BOTANY.
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forms a grand dish in negro cookery ; they are used either in their dry or green state. GINGER is a genus of the monogynia order, class monandria. There are ten species, each natives of tropical climates; the common ginger, or amomum zingiber, is the one most known in Antigua. The flower-stalks rise by the side of the leaves, (which are of a light green, and very narrow,) directly from the root ; they are scaly, and from every joint issues a single blue flower, five-leaved, and shaped like the iris. The ovary afterwards becomes a triangular fruit, the seed being contained in three cells. The use of the dried root is too well known in England to descant upon the virtues of it ; the green root is preserved in sugar, and forms a much admired sweetmeat. PINE APPLE, ananas, is the queen of Antiguan fruits. There are two varieties, the "black pine," and the "white pine ;" of these the first mentioned is the most esteemed. The flavour of the pine is exquisite, not to be described, but eaten to have its excellences fully appreciated ; it forms, indeed, a perfect ambrosia not to be surpassed by that of Mount Olympus. WATER MELON, or anguria, a genus of the diandria order, class monﾅ田ia. The calyx is quinquefid, and the flower quinquepetalous. The fruit belies not its name,
abounding in a sweet water; it is three-celled, and contains numerous flat seeds ; the scent is very fragrant. There are three kinds of melon in Antigua, all of which are esteemed for their cooling qualities. Of the CAPREOLATED PLANTS, the gourd (cucurbita) is the most common in the island. The flower consists of one leaf, an expanded campiform, but so deeply divided that it appears upon first view to be five distinct segments. The germen becomes an oblong, bottle-shaped fruit, divided into six cells, containing flat, oblong seeds. The bitter flavour of the gourd is extreme ; but both the fruit and leaves are said to be of great efficacy in some diseases of the viscera. N 3