Volume 2
Cyclopædia of India and of eastern and southern Asia, commercial, industrial and scientific : products of the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms, useful arts and manufactures / edited by Edward Balfour.
- Date:
- 1857
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Cyclopædia of India and of eastern and southern Asia, commercial, industrial and scientific : products of the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms, useful arts and manufactures / edited by Edward Balfour. Source: Wellcome Collection.
16/872 page 1212
![not the greasy feel of talc. Tl»e same characters, except the last distinguish it, from gvpsum, be- sides it does not crumble so readily on heating. Mica is one of the constituents of granite, gneiss, and mica-slate, and gives to the latter its lami- nated structure. It also occurs in granular lime- stone. It is fonnd abundantly in India in the United States, in Russia, in (treat Britain, and other parts of the world. It is not often found in large isolated masses, but tilling up the veins and fissures of rocks, into the composition of which it enters. It occurs in the oldest rock, as well as in those which are new and possess a crystalline character, in Russia it is used ex- tensively as a substitute for glass, ami hence it is aromatic properties are dissipated by boiling either in water or spirit, and on evaporation a bitter extract remains, which contains tannic and gallic acid.—O’Shaiigkneasy, page l‘J3. The roots of the Uvuria nnrnm are employed in the Mauritius in deception as tonic and stimulant, and are externally applied for destroying vermin. The powdered seeds of the cu-'tard apple are used in Bengal for the same purpose.—0'S/ianghnessy, gage 193. (5381)-MICH ELIA NTLAGlRIpA. Mag- noliacE/E, 111. 5, Icon. 938. Shemboogha alarum, T his tree is rare in the YValliar called Muscovy Glass, The very thin laminae alpine in its tendencies. It is are employed for examining objects under the microscope, llnuy states that tlnse laminae are sometimes not more than the 1-300,000th part of an inch in thickness — Eng. Oyc. (5330) MICH EL l A CllAMPACA. Sliomboogha poo. Tam. Ilongns jampiierii, Mai.ay Clmiripeka pool, Dt:K. Sliniitpoiigliio poo, Tee. Schampakam, Hour. AlAt.. Uliainpac .Sans. This beautiful golden coloured flower is held in high estimation by the Hindoos, by whom it is dedicated to Krishna and is one of those with which the five Arrows of Kama the god of love are said to be tipped. Sir William Jones tells us, that its aromatic scent is so strong as to be offensive to Bees, who never alight upon it. Rheede informs us that the powder of the bark of the root of this tree is given to excite the flow of the menses. The wood itself is em- ployed in making drums,—Ainu. Mat. Me//, p. 157. In Pegu Miclielia Chan/paea is a large tree, cultivated greatly by the Burmese for the frag- rance of its yellow flowers. It is from this that the aromatic Sain pun ghee oil of the Madras list is obtained —McClelland In Tenasserim the streets of the towns and villages are often shad- ed with the lofty distinguished champac, one of the few trees embalmed in English song of which the poet sings : “ The maid of India blest again to hold In her full lap the Ohampae’s leaves of gold. Thinks of the time when by the Gauges’ flood Her little playmates scattered many a bud - Upon her long dark hair.’' The tree is in (lower or fruit a great part of the year, and its rich orange blossoms, which are cx- (piisitely fragrant, are also used by Burmese maidens to adorn their “ long black hair.” It is the only representative on that Coast of the “ Glory of America”—the magnolia tribe.— Mason. The bark of this well known tree is bitter, and aromatic, and on several trials appeared to Dr. O’Shaughnessy to possess the properties attributed to the Magnolia glauca. It may be given in powder in intermittent fevers in doses of from 10 to 30 grains. Its Tam. forests, being common on the N'cilgherri. s, wood said to be good as regards strength, but too highly hygrometrieal to lie use- ful in other form than rafters or beams, though close and fine grained.—//Tgr///. (5332) MICH ELIA RHEEDII. Peela Chum pa or Golden Im.oweiied Cmumpa. Sampaughy Alarum, Tam. This is a handsome tree with beautiful golden coloured flowers, held in high estimation by the Hindoos, the bark of the root of the tree is used medicinally in some female complaints.—Riddell. The Miclielia Rheedii, (IVight) Sumpaghymaram, yields a pretty olive colored mottled wood, close grained, without being heavy, and well suited for cabinet making. It is, being tried in Bombay for ship building purposes. At the Madras Exhibition of 1855, a very large plank was contributed by Copt. Cunningham of the My- sore Commisssion, obtained from Miclielia Rheedii (Sumpaghy). The extraordinary di- mensions, (length 11} feet, breadth 4} feet, thickness 3 inches,) which the tree assumes, though rarely, and the ornamental character of the wood, were well shown in that specimen, which may with just ice be declared unique. T his remarkably large specimen was apparently deriv- ed from a tree of very great age.—M. E. J. R. (5333) MICO. A sort of butter prepared in Japan from the Doliehos bean.—Simmonds. (5334) MIOROL.EXA SPECTABILIS, is a tree found at the foot of the Himalayas, which yields fibres for rope-making.—Royle. It is one of the most numerous timber trees of Pegu, and yields, it is said, a fibre fit for making rope, but the Burmese do not make use ot it.— McClelland. (5335) MICROrUS (Swainson), a genus of Birds belonging to the family Brachypodinet, the first sub-family of the Merulida, according to Iris arrangement. [Mekulid.e.] (5336) MICROPUS CIIALCOCEPUALUS. Ixos Cualcoceph alus, Temm. The male has the whole head covered with a sort of hood ot metallic black with violet reflection ; the neck. 1212](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28708921_0002_0016.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
