VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 135 



them before they are ripe, and as the melons are opened amidst 

 the dust and filth of a summer street, it is quite probable 

 that they do not entirely deserve the reputation they have 

 secured. Notwithstanding their slight fear of these melons, 

 large quantities are ingested every season by all sorts and 

 conditions of people. The YiieJi-Jziia is not much used 

 medicinally, but is considered to be cooling, diuretic, anti- 

 vinous, and peptic. The incinerated ash is used in sore mouth. 

 The pulp of the T'-icii-ktia is regarded with more favor 

 than that of the Yiieh-kna. But if eaten to excess, it is 

 thought to cause pimples, to bring on ague, and to produce 

 general weakness of the body. Its action is said to be cooling, 

 diurectic, and resolvent. If eaten during the month of great 

 heat, sunstroke will be prevented, as it is regarded as decidedly 

 cooling. The kernels of the seeds, JK. *jF fl (Kua-tzit-jen), 

 are highly regarded as a stomachic, peptic, and constructive 

 remedy. They are prescribed in cancer of the stomach and 

 purulent difficulties of the digestive tract generally. They 

 are also used in menorrhagia, after the oil has been extracted. 

 The peduncles, ^§ jK. ^ (T'ien-kua-ti), 1293, also called 

 =^ "J* ^ (K'u-ting-hsiang), are vaunted as a remedy out of 

 all proportion to their importance. General anasarca, the 

 worst forms of intestinal parasites, and acute indigestion from 

 the ingestion of too much fruit, will all yield to this 

 remedy. It is also used in the treatment of nasal polypus, 

 jaundice, acute coryza, and colds of every kind, and mixed 

 with musk and Asarttm sieboldi will restore a lost sense of 

 smell. The vine (^, Wan) of the melon is prescribed, together 

 with Quisqiialis indica and Glycyrrhiza glabra^ in suppressed 

 menstruation. The flowers are used in refractory coughs. 

 The expressed juice of the leaves is thought to promote the 

 growth of whiskers in those who have none, and when made 

 into a tincture with wine, will disperse the blood from bruised 

 flesh. 



CUCUMIS SATIVUS.— ^ E (Hu-kua), % JR (Huang- 

 kua). Chang Chien, the noted legate of the Han dynasty, 

 seems to have brought this plant from Central Asia to China, 

 as he did many other useful plants. It is largely cultivated. 



