had built her tiny nest of cotton in a secluded dell, and which, at that moment, was engaged in the office of incubation. Void of pity, the negro seized upon his prize, (which, with an expectant mother's love, would not quit her eggs,) broke off the stem of the tree to which the nest was attached, and carried it the distance of ten or twelve miles to his master's house, where it remained for four days; and although under no confinement, the humming-bird would not forsake her nest, but was conveyed in that situation on board ship, where she must have died of starvation; for who was to administer to her the ambrosial dews which formed her food?

There are many other creatures whose lives and habits might be given; but as I have already extended this part of my subject to greater lengths than I had intended, I must conclude, or my task would reach to many more pages.

CHAPTER LII.

BOTANY.

IN commencing this chapter upon botany, I deem it proper to mention first the forest trees, confining myself to those vegetating in Antigua. As, however, it will be neeessary to insert the botanical names, as well as their classifications, and wishful of throwing as much interest into the subject as possible, I have, along with my own observations upon these beauties of the creation, consulted other and more efficient botanists. It must be remarked, that nearly all the West Indian trees continue to bud and blossom throughout the year; so that there is no naked sprays and branches to be seen, as in old England's woods in winter, but instead, every grove presents an unchanging canopy of the deepest green.

One of the commonest flowers in Antigua is the FOUR O'CLOCK, mirabilis jalapa, or marvel of Peru, so called from the circumstance of its opening its pretty petals at that hour of the day. The leaves are of dark green, and shaped like a heart; the flowers are of a tubulous form, and of the several colours of red, white, or purple-the latter are the most common. The seeds are black and hard, and of a conical structure; the leaves are of much repute among the old nurses of Antigua, for their efficacy in relieving tumours, &c., but if it be only fancy, or if they really possess some medicinal qualities, I leave the gentlemen of the lancet to determine.

The PALMETTO, areca oleracea, cabbage palm, or mountain cabbage, is the most beautiful tree in Antigua, and richly deserves the epithet of king of the West Indian forests. The trunk rises straight and smooth, and is of a most graceful

form, being about four to seven feet in circumference at the base, and gradually tapering upwards to the height of from one hundred feet; it is of a silverish grey colour, and indented with rings, marking the place of former footstalks. The upper part of the trunk presents a finely turned polished column, of a beautiful green colour, which diverges gradually from its pedestal until it attains the centre, when it d'minishes in the same manner to the top, from whence springs an acuminated spatha terminating in a point. The branches spring from the top of the trunk in an elegant plume-like manner; as they decay and fall off, they are succeeded by others bursting from the centre of those that remain. The young leaves are esteemed delicious when boiled, as well as the cabbage, which is found in the interior of the green part of the trunk. The flowers are hermaphrodite; the male calyx sends forth three petals and nine stamens; the female flower is like the male, and turns to an oval fruit, enclosing an oval seed, which will bear a fine polish, and was formerly used for buttons. A grove of these trees presents a beautiful appearance, forming indeed a colonnade of finely turned columns, from the top of which springs a verdant canopy.

COCOA-NUT TREE, cocos nucifera, belongs to the order monoecia hexandria. Male calyx is trifid, the corolla three-petalled, with five stamens; the female calyx is quinquefid, the corolla divided into three segments, and furnished with three stamens. The cocoa-nut tree is supposed to have been brought from the Maldives to the West Indies. It loves a sandy soil, and sometimes attains the height of eighty feet. The trunk is a straight column, slightly annulated, and tapering from the base to the summit, where it expands into branches of about fifteen feet long, and in a circular form, among which break forth the sheaths, which are open from top to bottom and full of flowers, or clusters of embryos. The branches are apparently fastened at the top with stringy threads, interwoven like a piece of coarse sackcloth; the pinnæ are of a deep glossy green, and, near he trunk, are often a foot long. The nut is much es

t

teemed for the sweetness of its kernel, as well as for the milk and oil it produces. When the kernel first begins to grow, it is in the form of jelly, which lines the interior of the shell; as it increases in age, this jelly thickens, and becomes a solid mass of about a quarter of an inch thick, and of the whiteness of unsullied snow. The jelly nuts contain the largest supply of milk, or water, as it is generally termed in Antigua, often as much as a pint, or a pint and a half; it is most esteemed in this state, the ripe nut being seldom eaten in its crude form, but generally compounded into different kinds of sweetmeats, or shipped to England. Thomson, speaking of the cocoa-nut, observes—

"Amid those orchards of the sun,

Give me to drain the cocoa's milky bowl,

And from the palm to draw its freshening fruit."

These nuts are enclosed in a thick husk, composed of strong fibres, thickly matted together, which, when young, is of a bright green, but which attains a dull brown as it arrives at maturity; from these husks an excellent dye can be obtained, while the dried ones are now manufactured into mattresses, floor-cloths, and all kinds of brooms and mats. The trunk of the cocoa-nut tree is capable of being made into cordage, and, if tapped, a clear liquid issues, to which the name of arrack is given, which, when fermented, becomes an intoxicating drink. The shell of the nut is sometimes beautifully carved and polished, and, when mounted in silver, is used as cups or sugar-basins. From the kernel a clear white oil is extracted, which burns with great brilliancy, and emits a pleasant odour.

WHITEWOOD-TREE, bucida buceras, is a beautiful foresttree, and one that lives to a great age; there are some still remaining in the island which are said to be coeval with the first settlers. It rises to the height of forty or fifty-feet, and is thickly covered with a light-green foliage, here and there sprinkled with a leaf of the brightest red. It is said that ships built from its timber never breeds worms.

CEDARS belong to the juniperus tribe. There are two species

in Antigua, the white and the red. The white is a very beautiful tree, clothed with a dark-green glossy foliage, from whence spring flowers of a trumpet-like shape, and of the most delicate pink or pearly white. It forms a very beautiful avenue to a gentleman's seat, as well as a road-side border; but the timber is not of so much value as the red cedar, which is another most lovely forest-tree, rising sometimes to from sixty to seventy feet, and of proportionate circumference. The foliage is very thick, the leaves in form like the English ash; the flowers (which have not the beauty of its sister tree) are succeeded by oval berries of a purplish colour. The wood of the cedar is too well known to need much description. It is of a reddish colour and of a fragrant smell, and is almost incorruptible, as no worms will breed in it. It has been related that cedar-wood was found in the temple of Apollo at Utica, full 2000 years old.

SILK-COTTON TREE, bombax seva, or Ceiba, of the polyandria order, class monodelphia, is one of the most beautiful forest-trees of the western world, and a great ornament in tropic scenery. The trunk rises smooth and straight as a column, to the height of sixty or seventy feet, and of immense circumference. It is said to have originally been brought from Africa to the West Indies, where it now flourishes in splendid magnificence. The leaves are broad, and of a glossy green, the flowers of a delicate primrose, and campanulated; the corolla is quinquefid, from whence rises the pointal, which afterwards turns to a pod of about four or five inches in length, containing the seeds, and a profusion of bright beautiful silk. From its extreme shortness, it has been for a long time held as unfit for any use; but within these last few years, it is discovered it can be manufactured into hats. The East Indians use it for stuffings to their ottomans, cushions, and sofas, on which they recline during the heat of the day; but the West Indians, less effeminate and luxurious, allow it to float about in its native copses unheeded, except by the pretty little hummingbird, which sometimes builds her fairy nest from its silky fabric.