Mr. ALFRED HIGGINSON exhibited the palate of the Eagle Ray, found in the Mediterranean. Mr. T. C. ARCHER exhibited a piece of tissue de verre. It had the appearance of gold embroidery upon a ground work of crimson satin. The CHAIRMAN said he had seen some kinds of tissue de verre very much resembling cloth of gold, and, in conversing with Colonel Calvert upon the subject, he had been informed that that description was in great demand in India. The native princes and great men thought much of gilded garments and decorations, and cloth of gold was very expensive. The gold was woven either on cotton or lineu, which was liable to be attacked by ants. They had consequently adopted tissue de verre, the glass contained in which was not relished by these destructive little creatures. The following paper was then read :— ON THE NATURAL PRODUCTS OF THE LEGUMINOSE, By T. C. ARCHER, Esq., V.P. Modern botanists divide the Leguminosa into three sub-orders which have well marked characteristics; thus, those with the true peashaped flowers, consisting of carina, ala, and vexillum, for the sub-order Papilionacea; those in which the petals are developed more regularly after the normal character of perigynous Exogens, form the Casalpineæ; and those which have perfectly regular flowers, but with an indefinite number of stamens often so much developed as to hide the minute corolla, constitute the sub-order Mimosea It is under these sub-divisions I intend arranging the subjects of my present paper. First, then, SUB-ORDER-PAPILIONACEE. The plants of this group are generally, though not always, wholesome; many yielding a sweet herbage for cattle, as the vetch or tare (Vicia sativa), lucerne (Medicago sativa), white clover (Trifolium repens), purple, or common clover (T. pratense), flesh-coloured clover (T. incarnatum), Alexandrian clover (T. Alexandrinum), and many other species, Saintfoin (Onobrychis sativa), the L'espercet of the French, Esparzette of the Germans, and Cedrangola of the Italians, is one of the most valuable of all the fodder plants. Besides these well known species there are at least a hundred others, more or less valuable in the form of herbage for cattle. But the chief value of the Papilionacea is found in their seeds, which are mostly wholesome, and owing to the large proportion of gluten they contain, relatively to the other constituents, they are generally highly nutritive; and under the name of pulse very many species are used as food by man and other animals. The typical character of the fruit of the Leguminosa is a hollow legume, regularly dehiscing by its anterior or ventral, and its upper or dorsal sutures. The seeds being attached alternately to the two ridges forming the dorsal suture by small funiculi or umbilical cords; but there exist many very wide deviations from this normal typethus, some are indehisent, others dehisce by one valve only, some are single seeded, and others have the seeds developed in pulp, and separated in a few instances by partitions which are false dissepiments. The last deviation gives rise to the few instances in which the fruit itself is used, excepting in the case of some culinary vegetables. Thus, the pulpy fruit of the tamarind, Tamarindus Indica (L.), St. John's bread, or locust (Ceratonia siliqua), the Brazilian Locust-fruit (Hymenæa Courbaril), the Cassia-fistula, Cartharocarpus fistula, several of the Ingas, and others, but they do not belong to the Papilionacea, and will be mentioned in their proper places under the other sub-orders. The legumes of the true Papilionacea approximate most closely to the typical form, and from them we obtain most of the seeds remarkable for their farinacious qualities. Thus the common garden pea Pisum sativum (L.), of which there are many varieties, which may be arranged under five division-the round white-seeded varieties, the wrinkled white-seeded varieties, the round green-seeded varieties, the wrinkled green-seeded varieties, and the common grey pea of the fields. These are chiefly eaten in their unripe state, under the name of green peas, except the last, the ripe seed of which is used for cattle feeding. The pea is a native of the South of Europe, and is an annual herb. The common bean (Faba vulgaris), is also cultivated in the gardens and fields. Under horticultural treatment it produces several varieties in which the seeds are large, light-coloured, and delicately flavoured, usually known as broad beans, whilst under agricultural management they produce the small dark coloured seeds known as horse beans, or Egyptian beans. This legume is a native of some parts of Northern Persia. The Haricot or French beans are produced by Phaseolus vulgaris, of which also there is a considerable number of varieties chiefly distinguished by the colour of their seeds; thus, some are pure white, others yellow, brown, or black, and others mottled; the unripe legume of this species is extensively used as a green vegetable, and the ripe seeds of the white varieties only are used for food as pulse. Another species of Phaseolus, (P. formosus, variety coccineus), is the well-known scarlet-runner of the gardens, cultivated for its unripe legumes; the roots of this and probably other species contain a dangerously narcotic principle. In the East Indies several species of Phaseolus are cultivated, and their ripe seeds used as food by the natives under various names. Lentils, the seed of Ervum lens (L.), also forms an important addition to the food of man; it is a native of Southern Europe, and probably also of Asia. Lentils are very extensively used as food in Egypt and India. Under careful cultivation the lentil is much improved, the French lentil being fully four times as large as those of Egypt. The Egyptian lentil is occasionally imported into Liverpool, and used for feeding cattle. This is perhaps the most ancient of the leguminous food products; it is mentioned in the Bible that part of the food for which Esau sold his birthright was pottage of lentiles." The lentil has often been cultivated in England, but chiefly as a fodder plant, being cut in the green state. The much puffed "Revalenta Arabica is nothing more than the meal of lentils which have had their somewhat brown skins removed before grinding. The seeds of Arachis hypogea are used in many parts of the world as food, but their chief use is for expressing oil, therefore they will be again mentioned when we have done with those only used as food. The roots of some of the Papilionacea also yield food for man, thus those of Orobus tuberosus are occasionally eaten in the