MEDICAL PROPERTIES OF THE CASHEW-NUT TREE. 139 
In one instance, in which a quantity of this wine was 
made by a friend, according to Mr. Tobin's receipt, the 
process appeared to have failed, and the produce was bot- 
tled off, under the impression that it might be converted 
into good vinegar ; but, on opening one of the bottles many 
months after, when some vinegar was required, my friend 
was agreeably surprised to find, on drawing the cork, that 
in place of vinegar, he had a bottle of most delicious spark- 
ling wine. In fact, it had been bottled somewhat too soon, 
while the process of fermentation was still going on, 
although in a reduced degree, and thus the escape of the 
carbonic acid, which continued to be generated, was pre- 
vented. How long the wine, bottled in this state of fer- 
mentation, could be kept without running to the acetous 
fermentation, remains to be determined by experiment. 
The cashew-tree being easily raised from seed, coming 
into bearing within twenty-five months from the time of 
sowing, bearing its fruit in profusion, and continuing to 
bear abundantly for a long succession of years, there can 
be little doubt, that if a market could be found for its pro- 
ducts, its cultivation would soon attract a degree of atten- 
tion not hitherto accorded to it. These products are, 1 . 
The gum which exudes from the wounded bark, of which 
between 3 and 4000 pounds might be annually obtained 
from a plantation of only 300 trees. This gum, from its 
subastringency, possesses many advantages over that of the 
Acacia vera, for a variety of purposes, those especially, in 
which it is desirable to guard against the depredations of 
insects, to whom this astringency is repulsive. 2. The 
leaves, which in decoction, form a good lotion for bad ulcers. 
3. The milky juice, which is obtained by tapping the trunk, 
and which, as Long suggests, might, probably be converted, 
by evaporation, into a valuable varnish. 4. The caustic 
oil obtainable from the nuts, which is so valuable as a pre- 
servative of timber from the assaults of insects, and proba- 
bly also from the growth of those fungi which occasion 
