168 DICTIONARY OF POPULAR NAMES EVENING 



practical instance, it may be mentioned that some years ago the 

 Victoria Lily Aquarium at Kew became overcrowded with gold- 

 fish, and, as it was found they ate the leaves of the Victoria, it 

 became necessary to get rid of them. To effect this a few pieces 

 of E. Tirucalli were thrown into the tank in the evening. The 

 next mornincc the surface of the water was found covered with 

 dead gold-fish, not one being left alive. E. resinifera yields 

 the gum called Gum Euphorbium. The chief supply comes 

 from jMorocco and Barbary. It is obtained by making incisions 

 in the stem and branches ; the milky juice then flows, and, after 

 becoming hard and dry, is scraped off. Great caution is, how- 

 ever, necessary in collecting it, as it is very excoriating, and the 

 small particles rising in the air affect the eyes, and cause 

 incessant sneezing. It was originally used as a powerful 

 medicine in certain complaints, but on account of its violent 

 action is now little used. Its chief use at the present time 

 is in the preparation of an anticorrosive paint for ships' 

 bottoms. The milk of most of the species contains a small 

 amount of caoutchouc, which in E. Cattimandoo, a succulent 

 arborescent species, native of the Madras Presidency, furnishes 

 a sufficient quantity of caoutchouc to make it worth the trouble 

 of collectmg. 



Evening Primrose {(Enothera biennis), a biennial of the 

 family Onagraceae, native of Virginia, and now become 

 naturalised in many parts of Europe. It is cultivated as an 

 ornamental garden-plant, and in Germany it is grown for the 

 sake of its young shoots, which are used as a vegetable in the 

 early spring. 



Faham. (Sec Tea, Bourbon.) 



Fairy Rings. — In autumn several species of fungi spring up 

 suddenly on grassy lawns, growing in rings of greater or lesser 

 diameter. They were formerly supposed to be produced by 

 some supernatural agency, and the spirits called fairies were 

 believed to have held their midnio-ht revels within the circles. 

 Their formation is, however, very simple, natural, and easily 

 accounted for. The centre of the circle begins with a single 



