that continent. It is an elegant plant, and would answer much
better than the arum, as all cattle will eat the herbaceous part. It
is remarked by Baron de Humboldt ( Essai Politique, &c. p. 407),
that he did not find the d. sativa of Linnaeus in South America,
and that it has not as yet been met with in the islands of the South
Sea; and he adds, that the leaves of yams differ so much from
cultivation, that doubts may be entertained of the number of
species contained in this genus: it appears to me, however, that
the d. sativa is very distinct; as it not only differs in leaf, but also
in its stem, which is small, delicate, and cylindrical, without a
trace of the lobes of the d. alata. The chestnut (fagus castanea)
has proved a very valuable introduction; it forms the principal
part of the timber of the island, and of the winter food of the
peasantry. The sicyos parviflora, cited by Persoon, as indigenous
to Surinam, and called the tchu-tchu, yields abundantly, and would
be a very valuable addition to the vegetables of the tropical parts
of the Old World, as well as to Europe.
I found the woad (isatis tinctorea), at Praya Formosa, and at
Campanario. The ruivinho, generally found in the heights, is
certainly the true madder, although I could not see it in flower.
The stalk is that of the rubia tinctorum; its leaves are rough at
the edges only, whereas those of the variety sylvestris are rough on
both sides, and are in whorls of four and two leaves, instead of six
or seven; neither are they linear and rough above, as in the
species angustifolia. I am thus particular, because they are cultivating
the wrong species near Lisbon, and are not aware that the
true one is indigenous to Madeira. The roots of the madder
should be allowed to swell in the ground for three years, and then
they will produce nearly 400 pounds to an acre, but it exhausts
the soil more than any other plant, except the indigo'. The
c The indigo thrives well in the gardens, and seems to be free from its destructive
insect.
peasantry gather it wild, without considering its age or size, and
dye their petticoats and cloaks with it. The turmeric (curcuma
longa) grows luxuriantly. I found two solitary plants of the weld
(reseda tuteóla), near Camera de Lobos. A decoction of the
vinhatico berry produced a tolerable brown dye, for woollens only,
but it yielded no precipitate. Would not the berries of the
fuchsia coccínea, which is so abundant here, produce a fine dye ?
I am too late to procure any. The salsola grows more abundantly
on the Desertas than in Madeira, and is an article of commerce.
I have been somewhat puzzled with the laurels (wanting almost
entirely on the continent of Africa), which are so interesting from
¡their uses, their beauty, and the height at which they grow, that
I was very desirous of gaining exact information respecting them ,
but I have scarcely had one perfect flower. The laurus fcetens, so
distinguished by its little tuft of hairs at the angle of the nerves,
coiild not be mistaken. The. vinhatico, the wood of which is used
as mahogany, and is not unlike it in appearance, is one of the most
valuable productions of the island; it is the laurus indica. Tbe til
has been confounded with the l. foetens, from the strong disagreeable
smell of its wood when first cut; it is also valuable for its
timber, which is extremely hard and tough, and used for rafters .
it is mentioned by Baron de Humboldt under the name of laurus
til, but. in looking over the last edition of Persoon’s Enchiridium,
I find that my description of the til exactly answers to that of the
I. cupularis, referred to the Mauritius". The only mention of a
a j suspect that the Portuguese call both the laurus foetens and the laurus cupularis,
til ; for they say that there are two kinds of til, and that both are equally foetid.
When freshly cut or planed, it is impossible to support the odour, which is of thé
most disagreeable nature. It will not bear exposure to weather. It is of a deep
brown colour, resembling walnut, but much prettier. A square prism of this wood,
twenty-four inches long and one on each side, leaving a distance of twenty-two
inches between the props of support, and suspending the weight from the centre, bore
446 pounds at the moment of its breaking ; the prism weighed thirteen ounces one