on, A TRIP TO 'i;ilE !SrAINLAK3:). 
Bl 
a walk” consists in taking a paddle in a canoe, probably for some 
miles. We accepted the invitatiori, however, and we found that 
our guides intended to show us the provision grounds, &c., situated 
on ••Nancy’s Cay,” named in the chart Solarte Cay.” Here 
almost as soon as we landed we came upon thickets of Bactris 
horrida, the Poke-and'dough boy” or Poke-under-boy,” of 
the colonists.. This name appears to extend for some consider- 
able distance in Central America, but its origin is involved in no 
little doubt. From the use to which the plant is put, in the 
district we traversed, it would appear to be pretty certain — that 
to that use — it owes its derivation. The stems of the palm are 
strong, hard, and some 12 to 15 feet in length, and about one 
inch, to one and a half inches in diameter, and are the favourite 
rods used for propelling canoes wdien in shallow water, hence — 
“poke-under-boy” — the rods being used in a similar manner to 
the punt pole of- English rivers. 
Specimens of these rods w^ere kindly forwarded for me by 
D. Morris, Esq., late Director of the Department of Public Gar- 
dens and Plantations, to W. Thistleton Dyer, Esq,, C.M.G., now^ 
Director of Kew Gardens, This gentleman was kind enough to 
place them in the hands of English manufacturers, who have 
most favourably reported on them, for use in the walking stick 
and umbrella trades, and further enquiry is now being made at 
the various sources from whence the supply can be obtained as to 
the supply available, and the cost of production. 
Here we met with another Geonoma, a small but handsome 
palm, very similar to those we saw on the Wari-Biarra. 
We also procured seeds of the “ Samba Gum” tree. These 
were about the size of small nutmegs, and like them, were cov- 
ered with a reddish arillus, or fleshy covering, much resembling 
the mace of commerce. The “Samba Gum” when first. produced 
from the tree, is a yellowish creamy-looking liquid, which after 
a time becomes hard and somewhat resinous, and wPen in that 
condition resembles the “Hog Gum” of Jamaica, the produce of 
Symphonia globulieera, L., Fil, if indeed, it is not the produce 
of the same tree, for it has not ^mt been our fortune to obtain seeds 
and Botanical specimens of the Jamaica plant. And fiowers^ and 
fruit were not obtainable where the gum and seeds were obtained. 
There were several tree ferns, and Selagiiiellas, but the most 
curious, was the singular climbing Alsoi^iiila blechnoides, this 
was present in large quantities. In the single frond, it very 
much resembles Oleanra nodosa, Prl. of the Jamaica fern 
flora, but the distinction is, however, very apparent, upon closer 
examination. We also gathered Eyania speciosa V. belonging 
