the bay-tree: A genus of the monogyne order, belonging to the enanadria clas of plants; and in the natural method ranking under the 12th order, Holaceae. There is no calyx; the corolla is calycine, or serving in place of the calyx, and sex-partite; the nectarium with three glandules, each terminated by two bristles surrounding the germen. The interior filaments furnished with glandules at the base; the fruit a monospermous plum.

Species. 1. The nobilis, or evergreen bay-tree, is a native of Italy, and hath an upright trunk branching on every side from the bottom upward; with spear-shaped, nervous, stiff, evergreen leaves, three inches long and two broad; and small, yellowish, quadrifid, dioecious flowers, succeeded by red berries in autumn and winter. Of this species there are varieties, with broad, narrow, striped, or waved leaves. 2. The æli-

valis, or deciduous bay, grows naturally in North America. It rises with an upright stem, covered with a purplish bark; having oblong, oval, acuminate, veined, deciduous leaves, two or three inches long, and half as broad, growing opposite; with small white flowers succeeded by red berries. 3. The benzoin, or benjamin tree, is also a native of North America; grows 15 or 20 feet high, divided into a very branchy head; with oval, acute, deciduous leaves, three or four inches long, and half as broad; and small yellowish flowers, not succeeded by berries in this country. 4. The safiras is a native of the same country. It hath a shrub-like straight stem, garnished with both oval and three-lobed, shining, deciduous leaves, of different sizes, from three to six inches long, and near as broad, with small yellowish flowers succeeded by blackish berries, but not in this country. 5. The indica, or Indian bay-tree, rises with an upright straight trunk, branching regularly 20 or 30 feet high; adorned with very large, spear-shaped, plane, nervous, evergreen leaves on reddish footstalks; and bunches of small whitish-green flowers, succeeded by large oval black berries which do not ripen in this country. 6. The borbonia, or Carolina red bay-tree, rises with an upright straight stem, branching 15 or 20 feet high; with large, spear-shaped, evergreen leaves, tranversely veined; and long bunches of flowers on red footstalks, succeeded by large blue berries sitting in red cups. 7. The camphora, or camphor-tree, grows naturally in the woods of the western parts of Japan, and in the adjacent islands. The root smells stronger of camphor than any of the other parts, and yields it in greater plenty. The bark of the stalk is outwardly somewhat rough; but in the inner surface smooth and mucous, and therefore easily separated from the wood, which is dry and of a white colour. The leaves stand upon slender footstalks, have an entire undulated margin, running out into a point; have the upper surface of a lively and thinning green, the lower herbaceous and silky; and are furnished with a few lateral nerves, which stretch arch-wise to the circumference, and frequently terminate in small warts; a circumstance peculiar to this species of laurus. The flowers are produced on the tops of footstalks, which proceed from the arm-pits of the leaves; but not till the tree has attained considerable age and size. The flower-stalks are slender, branched at the top, and divided into very short pedicels, each supporting a single flower. These flowers are white, and consist of six petals, which are succeeded by a purple and shining berry of the size of a pea, and in figure somewhat top-shaped. It is composed of a soft pulpy substance that is purple, and has the taste of cloves and camphor; and of a nucleus or kernel of the size of a pepper, that is covered with a black, shining, oily rind, of an infibid taste. 8. The cinnamonum, or cinnamon-tree, is a native of Ceylon. It hath a large root, and divides into several branches, covered with a bark, which on the outer side is of a greyish brown, and on the inside has a reddish cast. The wood of the root is hard, white, and has no smell. The body of the tree, which grows to the height of 20 or 30 feet, is covered, as well as its numerous branches, with a bark which at first is green and afterwards red. The leaf is longer and narrower than the common bay-tree; and it is three-nerved, the nerves. nerves vanishing towards the top. When first unfolded, it is of a flame colour; but after it has been for some time exposed to the air, and grows dry, it changes to a deep green on the upper surface, and to a lighter on the lower. The flowers are small and white, and grow in large bunches at the extremity of the branches; they have an agreeable smell, something like that of the lily of the valley. The fruit is shaped like an acorn, but is not so large.

