'A voyage from England to India, in the year 1754, and an historical narrative of the operations of the squadron and army in India, under the command of Vice-Admiral Watson and Colonel Clive, in the years 1755, 1756, 1757 ... Also a journey from Persia to England by an unusual route. With an appendix, containing an account of the diseases prevalent in Admiral Watson's squadron, etc.' [‎493] (546/562)

P 493 V
™A 0r COat the fruit * In the cencer of this hole, is the
piftil, which is a cammuation of the ftalk, and drops out juft before
the rainy feafon fets in, and then the feeds alfo fall; but before that
feafon commences, thcikip remain, perfeftly whole-, which happy circum-
ftance feems to be a pecukar care of providence for the prefervadon of this
J" 1 vegetable the fibres are what we commonly called, the Birds-nefi ■
and when dipped in boiling water, and repeated to be dipped, until the-
water becomes of- the colour of fine hyfon tea, is certainly a powerful,
and late emetic, not at all inferior in its virtues- to the ipecacuanha root or
' any other medicine whatever. It is truth, that wonderful cures to perfons
labouring under flow nervous fevers have been wrought by this cucumber
whofe excellency doth not meerly confift in its emetic, and purgative oua-
hties, but is alfo indifputably fraught with ftomachic and reftorative
virtues: it is alfo a gentle fudorific, and the feeds are efteemed as a power
ful vermifuge; 30 drops of a tinfture made of the fibrous cells infufed in
French brandy, and taken in a glafs of Madeira wine before dinner, feldom
fail, to cure the moft violent pain of the ftomach, which Mr. Thomas often
experienced.
The virtues of this plant feemed to be totally unknown to our brethren
of the faculty in India-) until Mr. Thomas (who refided with me at the-
hofpital) was informed of them by the black doflors of the country that
we employed for colleding of fimples, and of whom we endeavoured to
get all the information we could relative to botany and the phyfical pradlice
of the country. - To me, this gentleman foon imparted his intelligence, and
after repeated and'iatisfaftopy trials had been made, I collected a confider-
able number of the dried cucumbers, and made ufe of them with ^reat fuccefs,
as well in my, private, as in the hofpital praftice. I fhall only & add on this,
fubjedl, that the emetic quality contained in the cells of one of thofe cucum
bers, is fufficient to ferve for many vomiting dofeS i the perfon ufing it,
has only to take care, that after having dipped the fame in water, it be
fufpended in the air in order to its being dried, left from the aqueous^
particles which may be remaining in the cells it fiiould chance to become
corrupted.
B osna, by us called S odom and G omorrah",
This is a tolerable large tree, grows pretty thick, and is doubly pinnated.
The leaves of the pinnae ape tender, of a fine green colour, about 14 inch -
long. Some of the flowers are white, fome red, whilft others are varie
gated ; they are three inches or more in length and nearly two in width, of
the lhape of the pea-flbwer, with numerous ftamina. The fruit is a pod -
of 14 inches long, flat, and no thicker than a goofe-quill, containing from *
©ne end to the other, fmall feeds of the fhape of a kidney.
C hutta,