’s tongue, as if it were Ginney Pepper, that 
wood is also very sweet.” 
The Bermuda Company, in their commission to Governor Moore 
(1612), mentioned the Yellow-wood as an unknown timber, of which 
they wished him to ship a “tunn” for examination. 
This tree seems to have been common and generally distributed 
over the larger islands at the time of the early settlements, but was 
never abundant. It is spoken of as used for lumber, and it was also 
early exported to England, for several laws were passed and procla- 
mations issued against exporting it, without permission. 
That Yellow-wood timber continued to be an article of illicit 
traffic appears certain from a proclamation issued by Governor Roger 
Wood, Oct. 6, 1632, of which the following is an extract : 
“As also the like punishment shall be inflicted upon every such 
p’son or p’sons as at any time hereafter shall be approved to have 
conveyed aboard any shipp or barque that shall arrive here (not 
having a sufficient warrant for the same) either trees, juncks ceader 
or yellow wood, boards, clefts, chests, plankes or the like, contrarie to 
the true intent and meaning of this my proclamacon And lastlie I 
doe hereby ordaine and confirme for a law, by and with the consent 
of the whole Counsell, that what seaman soever that shall hereafter 
arrive here, be he Captain or master or other officer or comon sayler 
that shall receave and take aboard any ceader or yellow wood trees, 
* At present, the name ‘‘ Yellow-wood” is applied locally to two very differ- 
ent trees of the genus Erythrina, which are not aromatic nor pungent. They 
belong to the Leguminosz, and are similar to the Locust-trees. One of these 
seems to have been introduced in rather early times ; the other, about seventy- 
five or eighty years ago. 
Trans. Conn. Acap., Vou. XI. 39 May, 1902. 
