228 NATURAL HISTORY. 



Mahadeva (q. v., " Hindu Theatre" — Malati and Mahadeva) is reported to 

 have sung the praises of the Kitaki (Sanscrit) in the following strain :~ 



" Faint in the East the gentle moonlight gleams 

 " Pale as the Palm's sear leaf, and through the air 

 "The slowly rising breezes spread around 

 " The grateful fragrance of the KUalci." 



In Burmah the plant is known as Sasava and in Madras as TazJian- 

 cheddi. 



Habitat. — This tree I have seen growing in Southern India and in 

 H. H. the Nizam's dominions: common in the vicinity of Aurangabad* 

 Deccan. Having an excellent fibre, I am surprised that it is not cared 

 for and utilized for rope-making in the Nizam's tenitory; but, if so, it 

 must be to a very limited extent ; the fibre could be more profitably used 

 also in manufacturing paper. The Japanese cultivate the plant extensively 

 for its odoriferous nature ; similarly Burmah, where the tree grows wild 

 and luxuriantly, could augment her revenue by utilizing it too. The tree 

 is largely resorted to by the Ophidia family. 



Fodder.— J. C. Loudon, F.L.S.,, H.S., &c. (1829), says:— "The branches 

 being of a soft, spongy, juicy nature, cattle will eat them very well when 

 cut into small pieces." I know that the taste is unpleasant, and from the 

 fact of the leaves decaying on the tree — especially in the younger plants, 

 ■which are within the reach of all cattle — this assertion seems rather doubt- 

 ful. 



Altogether the P. odoratissimus is a most interesting and valuable pre- 

 duct of the vegetable kingdom ; and it is to be regretted that a tree so very 

 useful for economic purposes — from the root to the flower — is not cultivated 

 and brought into use more largely. 



F. R. 



FREAK IN A ZINNIA PAUCIFLORA OBSERVED AND 



EXHIBITED 



By Mr. Frank Rose, P.W.D. 



[N. 0. COMPOSITE (ASTEEACE^E).-] 



{Syngenesia — Linn. Sub-Order Tubulifloiue.) 



It was Mrs. Caroline A White who truly said that "the researches of 

 modern botanists have done much to simplify and popularize a knowledge 

 of the vegetable kingdom ; but there are still sufficient mysteries in the 

 organization, sensation, and self-motive power of plants to afford a wide 

 field for inquiry and experiment ; and the more we direct attention to 

 these charming wonders, the more good we shall be doing to our readers, 

 ourselves, and science." 



dpi i>2'vs of the above, I may as well here state — en parenthesis — that certain 

 habits of the animal and vegetable kingdoms are analogous, of which I hope 



