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Vi3 



SCIENCE PAPERS, 



CHIEFLY 



PHARMACOLOGICAL AND BOTANICAL. 



DANIEL HANBURY, F.R.S., 

»-KLlX>W OK Tilt UNNEAN. CHFJIICAL, AND MICR08<y)PirAL f<OCIiniKS (iK LONDON: 

MEMBER AXO LATE KXAMIXVB OF THE PHAKMACKUTirAL SlXIFTY OF ORKAT BRITAIN : 

MBMBFR or THE IMFKRIAL LEOPULDIVK-CARr>LINR ACADEMY : (-OimESI>ONDIN<. MEMBER OK TIIF 

Mtntris DE PHARMACIE OF TARIR, BRrHfiELH, ETC. 



KDITEI), WITH MKMOIK, BY 

JOSEPH INCE, F.L.S., F.C.S. 



Jponbon : 

MACMILLAN AND CO. 

1876. 
*^? 

[The Hiffht of Traiulntion and Jirj/mthtrtioH i.t Hfsrrred.] 



iU^l 



•• ••• • 

ft • • • 

■• ••• « 






THIS VOLUME 



IS DEDICATED TO 



C^e mang ytanwb Snmtus 



IN WHICH THROUGH LIFE 



HANBUBY FOUND DELIGHT. 



CONTENTS. 



MEMOIR ........... 3 

SCIENCE PAPERS 43 

ADDRESSES AND MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS ... 403 

APPENDIX 487 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



1. Portrait Frontispiece. 

2. Autograph Letter To face page 20 

3. CalumbaWood 67 

4. Coccus Sinensis 63 

5. Wax-tree and Insect 65 

6. Smyrna Scammony 88 

7. Large Bound China Cardamom 95 

8. „ „ „ Coherent Seeds 96 

9. Small Bound China Cardamom 97 

10. Hairy China Cardamom 98 

11. Amomum Xanthioides (Fruit) 101 

12. Amomum Xanthioides (Capsules) 103 

13. Bitter-Seeded Cardamom 104 

14. Ovoid China Cardamom 106 

15. Galanga Cardamom 107 

16. Liquidambar Orientale (Mill) 140 

17. BoyalSalep 156 

18. Boyal Salep bulbs 157 

19. Larinus maculatus 161 

20. Tr^hala 161 

21. Larinus melli£cus 161 

22. Sclerotium Stipitatuni To face page 202 

23. PachyraaCocos „ 203 

24. Map of China „ 211 

25. Bealgar Medicine Cup 221 

26. Zanthozylum alatum 229 

27. Muricia Cochinchinensis 231 

28. Quisqualis indica 232 

29. Boa-tam-paijang vel Bungtulai 236 

30. Hovenia dulcis 238 

31. Trapa bicomis 241 



X ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page 

32. Gardenia 241 

33. Gardenia florida 242 

34. Melia 244 

35. Daphnidium Cubeba 247 

36. Ytih-kin 254 

37. Convallaria Japonica . . . 256 

38. Chuen-woo 258 

39. Tsaou-woo (Aconitum Japonicum) 258 

40. Che-moo 260 

41. Sang-pwan-hea 262 

42. The Wax-tree and Insect (Fraxinus Cliinensis and Coccus 

Pe-la) To face page 273 

43. Cordia Boissieri „ 280 

44. Hope Bag for pressing Balsam of Peru Hags .... 298 

45. Gourds or Tecomates 299 

46. Ancient Tributary Balsam Jar 300 

47. Peruvian Balsam. Collection at J uisnagua . . To face page ^Q^ 

48. Cassia Moschata ,, 324 

49. Garcinia Morella „ 331 

50. „ Structure of anther 331 

51. Ipomoea simulans To face page 349 

52. Balsamodendron Myrrha 379 

53. B. Ehrenbergianum 380 

54. Map of Myrrh-producing districts 381 

55. Chondodendron tomentosum 388 

56. Cissampelos Pareira . 389 

57. True Pareira Brava To face page 391 

5a Pareira Brava Root (?) 391 

59. Arms of the City of Norwich 405 

60. Arms of the C% of Exeter 417 



Since this Memoir was in print, the travels of Lieut.-Colonel 
N. Prejevalsky in Mongolia have appeared. 

