"Especially on the coast, but of course not in the north, you will find
stately palms of all varieties. The banian tree (the English write it
banyan) grows here, and I might talk an hour about it. Something like it is
the peepul, or pipal, though its branches do not take root in the ground
like the other. Its scientific name is the _Ficus religiosa_; for it
is the sacred fig of India, and it is called the bo-tree in Ceylon.
"The peepul is considered sacred by the Hindus, because Vishnu, the
Preserver, and the second person in the Brahminical trinity, was born under
it. This tree is extensively planted around the temples of the Hindus, and
many religious devotees pass their lives under its shade for its
sanctifying influence. It is useful for other purposes; for the lac-insect
feeds upon its leaves, and the women get a kind of caoutchouc from its sap,
which they use as bandoline."
"What in the world is bandoline, Mister?" asked Mrs. Blossom, who had
listened with half-open mouth after the doctor called the tree sacred.
"It is quite English, I dare say," laughed the speaker, while Mrs. Belgrave
was tugging at the sleeve of her friend in order to suppress her. "I
venture to say you have used something of the kind, madame. Our women make
it of Irish moss, and use it to stiffen the hair, so as to make it lie in
the right place.
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