106. _ALOES are an extensive tribe of plants, some of which are not more than a few inches, whilst others are thirty feet and upwards, in height. All the leaves are fleshy, thick, and more or less spinous at the edges or extremity._ _These plants, which are chiefly inhabitants of hot climates, have flowers of a single petal, the mouth expanded, the base nectariferous, and the filaments of the stamens inserted into the receptacle._ Some of the larger kinds of aloes are of great importance to the inhabitants of countries in which they grow. Beset as the _leaves_ are with strong spines, they form an impenetrable fence. The negroes of the western coast of Africa make ropes and weave nets of the fibrous part of these leaves. The Hottentots hollow out the _stems_ of one of the kinds into quivers for their arrows. In Jamaica, there is a species of aloe which supplies the inhabitants with bow-strings, fishing lines, and materials from which they are able to weave stockings and hammocks. An aloe which grows in the kingdom of Mexico is applied by the inhabitants to almost every purpose of life. It serves as hedges for enclosures: its trunk supplies the place of timber for the roofs of houses, and its leaves the place of tiles. From this plant the Mexicans make thread, needles, and various articles of clothing and cordage: whilst from its juices they manufacture wine, sugar, and vinegar. Some parts of it they eat, and others they apply in medicine. The _juice_ of aloes was formerly used in Eastern countries in embalming, to preserve dead bodies from putrefaction; and, as the resinous part of this juice is not soluble in water, it is sometimes adopted in hot climates as a preservative to ships' bottoms against the attack of marine worms. One ounce of it mixed with turpentine, tallow, and white lead, is considered to be sufficient for covering about two superficial feet of plank; and about twelve pounds are sufficient for a vessel of fifty tons' burthen. In proof of the efficacy of this method, two planks of equal thickness, and cut from the same tree, were placed under water, one of them in its natural state, and the other smeared with the composition above described. They were suffered to continue in the water eight months, and when, at the end of that time, they were taken out, the former was perforated in every part, and in a state of absolute decay; whilst the latter was as perfect as at first. In the East Indies, the juice of these plants is used as a varnish, to preserve wood from the attacks of destructive insects: and skins, and even living animals, are sometimes smeared with it for the same purpose.