HISTORY OF MAURITIUS. 
53 
The Jalap bears flowers in the shape of a funnel, and of a deep crimson, which 
only open at night: they smell like turpentine, and there are two kinds of them. 
The vine of Madagascar is a creeper, of which bowers are formed, and bears a 
yellow flower; its leaves are downy, and appear to be covered with flour. There 
are several other kinds of flowering creepers in the gardens. 
The Mongris, is a jessamine, whose leaf resembles that of the orange tree: there 
are both double and single ones, and they dispense an agreeable fragrance. 
The Franchipanier, is a jessamine of another kind. This shrub grows in the shape 
of a stag’s horn. From the extremities of the smaller horns there shoot out bunches of 
long leaves, in the centre of which are large white flowers, in the shape of a funnel, 
and have a pleasant odour. 
The lilac of the Indies comes to perfection in a short time, and as quickly dies. 
It has an indented leaf of a very beautiful green ; it bears sweet-smelling flowers, 
which change into berries: this shrub attains the height of a tree, and is of an agree¬ 
able appearance ; but, though its foliage is of a brighter green, its flower is less beau¬ 
tiful, than the lilacs of Europe, which do not grow here. That of Persia does not 
succeed here. There is also the laurel, the rose laurel, the Galet lemon tree, 
which is formed into hedges; its fruit is round, small, and very acid. The Palma: 
Christi grows every where, and its oil is a known vermifuge. 
The pepper plant is a creeper, which twines like ivy; it flourishes, but bears 
no fruit. It is not known whether the tea tree, which has been brought from China, 
will naturalize itself in this island, as the Indian reed has done, which is of equal use 
in the Indies as the willow is in Europe. 
The cotton tree grows, in the form of a shrub, in the driest situations; it bears 
a pretty yellow flower, to which a pod succeeds that contains the cotton. Its seed 
is given to promote milk in the breast. 
The coffee tree is the most useful tree or sprub in the island. It is a kind of 
jessamine, with white flowers; its leaves are a fine green, placed in regular opposi¬ 
tion to each other, and are like those of the laurel; its fruit is of a deep red, and 
separates into two beans. The trees are planted at the distance of seven feet from 
each other, and they are lopped at the height.of six feet: they last only seven years : 
at three years they bear fruit; and the annual produce of each tree is estimated at 
a pound of berries. A Negro can annually cultivate a thousand pounds weight of 
