Chapter VI: Front Matter (6)

The dried fruit of the gamboge tree is not unfrequently sent to our colonies in the East Indies, where it is used in sauces, and with several kinds of food.

146. _WELD_ (Reseda luteola) _is a plant of the mignionette tribe, used
in dyeing: it grows wild, in barren and uncultivated places, particularly
on coal-pit banks, in several parts of England._

_The leaves are spear-shaped, and entire, with a tooth-like process on
each side of the base. The flowers are yellow, and in long spikes; and
the calyx is divided into four segments._

In some parts of England, particularly in the clothing counties, weld is cultivated to great extent; and it flourishes in sandy soils that could be turned to little advantage in any other way. When the plants are ripe, they are pulled up by the roots, dried, and tied into bundles for use.

The tinging quality of weld resides both in the stems and roots. This imparts to wool, cotton, mohair, and silk, a very bright and beautiful yellow colour; and blue cloths, dipped in a decoction of it, become green. The yellow colour of the paint called _Dutch pink_ is obtained from this plant.

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CLASS XII.--ICOSANDRIA.

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MONOGYNIA.

147. _The GUAVA, or BAY PLUM, is a West Indian fruit, of which there are
two kinds, one white and round, and the other red and pear-shaped. The
former is produced by a tree_ (Psidium pomiferum) _which has
sharp-pointed and highly ribbed leaves, and flowers three on each stalk;
and the latter by a tree_ (Psidium pyriferum) _with oval leaves and
single-stalked flowers._

Equally delicious and wholesome, these _fruits_ are in the highest estimation in the countries where they are produced. The rind or skin is lined with an apple-like substance, which is used for tarts and other sweet preparations. It is also stewed and eaten with milk; and, in this form, is generally thought better than any other stewed fruit; from the same part a marmalade is made. This rind encloses an agreeable pulp, mixed with innumerable small seeds. The whole fruit is eaten raw, or prepared as a sweetmeat in various ways; the most common form in which we see it is that of a jelly.

The _wood_ is used for fuel, and also makes excellent charcoal.

148. _The COMMON MYRTLE_ (Myrtus communis) _is a well-known ornamental
evergreen shrub, which is cultivated chiefly in greenhouses in this
country, but grows wild in the countries of the South of Europe._

Although this shrub is cultivated with us chiefly for ornament, it is of considerable utility to the inhabitants of the South of Europe. Its _young shoots_ are used for tanning leather; and both its _leaves_ and _berries_ are employed in medicine. From the former a distilled water is obtained, which is sometimes used in gargles. The berries are likewise distilled; and an oil prepared from them has considerable repute as a means of thickening the hair.

149. _ALL-SPICE, or PIMENTO, is the dried berry of a West Indian species
of myrtle_ (Myrtus pimenta, Fig. 45.)

_This tree grows to the height of twenty feet and upwards, and has
somewhat oval leaves about four inches long, of deep shining green
colour, and numerous bunches of white flowers, each with four small
petals._

In the whole vegetable creation there is scarcely any tree more beautiful or more fragrant than a young pimento about the month of July. Branched on all sides, richly clad with deep green leaves, which are relieved by an exuberance of white and strongly aromatic flowers, it attracts the notice of all who approach it.

Pimento trees grow spontaneously, and in great abundance, in many parts of Jamaica; but they cannot be propagated without great difficulty. The usual method of making a new pimento walk, or plantation, is to appropriate for this purpose a piece of woody ground in the neighbourhood of an already existing walk, or in a part of the country where the scattered trees are found in a native state. The other trees are cut down; and, in a year or two, young pimento plants are found to spring up in all parts, supposed to have been produced from berries scattered there by birds, which eagerly devour them.

About the month of September, and not long after the blossoms have fallen, the berries are in a fit state to be gathered. At this time, though not quite ripe, they are full grown, and about the size of pepper-corns.

They are gathered by the hand; and one labourer on a tree will strip them off so quickly as to employ three below in picking them up; and an industrious picker will fill a bag of seventy pounds' weight in a day. The berries are then spread on a terrace, in the sun, for about seven days, to be dried; but this is an operation which requires great care, from the necessity of keeping them perfectly free from moisture. By the drying they lose their green colour, and become reddish brown; and the process is known to be completed by their colour, and by the rattling of the seeds within the berries. They are then packed into bags or hogsheads for the market. When the berries are quite ripe, they are of a dark purple colour, and filled with a sweet pulp.

Pimento is thought to resemble in flavour a mixture of cinnamon, nutmegs, and cloves, whence it has obtained the name of "all-spice." It is much employed in cookery; and is chiefly used in whole grains. It is also employed in medicine, as an agreeable aromatic; and forms the basis of a distilled water, a spirit, and an essential oil. The _leaves_ of the pimento trees yield in distillation an odoriferous oil, which is not unfrequently used in medicinal preparations, instead of oil of cloves.

150. _The PEACH is a large, downy, and well-known garden fruit_
(Amygdalus Persica), _which is supposed to have been originally
introduced into Europe from Persia, and was first brought into England
about the year 1562._

This rich and delicious fruit is highly and deservedly esteemed at table, as an article in our desserts; and, when ripe and fresh, is grateful and wholesome, seldom disagreeing with the stomach, unless this organ be not in an healthy state, or the fruit be eaten to excess. When preserved in wine, brandy, or sugar, it loses its good properties. The _kernels_ yield a salubrious bitter. The _flowers_, which are very beautiful, and appear early in the spring, emit an agreeable odour, have a bitterish taste, and are used for medical purposes. The _leaves_ are occasionally employed in cookery, but they ought not to be used without great caution, on account of their injurious properties.

