340 BOTANY. 



Sandwich Islanders avail themselves, to stain their face 

 in a manner which they consider to be ornamental. I 

 found, by experiments upon my own person, that the 

 peeled root, applied to the skin for but a few minutes, 

 produced a burning sensation, and left a dark stain, 

 which was only removed by desquamation of the cuti- 

 cle ; when the root was allowed to remain on the skin 

 for six hours, it raised a blister, which was succeeded by 

 a deep ulcer, rather troublesome to heal. The active 

 or irritating principle (which is allied, probably, to that 

 contained in the mustard and some other siliquose 

 plants) would appear to reside in the inner bark ; for I 

 observed that neither the epidemic nor ligneous struc- 

 tures produced any effect when applied separately. 

 The dried root, when sliced and moistened, is as ener- 

 getic in its action as that employed in the recent state. 

 The Malays of Timor place a flower-spike of this plant 

 in the hair of their children's heads, as a remedy for 

 involuntary micturition. 



Society Isles ; Sandwich group ; native name idihee. 

 Timor. 



Cerbera manghas. A tree, growing on mountain- 

 land ; bears large, white, and fragrant flowers ; and oval 

 berries, growing in pairs. All parts of the tree yield, 

 by incision, a milky fluid, which, the Marquesans say, is 

 a deadly poison to man. 



Society Isles ; native name reva ; Marquesas, va. 



C. parviflora. Sandwich Isles; native name toko- 

 rau. 



Achyranthes aspera. Sandwich Isles ; native name 

 opitu. 



