APPENDIX. 



693 



tree, as in the case of the plants producing caout- 

 chouc. A single tree yields about 20 or SO lbs. of 

 gutta percha. The substance was made known only 

 in 1845 ; its uses are already innumerable. The an- 

 nual imports into Great Britain are about 1000 tons 

 a-year. — For other figures, see Index or List of 

 Plates. 



PLATES XXVII.— XXX. 



PLANTS USED AS FOOD. 

 For page of description, see Index or List of Plates. 



PLATES XXXI., XXXII. 



PLANTS TJ.SED IN DYHINe. 

 For page of description, see Index or List of Plates. 



PLATES XXXIII., XXXIV. 



PLANTS USED IN CLOTHING AND COBDAGE. 

 GoMMUTl-PALM {Araiga saccharifera). The sub- 

 stance named gommuti, used for cordage, canvas, 

 and other economical purposes, is a fibre produced 

 by the splitting or decay of the leaf-stalks of this 

 palm . The fibres are stiff and deficient in elasticity, 

 preventing it from being much in request for cordage 

 in this country, where only small quantities of them 

 are received. Piassava-palm (Atialea funifera), 

 piassava, pia^aba, monkey-grass, or para-gi-ass, is a 

 fibre produced by this palm in a similar manner to 

 the gommuti, namely, by the separation of the leaf- 

 stalks or petioles, which are of great length, often 

 nearly twenty feet. The fibres are about the thick- 

 ness of a fash, round, and not very flexible, so that 

 they are neither woven nor spun in this countiy, 

 but are much used in making brashes and brooms. 

 The coquilla-nut is the fruit of the same palm. — SuN, 

 shunum, taag, or Bengal hemp, is the fibre of Crota- 

 lai-ia jwncea (p. 420), a legimiinous plant of India, 

 resembling om- broom. JuiB (CorcJioriis capsiilaris), 

 p. 420. The fibre of this plant, which belongs to 

 the Linden tribe, has of late years become so gener- 

 ally used, that it now rivals flax and hemp in its im- 

 portance as a commercial pi-oduct. — For other figures, 

 see Index or List of Plates. 



PLATE XXXV. 



vegetable poisons. 

 Jithusmm cynapmm, fool's-parsley ; leaves poi- 

 sonous. Arum maculatum, cuckoo-pint, or wake- 

 robin; tubers amylaceous, stimulant, diaphoretic, and 

 expectorant ; juice acrid, poisonous ; produces Port- 

 land sago when fi-eed from the acrid juice. Bryonia 

 alba, wliite bryony ; root acrid and purgative ; cath- 

 artic. Chelidonium majus, greater or common celan- 

 dine ; juice acrid, stimulating, aperient, diuretic, 

 and sudorific. 



PLATE XXXVL 



vegetable poisons. 

 Aconitum napellus, wolf's-bane, or monk's-hood; 

 narcotico-acrid ; a spirituous infusion of the root has 

 proved fatal to human life. Atro2m belladonna, 

 deadly nightshade or dwale; a dangerous narcotic. 

 Solanum dtdcamara, woody nightshade or bitter- 



sweet ; berries bitter and poisonous ; plant narcotic 

 and diaphoietic. Datma Stramonium, common 

 thorn-apple ; violent narcotic poison. 



PLATE XXXVII. 



vegetable poisons. 

 Coniummaculatum, hemlock; powerfully narcoticO" 

 acrid, Hyoscyamus niger, black henbane; strongly 

 narcotic. Lactuca virosa, poisonous lettuce ; narco- 

 tic. Colchicmn autumnale, autumnal meadow- 

 saffron ; a narcotico-acrid poison ; used as an anthel- 

 mintic. 



PLATE XXXVIIL 



vegetable poisons. 

 Ranunculv^ alpcstris, alpine white crowfoot ; 

 acrid. Agaricus mvscarius, fly-blown mushroom 

 (named also Amanita muscaria), one of the most 

 poisonous of our fungi. It is narcotic and intoxi- 

 cating, and in Kamschatka is used in the same man- 

 ner as ardent spirits. Sigitali'i pwrpurea, pui-ple 

 foxglove ; diuretic, narcotic. HelUborus niger, black 

 hellebore, or Christmas rose, same natural order as 

 Kanunculus; characterized generally by acridity, caus- 

 ticity, and poison. 



PLATE XXXIX., XL. 



pnuiTS and nuts. 

 Fig. 6. — Sapucaya, Sapucaia, or Zabucajo nut (the 

 produce of Lecytliis ollaria), and known by the name 

 of monkey -pot, the seeds being much relished by these 

 animals. Fig. 1, — Brazil, Juvia, Castanha, or Para 

 nut (the fruit of BerthoUtia exceUa), of which also 

 the monkey is very fond, and will hammer the capsule 

 for hours together with a stone, in order to get at the 

 inclosed nuts. — For other figures, see Index or Liit 

 of Plates. 



PLATE XLI. 

 AUSTRALIAN THEES AND SHRUBS. 

 Australian trees as well as shrubs are perennial 

 evergreens. Hence the forests of that vast island are 

 verdant with foliage all the year round. There is 

 no autumnal fall of the leaf; consequently there is 

 scarcely any soil formed in the woods by decayed 

 leaves. As there is no general denudation of leaves 

 from the branches in winter, so, when spring comes 

 round, no universal budding takes place, to renew the 

 charms of that season, as in European forests. The 

 well-known American expression, "fall of the year," 

 which is derived from its deciduous vegetation, is in 

 this southern region inapplicable. There is a stereo- 

 typed aspect, if we may so term it, about Australian 

 forest scenery, so that its general effect upon tlio 

 mind is that of monotony. This impression is like- 

 wise assisted by the sombre gieen colour of the fo- 

 liage, caused by the dark tint of the chlorophyll that 

 constitutes the coloiuing matter of the leaves. Al- 

 though the country is open and gi'assy, and the cli- 

 mate clear and sunny, yet there are no warm green 

 hues in the forest landscape in spring, nor the rich 

 glowing tints of autumn. A universal sombrenoss 

 would thus prevail, were these effects not consider- 