9. The cattia, or balsam cinnamon, has lanceolate leaves, triple-nerved.

10. The Persea, avocado-pear tree, or alligator pear, rises to a considerable height, with a straight trunk, of which the bark and wood are of a greyish colour. The leaves are long, oval, pointed, of a substance like leather, and of a beautiful green colour. The flowers are produced in large knots or clusters at the extremities of the branches, and consist each of six petals disposed in the form of a star, and of a dirty white or yellow colour, with an agreeable odour, which diffuses itself to a considerable distance. It is a native of the West Indies. The Persea begins to bear two years and a half, or at most three years after being planted; and, like most of the trees in warm climates, bears twice a year.

There are two other species of this genus, but possessed of no remarkable properties.

Culture. The first species is propagated by layers, or by the berries. In order to raise a quantity of these trees by layers, some stools should be planted for the purpose; and after these are shot about a yard high, the branches must be brought down to the ground in the winter, all the preceding summer's shoots laid on it, and pegged down (being first slit in the joint), and the leaves taken off, which would otherwise be underground. In one year's time these layers will have taken root; and in the spring they should be taken up, and planted in the nursery a foot asunder, in rows two feet distance. After they are planted out, if the weather should prove dry, they must be constantly watered; for without such care, it is difficult to make this tree grow. After they have taken well to the ground, they will require no farther trouble than keeping them clean from weeds, and digging between the rows each winter, till they are finally planted out.

2. In order to raise this tree from the berries, they ought to hang on the trees till about January before they are gathered. A well-sheltered spot of ground for the seminary must be made choice of; and having the mould smooth and fine, they should be sown soon after they are gathered, in beds or drills, rather more than half an inch deep. Towards the close of the spring the plants will come up, and during summer must be duly attended, by watering and weeding. In the winter following, their sheltered situation must not be trusted to, to defend them from the frosts; Furze-bushes, or some such things, ought to be stuck in rows between the beds or drills, to guard them from the black frosts. Indeed, without this precaution, if the winter should prove very frosty, few of the young seedlings will be alive in spring. During the following summer, weeding and watering must be observed, and the winter after that they should be defended with covering as before; for they will be still in danger of being destroyed by severe frosts. In the ensuing spring, the strongest may be taken out of the seed-beds, and planted in the nursery way; though, if they have not by that time made good shoots, it will be advisable to let them remain in their beds till the third spring; for a small plant of this kind is with more difficulty made to grow than one which is larger. When they are planted in the nursery, the distance which should be allowed them is the same as the layers, a foot asunder and two feet distance in the rows; and this will not be found too close; for notwithstanding the greatest care is exerted in planting them in the nursery, even making choice of rainy and cloudy weather, which must always be observed in setting them out, many of them will be lost by being transplanted. After they are thus planted out in the nursery, whether layers or seedlings, they must be still watered in dry weather, kept free from weeds, and the rows dug between every winter. You will even find, that those plants which suffer least by being transplanted will have met with a check, which they will not recover in two or three years; and till they have acquired new strength they should not be taken from the nursery; but when they appear to be good stiff plants, having the year before made a vigorous shoot, they will be then proper plants for planting out where they are to remain. Holes should be got ready for their reception; and as soon as the first autumnal rains fall, the work should be set about, especially if the land be gravelly or dry; but if it be moist, the spring will do as well. Being now planted at one yard distance, they will make a poor progress for two or three years more; but after this, when they have overcome all these difficulties, they will grow very fast, and arrive to be good trees in a few years. Although this tree flourishes best in old gardens, where the soil has been made rich and deep, and loves the shade, Hanbury tells us, "it thrives nevertheless exceedingly well in our hottest gravel and sands; and after it has surmounted the hardships of transplanting, will grow in such situations extremely fast, and arrive to a large bulk."