Highlands; and in Holland are roasted like chesnuts, and highly relished; but they are more used by the Highlanders when dried, under the name of Cormeille, and the Lowland name of Knapperts, as a means of giving greater zest for whisky, when chewed; to that drink they stand in the same relation as olives do to wine. This plant is very common in England as a native, and is generally known as the Wood or Heathpea. In the United States another tuberous rooted species (Apios tuberosa, Moench) is often used as a substitute for potatoes, and is said to furnish one of the articles of food used by the Aborigines. These roots are farinaceous and by no means unpalatable In the German markets large quantities of the tubers of Lathyrus tuberosus (Lin), or tuberous-rooted Everlasting Pea are sold, and they are also extensively cultivated in Holland as food. The woody roots of the liquorice plant, Glycyrrhiza glabra (Lin.), are well known for their peculiar sweetness, and as the masticatory of our boyish days, also on account of the extract or liquorice juice which they yield by boiling. The plant is often cultivated in this country for its root, but not for the manufacture of the extract or juice, which is always imported, chiefly from Italy and Spain. Many others of the Papilionacea yield useful products of various kinds. Thus several species of Indigofera, and probably many other plants yield the valuable indigo of the dyers, and Pterocarpus santalinus of India yields another valuable dyeing material the red Saunders Wood of commerce. The valuable gum Tragacanth oozes from cracks in the bark of the small shrub Astragalus vera, and other species. The medicinal astringent gum kino is obtained from the twigs of Butea frondosa, a beautiful tree, the flowers of which are used under various names as a useful yellow dye in the East Indies. They have been imported under the names of Tiso and Kessaree flowers. The wood of many species is of considerable value. Thus the locust wood, so much used in ship-building for trenails, is the produce of Robinia pseud-acacia; the valuable rosewood of the cabinetmakers, of one or more species of Triptolomea. The Itakir, or Itikiribouriballi, somewhat resembling rosewood, is one of the most useful woods of British Guiana, and is now coming extensively into use in this country; it is the produce of Macharium Schomburgkii. Laburnum is the cytisus of the ancients, and still occupies an important place amongst the hard woods used for enlaying. A peculiar odorous principle is found in several plants of this division; it is closely allied to Benzoic acid, and is found largely developed in the Tonquin or Tonka-bean, and less so in the flowers of several species of Melilotus. It is in consequence of the presence of this principle called coarmarine in the seeds and flowers of Melilotus officinalis (Wild.), that they are mixed with the celebrated Gruyere cheese to give it a peculiar flavour. SUB-ORDER-CESALPINFE. The products of this division are chiefly medicinal or dyeing materials. The Logwood, Hæmatoxylon Campechianum, Brazil Wood, Casalpinia Crista, Brazilleta wood, C. Braziliensis, Nicaragua wood, C. echinata, all well known South American dye-woods; the East Indian dye-wood called Sapan, Casalpinia Sapan; the African Bar and Camwoods (both said to be yielded by Baphia nitida) are all remarkable for the fine red dyes they furnish. There is some difficulty existing concerning Nicaragua and Lina, or peach wood, and bar and cam wood. The two former are said to be the produce of one species (Casalpina echinata) and the two latter Baphia nitida.) There is much reason to believe, however, that they are the produce of four species. Those of importance as furnishing materia medica products, are the Sennas of the East Indies and Egypt, Cassia officinalis, C. acutifolia, C. obovata, C. elongata, C. Æthiopica, and some others. The Cassia fistula, Carthartocarpus fistula, (Persoon), is valued for its sweet aperient pulp, and Cassia Braziliense is sometimes employed in the same way. The Tamarind (Tamarindus indica), is well known for its useful sub-acid pulp. The dry velvet Tamarinds of Sierra Leone, which are eaten under the name of tamarinds are not used medicinally, but as agreeable fruit. They are produced by two species of Codarium-C. auctifolium (Afzelius,) and C. obtusifolium (Afz.), both natives of Sierra Leone. These curious fruits are remarkable for the close velvet-like pile formed by the hairs which clothe the legumes, whence the generic name is derived (Kodion the hide of a beast). Several of the Caesalpieneæ yield medicinal balsams, others yield resins. Brazilian Copal is produced by the Brazilian Locust tree, Hymenoa Courbaril. This tree also has a sweet farinacious pulp filling the legumes round the seeds, which is eaten as food. The pods of another tree have for ages been used in Asia and Europe in a similar manner. They are now common in the commerce of this town under the name of Locust pods. They are the fruit of Ceratonia siliqua, the carob tree, or Algaroba beam of Southern Europe. These are eaten extensively in Spain and Germany by the lower orders. In the latter country they are called Johannisbrodt, or St. John's bread, and are very generally believed to be the locusts upon which St. John lived in the desert. They are now used in this country for feeding cattle. The Tamarind Plum, Dialium Indicum (Lin.), is one of the most delicious fruits of Java, its legume being filled with a very agreeable sub-acid pulp resembling preserved tamarind. Gums are yielded by one or two species of Bauhinia and by Pithe colobium gummiferum; and many of the species of Bauhinia, or Mountain Ebony furnish valuable timber. The purple wood of Brazil and Guiana, used in Birmingham in the manufacture of ramrods for guns, is the heart wood of Copaifera pubiflora. The celebrated Lign-aloes, or Eagle-wood, valued by Oriental nations as the most precious and agreeable of all perfumes, is yielded by Aloexylon Aghallocum. One or two valuable tanning materials are found in this group. Thus the Divi-divi, those curious curled brown pods so commonly seen on our quays, are the ripe legumes of Casalpinia coriaria; and a material called Algarobilla, which occasionally comes, consists of the broken pods, seeds, and a peculiar resin contained in the legumes of Prosopis pallida, all mixed up together. Algarobilla is not in much demand. The pods of Casalpinia Papaia are known to tanners under the name of Pi-pi, and although often largely mixed with some sorts of Divi-divi, are rarely imported alone. |