There are many varieties of the peach, some of which are much more esteemed than others. The mode in which the trees are usually propagated is by a process termed budding, or grafting upon the stock of some other tree (see p. 147); and, by this process, those of any favourite kind may be exactly obtained.

151. The NECTARINE is a smooth-skinned variety of the peach, but of richer and more delicious flavour. The culture and management of the two kinds are exactly the same; and in all the circumstances of their growth, wood, leaves, and flowers, they precisely resemble each other.

152. _The COMMON or SWEET ALMOND is a soft and pleasant-flavoured kernel,
contained in a nut which is of flattish shape, and has a tender shell
with numerous small holes on the outside._

_The almond tree_ (Amygdalus communis, Fig. 46) _is usually twelve or
fourteen feet high. Its beautiful pink flowers of five petals grow in
pairs, and appear early in the spring. The leaves are somewhat oval,
pointed, and delicately serrated at the edges._

Our shrubberies contain no tree the flowers of which are more beautiful than those of the almond; and these flowers appear in March and April, a season when few other parts of the vegetable creation have recovered from their wintry state. Though known to the ancients from the most remote periods of antiquity, the almond tree has only been cultivated in England since the year 1562, and this almost wholly on account of the elegant appearance of its flowers; as the climate of Great Britain is not sufficiently warm for the fruit to be perfected with us.

The almonds that are consumed in this country are imported, sometimes in the shell, but much more commonly without, from France, Spain, Italy, and the Levant; and they are packed in casks, boxes, and bales. The province of Valencia had formerly great celebrity for its almonds; but the cultivation of the trees in that part of Spain has for several years been much neglected.

The chief uses of sweet almonds are in confectionary and cooking. They are also eaten with raisins in desserts after dinner; but they should be well chewed, as every piece that is swallowed entire is indigestible. By pressure, they yield a considerable proportion, sometimes nearly half their weight, of _oil_. Indeed this is so plentiful that it may even be squeezed out of the kernel with the fingers. Some preparations of almonds are used in medicine, particularly that called _milk of almonds_, which is formed of pounded almonds, loaf-sugar, and water, well mixed together. In some parts of the East Indies, it is said that almonds supply the place of small money.

153. _BITTER ALMONDS are in no respect different from sweet almonds,
either as to the appearance of the kernels themselves, or the trees which
produce them, except somewhat in the size of the flowers and fruit._

Like sweet almonds, they yield a large portion of _oil_. This has no bitterness; but the substance which remains after the pressure is intensely bitter. If these almonds be eaten freely, they occasion sickness and vomiting; and, to many quadrupeds and birds, they are a fatal poison. There was formerly a notion, but it is an erroneous one, that the eating of them would prevent the intoxicating effects of wine. They are frequently used, instead of apricot kernels, in ratafia, and sometimes are employed in making a counterfeit cherry-brandy. The oil and emulsions of bitter almonds are used in medicine: and a powder and paste, for washing the hands is made both from them and from sweet almonds. By confectioners they are much in request for flavouring biscuits and other articles.

154. _The POMEGRANATE is an apple-shaped fruit with thick rind, and
crowned with the leaves or teeth of the calyx. It is the produce of an
evergreen shrub_ (Punica granatum, Fig. 47) _which grows wild in the
southern parts of Europe._

_This shrub is usually from fifteen to twenty feet high. The branches are
armed with spines; and the leaves are oblong, pointed, and dark green.
The flowers, which are of a rich scarlet colour, have five rounded
petals._

By the Greeks and Romans almost every part of the pomegranate tree (the root, leaves, flowers, and fruit) was considered to possess medical properties of a very remarkable and even marvellous description; and the country then chiefly celebrated for the production of it was that adjacent to the city of Carthage. The pomegranate is now, however, in little esteem, except on account of its fruit; the pulp or juice of which is pleasant to the palate, and, in common with other summer fruits, allays heat and mitigates thirst, but has a slightly astringent flavour. This pulp is red, is contained in transparent membranes, and included in nine distinct cells. The tough _rind_ of the fruit, which is of a bitter and astringent nature, was employed by the ancients in the dressing of leather; and it is still used in some parts of Germany, together with the _bark_ of the tree, in the preparation and dyeing of red leather in imitation of what is called Morocco leather.

Pomegranates were first cultivated in England about the year 1596; but the fruit grown in this country seldom attains a delicacy of flavour equal to that which is imported from Spain, Italy, and other warm climates.

155. _The CHERRY is a fruit of the prune or plum tribe, the original
stock of which is the wild cherry_ (Prunus cerasus) _of our woods._

The gradual effects of cultivation, as they regard the cherry, have been the production of several kinds, which, both in size and flavour, infinitely exceed the fruit of the parent stock, or wild cherry of the woods. The kinds that are best known are the _May Duke, Early Kentish Cherry, White Heart, and Black Heart Cherries_. The trees are propagated by grafting (see p. 147) them usually upon the stocks of wild black and red cherry trees, which are reared for that purpose.

This agreeable _fruit_ is eaten either fresh or dried. It is sometimes preserved with sugar as a sweetmeat; is made into jam; used in preparations of the liqueur called cherry-brandy: and made into wine. From wild black cherries the Swiss distil an ardent spirit, by the sale of which to the French and Germans they derive considerable profit.

The _wood_ of the cherry-tree, which is hard and tough, is much used, particularly by turners and cabinet-makers on the Continent, for the manufacture of chairs and other furniture. The _gum_ that exudes from the bark is, in many respects, equal to gum arabic (273); and is considered very nutritive. Hasselquist informs us that, during a siege, more than 100 men were kept alive for nearly two months, without any other sustenance than a little of this gum, which they occasionally took into their mouths and suffered gradually to dissolve.

