l6gi.] ITS LEAVES AND FEUIT. THE STINK WOOD. 69 



tiivicr^ in his Natural History of the Antilles,- and says, its 

 Leaves are broad, thick and long, without saying any thing of 

 the Fruit : And the two Voyagers before mention'd, tell us 

 nothing either of the Fruit or of the Leaves. 



The Rodrigo Kastas^ (for I ought to keep the Indian Name 

 at least in the Indies) bear Leaves as broad as one's Hand, 

 pretty thick, and somewhat like that of a Lilach or a Heart 

 in shape, they are softer than Satin to touch. Their Flower 

 is white, and smells well : Their Fruit is red and round, and 

 as big as a black Damask Plum. Their Skin is hard, and 

 within it is a thin Seed, a little like that of a Fig. The 

 Fruit is not prejudicial to Health, but 'tis insipid. The Batts 

 commonly feed upon it, and muUitudes of them nest in the 

 tufted Branches of this Tree. 



The Wood of all the Trees in this Island, is generally hard. 

 We made this Observation in building our Cabbins ; The 

 Timber we us'd about them, in a few Weeks after 'twas cut, 

 wou'd be full of Worms, till to prevent that Inconvenience, 

 we let it lie three Weeks in the Sea, and then the Worm 

 never came into it. 



There is a Tree we call the Nasty Tree,* because it stunk : 



1 I.e., Palctuvicr, the mangrove, a very different tree. 



2 The title of this rare book is given on page 17, supra. 



3 The name Kasta, to which Leguat, following La Boul!aye-Le- 

 Gouz, attributes aa Indian origin, is Portuguese, meaning no more 

 than our word "caste", which is derived from it. Of course, the caste- 

 tree would not be an inai^propriate name for the Ficus reliyiosa., which 

 has always been an object of superstitious reverence among the Hindus. 

 (Cf. Dr. Bl■e^\eY's Dictionary of Phrase and Fahlc ; Yule's Anglo-Indian 

 Glossary.) 



■* Prof. Balfour has no doubt but that the tree referred to by Leguat 

 as the " nasty tree" is Clerodendron laciniatum, the Bois cahri of the 

 Creoles, a small tree easily recognised by its disagreeable odour, which 

 has occasioned its popular name. The wood is very white and close- 

 grained, but is not put to great use, save for burning, probably on 

 account of the odour. Some have thought that Leguat referred to 

 the Bois puant {Foitidia Manritiana Lam.), but the odour of that tree, 

 though exceedingly objectionable, is only apparent when the sun shines 



