MELIA 



Azadirachta 



Moulding 

 Material. 



Chief Forms of 

 Lacquer. 



D.E.P., 

 v., 211-24. 



Neem. 



Gum. 



Oil. 



Cake. 



LeaTes. 



Fatal to Insects. 



Toddy. 



Wood. 

 Tooth-brushes. 



Bastard 

 Cedar. 



THE NEEM OR MARGOSA TREE 



material or moulding substance. It may be coloured with lamp-black, gold-leaf, 

 vermilion (not red lead), orpiment, indigo, etc., and applied with a brush or by 

 the hand direct, or to objects revolving on the turning-lathe. When painted 

 on cloth or paper the form used is very thin and pure, but on drying the articles 

 are found to have been rendered waterproof. As a cement it is largely em- 

 ployed in the Burmese glass mosaics, but by far its best-known property is in 

 the manufacture of the so-called Burmese lacquer ware, of which there are four 

 types and centres of production Pagan ; Prome ; Mandalay ; and Manipur 

 leather varnish. 



MELIA, Linn.; Fl. Br. Ind., i., 543-5 ; Gamble, Man. Ind. Timbs., 

 1902, 143-6 ; Talbot, List Trees, etc., 72-4 ; Cooke,. FL Pres. Bomb., 

 1902, i., 205-6 ; Prain, Beng. Plants, 1903, i., 313-4 ; Duthie, Fl. Upper 

 Gang. Plain, 1903, 150-1 ; Brandis, Ind. Trees, 1906, 140 ; MELIACE^E. 

 A genus of trees comprising five species, natives of India and the Malay 

 Archipelago. 



M. Azadirachta, Linn. ; M. indica, Brandis, For. FL, 67 ; Azadirachta indica, 

 Jussieu, in Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, 1830, 19, 221. The Neem or Margosa 

 Tree, nim, agas, limba, kohumba, vepa, taruka, bevina, thin, kamdkd, etc. A 

 large tree ; according to Gamble, probably wild in the forests of the Karnatak 

 and parts of the Deccan, and perhaps also in the drier, inland parts of Burma ; 

 elsewhere cultivated. 



It is of considerable economic importance. From the bark there exudes 

 a bright amber-coloured GUM, which is collected in small tears or fragments. 

 This is said to constitute a portion of the commercial " gum gattie," and of 

 "East India gum." It is considerably esteemed medicinally as a stimulant. 

 From the seeds a fixed acrid, bitter OIL is extracted, of a deep yellow colour 

 and disagreeable flavour. As an anthelmintic and antiseptic it is in much 

 demand, and is largely used by the poorer classes for burning, but said to 

 smoke badly. The barks of trees are of ten painted with it to protect them from 

 insect pests. By the women of Sind it is applied as a hair wash. The chemistry 

 of this oil was fully investigated by the late Dr. Warden, and a detailed account 

 of his results is given in the Dictionary. Nim oil-cake is regarded as a useful 

 fertiliser. In addition to the gum and oil, the bark, young fruits, seeds, leaves, 

 flowers and sap have all medicinal properties assigned to them or are spoken 

 of as edible. The leaves are utilised to preserve books, papers, cloths, etc., 

 from ravages of insects. They are said, moreover, to be useful in keeping away 

 mosquitoes. Hooper (Rept. Labor. Ind. Mus (Indust. Sec.), 1903-4, 30-1) records 

 the resxilts of his investigations. Fresh leaves were distilled in water. It was 

 found that a distinct allyl- or onion-smelling compound was present in the dis- 

 tillate. The powdered leaf, when burnt, gave off an odour found to prove fatal 

 to insects. The extract of the leaves was intensely bitter and contained evidence 

 of an alkaloid. 



The sap or nim TODDY is yielded by the tree either spontaneously or is ex- 

 tracted artificially. In the former case, a clear and colourless liquid flows in 

 a thin stream or continuous droppings from two, three or more parts of the 

 plant simultaneously for several weeks on end. Artificially it is obtained by 

 exposing a healthy-looking root, cutting it through, and placing a vessel beneath 

 to receive the exuding liquor, which is a refrigerent, nutrient and alterative 

 tonic. The WOOD is durable, has an average weight of 50 to 52 Ib. per cubic 

 foot. Its chief use is for cart-construction, ship-building, agricultural imple- 

 ments, and in South India for furniture. The twigs are largely used as tooth- 

 brushes. [Cf. Garcia de Orta, 1563, Coll., xl. ; Taleef Shereef (Playfair, transl.), 

 170 ; Jacob Breynius, Icon. Rar. PL, 1739, 15, t. i. ; Buchanan-Hamilton, Stat. 

 Ace. Dinaj., 1833, 154 ; Moodeen Sheriff, Mat. Med. Mad., 1891, 100-5 ; Baner- 

 jei, Agri. Cuttack, 1893, 185, 187, 201 ; Woodrow, Oard. in Ind,., 1899, 59, 233 ; 

 Mukerji, Handbook Ind. Agri., 1901, 296-7 ; Watt and Mann, Pests and Blights 

 of the Tea Plant, 1903, 411; Cunningham, Plaques and Pleasures of Life in Bengal, 

 1907, 102.] 



M. Azedaraeh, Linn. ; Rec. Bot. Surv. Ind., 1894, i., 70, 148, 195 ; ii., 52 ; iii., 

 186. The Persian Lilac of Indian writers, Bastard Cedar or Bead Tree, drek, 

 bakdin, deikna, ghord nim, thamaga, chein, maha-limbo, malai, vembu, bevu, ta- 

 ma-ka, etc. A deciduous tree doubtfully indigenous in. the Sub-Himalayan tract 



780 



