176 
ever, be observed, that Endlicher objects to many of the genera. Prodr. fl. 
norf. 38. 8^c. 
Geography. Widely dispersed over every part of the world ; appearing 
in the most northern regions, and in the hottest climates of the tropics ; grow- 
ing now upon dry walls, where there is scarcely nutriment for a moss or a 
lichen, and inhabiting the dampest recesses of the forest. Elatostemese, Boeh- 
merieae, Cecropiese, Chlorophorese, Dorstenieae, Daphnitidese, Artocai*pe8e, Pou- 
roumese, Misandreae, and Batideae are either altogether confined to the tro- 
pics where the order is most abundant, or at all events occur only in very tem- 
perate countries. 
Properties. The tenacity of the fibres of many species is such that cor- 
dage has been successfully manufactured from them. The leaves of Hemp 
are poweiduUy narcotic. The Turks know its stupifying qualities under the 
name of Malach. Linnaeus speaks of its vis narcotica, phantastica, dementens, 
anodyna, and repellens. Even the Hottentots use it to get drunk with, and 
call it Dacha. The Arabians name it Hashish. Ainslie, 2. 189. A most 
powerfully narcotic gum-resin, called in Nipal Cheris or Cherris, is supposed 
to be obtained from a variety of Cannabis sativa. Ihid. 2. 73. Tlie effects 
of the venomous sting of the common nettles, Urtica dioica, urens, and pilu- 
lifera of Europe, are too well known. They are, however, not to be compared 
for an instant with those of some Indian species. Leschenault de la Tour 
{Mem. Mus. 6. 362.) thus describes the effect of gathering Urtica crenulata 
in the Botanic Garden at Calcutta : — “ One of the leaves slightly touched the 
first three fingers of my left hand : at the time I only perceived a slight prick- 
ing, to which I paid no attention. This was at seven in the morning. The 
pain continued to increase ; in an hour it had become intolerable : it seemed 
as if some one was rubbing my fingers with a hot iron. Nevertheless, there 
was no remarkable appearance ; neither swelling, nor pustule, nor inflamma- 
tion. The pain rapidly spread along the arm, as far as the annpit. I was 
then seized with frequent sneezing and with a copious running at the nose, as 
if I had caught a violent cold in the head. About noon I experienced a pain- 
ful contraction of the back of the jaws, which made me fear an attack of te- 
tanus. I then went to bed, hoping that repose would alleviate my suffering ; 
but it did not abate ; on the contrary, it continued nearly the whole of the 
following night ; but I lost the contraction of the jaws about seven in the 
eA^ening. The next morning the pain began to leave me, and I fell asleep. 
I continued to suffer for two days ; and the pain returned in full force when I 
put my hand into water. I did not finally lose it for nine days.” A similar 
circumstance occurred, with precisely the same symptoms, to a workman in 
the Calcutta Garden. This man described the sensation, when water was ap- 
plied to the stung part, as if boiling oil was poured over him. Another dan- 
gerous species was found by the same botanist in Java (U. stimulans), but its 
effects were less violent. Both these seem to be surpassed in virulence by a 
nettle called doom setan, or devil’s leaf, in Timor ; the effects of which are 
said, by the natives, to last for a year, or even to cause death. The common 
Hop, Humulus lupulus, is remarkable, as is well known, for its bitterness ; the 
active principle of it is called by chemists Lupulin. It is here also that the 
Fig, the Bread-fruit, the Jack, and the Mulberry, are found, — a curi- 
ous instance of wholesome or harmless plants in an order which contains the 
most deadly poison in the world, the Upas of Java ; the juice, however, of 
even those which have wholesome fruit, is acrid and suspicious ; and in a spe- 
cies of Fig, Ficus toxicaria, is absolutely venomous. The juice of aU of them 
contains a greater or less abundance of caoutchouc, and the Cecropia peltata 
is reported to yield American caoutchouc. But Humboldt doubts whether 
this is the fact, as its juice is difficult to inspissate. Cinch. For. p. 44. The 
