BY THE EEV. J. E. TENISON-WOODS. 93 



furious. The pollen of the flowers is very narcotic and irritating, 

 affecting some people to a dangerous extent, since by only going 

 near the flowers they become stupefied and their lioibs swollen. It 

 is considered dangerous to cut down the tree or even to work upon 

 the wood ; in fact everything about this tree is so poisonous that 

 it seems to realise the exaggerated fables about the Upas-tree. 

 Semecarpus cassuvmm, Spreng., (Daun sako, Malay), the Malacca or 

 Marsh-nut of the French, now naturalised in the Moluccas, Banda 

 and Ceram, from the Antilles, has similar properties, and is said 

 to be a brain stimulant, giving memory and wit to fools like the 

 elixir of the Arab doctor Mesne. 



After all that has been written about the well-known Manofo 

 {Mangifera indica, L., and Manga, Malay) a mere reference will 

 suffice in this essay. The species are about 14, including J/, indica 

 and its many cultivated varieties, M. fmtida. Lour., the Horse 

 Mango of the Malays, of which natives of Malaysia and India are 

 very fond notwithstanding its offensive odour and seriously dele- 

 terious qualities. The genus is entirely Malayan ; the best are 

 cultivated in the Philippines and in Java, while they seem unable 

 to grow good fruit in the Malay Peninsula. There is a consider- 

 able export of Mangoes from Manila, which proves the esteem in 

 which they are held in the neighbouring countries, but I have 

 never seen fruit superior to that which I obtained in Java. 



Bouea gandaria, Bl., the Gandaria of the Malays is a kind of 

 Mango ; the fruits are esteemed by the natives, and the young 

 leaves are eaten with rice in Java and Borneo. Dracontomelo'nP 

 mangiferum^ Bl., or Buah rau, known to most botanists as Poupar) 

 tia^ bears a kind of edible Mango eaten in the Moluccas. This is 

 the Dragon-tree (Drakenboom) of Valentyn, who says that the 

 fruit when newly gathered is highly refreshing. Evia aeida, Bl., 

 is the Kedondong of the Javanese and the Pomme de Cythere of 

 the French, which is cultivated and almost naturalised in Malaysia 

 though probably introduced from the Society, Friendly, or Fiji 

 Islands. It is like a large plum and contains a stone, but 

 coloured like an apple, and covered with long hooked bristles. 



