370 PRODUCTS OF THE PEA FAMILY. 



attaining a height of from thirty to forty feet, and is covered with spines 

 or thorns, as are many of the Acacias. The sap-wood is yellow, and the 

 heart-wood dark-red ; it is from this part of the plant the Catechu is 

 obtained. The wood, after being cut into small chips, is boiled, and the 

 liquid evaporated, and when of sufficient consistence, poured into earthern 

 moulds. The wood is most productive during the month of January, and 

 useless in June. Catechu is largely employed by tanners, and also as an 

 astringent in medicine ; it arrives in this country either in baskets or bales, 

 and sometimes in large balls enveloped in leaves, that in greatest esteem is 

 said to be derived from Pegu, which fetches a much higher price than the 

 other sorts. In India, Catechu is used by the natives, mixed with oils, to 

 preserve the woodwork of their houses against the ravages of the white 

 ants. From the flowers of Acacia farnesiana, Willd., a choice and delicious 

 perfume is obtained, the chief ingredient in one of the most valued hand- 

 kerchief-scents. The tree grows in all parts of India, where a gum exudes 

 from the stem in large quantities. The wood is hard and durable, and 

 much used where strength is required. 



The pods of .4. concinna, D.C., are largely employed in India by the natives 

 for washing, in the same manner that they use soap-nuts. The leaves are used 

 for culinary purposes, having an agreeable acid taste, somewhat resembl- 

 ing the tamarind. A. sundra, D.C., furnishes an astringent extract similar 

 to that yielded by A. Catechu. The tree produces a durable timber, in great 

 estimation among the natives for house-building purposes. Several other 

 species of this genus, as A. stipulata, D.C., A. speciosa, Willd., A. odoratissima, 

 Willd., produce woods more or less valued in India, for furniture and house- 

 work. From the bark of Acacia leucophcea, Willd., the natives procure a 

 coarse fibre, which they convert into cordage, fishing-nets, &c; this bark 

 also yields, by distillation, a kind of spirit resembling arrack ; the same may 

 be said of A. ferruginea, D.C., and A. myriophylea, Grah., an intoxicating 

 liquor being procured from the bark of both these species. In Tasmania, 

 the seeds of A. Sophera are eaten by the natives, who cook them by roasting 

 the pods while the seeds are still in them. The pods of A. nilotica are 

 astringent, and are emplo3 r ed in Egypt for tanning, under the name of "-Neb- 

 Neb ;" they have been seen in the English markets, but have not found a 

 great demand. A. arborea, Willd., produces a strong and durable wood in 

 Jamaica, it much resembles mahogany in appearance, and takes a good 

 polish. From the seeds of A. niopo, Humb., the Guahibo Indians at the 

 Maypures, in Colombia, prepare a snuff, which they call Niope snuff. The 

 mode of preparation is by roasting the seeds, and pounding them in a platter 

 with a wooden pestle. The box or mull for containing this snuff, is com- 

 posed of the bone of a tiger, closed at one end with pitch ; this is worn hung 

 round the neck. The snuff is taken into the nostrils with the aid of two 

 small hollow bones (the bones of a bird), united into one tube below, while 

 at the upper ends are fixed two palm seeds with holes bored through them, 

 corresponding with the size of the tubes ; these ends are applied to the nostrils, 

 the single end slipped into the mull, and the snuff so drawn from it. 



