• 200 



dASE an agreeable acid flavour, are eaten and also made into 

 117. sherbet. In India the bark is used in medicine as an 

 aromatic stimulant and also affords a yellow dye. 



Beefwood Order (Casuarineae). A small group of 

 leafless trees with jointed pendulous twigs. Some of the 

 species afford a wood of extreme hardness, formerly used 

 in the Pacific islands for war clubs, &c. 

 . Note fruits, wood, and bark of BEEFWOOD or FOREST 

 Oak of Australia {Casuarina eqidsetifolia^ Forst.), a 

 large evergreen tree of India, Malaya, Australia, &c. The 

 wood is used for fencing, gates, and shingles, and the 

 astringent bark as a dye. The tree is chiefly valued in 

 India from its capability of growing on coastlands close 

 to the sea, thus preventing the encroachments of sand- 

 drifts. 



On the lower shelves are fruits of species of Casuarina^ 



clubs made from the woods, also a sleeping pillow used 



by the natives in Fiji to prevent the hair from being 



PAOTT disarranged. 



Tift ^^ ^^^^ Case observe the hard wood of Casuarina 



^•*-^* suberosa, Otto & Dietr., which, in common with that of 



C equisetifolia, is known in Australia as Beefwood and 



Forest Oak. The wood is of fine grain and suitable for 



veneers for cabinet work. This tree is much valued in 



the interior districts of Australia as a fodder for stock, 



during periods of drought. Note also specimens of the 



finely figured wood of She Oak (C. stricta, Ait.), of 



Australia. This wood is used for furniture, turnery and 



wheel spokes, and also makes excellent fuel. The 



branches are also lopped for fodder in times of drought. 



Birch, Hazel, and Oak Order (CujjuUferae). This 

 large family consists for the most part of trees, many of 

 them of large size, and affords some most valuable 

 timbers, such as oak, beech, &c. Very common in the 

 forests of temperate countries ; many species of Oak and 

 Chestnut extend to the Himalaya and Indian islands. The 

 order is divided into three tribes as follows : — 



Tribe I. Betulae.—'No, 482. Bread made of 

 Birch bark, from North- west America. 



