BOOK IIL C H A P. III. 4^^ 



fymptoms left him. This plant is an ever-green ; and it is re- 

 marked, that no animal will meddle with it, although in the 

 greatell drought, and when no other green thing appears. The 

 root, dried and powdered, is purgative. The milky juice of the 

 plant is a fevere cauftic, and takea away warts and ring-worms. 

 Barham gives another inftanceof its deleterious eifeds. A Negroe 

 having fome rum in ajar, ignorantly flopped the mouth of it over- 

 night with fome leaves gathered from this plant, one or two of 

 which fell in, and fo imparted their noxious quality to all the hquor. 

 The next morning, he drank fome of it himfelf, and diftributed 

 drams to fcveral of his countrymen ; but, in lefs than two hours, 

 they were all feized with violent vomiting, and tremors all over 

 their bodies. Upon the alarm being given, a furgeon was fent for j 

 but, before he could arrive, three of them expired, and another 

 lay at the pomt of death. Some Indian arrow-root was imme- 

 diately got, bruifed, and the expreffed juice adminiftered. The 

 firft glafs revived the Negroe that appeared to be dying; the fe- 

 cond brought him to the ufe of his fpeech ; and, upon repeated 

 dofes, he continued mending till he was perfectly recovered. The 

 nhandiroba is a climbing plant. Pifo, p. 259, calls it likewife 

 acaricobo, ambuyaembo, and caapeba ; and thus defcribes it. It is 

 a fpecies of climbing ivy. Its leaves are difpofed like the ivy ; 

 fomewhat roundifli ; and, as it were, terminating in three points, 

 green, fmooth, andglofly; the flowers fmall, of a dulky pale hue ; 

 the fruit round, green, fhining, about the fize of a large apple, the 

 upper part appearing with a circular indentation, and at the centre 

 three lines uniting together at the extremity in an obtufe angle. 

 The fruit on the inlide is difpofed fomewhat like the walnut, but 

 in three diftind cavities, appearing, upon taking off the rind, per- 

 feftly white, and containing an oily kernel, of a pale yellow 

 colour, inclofed In a pellicle. From this kernel an oil is ex- 

 trafted, which may be ufed for lamps, and holds a long time in 

 burning; but it is of no ufe for food, becaufe it is extremely bitter, 

 as well as the fruit. Barham fays, the firft time he met with this 

 plant was in St. Thomas in the Vale ; where he faw it climbing 

 and running up to the top of very high tree=. It happened to be 

 in fruit. Its leaf much refembles the Englilh ivy ; but the fruit 



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