334 
The  Genus  Luffa. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm, 
July.  1888. 
When  dry,  this  net-work  is  of  a  yellowish  or  dingy-white  color, 
and  rather  hard  and  roQgh,  though  flexible ;  it  readily  absorbs 
moisture,  becoming  soft,  though  retaining  its  firmness,  and  in  a 
slightly  damp  condition  may  easily  be  compressed.  It  is  not 
unlikely  that  in  this  state  it  may  be  found  useful  as  a  surgical 
appliance  for  the  absorption  of  liquid  discharges,  and  bandages  made 
of  it  have  been  employed  to  some  extent  in  Europe.  This  absorbing 
power,  combined  with  great  durability  and  a  certain  amount  of 
elasticity,  have  led,  in  Germany,  to  the  manufacture  of  luffa  soles, 
which  are  claimed  to  be  more  useful  and  serviceable  in  cases  of 
sweating  feet  than  soles  made  of  felt  or  other  material,  by  completely 
absorbing  the  perspiration  and  still  retaining  between  the  meshes  a 
thin  layer  of  air ;  moreover,  they  may  be  readily  cleaned  by  washing 
with  soap  and  water.  The  properties  mentioned  have  also  caused  the 
material  to  be  made  into  saddle  undercloths  which  take  up  the 
perspiration  of  the  sweating  animal. 
In  Egypt,  where  the  plant  has  long  been  cultivated,  the  luffa 
sponge  is  used  for  straining  liquids,  for  scouring  and  scrubbing, 
and  as  a  flesh-brush  for  friction  in  certain  skin  diseases;  since  its 
introduction  into  the  United  States  it  is  employed  mainly  as  a  bathing 
sponge  and  as  a  flesh-brush,  for  which  purposes  it  is  well  adapted  in 
consequence  of  its  lightness,  texture,  durability  and  the  ease  with 
which  it  is  cleaned. 
The  plant  is  readily  raised  from  seeds  and  is  a  rapid  grower;  if 
germinated  early,  it  will  flower  and  ripen  its  fruit  in  the  latitude  of 
Philadelphia  before  the  cool  autumn  weather  sets  in,  a  light  sandy 
soil  being  apparently  better  adapted  for  securing  its  perfection  than  a 
heavy  and  rich  soil.  Full-grown  fruits,  not  completely  maturing 
before  cool  weather,  may  be  ripened  by  keeping  them  in  a  warm 
room  ;  but  in  this  case  the  fibrous  net-work  will  be  more  delicate  in 
texture  and  less  resistant  to  wear.  Being  an  annual  of  tropical 
origin,  the  plant  will  grow  with  little  or  no  attention  in  the  Southern 
States,  where  it  is  now  raised  to  some  extent  as  an  arbor  vine.  But 
the  vegetable  sponge  met  with  in  our  commerce  is  perhaps  altogether 
imported  from  Europe,  and,  considering  the  low  price  at  which  it  is 
sold  here  at  retail,  is  probably  of  Egyptian,  or  at  least  Oriental, 
origin.  It  is  imported  uncut,  or,  in  other  words,  in  the  same  shape 
in  which  it  exists  in  the  fruit,  and  may  be  employed  in  this  condition, 
more  particularly  as  a  bathing  or  washing  sponge,  since  the  outer 
