The river here is about seventy yards wide, in the dry season, and three and a half feet deep. The current is about one mile per hour: source from West to East. From the northern bank the land is very level, and the soil rich black loam and sand. It is partially cultivated for the growth of yams, cassada or manioc, cotton, and indigo. I observed some very singular heath at this place, about two miles from the river; as also fern, which I could not distinguish from a species I have observed in Great Britain and in Scotland, called the lady or female fern. The velvet tamarind also grows here in great abundance. It is a small fruit, about half an inch in diameter, nearly round; it grows with a pod closely resembling fine black cotton velvet. The pod is about the thickness of a penny-piece of copper, in its centre, and has a sweet acid taste, much prized by the natives. Although small in comparison with the common tamarind of this country, it is much more delicate and delicious. The tree, at a little distance from the sea, grows about twenty-five feet high, spreading in a regular conical form, and forming an agreeable shade from the burning rays of the sun. Its leaves are small, like the English plum-tree; its fruit distributed very regularly. Many other delicious fruits are found here, growing on shrubs of the laurel tribe. Some of the fruit are oblong, others round, and about the size of a sloe, the colour of all is yellow when ripe. Some also grow in pods about the size and shape of a large capsicum, containing a large quantity of seeds. This neighbourhood would, in my opinion, prove an excellent field for a botanist.