The propagation of the three next sorts of trees may be performed two or three ways. 1. By the seeds. These we receive, from the places where the trees grow naturally, in the spring. They should be preserved in sand; and as soon as they arrive, should be sown in large pots an inch deep. The soil for their reception should be taken from a rich pasture at least a year before, with the sward. It should also be laid on an heap, and frequently turned, until the sward is grown rotten, and the whole appears well mixed and fine. If the pasture from whence it was taken near the surface is a sandy loam, this is the best compost for these seeds; if not, a small addition of drift or sea sand should be added, and well mixed with the other mould. After filling the pots with this soil, the seeds should be sown an inch deep; and then they should be plunged into common mould up to the rim. If the soil be naturally moist, it will keep them cooler, and be better; and if the place be well sheltered and shaded, it will be better still. Nothing more than weeding, which must be constantly observed during the summer, will be necessary; and in this station they may remain until the March following: about the middle of which month, having prepared a good hot-bed, the pots should be taken up and plunged therein. Soon after the seeds will come up; and when the young plants have sufficiently received the benefit of this bed, they should be enu- red by degrees to the open air. Weeding and watering must be observed during the summer; and at the approach of the cold weather in the autumn, they should be removed under an hot-bed frame, or some cover, to be protected from the frosts during the winter. In the spring, when this danger is over, they should resume their first station; namely, the pots should be plunged up to the rim, as when the seeds were first sown; and if this place be well sheltered, they may remain there all winter; if not, and severe frosts threaten, they should be taken up and placed under cover as before. After they have been thus managed three years from the seeds, they should be taken out of the pots with care, and planted in the nursery-ground at small distances, where they may remain until they are strong enough to be finally set out. By sowing the seeds in pots, and afflicting them by an hotbed, a year at least is saved; for they hardly ever come up, when sown in a natural border, under two years from the seeds; nay, they have been known to remain three, and even some plants to come up the fourth year after sowing; which at once shows the preference of the former practice, and should caution all who have not such convenience, not to be too hasty in disturbing the beds when the seeds are sown in the natural ground; as, especially if they are not well preserved in mould or sand, these may be some years before they appear. Indeed, it is the long time we are in obtaining these plants, either by seeds, layers, &c., that makes them at present so very scarce amongst us.

These plants may also be increased by layers; but very slowly; for they will be two, and sometimes three, or even four years, before they have struck out good roots; though the Benjamin tree is propagated the safest by this method. The young twigs should be laid in the ground in the autumn; and it will be found that twisting the wire round the bud, so as in some degree to stop the progress of the sap, and taking away with a knife a little of the bark, is a more effectual method of obtaining good roots soon than by the slit or twisting, especially when practised on the saffrafa tree.

Plants of these sorts are likewise sometimes obtained by suckers, which they will at all times throw out, and which may be often taken off with pretty good roots; but when they are weak, and with bad roots, they should be planted in pots, and afflicted by a moderate heat in a bed: With such management they will be good plants by the autumn, and in the spring may be planted out anywhere.

Cuttings of these trees, when planted in a good bark bed, and duly watered, will also oftentimes grow. When this method is practised, and plants obtained, they must be buried by degrees to the open air, till they are hardy enough to be finally planted out.

