API'. 0. OllONTIACE.E— GRAMINACE^. 565 



of their virtues iu this respect. Indian practitioners also recl<on it vuhiablc 

 in the " indigestions, stomach-aches, and bowel afifections of children,'' so 

 much so, indeed, that, according to Ainslie, " there is a penalty incurred 

 by any druggist who will not open his door in the middle of the night 

 and sell it if demanded." The Bengalese call it " Rhwet buch ; " the 

 Cinghalese, "Wadakaha ;" and the Hindus, " Rich." 



POTHOS SCANDESS, Lilin. 



The native practitioners use this plant in putrid fevers. It is an epiphyte 

 with slender rooting stems adheriug to the branches of trees like ivy, and 

 has entire, lanceolate, smootli, coriaceous leaves, tai'cring upwards to a 

 l)oint and blunt and rounded at the base, where they are articulated with 

 the winged stalk. 



GRAMINACEiE. 



Andkopogon muuicatus, littz. 



The fragrant aromatic roots of this grass, called Cusciis or Vctivert, arc 

 only employed for perfumery purposes in this country, but in India they 

 are well known as the material of which window and door screens are 

 made, and the native doctors, moreover, consider them to possess medicinal 

 virtues, prescribing an infusion of them as a diaphoretic and gentle stimu- 

 lant in some kinds of fever. "Vittie" is the Tamul name of the plant, 

 and " Vayr" in the same language signifies root, and, by combining and 

 corrupting these, Europeans have formed the word Vetivert ; while its other 

 European name, Cuscus, is derived from the Persian " Kluis-Khus." In 

 Hindustanee it is called "Useer;" and in Sanscrit " Viratara." 



Andropogon Iwabancusa, I^oxb. 



The natives administer an infusion of the root's of this gi-ass, combined 

 with pepper, in fevers, of both the continued and intermittent kind. It 

 has a bitter, wanu, pungent taste, and fragrant odour. The specific name 

 is derived from the Bengalee and Hindustanee, which is variously s^xjlt 

 " Ibharankusha," " Iwaraukusha," " Kurankusha," or " Iwarancussa." 



Andropogon Calamus-arojiaticus, BoyJe. 



According to Hoyle, this is the /caXa/ioy dpafuiriKos of the ancient Greeks, 

 and the Sweet-cane or Calamus of the Bible. When chewed it has a 

 strong taste of ginger, whence it is commonly called Gmger-grass. The 

 native doctors give an infusion of it as a stomachic and febrifuge ; and they 

 also prepare from it a very fragrant aromatic oil, which they esteem very 

 highly as a liniment in chronic rheumatism. This is sent to this country as 

 grass-oil, or ginger-grass oil, and is sold by our jicrfmncrs as oil of geranium 

 or spikenard. 



