MONADELPHIA.

245.The CATECHU, ARECA, or BETEL-NUT-TREE(Areca catechu),is a species of palm which grows in the East Indies.It is generally from thirty to forty feet high, and its trunk is six or eight inches in diameter. The leaves, which grow on the summit, are winged, having the leaflets folded back; and the fruit is a pulpy berry with thin skin, containing a nut about an inch in length, and of a rounded conical form.

245.The CATECHU, ARECA, or BETEL-NUT-TREE(Areca catechu),is a species of palm which grows in the East Indies.

It is generally from thirty to forty feet high, and its trunk is six or eight inches in diameter. The leaves, which grow on the summit, are winged, having the leaflets folded back; and the fruit is a pulpy berry with thin skin, containing a nut about an inch in length, and of a rounded conical form.

Thekernelof the areca-nut, which is covered by a thin, smooth, and yellowish shell, is somewhat like a nutmeg, but contains, in the centre, a white, soft, greyish, and almost liquid substance, which becomes hard as the nut ripens. This fruit is in general use by the Indians, who cut it into slices, mix it with other substances, wrap it in the leaves of betel (22), and chew it much in the same manner as the common people of our country chew tobacco. The consumption of these nuts in India is almost beyond calculation. They are an article of considerable trade, from port to port; and also from India to China, but they are seldom brought into England, though they might be of use in some of our manufactures.

The drug calledcatechu, and formerlyterra japonica, was supposed to be an extract prepared from the above nuts; but it is now ascertained to be made from the wood of a species of mimosa.

246.The SCOTS FIR(Pinus sylvestris),which has its name from growing wild in different parts of Scotland, is known from other trees of the same tribe by having its slender and somewhat needle-shaped leaves in pairs; its cones or seed-vessels somewhat egg-shaped, mostly in pairs, as long as the leaves, and the scales blunt.

This useful tree flourishes with greatest luxuriance on the north and north-east sides of hills, in a poor and sandy soil, especially where this is mixed with loam. If planted among rocks, or in bogs, it seldom attains a large size; in black soil it becomes diseased; and in chalky land it frequently pines away and dies.

Itstimber, under the name ofdeal, is employed as the wood-work of houses; for rafters, flooring, doors, the frames of windows, tables, boxes, and other purposes, infinitely too various to be enumerated. Frigates, and other ships of large size, have sometimes been constructed of deal but these are by no means so durable as vessels that are built of oak. Much of the deal whichwe use is imported from Norway, and other northern parts of Europe. That from Christiana, which is calledyellow deal, orred deal, is frequently brought over in planks, but more commonly in boards, each about ten inches and half in width. The wood of such trees as are raised in England is equal to the foreign wood in weight and durability, but its grain is generally coarser.

Theouter barkof the fir-tree may be used in the tanning of leather; and it is said that, in the northern parts of Europe, the soft, white, and fibrousinner barkis, in times of scarcity, made into a kind of bread. For this purpose it is dried over a fire, reduced to powder, kneaded with water, and a small portion of corn-flour, into cakes, and baked in an oven. Children in Norway are very fond of the fresh bark, in the spring of the year, either shaved off with a knife, or grated with a rasp.

Common Turpentineis the resinous juice chiefly of the Scots fir, obtained by boring holes into the trunks of the trees, early in spring, and placing vessels beneath for its reception. It is of brown colour; and has a strong odour, and disagreeable taste. In the distillation of turpentine an essential oil is produced, calledoil of turpentine, which is extremely pungent. When the distillation is continued to dryness, the substance which remains is known by the name ofcommon resinorrosin; but, if water be mixed with it, while yet fluid, and incorporated by violent agitation, a substance is formed calledyellow resin.

Common turpentine is mostly employed as an ingredient in the plasters used by farriers. The oil is occasionally used in medicine; and, lately, it has been considered efficacious in cases of worms. It is much employed by painters for rendering their colours more fluid; as well as in the composition of different kinds of varnish used in floor-cloth, umbrella, and other manufactures. The noxious spirit called gin was formerly flavoured with juniper berries; but as these are nowtoo expensive, oil of turpentine, the taste of which in a slight degree resembles that of juniper, is applied to the same purpose; and considerable quantities of turpentine are thus consumed. The common resin is used in plasters, for which its great adhesiveness renders it peculiarly applicable. It is also of considerable importance in the arts; and musicians rub the bows and strings of violins with it, to take off the greasy particles which are there collected, as well as to counteract the effects of moisture. Yellow resin is used in plasters, and for other purposes in medicine.

