L.R.
HENNA.
The henna or al hinna (_Lawsonia inermis_) is found in great abundance
in Egypt, India, Persia and Arabia. In Bengal it goes by the name of
_Mindee_. It is much used here for garden hedges. Hindu females rub it
on the palms of their hands, the tips of their fingers and the soles of
their feet to give them a red dye. The same red dye has been observed
upon the nails of Egyptian mummies. In Egypt sprigs of henna are hawked
about the streets for sale with the cry of "_O, odours of Paradise; O,
flowers of the henna!_" Thomas Moore alludes to one of the uses of the
henna:--
Thus some bring leaves of henna to imbue
The fingers' ends of a bright roseate hue,
So bright, that in the mirror's depth they seem
Like tips of coral branches in the stream.
MOSS.
MOSSES (_musci_) are sometimes confounded with Lichens. True mosses are
green, and lichens are gray. All the mosses are of exquisitely delicate
structure. They are found in every part of the world where the
atmosphere is moist. They have a wonderful tenacity of life and can
often be restored to their original freshness after they have been dried
for years. It was the sight of a small moss in the interior of Africa
that suggested to Mungo Park such consolatory reflections as saved him
from despair. He had been stripped of all he had by banditti.
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