THE SUB-TROPICAL ZONE. 121 



equinoctial zone can be ripened there ; while, 

 in winter, the temperature is so low, that 

 often old trees of the well-known tropical fruits 

 perish. During the summer, which is there 

 at the rainy season, there are cultivated in the 

 province of Delhi, rice, indigo, cotton, maize or 

 Indian corn, and some tropical kinds of grain, 

 gourds, ginger, turmeric, etc. In the winter 

 season the appearance of this district is totally 

 different, for then the corn plants of the north 

 are cultivated, such as wheat, barley, oats, 

 millet ; also, beans, vetches, coriander, carra- 

 way, flax, etc. On the eastern side of the 

 Himalayan chain, in the sub-tropical part of 

 China, and in the south of Japan, some im- 

 portant plants appear for the first time. Here, 

 indeed, some plants of tropical climes extend 

 much further north than in Europe, especially 

 near the sea, as the palms, bananas, arborescent 

 grasses, etc. 



Several trees 'of the Anacardium or cashew 

 nut tribe, growing in Japan, China, Burmah, 

 and India, yield a resinous juice, which is used 

 in those countries as a varnish, and generally 

 turns black. They are dangerous, however, to 

 use, as the fumes are of so acrid a nature, as to 

 cause painful and even dangerous inflammation 

 and swelling. Some constitutions are more 

 susceptible of these effects than others. The 

 valuable black hard varnish, called Japan 

 lacquer, is obtained from Stagmaria verniciflua ; 

 its resin is so extremely acrid, as to cause 

 excoriations and blisters if applied to the 