156. _The APRICOT_ (Prunus Armeniaca) _is a fruit of the plum tribe,
which grows wild in several parts of Armenia and was first introduced
into this country about the middle of the sixteenth century._

Some persons are inclined to consider the apricot as the most delicate of all our hardy fruits. For pastry certainly none is more excellent. It is used for tarts, both green and when ripe; it is also preserved with sugar in both these states, and is sometimes dried as a sweetmeat. Care, however, should be taken to gather it before it becomes soft and mealy. The _kernels_ of apricots have a pleasantly bitter flavour, and answer much better for several purposes in confectionary than bitter almonds, which are usually applied. They likewise contain a sweet oil, which, like that of almonds, was formerly used in emulsions.

The _gum_ that issues from the apricot tree is nearly similar to that of the cherry (152). The _wood_ is coarse-grained and soft, and consequently is seldom used in carpentry.

Apricot trees are chiefly grown against walls, and are propagated by grafting upon plum-tree stocks.

157. _The COMMON or DOMESTIC PLUM, in all its varieties, has been derived
from a wild species of plum-tree_ (Prunus domestica), _which grows in
hedge-rows and thickets in several parts of England; and is distinguished
by its branches being without thorns, and its fruit-stalks being single._

Were it not a well-established fact, few persons would suppose that the _magnum bonum_, or _egg plum_, the _green gage_, and several others, which are now common in our gardens, are indebted, for their parent stock, to the wild plum above-mentioned. These are all used at table; and, when sufficiently ripe, and eaten in moderate quantity, are pleasant and wholesome fruits, but, in an immature state, they are very unwholesome.

_Prunes_ and _French plums_ are the dried fruit of different kinds of plum-trees. They are usually packed in boxes, and are imported from the Continent, but particularly from the neighbourhood of Marseilles.--Brignolles, a town of Provence, about thirty miles from Marseilles, is one of the most famous places in France for dried prunes. _Prunes_ or _St. Catherine's plums_, constitute a lucrative branch of traffic, which is almost exclusively carried on in Tours and Chatelherault. Prunes are sometimes employed in medicine, but French plums are chiefly used at table.

The _wood_ of the plum-tree is of little value; but the _bark_ is in occasional request as affording a yellow dye.

158. _The BULLACE PLUM is a small violet-coloured fruit of globular
shape, produced by a shrub_ (Prunus insititia) _which grows wild in our
hedges, and is known by its branches being thorny, and its fruit-stalks
in pairs._

The plum has a rough, but not unpleasantly acid taste, especially after it has been mellowed by the frost. A conserve, called _bullace cheese_, is sometimes prepared by mixture of the pulp of the bullace with about thrice its weight of sugar. In several parts of Germany this fruit is preserved in vinegar and spice; and is occasionally used, in the manner of cherries, for the flavouring of brandy. An infusion of the _flowers_, sweetened with sugar, is sometimes used medicinally for children. The _wood_ is pleasingly veined, and is much valued by turners.

159. _The SLOE is a small, round, and nearly black kind of plum_ (Prunus
spinosa), _of extremely austere taste, which is common in thickets and
hedges throughout nearly every part of England._

_The shrub that produces it has thorny branches, and the fruit-stalks are
single._

The harshness and austerity of the sloe are proverbial. Its _juice_, if mixed with British made wines, communicates to them a red colour, and an astringent flavour, somewhat resembling that of port wine; a fact too well known to some of the dealers in that favourite liquor. The juice of unripe sloes, dried over a gentle fire, so nearly resembles the Egyptian acacia (273), that it has in many instances been substituted for that substance; it is, however, harder, heavier, of darker colour, and somewhat sharper taste than the genuine kind. A conserve of this fruit, made with three times its weight of double-refined sugar, has been used with success as a gargle for sore throats.

An infusion of the _flowers_ in water, or the flowers boiled in milk, are sometimes employed medicinally; and the _bark_, reduced to powder, has been efficaciously administered in agues. If boiled in ley, the bark yields a red dye. The young and tender _leaves_ of the sloe afford a substitute for tea, but some persons consider them unwholesome. The juice of the fruit, mixed with green vitriol, becomes an indelible black fluid, either for dyeing linen, or as writing-ink. The _wood_, being extremely tough, is converted into walking-sticks, and made into the teeth of rakes; it is also sometimes used by turners. Dr. Withering has remarked, that, from certain effects which he observed to follow the prick of the _thorns_ of the sloe, he was inclined to consider they had some poisonous quality, especially in autumn.

PENTAGYNIA.

160. _The MEDLAR_ (Mespilus germanica) _is usually considered a native
English fruit, having been remarked, more than a century ago, to grow
wild in hedges about Minshull in Cheshire. It is distinguished by being
depressed and concave at the top, the leaves of the calyx continuing upon
it; and by its containing several hard, compressed, and angular nuts._

It is the property of the medlar, which is cultivated in most large gardens, to be hard, and remarkably austere and disagreeable to the taste, until it has, in part, undergone the putrefactive fermentation, when it becomes a soft, mellow, and, to many palates, a pleasant fruit. Medlars are usually gathered from the trees about the end of October, or beginning of November. To facilitate their becoming fit for the table, they may be placed in moist bran; but such as require to be kept for subsequent use should be deposited on dry straw. In a fortnight or three weeks those in the bran will be eatable, and the others will more gradually ripen. After they are perfectly ripe, they, however, soon become mouldy and decay.

