C A S T A L I A. 



717 



ilpe, the juice is used by the Telinga physicians in 

 various disorders. 



The varnishes which are yielded by several plants of 

 this order, such as the Cashew, Semicarpus, Melan- 

 orrhoca, Usitatissima, Stagmaria verniciflora, and several 

 species of Rhus, to be presently noticed, are very 

 deleterious in their effects on the human body. They 

 are highly acrid, and, when applied externally, pro- 

 duce inflammation and swelling to such a degree as 

 sometimes to endanger life. 



Several species of Schinus are filled with a re- 

 sinous juice, which is easily expelled, in some cases 

 by simple emersion in water. The oily fluid is said 

 to be thrown out in such a way from the leaves of 

 some of these plants, when thrown on water, as to 

 make them move in a circle. Schinus acroeria, pro- 

 bably from the spontaneous exudation of an acrid 

 fluid, is said to excite inflammation and swelling in 

 those who sit or sleep under its shade. A similar 

 remark is made in regard to Stagmaria verniciflora. 

 .The fresh bark of Schinus molle, Peruvian mastic 

 tree, is employed to give a coating to ropes, which 

 prevents their ready decay. A substance like mastic 

 exudes from the tree, which is used in Peru as a 

 dentifrice. The berries have a beautiful rose-colour, 

 and the acid juice which they yield is used as vinegar 

 in India. The inhabitants of Peru prepare a vinous 

 liquor from them. 



Stagmaria verrimflora, a native of the East India 

 islands and Sumatra, furnishes an acrid resin which 

 causes excoriations and blisters, and which is an 

 ingredient in a varnish similar to Japan lacquer. 



It/ius, or Sumach, is another genus of the order, 

 containing many important species, several of which 

 yield a milky juice possessing poisonous qualities. 

 Rhus coriacca, elm-leaved sumach, from its astringency, 

 is used in place of oak-bark in tanning. Leather in 

 Turkey is chiefly tanned with this plant. The seeds 

 are used at Aleppo to increase the appetite, and both 

 the leaves and seeds are employed medicinally as 

 astringents and styptics. The ancients used this 

 plant, instead of salt, for seasoning meat. The plant 

 grows abundantly in Spain. The bark of Rhus 

 glabra is used as a mordant for red colours, and acts 

 as a febrifuge. The leaves of the plant dye red, and 

 the branches, boiled with the berries, give a black 

 ink-like fluid. Rhus vcrn'u; or venenata, affords the 

 true Japan varnish. This substance oozes out from 

 incisions made in the tree, and becomes black and 

 thick by exposure to the air. With it the Japanese 

 varnish the posts of their doors, their windows, and 

 all their articles of furniture. The whole plant is 

 acrid and poisonous. When applied to the skin, 

 it produces inflammation, and a copious pustular 

 eruption. Rhus pumila, and radicans, also possess 

 poisonous qualities. Rhus toxicodcndron, poison-oak, 

 is another species of this genus, found native in 

 North America. The juice of the plant is white, 

 but turns black by exposure, and is used as a varnish. 

 A volatile matter arises from the living plant, which 

 inflames and blisters the skin. This noxious exhala- 

 tion is said to take place chiefly during the night. 

 The plant possesses both acrid and narcotic qualities. 

 The leaves, in small doses of a quarter or half a grain, 

 act as a powerful stimulant, and appear to exert a 

 particular influence on the skin. They have been 

 employed successfully in some obstinate cutaneous 

 eruptions, in chronic rheumatism, and in palsy. They 

 are said to excite a feeling of heat and pricking in 



paralysed limbs, which have sometimes been succeeded 

 by the happiest results. It is a dangerous medicine, 

 and always requires to be administered with the 

 greatest caution. Rhus cotinus, Venice sumach, or 

 wild olive, is cultivated for the purpose of tanning 

 leather near Balcimara, in the Apennines. The 

 wood is used by the modern Athenians for dyeing 

 wool of a rich yellow colour. Several species of rhus 

 are cultivated in gardens. The expressed oil of some 

 of them acquires the consistence of suet, and serves 

 for making candles. 



Pistacia is another genus of the order which 

 deserves to be noticed. Pistacia vera, or officinantm, 

 Pistachia tree, is a native of Syria, and the countries 

 near the Mediterranean, and is extensively cultivated 

 in Sicily on account of its nuts, which are an article 

 of commerce. The nut is fully the size of a filbert, 

 and encloses a kernel of a pale greenish colour, 

 having a sweetish unctuous taste, and yielding a 

 quantity of oil. 



Pistacia lentiscus, and Atlantica, both of which are 

 natives of the south of Europe and the northern 

 parts of Africa, furnish the resin called mastic. The 

 former of these plants is a tree ten or twelve feet 

 high, which flowers in May, and ripens its fruit in 

 August. It does not thrive well in Britain, although 

 it appears to have been cultivated in this country so 

 early as the year 1664. Mastic is got from these 

 trees by incisions in the bark, which are generally 

 made in the month of August. A yellow resinous 

 juice exudes, which gradually concrete's. The Turkish 

 and American women chew it, in order to make 

 their breath agreeable, as well as for the purpose of 

 whitening their teeth and strengthening their gums. 

 It is also used to fill cavities in carious jj^eth. The 

 tree is burned in order to furnish an agreeable fumi- 

 gation. Mastic, as a medicine, is tonic and astrin- 

 gent, and is given in cases of debility, spitting of 

 blood, and diarrhoea. The wood of the tree receives 

 the name of lignum Icntischinum, and was formerly 

 supposed to possess medicinal virtues. It is now 

 chiefly used in Portugal to form tooth-picks. Pista- 

 cia terebinthus, a native of Barbary and the south of 

 Europe, and which has been cultivated for more than 

 sixty years in Britain, yields the Chian, or Cyprus 

 turpentine. It is the most esteemed of all the tur- 

 pentines on account of its pleasant odour and its 

 taste, which is neither bitter nor acrid. The turpen- 

 tine is got by wounding the bark in the month of 

 July. The resinous juice which exudes becomes 

 thick by exposure to the air, and is easily collected. 

 The quantity got is very inconsiderable, from large 

 trees sixty years old, only yielding two pounds nine 

 ounces and six drachms. In consequence of this, the 

 price of the article is high, and it is very apt to be 

 adulterated. The best Chian turpentine is like honey, 

 having a clear transparent whitish colour, and a 

 fragrant smell. Its taste is warm, not at all acrid. 



Mangifera Indica, the famous Mango tree, is a 

 large spreading tree, with leaves seven or eight inches 

 long, and two or more broad, sending forth loose 

 bunches of flowers, which grow at the end of the 

 branches. The wood is brittle, and of a brown 

 colour. It is used in India for burning bodies and 

 for making coffins. The fruit is a kidney-shaped 

 berried drupe, the size of a large plum, and of an 

 orange tawny colour, with a tinge of red. The flesh 

 round the nut is soft, pulpy, and luscious. The fruit 

 is juicy and wholesome, and is much esteemed in 



