part 1. on the existence of central fires.

Impetuous steams in spiral colums rise Through rifted rocks, impatient for the skies; Or o'er bright seas of bubbling lavas blow, 180 As heave and toss the billowy fires below; Condensed on high, in wandering rills they glide From Maffon's dome, and burst his sparry side; Round his grey towers, and down his fringed walls, From cliff to cliff, the liquid treasure falls; 185 In beds of stalactite, bright ores among, O'er corals, shells, and crystals, winds along; Crusts the green mosses, and the tangled wood, And sparkling plunges to its parent flood. --O'er the warm wave a smiling youth presides, 190 Attunes its murmurs, its meanders guides,

(The blooming FUCUS), in her sparry coves To amorous Echo sings his _secret_ loves, Bathes his fair forehead in the misty stream, And with sweet breath perfumes the rising steam. 195 --So, erst, an Angel o'er Bethesda's springs, Each morn descending, shook his dewy wings; And as his bright translucent form He laves, Salubrious powers enrich the troubled waves.

[_Fucus_.l. 191. Clandestine marriage. A species of Fucus, or of Conserva, soon appears in all basons which contain water. Dr. Priestley found that great quantities of pure dephlogisticated air were given up in water at the points of this vegetable, particularly in the sunshine, and that hence it contributed to preserve the water in reservoirs from becoming putrid. The minute divisions of the leaves of subaquatic plants, as mentioned in the note on Trapa, and of the gills of fish, seem to serve another purpose besides that of increasing their surface, which has not, I believe, been attended to, and that is to facilitate the separation of the air, which is mechanically mixed or chemically dissolved in water by their points or edges; this appears on immersing a dry hairy leaf in water fresh from a pump; innumerable globules like quicksilver appear on almost every point; for the extremities of these points attract the particles of water less forcibly than those particles attract each other; hence the contained air, whose elasticity was but just balanced by the attractive power of the surrounding particles of water to each other, finds at the point of each fibre a place where the resistance to its expansion is less; and in consequence it there expands, and becomes a bubble of air. It is easy to foresee that the rays of the sunshine, by being refracted and in part relieved by the two surfaces of these minute air-bubbles, must impart to them much more heat than to the transparent water; and thus facilitate their ascent by further expanding them; that the points of vegetables attract the particles of water less than they attract each other, is seen by the spherical form of dew-drops on the points of grass. See note on Vegetable Respiration in Part I.]

Amphibious Nymph, from Nile's prolific bed 200 Emerging TRAPA lifts her pearly head; Fair glows her virgin cheek and modest breast, A panoply of scales deforms the rest;

[_Trapa,_ l. 200. Four males, one female. The lower leaves of this plant grow under water, and are divided into minute capillary ramifications; while the upper leaves are broad and round, and have air-bladders in their footstalks to support them above the surface of the water. As the aerial leaves of vegetables do the office of lungs, by exposing a large surface of vessels with their contained fluids to the influence of the air; so these aquatic leaves answer a similar purpose like the gills of fish; and perhaps gain from water or give to it a similar material. As the material thus necessary to life seems to abound more in air than in water, the subaquatic leaves of this plant, and of sisymbrium, coenanthe, ranunculus aquatilis, water crowfoot, and some others, are cut into fine divisions to increase the surface; whilst those above water are undivided. So the plants on high mountains have their upper leaves more divided, as pimpinella, petroselinum, and others, because here the air is thinner, and thence a larger surface of contact is required. The stream of water also passes but once along the gills of fish, as it is sooner deprived of its virtue; whereas the air is both received and ejected by the action of the lungs of land-animals. The whale seems to be an exception to the above, as he receives water and spouts it out again from an organ, which I suppose to be a respiratory one. As spring-water is nearly of the same degree of heat in all climates, the aquatic plants, which grow in rills or fountains, are found equally in the torrid, temperate, and frigid zones, as water-cress, water-parsnip, ranunculus, and many others.

In warmer climates the watery grounds are usefully cultivated, as with rice; and the roots of some aquatic plants are said to have supplied food, as the ancient Lotus in Egypt, which some have supposed to be the Nymphæa.--In Siberia the roots of the Butemus, or flowering rush, are eaten, which is well worth further enquiry, as they grow spontaneously in our ditches and rivers, which at present produce no esculent vegetables; and might thence become an article of useful cultivation. Herodotus affirms, that the Egyptian Lotus grows in the Nile, and resembles a Lily. That the natives dry it in the sun, and take the pulp out of it, which grows like the head of a poppy, and bake it for bread. Enterpe. Many grit-stones and coals, which I have seen, seem to bear an impression of the roots of the Nymphæa, which are often three or four inches thick, especially the white-flowered one.]

Her quivering fins and panting gills she hides But spreads her silver arms upon the tides; 205 Slow as she sails, her ivory neck she laves, And shakes her golden tresses o'er the waves. Charm'd round the Nymph, in circling gambols glide _Four_ Nereid-forms, or shoot along the tide; Now all as one they rise with frolic spring, 210 And beat the wondering air on humid wing; Now all descending plunge beneath the main, And lash the foam with undulating train; Above, below, they wheel, retreat, advance, In air and ocean weave the mazy dance; 215 Bow their quick heads, and point their diamond eyes, And twinkle to the sun with ever-changing dyes.

Where Andes, crested with volcanic beams, Sheds a long line of light on Plata's streams; Opes all his springs, unlocks his golden caves, 220 And feeds and freights the immeasurable waves; Delighted OCYMA at twilight hours Calls her light car, and leaves the sultry bowers;-- Love's rising ray, and Youth's seductive dye, Bloom'd on her cheek, and brighten'd in her eye; 225 Chaste, pure, and white, a zone of silver graced Her tender breast, as white, as pure, as chaste;---

[_Ocymum salinun_. l. 221. Saline Basil. Class Two Powers. The Abbè Molina, in his History of Chili, translated from the Italian by the Abbè Grewvel, mentions a species of Basil, which he calls Ocymum salinum: he says it resembles the common basil, except that the stalk is round and jointed; and that though it grows 60 miles from the sea, yet every morning it is covered with saline globules, which are hard and splendid, appearing at a distance like dew; and that each plant furnishes about half an ounce of fine salt every day, which the peasants collect, and use as common salt, but esteem it superior in flavour.

As an article of diet, salt seems to act simply as a stimulus, not containing any nourishment, and is the only fossil substance which the caprice of mankind has yet taken into their stomachs along with their food; and, like all other unnatural stimuli, is not necessary to people in health, and contributes to weaken our system; though it may be useful as a medicine. It seems to be the immediate cause of the sea-scurvy, as those patients quickly recover by the use of fresh provisions; and is probably a remote cause of scrophula (which consists in the want of irritability in the absorbent vessels), and is therefore serviceable to these patients; as wine is necessary to those whose stomachs have been weakened by its use. The universality of the use of salt with our food, and in our cookery, has rendered it difficult to prove the truth of these observations. I suspect that flesh-meat cut into thin slices, either raw or boiled, might be preserved in coarse sugar or treacle; and thus a very nourishing and salutary diet might be presented to our seamen. See note on Salt-rocks, in Vol. I, Canto II. If a person unaccustomed to much salt should eat a couple of red-herrings, his insensible perspiration will be so much increased by the stimulus of the salt, that he will find it necessary in about two hours to drink a quart of water: the effects of a continued use of salt in weakening the action of the lymphatic system may hence be deduced.]