The _wood_ of the medlar-tree somewhat resembles that of the pear-tree, but is of no great value.

161. _The COMMON PEAR is a well-known garden fruit, derived from an
English stock, the wild pear-tree_ (Pyrus communis), _which grows in
hedges and thickets in Somersetshire and Sussex._

It would be an endless task to describe the different known varieties of the cultivated pear. Some of these are very large, and others extremely small; some have a rich and luscious flavour, and others, as the iron pear, are so hard and disagreeable to the taste, as to be absolutely unfit to eat. Pears are chiefly used in desserts; and one or two of the kinds are stewed with sugar, baked, or preserved in syrup.

The fermented _juice_ of pears is called _perry_, and is prepared nearly in the same manner as that of apples (162) is for cider. The greatest quantities of perry are made in Worcestershire and Herefordshire. The _Squash_, the _Oldfield_, and the _Barland perry_ are esteemed the best. Many of the dealers in Champaigne wine are said to use perry in the adulteration of it; and, indeed, really good perry is little inferior, either in flavour or quality, to Champaigne.

Of the _wood_ of the pear-tree, which is light, smooth, compact, and of yellowish colour, carpenters' and joiners' tools are usually made, as well as the common kinds of flat rulers, and measuring scales. It is also used for picture frames that are to be stained black. The _leaves_ impart a yellow dye, and are sometimes employed to communicate a green colour to blue cloth.

162. _The APPLE, in all its numerous varieties, has been derived from
the_ Crab-tree (Pyrus malus), _which grows wild in almost every thicket,
and in hedges of all parts of the kingdom._

The uses of apples are very extensive, and even the _crab-tree_ is not without its use. The _fruit_ is indeed small, and bad to the taste; but its fermented juice, which is called _verjuice_, is sometimes employed in cookery, occasionally in medicine, and frequently by wax-chandlers, for the purifying of wax. Dr. Withering conceives that, with a proper addition of sugar, a grateful liquor might be made from the juice of crabs, little inferior to hock. Hogs and deer are particularly partial to this fruit. The _wood_ is tolerably hard, and, when made into the cogs of wheels, acquires a polish, and is very durable.

Apple-trees are all produced in an artificial manner, by a process termed _grafting_. This is performed by inserting young shoots of such trees as bear valuable fruit, on stocks that have been raised from the seeds of crabs. Thus the shoot of an apple-tree, inserted into a crab stock, occasions the crab-tree, from that time, to produce apples of nearly the same kind and quality with those of the tree from which the shoot was taken. Other stocks might be used, but those of the crab are considered the best. The same process is adopted in the propagation of nearly every kind of fruit-tree; since, by experience, it has been ascertained that such as are produced from seed all partake of the nature of wild fruits, and have little resemblance to the fruit from which they spring.

There are several kinds of apples, and the varieties are every day increasing, through the attention that is paid, by different individuals, to the culture of this valuable fruit. Those best known as eating apples are the American apple called _Newtown pippin_, the _non-pareil_, _golden pippin_, _ribstone pippin_, _golden rennet_, and _lemon pippin_; for the kitchen, the _codlin_ and _russet_; and for cider, the _golden pippin_, _coccagee_, and _red streak_. Of these the non-pareil and golden pippin, from some unaccountable causes, are beginning to fail; the trees of late production not affording fruit of excellence equal to what has formerly been produced in this country.

It would be impossible in this place to enumerate all the uses of apples. They are employed in culinary preparations of several kinds, particularly in puddings and pies: they are a constant article in desserts; and are dried, baked, and made into jelly and marmalade. But by far the most important application of them is for the making of _cider_. The mode in which this is done in Herefordshire is very simple. After the apples have been gathered, they are sorted according to their different degrees of ripeness, and laid together, for a little while, to heat, by which those which are not perfectly ripe are greatly improved in flavour. The fruit is then ground in a mill, till even the kernels and rind are well bruised. It is allowed to stand, for a day or two, exposed in a large open vessel; after which it is pressed between several hair cloths. The liquor that issues from it is received into a vat, to be fermented; it is subsequently removed into casks till it becomes fine; it is then racked off into other vessels, leaving the lees behind. As soon as the fermentation has ceased, the casks are filled up with other cider, and the bung-holes are closed.

Cider is a more acid liquor than perry, and, generally speaking, is a wholesome and pleasant drink during the heats of summer; but the harsher kinds, or those which are prepared in leaden vessels, if freely drunk, are the cause of colics and other painful complaints. By distillation from cider an ardent spirit may be obtained. This has an unpleasant flavour, of which, however, it may be deprived by a certain process with charcoal. By boiling the fresh juice of apples, and afterwards fermenting it, a _wine_ may be made, which, when three or four years old, is said to acquire both the colour and flavour of Rhenish wine.

163. _The QUINCE is a somewhat pear-shaped fruit, which is supposed to
have been originally imported into this country from the island of
Crete._

_The quince-tree_ (Pyrus cydonia), _is low and bushy. Its leaves are
oval, entire, and whitish beneath. The flowers are large, of pale red or
white colour, and do not grow in bunches, but each on a separate stalk._

Though quinces have an austere taste, and are not eatable when raw, they lose a considerable portion of their harshness if prepared in any manner by heat; and, when mixed with other fruit in cookery, they communicate a very pleasant flavour. Hence it is that they are often mixed with apples in pies. Quinces are also boiled and eaten with sugar; made into marmalade, and preserved in syrup either whole or in halves. The _juice_ of quinces, boiled with sugar, was formerly used as a medicine, but of late years it has been nearly discontinued. A proportion of one quart of the juice, mixed with a pound of sugar, and fermented, yields a delicious wine. On the Continent, a celebrated liqueur is prepared from this juice, in combination with sugar and brandy. A mucilage of the _seeds_ is kept by apothecaries, and used in medicine, as more pleasant, but it is not so efficacious, as that of the simple gums.

