84 ON THE VEGETATION OF MALAYSIA, 



10-15 cells each containing 6-10 oblong woolly seeds embedded in 

 a tenacious shiny yellowish pulp, very agreeable in flavour and 

 fragrant. It is supposed to be indigenous in India, on the slopes 

 of the Himalayas up to 3,500 feet. The wild fruit is said to be 

 small, hard and devoid of fragrance. It is the unripe or half ripe 

 fruit which is the efficacious remedy in dysentery and all cases of 

 irritation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and bowels. 

 It may be useful to give the prescription. " The unripe fruit is 

 cut into small slices and dried, and in this state is used in the 

 form of decoction, prepared with two ounces of the dried fiuit and 

 a pint of water. The mixture is to be gently simmered down to 

 one-fourth, and of this the dose must depend on thp attendant 

 circumstances of the case. In bad cases of diarrhoea and dysentery 

 three tablespoonsful are to be taken every two or three hours ; in 

 milder cases the like quantity three or four times a day ; and in 

 mild cases of irritation two or three times a day will be sufficient." 

 (Pereira, " Materia Medica." Yol. IL, pt. 2, p. 549.) Sir VV. 

 Jones observes of it that " it is nutritious, warm, cathartic ; in 

 taste delicious, in fragrance exquisite ; its aperient and detersive 

 quality, and its efficacy in removing habitual costiveness, have 

 been proved by constant experience."* A sort of sherbet is 

 prepared from it with tamarind juice, beneficial in fevers and 

 inflammatory affections attended with thirst. A jelly and a 

 preserve are made of the ripe fruit with sugar, and are used in 

 cases of habitual costiveness and irritation of the stomach. The 

 glutinous mucus surrounding the seeds is used by painters as a 

 size and varnish, and, according to Royle, is an excellent addition 

 to uiortar, especially in well-digging. 



- Triphasia trifoliata DC, (Javanese Jeroh kingkit) a low-sized 

 tree with small oblong red fruits and very fragrant flowers ; said 

 to be wild in various places in Malaysia, but is far better known 

 as an ornamental shrub in the gardens about Penang. 



The Durian so widely known and so much the subject of 

 animadversion from Europeans on account of its odour, may be 



* Quoted by Ainslie in his "Materia Indicse," II. p. 189. 



