nd
fineness of texture, is manufactured from the fiber of this plant.
The fiber is also variously known in commerce as rheea, ramie, and
in China as Tchow-ma. It is a plant of the easiest culture, and
has been introduced into the Southern States, where it grows
freely. When once machinery is perfected so as to enable its being
cheaply prepared for the manufacturer, a great demand will arise
for this fiber.

67. BOLDOA FRAGRANS.--A Chilian plant which yields small edible fruits;
these, as well as all parts of the plant, are very aromatic. The
bark is used for tanning, and the wood is highly esteemed for
making charcoal. An alkaloid called _boldine_, extracted from the
plant, has reputed medicinal value, and a drug called Boldu is
similarly produced.

68. BORASSUS FLABELLIFORMIS.--The Palmyra palm. The parts of this tree
are applied to such a multitude of purposes that a poem in the
Tamil language, although enumerating eight hundred uses, does not
exhaust the catalogue. In old trees the wood becomes hard and is
very durable. The leaves are from 8 to 10 feet long, and are used
for thatching houses, making various mattings, bags, etc. They
also supply the Hindoo with paper, upon which he writes with a
stylus. A most important product called toddy or palm wine is
obtained from the flower spikes, which yield a great quantity of
juice for four or five months. Palm-toddy is intoxicating, and
when distilled yields strong arrack. Very good vinegar is also
obtained from it, and large quantities of jaggery or palm sugar
are manufactured from the toddy. The fruits are large and have a
thick coating of fibrous pulp, which is cooked and eaten or made
into jelly. The young palm plants are cultivated for the market,
as cabbages are with us, and eaten, either when fresh or after
being dried in the sun.

69. BOSWELLIA THURIFERA.--This Coromandel tree furnishes the resin
known as olibanum, which is supposed to have been the frankincense
of the ancients. It is sometimes used in medicine as an astringent
and stimulant, and is employed, because of its grateful perfume,
as an incense in churches.

70. BROMELIA KARATAS.--The Corawa fiber, or silk-grass of Guiana, is
obtained from this plant, which is very strong, and much used for
bows