[128] The Hand of Eve—­the handiwork of Eve.

[129] Without thorn the rose:  Dr. Bentley calls this a puerile fancy.  But it should be remembered, that it was part of the curse denounced upon the Earth for Adam’s transgression, that it should bring forth thorns and thistles. Gen. iii. 18.  Hence the general opinion has prevailed, that there were no thorns before; which is enough to justify a poet, in saying “the rose was without thorn.”—­NEWTON.

[130] See page 188.  My Hindu friend is not responsible for the selection of the following notes.

[131] Birdlime is prepared from the tenacious milky juice of the Peepul and the Banyan.  The leaves of the Banyan are used by the Bramins to eat off, for which purpose they are joined together by inkles.  Birds are very fond of the fruit of the Peepul, and often drop the seeds in the cracks of buildings, where they vegetate, occasioning great damage if not removed in time.—­Voight.

[132] The ancient Greeks and Romans also married trees together in a similar manner.—­R.

[133] The root of this plant, (Euphorbia ligularia,) mixed up with black pepper, is used by the Natives against snake bites.—­Roxburgh.

[134] Coccos nucifera, the root is sometimes masticated instead of the Betle-nut.  In Brazil, baskets are made of the small fibres.  The hard case of the stem is converted into drums, and used in the construction of huts.  The lower part is so hard as to take a beautiful polish, when it resembles agate.  The reticulated substance at base of the leaf is formed into cradles, and, as some say, into a coarse kind of cloth.  The unexpanded terminal bud is a delicate article of food.  The leaves furnish thatch for dwellings, and materials for fences, buckets, and baskets; they are used for writing on, and make excellent torches; potash in abundance is yielded by their ashes.  The midrib of the leaf serves for oars.  The juice of the flower and stems is replete with sugar, and is fermented into excellent wine, or distilled into arrack, or the sugary part is separated as Jagary.  The tree is cultivated in many parts of the Indian islands, for the sake not only of the sap and milk it yields, but for the kernel of its fruit, used both as food and for culinary purposes, and as affording a large proportion of oil which is burned in lamps throughout India, and forms also a large article of export to Europe.  The fibrous and uneatable rind of the fruit is not only used to polish furniture and to scour the floors of rooms, but is manufactured into a kind of cordage, (Koir) which is nearly equal in strength to hemp, and which Roxburgh designates as the very best of all materials for cables, on account of its great elasticity and strength.  The sap of this as well as of other palms is found to be the simplest and easiest remedy that can be employed for removing constipation in persons of delicate habit, especially European females.—­Voigt’s Suburbanus Calcuttensis.