10 
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. 
_ ARAUCARIA BRASILIENSIS.—The Brazilian Araucaria grows at great 
elevations. 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. 
ARAUCARIA CUNNINGHAMI.—The Morton Bay pine. This Australian 
tree forms a very Straight trunk, and yields a timber of much commer- 
cial importance in Sydney and other ports. It is chiefly used for house- 
building and some of the heavier articles of furniture. 
ARAUCARIA EXCELSA.—This very elegant Evergreen is a native of 
Norfolk Island. Few plants can compare with it in beauty and regu- 
larity of growth. The wood is of no particular value, although used for 
building purposes in Norfolk Island. 
ARDISIA CRENATA.—A native of China. The bark has tonie and 
astringent properties, and is used in fevers and for external application 
in the cure of ulcers, We. 
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-paper. The pellet is chewed, and is hot and aerid, but pos-: 
sesses aromatic and astringent properties. It tinges the saliva red and 
stains the teeth. The practice is considered beneficial rather than other- 
wise, just as chewing tobacco-leaves, drinking alcohol, and eating chicken- 
salad are considered healthy 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 Acacia catechu. 
ARGANIA SIDEROXYLON.—This 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 ex- 
tracted from the seeds. 
ARISTOLCHIA GRANDIFLORA.—The Pelican flower. This plant be- 
' longs to a family 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. indica are used for similar purposes 
in India. It is said that the juice of the root of A. anguicida, if intro- 
duced into the mouth of a serpent, so stupifies it that it may be handled 
with impunity. The Indians, after having ‘ guaconized” themselves, 
that is, having taken Guaco, handle the most venomous snakes without 
injury. 
-ARTANTHE 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, the rough leaves of the plant having the power of staunching 
blood, an effect probably produced by its rough under-surface, acting 
