

IN EXTRA-TROPICAL COUNTRIES. 93 



localities. It comes in four or five months to maturity. The plant can 

 also be grown as a fodder herb for cattle. It requires rich, friable soil. 

 If a superior soft fibre is desired, then the plant is pulled while in' 

 flower ; if strength is the object, then the plant is left standing until 

 it has almost ripened its seeds. The steeping process occupies about 

 three days. For the purpose of obtaining branchless stems it is sown 

 closely. Cultivated in the Circars, according to Roxburgh, to feed 

 milch cows. 



Crotalaria retusa, Linne". -. 



Asia, America, and Australia within the tropics. A perennial 

 herb. Its fibre resembles that of C. juncea, and is chiefly used for 

 ropes and canvas. Others of the multitudinous species of Crotalaria 

 deserve to be tested for their fibres. 



Croton lacciferus, Linne\ 



Ceylon, up to 3,000 feet. Suitable for the warmer forest regions 

 here, to obtain from this tree its peculiar exuding lac resin. 



Crozophora tinctoria, Necker. 



South Europe, North Africa and Orient. An annual herb. The 

 turnsole dye is prepared by exposure of the juice to the air, or by 

 treating it with ammonia. 



Cryptomeria Japonica, D. Don ; 



Japan and Northern China. The Sugi, or Japanese Cedar; the 

 largest tree in Japan, the trunk attaining 35 feet in circumference 

 (Rein), 1 20 feet in height, and with a long clear stem of perfect 

 straightness ; it is also grown for hedges, and there yielding the 

 most esteemed timber, scented like that of Cedrela (Christie). It 

 requires forest valleys for successful growth. The wood is compact, 

 very white, soft and easy to work. In the Azores preferred even 

 to the Pinus Haleppensis for timber culture, on account of its still 

 more rapid growth in that insular clime. 



Cucumis cicatrisatus, Stocks. 



Scinde, where it is called "Wungee." The edible ovate fruit is 

 about 6 inches long. 



Cucumis Citrullus, Seringe. (Citrullus vulgaris, Schrader.) 



Mediterranean regions. The Water Melon. It is simply mentioned 

 here to indicate the desirability of naturalising it in the Australian 

 interior deserts, where no Cucurbita and only a single kind of 

 edible Cucumis (C. acidus, Jacquin), with fruits not larger than a 

 pigeon's egg, is indigenous. In South African deserts it has become 

 spontaneously established, and retained the characters of the culti- 

 vated fruit. 



