r 
8 + 
TRAVELS IN 
on the banks of the Miffifippi; yet even thefe muft 
yield to thofe of St. Juan, in neatnefs of form* 
beauty of foliage, and, I think, in largenefs and 
fragrance of flower. Their ufual height is about 
one hundred feet, and fome greatly exceed that. 
The trunk is perfectly eredt, rifing in the form of 
a beautiful column, and fiipporting a head like an 
obtufe cone. The flowers are on the extremities 
of the fubdiviflons of the branches, in the center of 
a coronet of dark green, Aiming, ovate pointed 
entire leaves: they are large, perfectly white, and 
expanded like a full blown Rofe. They are poly- 
petalous, confiding of fifteen, twenty, or twenty- 
five petals : thefe are of a thick coriaceous texture, 
and deeply concave, their edges being fomewhat 
reflex, when mature. In the center Hands the 
young cone ; which is large, of a flefh colour, 
and elegantly fludded with a gold coloured digma, 
that by the end of dimmer is greatly enlarged, and 
in the autumn ripens to a large crimfon cone or 
ftrobile, difciofing multitudes of large coral red 
berries, which for a time hang down from them, 
fuipended by a fine, white, filky thread, four, fix, or 
even nine inches in length. The flowers of this tree 
are the larged and mod complete of any yet known : 
when fully expanded, they are of fix, eight, and 
nine inches diameter. The pericarpium and ber- 
ries poflefs an agreeable fpicy fcent, and an aroma- 
tic bitter tade. The wood when feafoned is of a 
draw colour, compadt, and harder and firmer than 
that of the poplar. 
It is really adonifhing to behold the Grape-Vines 
in this place. From their bulk and drength, one 
would imagine, they were combined to pull down 
thefe mighty trees to the earth 5 when, in fadl> 
6 
amongft 
