68 NOTES ON SOME NEW OR LITTLE-KNOWN VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. 
process in the ‘ Madras Journal of Literature and Science’ (1ST. S. vol. iii. p. 54). 
The oil is extracted by pressure, the proportion yielded by the native process 
being stated as one-half the weight of the seeds used.* In the 1 Pharmacopoeia 
of India,’ p. 130, there is a notice of this plant and its allied species, B. longi- 
folia , Linn, as follows; — 
“ These two trees, common in most parts of India, yield ... a fixed concrete oil 
and spirit. The oil is generally thick and coarse, and soon becomes rancid on expo¬ 
sure, and hence of little service in Pharmacy except in the manufacture of soap, for 
which purpose it seems well adapted. It retains its solid form under 95° F. . . . 
The cake left after the expression of the oil (Ilupai punak, Tam.) is employed as an 
emetic. Some cases of poisoning by stramonium in which it was so employed are 
given by Dr. Shortt (Madras Quart. Med. lourn. vi. 286). It appears to act effi¬ 
ciently in this character.” 
These fatty cotyledons may possibly prove of great use in the manufacture of 
soap, caudles, etc., as this tree is widely distributed together with B. longifolia , 
Linn. Other species yield a similar substance, that of B. butyracea, Roxb. 
being of a superior kind, and judging from recent specimens, the old historic 
Shea butter of Mungo Park (B. Parkii, Don), from the West Coast of Africa, 
seems equally good. . 
Nag-Ivassar ( Cinnamomum iners , Nees).—In November last a parcel of fruits 
from Calcutta described under this name made their appearance in London. 
Nag-Kassar, with various modifications in the orthography as Naghas, Naghas- 
sarium, Nagsara, Naghesur, Nagacesara,( which latter, according to Sir W. Jones, 
is the correctf), and many others, is generally understood to refer to the aro¬ 
matic flower-buds of two plants, viz. Mesua ferrea, Linn., and Calysaecion 
longifolium, Wight, as a reference to the articles of Dr. Pereira and other writers 
in the ‘ Pharmaceutical Journal’ will prove. They are used on account of their 
fragrance, the Burmese grandees stuffing their pillows with them ; and mixed 
with other aromatics, are used in making perfumed ointment. In the bazaars 
of India these dried flower-buds are sold as a mild stimulant, and also for dyeing 
silk. Having, however, strong doubts of the identity of my specimens with the 
fruits of either of these plants, I compared them with published figures and 
herbarium specimens, and found them to be totally distinct. They agree, how¬ 
ever, with figures of Cinnamomum iners , Nees, being perfectly represented in 
Wight’s ‘ leones’ (tab. 122 bis), from a specimen named by Nees himself. The 
name spelt Nakaeserie is also applied to Laurus Cassia. This is a good illustra¬ 
tion of the value to be set on native names. Though Dr. Seemann, who has paid 
great attention to vernacular nomenclature, observes justly^ “that the medical 
man, the chemist, or traveller, by simply asking the native name would instantly 
have* the scientific appellation, and that they are less fallible than generally sup¬ 
posed,”—yet it is not sufficient to find in any book, however high an authority 
it may be, the native name appended to a scientific one, to identify them ; it is 
only a means to an .end, not the end of inquiry itself. Native names are ex¬ 
ceedingly valuable, but are frequently misapplied by traders and others, and 
they point out generic affinities rather than specific distinctions. Though as yet 
these fruits do not seem to be of any use, yet the tree itself possesses interest 
apart from this question as being one of the sources of Cassia buds and Cassia 
bark, and interesting remarks on both these substances are to be found in the 
1 Pharmacopoeia of India,’ pp. 196 and 460. 
Natal Ink Galls.— Under this name a parcel was recently received from 
Natal, and offered up for public sale. These I found to be not galls, but Euphor- 
* ‘ Bengal Catalogue,’ Exhib. 1862, p. 34 (Calcutta, 1862). 
f £ Asiatick Researches,’ iv. p. 295. 1795. 
+ £ Popular Nomenclature of the American Flora,’ Hanover, 1851 (Preface). 
