soon hardens by exposure to the air. The largest quantity of the gum comes 

 from Barbary. Gum Senegal is produced by A. vera. By some it is thought 

 that the timber of A. Arabica is identical with the Shittim tree, or wood of the 

 Bible. From the flowers of A. fdrnesiana a choice and delicious perfume is 

 obtained, the chief ingredient in many valued " balm of a thousand flowers.'' 

 The pods of A. concinna are used in India as a soap for washing ; the leaves 

 are used for culinary purposes, and have a peculiarly agreeable acid taste. 

 The seeds of some species are used, when cooked, as articles of food. From 

 the seeds of A. Niopo the Guahibo Indians prepare a snuff, by roasting the 

 seeds and pounding them in a wooden platter. Its effects are to produce a 

 kind of intoxication and invigorate the spirits. The bark of several species 

 is extensively used for tanning, and the timber, being tough and elastic, is 

 valuable for the manufacture of machinery and other purposes where great 

 strength and durability are requisite. 



7. Acacia deal bata. — The silver wattle tree of Australia. The bark is used for 



tanning purposes. It is hardy South. 



8. Acacia homolophylla. — This tree furnishes the scented myall wood, a very 



hard and heavy wood, of an agreeable odor, resembling that of violets. 

 Fancy boxes for the toilet are manufactured of it. 



9. Acacia melanoxylon.— The wood of this tree is called mayall wood in New- 



South Wales. It is also called violet wood, on account of the strong odor it 

 has of that favorite flower; hence it is in great repute for making small 

 dressing cases, etc. 



10. Acacia mollissima. — The black wattle tree of Australia, which furnishes a 



good tanning principle. These trees were first called wattles from being 

 used by the early settlers for forming a network or wattling of the supple 

 twigs as a substitute for laths in plastering houses. 



11. Acrocomia sclerocarpa. — This palm grows all over South America. It is 



known as the great macaw-tree. A sweetish-tasted oil, called Mucaja oil, 

 is extracted from the fruit and is used for making toilet soaps. 



12. Adansonia digitata. — The baobab tree, a native of Africa. It has been called 



the tree of a thousand years, and Humboldt speaks of it as " the oldest or- 

 ganic monument of our planet." Adanson, who traveled in Senegal in 1794, 

 made a calculation to show that one of these trees, 30 feet in diameter, must 

 be 5,150 years old. The bark of the baobab furnishes a fiber which is made 

 into ropes and also manufactured into cloth. The fiber is so strong as to give 

 rise to a common saying in Bengal, "as secure as an elephant bound with 

 baobab rope." The pulp of the fruit is slightly acid, and the juice expressed 

 from it is valued as a specific in putrid and pestilential fevers. The ashes of 

 the fruit and bark, boiled in rancid palm oil, make a fine soap. 



13. Adenanthera pavonina. — A tree that furnishes red sandal wood. A dye is 



obtained simply by rubbing the wood against a wet stone, which is used by 

 the Brahmins for marking their foreheads after religious bathing. The seeds 

 are used by Indian jewelers as weights, each seed weighing uniformly four 

 grains. They are known as Circassian beans. Pounded and mixed with bo- 

 rax, they form an adhesive substance. They are sometimes used as food. 

 The plant belongs to the Leguminosae. 



14. Adhatoda vasica. — This plant is extolled for its charcoal in the manufacture 



of powder. The flowers, leaves, roots, and especially the fruit, are con- 

 sidered antispasmodic, and are administered in India in asthma and intermit- 

 tent fevers. 



15. iEGLE marmelos. — This plant belongs to the orange family, and its fruit is 



known in India as Bhel fruit. It is like an orange; the thick rind of the 

 unripe fruit possesses astringent properties, and, when ripe, has an exquisite 

 flavor and perfume. The fruit and other parts of the plant are used tor 

 medicinal purposes, and a yellow dye is prepared from the skin of the fruits. 

 1G. AGAVE AMERICANA. — This plant is commonly known as American aloe, but it 

 is not a member of that family, as it claims kindred with the Amaryllis tribe 

 of plants. It grows naturally in a wide range of climate, from the plains <<( 

 South America to elevations of ht.ooo feet. It furnishes a variety of prod- 

 ucts. The plants form impenetrable fences; the Leaves furnish fibers of 

 various qualities, from the fine thread known as pita-thread, which is used for 

 twine, to the coarse fibers used for ropes and cables. Humboldt describes a 

 bridge of upward of 130 feet span over the Chimboin Quito, of which the 



main ropes | \ inches in diameter) were made Of t his liber. It is also used for 

 m.iking paper. The juice, when the watery pari is evaporated, forms a good 



