absolutely necessary to constitute the peculiar quality of the wine. The
two kinds of grapes are pressed separately, and the juice is afterwards
mixed, fermented, and strained through a cloth or sieve into the barrels in
which it is to continue. The best Tokay does not long remain in the place
where it is made, a great portion of it being sent into the cellars of the
nobility in other parts of Hungary. Tokay is certainly a fine wine, but is
no way adequate to the price for which it is sold. Several years ago it
could not be purchased, even in Hungary, for much less than half a guinea
of English money per bottle; and yet there are few Englishmen, who, except
on account of its scarceness, would prefer it to good Claret or Burgundy.
Of all the German wines, that which is in greatest demand in England is
_Hock_. This has its name from the town of Hochstadt in Suabia, celebrated
for a great battle which was fought in its neighbourhood by the French and
the allies in 1704. _Rhenish_ and _Moselle_ are produced chiefly on the
banks of the rivers Rhine and Moselle, and have a cool, sharp taste, and
considerable strength. Anterior to the late wars in Germany, there were
wines in the cellars of many of the noble and wealthy inhabitants of that
country which were more than a hundred years old, and of such body as to be
uninjured even by so great an age.

(_f_) MADEIRA and TENERIFFE WINES.--To the Madeira and Canary islands we
are indebted for some excellent white wines. Of these _Madeira wine_ is
considered by far the most valuable, particularly after it has been ripened
by conveyance into a hot climate. The number of pipes of Madeira annually
made is about 30,000. The grapes, when gathered, are put into wooden
vessels, and the juice is extracted by persons treading upon them.

The Canary Islands gave name to a rich white wine, which was formerly in
great esteem under the name of _Canary sack_, and is now usually called
_Malmsey Madeira_. The genuine _Malmsey_ wine, which is of sweet and
luscious flavour, and rich golden yellow colour, is the produce of
Malvesia, one of the Greek islands, and thence had originally its name, the
French merchants denominating it _Vin de Malvesia_: but so little is now
made that few persons can possess it. _Teneriffe wine_, when two or three
years old, has much the flavour of Madeira, but, after this age, it becomes
so sweet and mellow, as somewhat to resemble Malaga.

(_g_) CAPE WINES.--There are produced, at the Cape of Good Hope, two kinds
of peculiarly rich, sweet, and delicate wine, called _red_ and _white
Constantia_. The farm from which they have their name is situated about
eight miles from Cape Town. The grapes of this farm, owing, as it is
supposed, to some peculiarity in the soil, are superior to any other in the
whole country. The vintage commences about March or April; and great care
is taken in the manufacture of the wine, no fruit being used but such as is
fully ripe and in the highest perfection. The annual produce is considered
to be about sixty pipes of the red, and 100 pipes of the white wine.
Constantia is in perfection when about two years old; but, when kept six or
seven years, it sparkles in the glass somewhat like wine which has not
undergone a perfect fermentation. What is denominated _Cape Madeira_ is a
light kind of white wine, the produce of the Cape of Good Hope.
Considerable quantities of this wine are now consumed in England, in
consequence of the lowness of its price. This is owing to its paying to
government only one-third part of the duty which is imposed on most other
wines.

The juice of unripe grapes has a harsh, sour, and rough taste. This, under
the name of _verjuice_, was formerly much esteemed for culinary and other
purposes. The young twigs of the vine, when dried, cut into small pieces,
and moistened with water, afford a wholesome food for cattle and horses.
The _leaves_ and _tendrils_ have an astringent taste, which it is probable
they would impart to British made wines, and thus render them somewhat
similar to foreign wines. The _wood_ of the vine, reduced to charcoal, is
used by painters for drawing outlines; and, from the seeds or _stones_, a
kind of oil is sometimes made, which can scarcely be distinguished from
olive oil. These stones, when purified, moderately roasted, and ground to a
coarse powder, form a tolerable substitute for chocolate.

_Brandy_ is a spirituous liquor, produced by the distillation of wine; and
prepared in most of the wine countries of Europe. The principal
manufactories of this spirit are in France, particularly in Languedoc, and
Anjou, whence comes the well-known _Cognac brandy_. The distilleries of
brandy in Catalonia, in Spain, are so extensive as to yield more than
35,000 pipes per annum. When brandy first issues from the still, it is
colourless as water; and the colour, which is given to it by the merchants,
is produced partly by the oaken casks in which it is kept, but chiefly by
the addition of red saunders wood, burnt sugar, and other colouring
matters. These, however, do not in the least affect the quality of the
spirit.

In addition to the preceding uses of the vine, we have to add those of its
fruit in a recent state, called _grapes_, as a delicious addition to our
desserts; and of this fruit, in a dried state, under the appellation of
raisins and currants.

_Raisins_ are grapes which have been suffered to remain on the trees until
they are perfectly ripe, and have been dried. They are occasionally dried
in ovens. Sometimes the clusters, being tied several together, are dipped
in a ley of the ashes of rosemary and vine branches, with a certain portion
of slaked lime, and are then dried by exposure to the sun. The best fruit
of this description are the _sun_, and _jar raisins_; both of which are
dried in the sun, without any preparation. These are imported from the
southern countries of Europe; and also from the Asiatic provinces of
Turkey. They are principally used for desserts, whilst _Malaga raisins_,
and some other kinds, are employed for culinary purposes and the making of
wine.

  79. _The CURRANTS of commerce are a small kind of raisins, or dried
  grapes, which are produced in the Grecian Archipelago, and particularly
  in the islands of Zante and Cephalonia._

The chief plantation of these grapes was anciently in the isthmus of
Corinth, whence they obtained the name of _Corinths_, since corrupted to
currants, Few, however, are now produced there, the vineyards having been
neglected in consequence of the jealousy of the Turks not allowing large
vessels to enter the gulf for their exportation. These grapes have no
stones, are usually either of a red or black colour, and when recently
gathered, are an extremely delicious fruit.

The harvest commences in the month of August, and as soon as the grapes are
plucked from the trees, they are spread to dry, upon a floor prepared for
the purpose by stamping the earth quite hard. This floor is formed with a
gentle rising in the middle, that the rain, in case any should fall, may
run off, and not injure the fruit. When sufficiently dry, the currants are
cleaned, and laid up in magazines, being poured into them through a hole,
and stowed so closely that it is necessary to dig them out with an iron
instrument. They are packed for exportation in large casks, and by persons
who have their feet greased in order to tread them close.

The principal consumption of currants is in England; but the inhabitants of
the islands whence they are brought know little of the use we make of them.
They imagine that we employ them only in the dyeing of cloth, and are
entirely ignorant of our luxury of Christmas pies, and plum puddings. A
small but inferior kind of currants are grown in some parts of Spain.

DIGYNIA.

  80. _BEET_ (Beta vulgaris) _is a well known fleshy or succulent root,
  which is cultivated in our kitchen gardens, and grows wild in several
  countries of the south of Europe._

  _There are two principal varieties of beet, one of which is of deep red
  or purple colour, and the other is white, crossed with bands of red._

Red beet is principally used at table boiled and cut in slices: it is,
however, sometimes pickled, and sometimes stewed with onions; but, if eaten
in great quantity, it is said to be injurious to the stomach. The roots may
be taken out of the ground for use about the end of August, but they do not
attain their full size and perfection till the month of October. When good
they are large, and of deep red colour; and, when boiled, they are tender,
sweet, and palatable.

It has lately been ascertained that beet roots may be substituted for malt,
if deprived of the greater part of their juice by pressure, then dried, and
treated in the same manner as the grain intended for brewing. The beer,
made from beet, has been found perfectly wholesome and palatable, and
little inferior to that prepared from malt.

From _white beet_ the French, during the late war, endeavoured to prepare
sugar; that article, as a British colonial produce, having been prohibited
in France. For this purpose, the roots were boiled as soon as possible
after they were taken from the earth. When cold, they were sliced, and
afterwards the juice was pressed out, and evaporated to the consistence of
syrup. The sugar was obtained, from this syrup, by crystallization. From
110 pounds' weight of the roots, 41½ pounds of juice were obtained, which,
on further evaporation, yielded somewhat more than 4¼ pounds of brown
sugar; and these, by a subsequent operation, produced four pounds of well
grained white powder sugar. The residuum, together with the syrup or
molasses which remained, produced after distillation, 3½ quarts of
rectified spirit, somewhat similar to rum.

  81. _MANGEL WURZEL or ROOT OF SCARCITY, is a plant of the beet tribe_ (_a
  variety of_ Beta cicla) _with large and red veined leaves; those arising
  from the root being on footstalks, and those of the stem being without
  stalks, and the flowers growing in threes._

The farmers, in some parts of Germany, cultivate this plant as food for
cattle, and they are said to prefer it, for that use, to potatoes, turnips,
carrots, and indeed to most other vegetables. It was introduced to the
public notice in England, by the late Dr. Lettsom; and it has been strongly
recommended, not only for the feeding of cattle, but also for the use of
man. Both the _leaves_ and _root_ grow to very large size; and the former,
which may be eaten as spinach, continue in season long after that plant is
withered. The root is insipid and unpalatable; but the stalks, and the
stronger middle part of the leaves, may be stewed, or eaten plain-boiled,
as asparagus.

  82. _BARILLA is the Spanish name of a plant_ (Salsola soda) _from the
  ashes of which is produced the salt called_ kali _or_ soda.

  _Soda is also procured from the ashes of_ PRICKLY SALTWORT (Salsola
  kali), SHRUBBY SALTWORT (Salsola fructicosa), _and numerous plants of
  other tribes._

On the shores of the Mediterranean, where the preparation of soda is
pursued to considerable extent, the seeds of the plants from which it is
obtained are regularly sown in places near the sea. When at a sufficient
state of maturity, the plants are pulled up by the roots, dried, and
afterwards tied in bundles to be burnt. In some places, this is done in
ovens constructed for the purpose; and in others, in trenches dug near the
sea. The ashes, whilst they are hot, are continually stirred with long
poles, and the saline matter they contain forms, when cold, a solid mass,
almost as hard as stone. This mass is afterwards broken into pieces of
convenient size for exportation. The best sort of Spanish soda is in
dark-coloured masses of bluish tinge, very heavy, sonorous, dry to the
touch, and it externally abounds in small cavities. Its taste is sharp,
corrosive, and strongly saline.

Soda is chiefly employed in glass and soap manufactories. See the uses of
minerals, Vol. i. No. 200.

  83. _ELMS are forest-trees well known in almost every part of England.
  There are several species, of which, however, only three, the_ COMMON ELM
  (Ulmus campestris, Fig. 61,) WYCH HAZEL, _or_ BROAD-LEAVED ELM (Ulmus
  montana, Fig. 62,) _and_ DUTCH ELM (Ulmus suberosa), _grow in this
  country without cultivation_. _They are easily distinguishable from most
  other forest-trees, by their leaves being rough, and doubly serrated at
  the edge._

  _Of these trees the flowers of the first are four-cleft, and have each
  four stamens, and the fruit is oblong: those of the second are five or
  six cleft, and have each five or six stamens, the fruit is roundish, and
  the leaves are broad; those of the third are four-cleft, and have four
  stamens, and the bark of the branches has a corky appearance._

The Dutch elm is grown in most parts of England. The common elm, though
plentiful in Worcestershire, Middlesex, and some other southern counties,
is said to be rare further north than Grantham or Stamford. The wych hazel
is common in woods and hedges throughout the whole of South Britain.

The use of the elm as _timber_ is chiefly confined to rough and inferior
work. Implements of husbandry are almost wholly made of it; and it is
employed for waggons, carts, mill-wheels, water-pipes, low-priced chairs,
blocks for hat-makers, and various other purposes; and among the lower and
middling classes, almost exclusively, for coffins. The preference which it
has obtained for the latter purpose, is supposed to have originated in its
peculiar durability in moist situations.

Some of the northern writers state that, from the _inner bark_ of the elm,
if stripped off in the spring, and boiled in water, a very palatable kind
of beer may be brewed; and that this bark, dried and ground to powder, has,
in times of scarcity, been mixed with meal to make bread. It is
occasionally administered as a decoction for obstinate cutaneous
complaints; and it has been proposed for use in rheumatism, dropsy, and
other diseases. The young _leaves_ may be used for the feeding of
silk-worms.

Few trees are better adapted than the elm for planting in hedge rows, along
the sides of roads, and along shady walks; but in the latter case the
numerous suckers which grow up from its roots give much trouble to keep the
ground clear.

  84. _GENTIAN is a bitter drug, the dried root of a plant_ (Gentiana
  lutea) _which grows wild amongst the Alps, and in other mountainous parts
  of the Continent._

  _The flower-stem of the gentian is two or three feet high, strong,
  smooth, and erect. The leaves which grow upon its lower part are
  spear-shaped and ribbed, and those on the upper part are concave, smooth,
  and egg-shaped. The flowers, which are large and yellow, grow round the
  upper part of the stem on strong footstalks, and are divided at the edge
  into five or more segments. The calyx is a kind of sheath._

Gentian is one of the principal bitters that are now used in medicine; and
is of considerable service in fevers, and in such complaints as arise from
weakness of the stomach. It is externally of a brown colour, and internally
yellowish or bright red. Its taste is at first sweetish, but immediately
afterwards bitter and pungent. As a simple bitter, it is rendered more
grateful to the stomach by the addition of some warm aromatic; and, for
this purpose, orange-peel is commonly employed. An extract of gentian root,
boiled with water till it has nearly the consistence of honey, is kept in
the shops.

  85. _GARDEN CARROT_ (Daucus carota) _is a plant too well known to need
  any description._

In few vegetable productions are the effects of cultivation more
conspicuous than in the carrot. The wild plants, which are common in most
parts of England, have a root so small and woody, that no one could suppose
they had any alliance whatever to the large and succulent root of the
garden carrot.

