o4 ; 
agreeably flavored puip, bearing some resemblance, in appearance and 
taste, to quince ma umalade. A native of South America. 
MACH RIUM FIR} aranda of Brazil, which yields the 
rose-wood so much cateained by the manufacturers of fine furniture and 
~ eabinet-work. 
MACLURA TINCTORIA.—The Fustie tree. Large quantities of the 
bright yellow wood of this tree are exported from South America for 
the use of dyers, who obtain from it shades of yellow, brown, olive, and 
green. There are two kinds of Fustic, technically termed the young and 
the old, the former being the wood of Rhus cotinus and the latter that 
of the present. 
MACROPIPER METHYSTICUM.—A plant of the Pepper family, which 
furnishes the root called Ava by the Polynesians. It has narcotic prop- 
erties, and is employed medicinally, but is chiefly remarkable for the 
value attached to it as a narcotic and stimulant beverage, of which the 
natives partake before they commence any important business or relig- 
ious rites. Itis used by cliewing the root and ex <tracting the juice, and 
has a calming rather than an intoxic: ting, effect. It 1s a filthy prepara- 
tion, and only partaken of by the lower classes of Feejeeans. 
MAMMEA AMERICANA.—The fruit of this tree, under the name of 
Mammee Apple, is very much esteemed in tropical countries. It often 
attains a size of 6 or 8 inches in diameter, and is of a yellow color. 
The outer rind and the pulp which immediately surrounds the seeds are 
very bitter, but the intermediate flesh is sweet and aromatic. The seeds 
are used as anthelinintics, an aromatic liquoris distilled from the flowers, 
and the acrid resinous gum, distilled from the bark, is used to destroy 
insects. y 
MANETTIA CORDIFOLIA.—This climbing-plant is a native of South 
America, and belongs to the family of Cinchonacee. The rind of the 
root has emetic properties, and is used in Brazil for dropsy and other 
diseases. It is also exported under the name of Ipecacuan, chiefly from 
Buenos Ayres. 
MANGIFERA INDICA.—The Mango, in some of its varieties, is esteemed 
as the most delicious of tropical fruits, while many varieties produce 
fruit whose texture resembles cotton, and taste of turpentine. The tur- 
pentine flavor predominatesin all. The unripe fruit is pickled. The 
pulp contains gallic and citric acid. The seeds possess anthelmintic 
properties. A soft gum-resin exudes from the wounded bark, which is 
used medicinally. 
MANIHOT UTILISSIMA.—This euporbiaceous plant yields cassava or 
mandioceca meal. It is extensively cultivated in tropical countries, and 
supplies a great amount of food. The root is the part used, and in its 
natural condition is a most virulent poison, but by grating the roots to 
a pulp the poison is expelled by pressure, and altogether ‘dissipated by 
cooking. The expressed juice, when allowed to settle, deposits the starch 
known as tapioca. 
MANTISIA SALTATORIA.—A plant ofthe family of Gingers, deriving its 
name from the resemblance of the flowers to the insect mantis. The 
flowers are very singular, and from a supposed resemblance to a ballet- 
dancer, the plant is called Dancing Girls. 
MARANTA ARUNDINACEA.—The Arrow-Root plant, cultivated for its 
starch. The tubers being reduced to pulp with water, the fecula sub- 
sides, and is washed and dried for commerce. It is a very pure kind of 
starch, and very nutritious. The term arrow-root is said to be derived 
from the fact that the natives of the West Indies use the roots of the 
plant as an application to wounds made by poison-arrows. 
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