oldest organic monument of our planet." Adanson, who
traveled in Senegal in 1794, made a calculation to show that one
of these trees, 30 feet in diameter, must be 5,150 years old. The
bark of the baobab furnishes a fiber which is made into ropes and
also manufactured into cloth. The fiber is so strong as to give
rise to a common saying in Bengal, "as secure as an elephant bound
with baobab rope." The pulp of the fruit is slightly acid, and the
juice expressed from it is valued as a specific in putrid and
pestilential fevers. The ashes of the fruit and bark, boiled in
rancid palm oil, make a fine soap.

13. ADENANTHERA PAVONINA.--A tree that furnishes red sandal wood. A dye
is obtained simply by rubbing the wood against a wet stone, which
is used by the Brahmins for marking their foreheads after
religious bathing. The seeds are used by Indian jewelers as
weights, each seed weighing uniformly four grains. They are known
as Circassian beans. Pounded and mixed with borax, they form an
adhesive substance. They are sometimes used as food. The plant
belongs to the _Leguminosae_.

14. ADHATODA VASICA.--This plant is extolled for its charcoal in the
manufacture of powder. The flowers, leaves, roots, and especially
the fruit, are considered antispasmodic, and are administered in
India in asthma and intermittent fevers.

15. AEGLE MARMELOS.--This plant belongs to the orange family, and its
fruit is known in India as Bhel fruit. It is like an orange; the
thick rind of the unripe fruit possesses astringent properties,
and, when ripe, has an exquisite flavor and perfume. The fruit and
other parts of the plant are used for medicinal purposes, and a
yellow dye is prepared from the skin of the fruits.

16. AGAVE AMERICANA.--This plant is commonly known as American aloe,
but it is not a member of that family, as it claims kindred with
the _Amaryllis_ tribe of plants. It grows naturally in a wide
range of climate, from the plains of South America to elevations
of 10,000 feet. It furnishes a variety of products. The plants
form impenetrable fences; the leaves furnish fibers of various
qualities, from the fine thread known as pita-thread, which is
used for twine, to the coarse fibers used for ropes and cables.
Humboldt describes a bridge of upwa