Note 657 — I.—PHÆNOGAMOUS OR FLOWERING PLANTS. (continued 5)
Reading edition
An incidental notice showing the value of the trade occurs in the letter of Columbus (himself a Genoese) announcing the result of his first voyage to the Indies. In stating what may be obtained from the island of Hispaniola, he mentions—gold and spices ... and mastich, hitherto found only in Greece in the island of Scio, and which the Signoria sells at its own price, as much as their Highnesses (Ferdinand and Isabella) shall command to be shipped. The letter bears date 15 Feb. 1493.—Letters of Christobal Columbus (Hakluyt Society) 1870. p. 15.