DICTIONAEY OF POPULAR NAMES 



OF 



ECONOMIC PLANTS. 



Abaca, a name in the Pliilippine Islands for the fibre of 

 Mwsd texhlis, known as Manilla Hemp. {See Hemp.) 



ATbele, tlie Dutcli name for the White Poplar. {See Poplar.) 



Absinthe, an intoxicating liquor made from Artemisia ahsin- 



timmi, an herbaceous plant of the Composite family (Compositse), 



native of this country and Europe generally, familiarly known 



by the name of Wormwood ; it is common in Switzerland. A 



bitter extract is obtained from this species as well as from A, 



Judaicum, called Absinthe. Of this liquor millions of gallons are 



yearly sent to France ; it is also largely manufactured in France, 



and is drunk in large quantities by the French people. It 



has an exhilarating effect, but its habitual use brings on gradual 



diminution of the intellectual faculties, ending in delirium and 



death. The French Government have found it necessary to 



prohibit its use in the army and navy. In the Lamentations 



of Jeremiah (chap. iii. verse 15) we read, "He hath made me 



drunken with wormwood ;" if the rendering of these words is 



accepted as written, we are led to conclude that a similar liquor 



was in use in the time of Jeremiah. 



Acacia, the name of an extensive genus of trees and 

 shrubs of the Mimosa section of the Bean family (Leguminosse), 

 varying in habit from furze-hke shrubs to lofty trees. They 

 are widely distributed throughout the tropical and sub-tropical 

 regions of both hemispheres. Their leaves are normally com- 



B 



