VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 261 



(Hnang-hua), and according to the description in the Ktiang- 

 chun-faiig-pit^ this is probably correct. The Ma-stt is included 

 among the vegetables, and was formerly extensively cultivated ; 

 and in some parts of China, is still grown. It is found, how- 

 ever, growing almost everywhere of its own accord. It is not 

 much valued as a vegetable, as it is almost tasteless. It is 

 considered too cooling to be eaten very frequently, and it is 

 thought to make one thin, which is always carefully avoided 

 by the Chinese. If eaten with honey it is said to cause 

 dysentery. It is thought to benefit the intestines, and to be 

 generally depurative. The root is prescribed in feverish and 

 high colored urine. The expressed juice is reputed to have some 

 emetic properties, and is administered in gravel to relieve pain. 



MELIA AZEDARACH.— ^ (Uen), =g= ^ (K'u-lien), 

 ^ i^ (Sen-shu). The fruit is called ^ ^ ^ (Chin-ling-tzu). 

 The species from Szechuan called ]\\ \^ ^ (Ch'uan-lien-tzli), 

 251, and which is Melia toosendan^ is considered the best. 

 The Chinese do not distinguish clearly between these two 

 species. The fruits of the latter consist of a fleshy, globular 

 drupe, about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, covered 

 with a shining, yellow skin, and usually much shrivelled. It 

 is larger than that of Melia azcdarach^ and probably cor- 

 responds to the nim or margosa fruits of India. They yield 

 a bitter oil, and both in India and China are used as an anthel- 

 mintic remedy. At the time of the Dragon Festival (fifth day 

 of the fifth moon) bamboo sprouts and rice cakes are wrapped 

 in azedarach leaves, and tied with silk thread of five diflerent 

 colors, and these parcels are thrown into streams to propitiate 

 the spirit of the waters. The phcenix and the unicorn are 

 said to eat the fruits of this tree, but the dragon abhors them. 

 The tree grows very rapidly, and at Canton its timber is called 

 ^ 7fC (Sen-mu). Always remembering that the Chinese do 

 not distinguish between the two species of Melia^ the medicinal 

 properties ascribed to the fruits may be said to be those of an 

 antifebrile, quieting, anthelmintic, and diuretic remedy. These 

 fruits are a five-celled drupe, yellow when ripe, and dark and 

 shrivelled when kept any length of time. The azedarach is 

 much smaller than the Ch'^uan-lien-tzu^ measuring about half 



