VEGETATION. 93 



forests, is got the chdlmugra oil, which is of good repute in the treat- 

 ment of leprosy and other skin diseases. A large mulberry [Morus 

 laevigata) yields a timber second to none in Sikhim for its lasting and 

 other good qualities, and its leaves, and those of the small species 

 {3Iorus indica), are good for feeding silkworms. A large proportion 

 of the Sikhim trees yield very inferior quality timbers, and care has 

 to be exercised in their selection for building purposes. For instance, 

 the timbers of Bombax, Duabanga and a Canaritim are so unenduring 

 that tea boxes made of them occasionally crumble to pieces within 

 two years, and sometimes in less than one. 



Many of the woody nettles (Bd/imeria, Villehrunea, Dehregeasia, 



&c ), yield excellent fibre, but as yet their extraction has been found 



too slow and expensive for them to be commercially renmnerative, 



but the Lepchas make fishing-lines, &c., out of them for their own use. 



Urtica crenulata is the most dreadful of all the nettle tribe. It is 



found in the warm valleys up to 4,000 feet, and grows to 12 or 15 feet 



in height with large, glossy, innocent-looking leaves which are 



seemingly devoid of stinging hairs, but are extremely virulent, their 



stings causing great pain which lasts for several days and may bring 



on serious illness. Rubbing the affected parts with opium liniment 



has been found to give almost instantaneous relief. One or two of the 



cinnamons produce bark and leaves with aromatic properties, and are 



used for home consumption and sometimes sold in the local bazars. 



The leaves of Callicarpa are said to be useful in asthmatical complaints. 



A coarse, strong paper is made from the bark of Dajihne cannabina 



and Edgcivorthia Gardneri^ two handsome flowered shrubs growing in 



the forests over 5,000 feet, and the root bark of a Morinda is used at 



home, and also exported to a small extent for dyeing. Several of the 



raspberries yield large crops of fairly good fruit. The fruit of the ' 



wild mango is eatable, and that is the best that can be said for it. 



Wightiu gigantea is an extraordinary epiphytic tree, of great size, 



which embraces its foster parent with its numerous horizontal roots 



and ultimately sti angles it. Gamble mentions that the Lamas make 



their idols out of its wood. The wood of Gnielina arborea is used by 



the Nepalese turners for making bowls and other domestic utensils, 



and the leaves are largely given to cattle. Among the flowering 



shrubs epiphytic on trees are Vacciniuins of sorts, several species of 



Hog a, Mschynanthus^ Ilymenopogon and misletoe, and there are several 



species of the parasitical Loranthus. 



The Lepchas find innumerable things to eat in the jungles in the 

 shape of fruits, leaves, piths of stems, roots and flower buds. They 

 also eat an enormous variety of fungi, and seldom make a mistake in 

 collecting them, but occasionally a whole family does get poisoned. 

 Some of the sorts resemble those commonly eaten in Europe and grow 



