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flattened, somewhat like a large thick button, with a hard seed in the 

 centre. When ripe it is a waxen white in colour, and has a sharp acid 

 and somewhat austere flavour. It is not palatable when eaten raw, but is 

 excellent, for tarts and puddings, makes a pleasant jam and a tasty pickle. 

 Medicinally the seeds are cathartic and the root purgative. This tree may 

 be grown successfully in medium warm to tropical regions, and will 

 thrive in any fairly good soil. As it has handsome graceful foliage it is 

 worthy of cultivation as an ornamental plant in congenial localities. 

 Plants are readily obtained from seeds, which should be covered an inch 

 deep. Layering is another ready means for propagating, and strong 

 cuttings strike freely in sand if protected from the weather. 



TAMARIND. 



HISTORY AND USES. 



The Tamarind is a large handsome evergreen tree which, under 

 favourable conditions, attains a height of seventy to eighty feet, and has 

 widely spreading branches. It belongs to the natural order Leguminoseae, 

 and is indigenous to various parts of tropical Asia and Africa as far north 

 as Egypt. The Tamarind was also found by Baron von Mueller growing 

 in north Western Australia, and a closely-allied species, if not identical, 

 is indigenous to the West Indies. Botanically it is known as Tamari-ndiis 

 Indica, the generic name being derived from Tamar (the Arabic name for 

 the Date Palm) and Indus (Indian), and, therefore, means Indian Date. 

 The West Indian species is known as Taiwtrmdus occidentalis, and it 

 differs but slightly, if at all, from the first-named kind. The foliage of 

 the Tamarind is bright green, each leaf being furnished with a dozen pairs 

 or more of small leaflets, and the trees afford a dense shade which is very 

 agreeable in a warm climate. The flowers, when they make their 

 appearance, are white or nearly so, but afterwards they change to pale 

 yellow. The fruit is produced in the form of flat pods, which vary in 

 length from three to six inches and are more or less curved. There are 

 several varieties which dift'er, though not to any great extent, in the size 

 of the pods and the colour and acidity of the pulp. The pods consist of 

 shells enclosing an acidulous pulp, varying in colour from light brown to 

 reddish, in which from four to a dozen seeds are embedded. In countries 

 where the Tamarind is indigenous or cultivated, the fruit is used in 

 various ways, and is very popular, [t is extensively used in cookery, and 

 more especially in making curry, and also in the preservation of fish. A 

 refreshing drink is made by pouring boiling water over the fruit, and 

 this beverage is used medicinally as a laxative and a cooling draught in 

 cases of fever. The fruit is preserved either with or without sugar, and 

 exported in casks or jars. For medicinal purposes, for which the 

 Tamarind is used extensively, the pulp is better when prepared without 

 sugar. The medicinal and other useful qualities are due to the presence 

 of butyric, citric, formic-, and tartaric acids in the pulp. Another mode 



