THALAMIFLOR.I:. 457 



preparation of native dishes. It also possesses valuable emollient and de- 

 mulcent properties, and may be emploj-ed in all cases where such remedies 

 are required. Abelmoschus moschatus derives its speciflc name from the 

 musky odour of its seeds, which are regarded as cordial and stomachic, and 

 are sometimes mixed -s^-ith coffee by the Arabians. The powdered seeds 

 steeped in rum are also used in the West Indies as a remedy against the 

 bites of serpents. 



Abuiilon esculentum, Ben9ao de Deos, is another Malvaceous plant which 

 furnishes an article of diet, the boiled flowers being used in Brazil as a vege- 

 table. 



Aliheea. — The root and leaves of A. officinalis, the Marsh-Mallow plant, 

 abound in mucilage, particularly the root, and hence all preparations 

 from them are demulcent, and useful in diseases of the mucous mem- 

 branes, &c. An emollient cataplasm is also occasionally prepared from the 

 boiled root. In France, Marsh-Mallow is in much greater request than in 

 this country. A favourite preparation there is the Pate de Guimauve, which 

 is a kind of lozenge made with mucilage of Althaea, gum-arabic, sugar, and 

 white of egg. Althcea rosea, the Hollyhock of om- gardens, has similar 

 properties, and the flowers are on that account oflicinal in Greece, i rom 

 the leaves, a blue colouring matter resembUng indigo, is obtained^. Strong 

 fibres have been also obtained from the bark, and used in the i^anufacture 

 of good cordage. 



Gossupium. — Several species of this genus furnish cotton, which is the hairy 

 covering of their seeds. (See p. 5G.) From the importance of the raiv 

 material obtainable from this genus, it must be regarded as one of the most 

 valuable to man in the whole Vegetable Kingdom ; indeed it is questionable 

 wticther there is any geniis which he would find it more difiicult to do 

 without at the present time, than the genus Gossypiiim. Several species 

 have been said to yield cotton, but many of these so-called species are pro- 

 bably 01. ly varieties. There appear, however, to be three species especially, 

 from which our commercial cotton is obtamea, viz. :— 1. Gossupium herba- 

 ceum (or indicum), which yields the common cotton of the East Indies. A 

 variety of this fm'nishes the Chinese or Nankin Cotton, remarkable for its 

 yellowish-brown coloiir ; this colour Avas formerly thought to be artificial, 

 and praluced by dyeing, but it is now known to be natural to it. 2. G. 

 harbadense is the species which yields all our best cotton. It is caUed in 

 India, Boiu-hon Cotton. From this the much-esteemed Sea-Island Cotton is 

 obtained, as also the New Orleans, Georgian, and other cottons derived from 

 the United States. 3. G. peruvianum or acitminatum furnishes the South 

 American varieties of cotton, as Pernambuco, Peruvian, Brazilian Cotton, 

 &c. Another species, Gossypium a)-boreum, is the Tree-Cotton of India, which 

 yields a variety of a very fine, soft, and silky nature. This is used by the 

 natives of India for making turbans. The amoimt of cotton employed for 

 manufacturing purposes in this and other countries is enormous, altliough 

 the supply has been much interfered with by the American war ; hence t:ie 

 cultivation in the East Indies, Africa, &c., of the planes yielding it, has for 

 some time occupied the serious attention of the government in this and 

 other countries, and large supplies are now obtained from the East Indies, 

 Egypt, &c. The increase in the consumption may be at once judged of by 

 the following statement. In 1800, the amount of cotton imported was 

 50,010,732 lbs.; in ISIO, it had increased to lo2,4SS,935 lbs.; in 1820, to 

 151,672,655 lbs. ; in 1S30, to 263,901,452 lbs. ; in 1840, to 592,488,000 lbs. ; and 

 in 1850, to about 772,000,000 lbs. This latter amount is equivalent to about 

 2,000,000 bales, each of wliich averages 336 lbs. in weight, making altogether 

 about 340,000 tons. It has been computed that the vame of this in a raw 

 state is about 30,000,000^., and when manufactured into cotton fabrics, 

 about three times that amount, or 90,000,000/. Of these about 3o,o00,00u/. 

 worth were exported from the United Kingdom, and G(»,Oou.uOO/. worth 

 consumed in this country. In the United Kingdom there were at the same 

 period, about 2,000 cotton factories, using a motive po-ner equivalent to 

 that of 90,000 lioi-ses, and employing 350,000 human beings. The above 

 interesting statistical record wiU exhibit in a prominent manner the im- 

 mense importance of cotton to the inhabitants of this country. From 1850 