The Indian bay, the camphor, the avocado, and the cinnamon-tree, require the treatment common to greenhouse plants; the latter, however, is rather a flowery plant in this country.—Of its culture or propagation in its native places, no particular account has been given by botanical writers; but it must now become an important consideration with us, since this valuable tree has been acquired by our own colonies. Of the advantages promised by this acquisition we are indebted for the first accounts to Dr Wright in 1787; from whom also we learn that its propagation is very easy, and its culture requires little care, as more particularly noticed below. Since that time, some observations by Dr Dancer, relative to its cultivation, have appeared in the Transactions of the Society of Arts, Vol.VIII. &c. These observations confirm, without adding anything essential to the concise notice of Dr Wright. We are informed, that as the tree "puts out numerous side-branches, with a dense foliage, from the very bottom of the trunk; this furnishes an opportunity of obtaining plenty of layers, and facilitates the propagation of the tree, as it does not perfect its seeds in any quantity under six or seven years; when it becomes so plentifully loaded, that a single tree is sufficient almost for a colony. It seems to delight in a loose moist soil, and to require a southern aspect; the trees, thus planted, flourishing better than others growing in loam, and not so well exposed to the sun. When healthy, it is (from layers) of a pretty quick growth, reaching in eight years the height of fifteen or twenty feet, is very spreading, and furnished with numerous branches of a fit size for decortication. The seeds, however, are a long time in coming up, and the plants make small progress for the first year or two." It is added, that "the birds appear to be very fond of the berries, and will probably propagate this tree in the same way they do many others everywhere over the island; so that in a short time it will grow spontaneously, or without cultivation." The age for decortication, said above to be eight years, it will be observed, is different from that specified below for the trees in Ceylon.

Evelyn says, he has seen bay trees near 30 feet high, and almost two feet in diameter; and enumerates the bay among useful trees. Hanbury catches at this idea, and tells us in general terms, that "it will grow to 30 feet in height, with a trunk of two feet in diameter;" and accordingly he arranges it among his forest trees: he acknowledges, however, at the same time, that the wood is of little value. The bay is nevertheless a fine aromatic and a beautiful evergreen: It is said to be the true laurus or laurel of the ancients, with which they adorned the brows of their successful generals. Like the holly, box, and laurel, the bay will bear the shade and drip of taller trees; and it is upon the whole a very desirable, as being a very ornamental, evergreen.

The leaves and berries of this tree have a moderately strong aromatic smell, and a warm, bitterish, pungent taste: the berries are stronger in both respects than the leaves, and afford in distillation a larger quantity of essential aromatic oil; they yield also an almost infusible oil to the press, in consequence of which they prove unctuous in the mouth. They are warm carminatives, and sometimes exhibited in this intention against flatulent colics, and likewise in hysterical disorders. Their principal use in the present practice is in glysters, and some external applications. The deciduous bay, in a moist rich soil, in which it principally delights, will grow to be about 16 feet high; but in some soils, that are possessed of the opposite qualities, it will hardly arrive at half that height. The flowers are succeeded in May by large red berries, which never ripen in England: so that, notwithstanding the leaves in summer are very pretty, and the colour of the bark makes a variety in winter, it is prin- cipally the scarcity of this plant which makes it valuable.

The benzoin tree will grow to a much larger size than the other, and its branches are more numerous. They are smooth, and of a fine light-green colour. The leaves on their upper surface are smooth and of a fine light-green colour, but their under surface is veined, and of a whitish cast. When bruised, they emit a fine fragrance. This tree was formerly mistaken for that which produces the drug called benzoin; which is now known to be obtained from a species of flyrax.

See STYRAX.

The sassafras will grow to nearly the height of the others, though the branches are not so numerous. Its bark is smooth, and of a red colour, which beautifully distinguishes it in winter; whilst the fine shining green of its leaves constitutes its greatest beauty in summer. In these, indeed, there is a variety, and a very extraordinary one. Some are large, and of an oval figure; others are smaller, and of the same shape; whilst others again are so divided into three lobes, as to resemble the leaves of some forts of the fig-tree. In America, the sassafras generally stands single in the woods, and along the fences round the fields. It flowers in May before the leaves come out; and being entirely covered with them, it is distinguished at a great distance by their beautiful yellow colour.

