These Grow To A Length Of From Two To Three Feet, And When Ripe
Are Perfectly Black, Round, And About Three-Quarters Of An Inch
In Diameter.
The tree has the appearance of bearing, a prolific
crop of ebony rulers, each hanging from the bough by a short
string.
There is another species of cassia fistula, the foliage of which
assimilates to the mimosa. This bears a thicker, but much
shorter, pod, of about a foot in length. The properties of both
are the same, being laxative. Each seed within the pod is
surrounded by a sweet, black and honey-like substance, which
contains the property alluded to.
The gamboge tree is commonly known in Ceylon as the "ghorka."
This grows to the common size of an apple tree, and bears a
corrugated and intensely acid fruit. This is dried by the
natives and used in curries. The gamboge is the juice of the
tree obtained by incisions in the bark. This tree grows in great
numbers in the neighborhood of Colombo, especially among the
cinnamon gardens. Here, also, the cashew tree grows to great
perfection. The bark of the latter is very rich in tannin, and
is used by the natives in the preparation of hides. The fruit is
like an apple in appearance, and small, but is highly astringent.
The well-known cashew-nut grows like an excrescence from the end
of the apple.
Many are the varieties and uses of vegetable productions in
Ceylon, but of these none are more singular and interesting than
the "sack tree," the Riti Gaha of the Cingalese.
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