THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. 477 
Lac and Dragon’s Blood come at call, with Brazil-wood, 
Brasiletto, Camwood, Sappan-wood, and Red-sanders. 
Besides, in India, there are fine yellow dyes from several 
Buteas, and in Japan from a large tree (nameless to us), 
while we may have almost as good from the Woodwaxen. 
If we seek perfumes we shall not go far astray. Tonka- 
beans, Lign-aloes, Calambac, Balsam of Peru, Balsam 
Tolu, and Acacia-flowers, are ready representatives in 
this department. The tanner needs little help from any 
other tribe if he only have this. The Acacias, Bauhinias, 
and Cassias give their bark, and Prosopis its pods for 
his purpose, and they fairly dispute precedence with the 
Oak and Sumach. In gums they rule the world. Gum 
Arabic, Tragacanth, Senegal, Animi, Brazilian Copal, 
and Kino attest this. And yet in drugs their precedence 
_ is greater still. Liquorice comes here, with Manna, Sen- 
na, Cowhage, Fenugreek, Copaiva, and Catechu, and 
perhaps a hundred more might be added. If we like to 
study poisons, we might get a large selection of speci- 
mens here ; in fact, there is a suspicious character, a kind 
of royal treachery, underlying the whole group. The 
beautiful scarlet seeds sold in the shops for beads, and 
called by the children “ Black-eyed Susans,” are reported 
as highly poisonous; certain wild plants of this family 
once killed whole flocks of sheep in the Swan River Col- 
ony; and others are common fish-poisons in Jamaica. 
Indigo is by some pronounced to be deadly, but others 
dispute the point seriously. There are not, perhaps, 
many of these hurtful products that appear as known 
drugs, but they are none the less present. The seeds of 
various Sweet Peas bave been used in Europe during 
famine, with such evil effect that they had to be inter- 
dicted by government. The Coronillas, common in gar- 
a 
