56 POPULAR ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



suffer severe excoriation of the lips and tongue. Like many 

 other noxious vegetable secretions however, heat destroys the 

 acridity of the Cashew-nut husk ; it is therefore roasted be- 

 fore being eaten, and in that state is a great delicacy. The 

 tree producing this nut is of considerable size, with very 

 small flowers ; its most remarkable feature is, that the disc 

 of the flower to which the nut is attached continues to grow 

 after the flower has fallen, until it is of considerable size, 

 giving the appearance of a kidney-shaped nut growing out 

 of a large-sized fruit ; this enlarged fruit-like disc is used 

 as a fruit, and its juice is fermented into a kind of wine in 

 the West Indies. 



The Marking- Nut. Semecarpus Anacardium. 



This belongs to the same Natural Order as the preceding, 

 and is closely allied to it ; it is however very different in 

 shape and colour, being somewhat like a tamarind-stone, 

 but rather longer, with a whitish scar at the base, marking 

 its place of attachment to the receptacle. It has the same 

 marked division of the pericarp into three parts ; the inter- 

 mediate one is fluid, of a remarkably fine black colour, and 

 is used extensively as a black varnish, for which purpose it 

 is principally imported, although when roasted the nuts are 

 as sweet as those of the cashew, but too small to repay the 