By _four_ fond swains in playful circles drawn, On glowing wheels she tracks the moon-bright lawn, Mounts the rude cliff, unveils her blushing charms, 230 And calls the panting zephyrs to her arms. Emerged from ocean springs the vaporous air, Bathes her light limbs, uncurls her amber hair, Incrusts her beamy form with films saline, And Beauty blazes through the crystal shrine.-- 235 So with pellucid studs the ice-flower gems Her rimy foliage, and her candied stems. So from his glassy horns, and pearly eyes, The diamond-beetle darts a thousand dyes; Mounts with enamel'd wings the vesper gale, 240 And wheeling shines in adamantine mail.

Thus when loud thunders o'er Gomorrah burst, And heaving earthquakes shook his realms accurst, An Angel-guest led forth the trembling Fair With shadowy hand, and warn'd the guiltless pair;

[_Ice-flower_. l. 235. Mesembryanthemum crystallinum.]

245 "Haste from these lands of sin, ye Righteous! fly, Speed the quick step, nor turn the lingering eye!"-- --Such the command, as fabling Bards indite, When Orpheus charm'd the grisly King of Night; Sooth'd the pale phantoms with his plaintive lay, 250 And led the fair Assurgent into day.-- Wide yawn'd the earth, the fiery tempest flash'd, And towns and towers in one vast ruin crash'd;-- Onward they move,---loud horror roars behind, And shrieks of Anguish bellow in the wind. 255 With many a sob, amid a thousand fears, The beauteous wanderer pours her gushing tears; Each soft connection rends her troubled breast, --She turns, unconscious of the stern behest!-- "I faint!--I fall!--ah, me!--sensations chill 260 Shoot through my bones, my shuddering bosom thrill! I freeze! I freeze! just Heaven regards my fault, Numbs my cold limbs, and hardens into salt!-- Not yet, not yet, your dying Love resign!-- This last, last kiss receive!--no longer thine!"-- 265 She said, and ceased,--her stiffen'd form He press'd, And strain'd the briny column to his breast; Printed with quivering lips the lifeless snow, And wept, and gazed the monument of woe.-- So when Aeneas through the flames of Troy 270 Bore his pale fire, and led his lovely boy; With loitering step the fair Creusa stay'd, And Death involved her in eternal shade.-- Oft the lone Pilgrim that his road forsakes, Marks the wide ruins, and the sulphur'd lakes; 275 On mouldering piles amid asphaltic mud Hears the hoarse bittern, where Gomorrah stood; Recalls the unhappy Pair with lifted eye, Leans on the crystal tomb, and breathes the silent sigh..

With net-wove sash and glittering gorget dress'd, 280 And scarlet robe lapell'd upon her breast, Stern ARA frowns, the measured march assumes, Trails her long lance, and nods her shadowy plumes;

[_Arum_. I. 281. Cuckow-pint, of the class Gynandria, or masculine ladies. The pistil, or female part of the flower, rises like a club, is covered above or clothed, as it were, by the anthers or males; and some of the species have a large scarlet blotch in the middle of every leaf.

The singular and wonderful structure of this flower has occasioned many disputes amongst botanists. See Tourniff. Malpig. Dillen. Rivin. &c. The receptacle is enlarged into a naked club, with the germs at its base; the stamens are affixed to the receptacle amidst the germs (a natural prodigy), and thus do not need the assistance of elevating filaments: hence the flower may be said to be inverted. _Families of Plants_ translated from Linneus, p. 618.

The spadix of this plant is frequently quite white, or coloured, and the leaves liable to be streaked with white, and to have black or scarlet blotches on them. As the plant has no corol or blossom, it is probable the coloured juices in these parts of the sheath or leaves may serve the same purpose as the coloured juices in the petals of other flowers; from which I suppose the honey to be prepared. See note on Helleborus. I am informed that those tulip-roots which have a red cuticle produce red flowers. See Rubia.

When the petals of the tulip become striped with many colours, the plant loses almost half of its height; and the method of making them thus break into colours is by transplanting them into a meagre or sandy soil, _after they have previously enjoyed a richer soil: hence it appears, that the plant is weakened when the flower becomes variegated. See note on Anemone. For the acquired habits of vegetables, see Tulipa, Orchis.

The roots of the Arum are scratched up and eaten by thrushes in severe snowy seasons. White's Hist. of Selbourn, p. 43.]

While Love's soft beams illume her treacherous eyes, And Beauty lightens through the thin disguise. 285 So erst, when HERCULES, untamed by toil, Own'd the soft power of DEJANIRA'S smile;-- His lion-spoils the laughing Fair demands, And gives the distaff to his awkward hands; O'er her white neck the bristly mane she throws, 290 And binds the gaping whiskers on her brows; 290 Plaits round her slender waist the shaggy vest, And clasps the velvet paws across her breast. Next with soft hands the knotted club she rears, Heaves up from earth, and on her shoulder bears. 295 Onward with loftier step the Beauty treads, 295 And trails the brinded ermine o'er the meads; Wolves, bears, and bards, forsake the affrighted groves, And grinning Satyrs tremble, as she moves.

CARYO'S sweet smile DIANTHUS proud admires, 300 And gazing burns with unallow'd desires; 300

[_Dianthus_. l. 299. Superbus. Proud Pink. There is a kind of pink called Fairchild's mule, which is here supposed to be produced between a Dianthus superbus, and the Garyophyllus, Clove. The Dianthus superbus emits a most fragrant odour, particularly at night. Vegetable mules supply an irrefragable argument in favour of the sexual system of botany. They are said to be numerous; and, like the mules of the animal kingdom, not always to continue their species by seed. There is an account of a curious mule from the Antirrbinum linaria, Toad-flax, in the Amoenit. Academ. V. I. No. 3. and many hybrid plants described in No. 32. The Urtica alienata is an evergreen plant, which appears to be a nettle from the male flowers, and a Pellitory (Parietaria) from the female ones and the fruit; and is hence between both. Murray, Syft. Veg. Amongst the English indigenous plants, the veronica hybrida mule Speedwel is supposed to have originated from the officinal one; and the spiked one, and the Sibthorpia Europæa to have for its parents the golden saxifrage and marsh pennywort. Pulteney's View of Linneus, p. 250. Mr. Graberg, Mr. Schreber, and Mr. Ramstrom, seem of opinion, that the internal structure or parts of fructification in mule-plants resemble the female parent; but that the habit or external structure resembles the male parent. See treatises under the above names in V. VI. Amænit. Academic. The mule produced from a horse and the ass resembles the horse externally with his ears, main, and tail; but with the nature or manners of an ass: but the Hinnus, or creature produced from a male ass, and a mare, resembles the father externally in stature, ash-colour, and the black cross, but with the nature or manners of a horse. The breed from Spanish rams and Swedish ewes resembled the Spanish sheep in wool, stature, and external form; but was as hardy as the Swedish sheep; and the contrary of those which were produced from Swedish rams and Spanish ewes. The offspring from the male goat of Angora and the Swedish female goat had long soft camel's hair; but that from the male Swedish goat, and the female one of Angora, had no improvement of their wool. An English ram without horns, and a Swedish horned ewe, produced sheep without horns. Amoen. Academ. V. VI. p. 13.]

