550 



FABACK^. 



[Perigynous Exogens, 



Carat weights of the jeweUers. A similar fruit is borne by Gleditschia triacantha, 

 caUed in North America the Honey Locust. In the pods of Hjonensea Courbaril, the 



Fig. CCCLXXIII. 



West Indian Locust-tree, there is a mealy substance in which the seeds are embedded, 

 sweet and pleasant, but apt to purge when recently gathered ; it loses this property as 

 it becomes old. A decoction of the pulp, allowed to ferment, forms an intoxicating 

 drink resembling beer. The succulent dinipes of Detarium microcarpum are said to be 

 agreeable to the palate of the Negroes. Some are reported to produce powerfully bitter 

 and tonic effects. The bark and seeds of Guilandma Bonduc are of this class ; the 

 latter are very bitter ; when pounded small and mixed with castor oil, they form a 

 valuable external application in incipient hydrocele ; the leaves are a valuable discu- 

 tient, fried with a Uttle castor oil, in cases of hernia humoraUs. Bowdichia major, the 

 roots of Poinciana pulcherrima, the wood of Ceesalpinia echinata in powder, ai'e other 

 instances of tonic quahties among these plants ; and in the Dividivi or Libidibi pods, 

 which are produced by Caesalpinia coriaria,we have one of the most astringent of known 

 substances. The native practitioners in India prescribe the dried buds and young 

 flowers of Bauhinia tomentosa ui certain dysenteric affections. The bark of Bauhinia 

 variegata, and also of Cassia auriculata, are, according to Roxburgh, used by the natives 

 in tanning and dyeing leather, as well as in medicine. The leaves of Cavilotretus micro- 

 stachyus and various Bauhinias are used in Brazil imder the name of Unlia de Boy, 

 or Oxhoof, as mucilaginous remedies. Panococco-bark, obtained from Swartzia tomen- 

 tosa, is a powerful sudorific ; its wood is very hard and intensely bitter. The roots of 

 Csesalpinia Nuga and Moringa are diuretic. Among dyes are Logwood, the wood of 

 Haematoxylon campeachianum, and the red dye yielded by several Csesalpinias, espe- 

 cially C. echinata, which yields the Brazil-wood, or Pernambuco-wood of commerce. 

 The Bukkum or Sappan-wood of India belongs to Caesalpinia Sappan. Camwood or 

 Barwood belongs to Baphia nitida ; it yields a briUiant red colour, but it is not perma- 

 nent ; the dark-red seen in the EngHsh Bandana handkerchiefs is produced by it, 

 rendered deeper by sulphate of iron. Melanoxylon Braiina, a large Brazilian tree, has 

 a remarkable reddish-brown colouring matter in both its wood and bark. Several 

 afford timber. The Brazil-wood of commerce is obtained from Caesalpinia Brasihensis. 

 The timber of Hymensea Courbaril, the West-Indian Locust-tree, is close-grained and 

 tough ; it is in request in England for tree-naUs in planking vessels, and for the beams 

 and planks of steam-engines. Eperua falcata is the Wallaba-tree of Guiana, according 

 to Sir R. Schomburgk, who informs us that its wood is deep red, frequently variegated 

 with whitish streaks, hard, heavy, shining, and impregnated with an oily resin, which 

 makes it very durable. The bark is bitter, and is used by the Arawaak Indians as an 

 emetic. The Purple Heart, a Guiana timber tree of great toughness, whose timber is 

 found invaluable for resisting the shock of artillery discharges, on which account it is 

 employed for mortar beds, is the Copaifera pubiflora and bracteata. The balsam is said 

 to gush out of the heart of these trees in large quantities when wounded. 



The size of the timber is sometimes prodigious. The Locust-trees of the West have 



Fig. CCCLXXIII.— Cassia acutifolia. 1. a flower somewhat magnified. 



