43 



STIje Crcajattrg al 23fltan», 



[alon 



ncan Aloe is a species of agave much like 

 an Aloe in general appearance, but particu- 

 larly distinguished from it by the perianth 

 being adherent to the ovary, or, as it is 

 called, superior. [M. T. M.] 



ALOE, AMERICAN. Agave americana. 

 — FALSE. Agave virginica. 



ALOE r S BEC DE CANNE. (Ft.) Aloe, or 

 Gustcria disticha. — CORXE DE BE'LIER. 

 Aloe arborescens. — LANGUE-DE-CHAT. 

 Aloe or Gasteria lingua and angulata. — 

 POUCE-E'CRASE'. Aloeretusa. 



ALOES-WOOD. The wood of Aloexylon 

 Agallochum. 



ALOEXYLON. The name given to a 

 genus of the pea family (Leguminosa?) 

 which is said to grow on the high moun- 

 tains of Cochin China. There is but one 

 species, A. Agallochum, which is described 

 as being a tree of about sixty feet in height, 

 with simple, alternate, stalked, entire, 

 lanceolate leaves, and terminal panicles 

 of small flowers. The wood of this tree is 

 one of the two woods known as Calambac, 

 Lign-aloes or Eagle-wood. It yields the 

 perfume the most esteemed by Orientals, 

 who apply it to their clothes and apart- 

 ments, and use it in medicine, in the 

 treatment of paralytic affections. The 

 perfume by some is said to originate by 

 the concoction of oily particles into a 

 resin ; which action takes place in the 

 centre of the trunk, and is occasioned by a 

 disease which ultimately causes the death 

 of the tree. This is, however, questioned 

 by others. The wood is very valuable — 

 selling at about 201. per cwt. in Sumatra. It 

 is sometimes used for inlaying in cabinet 

 work. Some of the most precious jewels 

 of East Indian manufacture are set in it ; 

 and, so highly is it prized, that it is con- 

 sidered equal to gold in point of value. 

 The perfume derived from it is thought by 

 some to be alluded to in the Bible, where 

 it is said (Psalm xlv. 8), ' All thy garments 

 smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia.' The 

 wood is said to retain its fragrance for 

 years. Many conflicting statements have 

 been published about this tree, and the 

 Aquilaria Agallocha, which is also called 

 Eagle-wood, and belongs to a very dif- 

 ferent family ; and it is possible that some 

 of the statements above given may apply 

 to the Aquilaria rather than to the plant 

 under consideration, which is, botanieally, 

 almost unknown. [A. A. B.] 



ALONA. A small genus of South Ameri- 

 can Nolanacece, separated from Nolana by 

 having several ovaries,withfrom one to six 

 cells (not five, each of them four-celled, as 

 in Nolana). Mr. Miers restricts the genus 

 Alona to the species with woody stems and 

 fasciculate terete or triquetrous leaves, as 

 he finds that, in the allied genus Sorcma, 

 the way in which the carpels are combined 

 varies in the same genus, and therefore 

 cannot by itself be sufficient to make a 

 generic distinction. The species have 

 large handsome flowers, resembling those 

 of the bindweeds. A. ccelestis is cultivated 



ally evaporated to a firm consistence. The 

 inferior kinds of aloes are prepared by 

 pressing the leaves, when the resinous 

 juice becomes mixed with the mucilagi- 

 nous fluid from the central part of the 

 leaves, and becomes proportionately dete- 

 riorated. In other cases the leaves are cut 

 in pieces and boiled, and the decoction 

 evaporated to a proper consistence. 



The drug is imported in chests, in skins 

 of animals, and sometimes in the cavity of 

 large calabash gourds. It is largely used as 

 a purgative, and in small doses as atonic; 

 the taste is peculiarly bitter and disagreea- 

 ble, though the perfume of the finer sorts, 

 when breathed on, is aromatic, and by no 

 means so offensive as the taste. What is 

 called aloes fibre seems rather to be the 

 produce of an Agave, though it is stated 

 that the negroes of Western Africa make 

 nets and cords of the fibres of various spe- 

 cies of Aloe. 



Many of the species of Aloe are cultivated 

 in this country, being extremely easy to 

 grow, if planted in a dry soil and very 

 little if any water supplied to them in the 

 winter season. The thick leathery skin of 

 the leaves prevents the internal moisture 

 from escaping so readily, hence these 

 plants retain their vitality for a long time 

 under apparently adverse circumstances. 



Aloe ferox. 



Sailors sometimes bring home pieces of 

 Aloe from the West Indies with a tarred 

 cloth tied tightly round the cut end, so as 

 to prevent the escape of the juices. Dr. 

 Pereira mentions having had such a speci- 

 men suspended from the ceiling of his 

 room for two years, and it was still living 

 and growing when he wrote. 

 What is commonly known as the Ame- 



