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قراءة كتاب Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture

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‏اللغة: English
Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture

Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture

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دار النشر: Project Gutenberg
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very hard, is known as stone wood and has been used for wood engraving. Layers of the bark readily peel off; hence it also receives the name of paper-bark plant.

81. Callitris quadrivalvis.—This coniferous plant is a native of Barbary. It yields a hard, durable, and fragrant timber, and is much employed in the erection of mosques, etc., by the Africans of the North. The resin that exudes from the tree is used in varnish under the name of gum-sandarach. In powder it forms a principal ingredient of the article known as pounce.

82. Calophyllum calaba.—This is called calaba tree in the West Indies, and an oil, fit for burning, is expressed from the seeds. In the West Indies these seeds are called Santa Maria nuts.

83. Calotropis gigantea.—The inner bark of this plant yields a valuable fiber, capable of bearing a greater strain than hemp. All parts of it abound in a very acrid milky juice, which hardens into a substance resembling gutta-percha; but in its fresh state it is a valuable remedy in cutaneous diseases. The bark of the root also possesses similar medical qualities; and its tincture yields mudarine, a substance that has the property of gelatinizing when heated, and returning to the fluid state when cool. Paper has been made from the silky down of the seeds.

84. Camellia japonica.—A well-known green-house plant, cultivated for its large double flowers. The seeds furnish an oil of an agreeable odor, which is used for many domestic purposes.

85. Camphora officinarum.—This tree belongs to the Lauraceæ. Camphor is prepared from the wood by boiling chopped branches in water, when, after some time, the camphor becomes deposited and is purified by sublimation. It is mainly produced in the island of Formosa. The wood of the tree is highly prized for manufacturing entomological cabinets. As the plant grows well over a large area in the more Southern States, it is expected that the preparation of its products will become a profitable industry.

86. Canella alba.—This is a native of the West Indies, and furnishes a pale olive-colored bark with an aromatic odor, and is used as a tonic. It is used by the natives as a spice. It furnishes the true canella bark of commerce, also known as white-wood bark.

87. Capparis spinosa.—The caper plant, a native of the South of Europe and of the Mediterranean regions. The commercial product consists of the flower-buds, and sometimes the unripe fruits, pickled in vinegar. The wood and bark possess acrid qualities which will act as a blister when applied to the skin.

88. Carapa guianensis.—A meliaceous plant, native of tropical America, where it grows to a height of 60 to 80 feet. The bark of this tree possesses febrifugal properties and is also used for tanning. By pressure, the seeds yield a liquid oil called carap-oil or crab-oil, suitable for burning in lamps.

89. Carica papaya.—This is the South American papaw tree, but is cultivated in most tropical countries. It is also known as the melon-apple. The fruit is of a dingy orange-color, of an oblong form, about 8 to 10 inches long, by 3 or 4 inches broad. It is said that the juice of the tree, or an infusion of the leaves and fruit, has the property of rendering tough fiber quite tender. Animals fed upon the fruit and leaves will have very tender and juicy flesh.

90. Carludovica palmata.—A pandanaceous plant from Panama and southward. Panama hats are made from the leaves of this plant. The leaves are cut when young, and the stiff parallel veins removed, after which they are slit into shreds, but not separated at the stalk end, and immersed in boiling water for a short time, then bleached in the sun.

91. Caryocar nuciferum.—On the river banks of Guiana this grows to a large-sized tree. It yields the butter-nuts, or souari-nuts of commerce. These are of a flattened kidney shape, with a hard woody shell of a reddish-brown color, and covered with wart-like protuberances. The nuts are pleasant to eat, and yield, by expression, an oil called Piquia oil, which possesses the flavor of the fruit.

92. Caryophyllus aromaticus.—This myrtaceous plant produces the well-known spice called cloves. It forms a beautiful evergreen, rising from 20 to 30 feet in height. The cloves of commerce are the unexpanded flower-buds; they are collected by beating the tree with rods, when the buds, from the jointed character of their stalks, readily fall, and are received on sheets spread on purpose; they are then dried in the sun. All parts of the plant are aromatic, from the presence of a volatile oil. The oil is sometimes used in toothache and as a carminative in medicine.

93. Caryota urens.—This fine palm is a native of Ceylon, and is also found in other parts of India, where it supplies the native population with various important articles. Large quantities of toddy, or palm-wine, are prepared from the juice, which, when boiled, yields very good palm sugar or jaggery, and also excellent sugar candy. Sago is also prepared from the central or pithy part of the trunk, and forms a large portion of the food of the natives. The fiber from the leaf stalk is of great strength; it is known as Kittool fiber, and is used for making ropes, brushes, brooms, etc. A woolly kind of scurf, scraped off the leaf stalks, is used for calking boats, and the stem furnishes a small quantity of wood.

94. Casimiroa edulis.—A Mexican plant, belonging to the orange family, with a fruit about the size of an ordinary orange, which has an agreeable taste, but is not considered to be wholesome. The seeds are poisonous; the bark is bitter, and is sometimes used medicinally.

95. Cassia acutifolia.—The cassias belong to the leguminous family. The leaflets of this and some other species produce the well-known drug called senna. That known as Alexandria senna is produced by the above. East Indian senna is produced by C. elongata. Aleppo senna is obtained from C. obovata. The native species, C. marylandica, possesses similar properties. The seeds of C. absus, a native of Egypt, are bitter, aromatic, and mucilaginous, and are used as a remedy for ophthalmia. C. fistula is called the Pudding-Pipe tree, and furnishes the cassia pods of commerce. The seeds of C. occidentalis, when roasted, are used as a substitute for coffee in the Mauritius and in the interior of Africa.

96. Castilloa elastica.—This is a Mexican tree, which yields a milky juice, forming caoutchouc, but is not collected for commerce except in a limited way.

97. Casuarina quadrivalvis.—This Tasmanian tree produces a very hard wood of a reddish color, often called Beef wood. It is marked with dark stripes, and is much used in some places for picture frames and cabinetwork. This belongs to a curious family of trees having no leaves, but looking like a gigantic specimen of Horse-tail grass, a weed to be seen in wet places.

98. Catha edulis.—This plant is a native of Arabia, where it attains the height of 7 to 10 feet. Its leaves are used by the Arabs in preparing a beverage like tea or coffee. The twigs, with leaves attached, in bundles of fifty, and in pieces from 12 to 15 inches in length, form a very considerable article of commerce, its use in Arabia corresponding to that of the Paraguay tea in South America and the Chinese tea in Europe. The effects produced by a decoction of the leaves of Cafta, as they are termed, are described as similar to those produced by strong green tea, only more pleasing and agreeable.

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