furnishes a good fiber, which is utilized in the manufacture of ropes. A 

 decoction of the leaves is a reputed cure for snake bites. The whole plant 

 is very bitter. 

 83. Arai/ia PAPYMFERA. — The Chinese rice paper plant. The stems are filled with 

 pith of very fine texture and white as snow, from which is derived the article 

 known as rice paper, much used in preparing artificial flowers. 



39. Araucaria bidwilli. — The Bunya-Bunya of Australia, which forms a large tree, 



reaching from 150 to 200 feet in height. The cones are very large, and con- 

 tain one hundred to one hundred and fifty seeds, which are highly prized 

 by the aborigines as food. They are best when roasted in the shell, cracked 

 between two stones and eaten while hot. In flavor they resemble roasted 

 chestnuts. During the season of the ripening of these seeds the natives grow 

 sleek and fat. That part of the country where these trees most abound is 

 called the Bunya-Bunya country. 



40. Araucaria brasiliensis. — The Brazilian Araucaria, which grows at great ele- 



vations. The seeds of this tree are commonly sold in the markets of Rio 

 Janeiro as an article of food. The resinous matter which exudes from the 

 trunk is employed in the manufacture of candles. 



41. Araucaria cunninghami. — The Morton Bay pine. This Australian tree forms 



a very straight trunk, and yields a timber of much commercial importance 

 in Sidney and other ports. It is chiefly used for house building and some of 

 the heavier articles of furniture. 



42. Araucaria excelsa. — This very elegant evergreen is a native of Norfolk 



Island. Few plants can compare with it in beauty and regularity of growth. 

 The wood is of no particular value, although used for building purposes in 

 Norfolk Island. 



43. Ardisia crenata. — A native of China. The bark has tonic and astringent 



properties, and is used in fevers and for external application in the cure of 

 ulcers, etc. 



44. Areca catechu. — This palm is cultivated in all the warmer parts of Asia for 



its seed. This is known under the name of betel nut, and is about the size of 

 a nutmeg. The chewing of these nuts is a common practice of hundreds of 

 thousands of people. The nut is cut into small pieces, mixed with a small 

 quantity of lime, and rolled up in leaves of the betel pepper. The pellet is 

 chewed, and is hot and acrid, but possesses aromatic and astringent proper- 

 ties. It tinges the saliva red and stains the teeth. The practice is considered 

 beneficial rather than otherwise, just as chewing tobacco-leaves, drinking al- 

 cohol, and eating chicken-salad are considered healthful practices in some 

 portions of the globe. A kind of catechu is obtained by boiling down the 

 seeds to the consistence of an extract, but the chief supply of this drug is Aca- 

 cia catechu. 



45. Argania sideroxylon. — This is the argan tree of Morocco. It is remarkable 



for its low-spreading mode of growth. Trees have been measured only 16 

 feet in height, while the circumference of the branches was 220 feet. The 

 fruit is much eaten and relished by cattle. The wood is hard and so heavy as 

 to sink in water. A valuable oil is extracted from the seeds. 



46. Aristolochia gra^diflora. — The pelican flower. This plant belongs to a fam- 



ily famed for the curious construction of their flowers, as well as for their 

 medical qualities. In tropical America various species receive the name of 

 "Guaco," which is a term given to plants that are used in the cure of snake 

 bites. Even some of our native species, such as A. serpentaria, is known as 

 snake-root, and is said to be esteemed for curing the bite of the rattlesnake. 

 It is stated that the Egyptian jugglers use some of these plants to stupify the 

 snakes before they handle them. A. bracteata and A. inclica are used for 

 similar purposes in India, It is said that the juice of the root of A. anguidda, 

 if introduced into the mouth of a serpent, so stupefies it that it may be han- 

 dled with impunity. The Indians, after having "guaconizedr" themselves, 

 that is, having taken Guaco, handle the most venomous snakes without in- 

 jury. 



47. Abtanthe ELONGATA. — A plant of the pepper family, which furnishes one of 



the articles known by the Peruvians as Matico, and which is used by them 



for the same purposes as cubebs; but its chief value is as a styptic, an effect 



probably produced by its rough under surface, acting mechanically like lint. 



. It has been employed internally to check hemorrhages, but with doubtful 