With sighs and sorrows her compassion moves, And wins the damsel to illicit loves. The Monster-offspring heirs the father's pride, Mask'd in the damask beauties of the bride. 305 So, when the Nightingale in eastern bowers On quivering pinion woos the Queen of flowers; Inhales her fragrance, as he hangs in air, And melts with melody the blushing fair; Half-rose, half-bird, a beauteous Monster springs, 310 Waves his thin leaves, and claps his glossy wings; Long horrent thorns his mossy legs surround, And tendril-talons root him to the ground; Green films of rind his wrinkled neck o'espread, And crimson petals crest his curled head; 315 Soft-warbling beaks in each bright blossom move, And vocal Rosebuds thrill the enchanted grove!-- Admiring Evening stays her beamy star, And still Night listens from his ebon ear; While on white wings descending Houries throng, 320 And drink the floods of odour and of song.

When from his golden urn the Solstice pours O'er Afric's sable sons the sultry hours; When not a gale flits o'er her tawny hills, Save where the dry Harmattan breathes and kills;

[_The dry Harmattan_. l. 324. The Harmattan is a singular wind blowing from the interior parts of Africa to the Atlantic ocean, sometimes for a few hours, sometimes for several days without regular periods. It is always attended with a fog or haze, so dense as to render those objects invisible which are at the distance of a quarter of a mile; the sun appears through it only about noon, and then of a dilute red, and very minute particles subside from the misty air so as to make the grass, and the skins of negroes appear whitish. The extreme dryness which attends this wind or fog, without dews, withers and quite dries the leaves of vegetables; and is said of Dr. Lind at some seasons to be fatal and malignant to mankind; probably after much preceding wet, when it may become loaded with the exhalations from putrid marshes; at other seasons it is said to check epidemic diseases, to cure fluxes, and to heal ulcers and cutaneous eruptions; which is probably effected by its yielding no moisture to the mouths of the external absorbent vessels, by which the action of the other branches of the absorbent system is increased to supply the deficiency. _Account of the Harmattan. Phil. Transact. V. LXXI._

The Rev. Mr. Sterling gives an account of a darkness for six or eight hours at Detroit in America, on the 19th of October, 1762, in which the sun appeared as red as blood, and thrice its usual size: some rain falling, covered white paper with dark drops, like sulphur or dirt, which burnt like wet gunpowder, and the air had a very sulphureous smell. He supposes this to have been emitted from some distant earthquake or volcano. Philos. Trans. V. LIII. p. 63.

In many circumstances this wind seems much to resemble the dry fog which covered most parts of Europe for many weeks in the summer of 1780, which has been supposed to have had a volcanic origin, as it succeeded the violent eruption of Mount Hecla, and its neighbourhood. From the subsidence of a white powder, it seems probable that the Harmattan has a similar origin, from the unexplored mountains of Africa. Nor is it improbable, that the epidemic coughs, which occasionally traverse immense tracts of country, may be the products of volcanic eruptions; nor impossible, that at some future time contagious miasmata may be thus emitted from subterraneous furnaces, in such abundance as to contaminate the whole atmosphere, and depopulate the earth!]

325 When stretch'd in dust her gasping panthers lie, And writh'd in foamy folds her serpents die; Indignant Atlas mourns his leafless woods, And Gambia trembles for his sinking floods; Contagion stalks along the briny sand, 330 And Ocean rolls his sickening shoals to land.

[_His sickening shoals_. 330. Mr. Marsden relates, that in the island of Sumatra, during the November of 1775, the dry monsoons, or S.E. winds, continued so much longer than usual, that the large rivers became dry; and prodigious quantities of sea-fish, dead and dying, were seen floating for leagues on the sea, and driven on the beach by the tides. This was supposed to have been caused by the great evaporation, and the deficiency of fresh water rivers having rendered the sea too fast for its inhabitants. The season then became so sickly as to destroy great numbers of people, both foreigners and natives. Phil. Trans. V. LXXI. p. 384.]

--Fair CHUNDA smiles amid the burning waste, Her brow unturban'd, and her zone unbrac'd; _Ten_ brother-youths with light umbrella's shade, Or fan with busy hands the panting maid; 335 Loose wave her locks, disclosing, as they break, The rising bosom and averted cheek;

[_Chunda_. l. 331. _Chundali Borrum_ is the name which the natives give to this plant; it is the Hedylarum gyrans, or moving plant; its class is two brotherhoods, ten males. Its leaves are continually in spontaneous motion; some rising and others falling; and others whirling circularly by twisting their stems; this spontaneous movement of the leaves, when the air is quite still and very warm, seems to be necessary to the plant, at perpetual respiration is to animal life. A more particular account, with a good print of the Hedyfarum gyrans is given by M. Brouffonet in a paper on vegetable motions in the Histoire de l'Academie des Sciences. Ann. 1784, p. 609.

There are many other instances of spontaneous movements of the parts of vegetables. In the Marchantia polymorpha some yellow wool proceeds from the flower-bearing anthers, which moves spontaneously in the anther, while it drops its dust like atoms. Murray, Syst. Veg. See note on Collinfonia for other instances of vegetable spontaneity. Add to this, that as the sleep of animals consists in a suspension of voluntary motion, and as vegetables are likewise subject to sleep, there is reason to conclude, that the various actions of opening and closing their petals and foliage may be justly ascribed to a voluntary power: for without the faculty of volition, sleep would not have been, necessary to them.]

Clasp'd round her ivory neck with studs of gold Flows her thin vest in many a gauzy fold; O'er her light limbs the dim transparence plays, 340 And the fair form, it seems to hide, betrays.

Where leads the northern Star his lucid train High o'er the snow-clad earth, and icy main, With milky light the white horizon streams, And to the moon each sparkling mountain gleams.-- 345 Slow o'er the printed snows with silent walk Huge shaggy forms across the twilight stalk; And ever and anon with hideous sound Burst the thick ribs of ice, and thunder round.-- There, as old Winter slaps his hoary wing, 350 And lingering leaves his empire to the Spring, Pierced with quick shafts of silver-shooting light Fly in dark troops the dazzled imps of night--

[_Burst the thick rib of ice_. l. 348. The violent cracks of ice heard from the Glaciers seem to be caused by some of the snow being melted in the middle of the day; and the water thus produced running down into vallies of ice, and congealing again in a few hours, forces off by its expansion large precipices from the ice-mountains.]

"Awake, my Love!" enamour'd MUSCHUS cries, "Stretch thy fair limbs, resulgent Maid! arise; 355 Ope thy sweet eye-lids to the rising ray, And hail with ruby lips returning day. Down the white hills dissolving torrents pour, Green springs the turf, and purple blows the flower; His torpid wing the Rail exulting tries, 360 Mounts the soft gale, and wantons in the skies; Rise, let us mark how bloom the awaken'd groves, And 'mid the banks of roses _hide_ our loves."

