HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



in the latter form they are often imported into this 

 country. The bitter aromatic root of the tree is used 

 medicinally, as well as the bark, in the treatment of 

 fevers, &c. A reddish-brown green resin exudes 

 from the bark in very limited quantities naturally, 

 "but freely if the tree is wounded, which is also used 

 medicinally in India, externally for certain cutaneous 

 disorders, and internally for the cure of diarrhoea 

 and dysentery. The young leaves possess pectoral 

 properties, and the old leaves and stalks are used for 

 cleansing the teeth and hardening the gums. The 

 wood is held in great veneration by the Hindoo 

 population, as it is burned together with sandal-wood 

 in their obsequies. It is soft and porous in a young 

 state, but that from old trees is very hard and 

 durable. 



for feeding pigs. S. dulcis is cultivated in the 

 Friendly and Society Islands for its very refreshing 

 and wholesome fruit, which is said to resemble pine- 

 apple in flavour. S. birrea, a native of Senegambia, 

 produces a fleshy edible kernel, anil the pulp of the 

 fruit is employed by the negroes in the manufacture 

 of an alcoholic liquor. The gum which exudes from 

 the trunk of Odina Odier, a true native of India, is 

 used as a plaster for sprains and bruises. The 

 celebrated black varnish of Burmah and Martaban is 

 yielded by a large Indian tree known as Melanorrhaa 

 iisitatissima ; it occurs in the forests from Tenasserim 

 and Pagu, quite to Manipur in Sylnet, and is called 

 "Theat-see" in the former, and "Khan" in the 

 latter country. The varnish is obtained by tapping ; 

 short joints of bamboo closed at the bottom are 



Fig. 4.— Rhus toxicodendron. 



The seed of the mango is particularly interesting 

 in deviating from the normal type of development, as 

 they frequently produce more than one embryo ; and 

 such seeds, when in a germinating state, exhibit 

 curious differentiations from the usual type of ger- 

 minating seeds. A good paper on these subjects was 

 published in the "Journal" of the Linnean Society 

 for 1861. 



Amongst other plants of economical interest in the 

 Anacardiacere, but which are of insufficient im- 

 portance to describe in detail, are the hog plums, 

 produced by various species of the genus Spondias. 

 In the West Indian Islands the fruit of S. purpurea 

 is known as the Spanish plum, and has a sub-acid, 

 agreeable flavour, and is largely consumed. Also in 

 the same islands and Brazil, S. lutca, S. Mombia, 

 S. tuberosa, and other species of the fruit are consumed 

 in limited quantities by the natives, but chiefly used 



thrust into the holes made in the trunk, and left for 

 about two days, when they are filled with a whitish 

 juice, which turns black upon exposure to the air, 

 and requires to be kept under water in order to 

 preserve it. It is employed for lacquering all kinds 

 of domestic utensils and furniture. The wood of this 

 tree is very hard, and so heavy that anchors are made 

 of it for the native boats. Another large Indian tree, 

 which is named Holigarna longifolia, yields from the 

 root and stem a similar black varnish, and in the 

 Malaccas it is collected and employed for the same 

 purposes. Durua dependens is a small Chilian tree, 

 yielding drupaceous fruits, from which an intoxicating 

 drink is prepared. Schinus molle, a tropical American 

 tree, known commonly as false pepper, produces 

 agreeable, edible, drupes ; it also yields a kind of 

 gum-mastic, with a peppery flavour, with purgative 

 properties, which is also employed to harden the 



