178 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



its fruit. Figs are eaten dry, and, in that case, not only the fruit 

 proper (which are drupes with a sarcocarp of little thickness, ex- 

 cept at the edges), but also the receptacle which envelopes it and 

 into which has passed a certain quantity of saccharine matter, is 

 eaten; or fresh, and then generally the receptacle, insipid or of a 

 disagreeable flavour, is rejected,^ and only the drupes are taken of 

 which the flesh and foot only are succulent and of an agreeable 

 taste, constituting a wholesome aliment for man and also for certain 

 animals which are fattened on figs where they are very abundant. 

 They are sometimes used, especially in the south-west of Europe, 

 to make alcohol. They are a pectoral fruit. ^ From them are pre- 

 pared sweet beverages and soft poultices. The latex contains 

 caoutchouc ; but it is not certain that it is extracted. This acrid 

 purgative juice serves to destroy warts. It has been employed as 

 a sympathetic ink and also, in the time of the Eomans, for making 

 a kind of stucco. The wood is porous and of little solidity ; that 

 of old trunks has always been used in the south of Europe for 

 making screws of presses. Younger it is seamed with hard con- 

 cretions similar to the cystoliths of the leaves, and may replace 

 emery for polishing. The leaves have also been used to produce a 

 reddish yellow dye. The other useful Fig trees are very numerous 

 and have very various properties.^ F. heterophylla L. f. serves as 

 an astringent in India. F, Sycomorus L. {Sycomorus antiquorum 

 Gasp.), a noted species on the banks of the Nile, has edible fruit. 

 Its wood was formerly used to make coffins and mummy cases, and 

 also for the carved figures, sometimes so remarkable, which extend 

 back to the remotest period of ancient Egyptian civilization. F, 

 hispida L. {F. Doemonmn Eoxb.), the juice of which is very poisonous, 

 is used against aphtse, and angina. F, amboinensis Kostl., of the 

 Moluccas, passes as an astringent and febrifuge. Its root serves to 

 intoxicate fish. F. toxicaria L. {F. Paclana Burm.) has a juice rich 

 in caoutchouc and very poisonous. Likewise F, septica Eumph., 

 which, in the Moluccas, is employed as a vermifuge and also, we 

 are assured, as a blister. F. alba Bl., fulva Reinw., and nivea Bl. 

 are fodder for hcrses in Java. F, AlUmeraalo Eoxb. is considered an 

 aperient in the Philippines ; it is employed as a sauce for fish. The 



1 See H. Bn. J[(?a«4Wim ix. 318. * Rosenth. op. cit. 192, 1107.--Lindl. Fl, 



Fructus Caricce Off. — SuktJ Theophb. Med. 297. 



