78 On Jungle Products used as articles of food, [No. 2, 



Bauhinia Vahlii, W. & A. Chehur B. & H. 



The pods of this gigantic creeper which, passing from tree to tree, 

 forms the festoons peculiar to tropical jungle scenery, are most 

 eagerly sought for by the natives, so much so, indeed, that it was 

 with difficulty that I succeeded in obtaining botanical specimens. 

 They are plucked just before they become ripe ; so that in order to 

 open them, it is necessary to place them in a fire ; on being sufficiently 

 heated, they open with a loud report, and the carpels at once twist 

 into curls which no amount of pressure can remove. The seeds are 

 easily detached and are eaten at once. 



Trapa bispinosa, Roxb. & T. quadrispinosa, Roxb. Singhdrd, 

 B. & H. Punboje, South. 



Both these species of Singlidrd are well known to many Europeans. 

 With the natives they form a favourite article of food. I have frequently 

 seen from 20 to 30 persons, men, women and children groping in a half 

 dried up tank for Singlidrd, Paludinas, and small sluggish fish, which 

 latter are caught by dragging on shore the weed in with they lie 

 concealed. From the produce of a morning's collection of these 

 miscellaneous substances a tarlcdri is made, which is perhaps the only 

 food upon which a family have to subsist for the clay. 



In drawing up the following list, two systems of arrangement were 

 possible, either to enumerate the species under their respective natural 

 orders, or under headings indicating the part of the plant used ; this 

 latter form has been adopted, as it renders the list more accessible 

 to those not familiar with botanical terms. The order in which the 

 species are arranged is approximately that of their relative importance. 