The various uses of the carrot in cookery are well known. But, although it
contains much nutriment, this root is difficult of digestion; particularly
if eaten raw, or imperfectly boiled. Carrots are an excellent fodder for
cattle and horses, either alone or mixed with hay; and, if given to cows,
in winter or the early part of spring, they are said to cause a great
increase of milk. If carrots be boiled with their wash, hogs will thrive
well upon them. In some parts of England this vegetable has been cultivated
as a winter food for deer; and the leaves have sometimes been made into
hay. Carrots contain a large proportion of saccharine matter, and various
but unsuccessful experiments have been made to extract sugar from them.
They have, however, been more advantageously employed in distillation. Ten
pounds' weight of carrots will yield about half a pint of very strong,
ardent spirit: and the carrots (twenty tons in weight) produced by an acre
of ground, have been known to produce 240 gallons of spirit. A syrup made
of these roots, and clarified with the white of eggs, has been found useful
for many purposes. An infusion of the _seeds_ and the expressed juice of
the roots, are said to afford relief in fits of the gravel. A marmalade of
carrots has been used with success in sea-scurvy, and a poultice prepared
from them is sometimes employed in cancerous ulcers. Crickets are so fond
of these roots that they may easily be destroyed by making a paste of
flour, powdered arsenic, and scraped carrots, and placing this near their
habitations.

  86. _ROCK SAMPHIRE_ (Crithmum maritimum) _is an umbelliferous plant, with
  fleshy, spear-shaped leaflets, and small but regular-shaped white
  flowers._

The cliffs of Dover have long been celebrated for the production of this
vegetable, which has received an additional interest from the notice that
Shakspeare has taken of the gathering of it:

            "Half-way down
  Hangs one that gathers samphire; dreadful trade!"

It is also found on cliffs of other parts of the south of England, as well
as in Italy, France, and Spain; and generally in inaccessible situations.

In some parts of England the _leaves_ of samphire pickled in vinegar are in
use for the table: they are also used in salads, and for other culinary
purposes. But their place is frequently supplied by a much more common
plant, which grows in salt marshes, and has the name of _marsh samphire_
(_Salicornia_). This, however, is a very inferior substitute, and entirely
destitute of the fine aromatic flavour of the former species.

  87. _ASAFOETIDA is a resinous gum, procured from the root of a large
  umbelliferous plant_ (Ferula asafoetida) _which grows in the mountains of
  some parts of Persia._

  _The leaves of this plant are nearly two feet long, doubly winged, and
  have the leaflets alternate. The flowers are small, and the seeds oval,
  flat, and each marked with three longitudinal lines._

No one who has ever smelt the peculiarly powerful, and garlic-like odour of
asafoetida, can well forget it. If exposed to the air, but particularly
when heated, it will pervade every apartment of a house. Notwithstanding
this, it constitutes a favourite seasoning, for food, with the inhabitants
of many of the eastern countries of the world. The Banian Indians, who
never eat animal food, use it in almost all their dishes; and, before their
meals, they even rub their mouths with it, to stimulate their appetite. It
is sometimes used by our own cooks, but in very small quantity, in place of
garlic. In many parts of Arabia and Persia, asafoetida is much esteemed as
a remedy for internal diseases, and even as an external application to
wounds; and, with us, it is considered a powerful medicine in several
disorders. It has been applied with success, in the cure of hooping-cough
and worms; and in flatulent colics, it has, in many cases, afforded great
relief. It is imported in masses of various sizes and form, and of yellow,
brown, or bluish colour, sometimes interspersed with roundish white pieces.

The plant from the root of which asafoetida is produced grows in the
mountains which surround the small town of Disgnun, in Persia; and, at the
season when it is collected, the whole place smells of it. The upper part
of the roots, which are sometimes as thick as a man's leg, rises somewhat
above the surface of the ground. The harvest commences when the leaves
begin to decay; and the whole gathering is performed by the inhabitants of
the place, in four different journeys to the mountains. The demand for the
article in foreign countries being first ascertained to be sufficient for
the trouble of collecting, the persons employed proceed to the mountains in
companies of four or five each. The juice is obtained by cutting the roots
across, at the same time sheltering them by the leaves (which have been
previously twisted off) from the intense heat of the sun. Each party takes
into its care about 2000 plants. After the first incision has been made,
the roots are suffered to remain untouched for about a month, when they are
again visited, and the gum which has exuded is taken off. This operation is
repeated three times, a few days betwixt each; after which the plants are
exhausted and left to die. At the respective gatherings each party
generally brings away about fifty pounds' weight of asafoetida. It is
stated that a single ship is exclusively devoted to transporting the bulk
of this commodity to the ports in the Persian Gulf; and that, when smaller
parcels are carried, it is usual to tie them to the top of the mast.

In the year 1784, the asafoetida plant was introduced into the Botanic
garden at Edinburgh, from seeds which had been sent by Dr. Guthrie of
Petersburgh to Dr. Hope.

The _ferula tribe_ consists of nine or ten known species of plants, and it
is supposed that asafoetida is yielded by several of them.

In some parts of the Levant the sailors are said to use the _stalks_ of a
species of ferula to transport fire from one island to another. This custom
is of great antiquity, and explains a passage of Hesiod, who, speaking of
the fire stolen from heaven by Prometheus, says that he carried it in a
ferula. The foundation of this fable is undoubtedly owing to what Diodorus
Siculus informs us of Prometheus, that he was the inventor of the steel
with which fire is struck from flint; and in all probability that prince
made use of the pith of the ferula instead of tinder, to convey it from one
place to another.

  88. _CORIANDER is a small globular seed, produced by an annual
  umbelliferous plant_ (Coriandrum sativum), _with leaves in slender
  segments, and small whitish flowers, that grows wild in Suffolk and
  Essex, and is cultivated in several parts of England._

In several farms in Essex and Kent the cultivation of coriander is pursued
to considerable extent. This is done solely for the seed, which is used by
distillers, druggists, and confectioners. In some parts of the North of
Europe it is ground and mixed with dough, to give an aromatic flavour to
bread.

Coriander is usually grown with teasel (53) and caraway (91); but, as
neither of the latter come to perfection until the second year after they
have been sown, the coriander is harvested without interfering with the
other crops. In this labour, which usually commences about the beginning of
July, women and children are principally employed: and, to prevent the
seeds of the largest and best plants from being shed and lost, each stem is
cut separately. The stems are then carried into some convenient part of the
field, and threshed all together upon a sail cloth.

So luxuriantly, and, at the same time, so abundantly does this plant grow
in a wild state, in some of the southern parts of Europe, as almost to
choke the growth of wheat and other grain. Every part of it, except the
seed, has a fetid and disagreeable smell. The seeds, when taken in large
quantities, have been considered injurious; but Dr. Withering states, that
he has known six drams of them taken without any remarkable effect.

  89. _PARSNIP is the root of an umbelliferous plant_ (Pastinaca sativa),
  _with winged and serrated leaves, and small yellow flowers, which is
  cultivated in kitchen gardens, and which also grows wild on the borders
  of ploughed fields in several parts of England._

The wild and cultivated parsnips differ much from each other, but
particularly in the roots of the latter being large and succulent, and
those of the former being slender and woody.

Parsnips are propagated by seed sown in February or March, and the roots
are in perfection about October. These, besides their use as a vegetable
for the table, are of great value for the feeding of cattle, horses, sheep,
and hogs. Land in Guernsey, which lets for 7_l._ an acre, is sown with
parsnips to feed cattle; and the milk of the cows so fed is not only richer
than it would otherwise be, but yields butter of fine saffron colour and
excellent taste.

If parsnips be washed clean, and sliced among bran, horses will eat them.
They will fatten sheep and oxen in a short time; and for the feeding of
hogs they are at least equal if not superior to carrots. As food for
mankind they are considered extremely nutritive; and may, with great
advantage, be kept on board ships that are destined for long voyages. It
is, however, said that they should not be dug up for use in the spring,
because, at that season, the nutritive juices rising upward to produce the
seed, they are then unwholesome.

Parsnips abound in saccharine juice; and various experiments have, in vain,
been made with a view to extract sugar from them. In several parts of
Ireland they are used instead of malt in brewing; and, when properly
fermented, they afford an agreeable beverage. The _seeds_ are considered by
some practitioners as an efficacious remedy in intermittent fevers.

  90. _FENNEL_ (Anethum foeniculum) _is a well known plant, which is
  cultivated in gardens, and grows wild in several parts of England._

The _leaves_ of fennel, both boiled and raw, are used in sauce for several
kinds of fish. The tender buds are eaten in salads; and, in Italy, the
_stalks_ are sometimes blanched as winter salad. A distilled water,
prepared from the seeds, is occasionally administered as a medicine; and
there was formerly a notion that the _roots_ were peculiarly valuable, as a
remedy in several diseases, but they are now almost wholly disregarded.

  91. _CARAWAY is a small well known seed, produced by an umbelliferous
  plant_ (Carum carui), _with smooth and double winged leaves, narrow
  leaflets, and small white, or pale flesh-coloured flowers, of which the
  petals are bent inward, so as to become heart-shaped._

The _seeds_ of caraway have a pleasant spicy smell, and a warm aromatic
taste. They are much used by pastry-cooks and confectioners in cakes, and
for other purposes. Incrusted with sugar, they are called caraway comfits.
They are also distilled with spirituous liquors, to improve their flavour;
and are recommended as a medicine in several disorders. An essential _oil_
and a _spirit_ are also prepared from them. In the spring of the year the
_leaves_ are sometimes used in soups, or boiled with pot-herbs. The _roots_
may be converted into an agreeable pickle; and, if simply boiled, they are
said by Parkinson to be better than parsnips.

This plant grows wild in several parts of England, but particularly in
meadows and pastures near Bury St. Edmunds, in Suffolk. It is much
cultivated in Essex and Kent, sometimes alone, and sometimes mixed with
teasel (53) and coriander (88). The season for cutting it is about the
beginning of July; and it is threshed in the field on a cloth, in the same
manner as rape-seed (187).

  92. _ANISE-SEEDS are the production of an umbelliferous annual plant_
  (Pimpinella anisum), _which grows wild in Egypt, Syria, and other Eastern
  countries. They are roundish and striated, flatted on one side, and
  pointed at one end; and of pale colour, inclining to green._

Attempts were made more than two hundred years ago to cultivate anise in
this country, but the summers of our climate are seldom warm enough to
bring the plant to perfection. It has consequently been found necessary to
import the seed from Malta and Spain, where it is cultivated to
considerable extent.

Anise-seeds have an aromatic smell, and a pleasant warm taste, accompanied
with some degree of sweetness. They have long been employed in medicine,
and have been considered useful in diseases of the lungs and complaints of
the stomach. They give out all their virtue to rectified spirit; and a
spirituous water prepared from a mixture of equal parts of anise-seed and
angelica, is kept in the shops as a cordial.

  93. _PARSLEY_ (Apium petroselinum) _is an annual umbelliferous plant too
  common to need any description._

The uses of parsley, in our kitchens, both for sauce and garnish, are
numerous and well known. It is, however, poisonous to several kinds of
birds; and, although so commonly used at table, facts have been adduced
from which it would appear that, with some persons, it occasions epilepsy,
or at least aggravates the fits in those who are subject to that disease.
Inflammation in the eyes has also been attributed to the use of it. Parsley
is eaten with great avidity by sheep, and has been recommended for use in
several diseases of those animals, as well as in some diseases of horses.
Both the _roots_ and _seed_ are employed in medicine. The former have a
sweetish taste, accompanied with a slight warmth, and a flavour somewhat
resembling that of the carrot: the latter are warm and aromatic.

Parsley is a native of Sardinia, and propagated by seed, which is usually
sown about the month of March.

  94. _CELERY_ (Apium graveolens) _is a well known plant belonging to the
  same tribe as parsley._

In a wild state celery is found in ditches and marshes of several parts of
England, and is a small, acrid, and noxious plant, called _smallage_: but,
when cultivated, it entirely loses these properties.

It is grown in trenches, and is earthed up for the purpose of blanching or
whitening the lower parts. The seeds are sown in spring, and the plants may
be taken out for use towards the end of the autumn. Celery is eaten raw in
salads, boiled in soup, or stewed. The seeds are used, particularly at sea,
for the flavouring of soup, to which they give the same taste as the plant
itself.

  95. _COPAL is a somewhat resinous substance, obtained from a tree_ (Rhus
  copallinum) _the produce of America, which has winged and very entire
  leaves, the foot-stalks membranaceous and jointed._

We annually import considerable quantities of copal from the Spanish
colonies in America, in irregular masses, some of which are transparent, of
yellowish or brown colour, and others are whitish and semi-transparent.
When copal is dissolved in any volatile liquid, and thinly spread upon
wood, metal, or any other firm substance, so that the liquid may evaporate,
the copal remains perfectly transparent; and forms one of the most
beautiful and perfect varnishes that can be imagined. The varnish thus
formed has the name of _copal varnish_, and is said to have been first
discovered in France. One mode of preparing it is by melting the copal with
an equal quantity of linseed oil (97); another, by mixture with oil of
turpentine; and a third, by mixture with alcohol or spirit of wine. The
particular processes are described in the fourth volume of Dr. Thomson's
System of Chemistry, fifth edition; but they are too long and intricate for
insertion here.

Copal is the varnish which is chiefly used in the japanning of snuff-boxes,
tea-boards, and other similar articles.

TRIGYNIA.