Taris obtained from the roots and refuse parts of the fir-tree, by cutting them into billets, piling these, in a proper manner, in pits or ovens formed for the purpose, covering them partly over, and setting them on fire. During the burning, a black and thick matter, which is the tar, falls to the bottom, and is conducted thence into vessels which are placed to receive it, and from which it is afterwards poured into barrels for sale.

Tar is an article of great utility in manufactures, and for various economical purposes. It is much employed for smearing the rigging, and other external parts of ships, to prevent their receiving injury from moisture. It has been used in medicine both internally and externally; and particularlytar-water, or water impregnated with tar, was, some years ago, a popular remedy in various disorders, but its virtues have been too much extolled. Although considerable quantities of tar are prepared in this country, these are insufficient to supply the demand; consequently we, every year, import great quantities of it from Russia, Sweden, America, and other countries.

Pitchis usually made by melting together coarse hard resin and an equal quantity of tar; or, as some writers state, by boiling tar with a certain portion of water, until it becomes so thick that, on cooling, it forms a hard black mass.

By the ancients pitch was much employed for giving flavour and fragrance to their wines. With us it is ofextensive use to mechanics, and in numerous manufactures; but the principal demand for it is in ship-building, to secure the joints and crevices of the planks and timbers, and for other purposes. When mixed with a certain quantity of oil and suet, it is made intoshoe-makers' wax; and, in conjunction with whale fat, formscarriage-grease, or the substance with which the wheels of carriages are smeared. The best pitch is imported from Sweden and Norway: and, is of a glossy black colour, perfectly dry, and very brittle.

Lamp-blackis a soot formed by burning the dregs and coarser parts of tar in furnaces constructed for that purpose. The smoke is conveyed through tubes into boxes, each covered with linen, in the form of a cone. Upon this linen the soot is deposited: and it is, from time to time, beaten off into the boxes, and afterwards packed in barrels for sale. This substance is employed in printing and dyeing; and has its name from the practice that was formerly adopted of making it by means of lamps.

247.The WEYMOUTH PINE is chiefly distinguished by its leaves growing in fives, and its cones being smooth, cylindrical, and longer than the leaves.

This species of fir-tree grows wild in North America, and succeeds well in strong land in England. Itstimberis white, of more open grain than Scots fir, and not so heavy as that. In America it is principally used for the masts of ships, for which, by its toughness, it is peculiarly calculated.

248.The SPRUCE FIR(Pinus abies),a native of Norway, and other Northern parts of Europe, is known by its short, and four-sided leaves growing singly, and surrounding the branches; its cones being cylindrical, the scales somewhat square, flattened, and notched at the top

Thewoodof the spruce fir is what the English carpenters usually denominatewhite deal. It is considered next in value to that obtained from the Scots fir; andis remarkable for having few knots. On account of its lightness it is peculiarly adapted for packing-cases and musical instruments.

From incisions made into the trunk of the spruce fir-tree, a fine and clearturpentineoozes, which, after being boiled in water, and strained through a linen cloth, acquires a somewhat solid consistence, and reddish brown colour; and is calledBurgundy pitch. This is employed as an ingredient in several kinds of ointments and plasters: and is principally manufactured in Saxony.

The article calledessence of spruce, which is used in making spruce beer, is prepared from the branches of this tree, and from those of a species nearly allied to it which grows in America.

249.The LARCH(Pinus laryx),a native of the Alps, and the mountains of Germany, is a species of fir, which has its leaves in tufts, and its cones oblong, and of somewhat oval shape, the margins of the scales bent back, and jagged.

The cultivation of larch-trees has of late been much recommended for adoption in this country, on account of the value of theirtimber, which for strength and durability, is equal to most kinds of deal. It is well calculated for masts, and the framework of vessels, being capable of sustaining much greater pressure even than oak. For wood-work constantly immersed in water, it is peculiarly calculated, as, in such situations, it is asserted to become almost as hard as stone. In Petersburg larch timber is applied to no other use than that of ship-building. Line-of-battle ships are constructed of it in Archangel, and these generally last about fifteen years; though, in milder climates, it is imagined that they would last much longer.

For gates, pales, and similar work, exposed to the vicissitudes of weather, they are admirably serviceable; and for flooring and other internal purposes are at least equally durable. Buildings constructed of larch timber are said to have continued sound for 200 years; and, insome of the old palaces in Venice, there are beams of larch yet existing that are as sound as when they were first placed. But the very combustible nature of this wood renders it objectionable for such uses. No wood with which we are acquainted affords more durable staves for casks than larch; and, in the opinion of many persons, it is further valuable by improving the flavour of the wine contained in them. The wood is of delicate colour, not unlike the cedar used for black-lead pencils, but is knotty almost throughout.

