394 * MRLTACEH. 
The air waved with a Neem branch is supposed to be a cure 
for syphilis. The insane are passed through a cleft of the tree, * 
or a stem which having parted and re-united forms a cireular 
~ opening. Buchanan, in his “ Journey through Mysore,” relates 
that—-‘‘ Once in two or three years the Coramis of a village 
make a collection among themselves, and purchase a brass pot, - 
in which they put five branches of Melia Azadirachta anda 
cocoanut. This is covered with flowers and sprinkled with 
sandalwood.water. It is kept in a small temporary shed for 
three days, during which time the people feast and drink, 
sacrificing lambs and fowls to Marima, the daughter of Siva; at 
the end of the three days they throw the pot into the water.” 
This practice is known in other parts of India as 92474 
(Ghatasthapan), and is considered to avert ill luck and disease. 
Amonyst certain castes the leaves of the Neem are placed in 
the mouth on their return from funerals as an emblem of | 
grief. Five to eight leaves are eaten by all Hindus on the 
first day of the New Year, and are supposed to ensure freedom 
from disease; when amrita (ambrosia) was being conveyed Ls 
heaven from the lower world for the tise of the gods, it 18 
believed that a few drops of it fell on this tree. For an 
account of the mythology of amrita, see De Gubernatis, Myth. 
_ des Plantes L, -p. 32. | 
“This useful tree naturally attracted the attention of the 
a ~ Mahometans upon their arrival in the country, and they 
named it Azaddarakht-i-Hindi, from its resemblance to the 
_ Melia Azedarach or Persian Lilac. The author of the Makzan- 
_ el-Adwiya is careful to point out that the Indian Neem is not 
found in Persia. He describes the Neem and Azadarakht 
separately, giving Bakayan as the Indian name for the latter. 
The Mahometans use the different products of the Neem ip 
the same manner as the Hindus, and like them consider it 
_ to be-cold and dry, Amongst European physicians, Wight 
Says, ‘The leaves beaten to a pulp, and externally applied, act 
and other pustular eruptions.” Dr. White, of Bombay, has 
aeorom ime rended the bark as a febrifuge ; others have spoken 
like a charm in removing the most intractable forms of psor® 
