ASBESTOS 



THE JACK-FRUIT TREE 



D.E.P., 

 i., 329-33. 



Jack-fruit. 



Gum. 

 Cement. 



Dye. 



Lac. 

 Fibre. 



Medicine. 



Beverage. 

 Timber. 



D.E.P., 

 i., 338. 



the modern Hindus regard it as deobstruent and emmenagogue. It may be used 

 as an inferior substitute for cinchona in intermittent fevers, and is probably one 

 of the sources of the remedy known to the Muhammadans by the generic title of 

 afsantin. Said to be used in China in the preparation of an external application 

 (moxa) employed in relieving pain (Bretschneider, Hist. Europ. Bot. Disc, in 

 China, 1898, 234). [<7/. Hartless, Note, April 9, 1897; see Alkalis, etc., p. 50.] 



ARTOCARPUS INTEGRIFOLIA, Linn. ; Fl. Br. Ind., v., 541 ; 

 Gamble, Man. Ind. Timbs., 652 ; URTICACE^E. The Jack-fruit tree ; 

 Mnthdl Jcdntdl, Jcdthdl, panasa, phala, kantaka, etc. A large evergreen 

 tree cultivated in the warmer parts of India and Burma and occurring 

 wild on the Eastern and Western Ghats up to altitudes of 4,000 feet. The 

 dense mass of dark foliage and the huge fruits make this tree a prominent 

 feature of most Indian villages. 



Of the 40 odd species of Artocarj/ni* indigenous to tropical Asia and the 

 Pacific, only five are of economic importance in India. The four besides A., in- 

 tegi-i folia are: (1) .*. f'J*j>ia*fo, Roxb.; chaplash, sam, cham, pani, etc., met 

 with in Eastern Bengal, Assam, Burma and the Andamans; (2) A.. Mrsuta, 

 Lamk. ; the pat-phanas, anjalli, ayni, hebalsu, etc., which occurs in the Western 

 Ghats up to 4,000 feet; (3) -*. incisa, Linn.; the Bread-fruit, divy-halasa (divy- 

 jack), rata-del, etc., an introduced South Sea species cultivated in S. and W. India, 

 Ceylon and Burma, but unable to hold out against the Bengal winter ; (4) A.. 

 jjaKoocha, Roxb. ; the lakucha, dhea-phal, lovi, kamma-regu, myouk-lok, etc., 

 found in Kumaon, Eastern Bengal, South India and Burma. 



The bark yields a true GUM and the juice forms a useful CEMENT. CAOUTCHOUC 

 is obtained from all the above-named species, but the amount is very small 

 (Hooper, Rept. Labor. Ind. Mus., 1905-6, 26); that of A. incimi is employed as 

 a glue in caulking canoes. A yellow DYE or PIGMENT is obtained by boiling the 

 wood and sawdust (especially from the root of A. l^nkooeha), and this is 

 employed in Burma, Madras, and elsewhere in dyeing the garments of priests 

 (Agri. Ledg., 1896, No. 4), but it is eaid not to dye with mordants (Text. Mer- 

 cury, Jan. 25, 1896). The LAC insect is in Assam often obtained from A. np- 

 iHNim. The bark yields a FIBEE, that of A. incisa, being used apparently for 

 clothing in Otaheite and other islands (Royle, Fibrous Plants, 341). The juice, 

 leaves and root are employed in MEDICINE. The FRUITS of all the above species 

 are eaten occasionally, but that of A. integrifoiia is of course most sought 

 after. It is mentioned by almost all the early European writers, and in the 

 Ain-i-Akbari, 1590(Blochmann, transl., 66, 70). The name Jack-fruit was given 

 by the Portuguese from the Malayalam tsjaka. Kircher gives it the Chinese 

 name of po-lo-mi. Varthema (Travels, 1510 (ed. Hakl. Soc.), 159) calls it ciccara. 

 The fruit is seldom eaten by Europeans owing to the smell of the ripe pulp, but 

 the Natives regard it as one of the best fruits of the country. It is, as a rule, 

 from 12 to 18 inches long, by 6 to 8 inches in diameter, and should be called a 

 frutescence. If the component flakes be fermented and distilled they yield an 

 alcoholic beverage, and the roasted seeds taste not unlike chestnuts. The TIMBEB 

 of all the species seasons well, and is considered valuable, being used for canoes, 

 doors, frames, etc. That of A. /u'-*/ is the anjeli-wood of commerce, and 

 that of A. iiitffffifoiin is exported to Europe for cabinet-work, turnery and 

 brush-backs. [Cf. Vertomannus, Travels, in Hakl. Voy., 1811, iv., 585; Barber, 

 Memoirs, 1519 (Leyden and Erskine, transl., 325) ; Garcia de Orta, 1563, 

 Coll., xxviii. ; Linschoten, Voy. E. Ind., 1598 (ed. Hakl. Soc.), ii., 20; Pyrard, 

 Voy. E. Ind., 1619 (ed. Hakl. Soc.), ii., 366 ; Clusius, Hist. Exot. PL, 1605, 281; 

 Boym, Fl. Sin., 1656, L; Kircher, China Illust., 1667, 186 and pi.; John 

 Ellis, The Mangostan and Bread-fruit, 1770; Taleef Shereef (Playfair, transl.), 

 1833, 116 ; Joret, Lea PI. dans L'Antiq., 1904, ii., 296 ; etc., etc.] 



ASBESTOS ; Ball, Man. Econ. Geol. Ind., 518-9, 631; Holland, Rec. 

 Geol. Surv. Ind., xxxii., 99. A fibrous variety of amphibole which in 

 Bombay has been called shank-ha-palita (wick made of shells). It is 

 reported to occur in Afghanistan, the Panjab, Garhwal, Bhopawar (in 

 Central India), Chota Nagpur, and Mysore. 



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