172 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. IX. 



in Dhanvantari Nighant. None of the later writers, such as 

 the compilers of Nighant RatnaJcar ; Udoy Chandra Dutt, of 

 Calcutta ; Dr. Sakharam Arjun, Dr. Pandurang Gopal, and Mr. 

 Govindji Narayan, of Bombay ; Kata Bhat, of Junagadh; and 

 Mr. Wasudeo Ohintamon Baput, of Eatnagiri ; — make any allusion 

 to its abortifacient effects. Mr. Jaikisson Indraji, of Porebunder, how- 

 ever, distinctly says that the bark is used to procure abortion. " It is also 

 used," says he, " as a substitute for Laminaria tents for dilating the 

 05 uteri '." He says that the gum is also abortive. Dr. Dymock says 

 the same thing. So far as I know the gum is inert. It is insoluble in 

 water, and if left in it for some time, swells into a gelatinous mass like 

 gum Tragacanth obtained from Astragalus verus (n&t.ox&.Leguminosce). 

 " Rumphius and Loureiro state," says Dr. Dymock, " that the bark is 

 emmenagogue and even abortifacient. In Bengal half-ounce doses 

 of the bark are said to be used to procure abortion." This would 

 point to the fact that the bark is used internally, i.e., taken by the 

 stomach. Dr. Dymock, in corroborating the statement of Jaikisson, 

 adds a remark that " it is difficult to obtain reliable evidence upon a 

 point of this nature. It would be quite possible to use it as a tent to 

 dilate the os uteri as it is very tough* and swells rapidly when mois- 

 tened." — (Pharmacographia Indica, Vol. I, p. 398). That it swells 

 rapidly it cannot be doubted as the wood is porous. But I doubt if 

 any part of Shegat can be said to be tough except the pericarp of the 

 capsule. The plant is essentially fragile, and in no way can it be said 

 to be tough. Dr. Dymock himself says that the wood of the root is 

 soft and porous, and that the bark of it is thick and soft. The parenchy- 

 matous cells of the bark "are loaded with globules of essential oil" which 

 is highly pungent and very much like the horse-radish oil or mustard oil 

 in its irritating properties. Dr. Dymock observes, however, that il the 

 odour of Moving a oil is distinct from that of mustard and garlic, and 

 more offensive." Dr. Dymock further says that the Moringa bark 

 " contains a white crystalline principle answering to the reactions of 

 an alkaloid." 



My authority for including this tree among the poisonous plants 

 of Bombay is Dr. Norman Chevers. It is on his authority that 



* The italics are mine. — K. K. K. 



