2 
sent a lad to search around for the tree, and he returned in a short 
time to tell us he had met with it. We followed him to the spot, and 
found that he had felled the tree. It had fallen across a little rivulet 
the water of which, when we arrived, was completely whitened from its 
juice. On striking a knife into the bark, a copious stream of milk-like 
fluid immediately followed. Our guide drank of it, and Mr. Couch- 
man and myself tasted it after him. It was thicker and richer than 
cow’s milk, and destitute of all acrimony, leaving only a slight feeling 
of clamminess on the lips. ad already seen that it mixed freely 
with the water of the little stream, and as I slept that night near the 
spot, the next morning Mr. Couchman and myself drank it in warm 
coffee. With this it commingled equally well, and lost all the viscosity 
before perceptible in its pure state, so much so as to appear to us 
neighbouring woodland establishment. A variety of experiments, too, 
have since tended to confirm mein my opinion, that it in no way differs 
in quality from the vegetable milk of the cow-tree. Yet it was plain 
that the tree was not that described by Humboldt.” 
“The milk I send you has now been in bottle thirty-six days. It 
did not commence to curdle before the seventh day after it was taken 
from the tree, and even then the process appeared exceedingly slow ; 
so much so, that on the twelfth day I used some of another portion, 
which had been bottled at the same time, in tea, without its being dis- 
tinguished from animal milk by those who drank it.” 
ae yr closely allied Lacmellea edulis, Karst. (£7. Columb. ii. p. 
101, t. 152), is described as yielding a drinkable juice or sap, called 
leche 7 ae literally milk and honey, by the Spanish Americans. 
An n analysis of the milk of Zschokkea utilis, sent home by Mr. James 
Smith, was published by Professor R. Christison (Edin. N. Phil. Journ. 
ix. (1830) pp. 31-35). 
With regard to the ipa | Seige of the plant here figured 
there may ‘be some doubt, e limits of the allied genera are 
badly defined ; but it certainly ies not be left in Taberncemon- 
tana.—W. Borrixe Hemsir 
Fig. 1, a flower; 2, pistil and portion of calyx ; 3, a corclla; 4, vertical section of 
ovary ; 5, a seed; 6, a section of the same showing the embryo in position; 7, 
embryc. All enlarg ‘ged, 
