bass] 



QLT)Z Ereatfurg at SSfltattD. 



128 



Bassia trees are threatened to be cut down 

 by the invading force, and the threat most 

 commonly ensures the submission of the 

 tribes.' — {Gibson.') 



The flowers of B. longifolia are roasted 

 and eaten in Malabar and Coromandel ; they 

 are also bruised and boiled to a jelly. The 

 leaves as well as the milky juice of the un- 

 ripe fruit are used medicinally. The bark 

 contains a gummy juice which exudes and 

 is used in rheumatism; the bark itself is 

 likewise employed as an astringent, and as 

 a remedy for the cure of the itch. The 

 seeds furnish an oil like that of the other 

 kinds, but of an inferior quality. 



The Shea tree or Butter tree of Africa, 

 whose seeds produce the Galam butter, 

 mentioned by Mungo Park in his travels, 

 is a species of this genus, B. Parkii, or of 

 the closely allied one, Lucuma. The seeds 

 are boiled in water to extract the butter 

 from them. This fatty substance is of a 

 white colour.and agreeable taste, and keeps 

 well, hence it is an important article of 

 commerce in Sierra Leone. Some of the 

 species of this interesting genus are in 

 cultivation. [M. T. M.] 



BASSIN D'OR. (Fr.) Ranunculus repens. 



BASSINET. (Fr.) Ranunculus repens. 



BASSORA GUM. A partially soluble 

 gum of uncertain origin, supposed to be 

 the produce of a Cactus or Mesembryan- 

 themum. 



BASS-WOOD. The American Lime or 

 Linden, Tilia americana. 



BAST A strong woody fibre, much used 

 for brooms, brushes, &c, obtained from 

 the leaf-stalks of Attalea funifera, and of 

 Leopoldinia Piassaba. Also, the inner bark 

 of the lime tree, of which the Russian mats 

 used in gardens, are made. — , CUBA. The 

 fibrous inner bark of Paritium elatum, 

 much used for tying up cigars, and in 

 gardens for tying plants, as also is the 

 bast of the lime tree. 



BATARRB A. A genus of Fungi allied to 

 the puffballs. Its most striking character- 

 istics are a thick gelatinous volva, a tall 

 risid stem, and a hemispherical cap-shaped 

 peridium. Some of the filaments, more- 

 over, have a spiral structure, a very rare 

 circumstance amongst Fungi. The British 

 species is extremely rare, and occurs on 

 sandhills, for the most part near the sea, or 

 amongst the vegetable soil in hollow trees. 

 The habit is that of Phallus, and the volva 

 with its intermediate gelatinous coat is 

 precisely the same. The early stage of this 

 plant has not been observed since the true 

 structure of the hymenium in the higher 

 fungi has been ascertained; but there 

 can be little doubt that it resembles that 

 of the true puffballs. [M. J. B.] 



BATATE. (Fr. - ) Batatas 

 Convolvulus Batcttas. 



formerly 



BATATAS. A genus of Bindweeds (Con- 

 volvulacem), of which about twenty species 

 are described, mostly natives of tropical 



America. They are creeping or twining, 

 herbaceous or shrubby plants. Their 

 flowers have a bell-shaped corolla, en- 

 closing the stamens, and a four-celled 

 ovary, with a single style and a two-lobed 

 capitate stigma. 



The most interesting species is B. edulis, 

 the tuberous roots of which, under the name 

 of Sweet Potato, are extensively used in 

 many warm countries in the same way 

 that we use common potatoes. The plant 

 has a creeping or sometimes twining stem 

 five or six feet long, and either running 

 along the ground, or rambling over other 

 shrubs. Its leaves are about six inches 

 long and heart-shaped at the base ; and its 

 flowers resemble those of the common 

 Convolvulus, of a pale purple colour, and 

 arranged in threes or fours on a stalk. 

 This plant has been so long cultivated and 

 naturalised in various tropical countries, 

 that its precise origin is somewhat obscure, 

 but probably it is indigenous to both hemi- 

 spheres. The first mention of it is said to 

 be by an author named Pigafetta, who 

 went to Brazil in 1519, and found it in use 

 among the Indians as an article of food. 

 It was soon afterwards introduced into 

 Spain, where it is still cultivated. ' The 

 roots were known in England before the 

 introduction of the common potato, with 

 which they were frequently confounded 

 by early writers. They were imported in 

 considerable quantities from Spain and 

 the Canary Islands, and, when steeped in 

 wine, or made into SAveetmeats, were sup- 

 posed to have the effect of restoring 

 decaying vigour. At the present day 

 sweet potatoes are largely cultivated in 

 many tropical and sub-tropical countries; 

 such for instance as India, China, Japan, 

 the Malayan Archipelago, &c, in the east ; 

 and in the west, very generally throughout 

 tropical America, also in Texas, Alabama, 

 Carolina, and other Southern States of 

 America, extending even as far north as 

 New York, where, however, they are not 

 found to be a profitable crop : they are also 

 grown to a small extent in the south of 



Batatas edulis. 



Europe, and more extensively in the 

 Canary Islands, Madeira, and North Africa. 

 There are several varieties, some having 



