In Malabar or Deccan spreads her arms,

Branching so broad and long, that in the ground
The bended twigs take root, and daughters grow
About the mother tree, a pillar'd shade,
High over-arched, and echoing walks between:
There oft the Indian herdsman, shunning heat,
Shelters in cool, and tends his pasturing herds
At loop-holes cut through thickest shade."

In the woods of Cambodia, there grow cer tain trees with a thick bark of a very poisonous quality, insomuch that the natives use it to poison the slugs they shoot at elephants or other wild beasts, which certainly kills them, if they do not miss their mark. Captain Hamilton observes, that this subtil poison has another strange quality, that if men are hungry or thirsty, (as is often the case in the woods) they squeeze a few drops of it on a leaf of a tree, and if they barely lick the leaf it gives immediate refreshment, but if the juice touch any part where the skin is broke, it proves mortal.

What we call nux vømica is the stone of the fruit of a tree growing in Malabar and several other parts of the East Indies. The fruit is as large as an orange, and very slimy; and, as vast quantities of them rot on the ground, it makes the water that runs through the woods very unwholeThis stone or seed is round and flat, of a grey mouse-colour without, and of various colours within; sometimes yellow, sometimes white, and sometimes brown. It is extremely narcotic and virulent, exciting inquietudes, convulsions, tremors, and irregular respiration; and therefore is not proper to be used in medicine.

some.

Two species of the cotton plant or shrub have been already described in the preceding parts of

this work; but there is another sort, in some parts of India, which grows to the height and thickness of a large tree, of which the fruit when ripe is nearly as big as a hen's egg, and then bursts like that of the shrub, discovering a fine white down or cotton. The fruit hangs about the middle and ends of the branches, and commonly two together.

The camrue of Bengal is remarkable for possessing a power somewhat similar to the sensitive plant; for its leaves, on being touched, move very perceptibly, although, from the hardness of the wood, this motion does not extend to the branches. The leaves are alternately pinnated with an odd one; and their most common position, in the day time, is either horizontal, or on the same plane with the branch from which they shoot out. On the approach of a person's hand they move themselves downward, in so great a degree that the two opposite almost touch one another by their under sides. The whole of the leaves of one pinna may be moved by striking the branch with any hard substance; or each leaf may be moved singly, by an impression that does not extend beyond it. Thus the leaves of one side of the pinna may be put in motion one after another, whilst the opposite ones continue as they were; or they may be made to move alternately in any order, by touching the leaves in a proper manner. But if the impression, even on a single leaf, be pretty strong, all the leaves on that pinna, and sometimes on the neighbouring ones will be affected.

Notwithstanding this apparent sensibility, how. ever, large incisions may be made in a leaf of the camrue, with a pair of sharp scissars, without oc

casioning the smallest motion; nay, it may even be cut almost off, and the remaining part will continue unmoved, though by touching the wounded leaf with the finger, motion will take place as if no injury had been offered. Hence it appears, that although the leaf be the ostensible part which moves, the petiolus or slender stalk which supports it, is the real seat of sense and action; for though the leaf may be squeezed or lacerated (provided its direction be not changed) without occasioning any motion, yet if the impression be made in such a manner as to affect the petiolus, the motion will certainly take place.

It is a curious, fact, that whether an impression be made by puncture, percussion, or compression, the motion does not follow immediately, but, in general, several seconds intervene, and then it exhibits itself gradually and with perfect regularity. Afterwards, when the leaves return to their former situation, which is commonly in a quarter of an hour, it is in so slow a manner as to be almost imperceptible.

On sticking a pin into the origin of the universal petiolus, the leaf next it, which is always on the outer side, moves first; then the first leaf on the opposite side; next the second leaf on the outer,and so on. This regular progression, however, seldom continues throughout; for the leaves on the outer side of the pinna seem to be more quickly and strongly affected than those of the inner; so that the fourth leaf on the outer side frequently moves as soon as the third on the inner; and sometimes a leaf on the inner side will remain unmoved, whilst those above and below it are affected in their proper time.-When the leaves happen to

be blown by the wind against each other, or against the branches, they are frequently put in motion; but if a branch be moved gently, either by the wind or the hand, without striking against any thing, no motion takes place.-With a convex lens the rays of the sun may be collected on a single leaf, so as to burn a hole in it, without causing any motion; but if the experiment be made on the petiolus, the motion is as quick as if from strong percussion, even though the rays be not sufficiently concentrated as to cause pain when applied, in a similar degree, on the back of the hand.

When left to themselves in the day time, shaded from the sun, wind, and rain, the appearance of the leaves is different from that of other pinnated plants; for in the latter a great uniformity subsists in the respective position of the leaves on the pinna; but in the camrue some may be seen on the horizontal plane, some raised above it, and others fallen under it; and in the space of an hour, without any perceptible order, all of them will change their respective positions.-After sun-set the leaves seem to go to sleep, first moving down so as to touch one another by their under sides: they, therefore, perform more extensive motion at night of themselves, than they can be made to do in the day-time by any external impressions.

The mahwah tree may justly rank among the curious vegetable productions of India, and appears to be of great utility. This tree (according to the account given by Lieutenant. Hamilton in the Asiatic Researches), is, when full grown, about the size of a common mango tree, with a bushy head, and oval leaves a little pointed. The roots are sunk but little below the surface of the earth;

and the trunk, which is of a considerable thickness, seldom rises to any great height, without g ving off branches: it may frequently be seen, however, to shoot up clear for about eight or ten feet. The wood is moderately hard, fine-grained, and of a reddish colour; and the bark, by incision, affords a resinous gum.

The flowers are extremely remarkable; for they differ essentially from those of all other plants, and rather resemble berries than flowers; insomuch that many persons have, at first sight, supposed them to be the fruit of the mahwah. The tree usually sheds its leaves in February; and early in the ensuing month these flowers begin to appear in clusters of thirty, forty, or fifty, at the end of every small branch; and from this period till the latter end of April, they continue falling off in the morning, as they come to maturity, and are dried by an exposure for a few days in the sun.When thus prepared, they are said to resemble a dried grape, both in taste and flavour.-Immediately after the flowers drop off, fresh shoots are made for the young leaves, which soon make their appearance.

The fruit (properly so called) is of two sorts in shape, the one resembling a small walnut; the other somewhat larger and pointed. It is generally ripe about the middle of May, and continues dropping from the branches till the beginning of June. The outer covering is of a soft texture, and commonly bursts in the fall; so that the seeds may be easily squeezed out of it. These seeds are somewhat of the shape of an olive, and are replete with a thick oil, of the consistence of butter or ghee, which is obtained by expression.

The flowers, after being dried in the sun,