The Russian explorer penetrated into the province of Kan-su, 
and while there ascertained beyond doubt that the true rhubarb 
of commerce was Bheicm palmatuntj and not Bltetim officinale, 
as had been supposed. The passage therefore relating to the 
identification of the plant cannot stand good. 

Thanks are gratefully offered to the Linnean and Pharma- 
ceutical Societies for permission granted to republish many 
of these papers ; to the Secretary and Librarian of both 
Societies for their kind assistance ; and to Dr. Hooker for 
the loan of a valuable private manuscript. 




â–  



05E bright autumn afternoon, whilst the British Phar- 
maceutical Couference met at Exeter, a small party of 
friends went over the grounds that had belonged to the 
late Mr. VeitoK The visit was arranged in honour of 
Daniel Hanbury, the President for the year, who, on 
this particular day, was in his happiest mood. Amongst 
the noble collection of trees that were the pride of 
the West of England, a number were unknown to 
the new proprietor ; Hanl»ury named them in suc- 
cession, and described their habitat to the delishted 
owner* 

One trjing day, when at the London Board of the 
Pharmaceutical Society he sat for many hours as 
botanical examiner, it was noticed that he had never 
asked the same question twice. 

I own then to feeling diffident in attempting to 
describe a man so profoundly master of his subject and 
of such admirable learning. 

Daniel Hanbury was bom on September 11, 1825, Early yfe. 
and entered into rest March 24, 1 875. He was, therefore. 



^ Founded on the Memoir contriliiited by tho writer to the ChcmUt 

B 2 



MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY. 



Cutirt. 



forty-uine years old when his earthly labours ceasetl. 
He was the eldest son uf Daniel Bell and Rachel Han* 
bury ; bis parents being both esteemed members of the 
Society of Friends. He left school early, and his great 
attainments ill languages and in science were due entirely 
to bis own industry. While at school he gained skill in 
water-colour drawing, an art which, when on his journeys, 
and specially at Men tone, be practised with assiduity. 
He had a delicate and graceful touch, and there was 
a beauty in these sketcheg which an artist would 
admire. 

At tlie bottom of Plough Court, which till lately was 
a narrow defile running out of Lombard Street^ stands 
an old historic Pharmacy, whose reputation is insepa- 
rably connected with the name of William Allen, The 
philanthropist, though not the originator of the firm, 
was the first to create its celebrity. With him was 
associated John Thomas Barry, a man of infinite neat- 
ness ; exact in chemical experiment ; bke Wulhiston, fond 
of operating on minute quantities, and habitually trust- 
ing rather to self-obtained reactions than to information 
gained from books* The prestige of the former, and the 
example of the latter, influenced the life and practice 
of Daniel Hanbury, who at sixteen years of age began 
practical pharmacy in the well-known City firm of 
which his father was long the representative. At a 
much later period, the son was taken into partner- 
ship. 

The career we arc about to trace upset the theory 
which maintains that the pursuit of science is incom- 
patible with the discharge of business duties. Daniel 
Hanbury was a good assistant, though a scholar ; and 
wliile the chosen correspondent of the learned, he sensed 



i 



EAIiLY CONTIIIDUTIONS. 



I 



'harmacy, posted the ledgei^, and was not 
unmindful that physicians prescriptions should be ac- 
curately dispensed. 

Report speaks also of his ciu*e in buying, and that 
his judgment was infallible in recognizing specimens we 
know from experience. In this department of know- 
ledge he may fairly be classed with Guibuurt. 

In the year 1844 he entered as a student in the Beoomw a 

T>i 1 ri T 11 mcsmber of 

Laboratory at Bloomsbury Square, and was elected the rimr- 
a member of the Pharmaceutical Society in 1857. society. 
Throughout his life he was engaged in promoting its 
prosperity, both in private and in an official capacity — 
though never on its Council — and he was a member 
of the Phytological Club (1852), of which Professor 
Beniley was President, and which was intended to 
foster a love of Botany among tlie juniors and the 
students. 