  96. _The COMMON ELDER_ (Sambucus nigra) _is a wild English shrub,
  distinguishable by its winged leaves, with serrated and somewhat oval
  leaflets, its clusters of small white flowers divided into five principal
  branches, and the small black or purple berries by which these are
  succeeded._

The uses of the elder are more numerous than those of most other shrubs.
There is scarcely any part of this shrub which has not been advantageously
employed in some way or other. The _wood_ is yellow, and, in old trees,
becomes so hard that it will take a polish almost as bright as that of box
(232); and, indeed, it is often used as a substitute for box-wood. Its
toughness also is such that it is made into skewers for butchers, tops for
fishing rods, and needles for the weaving of nets. It is likewise employed
by turners.

Sir J. E. Smith has remarked that this tree is, as it were, a whole
magazine of physic to rustic practitioners, and that it is not quite
neglected even by professional men. Ointments have been made of the green
_inner bark_, and of the _leaves_. The dried _flowers_, infused in water,
are used in fomentations, or as tea: and, mixed with butter-milk, they are
sometimes employed as a wash for the face; and the clusters of flowers,
before they open, may be made into a delicious pickle, to eat with boiled
mutton. The _berries_ are boiled into a rob, which is useful in sore
throats, colds, and hoarsenesses. In addition to their medicinal services,
the leaves are sometimes thrown into the subterraneous paths of moles,
under an impression that their smell will drive away those noxious animals.
If turnips, cabbages, fruit trees, or corn, all of which are subject to
blight from various kinds of insects, be strongly whipped with the green
leaves and branches of elder, insects will not attack them; and an infusion
of the leaves is sometimes sprinkled by gardeners over the buds of such
flowers as they wish to preserve from the devastation of caterpillars.
Elder flowers have an agreeable flavour, which they impart, in
distillation, to water: they are likewise used to give a flavour to
vinegar. The berries are poisonous to poultry, but their juice, properly
fermented, makes a pleasant and wholesome wine; and, in Germany, a very
pure and strong spirit is distilled from them. The juice of elder berries
is sometimes employed to give a red colour to raisin or other sweet wine.
The _young shoots_ of this shrub are filled with an exceedingly light
_pith_, which is cut into balls for electrical experiments; and is also
made into toys for the amusement of children.

The elder will grow and thrive in almost any soil and situation; but, as
every part of this shrub has an unpleasant narcotic smell, people ought to
be cautious not to sleep under its shade, as, in such case, it might prove
of serious injury to them.

TETRAGYNIA.

  97. _FLAX is the produce of an annual plant_ (Linum usitatissimum, Fig.
  37), _with spear-shaped leaves, and blue flowers, which is cultivated in
  several parts of Great Britain, and grows wild in corn-fields and sandy
  pastures of some of the southern counties._

  _The stems of these plants rise to the height of about two feet. The seed
  vessels and leaves of the calyx are sharp pointed, and the flowers have
  each five scolloped petals._

It is supposed that we were originally indebted for this plant to those
parts of Egypt which are annually inundated by the Nile; but the time of
its introduction into this country is unknown. Its utility is incalculable.
To it we are indebted for the linen we wear, for our sheets, table-cloths,
and numerous other indispensable articles of clothing and domestic economy;
and although cotton might, in some degree, supply its place, those persons
who have been accustomed to the comforts of linen would be little desirous
of the exchange.

The cultivation of flax is pursued to considerable extent in some parts of
the British dominions. The seed imported from Riga and Holland is
generally, though perhaps erroneously, esteemed the best. It is sown in
March or April; and the plants, when nearly ripe, are pulled up by the
roots. These, if flax and not seed be the object of the crop, are either
placed in small parcels upon the surface of the land, for exposure to the
sun, to dry; or they are immediately conveyed to the place where they are
to undergo the process called watering. For this purpose they are loosely
tied in small bundles, placed in pools or ponds of soft and stagnant water,
and allowed to continue there several days. By the fermentation which takes
place, the bark or flaxy substance becomes separated. They are then taken
out, and thinly spread upon the grass, in regular rows. Here they are
occasionally turned until they have become so brittle, that, on being
rubbed between the hands, the flax easily and freely separates from the
stalks. They are taken up, and bound in sheaves, to be either sent to a
mill, or to be broken and scuttled, as it is called, by a machine contrived
for that purpose.

The flax, by the above process, having been separated from the stalks, it
subsequently undergoes various dressings, according to the purposes for
which it is to be used.

When the plants have been grown for _seed_, they are pulled as before, and
then laid together by handfuls upon the ground, with the seed ends towards
the south, that they may be the better exposed to the sun. The next
operation is to force off the seed vessels. For this purpose a large cloth
is usually spread on some adjacent and convenient spot of ground, and an
instrument, called a ripple, is placed in the middle of it. This is a sort
of comb, consisting of six, eight, or ten, long, triangular, upright teeth.
The seed ends of the flax are pulled repeatedly through the teeth of the
comb, by which the parts containing the seed are removed from the stalks.
After this the pods and seeds, which have the name of _line-seeds_, are
spread upon a cloth in the sun to dry, and subsequently are threshed,
sifted, winnowed, and cleansed. The best seed is generally preserved for
sowing, and the second sort yields considerable profit in the oil which is
obtained from it by pressure. This, which is called _linseed oil_, is
equally useful in the arts and in medicine. It is occasionally employed for
making the soap called green soap. If heat be applied during the pressure
of the seeds, the oil attains a yellowish colour and a peculiar smell, and,
in this state, it is used by painters and varnishers. An infusion of the
seed, in the manner of tea, is recommended in coughs; and from the seed is
also made an useful kind of poultice for external inflammations.

After the oil has been expressed, the remaining farinaceous part of the
seeds is squeezed together into large masses, called _oil-cake_ which is
given as food to oxen.

It must be remarked that the water in which flax has been macerated becomes
thereby poisonous to cattle; and, on this account, the practice of steeping
it in any running stream or common pond was prohibited by an act of
Parliament, passed in the reign of Henry the Eighth.

----

CLASS VI.--HEXANDRIA.

----

MONOGYNIA.

  98. _The PINE_ (Bromelia ananas) _is a rich and highly fragrant fruit, of
  large size, and yellow colour, with protuberances on its surface; and
  crowned by a tuft of strong and pointed leaves, edged with sharp spines._

This, the best and finest flavoured of all known fruits, was originally
imported into England from South America, about the year 1690. In that
country and the West Indies it has long been cultivated in the open ground;
and, from free access to a congenial atmosphere, it attains there a much
finer flavour than is possible in a forced state, in the hot-houses of
Great Britain.

Pines are planted in earth; and the pots which contain them are immersed in
beds of bark, after it has been used by the tanners. About the month of
April the young fruit begins to advance, but the usual season for ripening
does not commence till July, and the fruit is in greatest perfection from
the middle of August to the end of September. The ripening of pines is
discoverable by the fragrant odour which they emit, and by their
protuberances yielding to pressure with the hand; and their flavour
speedily dissipates if left uncut longer than three or four days after they
are fully ripe. When brought to table, their leafy crowns should be
reserved for planting. These, if placed in pots, and plunged in the
bark-bed, or in a hot-bed, and covered, for some time, with glass, will in
two years bear fruit.

There are several varieties of pine, of which the following are among the
principal.

(_a_) _White Pine._--This has a whitish and fibrous flesh, and the rind as
yellow as that of an orange. Its smell is highly fragrant, and it excels
most other kinds in size and beauty, although its flavour is inferior to
that of many. Its juice edges the teeth, and sometimes makes the lips
smart.

(_b_) _The yellow pine_ edges the teeth less; but both this and the
preceding variety are exceeded by

(_c_)  _The sugar-loaf pine_; which is distinguished by the purple stripes
on the outside of the leaves, and by its straw-coloured fruit.

(_d_) _The Montserrat pine_ is now rare in Europe, though in America it is
esteemed in preference to most others. It is principally known by the
protuberances of the fruit being longer and flatter than those of the
common sort.

In the West Indies an excellent liquid sweetmeat or confection is made from
pines. This fruit also is sometimes preserved whole, and, when taken out of
the syrup, is iced over with sugar. Sweetmeats of this kind were formerly
sent into Europe, in great quantity, from the Antilles. Wine made from
pines is almost equal to Malmsey: at the end of about three weeks it
becomes somewhat acid, but it recovers by longer keeping. Pines, in the
West Indies, are frequently put into rum to communicate to that liquor
their peculiar aromatic flavour.

  99. _GARLIC_ (Allium sativum) _is a plant with bulbous root, of irregular
  form, composed of many smaller bulbs, called cloves, which are all
  included within a white skin._

  _The stem leaves are flat and narrow; the upper part of the stem bears
  small bulbs, and the stamens are three pointed._

In warm climates, where _garlic_ is produced having considerably less
acrimony than in this country, it is much used, both as a seasoning and as
food. The lower classes of French, Spaniards, and Portuguese, consume great
quantities of it. The Jews also eat of it to excess. With us it is in
considerable estimation for culinary and other domestic purposes. It has an
acrid taste, and an highly offensive smell; and it differs from the onion
only by being more powerful in its effects. When bruised and applied to the
skin, it causes inflammation, and raises blisters.

The medical properties of garlic are various. In dropsical complaints,
asthmas, and agues, it is said to have been successfully used. Some
instances have occurred, in deafness, of the beneficial effects of wrapping
a clove of garlic in muslin and putting it into the ear. As a medicine
internally taken, garlic is administered as a bolus, or made into pills.
Its smell is considered an infallible remedy against vapours, and to be
useful in nearly all the nervous disorders to which females are subject. An
oil is sometimes prepared from garlic, which is so heavy as to sink in
water. But the virtues of this pungent vegetable are more perfectly and
more readily extracted by spirit of wine than in any other way. A syrup is
also made from it.

The juice of garlic is said to be the best and strongest cement that can be
adopted for broken glass and china, leaving little or no mark, if used with
care. Snails, worms, and the grubs, or larvæ of insects, as well as moles,
and other vermin, may all be driven away by placing preparations of garlic
in or near their haunts.

This plant grows wild in the island of Sicily.

  100. _LEEKS_ (Allium porrum) _belong to the onion or garlic tribe, and
  are known by their leaves growing out on each side, somewhat in the shape
  of a fan._

In some countries leeks are much esteemed for culinary uses, in soups,
broth, and for boiling as greens with meat.

They are considered the badge of the Welsh nation, and representations of
them are frequently worn by persons of that country on the day of their
patron saint, St. David. The origin of this custom was an occurrence,
during the Welsh wars, in which a party of Welshmen, wanting a mark of
distinction, and shortly afterwards passing through a field or garden of
leeks, seized and stuck the plants in their caps, and under this signal
were victorious.

Leeks are natives of Switzerland.

  101. _SHALOT_ (Allium ascalonicum) _is a kind of garlic, the bulbs or
  roots of which are oblong, irregular, and seldom of large size._

  _The stem is naked and round; the leaves are somewhat awl-shaped; the
  head of flowers is globular; and the stamens are three-pointed._

The uses of shalot, or echalotte, as it is denominated by the French, are
almost wholly confined to cookery. It has a strong, but rather pleasant
smell, on which account it is generally preferred to onions. It is employed
for the seasoning of soups, gravy, hashes, pickles, and for numerous other
purposes.

This plant grows wild in several parts of the Continent.

  102. _The CANADIAN or TREE ONION_ (Allium Canadense) _is remarkable for
  producing a bulb or onion at the top of the stalk._

  _The stem is naked and round; and the leaves are flat and narrow._

These onions are well deserving of attention both as objects of curiosity,
from producing their bulb at the upper extremity of the stalk, and also for
their use. When pickled, they are generally thought superior in flavour to
the common onion.

They were originally imported from Canada; are perennial, and are
propagated by planting the bulbs in the spring or autumn. Either the bulbs
of the root or those on the stalk will grow.

  103. _CHIVES_ (Allium schoenoprasum) _are the smallest of the garlic
  tribe, seldom rising more than a few inches above the ground, and the
  bulbs not being larger than peas._

  _The stem is naked, as long as the leaves; and the leaves are round and
  somewhat awl-shaped._

Chives are natives of Italy, Switzerland, and several other parts of
Europe; and are so hardy, and at the same time so useful, that they merit a
place in every garden: yet, in the northern counties of England and in
Scotland, they are very rarely to be seen. The leaves, which are small and
are the principal parts that are used, appear early in the spring. They are
employed in salads, and for numerous culinary purposes; and often at a
season when other plants of the same tribe cannot be procured.

  104. _The COMMON ONION_ (Allium cepa) _is known by its round and hollow
  leaves, and its swelling pipy stalk, which is considerably thicker in the
  middle than either at the top or bottom._

The name of onion is derived from the Latin word _unio_, which, properly,
signifies a bulb that does not throw out offsets. Onions are propagated by
seed which are sown in spring; and the bulbs or roots arrive at perfection
in the autumn. The whole plant, when young, is eaten as salad. Onions
generally cease to grow towards the middle of August, the stalks and leaves
at that time shrinking and turning brown. Shortly after this they must be
drawn out of the earth; the tops and blades must be cut off; and the roots
dried, either in a warm place, or by exposure to the sun.

_Spanish onions_ are of large size, and flattened shape; and _Portugal
onions_ are large, handsome bulbs, of roundish form.

By the common people onions are frequently eaten raw with their food. This
has particularly been the case, and from time immemorial, with the
inhabitants of Egypt. By stimulating the stomach, they are supposed to
favour digestion. Some persons have imagined that they possess a large
portion of alimentary matter; but others say that they afford little or no
nourishment, and that, when eaten freely, they produce flatulencies,
occasion thirst, head-achs, and turbulent dreams. Onions have so much
acrimony as generally to affect the breath for many hours: but when boiled
or roasted, this is, in a great measure, dissipated, and they then exhibit
some sweetness, with a considerable portion of mucilaginous matter. Onions
are of great use in several culinary preparations, but particularly in soup
and pickles. They are employed in medicine chiefly as poultices for
swellings; and have been recommended by some persons, to be rubbed on bald
parts of the head, to promote the growth of the hair.

