LlLIAI.K-.| 1.1 I.I \l i 



iii the southern part i of Urica ; oni of 1 1 1. - \\ . • i 



thn e more of Arabia and the l a -i Dracuui , the i 



their largest sue in the Canaries ; n l». Draco there b 



and 7"» feet high, 16J feet in circumference at the base, and « 



very ancient tree in the year 1406. The ihern Flora con 



plants of the genera Scilla, Hyacinthus, AUium, and Ornithogalum. In 

 Indies Lilyworts are rare ; in New Holland they form :i distinc 



tation, and in New Zealand thej an nted by the Phormium 



A rerj conaidi rable aumlx r are i mployi d for the pin 

 most extensively useful are those whose fibre is Btrong enough to furnbd 

 Such are Phormium tenax, the New Zealand Flax, whose tough 

 Hemp, and the Sanserif ras, a race "!' hard-leaved perennial plum-. foin 

 tropica "t Africa and India, from which :i yet stronger substance i- obtain* d 

 dso e of African Hemp, or Bowstring Hemp. The 'i uccas t"" yii Id a tei i 

 lmt ii is ill comparative unimportance. Several species have been 



the most re be antiquity; those chiefly belong to Allium. The Onion, Garhc, 



l . ays Dr. Royle, called in Arabic Busl, Som, and Korras, seem to be a 

 in the earliest parts of the Bible < Numbi re, ch. \i. v. 12), as the uai 

 verj similar to these. All an cultivated in gardens in India, as well as Allium ae 

 nicum and A. tuberosum. The bulbs of Allium leptophyllum are eaten b) the hill- 

 people, and the l aves are dried and preserved as a condimi nt Chivi -, Shallots, 

 Rocambole are other species of the Alliaceous race. The bulbs of Cams 

 are e iten by the North American Indians under the name of Quamash, 

 and those of 1. ilium pomponium are roasted and eaten in Kamtchat 

 where it is as commonly cultivated as the Potato with us. En thronium 

 Dins canis is said t<> furnish a part of the diet of tin- Tartu 

 Cordyline Ti (Dracaena terminalis), or Ti plant, affords an import 

 pan .it tin- food ofa Sandwich islander. Its great woody roots are baked, 

 when they become sweet and nutritious. Bruised, mixed with water, 

 ami fermented, it forms an intoxicating beverage ; distilled, an ardent 

 spirit ^ readily obtained ; boiled before fermentation, a rich syrup, ca- 

 pable of being a substitute for sugar, is the result. Cattle, sheep, ami 

 goats are fond of the leaves, which furnish thatch for houses, and 

 woven Into a kind of cloth Its truncheons take root when -tuck in 

 the ground, ami form a valuable permanent hedge. . . 



Mr. Drummond Bays that the tops of different species ol Xanthorrhsea 

 furnish all kinds of cattle with valuable fodder, in tin- Swan River 

 colony, // ./ - 2. 328 j and we learn from .Mr. Backhouse that 



tin' base cil tlii- inmr leaves of the Grass-tree of Tasroannia is not to 

 !»■ despised by the hungry. The aborigines beat off the hi 

 singular plants by striking them about tin- tup of tin- trunk with a I 

 stick ; they then strip off tin- outer leaves ami cut away tin- i- 

 ones, leaving about an inch am! a halt' of the white tender _ 



portion, joining the trunk : this portion they eat raw or 

 roasted ; ami it is tar from disagreeable in flavour, hav- 

 ing a milky taste, slightly balsamic. There are sonu 

 other species ,,t Grass-tree in tin colony, the base ol - 



the leaves of which may also be used as f i : those " 



the dwarf Grass-tree, Xanthorrhsea humilis, which i 

 abundant about 5fork Town, may he obtained by twistin 



the inner leaves firmly together, and pulling them forcibly 

 upwards ; lmt care is required not i" cut the fingers, by 

 slipping the hand. Even in Europe the young shoots 

 Polygonatum (Solomon's Si al '.ami others, have been sub- 

 stituted for Asparagus, ami the annual cultivation uf tin -\ 

 latter for kitchen purposes is known to every one. 



Alees and Squills indicate the value of some Lib' 

 medicine. The acrid matter which thus rendi rs them 

 valuable as purgatives or emetics, is found in a i 

 derable number of sped ■-. The bulb of the I 

 Scilla maritima, ami Pancratium, (the SkjAAij ami n 

 tiov of Dioscorides) is nauseous and acrid, acting eitb 

 expectorant, or diuretic, in proportion to the dose in which :• 

 ties are said to be duo to a peculiar prim 



I .. • WW 111 \ :horrti«ah.T 



