TREES THAT MANUFACTURE 109 



on tree drugs and chemicals; there are few trees 

 which do not supply us with some form of drug. 



There is scarcely any need to mention trees which 

 furnish us with food material. To list all the fruits 

 alone would be a lengthy task. They constitute 

 some of the most delicious foods known to man. 

 Half the delight of a trip to the tropics lies in the 

 sampling of many strange-looking but delicious 

 fruits. As children some of us may have eaten the 

 brightly coloured and spicy nasturtium flower, 

 but we would be quite astonished, even to-day, if 

 some one were to tell us that there was a country 

 where flowers are a staple article of diet. Such is 

 the case, however. The country is India, and the 

 flower is a heavy, edible blossom borne by the 

 Mahwa tree. The corollas of these flowers provide 

 a much appreciated feast for animal and man at 

 certain times of the year. The surplus is pressed 

 into bales which look like great bundles of decayed 

 raisins and is fed to pigs and cattle. A portion of 

 the flowers is also distilled into a species of spirit 

 which smells like whiskey. 



What would man do to-day without tea, coffee, 

 and cocoa? It ought to make us feel a little 

 ashamed to think how dependent we have become 

 on these stimulating tree-beverages. Yet we must 

 deal with facts and not theories. Father, mother, 



