MARMELOS 

 Gum 



D.E.P., 

 i., 117-24. 



History. 



Varieties. 



Cultivated and 

 Wild. 



Intoxication. 

 Fish Poison. 



Cultivation by 

 Seed or Root 

 Cuttings. 



Maturity. 



Fruiting Season. 



Gum. 



Properties and 



Uses. 



Cement. 



Varnish. 

 Glue. 



THE BAEL TREE 



MARMELOS, Corr. ; FL Br. Ind., I, 516 ; Cooke, Fl. 

 Pres. Bomb., i., 192 ; Duthie, Fl. Upper Gang. Plain, 143 ; Prain, Beng. 

 Plants, i., 305 ; Rept. Cent. Indig. Drugs Comm., i., 137-40 ; the Bael 

 Fruit ; RUTACE^E. 



A small tree found here and there both wild and cultivated throughout 

 India and Burma. It is sacred with the Hindus, the leaves being specially 

 suited for the worship of Siva (Jones, As. Res., 1790, ii., 349-50). It is all 

 but universally known by its Sanskrit name bilva, a word which appears in some 

 form, such as bel or bael, in most modern languages. The fruit is generally 

 called sriphal. By the early European writers it was called Cydonia Bengalensis 

 or Bengal Quince, and by others was confused with Crntasvn reiigiosn (which 

 see, p. 429). Garcia de Orta, followed by his reviewer Clusius (Arom. Hist., in 

 Hist. Exot. PL, 1605, 233) early in the 16th century, called it Marmelos de 

 Bengala, and he and other writers make special mention of the value of the 

 fruit in the treatment of dysentery. Jacobus Bontius (Hist. Nat. et Med. Ind. 

 Or., 1629, in Piso, Ind. Utri. re Nat. et Med., 1658, 98) terms the fruit Malum 

 cydonium. Rheede (Hort. Mai., 1686, iii., t. 37) calls it covalam, but 

 Rumphius, who wrote in 1750, makes no mention of it. Turning now to the 

 Arab authors : Serapion describes three drugs under the names bel, fel and sel, 

 but does not sufficiently distinguish these one from the other. Avicenna treats 

 fel and bel as synonymous, and tells us that it is a drug with virtues very similar 

 to the " Apples of Mandragora." [Cf. Paulus Mgineta (Adams, transl.), iii., 448.] 

 The Makhzan-el-Adwiya describes the fruit as cardiac, tonic and astringent. 

 In ancient Sanskrit poems this tree is frequently alluded to, and by Hindu 

 physicians it is much extolled. [Cf. The Bower Manuscript (Hoernle, transl.), 

 14, etc. ; Pharmacog. Ind., i., 277.] 



There are believed to be several varieties, distinguished by the size and 

 shape of the leaflets when taken in conjunction with the size, shape and texture 

 of the fruit. The main distinction may be said to bo into the wild state, with 

 small, hard, round, very astringent and unpalatable fruits having numerous 

 seeds, and the cultivated conditions with large, often oblong fruits, having 

 frequently a comparatively soft rind, a richly flavoured and copious pulp with 

 only few seeds. It has been observed that whilst in Northern, Western and 

 Central India the wild fruits are very intoxicating and are often used as a fish 

 poison, no such character attaches to the cultivated fruit. This curious ob- 

 servation deserves further inquiry. From the Panjab comes the statement 

 that a form known as kagzi has a conically shaped fruit, while the cultivated 

 plant generally met with is known as bil, and further that the wild condition (with 

 small round fruits) is distinguished as the billan a name given in other pro- 

 vinces of India to Feronia. [Cf. Joret, Lea PI. dans ISAntiq., 1904, ii., 285.] 



The bael is usually grown from seed, but in Burma advantage has been taken 

 of the fact that it frequently sends up shoots from the roots, to propagate the 

 approved races by root cuttings. It is generally stated that in from 5 to 8 years 

 the plants will begin to fruit, and that when about 25 to 30 years old, the trees 

 may be regarded as in full bearing. When grown for medicinal purposes only, 

 a small round fruited form, much like the wild plant, is preferred, and it is main- 

 tained by the Burmans that the best results are secured when that plant is 

 grown on dry, open, rich soil. 



Bael takes ten months to ripen, and it may be said to come into season usually 

 during March and April. In some cases it can be had in December, January 

 and February, but in such instances the fruit has most probably been forced. 

 On the other hand, fresh fruit may be procured as late as June, having been 

 simply left on the trees until required. 



A reddish-brown GUM is sparingly obtained from the stem. A gummy 

 or mucous substance is secreted within the cells of the fruit, and thus 

 around the seeds. This is universally used as a CEMENT, and if carefully 

 mixed with lime will be found a clean and useful article that will set 

 rapidly and firmly. It is reported to be obtained more copiously from 

 the wild than the cultivated fruits. In Northern and Central India it 

 is in special demand for the construction of wells, since it sets firmly, 

 takes a fine polish, and is not affected by water. The pure mucus is 

 spoken of as a valuable VARNISH for pictures and as a gum or glue of 



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