The East Indian tamarinds are generally packed without any admixture. They are more esteemed than the others; and, when in the pods, are easily distinguished from them by their being longer, and containing six or seven seeds; the pulp also is drier and of darker colour.
It is said that we are indebted to the Arabians for a knowledge of the use of tamarinds. In hot climates they are a most refreshing and delicious fruit; and, dissolved in water, are much used as a cooling and agreeable beverage, particularly by persons suffering under fever. They also give great relief in sore throats, and other complaints.
191. _The SOUR-GOURD, BOABAB, or AFRICAN CALABASH-TREE_ (Adansonia digitata) _is probably the largest of all vegetable productions. The trunk, although not usually more than twelve or fifteen feet high, is frequently from sixty to eighty feet in girth. The lowest branches extend almost horizontally; and, as they are sometimes near sixty feet in length, they bend, by their own weight, to the ground; and thus the whole tree forms an hemispherical mass of verdure, which measures from 120 to 130 feet in diameter._
_The fruit is oblong, about ten inches in length, pointed at both ends, and covered with a greenish down, under which there is a blackish and woody rind. Its interior consists of a whitish, spongy, and juicy substance, with several brown seeds._
_This tree is a native of Senegal and other parts of Africa._
The virtues and uses of the sour-gourd tree and its fruit are numerous and of great importance to the inhabitants of the countries in which it is found. The _bark_ and _leaves_ are dried, powdered, and preserved in bags, to be employed as a seasoning for food. Two or three pinches of this powder are put, by the negroes, into their messes, under an impression that it promotes perspiration and moderates the heat of the blood.
The pulp of the _fruit_ has an agreeably acid flavour. This is not only eaten when fresh, but is dried and powdered for medicinal uses; a kind of soap is also prepared from it.
In Senegal, when the trees are decayed, the _trunks_ are hollowed, by the negroes, into burying-places for their poets, musicians, and buffoons. These persons are much esteemed whilst they live, although they are supposed to derive their superior talents from sorcery or an alliance with demons. When dead, however, their bodies are regarded with horror, and are not allowed the usual burial, under a notion that the earth would, in such case, refuse to produce its accustomed fruits. The bodies inclosed in these trees are said to become perfectly dry without decaying, and thus to form a kind of mummies, without the process of embalming.