8 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



deleterious effects upon some persons. It was 

 formerly officinal, and admitted in the London 

 Pharmacopoeia, but has recently been excluded owing 

 to its dangerous character under manipulation. It is 

 still employed in America, the leaves being princi- 

 pally used in the form of a tincture or extract in cases 

 of paralysis, chronic rheumatism, cutaneous dis- 

 orders, &c. They possess a peculiar acrid principle, 

 similar in its action upon the nervous system to 

 strychnia. 



The effect upon some persons caused by contact 

 with the plant, is very remarkable ; and the same 

 effects are produced in such persons by its exhala- 

 tions, if they are in contiguity to the plant. The 

 same results are noticed in the case of the poison ash 

 (Rhus venenata) . A well-authenticated example of the 

 injurious disposition of the latter is recorded by Dr. 

 Bromfiel. He says : " The Rev. Dr. Bachman, of 

 Charlestown, being once on a botanical excursion 

 with some friends in the neighbourhood of the city, 

 they came upon a specimen of the poison ash (Rhus 

 venenata), and felt desirous of gathering specimens 

 for examination. This they proceeded to do, though 

 warned of the consequences likely to accrue from 

 handling it. The doctor stood aloof from a danger 

 which he knew to be inevitable in his own person, 

 on near approach or contact. The result was some of 

 the party suffered severely, the inflammatory action 

 reaching up the arm to the trunk in one ; in another, 

 only as high as the elbow ; while, in a third, the 

 effects were confined to the hands, which, as is usual 

 in these cases, became swollen, inflamed, and finally 

 ulcerated ; the rest mostly escaped the poison. 

 On his return home, Dr. B. found a branch of the 

 shrub in the vasculum, which had been put there by 

 some sceptical joker amongst the company, who 

 affected disbelief in poisonous properties of the plant. 

 This he requested his daughter, who was not 

 susceptible of the poison, to take out of the box and 

 destroy, but, at her suggestion, permitted it to be 

 dried for his herbarium. The next day symptoms of 

 poisoning came on, intumescence of the entire body 

 and lower extremities, attended with intolerable pain 

 and irritation, confined him to bed for several days ; 

 nor was it till after many weeks that he was able to 

 resume his duties. For several years after, he was 

 subject to a periodical recurrence of the erysipelatous 

 inflammation, which marks this particular poison." 

 ("Lond. Journ. Bot." 7, 160.) On the other hand, 

 many persons handle the shrub with impunity. 



The Mango-Fruit (Fig. 3). — This most valuable 

 tropical fruit is produced by Mangifera Indica, Linn., 

 the generic name being taken from " Manglio," the 

 native name of the fruit. It was originally a native 

 of India, but is now widely distributed and cultivated 

 throughout that country, into the Malay Archipelago, 

 Mauritius, and other parts of the eastern hemisphere ; 

 also occurring in many of the tropical parts of the 

 western, being especially abundant in the West 



Indian Islands. It forms a large tree ; leaves 

 alternate, oblong-lanceolate, stalked, entire ; sub- 

 coriaceous in texture ; flowers in freely-branched 

 erect panicles, white, with spreading petals and fine 

 stamens, four of which are abortive ; fruit drupa- 

 ceous, smooth, when ripe, of a deep yellow colour, 

 very variable in size, form, and flavour ; usually oval, 

 or half pear-shaped, four inches or more long, and 

 nearly as wide. 



There is in the mango, like all cultivated plants, 

 a great amount of variation, which is the inevitable 

 result of such an extended period of cultivation, by 

 the selection of the finer varieties and inter-breeding, 

 which has evidently been done and effected. Some 

 kinds are much superior in every way to others, and 



Fig. 3. — Leaf and Fruit of Jlangifcra Indica, Linn, (reduced). 



this is a desideratum, as some of the inferior varieties 

 are unappreciated by European?. Certain travellers 

 have described their flavour as comparable to a mixture 

 of tow and turpentine, while others are regarded as 

 among the most delicious and grateful of tropical 

 fruits, the consumption of which is enormous in a 

 ripe state. But if eaten to excess they are strongly 

 purgative, and in those unaccustomed to their use, 

 boils are produced, the effect of which is beneficial. 

 The fruit of the finest varieties possesses a strong and 

 agreeable perfume, with a sugary-acid flavour. They 

 contain a limited quantity of gallic acid, as is 

 evidenced by the blue stain which is produced on the 

 blade of a knife when cut ; citric acid and gum are also 

 present. The unripe fruits are largely employed in 

 India as conserves for making tarts and pickles ; and 



