MANNA TREE. 1SS 



i>ut no care is taken to cultivate it. It grows in clusters upon shrubs, 

 which trail upon the ground. 



In Africa, what constitutes the principal wealth of the part called 

 the Grain Coast, is the abundance of Guinea pepper produced 

 there, in which they have a great trade, not only with all the neigh- 

 bouring inland nations, but with Europeans. 



The plant on which this production grows, differs in size accord- 

 ing to the nature of the soil, and other circumstances. It shoots up 

 like other shrubs, and like ivy runs up some neighbouring tree ; 

 what grows upon the plant thus supported has a finer flavour, and 

 a hotter and more pungent taste, than what grows wild in the fields. 

 The leaf, which is soft and pointed, is twice as long as it is broad, 

 and in the rainy season has a delicate smell : soon after which it 

 fades, and at the same time loses both its beauty and flavour; but 

 the leaf and buds when in perfection, on being bruised between the 

 fingers, have an agreeable aromatic smell. Under the leaves, and 

 all along the stalk, are small filaments, by which it fixes itself to the 

 nearest tree. Its flower cannot be described, as it buds in those 

 seasons when no trade is carried on with the coast. It is however 

 certain that it does flower : the fruit succeeds, in long, slender, red 

 shells, or pods, separated into four or five cells, and covered with a 

 rind which the negroes believe to be poisonous, and is only a thin 

 film, that soon dies and crumbles. [ Linn&us, Woodville* 





CHAP. V. 



MEDICINAL PLANTS. 



SECTION I. 



Manna.tree. 

 Fraxinus Ornus. Linn. 



JL HE fraxinus ornus, or flowering ash, from which, for the most part, 

 we obtain the manna of the shops, greatly resembles our common 

 ash : it is lofty, much branched, and covered with greyish bark. 

 The young shoots produce the leaves, which are pinnated, opposite, 

 and consist of several pair of pinnae, or small leaves, terminated by 



K 3 



