THE 



GARDENER'S MAGAZINE, 



MARCH, 1835. 



ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 



Art. I. An Excursion, in Search of OrcMdece, up the River Masse- 

 roni, iohich Jhlls into the Esseqiiibo about a Hundred Miles Jrom 

 its Mouth. By Mr. John Hencpiman. 



After a tedious passage of nearly two months, it was with great 

 pleasure, and in the highest spirits, that I landed in Georgetown, 

 Demerara, on the 12th of March, 1834. The appearance of 

 Demerara from the sea is by no means inviting, nothing being 

 visible except a dense mass of mangrove bushes, many of which 

 are growing within the limits reached by the tide. Justly has 

 Demerara been called the land of mud : not a grain of sand, not 

 a single rock does it present, for the eye to rest on; and were it 

 not for a few cocoa-nut and cabbage palms, and a tall chimney 

 or two, which are visible, at intervals, along the coast, one could. 

 scarcely credit that such a spot could have been selected for a 

 European settlement. 



I experienced much disappointment and delay in preparing to 

 visit the interior, which is generally the case when a traveller is 

 at the mercy of the convenience of others. However, I became 

 acquainted with Mr. D. Mackie, who possesses a woodcutting 

 establishment on the river Essequibo, who proved a most in- 

 valuable friend, and to whose disinterested kindness and hospi- 

 tality I was greatly indebted during my stay in Demerara. After 

 having forwai'ded to Clapton a few species which I had collected 

 in the vicinity of Georgetown, I departed in a small schooner 

 for Ampa Creek, the residence of Mr. Mackie, on the 13th of 

 April. 



Ampa is situate about sixty miles from the mouth of the river 

 Essequibo ; and there being many Indians who were in the habit 

 of frequenting Ampa, Mr. Mackie promised to procure some 

 to paddle me up the river. The majestic Essequibo is said to 

 contain from three to four hundred islands. Among the largest 

 are Laguon and Wakenham, which produce, perhaps, half the 



Vol. XL — No. 60. k 