Quince-trees grow wild on the banks of the Danube, but, with much less luxuriance than in a state of cultivation.

POLYGYNIA.

164. _The HUNDRED LEAVED, or COMMON GARDEN ROSE_ (Rosa centifolia), _is a
shrub too well known to need any description._

This, the queen of flowers, is one of the most elegant and fragrant of the vegetable productions. Its _petals_ yield, on distillation, a small portion of aromatic _oil_, together with a _water_ which possesses both the odour and taste of the flowers. This oil congeals in the common temperature of our atmosphere, and in that state is of white colour; but, when liquefied by heat, it appears yellow. So small, however, is the quantity that can be obtained, that an hundred pounds' weight of the flowers will scarcely yield half an ounce of oil. It is in much request as a perfume, under the name of _ottar_ or _essence of roses_; and, though chiefly manufactured in the East Indies, is seldom imported from thence for sale, but considerable quantities of it are brought from Turkey, at the price of from three to four pounds per ounce, exclusive of the duty. That from the East Indies, when genuine, has been sold at a much more exorbitant rate than this; but it is not unfrequently adulterated with oil of sandal-wood (55). The fraud, however, is easily detected by those who are accustomed to the smell of the latter, and also by the fluidity of the compound. The true ottar of roses is undoubtedly the most elegant perfume that is known.

From the petals of this rose are also prepared a _conserve_ and _syrup_, which are used in medicine. The simple distilled _rose-water_ has little to recommend it beyond its fragrance: it is occasionally used to impart an agreeable flavour to culinary preparations, and also to some kinds of cordials. It should be remarked that, although, from their fragrance, roses are much used for nosegays, their odour has sometimes produced very alarming symptoms in persons sitting or sleeping with such nosegays in confined apartments.

165. _The WILD BRIER, or HEP-ROSE_ (Rosa canina), _is a common wild
flower in hedges, and is distinguished by having a somewhat egg-shaped
fruit, smooth flower-stalks, the prickles of the stem hooked, and the
leaves oval, pointed, smooth, and shining._

We possess no wild shrub more ornamental to the country, in its flowers, its foliage, or its fruit, than this; and its sweet and delicate scent, though less powerful, is perhaps as grateful as that of any rose that is known. The _flowers_, when distilled, afford a pleasant perfumed water. The _fruit_, or heps, contain an acid yet sweetish pulp, with a rough prickly matter enclosing the seeds. Of the pulp, when carefully separated from this substance, and mixed with sugar, is prepared the _conserve of heps_ of the shops, which, though of little medicinal virtue itself, is used to give form to more active medicines. In the north of Europe, the fruit of the rose, with the addition of sugar, is sometimes employed in the preparation of domestic wines; and the pulp, in a dried state, affords a grateful ingredient in sauces: but it is supposed that a still greater advantage might be derived from the fruit by distillation. The _leaves_ of this, and indeed of every kind of rose, have been recommended as a substitute for tea. On the Continent they are employed in currying the finer kinds of leather.

On the branches of this tree a singular moss-like and prickly excrescence is frequently found. This, which is caused by an insect (_Cynips rosæ_), and forms the habitation of its offspring, was formerly in great medicinal repute; but it is now seldom used.

166. _The RED OFFICINAL ROSE_ (Rosa gallica) _differs from the
hundred-leaved rose in having the leaf-stalks more rough and prickly. The
petals are of deep crimson colour, large, spreading, and not numerous._

In the period of its flowering, this rose, which is a native of the south of Europe, succeeds the common garden rose. It is used in several medicinal preparations. Of its _petals_, in conjunction with sugar, a conserve is made, an infusion, and a syrup; and the dried _buds_, with water and honey, are made into what is called _honey of roses_.

167. _The RASPBERRY_ (Rubus idæus) _is a well-known garden fruit, which
grows wild in woods and thickets of several parts of England._

To most persons the flavour of the raspberry is peculiarly grateful; and its perfume very delightful. Raspberries are much used in cookery and confectionary, as well as to eat in desserts. With sugar they are made into jam and jelly, and also into cakes. The juice, mixed with a certain portion of sugar and of brandy, constitutes the liqueur called _raspberry-brandy_. This juice is much in request for ice-creams, and is sometimes manufactured into wine. A grateful syrup is obtained from raspberries, which is occasionally used in medicine. The _leaves_ are said to be a grateful food to kids.

White raspberries are sweeter than the red ones.

168. Our wild hedge fruit, called BLACKBERRIES (_Rubus fruticosus_), belong to the same tribe as the raspberry. These are much eaten by children, and sometimes, when taken in too great quantities, produce very violent effects, and have caused fever, delirium, and other unpleasant symptoms. In Provence blackberries are employed for the colouring of wine. A syrup and jelly, and sometimes also wine, are prepared from them. The _twigs_ are sometimes used in dyeing a black colour. Silkworms are occasionally fed upon the _leaves_ of the blackberry.

169. _The STRAWBERRY_ (Fragaria vesca) _is a British wood fruit which has
been long cultivated in gardens._

By cultivation the strawberry has been greatly increased in size, but its flavour continues much the same as that of the wild fruit. The varieties of the strawberry are very numerous.

