ves robbed the house at their leisure. None of these cases
terminated fatally; but, from the instant that I heard of it, I made
every cake-seller who appeared at the door devour one of his own cakes
before I became a purchaser. These men, however, were bona fide
cake-merchants, and I did not meet with an exception.

There are a great variety of valuable medicinal plants in the jungles
of Ceylon, many of which are unknown to any but the native doctors.
Those most commonly known to us, and which may be seen growing wild by
the roadside, are the nux vomica, ipecacuanha, gamboge, sarsaparilla,
cassia fistula, cardamoms, etc.

The ipecacuanha is a pretty, delicate plant, which bears a bright
orange-colored cluster of flowers.

The cassia fistula is a very beautiful tree, growing to the size of an
ash, which it somewhat resembles in foliage. The blossom is very
beautiful, being a pendant of golden flowers similar to the laburnum,
but each blossom is about two and a half feet long, and the individual
flowers on the bunch are large in proportion. When the tree is in full
flower it is very superb, and equally as singular when its beauty has
faded and the seed-pods are formed. 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