474 LEGUMINOSZ. 
slightly flattened, contracted between the seeds. The bark is — 
much fissured longitudinally, of a greyish-brown externally, — 
the dry suber nearly equal to the living portion in thickness; _ 
in the fissures may be seen numerous small tears of a garnet- 
red when fresh, but soon becoming almost black by exposure 
to the air. The outer portion of the living bark is of a red 
colour, and is loaded with the same kind of gum in a soft state. : 
Chemical composition.—Tears of the red gum which adhere — 
to the bark merely softened in water, they were also insoluble 4 
in boiling water, and in cold and boiling alcohol. They were 4 
slowly dissolved by boiling with dilute alkali, giving a brown a 
solution when ammonia was used, and a deep claret with 4 
soda. The alkaline solution neutralized with acetic acid gave _ 
brown flocculent precipitates with lead acetate, alum, and 
salts of iron. A large excess of acid did not cause complete — 
separation of the colouring matter. A filtered decoction of © 
the bark gave a blue-black colour with ferric chloride, and a — 
deposit with rectified spirit, showing the presence of tannin — 
and gum, 3 
SESBANIA AZ3GYPTIACA, Pers. 
Fig.—Rheede, Hort, Mal. vi., t. 27; Wight Ic., t. 82 9 
Hab.—India, | | 
. Vernacular.—Jét, Résin (Hind.), Jayanti (Beng.), Champai : 
_ (Tam.), Shevari (Mar.), Somanti (Tel.), Karijinange (Can.). 
History, Uses, &cC.—This plant, in Sanskrit Jaya (vic- — 
torious), Jayanti {daughter of Indra), Vaijayanta (banner — 
of Indra), Nadeyi (river-born), is extensively cultivated in — 
_ India, where the stems are used as a substitute for bamboos. — 
It is the Kedangu of Rheede and Bmerus of Burmann. 
_ Hindus have a superstition that the sight of the seeds will re- 
move the pain of scorpion stings; they also pound them an 
apply them locally as an astringent. ‘The juice of the 