  105. _ASPARAGUS_ (Asparagus officinalis), _is a well known plant, the
  young shoots of which are a favourite culinary vegetable_.

Few circumstances in the phenomena of vegetation are more remarkable than
the gradual enlargement of size, and improvement of quality, which have
taken place in the cultivation of asparagus. It grows wild on the pebbly
beach near Weymouth, and in the island of Anglesea: but its stem, in these
situations, is not usually thicker than a goose's quill, and its whole
height does not exceed a few inches; whereas in gardens its stem is
sometimes near three quarters of an inch thick, and its height, when at
maturity, is four or five feet.

Asparagus is one of the greatest delicacies which our kitchen gardens
afford, and it is particularly estimable from the early season at which it
is produced. Even in the open ground, it is in perfection for the table
about the end of April; and when forced, by being planted in hot-beds under
glass, it may be cut much earlier. Asparagus continues in season till about
the end of June.

It is usually raised from seed, in beds formed for the purpose: and the
plants should remain three years in the ground before they are cut: after
which, for several years, they will continue to afford a regular annual
supply. During the winter, they are secured from the effects of frost by
the beds being covered some inches thick with straw or litter.

In the cutting of asparagus, the knife is passed three or four inches
beneath the ground. The plants are cut by sloping the blade upward; and the
white part that we see, is that which had not previously been exposed to
the air. The smallest plants are suffered to grow for the purpose of
producing berries to re-stock the beds, and keep them continually in a
state of supply.

  106. _ALOES are an extensive tribe of plants, some of which are not more
  than a few inches, whilst others are thirty feet and upwards, in height.
  All the leaves are fleshy, thick, and more or less spinous at the edges
  or extremity._

  _These plants, which are chiefly inhabitants of hot climates, have
  flowers of a single petal, the mouth expanded, the base nectariferous,
  and the filaments of the stamens inserted into the receptacle._

Some of the larger kinds of aloes are of great importance to the
inhabitants of countries in which they grow. Beset as the _leaves_ are with
strong spines, they form an impenetrable fence. The negroes of the western
coast of Africa make ropes and weave nets of the fibrous part of these
leaves. The Hottentots hollow out the _stems_ of one of the kinds into
quivers for their arrows. In Jamaica, there is a species of aloe which
supplies the inhabitants with bow-strings, fishing lines, and materials
from which they are able to weave stockings and hammocks. An aloe which
grows in the kingdom of Mexico is applied by the inhabitants to almost
every purpose of life. It serves as hedges for enclosures: its trunk
supplies the place of timber for the roofs of houses, and its leaves the
place of tiles. From this plant the Mexicans make thread, needles, and
various articles of clothing and cordage: whilst from its juices they
manufacture wine, sugar, and vinegar. Some parts of it they eat, and others
they apply in medicine.

The _juice_ of aloes was formerly used in Eastern countries in embalming,
to preserve dead bodies from putrefaction; and, as the resinous part of
this juice is not soluble in water, it is sometimes adopted in hot climates
as a preservative to ships' bottoms against the attack of marine worms. One
ounce of it mixed with turpentine, tallow, and white lead, is considered to
be sufficient for covering about two superficial feet of plank; and about
twelve pounds are sufficient for a vessel of fifty tons' burthen. In proof
of the efficacy of this method, two planks of equal thickness, and cut from
the same tree, were placed under water, one of them in its natural state,
and the other smeared with the composition above described. They were
suffered to continue in the water eight months, and when, at the end of
that time, they were taken out, the former was perforated in every part,
and in a state of absolute decay; whilst the latter was as perfect as at
first. In the East Indies, the juice of these plants is used as a varnish,
to preserve wood from the attacks of destructive insects: and skins, and
even living animals, are sometimes smeared with it for the same purpose.

There is a tract of mountains, about fifty miles north of the Cape of Good
Hope, which is wholly covered with aloes. Among the Mahometans, and
particularly in Egypt, the aloe is a kind of symbolic plant: it is
dedicated to the offices of religion; and pilgrims, on their return from
Mecca, suspend it over their doors, as a declaration that they have
performed that holy journey.

  107. _SOCOTRINE ALOES are the dried juice of a large species of aloe_
  (Aloe perfoliata, Fig. 38) _which grows in great abundance in the island
  of Socotra, near the mouth of the Red Sea._

  _The leaves are sword-shaped, fleshy, smooth, full of juice, of
  bluish-green colour; and beset at the edges with strong spines. The
  flower-stems rise to the height of three or four feet, are smooth, erect,
  and have at the top a spike of flowers of purple or reddish colour, the
  stamens of which have oblong orange-coloured anthers._

The true Socotrine aloes are imported into this country wrapped in skins;
and when pure have a bright surface, and are in some degree pellucid. In
the lump they have a yellowish red colour, with a purplish cast; and, when
reduced to powder, are of a golden yellow. Their taste is bitter and
disagreeable, but somewhat aromatic; and their smell is not unpleasant.

_Barbadoes aloes_, _common aloes_, or _hepatic aloes_, are the dried juice
of a variety of the Socotrine aloes, which is cultivated in Barbadoes and
Jamaica. Of this we import three kinds: one in gourd shells; an inferior
kind, in pots; and another, still worse, in casks.

In the cultivation of aloes it is requisite that the plants should grow for
two or three years before the juice is procured from them. The operation of
collecting the juice is performed in different ways. Dr. Browne tells us
that labourers go into the field with knives and tubs; and that cutting off
the largest and most succulent leaves close to the stalk, they immediately
put them into the tubs in an upright position, that the liquor may drain
from the wounds. When this is nearly all discharged, they take the leaves
out singly, and clear them of any juice that may adhere to them; and the
liquor is then put into shallow flat-bottomed vessels, and dried gradually
in the sun, until it acquires a proper thickness to be poured out or ladled
into the gourd shells which are to contain it. What is thus obtained is
called _Socotrine aloes_, and is the clearest and most valuable of any. An
additional quantity of juice is obtained by pressing the leaves.

In some places the plants are pulled up by the roots, and, after having
been carefully cleansed from earth or other impurities, they are sliced and
cut in pieces, into small hand-baskets or nets. In these the pieces are
boiled, for a little while, in water, by which the juice is extracted; and
successive basketfuls are boiled in the same liquor, until it becomes thick
and of dark colour. The fluid part is subsequently evaporated, and what
remains is put into gourd shells for sale.

Other methods of inspissating or drying the juice are to pour it into
bladders left open at the top, and suspended in the sun; or to place it in
broad shallow trays of wood, pewter or tin, exposed to the sun every dry
day, until the fluid parts are exhaled, and a perfect resin is formed,
which is then packed up for sale.

There is a kind called _Caballine_ or _horse aloes_, which has a rank and
unpleasant smell, but in taste is not much more disagreeable than either of
the others. In its properties it agrees nearly with hepatic aloes, but it
is chiefly employed by farriers in horse medicines.

The medical properties of aloes have long been known and established: and
their extensive application in medicine is, perhaps, the best proof that
can be adduced of their utility. In the arts aloes are, in several
respects, useful. But, particularly, the leaves of the Socotrine aloes
afford a beautiful violet colour which does not require the aid of any
mordant to fix it; the same also is capable of being formed into a fine
transparent colour for painting in miniature.

  108. _The GREAT, or AMERICAN ALOE_ (Agave Americana), _is a large plant,
  the leaves of which are thick, fleshy, and spinous at the edge, and the
  stem branched and of great height._

  _The flowers of this plant are distinguished by having the tube of the
  corolla narrowed in the middle, the stamens longer than the corolla, and
  the style longer than the stamens._

This magnificent native of North America is by no means an uncommon plant
in our gardens, but, with us, it is seldom seen in flower. There is indeed
a notion, but it is an erroneous one, that the American aloe does not bloom
until it is a hundred years old. The fact is, that the flowering depends
almost wholly on its growth. In hot countries it will flower in a few
years; but in colder climates, the growth being slower, it is necessarily
longer in arriving at maturity. The stem which bears the blossoms rises
from the centre of the leaves, and, when the plant is in a vigorous state,
it frequently exceeds the height of twenty feet. An American aloe in the
garden of the king of Prussia was forty feet high. Branches issue from
every side, and in such manner as to form a kind of pyramid, composed of
greenish yellow flowers, which stand erect, and are seen in thick clusters
at every joint. When in full flower, the appearance of this aloe is
extremely splendid; and if the season be favourable, and the plant be
sheltered from the cold in autumn, a succession of blossoms will sometimes
be produced for near three months.

In the warmer parts of Europe, American aloes are cultivated as objects of
considerable utility. They are frequently grown in rows, as fences, for
enclosures, particularly in Spain, Portugal, and Italy. In Algarvia the
leaves are employed for scouring pewter and other kitchen utensils, and
floors; and, cut into slices, are used for the feeding of cattle.

By a certain preparation, the juice of the leaves is made into cakes, which
are employed for washing, and which will lather with salt water as well as
with fresh. The fibres of the leaves, when properly prepared, may be
separated into threads that are useful in various ways. This separation is
sometimes effected by bruising and steeping them in water, and afterwards
beating them. The process, in some parts of Portugal, is, after plucking
the largest and best leaves, to place them on a square board, which a
person presses obliquely between his breast and the ground, and then
scrapes with a square iron bar held in both hands. By this operation all
the juices are pressed out, and only the fibres and some of the membranous
parts of the leaves remain, which are then easily detached. The fibres are
employed for all the purposes to which thread can be applied, but they are
neither strong nor durable; and if exposed to moisture, they soon decay.

  109. _The FAN PALM is a very remarkable tree_ (Corypha umbraculifera)
  _that grows in the East Indies, but particularly in Malabar, and the
  island of Ceylon; its leaves, eight or ten in number, rise out of the
  summit of the trunk, are winged and somewhat fan-shaped, and have their
  segments connected by a thread or fibre._

The stem of the fan palm is straight, cylindrical, smooth, and as tall as a
ship's mast. Its _leaves_ are upwards of six yards in length, and four
yards wide; and form altogether a head of twelve or thirteen yards in
diameter. These leaves, which, when dry, fold up somewhat like a fan, are
used for the covering of huts and cottages; and not unfrequently by
soldiers, instead of canvas, for the construction of tents. One of them is
sufficiently large to shelter twenty persons from the rays of the sun. They
are also a kind of natural paper on which the inhabitants write, by means
of a sharp-pointed iron instrument, which leaves indelible marks upon them.
Many of the books which are shown in Europe for those of Egyptian papyrus
(26) are said to be formed of parts of these leaves.--The _pith_ of the
trunk, beaten into a kind of paste and mixed with water, is formed into
cakes, and constitutes a species of bread, very serviceable to the
inhabitants in times of scarcity. The _juice_ of some parts of the tree is
used as an emetic.

The fan palms are said not to bear fruit until they are near forty years
old; but after this period, when in perfection, they produce annually more
than twenty thousand _berries_ each. These are each about 1½ inch diameter,
of globular shape, smooth, green, and fleshy; but are not known to be of
any use.

  110. _The ROTANG or DRAGON'S BLOOD TREE, is a species of cane_ (Calamus
  rotang) _which grows to the length of more than a hundred feet, is about
  as thick as a man's arm, and is closely beset with erect prickles._

  _This cane has at the top a tuft of leaves which are several feet in
  length, and alternately winged, and of which the leaflets are
  sword-shaped, and armed with sharp spines._

In consequence of its great length and slender form, the rotang tree (which
is usually found in woods near rivers, and in morassy places) does not grow
entirely upright; but, after having attained the height of five or six
yards, it depends, for support, upon other trees, which it sometimes
overruns, in nearly an horizontal direction to the extent of sixty or
eighty feet. The flowers are produced in upright spikes that separate into
long spreading branches, and are succeeded by a red and somewhat egg-shaped
fruit, which to the taste is pleasantly acid.

The drug called _Dragon's Blood_[4] is obtained from this fruit, in Japan,
and several other countries of the East. The Japanese expose the fruit of
the Rotang tree to the steam of boiling water, by which the external shell
is softened, and a resinous fluid is forced out, that is afterwards
enclosed in leaves and suspended in the air to dry. In Sumatra the external
surface of the fruit is observed to be covered with the resin: this is
rubbed off, melted in the sun, and formed into grains or globules, which
are folded in leaves, and are considered the purest kind of dragon's blood.
In some countries the fruit is boiled in water, and the resin, which floats
upon the surface, is skimmed off and subsequently purified, and formed into
the requisite shape for sale. An inferior kind of dragon's blood is made up
into large masses, which contain the membranous parts of the fruit and
other impurities. When this substance is tolerably pure, it breaks smooth,
and appears internally of a dark red colour; melts readily, and easily
catches fire. Its principal use is in medicine.

The _stem_ of the rotang furnishes the inhabitants of the countries where
it grows with shafts for pikes or spears; and the inner part of the young
shoots is boiled or roasted for food.

  111. _The COMMON WALKING CANES_ (Calamus scipionum) _have a smooth and
  glossy stem, usually marked with dark spots: and the knots or joints are
  sometimes three or four feet asunder._

These canes grow, very abundantly, in Sumatra and other Eastern islands, as
well as on the continent of India, whence they appear to have been
originally exported to Europe by the Dutch. There is a considerable trade
in them to China. The long spaces between the knots, their shining surface,
and lightness, have rendered them preferable to most other articles for
walking canes.

