THE OEANGE FAMILY 



21 



(united at their base), and styles. The fruit is a round capsule, con- 

 taining two oily seeds in each of its five cells. 



The fibres of the inner bark or liber of the stem are very tough 

 and can, therefore, be used for textile fabrics. To get the fibres, the 

 plants are first stripped of their seeds and then steeped in water until 

 partially rotten, when the gummy part of the stem will be dissolved 

 and the fibres loosened. Next, to separate the woody portion of the 

 stem, they are spread to dry and then "broken", by which process 

 the wood inside becomes brittle and breaks into pieces. The fibres 

 are then drawn through a comb, called the hackle, where they are 

 straightened and freed from dust and other matters. The fibre, which 

 is thus gained, has a fine, silky appearance, and is spun into yarn, and 

 finally woven into linen cloth in the loom. 



To the Gercmiacece belong the following :— 



The Bilimbi Tree {Averrhoabilimbi; iTrm. BiHmbi ; 3fa/. Vilumbi; 

 Tarn. Pilimbi; Hi7id. Tamarung). It grows in the yards of many 

 houses and bears plantain-like fruits on its trunk. Its leaves are 

 sensitive like those of many leguminous plants: they fold at night. 



The Garden Balsam {Inipatiens 

 halsainina; Kan. Gauri-hu) is a very 

 common plant during the monsoon, 

 and its habits are characteristic of 

 hygrophilous plants living in very 

 moist places. The stalk and leaves 

 are succulent, tender and covered 

 with a bluish coat of wax (see page 

 8, 1). Under the tuft of leaves at 

 the top the spurred pink flowers 

 grow as under a protecting roof. If 

 you pluck these pretty flowers for a 

 bouquet, they very soon fade. As 

 the plant grows at a time while, and 

 in places where, water can be obtained 

 plentifully, it is not furnished with 

 those means which tend to check the 

 evaporation of the sap in the plant 

 so much required by plants living on 

 dry soil (such as a thick epidermis, 

 small leaf-blades, hairy surface, p. 52). 



So it cannot remain fresh without water and soon fades when plucked. 

 If we touch its ripe seed-vessels, they burst with great force and cast 

 the seeds some distance as by an elastic spring (fig. 19). The same 

 happens, if the wind shakes the plants. Common wild Balsams are 

 ImjD aliens Klei7iii {Kan. Nirukaddi) and /. chinensis. Their succulent 



Fig. 19.— Capsule of a Balsam. 

 1. Yvhen closed. 2. Exploding. 