None of our fruits are more wholesome than these, and, even when eaten in large quantities, they seldom disagree with the stomach. They abound in juice, have a grateful, cooling, somewhat acid taste, and a peculiarly fragrant smell; and are either eaten alone, or with sugar, milk, or wine. A palatable jam, wine, and vinegar, are prepared from strawberries. This fruit is sometimes preserved whole in syrup, and sometimes in wine.

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CLASS XIII.--POLYANDRIA.

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MONOGYNIA.

170. _CAPERS are the unopened flower-buds of a low shrub_ (Capparis
spinosa, Fig. 48), _which grows from the crevices of rocks and walls, and
among rubbish, in the southern parts of France, in Italy, and the
Levant._

_The stems of the caper bush are trailing, and two or three feet in
length. The leaves are alternate, of somewhat oval shape, veined, and of
bright green colour: and the flowers are large and beautiful, with four
petals, and white with a tinge of red._

In the south of France, the caper bush is as common as the bramble is with us. It grows wild upon the walls of Rome, Sienna, and Florence; and when trained against a wall, it flourishes even in the neighbourhood of Paris: notwithstanding which it is almost unknown in English gardens, where it cannot be made to flower without the aid of artificial heat. This shrub is cultivated on a large scale, between Marseilles and Toulon, and in many parts of Italy.

In the early part of the summer it begins to flower, and the flowers continue successively to appear till the commencement of winter. The buds are picked, every morning, before the petals are expanded: and, as they are gathered, they are put into vinegar and salt. When a sufficient quantity is collected, they are distributed, according to their size, into different vessels, again put into vinegar, and then packed up for sale and exportation. This pickle is much used in sauce for boiled mutton. To persons unaccustomed to it, the taste of capers is unpleasant; but, after a little while, the palate becomes reconciled to it.

The bark of the _root_ cut into slices, and dried in small rolls or quills like cinnamon, is sometimes used in medicine in cases of obstruction of the liver.

The flower-buds of the marsh marygold (_Caltha palustris_), and of nasturtiums, are frequently pickled and eaten as a substitute for capers.

171. _The WHITE POPPY_ (Papaver somniferum) _is a naturalized English
plant, with smooth calyx and seed-vessels, and with leaves embracing the
stem, which grows wild in neglected gardens, and some corn-fields, and to
which we are indebted for two important medicines_, opium _and_ laudanum.

Although the white poppy has long been naturalized in this country, it is supposed that we were originally indebted for it to some of the northern parts of Asia. Throughout nearly the whole of that quarter of the world it is cultivated with great attention, on account of the _opium_ which is obtained from it. Opium is the dried juice of the seed-vessels, and is thus procured:--After the petals have fallen off, and the seed-vessels are about half grown, the latter are wounded on one side, with an instrument having four or five teeth, the gashes being made about an inch in length. A glutinous, milky fluid exudes from the wounds: this is carefully scraped off, on the ensuing day, by a person who, in similar manner, wounds the opposite side of the head; the juice issuing from which is afterwards similarly collected. The whole is then put into earthen vessels, where it is worked by the hand, in the open sunshine, until it attains sufficient consistence to be formed into balls, cakes, or loaves; after which it is covered over with poppy or tobacco leaves, and further dried, till it is in a proper state for exportation.

_Opium_ is of reddish brown colour, inclining to black; and has a strong and very peculiar smell. It is adulterated in various ways; by an extract of the plant, obtained by boiling; by a powder of the dried leaves and stalks, mixed with some kind of gum; by rice flour, and by other substances not quite so agreeable as these.

The cultivation of opium is so extensively pursued in the East Indies that nearly 600,000 pounds' weight of it are annually exported from the Ganges. But there is no necessity for us to import, at a great expense from abroad, that which might be advantageously prepared in our own country. It is true that the seed-vessels of the white poppy do not attain so large size in this as in warmer climates; but the opium procured from it is of sufficiently excellent quality. From the seed-vessels of a single plant more than forty grains of this drug have been obtained; and, under very disadvantageous circumstances of weather, upwards of twenty-one pounds' weight have been procured from plants grown upon five acres of land. It has been calculated that, in favourable seasons, the produce of a single acre ought to be near fifty pounds. It is recommended that the seed be sown in autumn rather than in spring. When the seed-vessels have attained a sufficient state of maturity, they may be wounded, and the opium may be collected by children from eight to twelve years of age. The only proper time for collecting it is in the morning, and seven children and two men have been able to collect 1½ pound in one morning, betwixt five and nine o'clock. The best mode of reducing the opium to a proper consistence appears to be to spread it thinly in shallow dishes, and expose it, under glasses, to the rays of the sun.

We possess few medicines so valuable as this. It is used as a powerful antidote, but chiefly as a remedy for procuring sleep and mitigating pain, which it does in a very remarkable manner. In the latter respects, however, it is too often abused; and, if taken in large doses, it proves a deadly poison. But so much are the effects of opium diminished by the habit of taking it, that, although four grains have, in some instances, proved fatal to grown persons, fifty times that quantity have been taken daily by others. The bad effects of too great a dose are best counteracted by making the patient drink freely of acids and coffee, and not permitting him to yield to the desire of sleeping, with which he is oppressed. The habitual use of opium, which is much indulged in by the Asiatics, is attended with the same bad effects as the habit of drinking ardent spirits: it brings on tremors, palsy, stupidity, and general emaciation; and, when once acquired, it can scarcely ever be relinquished.

