42 POPULAR ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



The Tamarind. Tamarindus Indica. (Nat. Ord. Legu- 

 minosce.) (Plate IV. fig. 15.) 



Originally a native of India, this useful fruit has been in- 

 troduced to the West Indies and South America, where it is 

 extensively cultivated. In tropical countries its agreeable 

 sub-acid pulp is highly esteemed for its cooling qualities ; 

 in this country, though now often used as a preserve, it is 

 more generally employed to form medicinal cooling drinks. 



We always receive the tamarind preserved, either with or 

 without sugar, and with its outer covering removed. When 

 perfect, the pulp is enclosed in a dry brittle brown pod, 

 from three to four inches in length; when removed, the 

 thick pulp is held, together with the hard brown seeds, by a 

 number of thick root-like fibres, which penetrate it in all 

 directions ; the seeds themselves are enclosed in thin tough 

 membranes (endocarps). The East Indian tamarinds are 

 usually darker, and contain more pulp, than those from the 

 West Indies; the former are usually preserved without 

 sugar, but those from the West Indies are more agreeable, 

 being preserved generally in a thick syrup. We are in- 

 debted for this fruit to the Arabians, who gave the name 

 from tamar, signifying fruit, and Indus, its native country. 

 Immense quantities arrive from the East and West Indies, 



