THE ECONOMIC HOUSE 43 
Aloe. The aloes, which are chiefly natives of the Cape of Good Hope 
and the African Islands, belong to the Liliaceae, or Lily family. One 
species produces “‘bitter aloes.” All species are credited with medic- 
inal properties by some peoples. Due to this fact it has been found 
almost impossible to keep a display of aloes in the Economic House. 
Plants are stolen by those who have faith in their curative properties 
almost as soon as they are put on exhibition. The Conservatory has 
a half dozen species in the propagating houses—among them Aloe 
vera, from which “Barbados aloes” is derived. From time to time 
specimens are moved into the Economic House. 
Anacardium occidentale, or CASHEW Nut, is a native of the West 
Indies that belongs to the Anacardiaceae, the family to which our com- 
mon sumac and poison ivy belong. The cashew is a large tree, bearing 
fragrant rose-tinted flowers. The nuts are about the size and shape 
of a kidney bean. The shell contains an irritating substance. The 
kernel is edible, either raw or roasted, and yields an oil said to equal 
olive oil for culinary uses. The nut is borne on the end of a growth 
known as the cashew apple. The apple is eaten raw, or is used in 
making a wine-like drink. The gum of the tree is used in varnishes 
for protecting books and woodwork from white ants and other de- 
structive insects. 
Ananas sativus, or PINEAPPLE, a native of the American tropics, be- 
longs to the Bromeliaceae, a family represented in our native flora 
only by the gray moss that hangs from the trees in our southern states. 
The family is a large one, chiefly tropical, and made up chiefly of plants 
that get their food from the air. A large collection of related species 
is to be found in the Warm House. The pineapple is one of the few 
members of the family that grows in earth and gets its food from the 
soil. The pineapple is now naturalized in the tropical regions of both 
hemispheres. It was introduced into England during the time of 
Charles II. Evelyn, in his “Diary,” mentions tasting a pineapple 
from Barbados at the table of that monarch, and it is supposed that the 
top of that particular pineapple was planted, and from it other pine- 
apple plants were grown. For several centuries pineapples were a 
favorite greenhouse product on large English estates, and the finest 
product was secured from plants grown from the tops cut off the fruit, 
and rooted in sand. Each pineapple plant produces one fruit, usually 
weighing a few ounces, but sometimes weighing as much as 20 pounds. 
Within the last few decades the growing of pineapples has become an 
important industry in Hawaii. At present most of our canned pine- 
apple comes from Hawaii; most of the fresh fruit from Florida and the 
West Indies. 
Andira inermis, or CABBAGE BARK TREE, is a native of the West Indies 
and Brazil that belongs to the Leguminosae, or Pulse family. Its 
bark is highly narcotic; but is a powerful anthelmintic, much used in 
medicine, along with Surinam bark, the bark from a closely related 
species. 
Annona Cherimolia (Anona Cherimolia), or CHERIMOYA, a native of 
the Andes of Peru, belongs to the Anonaceae, a tropical family whose 
