the cedar-tree of Barbadoes, and mahogany, &c. As the cedar of Lebanon is very properly referred by Linnæus to the genus of LARIX, and all the berry-bearing cedars to that of JUNIPERUS, Mr. Miller hath chosen to treat this as a distinct genus; which, to avoid embarrassment from a long detail of different species, seems the most proper method.

Species. 1. The odorata, or Barbadoes cedar, is a native of the British islands in America, and is one of the largest trees to be found there. The wood has a fragrant odour, from whence the name of cedar has been given to it. It grows to the height of 70 or 80 feet; while young, the bark is smooth, and of an ash colour; but, as they advance, the bark becomes rough, and of a darker colour. Towards the top it tends out many side-branches, which are garnished with winged leaves, composed of 16 or 18 pair of lobes, and are sometimes near three feet long; the lobes are broad at their base, and near two inches long, blunt at their ends, and of a pale colour; these emit a very offensive odour in the summer-time. The fruit is oval, of the size of a partridge's egg, smooth, and of a dark colour, and opens in five parts, having a five-cornered column standing in the middle, between the angles of which the winged seeds are closely placed, lapping over each other like the scales of fishes.

2. The mahogoni, or mahogany-tree, is a native of the warmest parts of America; growing plentifully in the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and the Bahama islands. In Cuba and Jamaica there are mahogany trees of a very large size, so as to cut into planks of six feet breadth; but those of the Bahama islands commonly do not exceed four. They rise to a great height, though they are generally found growing upon solid rocks, where there is scarce any earth for their nourishment. The leaves of this tree are winged like the ash, having commonly six or eight pair of lobes, which are shorter and broader at the base than those of the ash, where they adhere by the midrib by very short foot-stalks; these lobes are very smooth, having but one vein running through each, which is always on one side, so as to divide them unequally. Mr. Cateby has delineated both the flowers and... and fruit of this tree. The former cannot be depended on, as they were drawn from a withered imperfect fragment; but the fruit is very exact. The fruit before it opens is of a brown colour, growing erect upon long foot-stalks, which closely adhere to the five-cornered column running through the middle, and to which the seeds are fastened, lying imbricating like the slates of a house. When the fruit is ripe, it divides at the bottom into five equal parts; and when these fall off, and the seeds are dispersed, the foot-stalk and the column remain some months after on the tree.

3. The alaternifolius grows to the height of 80 feet or more. Towards the top it divides into many large branches, garnished with leaves somewhat resembling the witch-hazel; but broader at their base, and cut angular at their top: there are of an ash colour underneath, and set on the branches without any order: the fruit is much larger than that of the Barbadoes cedar, broad at the base, and diminishing gradually to the top, where it terminates in a point. This has also a woody column or core running lengthwise through the fruit, to which the winged seeds adhere as in the former.

Culture, &c. All these plants may be easily propagated by seeds; but, being natives of very warm climates, they must be planted in pots sheltered in a house. The trunks of the first species are so large, that the inhabitants of those islands where they grow were wont to hollow them, and form them into the shape of boats and periaguas; for which purpose they are extremely well adapted: the wood being soft, may be cut with great facility; and being light, will carry a great load on the water. The wood is often used for wainscotting rooms, and to make chests, because vermin do not frequently breed in it as in other sorts of wood; this having a very bitter taste, which is communicated to whatever is put into the chests, especially while the wood is fresh; for which reason it is never made into casks, as the liquors put into them would dissolve part of the bitter resin. The uses of mahogany are so well known that it is needless to enumerate them. As for the wood of the third species, we have no accounts whether it is ever used in buildings or for other purposes.