Ix 



INTRODUCTION. 



and collecting in leathern bags the sap which 

 exudes. It is an acrid poison, highly inflam- i 

 mable, and so violent in its effects, as to pro- i 

 duce severe inflammation of the nostrils, if those 

 who are employed in powdering it do not guard 

 themselves from its dust. Pliny relates that 

 the plant was discovered by King Juba, and 

 named by him after his physician, Euphorbus. 

 The Manchineel tree (Hippomane Mancinelld) is 

 said to be so poisonous, that persons have died 

 from merely sleeping beneath its shade. Its 

 juice is pure white, and a single drop of it fall- 

 ing upon the skin burns like fire, forming an 

 ulcer often difiicult to heal. The fruit, which is 

 beautiful and looks like an apple, contains a 

 similar fluid, but in a milder form ; the burning 

 which it causes in the lips of those who bite it 

 guards the careless from the danger of eating it. 

 Jatropha Maiiikot, or Manioc, is a shrub about 

 six feet high, indigenous to the West Indies and 

 South America, abounding in a milky juice of so 

 poisonous a nature, that it has been known to 

 occasion death in a few minutes. The poisonous 

 principle, however, may be dissipated by heat, 

 after which process the root may be converted 

 into the most nourishing food. It is grated 

 into a pulp, and subjected to a heavy pressure 

 until all the juice is expressed. The residue, 

 called cassava, requires no further preparation, 

 being simply baked in the form of thin cakes on 

 a hot iron hearth. This bread is so palatable to 

 those who are accustomed to it, as to be preferred 

 to that made from wheaten flour ; and Creole . 

 families, who have changed their residence to 

 Europe, frequently supply themselves with it at 



