

LIMOEIRO. 



325 



or garlic tree, is to be met with in great abun- 

 dance in these districts. The name is derived 

 from the similitude of the smell of the leaves 

 and the wood of this plant to garlic. The tree 

 abounds so greatly, and, I suppose, reminded 

 the first settlers so much of one of their favourite 

 European culinary ingredients, that it has given 

 name to a town, and to a whole district. 



About five o'clock in the afternoon we pro- 

 ceeded to Limoeiro, a large and thriving vil- 

 lage. * It is composed of one street of about 

 three quarters of a mile in length, which is 

 closed at one end by the church and vicarage : 

 this building belonged formerly to the Jesuits. 

 The trade of Limoeiro with the interior is con- 

 siderable, and particularly on the day of the 

 market, which is held weekly, the bustle is 

 excessive. These days seldom pass without 



arise from various circumstances to which some clew might 

 have been discovered, if attention had been paid to the sub- 

 ject upon the spot. He says that the leaves are three inches 

 in length, and " cet arbre est un de plus gros, des plus grands, 

 et des meiUeurs qui croissent aux isles. — Nouveau Voyage, 

 %c. Tom. vii. p. 383. 



Du Tertre says, that it grows en abondance le long de la 

 mer, dans les lieux les plus sees et les plus arides. — Histoire 

 des Antilles, fyc. Tom. ii. p. 165. I have only heard of the 

 Saboeiro at some distance from the coast. 



* Limoeiro was raised to a township by an Alvara issued 

 from Rio de Janeiro on the 27th July, 1811 ; but this was 

 not then known. It has now a mayor, municipality, and 

 capitam-mor. 



Y 3 



