

ST DOMINGO. 



- \.-ry abundant; by the old Spanish laws it was 

 ._]**-_. <'' unlawful to cut it : such as grow in n dry IMI-I-II 

 v<Kcub!r so1 ' ' s h* r dcr. more close in the grain, and more finely 

 variegated, than what grown in low damp Mtuations. 

 \\':i!tc.n s.i\s. that he has seen a canoe formed out of 

 tin- trunk of the mahogany tree, capable of holding 100 

 inen. The oak, tbougn of the same specie.-, as that of 

 Europe, differs coMKMnbly in its appearance; it is 

 i:*ed for buildings, and frequently furnishes beams 

 from t)0 to TO feet long. The hacana is a tree \ny -i- 

 milar to the' oak. but its wood is still more durable. 

 The manchineel affords a most beautifully veined wood ; 

 hut it is dangerous to work at it, in consequence of the 

 poisonous juice which it contains. There are several 

 woods for dyeing, but none of them have been tried, or 

 even accurately dc-i-riU'd, except the fustic ; there is 

 another tree, somewhat resembling the fustic, which 

 afford*, a beautiful dye of a more greenish yellow. Two 

 kinds of lignum vita? grow along the coast ; the quicbra 

 hacha (break axe) is of the same species ; it has the pe- 

 culiarity of becoming nearly as hard as stone, when 

 : tuck in damp ground. The Spaniards generally build 

 their vessels of a tree called the capa, which, however. 

 seems better suited for sheathing .ships. The pine is 

 Abundant, but in consequence of its being very liable to 

 l>c attacked by the wood ant, it is seldom employed. 

 Brazil wood is found on many parts of the coast, but 

 hitherto it is not much attended to. The satin wood of 

 St Domingo is heavier than that which grows in the 

 East Indies; but it takes a much better polish, and does 

 not require to be varnished : the value of it is nearly 

 equal to that of mahogany. Of all the vegetable pro- 

 ductions of the island, the seilia, or cotton tree, is the 

 largest : of it the lightest and most capacious canoes 

 are made ; it receives its name from a down, which it 

 affords, resembling cotton, but of a shorter staple, not un- 

 like the down of the bl.iek poplar ; with this substance 

 the Spaniards stuff their beds ; and some successful at- 

 tempts have been made to form hats of it. The juice 

 of the fruit of theingua is as clear as water, yet it gives 



in to linen of a dark black colour, which is very 

 permanent : on account of this quality, it has been used 

 tor dyeing ; it is also employed in baths as an astringent. 

 Of the wood of this tree, which is firm, straight, and 

 supple, the natives make tiieir best lances. The fruit 

 of the genepa, or sand Ixix tree, is more singular than 

 valuable : " it resembles a perfect sandbox, of around 

 form, witli little raised regular divisions, in shape such 

 ta we give a cake by means of a patty pan, which ter- 

 minate in small fibres in the centre, through which the 

 nand filters, and drops into the inside. The traveller 

 if sometimes startled in riding under them, by a noise 

 resembling the discharge of a pistol ; but finds it is 

 the fruit that has exploded, and shivered in a thousand 

 pieces;" the sap is of a very acrid nature, and if it 

 falls into the eye produces excruciating pain, and even 

 in some cases blindness. Green and black ebony, 

 granadlllo, and the palmetto, or mountain cabbage, 

 are very common ; the annual growth of the last is 

 marked by a dark circle, at about the regular distance 

 of three inches. The roofs of the houses are cove red 

 with the envelope of the cabbage, which falls periodically 



. month to the ground it Is about three feet lung 

 and one broad. The juice of the dwarf palmetto is cal- 

 led alepra cogolc, or enlivcner of the brain, by the na- 

 tives, from the property which it is said to possess of 

 raking depressed spirits, when applied to the temples 

 and back of the neck. The sugar cane, cotton, and 

 olants, Houri-h remarkably well in St Domingo. 

