\ A rr /:/■:'.< magic :»:? 



corn'spiimliiiL; well wiili I Ici-n.-iiidc/.'s Tlmt the ciips ilfx-rilicd hv cjirlv 



<lrscri|ili<i|) (if ihr mull of ||||. A/lco. Wilier- cunld iKtl |i;i\|. Keen lii.lilc fl-DIM 



Chips of the sapwood tiiij^^cd tnp I lie diirk-colon-d wood used in llu' laicr 

 water oidy sliiilitly at lirsl. hut when sticiitilic cxiioi-iiiiciits is cv iilciit : and. 

 Ifft ovci' iiiiilit the inrii>inn divpciicil |ci iiiorco\cr. a -(■.■iich ihruii-huiii Mexico 

 a liTcciiisli ycUow and ,<ilo\vcd with a do- has I'aih'il to reveal even a liadition of 

 cideil llnoreseenee. With «1istilled water sneh cups. In a histor\ of i hr IMiilip- 

 iicilhcr the sapwood nor ihc h<'ar(wood |.iiic>. however, wrilleii in 1 i .') I . hut re- 

 |iro(hieed tluoreseeiice a.- >een hv ordi- iiiaiiiiiiii ii iipiihl i-hed iiiilil IMfj. a 

 narv siinlii^ht : hut thi> |»henoinenon dexriptioii is iiivcn id' >iiiiihir cups 

 was distinctly visihh' when lhe>e infn- hkkIc in >oiiiherii Luzon, and these are 

 sioiis were held in the ullra-\ioleI rav> idenlilied hy the author with the loni: 

 ><( a lluoroceiice hiiiip: and it was also souii'ht for cups so popular in Spain in 

 di>plavei| in ordinary dayli,-iht. when a t he si \teeiil h aihl >e\ eiiteeiith ceiil llrie^. 

 -mall amount <d' earhonate of sodium Thex were made frniii the wood of the 

 or oiher alkali was added to infusions mirrfi or lunia { l'/t'rn,nr/iii^ im/iciis). a 

 of ihe woo(] in distilled water, liy hoil- niaiil livi' of the l'liili|ipine forest.-. 

 \\\'j: chips in taji water for several hours. 'I'li,. history .d' these cups i- closely as- 

 a deep amlier-coloi'ed extract was oh- soeiatecl witli the .lesiiits. who con- 

 tained, not unlike Afadeira wine in eerned theiuselve- wlieivwr llu'v went 

 colnr. When this extraet was placed not onlv with iiiakin.i:- convert- hut with 

 hcfore a window it ai)pGare(l to be out- inve-t ipitioii- in maiiv held- oi' re- 

 lined hy a deep hhie marginal ring, and search. Father ('aiiiellu-^ (George 

 when held away from the light, or when Joseph Kamel ). whose name is immor- 

 rhe light fell upon it ohlicpiely, the talized in the lovely rV////r'///V/. deserihe.l 

 fluorescence of the liquid gave it an thetrecMind its wood in Kill ami called 

 opalescence not unlike that of certain attention to the sea-hhie color of its 

 mineral oils. A drop of the extract in a in fusion. 2 Father Delgado tells of cups 

 glass of water caused the whole glass to ,,iade of it in southern Luzon and iden- 

 glow with fluorescence when held in the fifies them witli similar cups wliich he 

 rays of the sun adinitte(l through a hole had seen at Cadiz when a child, ahout 

 in a screen. By ordinary electric light the year Kdd. .\fter descrihing the 

 the infusion failed to show the phcnom- |„,ards made from the truid< of the 

 ena : hut when held in the rays of an tree, so wide that a single one ''sutflceth 

 arc light the liquid shone with an in- f(„- making a door or a tahle." and 

 teii-e hlue light which illumine(l the pi-ai>iii-- the diirahility of the wood, he 

 faces of tho.>;e .standing near hy. speaks of its medicinal virtues and adds 



The genus Eysenluirdtia is conliiied that the cups are much esteemed in 



to .\merica. Its range extends fn.ni Fur<.|ie where thev are rejrarded as a 



Texa- and .\rizona on the north to 



gi ft wortliN' of a prince. 



riuateiiiahi on the south. On the ele- 'pi,,. ,.,ips were indeed presented to 



vated plateau of northern ]\Iexico it prince-. an<l there can he hut litth' 



usually grows as a shrub about two doubt that those alrea<ly mentioneil 



meters high, in southern Mexico as a were of riiilippine and not (d' Mexican 



tree from six to eight meters high. origin : f<M' it must he remembered that 

 yielding wood which is valuable for 

 cabinet purposes.^ 



' It is probably this wood wliich Pa<lr.> B.-iiiab- •'•• Uf'scr. Fru.t. & Arb. Luzonis ad Jac. Petive- 



Cobo. in hi<; HiMlorw d,-l .V//, ro Miiiulo (16.'j3).df riiim. Pharmac. Londinens. missae, anno 1701. in 



s.ribed as the nrhol dr la iiimortalulnd : and. as the Kaiius. .loan.. Ilixt. PIntil.. vol. 3, append, p. 79. 



wood resembles li(;niimvita'. it is possible that the 1704. 



latter siiggested the name wliieli Cobo applied to il ■ Delgado. .1. .1.. Ifiil. inii. di- tim IMaK dil 



and led toils ineorreet ideiitifii-.-ition by I)rai;eiid(ir(T. I'miirtitf, lltiinailiix I'illiiiiiim. p. 41.^. 1><92. 



- hitcnum ex siil)fiisfo rnfescens. a(|uam in qua 

 maceratur colore inticiens cymatili. Camellus. G. 



