1859.] ST. LUCIA AND BARBADOS. 69 



boiled or baked^ wad eaten with meat, etc., in the same manner 

 as plantains. 



Hibiscus esculentus, a plant of the Mallow tribe, bears a 

 conical capsule, containing numerous seeds surrounded with a 

 slimy mucilage; in its immature state is much prized by the 

 inhabitants in the preparation of a wholesome and nutritious soup. 



Another member of the same family is the Cotton-plant; 

 plentiful in the West India Islands. 



Abrus precatorius is a climbing plant of the Leguminosce ; 

 common among the bushes. The pods contain beautifully scarlet- 

 coloured seeds, with a black spot on each. 



The Coral-tree {Erythrina corallodendron) produces scarlet 

 seeds of the size of an ordinary bean ; it is also a Leguminiferous 

 plant. 



The Logwood-tree [Hoematoxylon campeachiaiiuni) holds the 

 same place in St. Lucia as the Hawthorn in Britain, and is 

 equally common. Its flowers are cream-coloured and fragrant. 



Hura crepitans, a large tree with singularly shaped fruit, is 

 thorny all over the trunk and branches, and when wounded exudes 

 a large quantity of milky juice of an acrid poisonous nature. It is 

 called the Sandbox-tree, and belongs to the Nat, Fam. Eiq^hor- 

 biacecB. 



The Castor-Oil-shmb [Ricinus communis), with its tricoccous 

 and speckled fruit, is common both to St. Lucia and Barbados. 



The Manchineel-tree [Hijjpomane Mancinella) is one of the 

 most, if not the most, poisonous trees in the West Indies. It 

 abounds in Barbados, at the seaside, and is a Euphorbiaceous 

 plant, and like most members of that extensive family, liberally 

 supplied with an acrid milky juice. Every part of this small 

 tree is extremely poisonous ; its very wood, in a dried state, con- 

 tains the acrid principle, so much so that carpenters manufac- 

 turing it often have their arms blistered by the sawdust falling 

 on them when perspiring. 



The Cabbage Palm [Areca oleracea) is a majestic tree, with a 

 trunk or stem forty or fifty feet high, and as straight and smooth 

 as a marble pillar. It is frequent in Barbados. 



The Mahogany-tree {Swietenia Mahagoni) is one of the largest 

 of trees, and must have been plentiful in Barbados prior to the 

 memorable hurricane of 11th of August, 1831, which nearly de- 

 vastated the entire island. 