From theinner barkof the larch the Russians manufacture a soft and fine kind of white gloves. The trunk, if tapped betwixt the months of March and September, yields an extremely pure turpentine, which has the name ofVenice turpentine; and is of considerable use in medicine. It is usually thinner than any other kind of turpentine, and of clear, whitish, or yellowish colour. The drug of this name, which is generally met with in the shops, is now imported from New England, but was formerly brought from Venice. A brown gummy substance, known in Russia by the name ofOrenburgh gum, is obtained by a curious process from the sap of the tree. On the large branches of the larch are produced small, sweetish grains, somewhat resembling sugar; which are frequently substituted for the drug called manna (275).

The cultivation of the larch was first introduced into Britain towards the conclusion of the seventeenth century. The trees will grow in almost any soil; and the proper season for felling them is the month of July. They, however, seldom attain any large size in this country; and they are said to decay and become covered with moss, when about forty years old.

250.The CYPRESS-TREE(Cupressus sempervirens)is a dark-coloured evergreen, a native of the Levant, the leaves of which are extremely small, and entirely cover all the slender branches, lying close upon them so as to give them a somewhat quadrangular shape.In some of the trees the branches diminish gradually in lengthfrom the bottom to the top, in such manner as to form a nearly pyramidal shape.

In some of the trees the branches diminish gradually in lengthfrom the bottom to the top, in such manner as to form a nearly pyramidal shape.

In many of the old gardens in this country cypress-trees are still to be found, but their generally sombre and gloomy appearance has caused them, of late years, to be much neglected. They are, however, very valuable on account of theirwood, which is hard, compact, and durable, of pale or reddish colour, with deep veins, and pleasant smell. We are informed by Pliny that the doors of the famous temple of Diana, at Ephesus, were of cypress wood, and that, although they were 400 years old at the time when he wrote, they appeared to be nearly as fresh as new. Indeed this wood was so much esteemed by the ancients, that the image of Jupiter in the capitol was made of it. The gates of St. Peter's church at Rome are stated to have been of cypress, and to have lasted more than 1000 years, from the time of the Emperor Constantine until that of Pope Eugenius the Fourth, when gates of brass were erected in their stead. As this wood, in addition to its other qualities, takes a fine polish, and is not liable to suffer from the attacks of insects, it was formerly much esteemed for cabinet furniture. By the Greeks, in the time of Thucydides, it was used for the coffins of eminent warriors; and many of the chests which enclose Egyptian mummies are made of it. The latter afford very decisive proof of its almost incorruptible nature.

The name of this tree is derived from the island of Cyprus, in the Mediterranean, where it still grows in great luxuriance. Its gloomy hue caused it to be consecrated by the ancients to Pluto, and to be used at the funerals of people of eminence. Pliny states that, in his time, it was customary to place branches of the cypress-tree before the houses in which persons lay dead.

251.The CASSAVA, or CASSADA(Jatropha manihot)is a South American shrub, about three feet in height, with broad, shining, and somewhat hand-shaped leaves, and beautiful white and rose-coloured flowers.

It is a very remarkable circumstance, that therootsof the cassava, if eaten raw, are a fatal poison both to man and beast, and that, when prepared by heat, they yield a safe and valuable food; on which, indeed, many both of the Indian and European inhabitants of South America almost wholly subsist. The roots are the only edible parts of the plant. These, which are white, soft, and farinaceous, from one to two feet in length, and five or six inches in circumference, are dug out of the earth, at a certain season of the year, washed, stripped of their rind, and ground to a pulp. The juice, or poisonous part, is pressed out, and carefully thrown away; as cattle, and other animals, which have accidentally drunk of it, have almost instantly died. The flour that remains, after pressure, is formed into thin round cakes and baked. To an European, accustomed to other bread, these, though sweetish, and not unpalatable, have an insipid taste. If placed in close vessels, and preserved from the attacks of insects, cassava bread may be kept for several months without injury.

With the natives of South America, it is not unusual to throw a great number of cakes of cassava together to heat, after which they soak them in water, which causes a rapid fermentation to take place; and from the liquor thus obtained, they make a very sharp and disagreeable, but intoxicating beverage, which will not keep longer than twenty-four hours without spoiling.

From the pure flour of cassava is formed the substance calledtapioca, which is frequently imported into this country, and is used for jelly, puddings, and other culinary purposes. It is prepared from the fibrous part of the roots by taking a small quantity of the pulp, after the juice is extracted, and working it in the hand till a thick white cream appears on the surface. This, being separated, and washed in water, gradually subsides to the bottom. After the water is poured off, the remaining moisture is dissipated by a slow fire, the substance being constantly stirred, until at length it is formed into grains about the size of sago (266).These become hard by keeping, and are the purest and most wholesome part of the cassava.