Possessing the above properties, it is remarkable that opium, combined in a certain proportion with vegetable acids, instead of inducing, will prevent sleep. In consequence of which it has often, though injuriously, been used by persons who are obliged to devote their nights to sedentary or active pursuits. It is likewise deserving of remark, that the _seeds_ of the poppy have none of the narcotic qualities of the opium. They are mild, sweet, and nutritive; and yield, by pressure, an oil little inferior to that of almonds. So numerous are these seeds that more than 30,000 have been counted from a single seed-vessel.

_Laudanum_ is a liquid preparation from opium and spirit of wine; and is used for most of the same purposes to which opium is applied. Its effects, as a poison, may be counteracted in the same manner as those of opium.

172. _ARNATTO, or ANNOTTA, is a red dyeing drug, generally imported in
lumps wrapped up in leaves, and produced from the pulp of the
seed-vessels of a shrub_ (Bixa orellana) _which grows spontaneously in
the East and West Indies._

_This shrub is usually seven or eight feet high, and has heart-shaped and
pointed leaves. The flowers, which have each ten large peach-coloured
petals, appear in loose clusters at the ends of the branches, and produce
oblong and somewhat hairy pods._

The seed-vessels of the arnatto shrub are, in appearance, somewhat like those of the chesnut (235). They each contain from thirty to forty seeds, enveloped in a kind of pulp (of red colour and unpleasant smell), which is not much unlike the paint called red lead, when mixed with oil. In the West Indies the method of extracting the pulp, and preparing it for sale, is to boil it, and the seeds which are mixed with it, in clear water, until the latter are perfectly extricated. They are then taken out, and the pulp is allowed to subside to the bottom of the water; this is drawn off, and the sediment is distributed into shallow vessels, and gradually dried in the shade until it is sufficiently hard to be worked into lumps or masses for sale.

Arnatto, though made in the West Indies, is an object of no great commercial importance; the demand for it not being sufficient to give much encouragement to its culture. It is now chiefly prepared by the Spaniards in South America, and for the purpose principally of mixing with chocolate, to which, in their opinion, it gives a pleasing colour and great medicinal virtue, as well as an improved flavour. The chief consumption of arnatto in England depends upon painters and dyers; and it is supposed that _Scott's nankeen dye_ is nothing but arnatto dissolved in alkaline ley. This drug is sometimes used by the Dutch farmers to give a rich colour to butter; and the double Gloucester and several other kinds of cheese are coloured with it. Poor people occasionally use it instead of saffron.

In countries where the arnatto shrubs are found, the _roots_ are employed by the inhabitants in broth; and they answer all the purposes of the pulp, though in an inferior degree. The _bark_ is occasionally manufactured into ropes; and pieces of the _wood_ are used by the Indians to procure fire by friction.

173. _The LIME or LINDEN-TREE is a British forest tree_ (Tilia europæa),
_distinguished by its heart-shaped and serrated leaves of bright green
colour, and by its berries or seed-vessels, having each four cells and
one bud._

_The blossoms are whitish, in small clusters, and have a yellowish green
floral leaf nearly as long as the fruit-stalk, and attached to it for
about half its length._

No one can have passed a grove of lime-trees, in the month of July, without having been charmed with the perfume which, at this season, is emitted by the _flowers_. They are a great resort of bees, and supply those insects with materials for their best honey. Whether fresh or dried, they easily ferment, and a fine flavoured spirit may be distilled from them. The _wood_ is close-grained, though soft, light, and smooth. It is much used by carvers and turners; and is in great request for the boards of leather-cutters. When properly burnt it makes an excellent charcoal for gunpowder, and for painters.

If the _bark_ be softened in water, the fibrous inner part may be separated: of this the Russians manufacture fishing-nets, mats, shoes, and rustic garments; and ropes and other cordage, made from it, are stated to be so remarkably strong and elastic, that, in this respect, they are superior to iron chains. In some countries the _leaves_ are dried as a winter food for sheep and goats; and, from these and the bark, a smooth but coarse brown paper may be manufactured. An inferior kind of sugar may be made from the _sap_; and the _seeds_, by pressure, yield a sweet and pleasant oil.

The lime is an eligible tree to form shady walks and clipped hedges: but its leaves fall very early in the autumn. In rich soils it attains a prodigious size; and instances have been mentioned of these trees having existed during more than six centuries.

174. _TEA, both black and green, consists of the dried leaves of an
evergreen shrub_ (Thea bohea _and_ Thea viridis, _of Linneus_, Fig. 49),
_with indented and somewhat spear-shaped leaves and white flowers with
six petals or more, which is much cultivated in China._

_The tea shrub attains the height of five or six feet, and is much
branched. The leaves, when full grown, are about 1½ inch long, narrow,
tapering, and of dark glossy green colour, and firm texture. The flowers
are not much unlike those of the white wild rose, but smaller; and they
are succeeded by a fruit about the size of a sloe, which contains two or
three seeds._

The tea-tree flourishes, with great luxuriance, in valleys, on the sloping sides of mountains, and on the banks of rivers, in a southern exposure, betwixt the thirtieth and forty-fifth degrees of north latitude. It is chiefly cultivated near Pekin, and around Canton, but it attains the greatest perfection in the mild and temperate climate of Nankin.

The collecting of the leaves is conducted with great care: they are picked singly, and, for the most part, at three different times of the year; about the end of February, the beginning of April, and the end of May. The drying and preparation of them, for use, are processes too long to admit of minute detail respecting them in this place. It may, however, be observed, that for these purposes buildings are erected, which contain from five to ten, and some of them even twenty, small furnaces, each having, at the top, a large iron pan. There is also a long table covered with mats, on which the leaves are laid, and rolled by persons who sit round it. The iron pan being heated by a fire in the furnace beneath, a few pounds of the leaves are put upon it, and frequently turned and shifted. They are then thrown upon the mats to be rolled betwixt the palms of the hands: after which they are cooled as speedily as possible. That the moisture of the leaves may be completely dissipated, and their twisted form be better preserved, the above process is repeated several times with the same leaves, but with less heat than at first. The tea, thus manufactured, is afterwards sorted, according to its kind or goodness. Some of the young and tender leaves are never rolled, but are merely immersed in hot water, and dried.

