Tamarin
the name of certain South American monkeys. The tamarins are active, restless, and irritable little creatures, two of the smallest being the silky tures, two of the smallest being the silky lion monkey (M. leonina), the latter of which, though only a few inches in length, presents a wonderful resemblance to the lion.
Leaves abruptly pinnate, with many cemes; calyx straw-colored; petals yellow, streaked with red, filaments purple, anthers brown. It is an evergreen tree, 80 feet high by 25 in circumference, cul- The wood, which is yellowish-white, tivated in India as far N. as the Jhelum. sometimes with red streaks, is hard and It is very difficult to work, and is used in India for turning close-grained. wo work, and is used in India for turning TAMARIND It furnishes excellent charcoal for the manufacture of gunpowder. The pulp of the legumes pressed in syrup is a delicious confection. The flowers and fruit are used in India as an astringent or as a mordant in dyeing, especially with safflower; the leaves furnish a yellow dye. The seeds yield a clear, bright, fluid oil, with an odor like that of the linseed; their powder mixed with thin POD SEED TAMARIND: BRANCH IN FLOWER seed-pod section glue makes a strong cement for wood.
The West Indian and South American variety of T. indica (variety occidentalis) has legumes only 3 times as long as broad, whereas the Indian tree has them 6 times as long.
The tamarinds sold in the United States are chiefly West Indian tamarinds.
They differ from the Black or East Indian tamarinds, of which the preserved pulp is black. In pharmacy tamarinds are used as gentle laxatives; they are refrigerant from the acids which they contain, and, when infused, constitute a cooling drink in fevers. They enter into the Confectio sennæ. In India the seeds are given in dysentery, etc.; in the Mauritius a decoction of the bark is given in asthma.