• UU IflB&US.] 



The flowera ol N 



isua are not only 

 emetic, bul a dang< roue poison, 



laumally producing Berioua 

 consequences in infanta which 



allowed i" awallow them. 

 I »c ( Sandolle conaiden the prin- 

 ciple found in Amarj llida ana- 

 logous i" th:it of me Squill 

 i, p. 290). Oporanthua 

 totem is purgative, Alatrome- 

 ria aalsilla diaphoretic and >Iiu- 

 retic, Amaryllis ornata astrin- 

 gent. Agardh .!/</<. 17". \ 

 kind of arrow-root is prepared 

 from the Bucculent roots ol 

 Alstromeria pallida and 

 others, in Chile. Bom 

 Salsilla is employed aa a sub- 

 -litu'c for Sarsaparilla. A 

 Americana, the American Aloe, 

 which is sai'l (.1 Bower once 

 only in a hundred years, a 

 gardener's Gable, forma impe- 

 netrable hedges with its hard 

 and spiny leaves ; it- fibre and 

 that of some neighbouring spe- 

 cies, especially the 

 Pita plant, is ex- 

 tremely tough, and 

 forma excellent 

 cordage ; its ro t 

 is diuretic and an- 

 tiayphilitic, and is 

 even brought to 

 Europe mixed with 

 Sarsaparilla. "The 

 specieaof A ga\ eare 

 not alone ornamen- 

 tal as plants and 

 useful as hi 

 but :irc important 

 for their products 

 I he roots, as well 

 as tiio leaves, con- 

 tain ligneous fibre 

 (pita thread), use- 

 ful for i arioua pur- 

 poses : tliis i- 

 parated by bruis- 

 ing and steeping in 

 water, and after- 

 wards beating. 

 The M< deans also 

 made their paper 

 of the tilin-s ,,, 

 Agave leaves laid 

 in layers. The 

 expressed juice of 

 the leaves evapo 

 rated, is state. 1 by 

 Long, in liis Hist. 

 of Jamaica, to bo 

 also useful as a 

 substitute for soap. 



\M \KVI.I ll> \. 









Fig. CVI * 



