Page:The naturalist on the River Amazons 1863 v1.djvu/104

 the nature of the fruit. They belong to the order Leguminosæ: the pods are woody and excessively hard; inside they contain a number of beans, enveloped in a sweet yellowish floury substance, which is eaten by the inhabitants. The shell burns with a clear flame. Some of the species have large pods, others small oval ones, containing only one bean. The trees are amongst the largest in the forest, growing from 150 to 180 feet in height: the bark is similar to that of our oak. The leaves are in pairs, whence arises the botanical name of the genus, Hymenæa. The resin which the various species produce exudes from wounds or gashes made in the bark: but I was told that the trees secrete it also spontaneously from the base of the trunk within, and that large lumps are found in the earth amongst the roots when a tree is uprooted by storms. In the resin, ants and other insects are sometimes embedded, precisely as they are in amber, which substance the Jutahí-síca often resembles, at least in colour and transparency.

During these rambles by land and water we increased our collections considerably. Before we left the mills we arranged a joint excursion to the Tocantins. Mr. Leavens wished to ascend that river to ascertain if the reports were true, that cedar grew abundantly between the lowermost cataract and the mouth of the Araguaya, and we agreed to accompany him. Whilst we were at the mills, a Portuguese trader arrived with a quantity of worm-eaten logs of this cedar, which he had gathered from the floating timber in the current of the main Amazons. The tree producing this wood,