[_Muschus_. l. 353. Corallinus, or lichen rangiferinus. Coral-moss. Clandestine-marriage. This moss vegetates beneath the snow, where the degree of heat is always about 40; that is, in the middle between the freezing point, and the common heat of the earth; and is for many months of the winter the sole food of the rain-deer, who digs furrows in the snow to find it: and as the milk and flesh of this animal is almost the only sustenance which can be procured during the long winters of the higher latitudes, this moss may be said to support some millions of mankind.

The quick vegetation that occurs on the solution of the snows in high latitudes appears very astonishing; it seems to arise from two causes, 1. the long continuance of the approaching sun above the horizon; 2. the increased irritability of plants which have been long exposed to the cold. See note on Anemone.

All the water-fowl on the lakes of Siberia are said by Professor Gmelin to retreat Southwards on the commencement of the frosts, except the Rail, which sleeps buried in the snow. Account of Siberia.]

Night's tinsel beams on smooth Lock-lomond dance, Impatient ÆGA views the bright expanse;-- 365 In vain her eyes the parting floods explore, Wave after wave rolls freightless to the shore. --Now dim amid the distant foam she spies A rising speck,--"'tis he! 'tis he!" She cries; As with firm arms he beats the streams aside, 370 And cleaves with rising chest the tossing tide, With bended knee she prints the humid sands, Up-turns her glistening eyes, and spreads her hands; --"'Tis he, 'tis he!--My Lord, my life, my love!-- Slumber, ye winds; ye billows, cease to move! 375 beneath his arms your buoyant plumage spread, Ye Swans! ye Halcyons! hover round his head!"--

[_Æga_ l. 364. Conserva ægagropila. It is found loose in many lakes in a globular form, from the size of a walnut to that of a melon, much resembling the balls of hair found in the stomachs of cows; it adheres to nothing, but rolls from one part of the lake to another. The Conserva vagabunda dwells on the European seas, travelling along in the midst of the waves; (Spec. Plant.) These may not improperly be called itinerant vegetables. In a similar manner the Fucus natans (swimming) strikes no roots into the earth, but floats on the sea in very extensive masses, and may be said to be a plant of passage, as it is wafted by the winds from one shore to another.]

--With eager step the boiling surf she braves, And meets her refluent lover in the waves; Loose o'er the flood her azure mantle swims, 380 And the clear stream betrays her snowy limbs.

So on her sea-girt tower fair HERO stood At parting day, and mark'd the dashing flood; While high in air, the glimmering rocks above, Shone the bright lamp, the pilot-star of Love. 385 --With robe outspread the wavering flame behind She kneels, and guards it from the shifting wind; Breathes to her Goddess all her vows, and guides Her bold LEANDER o'er the dusky tides; Wrings his wet hair, his briny bosom warms, 390 And clasps her panting lover in her arms.

Deep, in wide caverns and their shadowy ailes, Daughter of Earth, the chaste TRUFFELIA smiles;

[_Truffelia_. l. 392. (Lycoperdon Tuber) Truffle. Clandestine marriage. This fungus never appears above ground, requiring little air, and perhaps no light. It is found by dogs or swine, who hunt it by the smell. Other plants, which have no buds or branches on their stems, as the grasses, shoot out numerous stoles or scions underground; and this the more, as their tops or herbs are eaten by cattle, and thus preserve themselves,]

On silvery beds, of soft asbestus wove, Meets her Gnome-husband, and avows her love. 395 --_High_ o'er her couch impending diamonds blaze, And branching gold the crystal roof inlays; With verdant light the modest emeralds glow, Blue sapphires glare, and rubies blush, _below_; Light piers of lazuli the dome surround, 400 And pictured mochoes tesselate the ground; In glittering threads along reflective walls The warm rill murmuring twinkles, as it falls; Now sink the Eolian strings, and now they swell, And Echoes woo in every vaulted cell; 405 While on white wings delighted Cupids play, Shake their bright lamps, and shed celestial day.

Closed in an azure fig by fairy spells, Bosom'd in down, fair CAPRI-FICA dwells;--

[_Caprificus_. l. 408 Wild fig. The fruit of the fig is not a seed-vessel, but a receptacle inclosing the flower within it. As these trees bear some male and others female flowers, immured on all sides by the fruit, the manner of their fecundation was very unintelligible, till Tournefort and Pontedera discovered, that a kind of gnat produced in the male figs carried the fecundating dust on its wings, (Cynips Psenes Syst. Nat. 919.), and, penetrating the female fig, thus impregnated the flowers; for the evidence of this wonderful fact, see the word Caprification, in Milne's Botanical Dictionary. The figs of this country are all female, and their seeds not prolific; and therefore they can only be propagated by layers and suckers.

Monsieur de la Hire has shewn in the Memoir, de l'Academ. de Science, that the summer figs of Paris, in Provence, Italy, and Malta, have all perfect stamina, and ripen not only their fruits, but their seed; from which seed other fig-trees are raised; but that the stamina of the autumnal figs are abortive, perhaps owing to the want of due warmth. Mr. Milne, in his Botanical Dictionary (art. Caprification), says, that the cultivated fig-trees have a few male flowers placed above the female within the same covering or receptacle; which in warmer climates perform their proper office, but in colder ones become abortive: And Linneus observes, that some figs have the navel of the receptacle open; which was one reason that induced him to remove this plant from the class Clandestine Marriage to the class Polygamy. Lin. Spec. Plant.

From all these circumstances I should conjecture, that those female fig-flowers, which are closed on all sides in the fruit or receptacle without any male ones, are monsters, which have been propagated for their fruit, like barberries, and grapes without seeds in them; and that the Caprification is either an ancient process of imaginary use, and blindly followed in some countries, or that it may contribute to ripen the fig by decreasing its vigour, like cutting off a circle of the bark from the branch of a pear-tree. Tournefort seems inclined to this opinion; who says, that the figs in Provence and at Paris ripen sooner, if their buds be pricked with a straw dipped in olive-oil. Plumbs and pears punctured by some insects ripen sooner, and the part round the puncture is sweeter. Is not the honey-dew produced by the puncture of insects? will not wounding the branch of a pear-tree, which is too vigorous, prevent the blossoms from falling off; as from some fig-trees the fruit is said to fall off unless they are wounded by caprification? I had last spring six young trees of the Ischia fig with fruit on them in pots in a stove; on removing them into larger boxes, they protruded very vigorous shoots, and the figs all fell off; which I ascribed to the increased vigour of the plants.]

