posed to be produced by some distilling
process. In Ceylon the old, tough, flexible stems are used as
willows.

308. NEPHELIUM LITCHI.--This sapindaceous tree produces one of the
valued indigenous fruits of China. There are several varieties;
the fruit is round, about an inch and a half in diameter, with a
reddish-colored, thin, brittle shell. When fresh they are filled
with a sweet, white, transparent, jelly-like pulp. The Chinese are
very fond of these fruits and consume large quantities of them,
both in the fresh state and when dried and preserved.

309. NERIUM OLEANDER.--This is a well-known plant, often seen in
cultivation, and seemingly a favorite with many. It belongs to a
poisonous family and is a dangerous poison. A decoction of its
leaves forms a wash, employed in the south of Europe to destroy
vermin; and its powdered wood and bark constitute the basis of an
efficacious rat-poison. Children have died from eating the
flowers. A party of soldiers in Spain, having meat to roast in
camp, procured spits and skewers of the tree, which there attains
a large size. The wood having been stripped of its bark, and
brought in contact with the meat, was productive of fatal
consequences, for seven men died out of the twelve who partook of
the meat and the other five were for some time dangerously ill.

310. NOTELAEA LIGUSTRINA.--The Tasmanian iron wood tree. It is of medium
growth and furnishes wood that is extremely hard and dense, and
used for making sheaves for ships' blocks, and for other articles
that require to be of great strength. The plant belongs to the
olive family.

311. OCHROMA LAGOPUS.--A tree that grows about 40 feet high, along the
seashores in the West Indies and Central America, and known as the
cork wood. The wood is soft, spongy, and exceedingly light, and is
used as a substitute for cork, both in stopping bottles and as
floats for fishing nets. It is also known as Balsa.

312. [OE]NOCARPUS BATAVA.--A South American palm, which yields a
colorless, sweet-tasted oil, used in Para for adulterating olive
oil, being nearly as good for this purpose as peanut oil, so
largely used in Europe. A palatable but slightly aperient beverage
is prepared by triturating the fruits in water, and adding sugar
and mandiocca fl