The roots of another species of this shrub, calledsweet cassava, are usually eaten with butter, and merely after being roasted in hot ashes. They have much the flavour of chesnuts, and are an agreeable and nutritive food.

252.The TALLOW TREE(Croton sebiferum)is a native of China, and in habit somewhat resembles a cherry-tree, but has shining egg-shaped, and pointed leaves, that form tufts at the extremity of the branches.

Thefruitof this tree, from which the Chinese obtain a kind of tallow for the manufacture of candles, is enclosed in a husk, not much unlike that of the chesnut, and consists of three round white kernels. All the preparation that is requisite is to melt these kernels, adding a little oil, to render them softer and more pliant than they would otherwise be. The candles made from this substance are very white, but are sometimes coloured by adding a little vermilion. They are more firm than those of tallow, but not equal in quality to candles either of wax or spermaceti. The wicks that are used are not, like ours, made of cotton, but consist of little rods of light, dry wood, with the pith of a rush entwined round them.

253.INDIAN RUBBER, or CAOUTCHOUC, is the dried juice of a large and much branched tree(Siphonia elastica, Fig. 60),which grows in Guiana, and other parts of South America.This tree has somewhat oval leaves, entire, veined, and smooth, arranged in threes, and on long foot-stalks.The flowers are small, in bunches, near the ends of the branches, and the fruit is triangular.

253.INDIAN RUBBER, or CAOUTCHOUC, is the dried juice of a large and much branched tree(Siphonia elastica, Fig. 60),which grows in Guiana, and other parts of South America.

This tree has somewhat oval leaves, entire, veined, and smooth, arranged in threes, and on long foot-stalks.

The flowers are small, in bunches, near the ends of the branches, and the fruit is triangular.

It was not until about the year 1736, that this very extraordinary natural production was made known in Europe. It is obtained by making incisions through the bark of the tree, chiefly in wet weather. From the wounds thus formed the juice flows abundantly. It isof milky-white colour, and is conducted by a tube or leaf, supported by clay, into a vessel placed to receive it. Some writers assert that, on mere exposure to the air, it gradually hardens; and others that, for this purpose, it goes through a certain process, which the Indians keep a profound secret. It is usually brought to Europe in the shape of pear-shaped bottles, which are formed by spreading the juice over a mould of clay. These are exposed to a dense smoke, or to a fire, till they become so dry as not to stick to the fingers; and then, by certain instruments of iron or wood, they are ornamented on the outside with various figures. This done, the clay in the inside is moistened with water and picked out.

Indian rubber is remarkable for the flexibility and elasticity which it acquires on attaining a solid state; and also for the numerous useful purposes to which it is capable of being applied. By the Indians it is sometimes formed into boots, which are impenetrable by water, and which, when smoked, have the appearance of leather. Bottles are made of it, to whose necks are fastened hollow reeds, through which the liquor contained in them can be squirted at pleasure. One of these, filled with water, is always presented to each of the guests at their entertainments. Flambeaux are likewise formed of this substance, which give a very brilliant light; and it is said that a torch of Indian rubber, an inch and a half in diameter, and two feet long, will burn twelve hours. The inhabitants of Quito prepare a species of oil-cloth with the hardened juice of this tree.

The principal uses to which Indian rubber is applied by us are, for the effacing of black-lead marks; for flexible syringes, tubes, and other instruments used by surgeons and chemists; and for the formation, by means of turpentine or linseed oil, of a varnish for air-balloons.

Various experiments have been made to dissolve this substance, so that it may assume its naturally elastic state, under any figure that may be required. This hasbeen effected by means of ether, but the process is too expensive for common use. A simple method of forming tubes of it is to split a piece of cane and to put between the pieces a slip of whalebone. If the Indian rubber be cut into slips, and twisted closely round the cane, and the heat of boiling water be applied, the whole will become united into one piece or tube, from which the whalebone first, and afterwards the cane, may easily be separated.

It has been proved that cloth of all kinds may be made impenetrable by water, if impregnated with the fresh juice of the Indian rubber tree; and that boots, gloves, and other articles, made of cloth thus prepared, may be joined without sewing, and only by moistening the edges with the juice. These are not only more durable, but retain their shape better than such as are made of the juice without any connecting substance.

It has lately been ascertained that, in Prince of Wales's Island, and also in Sumatra, there are trees of a class and order totally different from that above described, which yield a juice similar to this, and applicable to all the same purposes.

254.The CASTOR-OIL PLANT(Ricinus palma christi)is a native both of the East and West Indies, and has a stem from five to fifteen or sixteen feet in height, and large bluish-green leaves, divided into seven lobes, serrated and pointed, the footstalks long, and inserted into the disk.The flowers are produced in a terminating spike, and the seed-vessels are covered with spines, and contain each three flattish oblong seeds.