 The sugar would be of an excellent quality, were it 



properly and carefully manufactured, The quality of S; i 



the coffee is remarkably good, little inferior '. ^ P^^. 



to that of Mocha; each tree, if propel Iv atti-inlvd to. . > """~ " ' 



11 1 i - * I'.'l ' ' 



will produce, on an average, a pound . (ton, r , 



of an excellent quality, grows luturalU 

 stony soil, and in the cre\ ices of the rocks. Indigo 

 MIS at one time to ha\e h. i-n -n itlj cultivate:!; 

 but at present it is in a great me-i.-ure neglected. The 

 kernal of the cocoa nut of St Do-. :orc acidula- 



ted than that of Vene/mb and the Car.iccas ; and the 

 chocolate made from it higher 



flavour. The plaintain, banan.i. c. i-da- 



bash, and cashew nut, are aluir.'i.uit. \ aiiilla is indi- 

 genous in the woods; but though a useful ard valua- 

 ble plant, no attention has been paid to its ciiltan or 

 commerce in this inland. In the country roi.iul the 

 bay of Sainana, the malagueta, or paradise plant, grows 

 in great abundance ; as it is a native of the East Indies, 

 it is thought to have been introduced by Columbus, 

 wlio frequented this bay more than most other parts of 

 the island ; the Spaniards use it to season their iii< 

 favourite dishes. The tobacco of St Domingo, accord- 

 ing to Valverde, has a larger leaf than on any other 

 part of the continent of America ; and in quality is 

 equal to that of Cuba or the Havannali ; it is found in 

 most parts of the island, but it is cultivated to the 

 greatest extent, and witli the most care, in the districts 

 of La Vega and Santiago : by the manufacturers of 

 Seville it is in great esteem, and i it is pre- 



ferred by them to all other kinds. Two crops of rice 

 are annually gathered ; but this crop is not so abundant 

 or productive in St Domingo as in IVrto Uico. The 

 n at ives manufacture hammocks of the fibres of the leaf 

 of the peta, a species of aloes. This tree p-ov, s in 

 every part of the island, but particularly in Santi;-; 

 The flowers are exceedingly numerous, and some of 

 them particularly distinguished by the brilliancy of 

 their colours, and the fragrance of their smell ; the 

 most singular, or the most valuable of the fruits, are 

 the vegetable marrow, melon, guava, pine apple, man- 

 go, &c. 



Of the four species of quadrupeds which were found Aninub. 

 indigenous on the island on its first discovert , the hu- 

 lia, or agouti cat, only remains. It is of a grey colour, 

 and in form something between the squirrel and the 

 rabbit: it burrows in hollow trees; but when pursued, 

 takes refuge in the depth of the forests. Though as- 

 sisted by its tail in climbing the trees, or in springing 

 from one tree to another, it is not nearly so nimble as 

 the squirrel : even this animal is nearly extinct in Do- 

 mingo, being found only in Santiago. All the other 

 quadrupeds were introduced by the Europeans, and 

 tney have increased greatly, especially cattle, hogs, 

 sheep, goats, horses, mules, and asses. There are gra- 

 ziers in tlu district of Scibo, who keep upwards of 

 12,000 head of cattle, which they sell in herds at six 

 and eight dollars per head; and when the census of the 

 Spanish division was taken in 1?SO, 200,000 head of 

 cattle were returned ; so that the number then, mak- 

 ing allowance for those which did not pay the tribute, 

 could not be fewer than ".50,000. It is probable, how- 

 ever, that, in consequence of the unsettled state of the 

 island since that time, the number is not now nearly 

 so great. According to Walton, the whole of the cat- 

 tle in the island do not exceed 300,000; the horse-, 

 mules, and asses, he estimates at 1. r >0,000. The island 

 abounds in birds, curious for their plumage or song : 

 among these are the flamingo, wild peacock, .Jamaica 

 nightingale or mocking-bird, and the banana bird. 

 Among the amphibia and fishe*. are the turtle, earn- 



