OF ACCOMPANYING ANIMALS AND PLANTS. 857 



by myself around the Bay of Rio Janeiro ; by A. Saint-Hilaire, inland in Brazil as far as the Catingas 

 forest; by Aublet pi. 125, in Guyana, and termed "heymassoli " (Steud.) ; by Plumier pi 261, and 

 Jacquin am. pi. 277, in the West Indies ; is known to grow as far as Key West in Florida (Chapm.), 

 and on the Pacific side of the Isthmus (Benth. voy. Sulph. 160). 



" Vitis sp." of Eastern Equatorial Africa. A shrub three feet high called " m'peengee-peengee " 

 (Grant) ; and from early times, its one-stoned pear-shaped fruit eaten : —observed in Madi woods, 

 having "neither tendrils nor thorns" (cf. Ximenia). 



" May 20th, 1498" (Barros), arrival of Vasco da Gama in Hindustan, two leagues below Cali- 

 cut. At the city, the commercial jealousy of the Moors was aroused, and during his stay, Da Gama 

 derived assistance from the secret promptings of one of them, "a native of Seville " (C. Correa i. 16). 

 On "Friday, Oct. 5th" (Castanh., and Goes), he left Hindustan, — and on "Monday, Feb. 7th" 

 in the following year, arrived at Melinda. Having procured Moorish pilots, he continued his 

 voyage homewards, finding the pilots familiar with the Mozambique current and African coast 

 •almost to the Cape of Good Hope, but not beyond. "On the 20th March" (Castanh.), he doubled 

 the Cape. 



Ficus elastica of the mountains of Assam and Eastern Hindustan. The inaia-rubber fig-tree is 

 called "kasmeer" by the inhabitants of Pundua and the Juntipoor mountains, in Bengalee "kusneer" 

 (Drur.) ; and boiled rice " on green fig leaves, which were as broad as a sheet of paper," were set 

 before Da Gama at Calicut — (C. Corr. i. 17): "leaves of the Indian fig-tree which are very large and 

 stiff" used for plates by the king of Calicut and invited brahmins, are mentioned by Barbosa : F. 

 elastica is described by Roxburgh iii. 541, Howison as. soc. Calcutt. v, Falconer, and Royle him. 

 338; is known to grow also on the Khassya mountains, and according to Drury is "cultivated in 

 Malabar;" was observed by Graham "in gardens about Bombay;" by Mason v. 523, introduced 

 "within a dozen years " into Tenasserim, and " appears to grow as well as an indigenous plant." By 

 European colonists, was carried to Northeast America, where it has become frequent in greenhouses. 

 Its milky juice is used by the natives of Silhet to smear and render baskets water-tight (Drur.), and 

 according to Lindley "inspissates into an excellent kind of caoutchouc, which is now imported." 

 (Compare F. tsiela.) 



" In May" (Churchill coll., and Asher edit. Huds.), under instructions from Henry VII. of Eng- 

 land Sebastian Cabot, son of John, sailing Westward "by way of Iceland." On reaching the newly- 

 discovered country, he found land extending continuously in the desired Northwestern direction as 

 far as " 56 N.," at which point he turned back; visited Newfoundland, brought away three natives, 

 and continued Southward along the continent to " 38 ." 



"Aug. 1st" (F. Columb. 47 and 68 to 73, Columb. lett. 3 gives "July 31st"), an island discovered 

 and named Trinidad by Columbus, seeking on hi,s Third voyage the "vast land Southward " he had 

 heard of from the Caribbes. On the same day, the continent was in sight, but was at first mistaken 

 for another island. Continuing along the South coast of Trinidad, Columbus entered the Gulf of 

 Paria, finding the sea freshened by large rivers and the land continuous, " which he certainly con- 

 cluded to be the continent." Of the natives, the men wore a covering in front, and the women were 

 entirely naked; and strings of pearls in their possession, were explained by signs to have been 

 brought from the Northwest. Columbus continued around through the straits ; and turning West- 

 ward, followed the coast of Paria to and beyond an outlying island which he named " Margarita ; " 

 and thence sailed Northward direct to Hayti, arriving "Aug. 30th " (Major 2d edit, lett p. 156). 



Ccesalpinia echinata of Eastern Equatorial America. A large tree affording the brazil-wood of 

 commerce, called by the aboriginals of Brazil "araboutam " (Ler.) : the "brasil" in great quantities 

 mentioned by Columbus in a letter from Hayti giving an account of his Third voyage — (Major 

 2d edit. 112), may be compared: much "brasil" along the river Maranon, is mentioned by Oviedo 

 nat. hyst. f. 10 ; and C. echinata was observed in Brazil by Lerius. From transported specimens, is 

 termed " pseudo-santalum rubrum s. arbor brasilia" by C. Bauhin pin. 393; is described also by 

 Lamarck enc. i. 4C1 ; and has usurped the Oriental name of C. sappanfrom its wood equally dyeing 

 red (see Cabral). 



" In this year " (art de verif.), Mohammed Abu-1-Saadat succeeded by Kansu Abu-Said, thirty- 

 ninth Memluk sultan of Egypt. 



"The same year" (Alst. p. 308), Dalmatia again overrun by the Turks: and an army of them 

 "seventy thousand" strong, sent by Bajazet II. into Russia. 



" The same year " (Alst. p. 378), Savanarola a Dominican monk, having written against the 

 supremacy of the pope, burned alive at Florence. 



" 1499 A. D." (Marcel), Kansu Abu-Said succeeded by Kansu Djan-balat, fortieth Memluk sul- 

 tan of Enypt. 



"The same year" (Churchill coll.), in a ship from Spain, Alonso de Ojeda "and some other pri- 

 vate men," including Americus Vespucius " as merchant," followed the North coast of the new con- 



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