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leaves, Some of the economie uses described under Musa Ensete 
may, however, refer to other, but very closely allied, species. 
In India the dried petiole of the plantain is used without further 
prepacstiun for tying fences, íraining the betel vine to its support, 
nd for numerous other purposes as a rough kind of twine, and the 
pem parts are made into little square boxes for holding snuff. drugs, 
&e. In the Archipelago the trunk is cut into several pieces, which 
serve as hearths during festivities in the open air, and in Siam it is used 
for clarifying sugar. ‘The leaves are much used for packing all sorts of 
small goods in the bazaars, and are also employed as plates, being sold ` 
for this purpose for from 1 to 3 es each. Mig dry EI are em- 
ployed by shop-keepers much as brown paper is in Europe. They are 
also used for making mats, and as thatch for fallen huts. In Central 
America “the mats which the poorer classes have to sleep upon are 
made from fibre of the plantain.’ In the Malay peninsula the fresh 
leaves are employed as a water-proof covering for the earthen pots or 
amboo, in which rice is steamed. The ash of the leaf and the leaf 
stalk, rich in alkaline pii is used ins miad of country soap or fuller’s 
earth in washing clothe 
A solution of the ash T frequently employed instead of salt in cooking 
vegetable os &e. The renti and tops of young plants are also 
occasionally eaten as a. vegetable, and are given as fodder to sheep and 
ca o Sitet sheaths fae a valuable fodder for elephants. The 
central portion of the stem and a root-stock are said to be given to 
cattle to increase the quantity of m 
Dr. ot mock found a sweet hare jelly-like manna exuding from 
the stem of Musa superba. This when dried at a low temperature 
yielded 82-3 per cent. of fermentable sugar. 
urz mentions that “ the skin of the plantain is generally used by the 
servants in Dutch India for blackening their masters’ shoes.” The 
watery juice which flows from all cut parts of the banana is rich in 
tannin, and it is of such a blackening nature as to be fit for being used 
as an nee marking ink, the marks becoming black and visible only 
after w * One ra rarely emerges from the cloudy regions of Java 
(where "s undergrowth is chiefly composed of wild bananas) without 
= 
exudes from the farrell parts of the banana plants. With t 
addition of iron it rapidly becomes black like ink.” 
Kurz further adds: “The djantongs, or sterile flower-cones hanging 
at the end of the scape, of most varieties are used in sayurs and 
curries, and so also are the flowers themselves in some parts of India. 
Junghuhn describes a wild plant called the wax banana of Java, the 
leaves of which are covered on the underside with a minute white 
powder. The Javanese scrape this meal together, melt it over a fire, 
and produce a valuable wax. The wax thus obtained becomes very 
clear, hard, and whitish, and forms an important article of trade in 
middle Java. Bleaching renders it very white. One banana tree (with 
seven leaves) yields two ounces of wax. As there are thousands and 
honid of plants NS overlarge areas the preparation of the wax is 
a remunerative enterpri 
Dye and Tan. Ehe. des of the leaves, the stem, and the peel or 
fruit rind are employed, according to McCann, in many o of the dyeing 
processes practised in Bengal. ‘The latter is also used as a tan and for 
blackening leather. The sap stains cloth a dark, almost black colour, 
which is fairly permanent, is very difficult to wash out, and on that 
account may be employed as a substitute for Uu ink. 