The root of the sassafras has a fragrant smell, and a sweetish, aromatic, subacid taste; the bark tastes much stronger than any other part, and the small twigs stronger than the large pieces. It is a warm aperient and corroborant, and frequently employed with good success for purifying and sweetening the blood and juices. For these purposes, infusions made from the rasped root or bark may be drank as tea. In some constitutions indeed, such liquors are, by their fragrance, apt, on first taking them, to affect the head; but in such cases, they may be advantageously freed from their flavour by boiling. A decoction of sassafras, boiled down to the consistence of an extract, proves simply bitterish and subastringent. Hoffman assures us, that he has frequently given this extract to the quantity of a scruple at a time, with remarkable success, for strengthening the tone of the viscera in cachexies; as also in the decline of intermittent fevers, and in hypochondriacal spasms. Sassafras yields in distillation an extremely fragrant oil of a penetrating pungent taste, so ponderous (notwithstanding the lightness of the drug itself) as to sink in water. Rectified spirit extracts the whole taste and smell of sassafras; and elevates nothing in evaporation; hence the spirituous extract proves the most elegant and efficacious preparation, as containing the virtue of the root entire.

The bark of this tree is used by the women in Pennsylvania and other parts of North America in dying worsted a fine lasting orange-colour, which does not fade in the sun. They use urine instead of alum in dying; and boil the dye in a brass boiler, because in an iron vessel it does not yield so fine a colour. The wood is made use of for posts belonging to the inclosures, for it is said to last a long time in the ground; but it is likewise said, that there is hardly any kind of wood which is more attacked by worms than this when it is exposed to the air without cover; and that in a short time it is quite worm-eaten through and through.

On cutting some part of the sassafras tree, or its shoots, and holding it to the nose, it has a strong but pleasant smell. Some people peel the root, and boil the peel with the beer which they are brewing, because they believe it wholesome. For the same reason, the peel is put into brandy either whilst it is distilling or after it is made. Professor Kalm informs us, that a decoction of the root of sassafras in water, drank every morning, is used with success in the dropsy.—When part of a wood is destined for cultivation, the sassafras trees are commonly left upon it, because they have a very thick foliage, and afford a cool shade to the cattle during the great heats. Some people get their beds-pots made of sassafras wood, in order to expel the bugs; for its strong scent, it is said, prevents those vermin from settling in them. For two or three years together this has the desired effect, or about as long as the wood keeps its strong aromatic smell; but after that time it has been observed to lose its effect. In Pennsylvania some people put chips of sassafras into their chests, where they keep all sorts of woollen stuffs, in order to expel the moths (or larvae or caterpillars of moths or tories) which commonly settle in them in summer. The root keeps its smell for a long while: Professor Kalm saw one which had lain five or six years in the drawer of a table, and still preserved the strength of its scent. The people also gather its flowers, and use it as tea.

The persia, or alligator pear tree, is cultivated universally in the West Indies by all ranks of people. The fruit is pear-shaped, and from one to two pounds in weight. On removing a green skin or covering, we come to a yellow butyraceous substance; and in the heart find a large round seed or stone, which is unequal in the surface, and exceedingly hard and woody. This fruit is ripe in August and September, and constitutes one of the most agreeable articles of diet for six or eight weeks to the negroes. These pears, with a little salt and a plantain or two, afford a hearty meal. They are also served up at the tables of white people as choice fruit. When the pear is ripe, the yellow or eatable substance is firmer than butter, and tastes somewhat like butter or marrow; hence it is called by some the vegetable marrow. But however excellent this fruit is when ripe, it is very dangerous when pulled and eaten before maturity. Dr Wright says, he has repeatedly known it to produce fever and dysentery, which were removed with difficulty.—The leaves of this tree and those of the bead-vine or wild liquorice are made into pectoral decoctions by the common people.—The large stone is used for marking linen. The cloth is tied or held over the stone, and the letters are pricked out by a needle through the cloth and into the seed. The stain is a reddish brown, which never washes out.—The buds of the alligator tree are said to be used with success in plasters against the venereal disease. An infusion of them in water, drank in the morning fasting, is strongly recommended for dislodging coagulated blood in the stomach produced by a fall or a severe stroke on that important entrail. "The wild boars in the East Indies (says Labat) eat greedily of the mammees and avocado pears, which give their flesh a luscious and most agreeable flavour."