The flowers are produced in a terminating spike, and the seed-vessels are covered with spines, and contain each three flattish oblong seeds.

It is to the seeds of this plant that we are indebted for the drug calledcastor-oil. This is sometimes obtained by pressing the seeds, in the same way as is practised with respect to oil of almonds (152). But the mode chiefly adopted in the West Indies, whence we principally import it, is first to strip the seeds of their husks or pods, and then to bruise them in a mortar;afterwards they are tied in linen bags, and boiled in water until the oil which they contain rises to the surface; this is carefully skimmed off, strained to free it from any accidental impurities, and bottled for use. The oil which is obtained by boiling is considered more mild than that obtained by pressure, but it sooner becomes rancid. The mildest and finest of the Jamaica castor-oil is limpid, nearly colourless, and has scarcely more taste or smell than good olive-oil.

The uses of castor-oil in medicine are well known.

The plant is sufficiently hardy to grow and ripen its seeds in the open ground of gardens, in the south of England.

255.WILLOW, OSIER, or WITHY.—Of this very extensive tribe nearly fifty distinct species have been discovered in our own island. The slender branches of many of these are applied to useful purposes, but particularly for making baskets, bird-cages, and what is called wicker-work; springles for fastening down thatch, wheels or traps for catching lobsters and eels; hoops and crates. Thewoodis useful for the handles of hatchets, prongs, spades, and other rural implements; and also furnishes shoemakers with cutting and whetting boards, on which they cut leather and sharpen the edges of their knives.

As willows generally flourish in wet situations, some of the species are planted with a view to prevent the banks of rivers and brooks from being washed away by floods.

Thebarkof some kinds of willow has been applied, with effect, as a substitute for Peruvian bark, in the cure of intermittent fevers. It has also been esteemed useful in the tanning of leather; and, in combination with alder, for striking a deep black colour, in the dyeing of linen.

The bark of other species may be manufactured into paper. In the year 1788, Mr. Greaves of Milbank, near Warrington, Lancashire, made fifteen reams of coarse paper from the bark of withen twigs, intermixed with a few nettles. The latter, however, he afterwards discovered, would better have been left out, as there was in them a woody substance, which does not well incorporate with other vegetables. The paper he made was considerably cheaper than paper of equal size and thickness made from ropes; and it was found that pasteboard, for book covers, made of withen bark, would be much cheaper than similar pasteboard manufactured from ropes. The process by which this paper and pasteboard were manufactured was as follows; the bark was stripped from the twigs in September, the time at which they are usually cut for making white baskets; it was then hackled, like flax or hemp, and dried in the sun, which gave it somewhat the appearance of brown hemp: but this having been attended with considerable trouble, other parts of the bark were dried with the leaves, as they were stripped off from the twigs, and were then submitted to the operation of the paper-mill.

The flowering branches of one species, thecommon sallow(Salix cineria), are called palms, and are gathered by children, in many parts of England, on Palm Sunday.

256.NUTMEGS are the kernels of a fruit produced in several islands of the East Indies.They are each surrounded by the spice calledmace,and, externally, by a husk about half an inch in thickness, which has somewhat the appearance of a small peach(Fig. 80).

256.NUTMEGS are the kernels of a fruit produced in several islands of the East Indies.

They are each surrounded by the spice calledmace,and, externally, by a husk about half an inch in thickness, which has somewhat the appearance of a small peach(Fig. 80).

The nutmeg-tree(Myristica aromatica)is not unlike our cherry-tree, both in growth and size. Its leaves are nearly oval, but pointed, waved, obliquely nerved, of bright green colour above, and whitish beneath. The flowers are small, and hang upon slender stalks.

When this fruit is nearly ripe the husk opens at the end, and exposes a net-work of scarlet mace. Underneath the mace is a black shell, about as thick as that of a filbert, and very hard; and in this is contained the nutmeg.

The gathering ofnutmegsis performed by persons who ascend the trees for that purpose, and pull the branches to them with long hooks. The husks are stripped off in the woods, and the remaining part of the fruit, with its surrounding mace, is taken home. After the mace has been carefully stripped off, with a small knife, the nuts, which are still covered with their woody shell, are dried, first in the sun, and then upon a frame of split bamboos placed over a slow fire, until, when shaken, the kernels are heard to rattle within the shells. These now easily fly to pieces when beaten with small sticks; and the nutmegs, being taken out, are soaked in sea-water and lime, and are then thrown in great numbers together to heat, by which their vegetating principle is destroyed. The nutmegs are finally sorted into parcels, according to their quality, and packed in bags for sale and exportation.

