H. BOTANY AND HORTICULTURE. 3(35 



Christian faith outlived, unharmed, the notion of the fixity 

 of the earth, so will it the idea of the absolute fixity of the 

 species inhabiting it, and " in the future, even more than in 

 the past, faith in an order ^ which is the basis of science, will 

 not as it can not reasonably be dissevered from faith in 

 an ordainer^ which is the basis of religion." 



MILK-TREE. 



Such trees in various parts of the world as yield a milky 

 juice ai*e among the most serviceable to mankind, some of 

 them furnishing gutta-percha and India rubber, while others 

 supply a liquid which does not solidify, and may be used as 

 a nutritious article of food. These are usuallv known as cow- 

 trees;, and one of the most valuable is the JBrosimurn gcdoc- 

 todendron. This is found on the sea-coast of Venezuela, in 

 the form of a tree frequently over one hundred feet in height. 

 The milk, which is obtained by making incisions in the trunk, 

 has a very agreeable taste, resembling that of sweet cream, 

 the only unpleasant feature being that it is somewhat gluti- 

 nous, although it is very nourishing and wholesome. It is 

 consumed freely by the people, and is, indeed, one of their 

 most important resources. In a pharmaceutical point of 

 view, the Clusia fjalactodendron of Venezuela and of Western 

 New Granada is of great importance, from having the very 

 singular and valuable property of being almost a specific in 

 dysentery. It contains a resinous and astringent principle 

 and an aromatic tonic substance. It is said that wherever 

 this tree occurs dysentery is considered of no moment, the 

 milk being procurable very readily, and used upon the slight- 

 est occasion. 



According to Mr. R. B.White, out of numberless cases of 

 severe dysentery occurring in a party of five to seven hundred 

 men engaged in constructing a road in a very unhealthy cli- 

 mate in Western New Granada, near Buenaventura, a fatal 

 case was never known to occur, the administration of the 

 milk, even at the eleventh hour, curing cases that had been 

 considered almost hopeless. 



The special advantage of this remedy is that the cure is 

 radical, a subsequent relapse being very rare. This milk has 

 been kept a year without its taste or medical properties being 

 affected ; and it is suggested that it be brought to Europe or 



