so oh 
27 
filled with ared gum. Many of the species yield gums and astringent 
principles, and also a species of manna. The timber of these trees has 
been pronounced to be unsurpassed, for strength and durability, by any 
other timber known. The leaves of these trees are placed vertically to 
the sun, a provision suited to a dry and sultry climate. 
EUGENIA JAMBOSA.—A tropical plant, belonging to the Myrtle fam- 
ily, which produces a pleasant rose-flavored fruit, known as the Rose- 
apple or Jamrosade. 
EUGENIA UGnNiI—This small foliaged Myrtaceous plant is a native of 
Chili. It bears a glossy black fruit, which has an agreeable flavor and 
perfume, and is highly esteemed in its native country. The plant is 
hardy in the Southern States. 
EUPHORBIA CANARIENSIS.—This plant grows in abundance in the 
Canary Islands and Teneriffe, in dry, rocky districts, where little else 
can grow, and where it attains a height of 10 feet, with the branches 
spreading 15 or 20 feet. It is one of the kinds that furnish the drug 
known as euphorbium. The milky juice exudes from incisions made in 
the branches, and is so acrid that it excoriates the hand when applied 
to it. As it hardens, it falls down in small lumps, and those that col- 
lect it are obliged to tie a cloth over their mouth and nostrils to exclude 
the small dusty particles, as they produce incessant sneezing. Asamed- 
icine its action is violent, and itis now rarely employed. There are a vast 
number of species of euphorbia, varying exceedingly in their general 
appearance, but all of them havinga milky juice which contains active 
properties. Many of them can scarcely be distinguished from cactuses 
so far as relates to external appearances, but the milky exudation fol- 
lowing a puncture determines their true character. EH. grandidens is a 
tall-growing, branching species, and attains a height of 30 feet. The 
natives of India use the juice of LH. antiquorum, when diluted, as a pur- 
gative. The juice of . heptagona and other African species is employed 
to poison arrows; the juice of EH. Cotinifolia is used for the same pur- 
pose in Brazil. The roots of H. Gerardiana and EF. Pithyusa are emetic, 
while . thymifolia and FH. hypericifolia possess astringent and aro- 
matic properties. The poisonous principle which pervades these plants 
is more or less dissipated by heat. The juice of EH. Cattimandoo fur- 
nishes caoutchouc of a very good quality, which, however, becomes 
brittle, although soaking in hot water renders it again pliable. Z. 
phosphorea derives the name from the fact of its sap emitting a phos- 
phorescent light, on warm nights, in the Brazilian forests. 
EUTERPE EDULIS.—The Assai palm of Para; grows in swampy lands, 
and produces a small fruit thinly coated with clotted fibrous flesh, of 
which the inhabitants of Para manufacture a beverage called assai. 
The ripe fruits are soaked in warm water, and kneaded until the fleshy 
pulp is detached. This, when strained, is of a thick creamy consistence, 
and, when thickened with cassava farina and sweetened with sugar, 
forms a nutritious diet, and is the daily food of a large number of people. 
KEUTERPE MONTANA.—The center portion of the upper part of the 
stem of this West Indian palm, including the leaf-bud, is eaten either 
when cooked as a vegetable or pickled, but the tree must be destroyed 
in order to obtain it. 
EXC@CARIA SEBIFERA.—This Euphorbiaceous plant is the Tallow 
tree of China. The fruits are about half an inch in diameter, and con- 
tain three seeds, thickly coated with a fatty substance, which yields the 
tallow. This is obtained by first steaming the seeds, then bruising 
them to loosen the fat without breaking the seeds, which are removed 
by sifting. The fat is then made into flat circular cakes, and pressed, 
