388 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



a small scale th.e appearance of a seed of tlie horse-chestnut, and used 

 in Brazil to prepare the paste called Guarana} With the coarsely 

 piilverised seeds and water a paste is made, having the colour of 

 chocolate, and formed into cylindrical cakes. Travellers often carry 

 these cakes to dilute with water and make an antifebrile refreshing 

 drink, of a slightly astringent taste, and whose properties are, it 

 appears, very nearly the same as those of coffee. ^ The seed of 

 the horse-chestnut'^ (fig. 404-408) contains a very large fleshy 

 embryo, and it has been long regretted that the immense amount of its 

 fecula was not used as an aliment. Animals with some rare excep- 

 tions do not eat it easily. It is, however, easy to extract a pure fecula 

 from these seeds, by treating the embryo, reduced to a pulp, with 

 alcalinised or ordinary water, and it can also be transformed into 

 sugar, and then into alcohol. Besides these substances, the horse- 

 chestnut contains an oil extracted from it for medical purposes, 

 and recommended outwardly for rheumatic and gouty affections. It 

 has, like many other Sapindacew, the projjerty of rendering water 

 frothy and soapy, conseqiient, it is said, on its containing saponine. 

 Esculine has also been extracted from it, to which febrifuge and anti- 

 periodic properties have been assigned, similar to those of Quiti- 

 quina:^ The fruit of ^sctihis macrostachys ^ is eaten cooked in 

 Carolina, and the seed of several species of the section Pavia ® has 

 properties analogous to those of yEsculiis Hippocastanum. The seeds 

 of Staphylia trifoliata ^ contain a sweet oil ; they are sometimes eaten 

 like Pistachios. 



' GuiB. op, cit. iii. 592. — Fourn. Journ. febrifuge. It has been used for dressing ulcers 



Fharm. et Chim. ser. 3, xxxix. 291. of bad appearance. The roots are considered 



- It is said that the Gimraua contains to be poisonoiis in America {Poison root.) 



cafeino. * Michx, i'7. Sor.-Amcr. i. 220. — JE. 2>arri- 



•' Aiscitlus Hippicaslaiiiim L. Spic. 488. — DC. Jloi-a Walt. Carol. 128. — Pavia mucrostiwhi/a 



Proilr. i. 597. — Ctken. et Gunii. Fl. dc Fr. i. DC. Frodr. i. 598, n. \.—P. cdulin PoiT. Arbr. 



324. — MkR. et Del. Diet. Mat. MAI. i. 87. — Pmtt. t. SS.—Mao-othi/isiis discolor Spach, A/iii. 



Nees, pi. Med. t. 375.— LisDL. Fl. Mid. 124 ; gc. Nat. ser. 2, ii. 61. 



Vcff. Kingd. 384. — Endl. Enchirid. 665. — Guib. 6 Especially the JE. glabra W. discolor Puush, 



o;;. crt. iii. 593. — Kosentii. 07;. c/C 783. — REV.i^^. rubicimdii Lodd. califoniica 'Svtt. (Rosexth. 



Med. dii XIX' Slide ii. 296. — Hippocastanum op. cit. 784.) 



i-ulgare T. Inst. 612, t. 382.— Gjertn. Frmt. ii. 7 L. Spec. 386.— SciiM. (Estr. Banm. ii. t. 81. 



t. 111. — Castaiica cr/iiiiiaDoD. Feiiipf. S\i. This .—DC. Prodr. ii. 2.— Endl. Fiic/iirid. 573. S. 



plant was brought from Constantinople to piniiata (fig. 336, 339-341) has the same pro- 



Varis in 1615. perties (vulg. Nez coupe, Patenotier). Its root 



'' The flower of JEsculus has been employed yields a red dye. Triceros japonica (p. 343, 



as a cosmetic ; it has been introduced into note 1, fig. 336-338) has a bitter and astringent 



stcarino candles. The bark of the tree, in bark, used in Japan for treating dysentery and 



powder or in decoction, has been particularly re- chronic diarrhtca (Ooiizoui of the Japanese), 

 commended as tonic, dcttrsivc, antiseptic, and 



