very considerable article of commerce, its use
in Arabia corresponding to that of the Paraguay tea in South
America and the Chinese tea in Europe. The effects produced by a
decoction of the leaves of Cafta, as they are termed, are
described as similar to those produced by strong green tea, only
more pleasing and agreeable. The Arab soldiers chew the leaves
when on sentry duty to keep them from feeling drowsy. Its use is
of great antiquity, preceding that of coffee. Its stimulating
effects induced some Arabs to class it with intoxicating
substances, the use of which is forbidden by the Koran, but a
synod of learned Mussulmans decreed that, as it did not impair the
health or impede the observance of religious duties, but only
increased hilarity and good humor, it was lawful to use it.

99. CECROPIA PELTATA.--The South American trumpet tree, so called
because its hollow branches are used for musical instruments. The
Waupe Indians form a kind of drum by removing the pith or center
of the branches. The inner bark of the young branches yields a
very tough fiber, which is made into ropes. The milky juice of the
stem hardens into caoutchouc.

100. CEDRELA ODORATA.--This forms a large tree in the West India
Islands, and is hollowed out for canoes; the wood is of a brown
color and has a fragrant odor, and is sometimes imported under the
name of Jamaica cedar.

101. CEPHAELIS IPECACUANHA.--This Brazilian plant produces the true
ipecacuanha, and belongs to the _Cinchonaceae_. The root is the
part used in medicine, it is knotty, contorted, and annulated, and
of a grayish-brown color, and its emetic properties are due to a
chemical principle called _emetin_.

102. CERATONIA SILIQUA.--The carob bean. This leguminous plant is a
native of the countries bordering on the Mediterranean. The seed
pods contain a quantity of mucilaginous and saccharine matter, and
are used as food for cattle. Besides the name of carob beans,
these pods are known as locust pods, or St. John's bread, from a
supposition that they formed the food of St. John in the
wilderness. It is now generally admitted that the locusts of St.
John were the insects so called, and which are still used as an
article of food in some of the Eastern countries. There is more
reason