SACRED PLANTS OF INDIA. ^ — BARBOUR. XXXVll 



them, for they afford good shade as well as a most nourishing 

 fruit. The unripe fruits are made into sherbets, pickles, chutnies. 

 The stone or kernel contains tannic acid and turpentine and the 

 pulp of the ripe fruit gallic acid, and gum in traces. The 

 Am C'hur which is ver}^ popular amongst Indian native troops is 

 a valuable anti-scorbutic. This form of the fruit is that of the 

 green mangoes dried, skinned and stoned, cut into pieces. Half 

 an ounce of this is said to be ecjual to an ounce of good lime juice. 

 Mango food is a favorite diet with Europeans, just as gooseberry 

 food is at home, and in my opinion it has a very strong resemblance 

 in flavour. 



I now come to the plants sacred to the Hosts of Heaven, by 

 which we mean the nine regents of the planets and eclipses, and 

 these give their names to the days of the week, and I give them 

 as they may prove interesting to readers of the article generally. 

 Eair, the sun regent, Sunday. Soma, the regent of the moon, 

 Monday. Mangala, Tuesday. Buda, regent of Mercury, the author 

 of a hymn in the Eig-veda, Wednesday. Brihapati, Thursday. 

 Sukra, Friday. Sani, Saturday. Eahu and Ketu, eclipses. 



To these Hosts of Heaven are sacred the : 



Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis, Butea frvndosa. Acacia Catechu, 

 Ficus religiosa (already described), Ficus glomeraf\us, Poa 

 cynosiiroides. 



Flihiscus Eosa-Sinensis, A'ern. "Jasud.'' Shoe flower. The 

 different varieties of Hibiscus are numerous in India and form 

 beautiful shrubs and useful vegetables, and all are more or less 

 formed on one type, that of a variety of mallow, to which natural 

 o]-der they belong. The above is probably better known as the 

 China rose and is common in gardens in India and I believe is to 

 bo found in different parts of America and elsewhere, and so will 

 be more or less generally known to your readers It is a rather 

 pretty plant and the flowers are used in various disorders But I 

 wonder if anyone of your readers know that an oil is made by 

 mixing the juice of the fresh petals with olive oil in equal parts 

 and boiling till the water is evaporated is useful as a stimulating 

 application to the hair. Possibly some ladies may care to know of 

 a new hair wash or ^a hair producer. Anyhow the natives out 



