418 EXPLANATORY INDEX. 



jelly. It is remarkable, however, that few tropical fruits, 

 except the orange, the cocoa-nut, the pine- apple, and the 

 durian, can be compared with our plums, peaches, straw- 

 berries, &c. The dxu'ian indeed, which is said by its lovers to 

 be, the king of fruits, requires an education before it can be 

 appreciated ; but when it is once tasted, the eater feels as if 

 he can never have enough of it. 



There are several species of Guava, among which is the 

 little, stunted-looking Water Guava (Psidiwrnjluviatile). The 

 most valued of them is the Perfumed Guava (P. poimferum), 

 which grows abundantly on the banks of the Cuyuni river, its 

 roots insinuating themselves into the cracks among the stones. 



At least seven species or varieties are cultivated. 



H. 



Hackea (Siderodendron triflorum). — A tree growing in 

 sandy soil, and flowering in November. The flowers are 

 bright yellow, and when the trees are seen against the dark 

 foliage of the forest, they look like masses of gold. Hence 

 the name Siderodendron, or Star-tree. 



The wood is not used for general purposes, on account of 

 its extreme hardness, but is exceedingly valuable for cogs, 

 shafts, <fec. The tree is about sixty feet in height, and the 

 wood is brown in colour. It squares about fourteen inches. 



Haiaeeie. — See "Wourali." 



Hammock. — These ingenious contrivances are now so well 

 known in England that little description is needed. Here 

 they are a luxury, and a very great one ; there, they are an 

 absolute necessity. 



They are sometimes formed of silk-grass fibre, and some- 

 times of cotton, the latter being the more pliant, and the 

 former the more lasting. The best hammocks are not formed 

 like nets, and knotted, but the strings are intertwined so that 

 they adapt themselves to every movement of the body. A 



