410 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



of nuts, which are well known to be the fruit of trees. 

 The external or cortical covering is of a dense 

 fibrous texture, arid of a pale dull yellow colour ; this 

 is very thin; and separable without much difficulty 

 from the part which it encloses; to the taste it is 

 highly astringent, with a slight and sometimes a 

 scarcely perceptible bitterness. Immediately beneath 

 this is what " we shall call the resinous part," and 

 which constitutes by far the greater portion of the 

 gall-nut. The colour of this is a dark yellowish 

 brown, having a fibrous texture and a glimmering 

 resinous lustre. It is very brittle, astringent to the 

 taste, and nauseously bitter. The central cavity of 

 the gall-nut is lined with a very pale yellowish brown 

 shell, adhering pretty firmly to the resinous part. It 

 is of a fibrous texture without lustre, and to the taste 

 almost wholly insipid, like common ligneous fibre. 

 " Within the shell is the kernel, a small egg-shaped 

 body, sometimes considerably flattened, and a quarter 

 of an inch or more in length. It is of a brown 

 cream colour, and has an even and very minutely 

 granular fracture like a common hazel-nut, breaking 

 down between the teeth, like all the oily farinaceous 

 seeds when dried. It is often found mouldy, and then 

 it is of a bright chocolate colour. This kernel no doubt 

 it is, which invites the depredation of insects *." 



Though gall-nuts can be very readily subjected to 

 the examination of any person who prefers ocular 

 demonstration to description, yet it is a difficult 

 matter to find sound unperforated nuts in this country ; 

 and specimens can rarely be found in agreement 

 with the above description, in consequence of the 

 absence of the kernel. 



Perforated nuts, which are those most generally 

 found in commerce, have the small cavity within 

 hollow and unoccupied, without any appearance of a 

 * Aikin, 