Caffia. The bark of this species is known in the shops by the name of caffia lignea. This bark, which Laurus. is imported from different parts of the East Indies and from China, has a very near resemblance to the cinnamon; though distinguishable from it by being of a thicker and coarser appearance, and by its breaking short and smooth, while the cinnamon breaks fibrous and shivery.—It resembles cinnamon still more exactly in its aromatic flavour than in its external appearance; and seems only to differ from it in being somewhat weaker, in abounding more with a viscid mucilaginous matter, and in being less astringent. Accordingly, it has not only a place in the Edinburgh pharmacopoeia, but is also the basis of a distilled water. It is perhaps surprising that the London college have given it no place in their lists. But although it does not enter their pharmacopoeia, yet we may venture to assert, that it will not be neglected by the apothecaries. At present it is very common with many of them to substitute the cassia in every case for the more expensive article cinnamon; and indeed almost the whole of what is at present sold under the title either of simple or spirituous cinnamon-water is entirely prepared from cassia; and not even entirely from the bark, but from a mixture of the bark and buds.

Cinnamon is the under-bark of the *cinnamomum*. The best season for separating it from the outer-bark, which is grey and rugged, is the spring, when the sap flows in the greatest abundance. It is cut into thin slices, and exposed to the sun, and curls up in drying.—The old trees produce a coarse kind of cinnamon; the spice is in perfection only when the trees are not older than three or four years. When the trunk has been stripped of its bark, it receives no further nourishment; but the root is still alive, and continues to throw out fresh shoots. The fruit of the tree is shaped like an acorn, but is not so large. Its seed, when boiled in water, yields an oil which swims at top, and takes fire. If left to cool, it hardens into a white substance, of which candles are made, which have an agreeable smell, and are reserved for the use of the king of Ceylon. The cinnamon is not reckoned excellent unless it be fine, smooth, brittle, thin, of a yellow colour inclining to red; fragrant, aromatic, and of a poignant, yet agreeable taste. The connoisseurs give the preference to that the pieces of which are long, but slender. That which comes to us is generally mixed with the Cassia bark; but this last is easily distinguished. Cinnamon splinters in breaking, and has a roughness along with its aromatic flavour; while the Cassia breaks over smooth, and has a mucilaginous taste. Cinnamon is a very elegant and useful aromatic, more grateful both to the palate and stomach than most other substances of this class. By its astringent quality it likewise corroborates the viscera, and proves of great service in several kinds of alvine fluxes, and immoderate discharges from the uterus.

The cinnamon plant, with other valuable ones, was taken in a French ship by Admiral Rodney in the last war, and presented by him to the assembly of Jamaica. One of the trees was planted in the botanic garden in St Thomas in the East; the other by Hinton East, Esq.; in his noble garden at the foot of the Blue Mountains. From these parent trees some hundreds of young trees are already produced from layers and cuttings, and dispersed to different parts of the country, in all which it thrives luxuriantly with little trouble; we may therefore hope it will soon be a valuable addition to our commerce. Upon comparing the parts of the tree with the description and figure given by Burman and other botanists, it appears to be the real Ceylon cinnamon, and of the best kind, called by the natives *Raffle Coronado*; but the specimens of bark taken put it out of all doubt, being, in the opinion of the best judges, of an equal, if not superior, quality to any imported from India. The smallest bit of the bark, Dr Wright affirms us, is quite a cordial. The cinnamon we have from Holland, he observes, is often inert, and gives room to suspect that it has been subjected to a slight process in distillation.

