Cucurbitacea.| THE’ HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINS. 217 
well as to the looseness of its bark, which Separating, like that of the birch, renders 
more difficult the transmission inwards of the cold during the winter season. 
But as this is the species stated by Mr. Jack to be more fragrant than any other, and 
that from which the Cajeputi (Kayapootee) oil is distilled, it is probable that it might be 
successfully cultivated in many parts of India, as it succeeds in the open air so far north 
as Saharunpore. So would also, in southern parts, Myrtus Pimenta, or allspice, now 
cultivated in Jamaica, but of which the trees flourish in the Calcutta garden. The Clove- 
tree, or Caryophyllus aromaticus, is a native of the Moluccas, but more difficult to be 
grown in other countries: it is however cultivated in Cayenne, as well as in the Isle of 
Bourbon. Ceylon, and the southern parts of the Indian, as well as’ of the Malayan 
Peninsula, appear the only parts of the British territories suited to the purpose, though 
the tree grows freely in the Calcutta garden. It is remarkable that Persian authors give 
kurphullon as the Greek name of cloves. Myrtle berries are still used in Indian medi- 
cine, and imported from the north; Myrtus tomentosa yields edible berries on the 
Neelgherries, as the common myrtle does in Syria. The union of astringency with 
aromatic principles accounts for the employment of some of this tribe in New Holland 
as substitutes for tea: while Eucalyptus resinifera yields a kino remarkable for its 
astringency ; this principle pervades even the edible fruit of Sizygium Jambolana, as well 
as every part of the tree, of which the leaves and bark are used in Indian medicine. 
Many of this tribe yield excellent wood, as species of Eugenia and Sizygium, as well 
as the New Holland £ucalypti, which would succeed well in Northern India, with many 
other of the plants of that region. 
77. CUCURBITACES. 
This order, known in Europe from its products forming a luxury, rather than a neces- 
sary of life, includes, in tropical countries, an important group of plants, as they 
afford to the inhabitants a considerable portion of their food. They are chiefly remarkable 
for the power of adapting themselves to the different situations where they may be 
grown. Thus we hear of their affording large and juicy fruit in the midst of the Indian 
desert, where water is 300 feet from the surface (Elphinstone), and they are equally 
grown in the dry season on the sandy islands of Indian rivers ; but excess of moisture 
does not appear to be injurious, as the great majority are successfully cultivated in the 
rainy season; and Mr. Moorcroft describes an extensive cultivation of melons and 
cucumbers on the beds of weeds, which float on the lakes of Cashmere ; they are simi- 
larly cultivated in Persia and in China (v. Hort. Trans. 2d Ser. vol. 1. p. = and 
Staunton’s Embassy). Being chiefly annuals, which a few months suffice to =e to 
perfection, we find them succeeding in the summer temperature of northern climates, 
and thus extending from the Line to 55° or 60° of northern latitude, and southwards - 
the Cape of Good Hope. Their place in the natural series is uncertain; but in habit 
they are very unlike those near which they are at present placed. 
2 F The 