The nutmegs vended at the East India Company's sales in 1804, amounted in weight to 117,936 pounds, and produced 54,733l.exclusive of the duties. This kind of spice has long been employed both for culinary and medicinal purposes. Distilled with water, nutmegs afford a large portion of essential oil, which resembles, in flavour, the spice itself. When heated and pressed they yield a considerable quantity of limpid yellow oil. In the shops a thick and fragrant kind is sold, which, though calledoil of mace, is, in reality, expressed from the nutmeg. The best oil of this description is imported from the East Indies, in stone jars.Oil ofnutmegsis chiefly made from the imperfect fruit, and such as would be unfit for the European market.

Mace, or the covering of the nutmeg, that lies betwixt the outer coat and the shell, is an unctuous membrane, first of a light red, and afterwards, when dried, and as we see it, of yellowish colour. After it is taken from the shell it is exposed to the sun, then moistened with sea-water, and finally so far dried as to allow of its being packed in bales for exportation. In these it is pressed closely down, by which its fragrance and peculiar qualities are preserved. Mace is liable to seizure if imported in packages of less than 300 pounds' weight. We usually see it in flakes each about an inch in length, and presenting a great variety of ramifications. This spice has a very fragrant and agreeable odour, and, to most persons, a pleasant, though somewhat acrid, taste. It possesses nearly all the virtues of the nutmeg, but with less astringency; and, like that, is employed in numerous ways, both in culinary preparations and medicine.

In the island of Banda it is sometimes customary to boil theentire fruitof the nutmeg-tree, and afterwards to preserve it in syrup, and also to pickle it in spiced vinegar, in nearly the same manner as we pickle walnuts. In several parts of the East the inhabitants preserve theouter huskof the nutmeg as a sweetmeat, or eat it stewed with other food.

257.The DATE is a fruit shaped somewhat like a large acorn, and covered externally with a yellowish membrane or skin, which contains a fine, soft, and sweetish pulp, and, in the centre, an oblong, hard stone.The trees(Phœnix dactylifera)which produce this fruit, grow chiefly on the shores of the Mediterranean, are forty feet and upwards in height, have an upright stem, marked through their whole length with protuberances, and terminated at the summit with a cluster of winged leaves or branches, each eight or nine feet in length.

The trees(Phœnix dactylifera)which produce this fruit, grow chiefly on the shores of the Mediterranean, are forty feet and upwards in height, have an upright stem, marked through their whole length with protuberances, and terminated at the summit with a cluster of winged leaves or branches, each eight or nine feet in length.

The cultivation of the date is attentively pursued on the African coast of the Mediterranean; in severalparts of Persia, Arabia, and even in Spain. The latter country, however, is not sufficiently warm to ripen the fruit in perfection, without the constant labour of the cultivator. He is obliged to ascend the trees, from time to time, to examine the flowers and turn them towards the sun. This is chiefly done in the spring of the year; and, during the month of August, another and much more dangerous operation is requisite, namely, to tie all the branches into one bundle, and cover them over with broom. To make this bundle, the person employed is obliged to leap, as it were, over the flexible branches, for the purpose of surrounding and uniting them with a cord. This operation over, he places a ladder at the bottom of the tree, on which he stands to make a second band; he then places his ladder on this second band, ascends and ties the top with a third cord. His bundle being formed, he throws down his instruments, replaces his ladder by a gradation contrary to the former, and descends, from band to band, to the stem of the tree, down which he slides to the bottom.

Among the Africans and Egyptians the date constitutes a principal article of food, and, as such, it is considered both wholesome and nutritive. Its name is a word, formed ofdacteordactylus, implying a finger, from an imaginary resemblance which this fruit has to the end of the finger. Although dates, in general, are of yellowish colour, some are black, some white, and others brown: some also are sweet, and others bitter. The best are calledroyal dates, and are imported into this country from Tunis.

Each tree produces ten or twelve bunches of fruit, which, when gathered, are hung up in a dry place, until so much of their moisture is evaporated as to allow of their being packed in boxes for exportation.

Nearly all the parts of the date-tree are useful. Thewood, though of spongy texture, is employed for the beams and rafters of houses, and for implements of husbandry, which are said to be very durable. Thepithof the young trees is eaten, as well as the young and tenderleaves. From the old leaves and their stalks the women and children of Valencia make mats, baskets, and other utensils; and from other filamentous parts, ropes and different kinds of cordage are manufactured. A considerable traffic is carried on in these leaves, which, under the name ofpalms, are sent to Italy, to be used in the grand religious ceremonies of Palm Sunday. In Persia an ardent spirit is distilled from the fruit; and, in many places, thestonesare ground to make oil, and the paste that is left is given as food to cattle and sheep.

