MEDICINAL PLANTS OF JAMAICA. ^20\) 



of a coarser texture than the white yam. No yam ought to 

 be eaten before the vine withers, otherwise dysentery and diar- 

 rhoeas may ensue, as happened in 1771, in the neighbour- 

 hood of Orangehill, Jamaica. These were of the putrid 

 kind, producing cold sweats, with prostration of strength. 

 Few were lost in my practice, provided they had proper 

 nourishment. 



The white yam is planted in December, and is dug up in 

 the following April. The Negro yam is planted in May, and 

 is ripe about Christmas. 



The leaves of the Negro yam are smooth, shining, and of 

 a deep green colour. They are furnished with a tendril, to 

 lay hold of any bush or tree they may chance to meet with- 

 The flowers are yellow. The roots are very large, some 

 weighing twenty pounds. They are of an irregular figure, 

 smooth, with a greyish skin ; and when boiled or roasted, 

 taste a good deal like the potato. Negroes of any reflection 

 have a sufficient stock of yams, lest a hurricane should deprive 

 them of their ordinary food. 



The wild or wood yam is found growing spontaneously in 

 the woods. The stem is prickly. The leaves are of a light 

 green, and pretty broad They grow in pairs and feel rough. 

 The roots are large, flat, and broad ; but, when boiled or 

 roasted, taste bitter. Some Negroes eat them by choice. 



The yampee grows in the lowland settlements of Jamaica. 

 The leaf is like that of the wood-yam. The root is of a finer 

 grain than other yams, and approaches nearer than any thing 

 in Jamaica to English potatoes. They are cut for planting- 

 like potatoes. To each piece an eye must be left ; and one 

 or two of these pieces may be put into a little hill of mould.) 



46. DOLICHOS PRURIENS. CoWltck. 



This slip runs wild amongst the bushes in many parts of 

 Jamaica, and now and then is cultivated in gardens. 



O 