So sleeps in silence the Curculio, shut 410 In the dark chambers of the cavern'd nut, Erodes with ivory beak the vaulted shell, And quits on filmy wings its narrow cell. So the pleased Linnet in the moss-wove nest, Waked into life beneath its parent's breast, 415 Chirps in the gaping shell, bursts forth erelong, Shakes its new plumes, and tries its tender song.-- --And now the talisman she strikes, that charms Her husband-Sylph,--and calls him to her arms.-- Quick, the light Gnat her airy Lord bestrides, 420 With cobweb reins the flying courser guides, From crystal steeps of viewless ether springs, Cleaves the soft air on still expanded wings; Darts like a sunbeam o'er the boundless wave, And seeks the beauty in her _secret_ cave. 425 So with quick impulse through all nature's frame Shoots the electric air its subtle flame. So turns the impatient needle to the pole, Tho' mountains rise between, and oceans roll. Where round the Orcades white torrents roar, 430 Scooping with ceaseless rage the incumbent shore, Wide o'er the deep a dusky cavern bends Its marble arms, and high in air impends; Basaltic piers the ponderous roof sustain, And steep their massy sandals in the main; 435 Round the dim walls, and through the whispering ailes Hoarse breathes the wind, the glittering water boils. Here the charm'd BYSSUS with his blooming bride Spreads his green sails, and braves the foaming tide; The star of Venus gilds the twilight wave, 440 And lights her votaries to the _secret_ cave; Light Cupids flutter round the nuptial bed, And each coy sea-maid hides her blushing head.

[_Basaltic piers_. l. 433. This description alludes to the cave of Fingal in the island of Staffa. The basaltic columns, which compose the Giants Causeway on the coast of Ireland, as well as those which support the cave of Fingal, are evidently of volcanic origin, as is well illustrated in an ingenious paper of Mr. Keir, in the Philos. Trans. who observed in the glass, which had been long in a fusing heat at the bottom of the pots in the glass-houses at Stourbridge, that crystals were produced of a form similar to the parts of the basaltic columns of the Giants Causeway.]

[_Byssus_. 437. Clandestine Marriage. It floats on the sea in the day, and sinks a little during the night; it is found in caverns on the northern shores, of a pale green colour, and as thin as paper.]

Where cool'd by rills, and curtain'd round by woods, Slopes the green dell to meet the briny floods, 445 The sparkling noon-beams trembling on the tide, The PROTEUS-LOVER woos his playful bride, To win the fair he tries a thousand forms, Basks on the sands, or gambols in the storms. A Dolphin now, his scaly sides he laves, 450 And bears the sportive damsel on the waves; She strikes the cymbal as he moves along, And wondering Ocean listens to the song. --And now a spotted Pard the lover stalks, Plays round her steps, and guards her favour'd walks;

[_The Proteus-love_. l. 446. Conserva polymorpha. This vegetable is put amongst the cryptogamia, or clandestine marriages, by Linneus; but, according to Mr. Ellis, the males and females are on different plants. Philos. Trans. Vol. LVII. It twice changes its colour, from red to brown, and then to black; and changes its form by losing its lower leaves, and elongating some of the upper ones, so as to be mistaken by the unskilful for different plants. It grows on the shores of this country.

There is another plant, Medicago polymorpha, which may be said to assume a great variety of shapes; as the seed-vessels resemble sometimes snail-horns, at other times caterpillars with or without long hair upon them; by which means it is probable they sometimes elude the depredations of those insects. The seeds of Calendula, Marygold, bend up like a hairy caterpillar, with their prickles bridling outwards, and may thus deter some birds or insects from preying upon them. Salicornia also assumes an animal similitude. Phil. Bot. p. 87. See note on Iris in additional notes; and Cypripedia in Vol. I.]

455 As with white teeth he prints her hand, caress'd, And lays his velvet paw upon her breast, O'er his round face her snowy fingers strain The silken knots, and fit the ribbon-rein. --And now a Swan, he spreads his plumy sails, 460 And proudly glides before the fanning gales; Pleas'd on the flowery brink with graceful hand She waves her floating lover to the land; Bright shines his sinuous neck, with crimson beak He prints fond kisses on her glowing cheek, 465 Spreads his broad wings, elates his ebon crest, And clasps the beauty to his downy breast.

A _hundred_ virgins join a _hundred_ swains, And fond ADONIS leads the sprightly trains;

[_Adonis_. l. 468. Many males and many females live together in the same flower. It may seem a solecism in language, to call a flower, which contains many of both sexes, an individual; and the more so to call a tree or shrub an individual, which consists of so many flowers. Every tree, indeed, ought to be considered as a family or swarm of its respective buds; but the buds themselves seem to be individual plants; because each has leaves or lungs appropriated to it; and the bark of the tree is only a congeries of the roots of all these individual buds. Thus hollow oak-trees and willows are often seen with the whole wood decayed and gone; and yet the few remaining branches flourish with vigour; but in respect to the male and female parts of a flower, they do not destroy its individuality any more than the number of paps of a sow, or the number of her cotyledons, each of which includes one of her young.

The society, called the Areoi, in the island of Otaheite, consists of about 100 males and 100 females, who form one promiscuous marriage.]

Pair after pair, along his sacred groves 470 To Hymen's fane the bright procession moves; Each smiling youth a myrtle garland shades, And wreaths of roses veil the blushing maids; Light joys on twinkling feet attend the throng, Weave the gay dance, or raise the frolic song; 475 --Thick, as they pass, exulting Cupids fling Promiscuous arrows from the sounding string; On wings of gossamer soft Whispers fly, And the sly Glance steals side-long from the eye. --As round his shrine the gaudy circles bow, 480 And seal with muttering lips the faithless vow, Licentious Hymen joins their mingled hands, And loosely twines the meretricious bands.-- Thus where pleased VENUS, in the southern main, Sheds all her smiles on Otaheite's plain,

485 Wide o'er the isle her silken net she draws, And the Loves laugh at all, but Nature's laws."

Here ceased the Goddess,--o'er the silent strings Applauding Zephyrs swept their fluttering wings; Enraptur'd Sylphs arose in murmuring crowds 490 To air-wove canopies and pillowy clouds; Each Gnome reluctant sought his earthy cell, And each bright Floret clos'd her velvet bell. Then, on soft tiptoe, NIGHT approaching near Hung o'er the tuneless lyre his sable ear; 495 Gem'd with bright stars the still etherial plain, And bad his Nightingales repeat the strain.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

P. 7. _Additional note to Curcuma._ These anther-less filaments seem to be an endeavour of the plant to produce more stamens, as would appear from some experiments of M. Reynier, instituted for another purpose: he cut away the stamens of many flowers, with design to prevent their fecundity, and in many instances the flower threw out new filaments from the wounded part of different lengths; but did not produce new anthers. The experiments were made on the geum rivale, different kinds of mallows, and the æchinops ritro. Critical Review for March, 1788.

P. 8. _Addition to the note on Iris._ In the Persian Iris the end of the lower petal is purple, with white edges and orange streaks, creeping, as it were, into the mouth of the flower like an insect; by which deception in its native climate it probably prevents a similar insect from plundering it of its honey: the edges of the lower petal lap over those of the upper one, which prevents it from opening too wide on fine days, and facilitates its return at night; whence the rain is excluded, and the air admitted. See Polymorpha, Rubia, and Cypripedia in Vol. I.