258.MASTIC is a resinous substance, obtained from a low tree or shrub(Pistacia lentiscus)which grows in the Levant.It has alternate winged leaves, consisting of several pairs of spear-shaped leaflets, and spikes of very small flowers, which issue from the junction of the leaves with the branches.

258.MASTIC is a resinous substance, obtained from a low tree or shrub(Pistacia lentiscus)which grows in the Levant.

It has alternate winged leaves, consisting of several pairs of spear-shaped leaflets, and spikes of very small flowers, which issue from the junction of the leaves with the branches.

The mode in which this resin is obtained is by making incisions across the tree in different parts. From these the juice exudes in drops, that are suffered to run upon the ground, and there to remain until they are sufficiently hard to be collected for use. The season for this process commences in the dry weather at the beginning of August, and lasts until the end of September. The best mastic is that imported from the island of Scio. We receive it in semi-transparent grains of yellowish colour. These emit an agreeable smell when heated; and, when chewed, they first crumble, and afterwards stick together, and become soft and white like wax.

With the Turkish women it is customary to chew this resin for the purpose of rendering their breath agreeable, and under a notion also that it tends to make their teeth white, and to strengthen the gums. They also mix it in fragrant waters, and burn it with other odoriferoussubstances, by way of perfume. It was formerly much used in medicine, as a remedy against pain in the teeth and gums; and, dissolved in spirit of wine, as a relief in obstinate and long continued coughs: but it is now almost wholly disused for these purposes; and is chiefly employed in the composition of varnish, and by dentists, for filling up the cavities of decayed teeth.

Thewoodof the mastic-tree is imported in thick knotty pieces, covered externally with an ash-coloured bark. This wood is accounted a mild, balsamic astringent; and a preparation of it, under the name ofaurum potabile, is strongly recommended, by some of the German writers, in coughs, nausea, and weakness of the stomach.

259.HEMP is the fibrous part of the stalks of a plant(Cannabis sativa, Fig. 82)which grows wild in the East Indies, and is much cultivated in different parts of Europe.It has the lower leaves in slender finger-like divisions; the male flowers in small loose spikes, at the end of the stem and branches; and the female flowers single, at the junction of the leaves and stem.

259.HEMP is the fibrous part of the stalks of a plant(Cannabis sativa, Fig. 82)which grows wild in the East Indies, and is much cultivated in different parts of Europe.

It has the lower leaves in slender finger-like divisions; the male flowers in small loose spikes, at the end of the stem and branches; and the female flowers single, at the junction of the leaves and stem.

The principal country for hemp, as an article of commerce, is Russia, few other countries of Europe growing a quantity sufficient for their own consumption. It is cultivated in some parts of Britain, but particularly in the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk. The soil best adapted to it is a moist but loose sandy loam, or the black mould of low lands near water. The seed is sown in April or May; and the plants, which attain the height of five or six feet, are in a state to be pulled up in three or four months; the male plant, orfimble hemp, as it is called, being ready some time before the female plants, which have the name ofkarleorseed-hemp.

As soon as the hemp is pulled, it is tied in bundles and set up to dry; and, at the end of about ten days, the bundles are loosened at the top, and the heads are held upon a hurdle by one person, whilst another, with a small threshing-flail, beats out the seed.

In the preparation of hemp for the manufacturer two modes are pursued. One of these is to spread it out on stubble or pasture ground, that the fibrous parts may be rendered separable by the gradual operation of the weather; the other is to immerse the bundles, for some days, in stagnant water. The next process consists in separating the bark, or hemp, from the stalks: this is effected either by pulling out the stalk with the hand, or by machinery similar to that adopted in the preparation of flax (97). After some other operations the hemp is beaten in mills, and then combed or dressed by drawing it through instruments calledhackles, which are somewhat similar to the combs of wool-manufacturers.

Thus prepared, the hemp is spun into thread, which is made into twine, ropes, and cordage of every description; and woven into canvas, and strong cloth of various kinds. Indeed so great is the importance of this production, particularly for the cordage, cables, and the rigging of ships, that, to encourage its growth, an act of parliament was passed in 1783, directing a bounty of three pence per stone to be paid on all hemp raised in Great Britain; and imposing heavy duties on hemp imported from foreign countries.

Fromhemp-seeda valuable kind ofoilis procured, by pressure, which is peculiarly adapted for burning, as it is perfectly limpid and without smell: it is also used for making the soap called green soap. The seeds themselves are sometimes employed in the feeding of poultry, from a notion that they cause the hens to lay a greater number of eggs than they otherwise would do. They are also given as food to singing birds; but, if in great quantity, they are supposed to injure the plumage. Thestalks, after the hemp is taken from them, afford an excellent fuel. The water in which hemp has been soaked is in a high degree poisonous.