  112. _The RATTAN or TRUE CANE_ (Calamus verus), _is remarkable for
  growing to the great length of a hundred feet, and upwards, and, at the
  same time, not being thicker than a man's finger._

A trade in rattans to considerable extent is carried on from several of the
islands of the east to China, which is the principal market for them. These
canes are extremely tough and flexible, of yellowish brown colour, and,
when cut into thongs, are sometimes used to make cables and other ropes.
Our cane-bottomed chairs are made of split rattans, the outer or smooth
surface of which is always kept uppermost. For this work the canes are
chosen by their great length, pale yellow colour, and bright gloss. They
are purchased in bundles, each of which contains a hundred canes, neatly
tied in the middle, and the ends bent together. When perfectly dry, they
are so hard as to yield sparks of fire when struck against each other. The
word rattan, in the Malay language, signifies a staff or walking stick.

  113. _The BAMBOO CANE_ (Bambusa arundinacea) _has a hollow, round,
  straight, and shining stem; and sometimes grows to the length of forty
  feet and upwards: it has knots at the distance of ten or twelve inches
  from each other, with thick, rough, and hairy sheaths, alternate
  branches, and small, entire, and spear-shaped leaves._

There is scarcely any plant so common in hot climates as this, and few are
more extensively useful. It occurs within the tropical regions both of the
eastern and western hemispheres, throughout the East Indies and the greater
part of China, in the West Indies, and America. In England, it can only be
cultivated in a hot-house; and its growth is so rapid, even there, that a
strong shoot has been known to spring from the ground and attain the height
of twenty feet in six weeks.

The inhabitants of many parts of India build their houses almost wholly of
bamboo; and make nearly every description of furniture with it, in a very
ingenious manner. They likewise form with it several kinds of utensils, for
their kitchens and tables; and, from two pieces of bamboo rubbed hard
together, they produce fire. The masts of boats, boxes, baskets, and
innumerable other articles, are made of bamboo. After having been bruised,
steeped in water, and formed into a pulp, the _sheaths_ and _leaves_ may be
manufactured into paper. The stems are frequently bored, and used as pipes
for conveying water; and the strongest stems serve to make the poles with
which the slaves or servants carry those kind of litters so common in the
East, called palanquins. The stems of the bamboo serve also as the usual
fence for gardens and other enclosures: and the leaves are generally put
round the tea which is sent in chests from China to Europe. The Chinese
make, of the external _bark_ of the bamboo, a kind of cordage, which has
the advantage of united lightness and durability. For this purpose the bark
is cleft in strips several feet in length; and these are twisted together
according to the thickness that is required. For the tow lines of their
vessels, eight or nine bands or strips are sufficient; but, for cables, a
much greater number is requisite. Some of the Malays preserve the small and
_tender shoots_ of bamboo in vinegar and pepper to be eaten with their
food. Many of the walking canes which we see in Europe are formed of the
young shoots of this plant.

The Chinese make a kind of frame-work of bamboo, by which they are enabled
to float in water; and the Chinese merchants, when going on a voyage,
always provide themselves with this simple apparatus to save their lives in
case of shipwreck. It is formed by placing four bamboos horizontally across
each other, so as to leave, in the middle, a square place for the body;
and, when used, this frame is slipped over the head, and secured by being
tied to the waist.

  114. _The COMMON RUSH_ (Juncus effusus) _is known by its green, smooth,
  stiff, upright, leafless and pointed stem; having a loose bunch of small
  flowers at the side, and the seed-vessels blunt at the extremity._

Although the rush is generally considered by farmers a noxious weed in wet
meadows and pastures, it is applicable to a variety of useful purposes; but
particularly for making the wicks of rushlights. For this purpose it is
usually cut a little after Midsummer; and is immediately afterwards thrown
into water, and kept there, that it may not become dry, and that it may be
the more easily peeled.

At first a person would find it no easy matter to divest a rush of its
rind, so as to leave on each side, from top to bottom, one regular, narrow,
and even rib, that may support the pith. But this, by practice, soon
becomes familiar even to children.

When rushes are thus far prepared, they are spread on the grass to be
bleached; and, afterwards, they are dried in the sun for use.

If only one rib of peel be left, instead of two, rushes will supply the
place of cotton wicks for candles. In some parts of Hampshire the labouring
people form wicks of this description; they dip them into scalding fat or
grease, and use them in place of candles.

Rushes are sometimes manufactured into a slight kind of baskets. In the
vicinity of Farnham, in Surrey, they are cut about Midsummer, and dried in
the same manner as hay. After this they are formed into a kind of rick, and
sheltered till the succeeding spring. They are then usefully employed, for
bands or ties, in fastening hop-binds to the poles. In a fresh state they
are sometimes made into brooms or besoms for blacksmiths, and other
artisans working in metals.

  115. _BARBERRIES are a beautiful red and oblong-shaped fruit, produced,
  in small bunches, by a shrub_ (Berberris vulgaris) _which grows wild in
  many parts of England. This shrub has somewhat oval, serrated, and
  pointed leaves; thorns growing three together upon the branches; and
  pendent clusters of yellow flowers._

So great is the acidity of this beautiful _fruit_ that even birds refuse to
eat it. In this respect it nearly approaches the tamarind. When boiled with
sugar, however, it makes an agreeable preserve, rob, or jelly, according to
the different modes of preparing it. Barberries are also used as a dry
sweetmeat, and in sugarplums or comfits; are pickled with vinegar, and are
used for the garnishing of dishes. They are likewise well calculated to
allay heat and thirst in persons afflicted with fevers. The _bark_ of this
barberry shrub is said to have been administered with effect in cases of
jaundice, and in some other complaints; and the inner bark, with the
assistance of alum, dyes linen a fine yellow colour. The _roots_, but
particularly their bark, are employed, in Poland, in the dyeing of leather.

A very singular circumstance has been stated respecting the barberry shrub;
that corn, sown near it, proves abortive, the ears being in general
destitute of grain; and that this influence is sometimes extended to a
distance of three or four hundred yards across a field. A similar opinion,
on this subject, prevails in France, as well as in England, but there is
reason to suppose it is without foundation.

DIGYNIA.

  116. _RICE_ (Oryza sativa, Fig. 39) _is a well-known kind of grain, which
  is much cultivated in the East Indies, America, and some parts of Spain;
  and which, previously to its being sold for use, is freed from a brownish
  husk that covers it._

  _The rice plant has an erect, simple, round, and jointed stem. Its leaves
  are narrow and pointed; and its flowers appear in a kind of bunch, at the
  extremity, somewhat resembling, but more compact than, an ear of oats._

We are, at present, chiefly supplied with rice from America; and it is said
that the Americans were indebted for this grain to a small bag of it which
was formerly given as a present from a Mr. Dubois, treasurer of the East
India Company, to a Carolina merchant.

A wet and morassy soil, appears in general necessary to the cultivation of
rice. The parts of the farms or plantations in which it is grown are
usually so situated as to admit of being flooded; and, in many places,
reservoirs of water are formed for this purpose. These reservoirs have
sluices, by which the rice fields may be inundated at pleasure. In reaping
the crop, the labourers generally work knee deep in water and mud. As the
rice is cut, the sheaves are put on drays, and carried out to be spread on
dry ground. The rice thus produced has the name of _marsh rice_, and is
that which is chiefly imported into Europe.

In some of the mountainous parts of the East Indies rice is cultivated on
the sides of hills, where it can only be watered by rain. It is sown,
however, at the beginning of the rainy, and reaped in the beginning of the
dry season; so that, in fact, it has nearly all the advantages of being
watered, which the marsh rice possesses. The general appellation of rice,
in the East Indies, is _paddy_; but the kind just mentioned is denominated
_paddy gunung_, or _mountain rice_, and is little known in Europe, though
of late years it has been cultivated with success in Tuscany. Its grains
are whiter, finer, and more palatable than those of the marsh rice.

After the harvesting of rice, the next process is to free the grains from
the husk in which they are enveloped. There are several ways of doing this.
In some places they are pounded in large mortars, and afterwards winnowed.
In others large cylindrical pestles are lifted by a wheel worked by oxen;
and between these one person sits and pushes forward the rice to be beaten,
whilst another carries it off to be winnowed, and supplies fresh parcels.
The inhabitants of several parts of the East throw it into hot water, by
which the grains are slightly swelled, and thus burst through the husk. In
the island of Ceylon, and in some parts of America, a hollow place, about a
foot in depth, and nine or ten yards in diameter, is dug in the ground.
This is filled with corn, which is trodden by oxen driven round it until
the grain is cleared. The Sacred and other writings inform us that this was
the mode which the ancients adopted with other species of grain.

In Spain, when the rice is ripe, it is gathered into sheaves, and put into
a mill, where the lower grinding stone is covered with cork; and, by this
means, the grain is separated from the husk, without being bruised.

Rice is said to have been lately cultivated, with success, in some parts of
Scotland; and it is not improbable, that, by degrees, this species of grain
may be naturalized to our climate.

No kind of grain is so generally adopted for food in hot climates as this.
The inhabitants of many parts of the East subsist almost wholly upon it;
and large quantities are annually imported into Europe, where it is highly
esteemed for puddings and numerous culinary preparations. It is considered
very nutritive, but it should not be eaten in too large quantities by
languid or debilitated persons. In a scarcity of other grain, rice may be
used with considerable advantage as an ingredient in bread. Indeed, on
account of its excellence and its cheapness, it claims attention as a
general article of sustenance for the poorer classes of society; as it is
well known that a quarter of a pound of rice, slowly boiled, will yield
more than a pound of solid and nutritive food. For the fattening of
poultry, boiled rice has been adopted with success, and it would be more
generally adopted than it is, were it not for an unfounded and very
extraordinary notion that it tends to make them blind.

The inhabitants of the East obtain from rice a vinous liquor, which is more
intoxicating than the strongest wine; and an ardent spirit, called
_arrack_, is also partly made from it. The latter is chiefly manufactured
at Batavia, and at Goa on the coast of Malabar; and is said to be distilled
from a mixture of the wort or infusion of rice, and of toddy, or the juice
of the cocoa-nut tree (233), to which other ingredients, and particularly
spices, are added.

There is only one species of rice; but the varieties of it, according to
the soil, climate, and culture, are very numerous.

----

CLASS VII.--HEPTANDRIA.

----

MONOGYNIA.

  117. _The HORSE-CHESNUT_ (Æsculus hippocastanum, Fig. 66) _is a very
  common tree in parks and pleasure grounds, bearing leaves each composed
  of seven large lobes; and having large and elegant clusters of
  light-coloured flowers._

  _Each flower consists of five petals of white colour, irregularly spotted
  with red and yellow; and roundish, but undulated or waved at the edges.
  The fruit, which is of bitter and unpleasant taste, is enclosed in a
  roundish capsule or seed vessel, beset with spines, and divided into
  three cells._

There is no tree of British growth more admired, or more deserving of
admiration on account of its brilliant appearance at a very early season of
the year than the chesnut. Its beautiful flowers, in upright conical
spikes, terminate the branches on all sides, in such manner that sometimes
almost the whole tree appears as if it were covered by them.

The _fruit_ of the horse-chesnut has been found of considerable use in the
fattening of cattle, the tallow of which it is said to render peculiarly
firm. For this purpose, however, as well as for the feeding of sheep, it
has been considered advantageous to macerate the nuts in lime water, or in
caustic alkali, to deprive them of their bitterness; and, afterwards, to
wash them in water, and boil them into a paste. Goats and deer are partial
to these nuts; but they are said to be unwholesome for swine. In Turkey
they are ground and mixed with provender for horses; and, if they could be
wholly divested of their bitterness and acrimony, it is supposed they might
be converted into bread. A patent was granted, in the year 1796, to Lord W.
Murray for his discovery of a method of extracting starch from
horse-chesnuts; and a paste or size has been made from them, which is
preferred by book-binders, shoe-makers, and paper-hangers, to that made
from wheaten flower. They contain a soapy quality, and are used, in some
parts of France and Switzerland, for cleaning woollens, and for the washing
and bleaching of linen; and, if ground and made into cakes or balls, it is
supposed they might answer the purpose of soap, both in washing and
fulling. If a small portion of horse-chesnut, in a state of powder, be
snuffed up the nostrils, it excites sneezing; and even an infusion or
decoction of it has been said to produce a similar effect. These have
consequently been administered in some complaints of the head and eyes, and
have been productive of considerable benefit. The prickly _husks_ may be
advantageously employed in the tanning of leather.

The _wood_ of the horse-chesnut tree is white, soft, and of little value.
It however serves occasionally for water-pipes, for mill-timber, and
turners' ware. And if it be dipped into scalding oil, and well pitched, it
becomes extremely durable. In some parts of the Continent the _bark_ of
this tree is used in the cure of intermittent and other fevers; and some
writers have been of opinion that it might, with advantage, be substituted
in several complaints for Peruvian bark.

This tree was first brought into Europe, from the northern parts of Asia,
about the year 1550; and its growth is so rapid, that trees, raised from
nuts, have, in twelve or fourteen years, attained nearly their full
dimensions. It is further remarkable, in the growth of the horse-chesnut
tree, that the whole of the spring shoots are said to be completed in
little more than three weeks from the first opening of the buds.

----

CLASS VIII.--OCTANDRIA.

----

MONOGYNIA.

