69 



SUB-ORDEK — MIMOSE.E. 



The products of the mimoseJB are chiefly gums and astringent 

 materials for tanning. Acacia cetechu yields those extracts which, 

 under the name of cutch, terra japonica, gambier, and catechu, are 

 so largely imported from India for tanning purposes. They are made 

 by boiling the wood of the tree, reduced to chips, and evaporating the 

 decoction to dryness. The bark of Acacia Melanoxylon is used for 

 tanning in Australia, and has been occasionally brought to this 

 country for the same purpose. The pods of Acacia nilotica (Delile), 

 under the name of Neb-neb or Bablah, have been imported, and used 

 both in tanning and dyeing. One of the Acacias, supposed to be A. 

 abstergens possesses saponaceous qualities in its bark, which is beaten 

 out and used by the ladies of Manilla and other parts, for cleaning 

 their hair under the name of Go-go. The seeds of Eiitada pttrscetha 

 and Acacia concinna possess similar qualities and are extensively used 

 in India. 



Many yield valuable timber, and one of the Acacias yields, by distil- 

 lation from its flowers, one of the most exquisite perfumes in existence, 

 it is the Acacia farnesiana (Wild.), a native of St. Domingo, but now 

 very extensively diffused. It was introduced as an ornamental plant 

 to the Farnese gardens in 1610, whence its specific name. In 

 Cochin-China the oakum used for caulking seams of boats and houses 

 is made by beating out the fibrous bark of Acaoia pinnata. 



It would be impossible to give even a list of all the useful products 

 of the Legumiiiosce without far exceeding the limits of a paper to be 

 read on one evening, and I have therefore confined myself to a selec- 

 tion of the principal ones, and more especially, although not entirely, 

 to those wliich form a part of our commercial imports. Many are to 

 be seen in the new Museum, and befoi'e long, it is hoped nearly all 

 will be there. 



The Rev. H. II. Higgins remarked upon the red colour of the 

 lentile seeds when decorticated. That was the way in which they 

 were used in Egypt for making soup ; and it was interesting, in 

 illustration of what was probably the real plant that formed the basis 

 of the pottage which was called red pottage. He had always looked 

 upon that colour of the lentile as affording presumptive evidence that 

 the mess of pottage was made from that plant. 



