306 F0R£IGK BtRfiS. 



With the Pine- Apple,* rich in a nectarine taste, 

 The clefts of the rocks in abundance are grac'd. 

 There, too, Ricinus* broad-leav'd, whose reniform 



seed 

 Secretes in its cells panaceas indeed ; 

 There the Capsicum' rich in pods pungent and red ; 

 And there the Banana* uplifts too her head. 



Thus the Lord of the Mountain (') was pleas'd to 



invite 

 His vassals to meet on this day of delight. 



(') Order, Accipitres, (Linn.) Condor, Vulture, the 

 King, the Aura, the Crested, the Aquiline. 

 The genus Vultur, (Linn.) or Vulture, to which the 

 Condor or Condur, the Vultur gryphus, belongs, and to which 



* Bromelia Ananas. 

 • " Ricinus CommuniSf or Palma Christi. An annual plant, grow- 

 ing plentifully in the West Indies ; it is of very quick growth, 

 and sometimes attains the height of sixteen feet. From its seed is 

 obtained the well known and safe purgative called Castor Oil. 



5 The Capsicum Annuunif baccatum, and other species of Bird 

 PEPPER,are well known pungent stimulants, from some of which 

 is obtaiued the Cayenne Pepper. 



'^ The Musa sapientunif or Banana Tree, is supposed to be 

 a native of Guinea, whence it was carried to the West Indies, 

 where it now flourishes most abundantly. The stalks of this 

 plant are peculiarly porous; the root alone is perennial, the 

 rest dyin?; down to the ground every year; the leaves are two 

 yards long and a foot broad. The fruit is in the form of a cu- 

 cumber, four or five inches long. The weight of a bunch of 

 bananas usually exceeds twelve pounds ; when ripe it is eaten 

 by all ranks of people either raw or fried. 