  118. _BALSAM, or BALM OF GILEAD, is the dried juice of a low tree or
  shrub_ (Amyris gileadensis), _which grows in several parts of Abyssinia
  and Syria._

  _This tree has spreading crooked branches, small bright green leaves,
  growing in threes, and small white flowers on separate footstalks. The
  petals are four in number, and the fruit is a small egg-shaped berry,
  containing a smooth nut._

By the inhabitants of Syria and Egypt, this balsam, as it appears from the
authority of the Scriptures, was in great esteem in the highest periods of
antiquity. We are informed by Josephus, the Jewish historian, that the
balsam of Gilead was one of the trees which was given by the Queen of Saba
to King Solomon. Those Ishmaelitish merchants, who were the purchasers of
Joseph, are said to have been travelling from Gilead, on the eastern side
of Canaan, to Egypt, having their camels laden with "spicery, balm, and
myrrh." It was then, and it still is, considered one of the most valuable
medicines that the inhabitants of those countries possessed. The virtues,
however, which have been ascribed to it, exceed all rational bounds of
credibility.

The mode in which it is obtained is described by Mr. Bruce. He says that
the bark of the trees is cut, for this purpose, with an axe, at a time when
the juices are in their strongest circulation. These, as they ooze through
the wound, are received into small earthen bottles; and every day's produce
is gathered, and poured into a larger bottle, which is closely corked. When
the juice first issues from the wound, it is of light yellow colour, and
somewhat turbid appearance; but, as it settles, it becomes clear, has the
colour of honey, and appears more fixed and heavy than at first. Its smell,
when fresh, is exquisitely fragrant, and strongly pungent, not much unlike
that of volatile salts; but, if the bottle be left uncorked, it soon loses
this quality. Its taste is bitter, acrid, aromatic, and astringent.

The quantity of balsam yielded by one tree never exceeds sixty drops in a
day. Hence its scarcity is such that the genuine balsam is seldom exported
as an article of commerce. Even at Constantinople, the centre of trade of
those countries, it cannot, without great difficulty, be procured. In
Turkey it is in high esteem as a medicine, an odoriferous unguent, and a
cosmetic. But its stimulating properties upon the skin are such that the
face of a person unaccustomed to use it becomes red and swollen, and
continues so for some days afterward. The Turks also take it in small
quantities, in water, to fortify the stomach, and excite the animal
faculties.

  119. _ROSE-WOOD_ (Amyris balsamifera) _is an odoriferous tree, with
  smooth oval leaves, which grows in the Island of Jamaica._

The _wood_ of this tree is much used by cabinet-makers in this country for
the covering or veneering of tables and other furniture. Its grain is of
dark colour, and very beautiful. This tree yields an odoriferous _balsam_,
which is much esteemed, both as an external application for the cure of
wounds, and an internal medicine in various diseases.

  120. _The COMMON MAPLE_ (Acer campestre) _is a low kind of tree, common
  in woods and hedges, which has its leaves in lobes, blunt, and notched,
  and green flowers in upright clusters._

By the Romans, the maple _wood_, when knotty and veined, was often highly
prized for furniture. The poet Virgil speaks of Evander sitting on a maple
throne. The knots of this wood were considered to resemble the figure of
birds, beasts, and other animals: and when boards, large enough for tables,
were found of this curious part of it, the extravagance of purchasers is
said to have been incredible. Indeed its value, in that madly luxurious
age, is stated to have been such, that, when, at any time, the Romans
reproached their wives for their extravagance in pearls, jewels, or other
rich trifles, the latter were accustomed to retort, and turn the _tables_
upon their husbands. Hence our expression of "turning the tables" upon any
person is said to have been derived.

With us the maple tree is used by turners, particularly for making cups,
which may be rendered so thin as to be almost transparent. This wood, where
it is devoid of knots, is remarkably white, and is sometimes used for
domestic furniture. On account of its lightness it is frequently employed
for musical instruments, and particularly for those of the violin kind.

  121. _SUGAR MAPLE_ (Acer saccharinum) _is a North-American tree, which
  grows to the height of fifty or sixty feet, and has somewhat hand-shaped
  leaves, in five divisions, notched at the edges, and downy underneath._

This large and beautiful tree is much cultivated in America on account
chiefly of the _juice_ which it yields, and which is made into sugar. The
process of obtaining the juice is, in the spring of the year, to bore holes
about two inches deep into the tree, and to put into each of these holes a
projecting spout, by which it may be conveyed into troughs placed to
receive it. Each tree will afford from twenty to thirty gallons of juice,
from which may be obtained five or six pounds of sugar. The juice is clear,
of pleasant flavour; and, in its simple state, is sometimes drunk as a
remedy against the scurvy. The sugar, which is obtained from it by
evaporation, is clean to the eye, and very sweet, but it has a peculiar,
though not unpleasant taste. It may be clarified and refined in the same
manner as the common sugars. The juice of the maple furnishes also a
pleasant wine, and a very excellent vinegar.

The _wood_ of this tree is valuable as timber, and is also well adapted for
turnery and cabinet ware, more particularly as it is said not to be liable
to suffer by the depredations of insects.

Possessing these properties, and being sufficiently hardy to sustain the
rigours even of a cold climate, its culture, in our own country, would be
attended with great advantage, and cannot be too strongly recommended.

  122. _The SYCAMORE_ (Acer pseudoplatanus, Fig. 70) _is a handsome tree of
  British growth, which has leaves in five lobes unequally serrated; and
  green flowers in pendant clusters._

It is peculiarly deserving of remark concerning this tree, that it grows
better near the sea than in any other situation, and that plantations of
sycamores may be so made as even to defend the herbage of the adjacent
country from the spray, and consequently from the injurious effects of the
sea. Its growth is quick, yet it will increase in size until it is two
hundred years old. The soil in which it best flourishes is a loose black
earth. The only inconveniences attending it in plantations is the early
shedding of its leaves.

In the spring of the year the inhabitants of some parts of Scotland bore
holes through the bark of the sycamore, at the distance of about twelve
inches from the root, and suffer the _juice_ to drain into vessels, to the
amount of eight or nine quarts a day from each tree. This liquor they
convert into a kind of wine; and, if the watery part were evaporated, a
useful sugar might be obtained from it.

The _wood_ of the sycamore is soft and white, and was formerly much in
request by turners, for making trenchers, dishes, bowls, and other
articles; but, since the general introduction of earthen-ware for all these
purposes, its value has greatly decreased.

  123. _CRANBERRIES are a small red fruit with purple dots, produced by a
  slender wiry plant_ (Vaccinium oxycoccos), _which grows in the peaty bogs
  of several parts of the north of England, and also in Norfolk,
  Lincolnshire, and Cambridgeshire._

  _The leaves are small, somewhat oval, and rolled back at the edges, and
  the stem is thread-shaped and trailing. The blossoms are small, but
  beautiful, each consisting of four distinct petals rolled back to the
  base, and of deep flesh colour._

The collecting of cranberries is a tiresome and disagreeable employment, as
each berry, which seldom exceeds the size of a pea, grows on a separate
stalk, and the morasses in which they grow are frequently very deep.
Cranberries are much used in the northern counties, and great quantities of
them are bottled and sent to London. So considerable a traffic in this
fruit is carried on, that, at Longtown in Cumberland, the amount of a
market day's sale, during the season for gathering it, is stated by Dr.
Withering to be from 20_l._ to 30_l._ Cranberries begin to ripen about the
month of August, and continue in perfection for some weeks.

They are much used in confectionary, but particularly in tarts; their rich
flavour being very generally esteemed. The usual mode of preserving them is
in dry bottles, corked so closely as to exclude all access of the external
air: some persons, however, fill up the bottles with spring water. Others
prepare this fruit with sugar. From the juice of cranberries, mixed with a
certain portion of sugar, and properly fermented, a grateful and wholesome
wine may be made. The inhabitants of Sweden use this fruit only for the
cleaning of silver plate.

A considerable quantity of cranberries is annually imported, into this
country, from North America and Russia. These are larger than our own, of a
different species, and by no means of so pleasant flavour.

124. There are three other species of fruit belonging to the cranberry
tribe, which grow wild in this country, on heaths or in woods. These are
BILBERRIES, or BLEA-BERRIES (_Vaccinium myrtillus_), which are occasionally
eaten in milk, and in tarts, and which afford a violet-coloured dye: GREAT
BILBERRIES (_V. uliginosum_), which, in France, are sometimes employed to
tinge white wines red: and RED WHORTLE-BERRIES (_V. vitis idæa_), which,
though not of very grateful flavour, are occasionally used in tarts, rob,
and jelly.

  125. _The COMMON HEATH, or LING_ (Erica vulgaris), _is a well-known
  plant, with numerous small rose-coloured flowers, which grows wild on
  heaths and mountainous wastes, in nearly every part of England._

The principal use to which the heath is applied is for making brooms or
besoms. It is likewise bound into fagots, and employed as fuel,
particularly for ovens; and is, not unfrequently, employed in the filling
up of drains, and the morassy parts of roads, previously to their being
covered with earth, stones, and other durable materials. In the Highlands
of Scotland, the poorer inhabitants make walls, for their cottages, with
alternate layers of heath and a kind of mortar made of black earth and
straw: they likewise thatch their cabins with it, and make their beds of
it. The inhabitants of Islay, one of the western islands of Scotland, are
said to brew a wholesome kind of beer from one part of malt, and two parts
of the young tops of heath. The _stalks_ and _tops_ may be rendered of
considerable service in the tanning of leather; and in dyeing woollen cloth
an orange colour. Bees are partial to the _flowers_; but the honey which
they form, after having fed upon these flowers, acquires a reddish tint.
The _leaves_ and _seeds_ of heath afford a grateful food to grouse, and
other animals.

TRIGYNIA.

  126. _BUCKWHEAT, or BRANK, is a black and triangular grain, produced by a
  plant of the persicaria tribe_ (Polygonum fagopyrum), _with somewhat
  arrow-shaped leaves, and purplish white flowers._

Although buckwheat may now be considered as in some degree naturalized in
this country, and as growing wild near our fields and dunghills, it was
originally introduced from the northern parts of Asia, and was first
cultivated here about the year 1600. The flowers appear about July, and the
seeds ripen in October; and so tender are the plants, that a single night's
sharp frost will destroy a whole crop.

As a grain, buckwheat has been principally cultivated for oxen, swine, and
poultry; and although some farmers state that a single bushel of it is
equal in quality to two bushels of oats, others assert that it is a very
unprofitable food. Mixed with bran, chaff, or grains, it is sometimes given
to horses. The flower of buckwheat is occasionally used for bread, but more
frequently for the thin cakes called crumpets. In Germany it serves as an
ingredient in pottage, puddings, and other food. Beer may be brewed from
it; and, by distillation, it yields an excellent spirit.

The best mode of harvesting this grain is said to be by pulling it out of
the ground like flax, stripping off the seeds by the hand, and collecting
these into aprons, or cloths tied round the waist.

Buckwheat is much cultivated in the domains of noblemen and gentlemen
possessed of landed property, as a food for pheasants. With some farmers it
is the practice to sow buckwheat for the purpose only of ploughing it into
the ground, as a manure for the land. Whilst green, it serves as food for
sheep and oxen; and, mixed with other provender, it may also be given, with
advantage to horses. The _blossoms_ may be used for dyeing a brown colour.

The principal advantage of buckwheat is, that it is capable of being
cultivated upon land which will produce scarcely any thing else, and that
its culture, comparatively with that of other grain, is attended with
little expense.

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CLASS IX.--ENNEANDRIA.

----

MONOGYNIA.

  127. _CINNAMON is the under bark of the branches of a tree of the bay
  tribe_ (Laurus cinnamomum, Fig. 40,) _which is chiefly found in the
  island of Ceylon, but which also grows in Malabar and other parts of the
  East Indies._

  _This tree attains the height of twenty or thirty feet. Its leaves are
  oval, each from four to six inches long, and marked with three principal
  nerves. The flowers stand on slender footstalks, and are of pale yellow
  colour; and the fruit is somewhat shaped like an acorn._

There are two principal seasons of the year in which the Ceylonese enter
their woods for the purpose of barking the cinnamon trees. The first of
these commences in April, and the last in November: but the former is that
in which the great crop is obtained. In this operation the branches of
three years' growth are cut down, and the outside pellicle of the bark is
scraped away. The twigs are then ripped up lengthways with a knife, and the
bark is gradually loosened till it can be entirely taken off. It is then
cut into slices, which, on being exposed to the sun, curl up in drying. The
smaller pieces or quills, as they are called, are inserted into the larger
ones, and the whole are afterwards tied into bundles.

Cinnamon is examined and arranged, according to its quality, by persons
who, for this purpose, are obliged to taste and chew it. This is a very
troublesome and disagreeable work; and few persons are able to continue it
more than two or three days successively, as the cinnamon deprives the
tongue and lips of all the mucus with which they are covered. After this
examination, the bundles are made up to the length of about four feet, and
weight of eighty-eight pounds each.

From the roots of the trees numerous offsets shoot up. These, when they
have attained the height of about ten feet, are cut down and barked, being
then about the thickness of a common walking-stick. The cinnamon which they
yield is much finer than any other.

A French ship, bound in 1782, from the island of Bourbon, to Cape François
in St. Domingo, and having on board various oriental productions, the
cinnamon tree among the rest, was taken by the late Admiral Rodney, who
presented the trees to the assembly of Jamaica; and, from this parent
stock, different parts of that island were afterwards supplied. In Ceylon
the cinnamon trees are said to be so common as to be used for fuel and
other domestic purposes.

The smell of cinnamon, particularly of the thinnest pieces, is delightfully
fragrant; and its taste is pungent and aromatic, with considerable
sweetness and astringency. If infused in boiling water in a covered vessel,
it gives out much of its grateful flavour, and forms an agreeable liquid.
An oil is extracted from cinnamon, which is heavier than water. This is
prepared in Ceylon, and almost wholly from the small and broken pieces. It
is, however, obtained in such small quantity that the oil of cassia (128)
is generally substituted for it. Indeed the cassia bark is often
substituted for cinnamon, to which it has considerable resemblance,
although, in its qualities, it is much weaker, and although it is
immediately distinguishable by its slimy taste.