In regard to the trees growing in Jamaica, Dr Danger informs us in his paper already quoted, that "The best cinnamon bark, according to the different trials I have made, is taken from the small branches, of about an inch diameter, the larger limbs not being so easily decorticated, and not yielding so good or so strong a cinnamon. The smaller twigs, or those that have not acquired a cineritious bark, are too full of sap and mucilage, and have little aroma. It is the liber, or inner bark, that constitutes the cinnamon; from which the two external barks must be carefully and entirely separated, or they vitiate the flavour of the cinnamon; to do which with dexterity, and to raise the bark from the wood, requires some practice. The bark being separated, the smaller pieces are to be placed within the larger; which, by exposure to the sun or the air, presently coil up, and require no further preparation. A dry season is the proper one for taking the bark; as it is found to be weakened after long or heavy rains. Cinnamon, though more retentive of its virtues than any of the other spices, yet requires to be protected, when taken from the air and moisture, by close packing in cedar chests.—The leaves of this tree, whether recent or dried, are so strongly impregnated with an aroma, as to afford a good succedaneum for the bark both in cookery and medicine. Distilled, they give an excellent simple and spirituous water, and an essential oil. Powdered, they are a good aromatic species, or marshal perfume."

Camphor, though solid, is the essential oil of the *laurus camphora*; and is obtained from it by distillation in the East Indies. (See the article Camphora).—This tree is another of the captured plants given to the inhabitants of Jamaica; and, if cultivated with care, will also be a useful acquisition.

The Abbé Grofier informs us, that in China some of these trees are found above 100 cubits in height, and so thick that 20 persons cannot enclose them. The tree is there called *tebang*; and it is said that the trunk, when old, emits sparks of fire, but of so subtle a nature as not even to injure the hair of those who are near it. Common camphire costs only a penny the ounce at Pei-king; but it is inferior to that of Borneo, in the judgment even of the Chinese.

The manner in which some authors have spoken of Camphire (the Abbé observes), gives us reason to conclude that they have been entirely ignorant of the process employed to obtain this salutary gum. The camphire does not drop to the earth, like the gums of certain resinous trees, which are preserved by discharging that part of their substance which is too oily; neither does it distil from the top to the bottom of the tree through an incision made in it. The Chinese would practise this method could it be employed with success; for it is very common in China to make such kind of incisions in resinous trees. The method used by the Chinese for obtaining camphire is as follows.—They take some branches fresh from the tebang, chop them very small, and lay them to steep in spring-water for three days and three nights. After they have been soaked in this manner, they are put into a kettle, where they are boiled for a certain time, during which they keep continually stirring them with a stick made of willow. When they perceive that the sap of these small chips adheres sufficiently to the stick in the form of white froth, they strain the whole, taking care to throw away the dregs and refuse. This juice is afterwards poured gently into a new earthen basin well varnished, in which it is suffered to remain one night. Next morning it is found coagulated, and formed into a solid mass. To purify this first preparation, they procure some earth from an old earthen wall, which, when pounded and reduced to a very fine powder, they put into the bottom of a basin made of red copper; over this layer of earth they spread a layer of camphire, and continue thus until they have laid four strata. The last, which is of very fine earth, they cover up with the leaves of the plant po-bo, or pennyroyal; and over the whole they place another basin, joining it very closely to the former by means of a kind of red earth that cements their brims together. The basin thus prepared is put over a fire, which must be managed so as to keep up an equal heat: experience teaches them to observe the proper degree. But above all, they must be very attentive lest the plaster of fat earth which keeps the basins together should crack or fall off; otherwise the spirituous parts would evaporate and ruin the whole process. When the basins have been exposed to the necessary heat, they are taken off and left to cool; after which they are separated, and the sublimated camphire is found adhering to the cover. If this operation be repeated two or three times, the camphire is found purer and in larger pieces. Whenever it is necessary to use any quantity of this substance, it is put between two earthen vessels, the edges of which are surrounded with several bands of wet paper. These vessels are kept for about an hour over an equal and moderate fire; and when they are cool, the camphire is found in its utmost perfection and ready for use. This method of procuring camphire, even from the heart of the tree, may be practised in all seasons of the year; which would not be the case (our author observes), were it extracted like other resinous substances that only flow during a certain short space of time. Besides, by lopping the branches of the camphire-tree, less hurt is done to it than by making incisions, which are always hazardous.