BIRCH BARK 



BIRDS 



BETULA UTILIS, />*>/. ; Ft. Br. Ind., v., 599 ; Gamble, Man. Ind. D.E.P., 



Ttmlxi., tiOS ; Ph(irm>i>;i : i. I,, I., iii., 359; CUPULIFEK.E. The Indian * . 4BL 

 Kirch, hhiiifMttra or bhuj-patar, bur), shdk, takpa, phuspat, bhur- Birch - 

 , etc., etc. A moderate-sized deciduous tree forming the upper 

 i artiorescent vegetation in the Himalaya (14,000 feet). 



me of tin- lull tribes the bark is regarded as more durable than paper, Paper. 

 and n is well known as the material upon which the ancient Sanskrit MS8. of 

 India were written. It is widely used for writing medicinal charms and 

 1 i > be found in every druggist's shop. Its uses are, however, varied ; for 

 up pan-els, for surrounding hookah-steins, for umbrellas, for water-tight 

 : -i Inline, anil apparently sometimes also for clothing. Minute strips are used in 

 o-rtain forms of IK- dyeing. [Cf. Ind. Art at Delhi, 1903, 256.] The younger 

 I. ranches are plaited into twig bridges. It has also certain aromatic and antiseptic 



rties. The leaves are lopped for cattle-FoDDER, and the timber is exten- Fodder. 

 ~i\ !> used in the inner arid Himalaya for building, since it is elastic, seasons well 

 and does not warp. [Cf. Taleef Shereef (Playfair, transl.), 1833, 48; Lawrence, 

 / Kashmir, 1895, 68-9, 79 ; Journ. Soc. Chem. Indust., 1900, xix., 1141.] 

 Another species, B. alnoides, Ham. ; puya udiah, ahdul, ahakahin, etc., of the outer 

 A a, the Khasia lull- and Burma, has a bark which constitutes an important 

 icle of FOOD with the Lahupas in the mountain-tracks of N.E. Manipur. Food. 

 the upper tracts of Kullu, where earthenware vessels are procurable with 

 iculty, the outer bark is peeled off in long strips and bound around water-pots 

 a protection. The TIMBER is valued in Nepal for strength and durability. Timber. 



BEZOAR. This is the padzahr or pazahr of the early Persian Bezoar. 

 riters, a name which usually denotes an antidote or alexipharniic. The 

 3rd comes into English through the Arabs, who wrote it bazahr. The 

 ie bezoar is a stone or concretion found within the bodies of certain 

 ils, more especially the Persian Wild Goat (Capra wyaf/rus) 

 llanford, Fa. Br. Ind. (Mammalia), 503) (see p. 743). 



Sources Moodeen Sheriff (Ind. Pharm., suppl., 68-70) says there are many 

 ids or qualities, according to the animal from wliich procured, such as Goat-, 

 el-, fish-, snake-bezoar, etc. The last mentioned is generally called SNAKE- 

 JNE. But there is no foundation for the very general belief that snake-stone is Snake-stone 

 cured from the head of the snake (see p. 141). Some writers classify the 

 rs into animal and mineral, the last being a fossil form and possibly often a 

 srolite. So also numerous references are made by writers on this subject to 

 or artificially prepared bezoars, fabricated apparently from calcined bone. 

 it am towns are famed for their bezoars, such as Diu and Golconda. 



Chemical Examination. Dr. Davy was apparently the earliest author to ex- Indian 

 line these stones chemically, and his description of them has been drawn upon 

 the majority of subsequent writers. Taylor formed nine groups, three being 

 sphates (of lime, magnesium, or of ammonium and magnesium), one oxalate 

 lime, and the five others mostly mechanical or obstructive accumulations 

 eh as hair, vegetable-fibre, ambergris, etc. Milburn observes that the genuine 

 riental bezoar is commonly of an oval form and between the size of a hazel nut 

 a walnut ; the larger it is, the more valuable. It is externally smooth and 

 >ssy, and is composed of several layers. The colour most prized is a shining 

 ive green. It has a peculiar smell but no taste. Can be scratched easily by 

 penknife, and when applied to the tongue or any moist surface adheres firmly 

 and absorbs the moisture. The supposed virtue as alexiph armies depends upon 

 this power of absorption, but in Europe it has been proved that they have no 

 special chemical or mechanical merit in support of their varied reputation. [Cf. 

 W.itts, Diet. Chem., 1883, i., 584.] 



BIRDS ; Blanford and Gates, Fa. Br. Ind. (4 vols. on Birds) ; Jerdon, 

 Birds Ind., 1862-4 ; Henderson and Hume, Lahore to Yarkand, 1873, 

 170-304 ; Hume, Scrap Book ; also Nests and Eggs ; Gates, Birds of Bur- 

 mah ; Barnes, Birds of Bombay. 



From the standpoint of utility the study of the birds of India might 



131 



Hilburn's 

 Description. 



Power of 



Absorption. 