The virtues of cinnamon are not confined to the bark. The _leaves_, the
_fruit_, and the _root_ all yield oil of considerable value. That from the
fruit is highly fragrant, of thick consistence, and, in Ceylon, was
formerly made into candles for the exclusive use of the king.

  128. _WILD CINNAMON, or CASSIA, is the bark of a tree of the bay tribe_
  (Laurus cassia), _which grows in the East Indies and China, and is
  distinguished by having spear-shaped leaves, each with three nerves._

This _bark_ was well known to the ancients, and highly esteemed by them:
but, since the use of cinnamon has been generally adopted, the cassia bark
has fallen into disrepute on account of its inferiority. It is thicker and
more coarse than cinnamon, of weaker quality, and abounds more with a
viscid mucilaginous matter. For many purposes, however, cassia, as being
much less expensive, is substituted for cinnamon, but more particularly for
the preparation of what is called oil of cinnamon: and nearly the whole of
what is at present sold under the name either of simple or spirituous
cinnamon water is prepared from cassia.

The _buds_, as well as the _bark_, of this tree are used in culinary
preparations, and for several other purposes. They are chiefly imported
from China.

  129. _CAMPHOR is a white resinous production of peculiar and powerful
  smell, which is extracted from two or three kinds of trees of the bay
  tribe that grow in the islands of the East Indies, and in China._

  _Of these the principal is_ Laurus camphora (Fig. 41). _It is of
  considerable height, much branched, and has spear-shaped leaves, with
  nerves, of pale yellowish green colour on the upper side, and bluish
  green beneath. The flowers are small and white, and stand on stalks which
  issue from the junction of the leaves and branches._

Camphor is found in every part of the trees; in the interstices of the
perpendicular fibres, and in veins of the wood; in the crevices and knots,
in the pith, and in the roots. The modes by which it is extracted differ in
different countries. In Borneo and Sumatra, the largest pieces are picked
out with sharp instruments; and the smaller ones are procured by rasps, to
which, along with bits of wood and other impurities, they adhere. The
Chinese cut off the branches, chop them very small, and place them in
spring water for some days. They then put them into a kettle, and boil them
for a certain time, during which they keep constantly stirring them with a
stick. As soon as the camphor, in a white and frosted appearance, is
observed to adhere to the stick, the whole is strained. The liquor is
subsequently poured into a basin, and, after some hours, the camphor
coagulates into a solid mass.

In Japan it is usual to obtain camphor by cutting the roots and extremities
of the branches into chips, and exposing them to the steam of water in
close vessels. In other countries the roots, wood, and leaves, are all
boiled in large iron pots, having a kind of tubular apparatus, which is
stuffed with straw, and leads to certain large vessels called receivers. In
this operation most of the camphor becomes condensed in a solid form
amongst the straw; and the remainder passes with the water into the
receiver.

In a crude state camphor is formed into irregular lumps of yellowish grey
colour, somewhat resembling nitre, or saltpetre. It is imported into Europe
in canisters; and the refining of it was long kept a secret by the
Venetians. The Dutch have since performed this work; and large quantities
of camphor are now also refined by some of the English chemists. The best
camphor is imported from Sumatra.

The principal use of this drug is in medicine; and it was formerly in high
repute. Dr. Cullen says that it has been employed with advantage in fevers
of almost all kinds: but, since the free use of opium has been introduced,
camphor has been little employed in this country, though its utility has
been fully established by some of the most eminent practitioners of the
Continent. It has often been found to relieve tooth-ache and rheumatism.
Several preparations of camphor, in combination with other substances, are
used in medicine, of which, perhaps, the most common is that with spirit of
wine. To insects the effluvium of camphor is so disagreeable that they
quickly avoid it. Hence it is customary to place pieces of it in
collections of natural history, to prevent their destruction by these
voracious little creatures.

For carpenters' work the _wood_ of the camphor tree is much in request. It
is light and durable; and, in consequence of long retaining its aromatic
smell, is not liable to be injured by insects.

Plants of the camphor and cinnamon trees were captured, from the French, in
1782, by Admiral Rodney, and afterwards conveyed to Jamaica, and propagated
there.

Several shrubs and plants of our own country contain camphor in
considerable quantity. The principal of these are _rosemary_, _sage_,
_lavender_, and _marjoram_.

  130. _The COMMON SWEET BAY_ (Laurus nobilis) _is an evergreen shrub,
  which grows in Italy and other southern parts of Europe, and is
  principally celebrated as that which was anciently used to form the crown
  of victory among poets._

  _Its leaves are of shining green colour, somewhat spear-shaped, and often
  waved towards the edge. The flowers appear in April and May, in clusters
  of three or four together on short footstalks. The corolla is in four
  segments of yellowish white colour, and is succeeded by an oval berry
  covered with a dark green rind._

This handsome shrub is common in our gardens and shrubberies. Its _leaves_
afford, by distillation, an useful oil, which is occasionally employed in
medicine. They are also employed, in cookery, to flavour custards,
puddings, stews, and pickles; and Dr. Woodville assures us that they may
thus be used not only with safety, but even with advantage, as assisting
digestion.

The _berries_ or fruit of the bay tree, which have an aromatic smell, and a
warm, bitterish, and pungent taste, were much used by the ancient Romans
for culinary purposes. We import them chiefly from the coasts of the
Mediterranean. From the berries, in a recent state, the people of Spain and
Italy obtain, by pressure, a green aromatic oil, which is employed in
medicine, externally, as a stimulant in nervous, paralytic, and other
disorders.

  131. _The ALLIGATOR PEAR is a pear-shaped fruit, produced by a species of
  bay tree_ (Laurus persea), _that is much cultivated in the West Indies._

  _This tree, which is an evergreen, has a straight stem, and grows to a
  considerable height. Its leaves are somewhat oval, leathery, transversely
  veined, and of beautiful green colour; and the flowers grow in bunches._

To the inhabitants of the West Indian islands, particularly the negroes,
this _fruit_, which ripens in the months of August and September, is an
agreeable, and, in some respects, an important article of diet. When ripe
the pulp is of yellow colour, of consistence somewhat harder than that of
butter, and, in taste, not much unlike marrow. The negroes frequently make
their meals of these pears, a little salt, and plantains; and they are
occasionally served up at the tables of the white people as fruit.

Their exterior surface is covered with a green skin; and in the centre
there is a large round seed or _stone_, extremely hard and woody, with an
uneven surface. This stone is used for the marking of linen. The cloth is
held or tied over the stone; and the letters are pricked by a needle,
through the cloth, into the outer covering of the stone. By this means it
is stained of an indelible reddish brown colour, in the direction along
which the needle has passed. The _leaves_ are used by the negroes
medicinally.

  132. _SASSAFRAS is the wood of a North American tree of the bay tribe_
  (Lauras sassafras), _and is imported into Europe in long straight pieces,
  which are of light and porous texture, and covered with a rough fungous
  bark._

  _This tree is sometimes twenty or thirty feet high. The branches are
  crooked, and the leaves various, both in form and size, some of them
  being oval and entire, and others having two or three lobes. They are
  pale green, and downy beneath. The flowers, which are of a dingy yellow
  colour, appear in pendant spikes._

This _wood_ has a fragrant smell, and an aromatic and somewhat acrid,
though sweetish taste, that are also observable in the _bark_, the smaller
_twigs_, and the _roots_, all of which are imported into this country as
well as the wood. Infusions and decoctions of sassafras are frequently
taken as a medicine for improving the tone of the stomach and bowels, in
persons whose humours are in a vitiated state. Soon after its introduction
into Europe, in the year 1560, this medicine was in such high repute as to
be sold, on the Continent, at the rate of fifty livres per pound; and its
virtues were extolled in numerous publications that were written on the
subject. It is, however, now considered of little importance; and sassafras
is seldom employed but in conjunction with other medicines, which, in their
nature, are more powerful. Infusions of sassafras are sold in the streets
of London, under the name of _saloop_.

We are informed that, in many parts of America, where the sassafras trees
not only grow in great numbers in the woods, but are planted along the
fences of enclosures, it is not unusual to make bed-posts of the wood, for
the purpose of expelling bugs. Its powerful scent drives away these
disagreeable insects; and some persons put chips of sassafras into their
wardrobes and chests, to prevent the attack of moths. This wood serves for
the posts of enclosures, to which, by its lasting nature in the ground, it
is peculiarly adapted.

The _bark_ of the sassafras tree is used by the American women for dyeing
worsted, which it does of a permanent and beautiful orange colour.

  133. _The CASHEW NUT is a small kidney-formed nut, which grows at the
  extremity of a somewhat pear-shaped Indian fruit._

  _The tree which produces it_ (Anacardium occidentale, Fig. 42) _somewhat
  resembles a walnut tree in shape, as well as in the smell of its leaves,
  which are leathery, somewhat oval and shining. The flowers are red, and
  sweet-scented._

The size of this _fruit_ is nearly that of a large pear, and the colour of
its pulp is sometimes yellow and sometimes red. The singularity of its
form, with a nut or stone at the extremity, instead of the centre,
generally excites the surprise of persons when they first see it. In a ripe
state the fruit is sometimes roasted, cut in slices, and used as an
agreeable acid in punch. Its juice, when fermented, is made into wine; and,
on distillation, yields a spirit which some persons prefer even to rum.

The _nuts_ are each enclosed in two shells, connected together by a
cellular substance, which contains a thick, inflammable, and very caustic
oil. The kernels of these nuts have a peculiarly sweet and pleasant
flavour, and are eaten either raw or roasted, and sometimes even pickled.
It is said that the negroes of Brazil, who eat of these nuts as part of
their sustenance, find them peculiarly wholesome, and that they are
relieved, by the use of them, from various disorders of the stomach. They
are also used in medicine, as almonds; and, when ground with the chocolate
nut, they greatly improve its flavour. Cashew nuts may be kept, without any
great alteration of their quality, for many years. If the shells be broken,
and the nuts be laid for a little while on the fire, they open of
themselves; and the kernels being taken out, the thin brown skin which
covers them must be removed previously to their being eaten. It is
necessary to be cautious, respecting the oil, that it do not come in
contact with the mouth or lips; as, in such case, it would inflame and
excoriate them.

The _oil_ of the cashew nut is sometimes applied, by the inhabitants of the
West Indies (though much caution is requisite in the use of it) as a means
of corroding cancerous ulcers, corns, and ring-worms; and some of the West
Indian ladies, when they imagine themselves too much tanned by the
scorching rays of the sun, cut off the outer shell of the nut, and rub the
oil upon their faces as a cosmetic. The immediate consequences of this
extraordinary operation are swelling and blackness of the parts; and, in
five or six days, the whole skin peels off, leaving the face so sore and
tender, that it is impossible for the person using it to appear abroad in
less than a fortnight; by which time the new skin is sufficiently hardened,
and is as fair as that of a newly-born infant. There are, however, few
British females who would consent to be thus flayed alive for the sake of
rendering themselves fair. This oil tinges linen a permanent rusty iron
colour.

From the Cashew nut tree a milky _juice_ is obtained, by tapping or
incision, which stains, of a deep black colour, whatever it touches. The
fine black varnish so much used in China and Japan is the resinous juice of
a tree called _fsi-chu_, which is conjectured to be the cashew nut tree.

TRIGYNIA.

  134. _The TRUE or OFFICINAL RHUBARB_ (Rheum palmatum) _is a medicinal
  root which grows wild in various parts of Asia._

  _The leaves which issue from this root are large, and deeply cut into
  lobes; and the whole plant has a general resemblance to what in our
  country are called docks. The stem is erect and six or seven feet high.
  The leaves stand on footstalks, that are somewhat grooved above, and
  rounded at the edge. Those which proceed from the stalk supply at the
  joints a kind of membraneous sheaths. The flowers terminate the branches
  in clusters._

The importance and the properties of this _root_ in medicine are
universally known. Rhubarb is usually imported from Turkey, but it is
occasionally also brought from Russia, China, and the East Indies. Dr.
Woodville states that the _Turkey rhubarb_ is brought over in oblong
pieces, flattish on one side, and rounded on the other; and that it is
compact, hard, heavy, and internally of a dull colour, variegated with
yellow and white. The _Chinese rhubarb_ is in roundish pieces, each with a
large hole through the centre. It is softer than the former, and exhibits,
when broken, many streaks of bright red colour.

In some of the mountains of Tartary, rhubarb plants are found in great
abundance. The roots, when first dug out of the ground, are thick, fleshy,
externally of yellowish brown colour, and internally of bright yellow
streaked with red veins. When they have attained sufficient size, they are
dug up and cleansed; and the small fibres and the rind being cut off, they
are divided into pieces of proper size. Each piece is then perforated in
the middle, and they are strung on cords in such manner as not to touch
each other, and are suspended to dry, either upon adjacent trees, or in the
tents.

The sum expended for the importation of this drug is said to exceed
200,000_l._ per annum, a great proportion of which, it is presumed, might
be saved to the country by cultivation of the plants in Great Britain. This
was first attempted, about sixty years ago, by Dr. Hope, in the botanic
garden at Edinburgh, and with such success as to prove that the climate
even of Scotland would be no obstacle to its increase. In 1791, Sir William
Fordyce received from the Society for Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures,
and Commerce, a gold medal, for having raised more than 300 plants of the
true rhubarb from seed. And, in 1783, Mr. Davis, of Minehead, in
Somersetshire, brought to perfection as many plants as yielded three
hundred pounds' weight of dried rhubarb. Since this period, rhubarb has
been grown, in different parts of England, to great extent; and has so far
flourished, that some of the roots have weighed seventy pounds and upwards.
The principal difficulty has attended the curing of it; but this, after
numerous experiments, has at length been performed in such manner, that the
English drug has been found equal, or nearly equal, to that which is
imported from Turkey and China.

