ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANY. 91 



oo^a'?.^^ ^%' ^^°"^ one-tenth. Linnaiua defined 785 out of 8500; in 1809 we reckoned 

 2800 Composi ae out of 27,000 species; DeCandollc, in 1838, described 8525, airaln about 

 the tenth ot the vegetable kingdom; and now, when the estimate htxn 

 we find the Compositae amount to 9500. 



reached 



Properties axd Uses. 



gnitud 



disappoint our expectations, and may be stated generally as being comparatively of in- 

 terior importance, while, as regards the Indian Flora, they are of very secondary note 

 borne are used as esculents, several are used in the arts, and a good many have attained 

 some repute m medicine, but not one of the latter category even remotely approach in 

 their properties, the valuable qualities of the Cinchonas and many others met with in most 

 other large families; and I believe I am correct in stating that, out of the whole 10 000 

 species included within the limits of this order, there is not one In current use in m'edi- 

 cal practice, for which substitutes generally equal to, or better than the original, cannot 



be readily obtained. 



I shall however glance at a few of. the principal articles appertaining to each of the^c 

 heads. To treat the subject methodically, the proper plan would be to consider them 

 under the leading Botanical divisions or sub-orders, but I apprehend the other will be 



esteemed the more convenient, as demanding from the reader a smaller amount of Botanir 

 cal knowledge. 



Esculents. Under this head we find several used as salads, substitutes for Spinach, 

 and a few esculent roots. Among the first is the well known and justly appreciated 

 Lettuce, Lactuca sativea, and Endive, Cichorium Endiviva, and Intyhus ; also the young 

 and tender leaves of Swine's thistle, Sonchus oleraceus, and Pieridium sativum. The 

 young leaves of Swine's thistle, boiled, are also esteemed a good substitute for Spinach ; so 

 are those of Spilanthes oleracea, an Indian plant of easy cultivation, but the good qualities 

 of which we have not yet learned to appreciate. The Artichoke and Cardoon, Cinera 

 scolemus and Carduncichis, are both well known, the former prized for its flower-heads 

 before expansion— the fleshy bases of its involucre leaves and receptacle being the part 

 used, the latter for the delicate, aspargus-like foot stalks of its leaves, when nicely blanched. 



Among those cultivated for their roots, tho Salsafy, Tragopogon porrifolius, meriti 

 prominent notice; their flavour is peculiar, but I believe, to most tastes, very agreeable. 

 Scorzonera delkiosa is another of the same kind; they are cultivated like carrots or 



parsnips 



Helianth 



IS also m repute, and has the advantage of being easily cultivated on the plains of India, 

 which the others have not. On the Continent of Europe the Succory aud Endive are 

 largely cultivated for their roots, which are taken up in autumn, dried, roasted and 

 powdered like coffee, for which they are sometimes used as a substitute, but oftener to 

 adulterate that favourite beverage. Some persons even go so far as to assert that J*rench 

 coffee owes its superior flavour to that admixture. 



Arts. Those used in the arts are not numerous. The seeds of several yield a bland 

 oil, those for example of the Sun-flower, Madia sativa, and in this country the Ramtil, 

 Guexotia oleifera, is in Mysore largely cultivated as an oil plant. In Chili and in Europe, 

 the Madia is cultivated for the same purpose, and yields, as compared with Linseed, in 

 the proportion of 82 to 21, while its cake is good feeding for cattle. It seems therefore 

 a desirable plant for India. The petals of Carthamus tinctorius, yield a deep-yellow dye, 

 much used in China for dying silk, and is cultivated in India for them, but I believe 

 the seed are also pressed for oil. When used as a dye, the petals are infused in an alka- 

 line solution, and afterwards treated with a vegetable acid. They are also prepared and 

 used as a substitute for Saffron. The Polish Jews are said to be so fond of that pre- 

 paration that they mix it with their bread and most other viands, and in England the 

 ,lower orders mix it with their puddings. The corolla of the Dahlia furnishes a beautiful 

 carmine, and Eclipla erecta, an Indian plant, found also in Brazil, stains black the hair 

 of the Brazilian women. 



G 



