80 NATURAL HISTORY OF 



quality ; but the value of the larger trunks is considerably de- 

 preciated by the tendency to decay to which the heart-wood 

 is liable. 



The third tree, or Winter's-bark {Brimys WinUr%) is very 

 different in almost all its characters from the other two. It 

 belongs to the same order as the magnolia, and forms a noble 

 tree, with smooth gray bark, leaves from three to four inches 

 long, shaped somewhat like those of a laurel, green on the upper 

 and silver-gray on the under surface, and masses of rather 

 large white flowers at the end of the branches. It extends 

 throughout the wooded country of the Strait and western Pata- 

 gonia, and is abundant in the wooded parts of Chili, where, 

 however, it becomes somewhat modified in form, and has been 

 regarded as a distinct species, under the name of B. Cliilensis. 

 It was noticed by nearly all the older voyagers through the 

 Strait, and derives its popular name of Winter's-bark from Cap- 

 tain Winter, who accompanied Sir Francis Drake in his cir- 

 cumnavigation of the globe, during the years 1577-80, and 

 employed its bark as a medicine, and also in the way of condi- 

 ment for his crew, finding it a useful anti-scorbutic. It is 

 thus noticed by Sir Eichard Hawkins, who visited the Strait 

 later in the same century : — *' Some of our idle time we spent 

 in gathering the barke and fruit of a certaine Tree which we 

 found in all places of the Straits, where we found Trees. This 

 Tree carrieth his fruit in clusters like a Haw-thorne, but that it 

 is greene, each being of the bignesse of a Pepper-corne, and 

 euery of them contayning within four or five granes, twice as 

 bigge as a Musterd-seed, which broken are white within, as 

 the good Pepper, and bite much like it, but hotter. The 

 barke of this Tree hath savour of all kinde of Spices together, 

 most comfortable to the Stomack, and held to be better than 

 any Spice what-soeuer. And for that, a learned Countriman of 



