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ferently during several weeks. The juice of the 

 liana, when it has been recently gathered, is not 

 regarded as poisonous ; perhaps It acts in a sen- 

 sible manner only when it is strongly concen- 

 trated. It is the bark and a part of the albur- 

 num, which contain this terrible poison. Branches 

 of the mavacure 4 or 5 lines in diameter are 

 scraped with a knife ; and the bark that comes 

 off is bruised, and reduced into very thin fila- 

 ments, on the stone employed for grinding cas- 

 sava. The venomous juice being yellow, the 

 whole fibrous mass takes this colour. It is 

 thrown into a funnel nine inches high, with an 

 opening 4 inches wide. This funnel was of all 

 the instruments of the Indian laboratory that of 

 w T hich the master of poison seemed to be most 

 proud. He asked us repeatedly, if por alia 

 {down yonder, that is in Europe) we had ever 

 seen any thing to be compared to his embudo. 

 It was a leaf of the plaintain-tree rolled up in the 

 form of a cone, and placed in another stronger 

 cone made of the leaves of the palm-tree. The 

 whole of this apparatus was supported by slight 

 frame work made of the petioli and ribs of palm- 

 leaves. A cold infusion is first preparedby pouring 

 water on the fibrous matter, which is the ground 

 bark of the mavacure. A yellowish water filters 

 during several hours, drop by drop, through the 

 leafy funnel. This filtered water is the venom- 

 ous liquor, but it acquires strength only when it 



