268 CONTENT. 



With an insect-net, however, I have repeatedly cap- 

 tured specimens, having first closed the doors and 

 jalousies. On the evening referred to, more Bats 

 than usual resorted to the house, one and another 

 flying in until the family retired to bed ; yet from 

 the openness of the rooms, I obtained only the 

 present specimen, a little species of Artiheus. 



On my return to Content, however, my attention 

 was directed to some Bats, which every evening 

 swarmed around a large and fruitful Naseberry tree, 

 that overshadowed one corner of the yard. The 

 Naseberry, or neesberry, the nispero of the Spanish 

 colonists, and, I believe, of the native Indians 

 (Achras sapota), is one of the richest and most agree- 

 able of West Indian fruits. In size and appearance 

 it resembles a very rough russet apple, firm and 

 fleshy, of a rich sugary sweetness ; when young, the 

 fruit contains eight or nine cells, diverging from 

 the axis, most of which become abortive, from one 

 to three being usually found when ripe, each con- 

 taining a large flat oval black seed. When green 

 the fruit yields by incision, as does also the bark of 

 the tree, a viscid milk, which soon acquires, by ex- 

 posure to the air, a strong tenacity, and makes an 

 effective birdlime. It is much used for the capture 

 of the frugivorous birds, such as the Blue Quit, the 

 Cashew-bird, the Banana-bird, and others, by the 

 negro youths, who call the substance naseberry gum. 

 The tree is large, spreading, and handsome, with 

 glossy green leaves, having a tendency to crowd 

 together in rosettes ; the flowers form bunches, each 

 being a deep narrow cup, with white fleshy petals, 

 nearly hidden by the calyx. 