How long the use of tea has been known to the Chinese we are entirely ignorant; but we are informed that an infusion of the dried leaves of the tea shrub is now their common drink. They pour boiling water over them, and leave them to infuse, as we do in Europe; but they drink the tea thus made without either milk or sugar. The inhabitants of Japan reduce the leaves to a fine powder, which they dilute with water, until it acquires nearly the consistence of soup. The tea equipage is placed before the company, together with a box in which the powdered tea is contained: the cups are filled with warm water, and then as much of the powder is thrown into each cup as the point of a knife can contain, and it is stirred about until the liquor begins to foam, in which state it is presented to the company.

It was formerly imagined that black and green tea were the production of different species of shrubs; but the Chinese all assert, that both are produced from the same species, and that the sole difference which exists betwixt them arises from the seasons when the leaves are gathered, and the modes of curing them. The teas principally consumed in Europe are four kinds of black, and three of green.

_Black Teas._

(_a_) _Bohea_, or _Voo-yee_, so called from the country in which it is produced, is sometimes collected at four gatherings. As the leaves are picked, they are put into flat baskets, which are placed on shelves or planks, in the air or sun, from morning till night; after which they are thrown, by small quantities at a time, into a flat cast-iron pan, which is made very hot. They are twice stirred quick with the hand: then taken out, again put into the baskets, and rubbed between men's hands to roll them. After this they undergo another roasting in larger quantities, over a slower fire: and are then sometimes put into baskets over a charcoal fire. When the tea is, at last, sufficiently dried, it is spread on a table; and the leaves that are too large, and those that are unrolled, yellow, broken, or otherwise defective, are picked out, and the remainder is laid aside to be packed.

The best bohea tea is a small blackish leaf, is dusty, smells somewhat like burnt hay, and has a rough and somewhat harsh taste. The average annual importation of bohea into this country, in the ten years from 1791 to 1800, was 3,310,135 pounds.

(_b_) _Congo_, or _Cong-foo_, derived from a word which implies much care or trouble, is a superior kind of bohea, less dusty, and with larger leaves. These are gathered with peculiar care, and there is some little difference in the preparation of congo and bohea. The leaves of the latter, of souchong, hyson, and the fine single teas, are said to be beaten, with flat sticks or bamboos, after they have been withered by exposure to the sun or air, and have acquired toughness enough to keep them from breaking.

Of congo the annual average quantity imported in the above years amounted to 9,564,202 pounds.

(_c_) _Souchong_, from a Chinese word which signifies small good thing, is made from the leaves of trees three years old; and, where the soil is good, even of the leaves of older trees. Of true souchong very little is produced; what is sold to Europeans for this is only the finest kind of congo, and the congo usually purchased by them is but the best sort of bohea. Such is the delicacy of this tea that, upon a hill planted with tea-trees, there may only be a single tree, the leaves of which are good enough to be called souchong, and even of these, only the best and youngest are taken. The others make congos of different kinds, and bohea.

(_d_) _Pekoe_ is distinguished by having the small white flowers of the tree intermixed with it. This, which is chiefly consumed in Sweden and Denmark, is usually made from the tenderest leaves of trees three years old, gathered just after they have been in bloom, when the small leaves that grow between the first two that have appeared, and which altogether make a sprig, are white, and resemble young hair or down.

_Green Teas._

It has been asserted that green teas are indebted for their qualities and colour to a process of drying them upon plates of copper. This is certainly incorrect. The leaves for green tea are gathered, and immediately roasted, or _tached_, as it is called, upon cast-iron plates, and then are very much rubbed betwixt men's hands, to roll them. They are afterwards spread out and separated, as the leaves in rolling are apt to adhere to each other: and are again placed over the fire, and made very dry. After this they are picked, cleansed from dust, several times tached or roasted, and finally put hot into the chests in which they are to be packed.

The principal kinds of green tea are singlo, hyson, and gunpowder.

(_a_) _Singlo_, or _Song-lo_, is so named from the place where it is chiefly cultivated. Of this tea there are three or more sorts; but the leaves of the best are large, fine, flat, and clean. It is gathered at two seasons, the first in April, and the second in June. As we see it, the leaf is flattish, and yields, on infusion, a pale amber-coloured liquor.

(_b_) _Hyson_, or _Hee-chun_, has its name from that of an Indian merchant who first sold this tea to the Europeans. There are two gatherings of hyson. It should have a fine blooming appearance, be of a full-sized grain, very dry, and so crisp that, with slight pressure, it will crumble to dust. When infused in water the leaf should appear open, clear, and smooth, and should tinge the water a light green colour; the infusion ought to have an aromatic smell, and a strong pungent taste.

(_c_) _Gunpowder_ tea is a superior kind of hyson, gathered and dried with peculiar care. This tea should be chosen in round grains, somewhat resembling small shot, with a beautiful bloom upon it which will not bear the breath: it should have a greenish hue, and a fragrant pungent taste. Gunpowder tea is sometimes adulterated; an inferior kind being dyed and glazed in such manner as to resemble it; but, on infusion, this is found in every respect very inferior.

Tea, both black and green, is sometimes imported in balls from the weight of two ounces to the size of peas.