Part 9

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.

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CLASS VII.--HEPTANDRIA.

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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.

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CLASS VIII.--OCTANDRIA.

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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._