P. 12. _Additional note on Chandrilla._ In the natural state of the expanded flower of the barberry, the stamens lie on the petals; under the concave summits of which the anthers shelter themselves, and in this situation remain perfectly rigid; but on touching the inside of the filament near its base with a fine bristle, or blunt needle, the stamen instantly bends upwards, and the anther, embracing the stigma, sheds its dust. Observations on the Irritation of Vegetables, by T. E. Smith, M. D.

P. 15. _Addition to the note on Silene._ I saw a plant of the Dionaea Muscipula, Flytrap of Venus, this day, in the collection of Mr. Boothby at Ashbourn-Hall, Derbyshire, Aug. 20th, 1788; and on drawing a straw along the middle of the rib of the leaves as they lay upon the ground round the stem, each of them, in about a second of time, closed and doubled itself up, crossing the thorns over the opposite edge of the leaf, like the teeth of a spring rap-trap: of this plant I was favoured with an elegant coloured drawing, by Miss Maria Jackson of Tarporly, in Cheshire, a Lady who adds much botanical knowledge to many other elegant acquirements. In the Apocynum Androsaemifolium, one kind of Dog's bane, the anthers converge over the nectaries, which consist of five glandular oval corpuscles surrounding the germ; and at the same time admit air to the nectaries at the interstice between each anther. But when a fly inserts its proboscis between these anthers to plunder the honey, they converge closer, and with such violence as to detain the fly, which thus generally perishes. This account was related to me by R.W. Darwin, Esq; of Elston, in Nottinghamshire, who showed me the plant in flower, July 2d, 1788, with a fly thus held fast by the end of its proboscis, and was well seen by a magnifying lens, and which in vain repeatedly struggled to disengage itself, till the converging anthers were separated by means of a pin: on some days he had observed that almost every flower of this elegant plant had a fly in it thus entangled; and a few weeks afterwards favoured me with his further observations on this subject.

"My Apocynum is not yet out of flower. I have often visited it, and have frequently found four or five flies, some alive, and some dead, in its flowers; they are generally caught by the trunk or proboscis, sometimes by the trunk and a leg; there is one at present only caught by a leg: I don't know that this plant sleeps, as the flowers remain open in the night; yet the flies frequently make their escape. In a plant of Mr. Ordino's, an ingenious gardener at Newark, who is possessed of a great collection of plants, I saw many flowers of an Apocynum with three dead flies in each; they are a thin-bodied fly, and rather less than the common house-fly; but I have seen two or three other sorts of flies thus arrested by the plant. Aug. 12, 1788."

P. 18. _Additional note on Ilex_. The efficient cause which renders the hollies prickly in Needwood Forest only as high as the animals can reach them, may arise from the lower branches being constantly cropped by them, and thus shoot forth more luxuriant foliage: it is probable the shears in garden-hollies may produce the same effect, which is equally curious, as prickles are not thus produced on other plants.

P. 41. _Additional note on Ulva_. M. Hubert made some observations on the air contained in the cavities of the bambou. The stems of these canes were from 40 to 50 feet in height, and 4 or 5 inches in diameter, and might contain about 30 pints of elastic air. He cut a bambou, and introduced a lighted candle into the cavity, which was extinguished immediately on its entrance. He tried this about 60 times in a cavity of the bambou, containing about two pints. He introduced mice at different times into these cavities, which seemed to be somewhat affected, but soon recovered their agility. The stem of the bambou is not hollow till it rises more than one foot from the earth; the divisions between the cavities are convex downwards. Observ. sur la Physique par M. Rozier, l. 33. p. 130.

P. 65. _Additional note on Gossypium_.

--------emerging Naïads cull From leathery pods the vegetable wool. ----_eam circum Milesia vellera nymphæ Carpebant, hyali saturo fucata colore_. Virg. Georg. IV. 334.

P. 119. _Addition to Orchis_. The two following lines were by mistake omitted; they were to have been inserted after l. 282, p. 119.

Saw on his helm, her virgin hands inwove, Bright stars of gold, and mystic knots of love;

P. 136. _Addition to the note on Tropæolum_. In Sweden a very curious phenomenon has been observed on certain flowers, by M. Haggren, Lecturer in Natural History. One evening be perceived a faint flash of light repeatedly dart from a Marigold; surprized at such an uncommon appearance, he resolved to examine it with attention; and, to be assured that it was no deception of the eye, he placed a man near him, with orders to make a signal at the moment when he observed the light. They both saw it constantly at the same moment.

The light was most brilliant on Marigolds, of an orange or flame colour; but scarcely visible on pale ones.

The flash was frequently seen on the same flower two or three times in quick succession, but more commonly at intervals of several minutes; and when several flowers in the same place emitted their light together, it could be observed at a considerable distance.

This phaenomenon was remarked in the months of July and August, at sun-set, and for half an hour after, when the atmosphere was clear; but after a rainy day, or when the air was loaded with vapours, nothing of it was seen.

The following flowers emitted flashes, more or less vivid, in this order:

1. The Marigold, _(Calendula Officinalis)_. 2. Garden Nasturtion, _(Tropæolum majus)_. 3. Orange Lily, _(Lilium bulbiferum)_. 4. The Indian Pink, _(Tagetes patula et erecta)_.

Sometimes it was also observed on the Sun-flowers, _(Helianthus annuus)_. But bright yellow, or flame colour, seemed in general necessary for the production of this light; for it was never seen on the flowers of any other colour.

To discover whether some little insects, or phosphoric worms, might not be the cause of it, the flowers were carefully examined even with a microscope, without any such being found.

From the rapidity of the flash, and other circumstances, it might be conjectured, that there is something of electricity in this phaenomenon. It is well known, that when the _pistil_ of a flower is impregnated, the _pollen_ bursts away by its elasticity, with which electricity may be combined. But M. Haggren, after having observed the slash from the Orange-lily, the _anthers_ of which are a considerable space distant from the _petals,_ found that the light proceeded from the _petals_ only; whence he concludes, that this electric light is caused by the _pollen_, which in flying off is scattered upon the _petals._ Obser. Physìque par M. Rozier, Vol. XXXIII. p. iii.

P. 153. _Addition to Avena._ The following lines were by mistake omitted; they were designed to have been inserted after l. 102, p. 153.

Green swells the beech, the widening knots improve, So spread the tender growths of culture'd love; Wave follows wave, the letter'd lines decay, So Love's soft forms neglected melt away.

P. 157. _Additional note to Bellis._ Du Halde gives an account of a white wax made by small insects round the branches of a tree in China in great quantity, which is there collected for economical and medical purposes: the tree is called Tong-tsin. Description of China, Vol. I. p. 230.

_Description of the Poison-Tree in the Island of JAVA. Translated from the original Dutch of_ N. P. Foerich.

This destructive tree is called in the Malayan language _Bohon-Upas,_ and has been described by naturalists; but their accounts have been so tinctured with the _marvellous,_ that the whole narration has been supposed to be an ingenious fiction by the generality of readers. Nor is this in the least degree surprising, when the circumstances which we shall faithfully relate in this description are considered.

