Note 244 — Chapter VIII · How were Primitive Weight Units fixed?

Although I have made many enquiries and Dr Thiselton Dyer of Kew has taken much trouble in the matter, I am unable to give the reader the botanical names of the Taku and Damba. Dr Dyer thinks the Damba is our old friend the Abrus precatorius, the Indian ratti, confirming the opinion I had previously formed from its weight. These seeds are commonly known as crabs’ eyes.