26 NAT. ORDER. SOLONACEiE. 



they should be planted each in a separate pot filled with a light 

 sandy soil, and placed in a hot bed of tanners bark ; they should 

 be kept dryish until the plant comes up, otherwise the seed is apt 

 to rot. 



Medical Properties and Uses. In describing the medical pro- 

 perties of this rare plant we shall take the authority of both modern 

 and ancient writers. Wood and Bache says, " the receptacle is a 

 redish yellow, and of an agreeable sub-acid flavor with some astrin- 

 gency. It is edible, and affords a juice which has been recom- 

 mended as a remedy in dropsy. This juice is converted by 

 fermentation into a vinous liquor, from which a spirit is obtained by 

 distillation, much used in making punch, and is said to be power- 

 fully diuretic. The nuts are well known under the name of cashew- 

 nuts. The black juice contained between the inner and outer 

 shell, is extremely acrid and corrosive, producing when applied to 

 the skin, severe inflamation, followed by blisters or desquamation of 

 the cuticle. It is used in the West Indies for the cure of corns, 

 warts, ringworms, and obstinate ulcers, and is said to be sometimes 

 applied to the face by females in order to remove the cuticle, and 

 produce a fresher and more youthful aspect. The worst case of 

 external poisoning which has ever come under our notice, was 

 produced in a lady who was exposed to the fumes of the nut while 

 roasting. The face was so much swollen that for some time not a 

 feature was discernible. The kernel when fresh has a sweet, agree- 

 able taste, and is eaten like chesnuts, either raw or roasted. It is 

 also used as an ingredient in puddings, &c., and forms an excellent 

 chocolate when ground with cocoa. By age it becomes rancid and 

 looses its agreeable flavor." The natives of the Island make use of 

 the juice in obstinate cases of diarrhcea, and diabetes. The oil is 

 used by painters to give their colors a lasting black, and to preserve 

 wood from putrefaction. 