I must acknowledge, that I long doubted the existence of this tree, until a stricter enquiry convinced me of my error. I shall now only relate simple unadorned facts, of which I have been an eye-witness. My readers may depend upon the fidelity of this account. In the year 1774 I was stationed at Batavia, as surgeon, in the service of the Dutch East-India Company. During my residence there I received several different accounts of the Bohon Upas, and the violent effects of its poison. They all then seemed incredible to me, but raised my curiosity in so high a degree, that I resolved to investigate this subject thoroughly, and to trust only to _my own observations._ In consequence of this resolution, I applied to the Governor-General, Mr. Petrus Albertus van der Parra, for a pass to travel through the country: my request was granted; and, having procured every information. I set out on my expedition. I had procured a recommendation from an old Malayan priest to another priest, who lives on the nearest inhabitable spot to the tree, which is about fifteen or sixteen miles distant. The letter proved of great service to me in my undertaking, as that priest is appointed by the Emperor to reside there, in order to prepare for eternity the souls of those who for different crimes are sentenced to approach the tree, and to procure the poison.

The _Bohon-Upas_ is situated in the island of _Java,_ about twenty-seven leagues from _Batavia,_ fourteen from _Soura Charta,_ the seat of the Emperor, and between eighteen and twenty leagues from _Tinksor,_ the present residence of the Sultan of Java. It is surrounded on all sides by a circle of high hills and mountains; and the country round it, to the distance of ten or twelve miles from the tree, is entirely barren. Not a tree, nor a shrub, nor even the least plant or grass is to be seen. I have made the tour all around this dangerous spot, at about eighteen miles distant from the centre, and I found the aspect of the country on all sides equally dreary. The easiest ascent of the hills is from that part where the old ecclesiastick dwells. From his house the criminals are sent for the poison, into which the points of all warlike instruments are dipped. It is of high value, and produces a considerable revenue to the Emperor.

_Account of the manner in which the Poison it procured._

The poison which is procured from this tree is a gum that issues out between the bark and the tree itself, like the _camphor._ Malefactors, who for their crimes are sentenced to die, are the only persons who fetch the poison; and this is the only chance they have of saving their lives. After sentence is pronounced upon them by the judge, they are asked in court, whether they will die by the hands of the executioner, or whether they will go to the Upas tree for a box of poison? They commonly prefer the latter proposal, as there is not only some chance of preserving their lives, but also a certainty, in case of their safe return, that a provision will be made for them in future by the Emperor. They are also permitted to ask a favour from the Emperor, which is generally of a trifling nature, and commonly granted. They are then provided with a silver or tortoiseshell box, in which they are to put the poisonous gum, and are properly instructed how to proceed while they are upon their dangerous expedition. Among other particulars, they are always told to attend to the direction of the winds; as they are to go towards the tree before the wind, so that the effluvia from the tree are always blown from them. They are told, likewise, to travel with the utmost dispatch, as that is the only method of insuring a safe return. They are afterwards sent to the house of the old priest, to which place they are commonly attended by their friends and relations. Here they generally remain some days, in expectation of a favourable breeze. During that time the ecclesiastic prepares them for their future fate by prayers and admonitions. When the hour of their departure arrives, the priest puts them on a long leather-cap, with two glasses before their eyes, which comes down as far as their breast; and also provides them with a pair of leather-gloves. They are then conducted by the priest, and their friends and relations, about two miles on their journey. Here the priest repeats his instructions, and tells them where they are to look for the tree. He shews them a hill, which they are told to ascend, and that on the other side they will find a rivulet, which they are to follow, and which will conduct them directly to the Upas. They now take leave of each other; and, amidst prayers for their success, the delinquents hasten away. The worthy old ecclesiastic has assured me, that during his residence there, for upwards of thirty years, he had dismissed above seven hundred criminals in the manner which I have described; and that scarcely two out of twenty have returned. He shewed me a catalogue of all the unhappy sufferers, with the date of their departure from his house annexed; and a list of the offences for which they had been condemned: to which was added, a list of those who had returned in safety. I afterwards saw another list of these culprits, at the jail keeper's at _Soura-Charta,_ and found that they perfectly corresponded with each other, and with the different informations which I afterwards obtained. I was present at some of these melancholy ceremonies, and desired different delinquents to bring with them some pieces of the wood, or a small branch, or some leaves of this wonderful tree. I have also given them silk cords, desiring them to measure its thickness. I never could procure move than two dry leaves that were picked up by one of them on his return; and all I could learn from him, concerning the tree itself, was, that it stood on the border of a rivulet, as described by the old priest; that it was of a middling size; that five or six young trees of the same kind stood close by it; but that no other shrub or plant could be seen near it; and that the ground was of a brownish sand, full of stones, almost impracticable for travelling, and covered with dead bodies. After many conversations with the old Malayan priest, I questioned him about the first discovery, and asked his opinion of this dangerous tree; upon which he gave me the following answer:

"We are told in our new Alcoran, that, above an hundred years ago, the country around the tree was inhabited by a people strongly addicted to the sins of Sodom and Gomorrha; when the great prophet Mahomet determined not to suffer them to lead such detestable lives any longer, he applied to God to punish them: upon which God caused this tree to grow out of the earth, which destroyed them all, and rendered the country for ever uninhabitable."

Such was the Malayan opinion. I shall not attempt a comment; but must observe, that all the Malayans consider this tree as an holy instrument of the great prophet to punish the sins of mankind; and, therefore, to die of the poison of the Upas is generally considered among them as an honourable death. For that reason I also observed, that the delinquents, who were going to the tree, were generally dressed in their best apparel.

This however is certain, though it may appear incredible, that from fifteen to eighteen miles round this tree, not only no human creature can exist, but that, in that space of ground, no living animal of any kind has ever been discovered. I have also been assured by several persons of veracity, that there are no fish in the waters, nor has any rat, mouse, or any other vermin, been seen there; and when any birds fly so near this tree that the effluvia reaches them, they fall a sacrifice to the effects of the poison. This circumstance has been ascertained by different delinquents, who, in their return, have seen the birds drop down, and have picked them up _dead,_ and brought them to the old ecclesiastick.

I will here mention an instance, which proves them a fact beyond all doubt, and which happened during my stay at Java.

In the year 1775 a rebellion broke out among the subjects of the Massay, a sovereign prince, whose dignity is nearly equal to that of the Emperor. They refused to pay a duty imposed upon them by their sovereign, whom they openly opposed. The Massay sent a body of a thousand troops to disperse the rebels, and to drive them, with their families, out of his dominions. Thus four hundred families, consisting of above sixteen hundred souls, were obliged to leave their native country. Neither the Emperor nor the Sultan would give them protection, not only because they were rebels, but also through fear of displeasing their neighbour, the Massay. In this distressful situation, they had no other resource than to repair to the uncultivated parts round the Upas, and requested permission of the Emperor to settle there. Their request was granted, on condition of their fixing their abode not more than twelve or fourteen miles from the tree, in order not to deprive the inhabitants already settled there at a greater distance of their cultivated lands. With this they were obliged to comply; but the consequence was, that in less than two months their number was reduced to about three hundred. The chiefs of those who remained returned to the Massay, informed him of their losses, and intreated his pardon, which induced him to receive them again as subjects, thinking them sufficiently punished for their misconduct. I have seen and conversed with several of those who survived soon after their return. They all had the appearance of persons tainted with an infectious disorder; they looked pale and weak, and from the account which they gave of the loss of their comrades, of the symptoms and circumstances which attended their dissolution, such as convulsions, and other signs of a violent death, I was fully convinced that they fell victims to the poison.