The _bark_ of rhubarb has been used for tinctures, and found, in every
respect, as efficacious as the best part of the roots: and the _seeds_
possess nearly the same qualities. The _leaves_ impart an agreeable
acidity, somewhat similar to that of sorrel; and a marmalade, which may,
with advantage, be adopted for children, is made from the fresh _stalks_,
by stripping off the bark, and boiling the pulp with an equal quantity of
sugar.

  135. _The COMMON RHUBARB_ (Rheum rhaponticum), _is a plant which is
  cultivated in kitchen gardens, and has large, blunt and smooth leaves,
  and the leaf-stalks furrowed on the upper side, and rounded at the edge._

This species of rhubarb grows wild on the mountains of Rhodope, in Thrace,
whence it was first propagated in other parts of Europe, about the year
1630. It is chiefly in request for the _footstalks of the leaves_, which
are used, (in the early part of the year, when there is little fruit) for
pies and tarts. The _root_ has some of the qualities of the true rhubarb,
and has occasionally been imposed upon purchasers for that drug.

----

CLASS X.--DECANDRIA.

----

MONOGYNIA.

  136. _SENNA is a drug, the dried leaves of an annual plant_ (Cassia
  senna) _which grows in various parts of Africa and Asia._

  _The stems of this plant are woody, and not unlike those of a shrub. The
  leaves are winged, and the leaflets oval, smooth, and pointed. The
  flowers, which grow in lengthened clusters, and are of pale yellow
  colour, are succeeded by oblong, compressed, and kidney-shaped pods._

The cultivation of senna is carried on to considerable extent in Ethiopia,
Arabia, Persia, and Upper Egypt, from several of which countries it has,
from time immemorial, been brought by the caravans to Alexandria, as the
most convenient port whence it could be shipped or sold into Europe. From
this circumstance, it is sometimes denominated _Alexandrian senna_. The
process of stripping and drying the leaves is perfectly simple. When dried,
they are of a yellowish green colour, have a faint, though not unpleasant
smell, and a somewhat acrid, bitterish, and nauseous taste.

These leaves have long been in use in Eastern countries as a medicine; and
their repute, though not so great as in the East, is very considerable in
Europe. They are administered in various ways; and the _pods_ have the same
effect as the leaves.

A kind of senna has of late been cultivated, with success, in Italy and
some of the southern parts of France.

  137. _The OFFICINAL CASSIA is a somewhat cylindrical pod, about an inch
  in diameter, and a foot or more in length, the fruit of a tree_ (Cassia
  fistula) _which is cultivated in Egypt, the East and West Indies, and
  South America._

  _This tree is forty or fifty feet high, and much branched. Its leaves are
  winged, with five pair of leaflets, somewhat oval, pointed, smooth, and
  of pale green colour. The flowers are large, yellow, and grow in oblong
  clusters. The pods are divided, by transverse partitions, into numerous
  cells, each containing one seed._

These pods are in request on account of the black, sweetish, but somewhat
acid _pulp_, which is contained in their cells, and which is used, in many
cases, as a mild opening medicine. It is customary in Egypt to pluck the
pods before they are quite ripe, and to place them in a house, from which
the external air is, as much as possible, excluded. They are then laid in
beds about six inches deep, having palm leaves interposed betwixt them. On
the two following days the whole are sprinkled with water; and, in the
course of about six weeks, they are in a fit state to be packed for sale.

The East Indian and West Indian cassia somewhat differ, both in appearance
and qualities. Of the former the pods are smoother, smaller, and have a
thinner rind; and the pulp is of a deeper shining black colour, sweeter,
and more agreeable to the taste. In choosing cassia, those pods should be
selected which are the heaviest, and in which the seeds do not rattle on
being shaken.

  138. _LIGNUM VITÆ and GUIACUM are the wood and resin of a large West
  Indian tree_ (Guiacum officinale, Fig. 77) _which has winged leaves in
  two sets upon one footstalk, and regular flowers of five petals._

  _The usual height of this tree is between thirty and forty feet. The
  leaves consist of two, three, and sometimes four pairs of leaflets, which
  are somewhat oval, and of shining dark green colour. The flowers spring,
  in clusters, from the division of the smaller branches; the petals are of
  a rich blue colour, and the stamens are crowned with yellowish anthers._

The _wood_, resin, bark, and even the flowers of this tree, are all of use
either in the mechanical arts or in medicine. The former, which is yellow
towards the outside, of deep blackish brown colour in the centre, and so
compact and heavy as to sink, when immersed in water, is chiefly employed
in the West Indies for the wheels and cogs of sugar mills. It is also
formed into mortars, bowls, and domestic utensils of various kinds, for
which, on account of its hardness, and not being liable to warp, it is
peculiarly valuable. Lignum vitae is chiefly imported into this country
from Jamaica, in logs or pieces of four or five hundred pounds' weight
each, and is in great request for school-boys' rulers, and numerous
articles of turnery ware. A decoction of the wood, when rasped, is
occasionally administered as a medicine in rheumatic and gouty affections.

The _resin_ of this tree is sometimes obtained by wounding the bark in
different parts. It exudes through the wounds; and, when sufficiently
hardened by exposure to the sun, is taken off, and packed in small kegs for
exportation. Sometimes it is obtained by sawing the wood into billets, each
about three feet in length, which are then bored with an augur
longitudinally, and laid upon a fire, in such position that the melted
resin, which flows through the hole as the wood burns, may be received into
a vessel placed for the purpose of containing it. This resin, which is
frequently called _gum guiacum_, is of a greenish colour, but has sometimes
a reddish hue. Its taste is pungent and acrid. From the bark of the tree
there is frequently a spontaneous exudation: this has the name of _native
gum_, and is imported in small, irregular, bright pieces, which are much
more pure than the gum obtained in any other way. Guiacum is used as a
strengthening medicine, and a warm aromatic; it is employed as a remedy
against rheumatic and other pains, and as an ingredient in many officinal
preparations. On its first introduction, which was soon after the discovery
of America, it was in such repute as to have been sold for seven crowns a
pound.

In the West Indies, the _bark_, _flowers_, and _fruit_, are each employed
in medicine; and of these the former is frequently used instead of soap for
washing, in which process it gives a good lather.

  139. _BALSAM OF TOLU is a reddish yellow, thick, and pellucid substance,
  of fragrant odour, which is obtained from a tree_ (Toluifera balsamum)
  _which grows in South America._

  _This tree is of considerable height; and has somewhat oval leaves, each
  on a short foot-stalk. The flowers are numerous, and in lateral branches;
  and the fruit is a round berry._

The name of this balsam has been obtained from its being chiefly procured
from the province of Tolu, on the north coast of South America, near the
isthmus of Panama. Incisions are made in the bark of the trees, at a
particular season of the year, and a resinous fluid of yellowish white
colour oozes out. This is collected in small gourd shells. At first it is
about the consistence of treacle, but it thickens by being kept; and by age
it becomes hard and brittle. Its smell is peculiarly grateful, somewhat
resembling that of lemons; and its taste is warm and sweetish. On being
chewed, it adheres to the teeth.

This balsam is used in medicine both in the form of a tincture, and a
syrup; and, in its medicinal virtues, it agrees with most other balsams.
The syrup of Tolu is used in several medicines; and is also made into
lozenges, which may be procured of almost any chemist, and which are
considered serviceable in appeasing the irritation occasioned by severe
coughing.

  140. _BENZOIN or GUM BENJAMIN, is a concrete or solid and fragrant
  balsamic substance, the produce of a tree_ (Styrax benzoe) _which grows
  chiefly in the island of Sumatra._

  _This tree has oblong leaves which taper to a pointy and are smooth on
  the upper surface, and downy beneath. The flowers are in loose bunches;
  they usually hang all on the same side; and are generally closed, which
  gives them the appearance of buds._

In some of the northern parts of Sumatra, particularly near the sea coast,
there are several extensive plantations of Benzoin trees. The seeds or nuts
are sown in the rice fields, and they afterwards require no other attention
than that the surrounding shrubs should be cleared away from about the
young plants.

When the trees have attained the age of six or seven years, incisions are
made into the bark; and from these the balsam exudes, in the form of a
thick, whitish, resinous juice. By exposure to the air, this juice soon
hardens; it is then pared from the bark with a knife or chisel. For the
first three years the trees yield the purest resins: this is of a white
colour inclining to yellow, is soft and fragrant. Afterwards, for the next
seven or eight years, an inferior sort is yielded; this is of reddish
yellow colour, degenerating to brown. At length the trees, unable to bear a
repetition of the process, are cut down, and split into pieces. From these
is procured by scraping, a still worse sort of benzoin, which is
dark-coloured, hard, and mixed, more or less, with parings of the wood and
other impurities.

The inferior sorts of benzoin are exported to Arabia, Persia, and some
parts of India, where they are burned, to perfume, with their smoke, the
temples and the houses of the inhabitants; to expel troublesome insects,
and obviate the pernicious effects of unwholesome air or noxious
exhalations.

Benzoin is brought for sale to the mercantile parts of Sumatra, in large
cakes, covered with mats. In order to pack it in chests, it is necessary to
break these cakes, and to expose it to the heat of the sun. The greater
part of the benzoin which is brought to England is re-exported to countries
where the Roman Catholic and Mahometan religions prevail; to be there
burned as incense in the churches and temples. The annual exportation of
benzoin from London to Mogadore only has been estimated at 30,000 pounds'
weight per annum.

That which is consumed in England is chiefly employed in medicine, in
perfumes, and as cosmetics. It constitutes the basis of what are called
_Turlington's_ or _Friar's balsam_, and _Jesuit's drops_; the salutary
effects of which, particularly in healing recent wounds, is well known.
This balsam is composed of benzoin, balsam of Tolu (139), Socotrine aloes
(107), and rectified spirit of wine. Benzoin is also used in the
preparation of what is called _ladies' court plaster_; but in this it is
supposed to be unnecessary if not prejudicial; not only as it renders the
plaster more difficult to be moistened, previously to its application, but
as the irritating quality of the benzoin may in some instances dispose a
fresh wound to fester. The mode of making court plaster is very simple.
Five ounces of isinglass are dissolved in a pint of water. A quantity of
thin black sarsnet being then stretched on a frame, a warm solution of the
isinglass is applied with a brush equally over the surface; and, when dry,
this is repeated a second or third time. It is finally brushed over with a
weak solution of benzoin in spirits of wine, which communicates to it a
pleasant aromatic smell.

If powdered benzoin be put into an earthen vessel over a slow fire, and the
fumes of it be made to sublime into a paper cone fixed to the top of the
pot, the substance thus formed is the _flowers of benzoin_ of the shops, or
_Benzoic acid_, as it is termed, by chemists.

  141. _STORAX is a fragrant, concrete, or solid balsam, that is obtained
  from a tree_ (Styrax officinalis) _which grows in the Levant, and in some
  parts of Italy._

  _This tree grows to the height of twenty feet and upwards: it is much
  branched, and has broad, alternate, oval leaves, somewhat pointed, smooth
  above, and downy beneath. The flowers are large, white, in clusters on
  short footstalks, and terminate the branches._

The best storax is obtained from Asiatic Turkey, in small transparent
masses, of pale red or yellowish colour, and generally abounding in whitish
tears, resembling those of benzoin. The drug, however, which is commonly
sold in the shops as storax, consists of large, light pieces, very impure,
from the saw-dust with which it is mixed.

The mode of obtaining this balsam is similar to that employed for benzoin
(140): incisions are made in the trees, and, on its oozing from the wound,
it is scraped off, and collected together to be packed for sale. It was
formerly customary to enclose it in reeds.

Storax is one of the most fragrant of the balsams, and is much used in some
countries in perfumes, and for fumigation. It is also compounded in various
ways with other substances, for medicinal use.

  142. _LOG-WOOD is a dark red wood, chiefly used in dyeing; and imported
  from Honduras, and some of the islands of the West Indies._

  _The log-wood tree_ (Hæmatoxylon campechianum, Fig. 43) _is from sixteen
  to twenty-four feet high, and, both in the trunk and branches, is
  extremely crooked. The branches are spinous, and the leaves winged, with,
  in general, four or five pair of leaflets, which are somewhat
  heart-shaped. The flowers are if a reddish yellow colour, small, and
  numerous._

The district of Honduras in North America has long been celebrated for the
production of log-wood, which grows wild chiefly in forests where the soil
is moist, or near the banks of rivers and lakes. The cutting of it occupies
a great number of hands, and is an unpleasant and very unhealthy pursuit.

In the year 1715 some seeds of the log-wood tree were introduced into the
island of Jamaica; and this wood is now chiefly employed in that island as
a fence against cattle. As an article of commercial export, it does not
appear to answer so fully as could have been wished; yet, in morassy parts
of the island, it grows in considerable luxuriance.

Few kinds of wood are of more solid texture than this. Hence arises its
weight, which is so great that it will sink in water. Its predominant
colour is red, tinged with orange and black; and its hardness such that it
is capable of being polished, and is scarcely susceptible of decay. For
exportation to Europe, it is cut into billets or logs, each about three
feet in length.

The chief use of log-wood in this country is for dyeing green, purple,
blue, and black colours, according to the different ingredients with which
it is employed. It gives a purplish tinge to watery and spirituous
infusions; but all the colours which can be prepared from it are fugitive,
and cannot, by any art, be rendered so durable as those prepared from other
materials.

Independently of its use as a dyeing drug, log-wood possesses considerable
utility as an astringent medicine, chiefly under the form of a decoction,