ON THE PRODUCTS OF THE PEA FAMILY. 311 



purposes, as necklaces, bracelets, &c. The cotyledons or kernels are very 

 bitter, and said to have astringent properties. They are used in India in 

 medicine by the native practitioners, who consider them a powerful tonic ; 

 they are also employed for external use in the cure of hydrocele, pounded 

 and mixed with castor oil. The natives of Amboyna consider them to have 

 anthelmintic properties. The Egyptian women and children use them as 

 amulets against witchcraft and sorcery, while on the Gambia they are 

 employed by the natives for playing a game called " Warree Warree." The 

 leaves are considered to be deobstruent, and the root astringent, and are used 

 as such in Cochin China. The seeds are frequently washed ashore on the 

 Scottish coast, where they are known as Molucca beans, and are said to 

 have germinated after their voyage. 



Poinciana pulckerrima, L. (perhaps the most beautiful bush in 

 the family), is a native of the East Indies, but cultivated in all the 

 tropics. In Jamaica it is called the f Barbados flower fence,' as it makes 

 good ornamental hedges in gardens, from the showy appearance of its varie- 

 gated crimson flowers. The wood is in high estimation for the manufac- 

 ture of charcoal, and a decoction of the leaves and flowers are said to 

 have been successfully employed in fevers in the West Indies. Dr. 

 McFadyen says, " The leaves, when bruised, have a smell resembling that of 

 savine, and the infusion of either them or the flowers, is considered a powerful 

 emenagogue, so as even to bring on abortion. The leaves are also said to 

 be purgative, and to have been used as a substitute for senna." The pods of 

 Coulteria tinctoria, H. & B., are called " Tarra " by the people of Lima, and 

 used by them for making ink. Ccesalpinia coriaria, Willd., a native of the 

 eea shore of St. Domingo, Carthagena, and other parts of the North coast 

 of South America, furnishes the pods known amongst tanners as Divi Divi ; 

 they contain as much as 50 per cent, of tannin, which causes them to be 

 extensively employed for tanning purposes in combination with valonia 

 and oak bark, but rarely alone. It is stated that the amount of pods 

 annually produced by a full grown tree is 100 lbs. weight ; by deducting 

 25 lbs. for seeds and refuse matter, 75 lbs. would be left of good tanning 

 material. The pods are said to contain a large quantity of mucilage, which 

 made them unfit for the dyers use. They are imported into this country 

 in large quantities, chiefly from Maracaibo, Rio de la Hache, and Savanilla, 

 free of duty. Sappan wood is produced by Ccesalpinia Sappan, L., a tree 

 attaining a height of about 40 feet, native of Eastern India, Ceylon, Siam, 

 &c. It is largely used for dyeing, affording a colour similar to that 

 produced by Brazil wood, though not of such good quality, or in such large 

 quantity. It is also extensively employed for a like purpose in India ; a 

 decoction of the wood is there employed as a powerful emenagogue. In 

 Scinde it is known as Bukkum wood. We receive it in large quantities 

 from India and Ceylon. The true names of the plants furnishing Brazil 

 wood and Brazilletto wood seem to be somewhat obscure ; some authors 

 referring the former to Ccesalpinia echinata, Lam., others to C. Cristo, L. ; 

 the first named species (C. echinata) is most probably the plant producing 



