ANACARDIACEiE. 



95 



The fruit of the R. glat)ra is used hy the Thompsonian practitioners 

 as a reined V for cauker, sore mouth aud throat. 'I'he wood and fruit uf 

 the other species are used for dyes aud iuks. The juice of H. ioxicodeu- 

 drou produces an indelible ink. K. venenata is very poisonous, causing an 

 inflamed eruption of the skin. K. Toxicodendron jjroduces similar effects of 

 a milder character. 



]\/arts. — About ten million pounds are carried from the continent to Great 

 Britain annually. It sells for four dollars a hundred. 



ANACARDIUM, W. (Cashew Nut.) Calyx 5-toothed ; corolla 

 5-parted ; .stamens 5, styles 8. Fruit a kidney-shaped or heart- 

 shaped nut, on the end of a pear-shaped, fleshy peduncle, which is 

 edible. 



Anacardicm occidentale (Cashew Nut). 



A. occidentale, W. Trunk branching a few feet from the ground, ramify- 

 ing into a beautiful second-class tree. Leaves eUiptical, green, leathery, alter- 

 nate, obcordate, or deeply 

 eraarginate. Flowers in a 

 loose corymbose panicle, red 

 and fragrant. Fruit of the 

 size aud somewhat of the 

 shape of a rabbit's kidney. 



Geograph}/. — The Ana- 

 cardium is a native of the 

 cropical regions of both 

 Asia and America ; flour- 

 ishes in Jamaica, and is 

 cultivated for its fruit, and 

 also used in planted grounds 

 for ornament in that island. 



EtyTHoloiiy. — Anucar- 

 ilhim, the generic name, is 



from the Greek avd, like, and KapSia, heart, heart-shaped, due to the form of 

 the fruit. Occidentale is the Latin word for west, or belonging to tlie western 

 continent. 



Use. — The fleshy stem or the apple is eaten as it is plucked from the tree; 

 it has a slight acid taste, and an agreeable flavor. The juice produces a deli- 

 cate wine; the wine distilled produces a liquor far superior to rum, used for 

 disease of the kidneys, and for a beverage, in mixing punches, etc. The dried 

 and broken kernels are used for flavoring Madeira wine. 



The cotyledons are inclosed by a double covering, or by two separate shells ; 

 between these shells a thick oily substance forms, which is inflammable. 

 It is also very caustic and blisters the skin. For this reason it has been 

 applied by practitioners for eating away corns, ulcers, ringwornis, and even 

 cancers. 



The kernels, wlien fresh, are eaten raw; they are also used for making 

 puddings, and tliey form an ingredient in custards, etc. When older, the 

 nut is roasted and eaten as chestnuts are ; it is also roasted and ground with 

 cocoa in the manufacture of chocolate. By tapping, a milky juice is also 

 obtained, which makes an indelible black ink. A gum, \\hich i)os.se.s.><es the 

 character of gum arabic, is also obtained by wouuds uiade iu the bark. 