The commencement of his business life (1841) is 
coincident with the first publication of the Transactions 
q( the Pharmaceutical meetings, to which he became a 
regular contributor. His Papers, many in number and Tapers. 
invariably of the same character, date from January 
1850, and as in his person, dress, and manner, there was 
no visible change between the opening of the Great 
Exhibition and the time of hiu decease, so tliis com- 
munication on Turnsole or Tournesol, though short, is 
constructed on the sjime framework as the Pharmaco- 
ffmphia : it contains the same marbhalling of facts and 
tlikUm^ the »ame citation of authorities, the same micro- 
scopic carefulness, while the last sentence might have 
been written yesterday : — 

•• In conclusion, it may be observed as a curious fact, that 
altlMiugli formerly in general demand, turnsole rags appear iu 



MEMOIR OF DANIEL IIANBURY. 



Note- 



Scientific 
Papera. 



liave fulleii iuto complett; disuse e^-^ery where but in Hollaml, iu 
which coiintiy all that are noAv produced are consumed. Of the 
uses to wliich they are applied by the Dutch, we are still in 
want of more precise infonnation.** 

The secret of the construction of these papers, which 
were put together with laborious industTy^ is disclosed 
by the manuscripts he has left behind. In his library 
were found not only consecutive note-books, beautifully 
wTitten and indexcil* but others, each devoted to a 
special Fvubjeet Such for instance were — 

L Papers relating to JioUlera iinctoria^ Roxb., and 
Kamala, 

II, Notes on Turkish Materia Jledica, 

II L Papers relating to odoriferous species of Aiidro- 
pogon, chiefly East Indian, 

IV. Papers relating to the Phannacopoeia of India* 

V. Notes and Memoranda relating to Storax and 
Liquid ambar. 

VL Notes on Cardamoms and various other Scitami- 
noous Fruits and Seeds. 

These contained memoranda, personal observations, 
letters, price lists, scraps from new^spapers, and in fur- 
mation drawn from commercial men, Imoka ancient and 
modern, travellers, men of science, maps, and missionariea 
Also notes and inquiries to and from young men who 
had obtained foreign posts and gone abroad. The com- 
plete series of his papers is over eighty in number ; they 
are beyond criticism, and are uniformly original. 

Many have made their appearance iji various scientific 
journals— English, American, and foreign, A reference has 
been given to such as have been translated in Buchner's 
Neues Repertorium fiir Pharmacie, Munich — a publi- 
cation which Daniel Haohury held in special esteem. 



CHINESE 51ATERIA MEDICA, 



MediLm, 



His first paper (as distinguished fi'om a journal article) ^^< 
was on the resin of the Norway Spruce Fir (Abies 
excchfi), and was read at an evening meeting, March 1, 
IS 50, llr. Peter Squire, President, in the chair, 

His contributions to the history of Chinese SrATERiA 
Medica were probably his most elaborate venture in the 
path of continuous research ; one series extended over 
three years, and was prized highly by competent 
authoritica Their scope placed them beyond the range 
of ordinary reaclers, and it is doubtfid whether the best 
channel had been selected for their publication. A new 
edition of these Notes on Chinese Materia Medica, with 
additional notes, references, and map, is now given. 
The original pamphlet was translated by his fiiend and 
correspondent^ Dr, Theodor W. C. Martins, into German 
in 1863, under the title of Beiirdge zur Materia Medica 
China a. The work contained tbe illustrative engravings, 
but not the Chinese characters.* It was the practice of 
the chief writers for the Pharmaceutical journal to correct 
and arrange their own proofs. The printing-office was at Btrtio* ti^e 
the top of Beaufort Buildings, lately destroyed by jfii-e. ° ^"" ^' 
There, it is related Vy a contributor engaged on bis own 
manuscript, that tbe conscientious priuter Dirties was 
overheard loudly bew^ailing his fate. When asked the 
reasou why, he replied that Mr. Haiibury had sent in 
some more Chinese, but a Ijlock not being properly 
marked, he was not sure of the right way of printing. 
*' C'hance it,'' was suggested. " No/' said the old man ; 
*• that might do with other people, Imt Mr, Hanbury is 
t^rtf particular/* 

Brief indeed must be the running comment on his 
other contributions. 

