776 J A M A I C A. 



fine, and the flouf fepirated from the hufk. A finall quantity of 

 this flour may be put into broth, or foup; and, when taken daily in 

 this manner, it has been known to recover many perfons, from the 

 very brink of the grave, to a robuft ftate of heaUh. 



iir. Musk-Okro. — Hibifcus hifpldus,feniine mujcato. 

 The feeds of this plant, when grown to full maturity, have a 

 Ihong and perfe£l fmell of mulk, a few grains being fufficient to 

 perfume a whole room. It is ufed with great propriety in powders, 

 pomatums, eflences, and the like, as well as in medical prepara- 

 tions ; and might be ;i valuable article of export. 



J 12. Jamaica Salop. — SatyrlumtfoUh Urath longjjfimis, c£c. 



Browne, p. 325. 



The leaves of this plant, which is found only in the cooler parts 

 of the mountains, refemble thofe of a young cocoa-nut. The root, 

 as it dries, acquires a great deal both of the colour and tafte of 

 rhubarb; but it Ihould be fliced, and kept a long time in the open 

 air, to be properly cured. It is ufed as a flomachic, and is ob- 

 lerved to thicken the J'a/iva when chewed, and thought to abate the 

 acrimony of the humours by its mucilaginous quality. Browne 

 defcribes fifteen fpecies of the fa/yrium. Sloane mentions feveral, 

 under the name of orchis j and, among the reft, " orchis e/atior, lati- 

 *^foUa,afphodeU radice, fpicdjlrigofd.''^ Cat. p. 119. This has double 

 tuberous roots, much like thofe in England, and was thought a fpe- 

 cific to help impotency ; the eflence, juice, or extraifl, being taken 

 twice a day in a glafs of wine. Mr. Moult lately communicated a 

 very fimple method of preparing the roots. They are firft de- 

 prived of their thin Ikin, then kept in the heat of a bread-oven 

 eight or ten minutes, where they acquire a tranfparency like that 

 of horn ; and are afterwards removed into a common room, in 

 which they grow dry, and harden in a few days. 



113. Wild Cass ad a. — Jatropha humilior^ Jetis ramojis, foliis 

 tri vel quinque lobis., leviter denticulatis. 



This is very common about Kingfton, Spanifh Town, and mod 



parts of the ifland, where the foil is dry, and fituation warm. It 



3 grows 



