VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 279 



having a black testa and a reddish tegmen. These are removed 

 in preparing the seeds for use, and the fleshy cotyledons 

 are boiled or ground into flour, and in either case form the 

 basis of a very palatable food. The fresh cotyledons are 

 also much relished in the raw state by the Chinese, being 

 peddled on the streets in their receptacles in the season. 

 In any form they are considered to be very nourishing and 

 highly beneficial in preserving the body in health and strength. 

 They are refreshing, preventive of fluxes, promote the cir- 

 culation, strengthen the virility, and "the more you eat, the 

 more you want of them." Their use is recommended in 

 leucorrhcea and gonorrhoea. Although the plant grows amidst 

 the filth and slime of ponds, it is considered to be an emblem 

 of purity, and for this reason the different parts of the plant 

 are thought to purify the body of noxious poisons and evil 

 conditions. The seeds must not be confounded with tliose 

 of CcBsalpinia fninax^ which are also called ^ '^ "f" (Sliih- 

 lien-tzu), 11 53. Li Shih-chen utters this warning, but says 

 that he does not know what these latter seeds are. The 

 root-stock is jointed and fleshy, and when cut across shows a 

 number of cavities in the tissue, concentrically arranged, and 

 terminating at the joints, which interrupt them at every foot 

 or less of the length of the stock. These are boiled and sold 

 in slices on the streets, forming a sweet, mucilaginous food, 

 looking like the sweet potato, and very much relished by the 

 Chinese. The joints of the root-stock are considered separately 

 under the name of || |iJ (Ou-chieh), 923, and are thought to 

 be hemostatic in hemoptysis, and also in post-partum hemor- 

 rhage, hematuria, and bloody stools. Two kinds of arrow-root 

 are made of the root-stock, one called ^ ^^ (Ou-fen), 924, from 

 the fleshy part, and the other called gij ^ (Chieh-fen) from the 

 joints. The latter is far the more expensive of the two, and 

 is made in the region about Huaian, Kiangsu. The mode of 

 manufacture in either case is to crush the root and wash out 

 the starch with water. After subsidance, the water is drained 

 off and the starch left to dry. The taste of the Ou-fcn is 

 sweetish and somewhat aromatic. It is considered to be 

 nutritious, stomachic, tonic, increasing the mental faculties 

 and quieting the spirits. The taste of the Chieh-f^n is somC' 



