DIOSCORE.K. 145 



D. oiTosiTrFoijA, L. Silhet. Ceylon. S. China. 



1). GLAHRA, Hoxb. Kamorta anil Great Nicobur (K.). Silhet. 



D. batatas of China may be a eultivateil form of tliis species (Beutham). 



*D. FASCICrLATA, Ril.vb. (M.). 



Ka-d\vai-u. Karen Potato, or Tavoy Potato. 



Tliis is a small spccit'S, not laru:i'r than a kidney potato, and exeellcnt in flavour, 

 but procurable only during a few months in the year. In Bengal it yields an arrowroot. 



*D. oLonosA, Roxb. Cultivated (M.). 



Myouk-hpyu. Large white yam. 



This is one of the best yams, and its flowers are highly fragrant. 



D. ALATA, WiUd. (J[.). 



*D. ATROprKPUKEA, lloxb. Cultivated (M.). 



Myonk-ni. 



Tlie root is of a dark purplo colour and of a good quality, its large and irregular 

 tubers growing so near the surface as to cause it to crack over tlicm. IJ. purpura is 

 also highly esteemed, and its tubers are said to attain to 3 feet in length. 



D. CRisPATA, Eoxb. (M.). 



Myouk-kya. 



D.'kubella, MacClell. (M.). 



D. axguixa, MacClclI. (M.). 



1). versicolok, Buch. (il.). 



D. D.EMoxrii, ]{oxb. 



Kyvrai. AVildYani. 



This is a species with tcrnate leaves, nearly a foot long and 6 inches wide, and 

 is very acrid and poisonous, but eaten, according to Dr. !N[ason, by the Karens iu 

 times of scarcity. Other wild species, as IJ. bulbifera and D. pnifaphijlht, are very 

 acrid and poisonous, but capable of being rendered cdil)k', by slicing and steei)ing in a 

 solution of wood ashes, before cooking. Indeed, old llumphius goes so far as to sec 

 a beneficent design in the poisonous juices of this plant, and remarks, " Creator 

 sapicnter hanc impregnavit radicem hoc succo, ut ab apris intacta hominibus cibo 

 inserviret ! " A still more illustrious authority has suggested if the appearance on 

 the globe of such luscious fishes as the salmon, was not, providentially, deferred to 

 the epoch wherein we know them to have appeared, for the gastronomic delectation 

 of men (and Aldermen), and in order that their succulent flesh and fine flavour should 

 not be wasted on the inappreciative appetites of Palteozoic Ganoids. Wo are b(>un<l to 

 treat the teleidogical argument witli respect, but nevertheless it sounds but queirly! 



In this connexion one is irresistibly impressed with the cogency of the argument 

 of Pope — 



" Has God, thou fool! worked solely for thy good, 

 Thy joy, thy pastime, tliy attire, thy food ? 

 Who for the fable feeds the wanton fawn 

 For him as kindly spreads the flowery Lawn. 

 Is it for thee the lark ascends and sings'? 

 Joy tunes his voice, joy elevates his wings. 

 Is it for thee the linnet pours his throat ? 

 Loves of his own and raptures swell the note. 

 Tlie bounding steed you ]iom])ously bestride. 

 Shares with his lord the ])leasure and the pride. 

 Is thine alone, the seed that strews the plain '? 

 'J'he binls of heaven shall vindicate their grain. 

 Thine the full harvest of the golden year? 

 Part pays and justly, the deserving steer. 

 The hog that jiloughs not, nor obeys thy call. 

 Lives on the labours of this lord of all." — Essaij on Man, ITT. 27. 



vol.. II. 10 