260.HOPS are the dried flower-buds of a climbing British plant(Humulus lupulus, Fig. 81),with a rough and angularstem, and leaves generally in three or five lobes or divisions, and serrated.

Although hops grow wild, in great abundance, on hedges in several parts of the south of England, there is reason to suppose that their use was first made known from the Continent in the reign of Henry the Eighth.

A hop plantation requires the growth of some years before it is in perfection. The plants begin to push up their young stems about the month of April. When these are three or four inches above the ground, poles about twenty feet high are driven in to support them during their growth. The season for picking hops usually commences about the middle of September. This work is performed by men, women, and children. Proper baskets, bins, or cribs being in readiness, the plants are cut off close to the ground, and the poles are drawn up. These are placed upon the bins, with the plants upon them, and three or more persons on each side, pick off the hops. After this they are dried in a kiln, and, when dry, are carried into, and kept, for five or six days, in an apartment called the stowage-room, until they are in a state to be put into bags. This is done through a round hole, or trap, cut in the floor of the stowage-room, exactly equal in dimensions to the mouth of the bag, and immediately under which this mouth is fastened. In each of the lower corners of the bag a small handful of hops is tied; and a person, called the packer, places himself in it, and, by a heavy leaden weight, which he constantly moves round in the places where he is not treading, presses and forces the hops down, in a very close manner, into the bag, as fast as they are thrown to him by another labourer. The work thus proceeds till the bag is quite full, when each of the upper corners has a few hops tied in it, in the same manner as those at the bottom. These serve as handles for moving the bags. The bag is then taken away, and its mouth is properly sewed up and secured.

The hops of finest colour and best sample are put into bags of finer manufacture than the others, under the denomination ofpockets; and the inferior sorts are packed in canvas of coarser kind, calledbags.

When the hop-picking is completed, the poles are cleared from the binds or plants which adhered to them, and are stacked or piled together. Thebinds, when perfectly dried, are either stacked or placed in sheds, to be used as fuel in ovens, or otherwise. Sometimes they are burnt upon the land, for the ashes to serve as manure, trodden in the farm-yard, or allowed to be taken away by the labourers for their own use.

As the hop-plants are liable to be injured in various ways during their growth, they are considered a very precarious crop. They suffer from the attacks of insects, from honey-dew, from blight, from hot sunny weather after rain, and by winds and storms.

The principaluse of hops, in brewing, is for the preservation of malt liquor, and to communicate to it an agreeably aromatic bitter flavour. The best hops are used for ale and the finer kinds of malt liquor, and inferior kinds are used for porter. The odour of hops hung over a bed, or a pillow stuffed with hops, has been said to promote sleep, after the application of opium has failed. Theyoung shootsand tops are often gathered from the hedges, by poor people, and boiled and eaten in the manner of asparagus. Of the woody part of thehop-binds, after having been steeped in water, and worked into a pulp, a coarse kind of paper may be made.

261.YAMS are an American and West Indian root of very irregular shape, which possess properties somewhat similar to those of the potatoe, but they are less mealy, and, in a raw state, are very viscous.The plants(Dioscorea bulbifera)which produce these roots have heart-shaped leaves, and a stem that creeps along the ground like ivy.

The plants(Dioscorea bulbifera)which produce these roots have heart-shaped leaves, and a stem that creeps along the ground like ivy.

In some of the rich lands of South America, yams are said to grow to the weight of fifty or sixty pounds each; and are so productive that an acre of ground planted with them has been known to produce roots to the weight of from 20,000 to 30,000 pounds. Yams are propagated by setting the eyes, in the same manner as we plant potatoes; and, in six or eight months, they arrive at maturity.

When they are dug out of the ground, they are, for a little while, exposed to the sun to dry; and if, after this, they be packed in casks full of dry sand, they may be preserved, without injury, for many months. They are consequently often used as sea-store for vessels about to sail on long voyages, and are frequently brought into England. Several attempts have been made to cultivate yams in this island; and these have been attended with a certain degree of success in the counties of Mid-Lothian, Perth, and Stirling in Scotland, where they are used for the feeding of cattle. There are two kinds, one red, and the other white. The former of these contain a more nutritive food than the latter, though their flavour is much less excellent.

With the negroes, in the West Indian islands, the yam is a very important article of food. When roasted, it is so wholesome and nutritive that it is preferred by them even to bread. Like potatoes, yams may be converted into bread, by mixture with a portion of wheat or barley flour. They are sometimes made into soup, puddings, and other useful dishes.

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