Cycads. 251 



of Hamburgh, and one or two other continental gardens, there 

 are likewise good collections. 



There is a great and general partiality on the Continent for 

 the commoner kinds of cycads which are grown for decorative 

 purposes. In many of the small nursery gardens round Dresden, 

 Cycas revoluta was, a few years ago, extensively cultivated; 

 whole hothouses were devoted to numerous specimens of this 

 one plant, and it would appear to be a profitable business the 

 growing of these plants, for it is a very general practice for the 

 mourners at a funeral to carry fronds of this plant in their 

 hands when following a departed friend to the grave. The 

 custom originated, it is said, among the Jews, but is not now 

 confined to them. They are well adapted to the purpose, being 

 somewhat rigid and yet gracefully curved, and as the pinnae are 

 numerous, narrow, and thickly crowded together, they have 

 somewhat the appearance of green feathers on a large scale. 

 The resemblance of the fronds of cycads to those of palms has 

 led to their being substituted for them in many Roman Catholic 

 countries where palm branches cannot be obtained, and they 

 are often carried in processions on Palm Sunday. In New 

 South Wales the fronds of Macrozamia are generally used for 

 this purpose. 



Cycads have their economic uses, too, and are therefore 

 looked upon as valuable plants in some.- of their native countries. 

 Thus we find that from the nuts of Cycas circwudis, L., which is 

 very abundant in many of the East Indian forests, especially in 

 Malabar and Cochin, a kind of sago is prepared. For this 

 purpose the nuts or seeds are exposed to the heat of the sun for 

 a few weeks to dry, the kernels are then taken out and pounded 

 in a mortar. This flour is extensively used by the forest tribes 

 and poorer classes of the natives in various parts of India and 

 Ceylon. This plant grows also in the Fiji Islands, but not very 

 plentifully ; a kind of sago is there prepared from the pith of 

 the stem, but on account of the comparative scarceness of the 

 plant it is not an article of general use, and is used only by the 

 chiefs and their guests. From this species a clear transparent 

 gum-resin exudes, which hardens by exposure to the sun and 

 much resembles gum tragacanth in appearance. This gum in 

 India has the repute of being a good antidote for snake bites, 

 and is also used for ulcers of all descriptions. 



The genus Macrozamia has a wide distribution in Australia. 

 The nuts of Macrozamia spiralis form an articlo of food in times 

 of scarcity ; they have, however, little to recommend them, and 

 unless properly prepared are apt to produce unpleasant effects 

 upon the system. This can be obviated by first steeping the 

 nuts in water and then roasting them. A quantity of gum, 

 resembling tragacanth both in substance and appearance, is 



