to cure the wounds caused by the bite of snakes and insects. It is also said lo be an antidote for the virus of a mad dog. The odor is very peculiar, but not unpleasant.
The tamarind trees grow to a large size ; their fruit greatly resembles the bean of the honey locust of the United States. The tamarind beans, when preserved, make a cooling beverage, by being soaked in water, which is useful in the sick-chamber, especially in fever cases.
The pili is used for the manufacture of ropes, cordage, and sacks, and I think would make good paper. Of the divi, cart wheels are made. The nutmeg trees grow luxuriantly with out cultivation. These are only a few of the vegetable products of Demerara, but they will suffice to give the reader a general idea with regard to the products of the soil.
The snakes of Demerara are of all sizes, kinds, and colors. One of the most curious is a small snake, which is spotted with twelve different colors; these are chiefly found lodged in the branches of the bamboo. They are said to be harmless; other varieties, however, are exceedingly venomous.
There is a species of red ant, which builds its habitations up in the forks of the trees, where they look almost like the prairie dog villages of our western country. The houses are made of mud, which is collected into a ball, and then pushed up the tree by the insect, with infinite labor.
The birds of Demerara are as numerous and as gorgeous in their plumage as those of Venezuela. The parrots of all kinds, especially, abound in immense numbers. While I was at Georgetown, my friend, Captain M., shot at some parrots who were in a mango tree feeding on the fruit, and wounded one, which fell and lodged in the fork of two limbs, making such a pitiful cry that he had not the heart to shoot again. The mate of this wounded bird attended to its wants with infinite care, bringing it food and water for several days, until it died. The last day water was brought every hour j and when at length the sick bird died, the mate uttered a most human like cry of sorrow and despair. The parrots of all kinds go in couples, and like the pigeons, they migrate in the rainy season.
The humming-birds appear to be quite as numerous, while there are even more varieties of them than there are of the parrots. They are beautiful little creatures, and I never became tired of watching their motions. Like the parrots, these tiny birds seemed to be gifted with extraordinary intelligence.
