160 JOURNAL, BOMB A Y NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. IX. 



" Another kind of oil of Ben, said to be obtained from the seeds of 

 Moringa aptera, yields by saponification four fixed fatty acids, viz., 

 stearic acid, margaric acid, and two peculiar acids, benic and* and 

 moringic acid (Walter, Compt. Rend. XXII, 1143)." 



With regard to the fragile nature of the young branches of this tree, 

 the late Mr. Govindji Narayan, who spent his valuable life in enrich- 

 ing the Marathi literature with original, entertaining and instructive 

 works, and whose graphic descriptive power no Marathi writer of his 

 day, except the renowned Rao Saheb Mahadeo Govind Shastri 

 Kolhatkar, ever surpassed, if any equalled, makes the following remarks 

 in his Vriksh Varnan (Description of Plants) : — " The Shevga tree is 

 so fragile that even by an ordinary violent wind its branches break. 

 The tree is sometimes so overloaded with capsules that the branches 

 break even by the very weight of the fruit." Mr. Govindji also notes 

 that the trees which grow in the Bassein Prant afford fruit which is 

 excellent eating ; that they grow in any kind of soil, and do not require 

 any special care. He corroborates my observation that the trees flower 

 all throughout the year. He describes the flowers as being white. 

 Another indigenous writer, who appears to be well informed in Indian 

 plants, Raghunathji Indraji of Junagadh, who is popularly known as 

 Kata Bhat, in his Nighant Sungraha (1893, p. 320) makes the 

 following observations regarding the Shegat plant : — " The flowers are 

 white, red, or greenish. The white-flowered variety is the most com- 

 mon. Its green bark is very pungent, and has the smell of powdered 

 mustard. The juice of the bark yields an oil. Both the juice and 

 the oil are used externally to reduce swellings and enlarged glands." 

 Mr. Vasudev C. Bapat, another writer, a resident of the Ratnagiri Dis- 

 trict, recognizes only one variety of Slievga. ( Vanaushadhi Pralcask, 

 Vol. II, page 419). 



Moringa pterygosperma as a member of the phanerogamia is a plant 

 of very great interest. In the classification of plants it has been 

 difficult for botanists to assign this plant its proper place. It has 

 ever been a puzzle under what natural order to class it. In the days 



*N.B.— Benic acid is a name applied to two different fatty acids, both obtained 

 from oil of ben, the one by Volcker, the other by Walter. For distinction, Volcker's 

 acid which has the higher melting point, may be called the benostearic acid and 

 Walter's benornargaric acid. 



