CXCIII. MOEE.E. 669 



cations. Flogging witli fresh Nettles {Urtica ur&ns and dioica), was formerly frequently resorted. to by 

 doctors to produce a healthy counter-irritation of the skin. This practice, named urticatim, is still suc- 

 cessfully adopted, both in civilized countries and among savages, and especially by the Malays. The large 

 Nettle ( U. dioiod) is good forage for milch cows ; its leaves are eaten as spinach, and given as food to 

 young turkeys. 



From an industrial point of view 'Urtwe<s deserve notice ; their cortical fibres rival in tenacity those 

 of Hemp. Such_is the case with our XJ. dioica, with TJ, cannabina of North-east Asia and Persia, Laportea 

 canadensis of North America, and especially the Cliina Grass, Scehmeria nivea (Tchoit^ma of the Chinese, 

 Ramie of the Isles of Sunda), of which there are perhaps two species ; its fibres are as remarkable for 

 whiteness and silkiness as for tenacity. [5. Pu^a, of the Himalayas, is similarly used.] Though 

 but lately used extensively, the China Grass has been in use ever since the sixteenth century in the 

 Netherlands. [Its culture is now extended into India and various British colonies. Laportea crenutata, 

 of North India, at certain seasons emits when bruised so irritant an efiluvia as to cause a copious flow of 

 saliva and mucus from the nose and eyes for many hours, and its stinging hairs have produced violent 

 fevers. A Timor species of Urtica is said to have caused death. The leaves of many UiiicecB are eaten 

 cooked in the Himalayas, as are the tuberous roots of Pouzolzia tuberosa in India.] 



CXCIII. 310REJE. 



(MoEB^ ET Artooaepe^, EndUcher.) 



Flowers diclinous. Perianth single, imbricate, sometimes 0. Ovary 1-celled; 

 STYLES 1-2 ; OVULE solitary, basilar and orthotropous, or parietal and campylotropous, 

 or oMatropous. Aohene, drupe, or utricle. Albumen fleshy, or 0. Embryo curved 

 or straight, axile; radicle superior. — Leaves alternate; stipules fugacious. Juice 



Trees or shrubs, sometimes climbing, witli milky juice, rarely stemless herbs 

 [Borstenia] . Leaves alternate, undivided or lobed, often polymorphous ; stipules 

 usually convolute and enveloping the terminal bud, persistent or deciduous, and 

 usually leaving a semi-annular scar. Flowers diclinous ; either dioecious, the $ in 

 small spicate cymes, the 9 capitate on a globose receptacle {Broussonetia, Madura), 

 or monoecious ; sometimes in spikes, $ and ? distinct (Mulberry) ; sometimes lining 

 the inner surface of a hollow pyriform fleshy receptacle which is furnished at the 

 base with scaly bracteoles, and at the top with an orifice closed by scales, the $ above, 

 ? below (Fig) ; sometimes covering a flat or cupped receptacle, the S and $ inter- 

 mixed and sunk in pits with laciniate edges [Borstenia). — $ : Perianth single 

 (calyx), imbricate, 4-partite {Morus, Maclwrtt, Broussonetia, &c.) or 3-partite [Ficus, 

 Artocarpus, &c.) or {Borstenia, Brosimum, &c.), sometinies more or less tubular 

 {Pourouma, Gecropia). Stamens usually isostemonous, opposite to the calyx-lobes 

 and inserted at their base, usually 4, rarely 3 (Ficus), sometimes 2 or more (Bor- 

 stenia) ; filaments filiform or subulate, smooth or transversely wrinkled, usually in- 

 flexed in aestivation, then spreading, a little longer than the sepals, usually free, 

 rarely connate (Pourouma) ; anthers introrse or extrorse, usually 2-celled, ovoid or 

 sub-globose, dorsifixed, erect or incumbent, dehiscence longitudinal ; rarely peltate 



