192 



THE POPULAR EDUCATOR. 



227 



Asia, the latter continent and Africa have derived from America 

 the cashew-tree (Anacardium occidentale, Fig. 229). It is indi- 



; genous to Central America and the West India Islands ; its nut, 

 small and renif orm, termed the cashew, grows at the summit of 



-a fleshy peduncle, like a large pear in 

 general appearance. The pericarp 

 contains a caustic oil ; the seed is 

 almond-tasted; the peduncle, named 

 the cashew apple, is acidulous, saccha- 

 rine, and a little acrid, but neverthe- 

 less agreeable. From the epicarp a 

 Blistering ointment is sometimes pre- 

 pared, and the entire fruit is useful in 

 certain diseases. Cashew gum exudes 

 from the trunk of the tree, but it is 

 applied to no useful purpose. 



The Anacardium Indicum is a native 

 of the East Indies. Its immature seeds 



.yield a glutinous matter resembling 

 birdlime, from which the celebrated 



Chinese varnish is prepared. 



black when exposed to the air, and which, after being dis- 

 solved in a drying oil, constitutes the celebrated black Japanese 

 varnish. The Rhus radicans and Rhus Toxicodendron are botfc 

 natives of North America, and but slightly distinguishable from 

 each other. When the period of 

 flowering arrives, both these plants 

 secrete an abundant quantity of milky 

 juice, which turns black in contact 

 with the air. This juice is so exceed- 

 ingly acrid, that if a person sits in the 

 shade of one of the poison sumachs, 

 his skin becomes violently inflamed, 

 reddens, swells, and is covered with 

 piistules. The leaves of this sumach 

 are recommended in paralysis, dar- 

 trous affections of the skin, and even 

 consumption. 



There are certain species of Schinus 

 which emit noxious effluvia. The 

 Schinus molle furnishes a mastic 

 which is slightly purgative. Its bark 



'27. THE WHITE CURRANT (llIBES RUBRUMl 

 VARIETY. 228. THE MASTIC TREE 

 (PISTACIA LENTISCUS). 



The sumachs possess various properties. 

 Fustic sumach (Rhus Cotinus, Fig. 230) ia 

 indigenous in eastern Europe ; its bark, 

 slightly aromatic and very astringent, is 

 considered by some as a good substitute 

 for that of Cinchona ; its leaves are also 

 employed in medicine, and from its wood 

 a yellow dye-stuff is extracted. The Cur- 

 rier's sumach (Rhus coriaria) is a native 

 of the Mediterranean region. Its acid 

 fruits are used by the Turks as a condi- 

 ment ; its leaves and young shoots are 

 employed by curriers and dyers. The 

 fruit and flowers of the Rims typhina, Rhus glabra, and Rhus 

 degans, all natives of North America, are employed as condi- 

 ments. The Jamaica sumach (Rhus metopii) secretes a purga- 

 iive gum resin from its bark. The Rhus vernix, or varnish 

 umach, is a Japanese shrub, from the stem of which is ob- 

 by incision, a milky juiee, which thickens and turns 



229. THE CASHEW-NUT TREE (ANACARDIUM OC- 

 CIDENTALE). 230. THE FUSTIC SUMACH 

 (HHUS COTINUS). 



and leaves are aromatic, and its drupe is 

 saccharine. The Dv.vaua dependens is a 

 little tree, a native of Chili, the infusion 

 of the seeds of which are stomachic, 

 diuretic, and anti-hysteric ; moreover, an 

 intoxicating drink named chicha is pre- 

 pared from them. The decoction of its 

 bark and the gum secreted by the tree 

 are balsamic and healing when applied 

 to wounds. The species of the genus 

 Spondias are not without interest. The 

 Spondias purpvreo, or purple-fruited 

 hog-plum, of the West Indies, has drupea 

 of an acidulated saccharine taste, very agreeable as food. The 

 drupes of /Spoil lias lutea, or yellow-fruited hog-plum, are 

 smaller, but more useful, being employed as a medicine. The 

 congener of the two spreading species is cultivated in the 

 Friendly and Society Islands. Its fruit is very agreeable and 

 wholesome, almost rivalling in delicacy the pine-apple- 