This violent effect of the poison at so great a distance from the tree, certainly appears surprising, and almost incredible; and especially when we consider that it is possible for delinquents who approach the tree to return alive. My wonder, however, in a great measure, ceased, after I had made the following observations:

I have said before, that malefactors are instructed to go to the tree with the wind, and to return against the wind. When the wind continues to blow from the same quarter while the delinquent travels thirty, or six and thirty miles, if he be of a good constitution, he certainly survives. But what proves the most destructive is, that there is no dependence on the wind in that part of the world for any length of time.--There are no regular land-winds; and the sea-wind is not perceived there at all, the situation of the tree being at too great a distance, and surrounded by high mountains and uncultivated forests. Besides, the wind there never blows a fresh regular gale, but is commonly merely a current of light, soft breezes, which pass through the different openings of the adjoining mountains. It is also frequently difficult to determine from what part of the globe the wind really comes, as it is divided by various obstructions in its passage, which easily change the direction of the wind, and often totally destroy its effects.

I, therefore, impute the distant effects of the poison, in a great measure, to the constant gentle winds in those parts, which have not power enough to disperse the poisonous particles. If high winds are more frequent and durable there, they would certainly weaken very much, and even destroy the obnoxious effluvia of the poison; but without them, the air remains infested and pregnant with these poisonous vapours.

I am the more convinced of this, as the worthy ecclesiastick assured me, that a dead calm is always attended with the greatest danger, as there is a continual perspiration issuing from the tree, which is seen to rise and spread in the air, like the putrid steam of a marshy cavern.

_Experiments made with the Gum of the UPAS TREE._

In the year 1776, in the month of February, I was present at the execution of thirteen of the Emperor's concubines, at _Soura-Charta,_ who were convicted of infidelity to the Emperor's bed. It was in the forenoon, about eleven o'clock, when the fair criminals were led into an open space within the walls of the Emperor's palace. There the judge passed sentence upon them, by which they are doomed to suffer death by a lancet poisoned with Upas. After this the Alcoran was presented to them, and they were, according to the law of their great prophet Mahomet, to acknowledge and to affirm by oath, that the charges brought against them, together with the sentence and their punishment, were fair and equitable. This they did, by laying their right hand upon the Alcoran, their left hands upon their breast, and their eyes lifted towards heaven; the judge then held the Alcoran to their lips, and they kissed it.

These ceremonies over, the executioner proceeded on his business in the following manner:--Thirteen posts, each about five feet high, had been previously erected. To these the delinquents were fastened, and their breasts stripped naked. In this situation they remained a short time in continual prayers, attended by several priests, until a signal was given by the judge to the executioner; on which the latter produced an instrument, much like the spring lancet used by farriers for bleeding horses. With this instrument, it being poisoned with the gum of the Upas, the unhappy wretches were lanced in the middle of their breasts, and the operation was performed upon them all in less than two minutes.

My astonishment was raised to the highest degree, when I beheld the sudden effects of that poison, for in about five minutes after they were lanced, they were taken with a _tremor,_ attended with a _subsultus tendinum,_ after which they died in the greatest agonies, crying out to God and Mahomet for mercy. In sixteen minutes by my watch, which I held in my hand, all the criminals were no more. Some hours after their death, I observed their bodies full of livid spots, much like those of the _Petechiæ,_ their faces swelled, their colour changed to a kind of blue, their eyes looked yellow, &c. &c.

About a fortnight after this, I had an opportunity of seeing such another execution at Samarang. Seven Malayans were executed there with the same instrument, and in the same manner; and I found the operation of the poison, and the spots in their bodies exactly the same.

These circumstances made me desirous to try an experiment with some animals, in order to be convinced of the real effects of this poison; and as I had then two young puppies, I thought them the fittest objects for my purpose. I accordingly procured with great difficulty some grains of Upas. I dissolved half a grain of that gum in a small quantity of arrack, and dipped a lancet into it. With this poisoned instrument I made an incision in the lower muscular part of the belly in one of the puppies. Three minutes after it received the wound the animal began to cry out most piteously, and ran as fast as possible from one corner of the room to the other. So it continued during six minutes, when all its strength being exhausted, it fell upon the ground, was taken with convulsions, and died in the eleventh minute. I repeated this experiment with two other puppies, with a cat, and a fowl, and found the operation of the poison in all of them the same: none of these animals survived above thirteen minutes.

I thought it necessary to try also the effect of the poison given inwardly, which I did in the following manner. I dissolved a quarter of a grain of the gum in half an ounce of arrack, and made a dog of seven months old drink it. In seven minutes a retching ensued, and I observed, at the same time, that the animal was delirious, as it ran up and down the room, fell on the ground, and tumbled about; then it rose again, cried out very loud, and in about half an hour after was seized with convulsions, and died. I opened the body, and found the stomach very much inflamed, as the intestines were in some parts, but not so much as the stomach. There was a small quantity of coagulated blood in the stomach; but I could discover no orifice from which it could have issued; and therefore supposed it to have been squeezed out of the lungs, by the animal's straining while it was vomiting.

From these experiments I have been convinced that the gum of the Upas is the most dangerous and most violent of all vegetable poisons; and I am apt to believe that it greatly contributes to the unhealthiness of that island. Nor is this the only evil attending it: hundreds of the natives of Java, as well as Europeans, are yearly destroyed and treacherously murdered by that poison, either internally or externally. Every man of quality or fashion has his dagger or other arms poisoned with it; and in times of war the Malayans poison the springs and other waters with it; by this treacherous practice the Dutch suffered greatly during the last war, as it occasioned the loss of half their army. For this reason, they have ever since kept fish in the springs of which they drink the water; and sentinels are placed near them, who inspect the waters every hour, to see whether the fish are alive. If they march with an army or body of troops into an enemy's country, they always carry live fish with them, which they throw into the water some hours before they venture to drink it; by which means they have been able to prevent their total destruction.

This account, I flatter myself, will satisfy the curiosity of my readers, and the few facts which I have related will be considered as a certain proof of the exigence of this pernicious tree, and its penetrating effects.

If it be asked why we have not yet any more satisfactory accounts of this tree, I can only answer, that the object to most travellers to that part of the world consists more in commercial pursuits than in the study of Natural History and the advancement of Sciences. Besides, Java is so universally reputed an unhealthy island, that rich travellers seldom make any long stay in it; and others want money, and generally are too ignorant of the language to travel, in order to make enquiries. In future, those who visit this island will probably now be induced to make it an object of their researches, and will furnish us with a fuller description of this tree.

I will therefore only add, that there exists also a sort of Cajoe-Upat on the coast of Macassar, the poison of which operates nearly in the same manner, but is not half so violent or malignant as that of Java, and of which I shall likewise give a more circumstantial account in a description of that island.--_London Magazine_.

CATALOGUE OF THE POETIC EXHIBITION.