^ Sp*^}or» 18G3. Dmck von Geori; Kranzljiihler. 



MEMOIH OF DANIEL HANBURY. 



8U1U, 



Diotcoridea, 



Solid 



Lii|tnd 



Storax, began in 1854, continued in 1857, and further 
considered in 1863, was an original research which was 
never absent either from his mind or notes. To elucidate 
its history formed one of the intentions of his travels in 
France and in the Holy Land. The solid Storax had 
been attributed, and Hanbury thought correctly, to the 
Stymx officinale^ a plant answering exactly to the one 
described by Dioscorides. Other authors, specially 
Duhamel nwl the Abl)(S Mazeas, confirmed tliia opinion* 
Kepeatcdl} , I i anbury failed to obtain personal and ocular 
demonstration of the fact. " I am bound (he writes, 
18G3) to acknowledge that the endeavours I ha%^e 
liitherto used to obtain the resin from trees in the South 
of France, Asia Minor, and Syria, have not been suc- 
cessful In Syria it is now rare to find the Styrax 
forming anything better than a large bush, owing to the 
practice of cutting it periodically for fuel ; and although 
1 have myself examined many small bushes, I have failed 
tu find upon tht.4r stems any exudation/' 

Great therefore was his exultation when widking in 
his brother's garden at Mortola, near Mentone (Dec 9, 
1874), to find and to be able to collect some resin of 
SUjrax offwinale whieli exuded from the stem of a 
young tree. 

With regard to Liquid Sttjrax, continued investi- 
gations led bira to assign it to Liquidamhar orientah^ 
Mill, not without the matter having been the subject of 
much controvei'sy, James Pettiver had given a minute 
account of the collection of the liquid variety, stating 
that it was obtiuned from the island Cobross, at the 
upper end of the Red Sea. Dr. Landerer, of Athens, 
ascribed it to the Sti/rctx officinale, and placed the spot 
of its production at Cos and Rhodes. The island 



I 



STORAX— CARDAMOMS— PERUVIAN BALSAM. 



I 



[mentioned proved to be nou-existent ; while the British 
I Consul at Rhodes, and Mr. Maltaiss of Smyrna, dcchxred 
that Cos and Rhodes never had produced Storax. 

The question was revived by a pamphlet by Professor 

Krinos, who maintained that Liquid Storax w^as kuown 

ito the ancient Greeks — that both the solid and liquid 

I were the produce of one tree ; and he proposed to alter 

the text of Dioscorides in order to support the theory. 

The arrival of specimens of leaves and fruits, from 
andoubted sources, settled Hanbury s doubts — and the 
f crowning proof of the accuracy of the old Greek author 
was a conspicuous object in his Museum Specimens, 

Some Raee Kinds of Cardamom, and the Linnean Caniamom 
' Paper WTitten by Professor Oliver and himself on a New 
Sfecxbs of Ahomum, will prove how he had caught the 
spint of Pereira, and how fit he was to follow in his 
steps. He worked on the ZtngiheraceiB ** as though he 
loved them ; " amusing were his private comments on 
those who wdthout mucli real learning had ventured on 
the intricacies of the theme ; and had longer life l^een 
granted, Hanbury would have amplified and extended to 
the utmost a line of investigation which possessed for 
hira a peculiar charm. 

The explanatory engravings which illustrate the 
tmmufucture of Peruvian Balsam were supplied by 
Dr. C* Dorat, and represent the collection of the Balsam 
at Juisnagua, near Sonsonate. Previous to this occurs a 
paper of antiquarian interest, on the use of the Balsam 
in the preparation of the Chrism in the Church of Rome. 
For the sake of these Peru\ian sketches he was induced 
to umlerUike Spanish^ and was able to say in 1864, with 
regard to thf Description des Indes OccidcnUdesM 
fraduite de VEsjmynol (Amst, 1G22) :^ — "I have also 






lu 



MEMOIR OF DANIEL HA^BUllY. 



Ci:iiiilmg<>. 



Pimotical 
remits. 



Varied 

ItMLTIimg. 



rimultins. 



consulted the Spanish editiou published at iladrid^ 
1601-15" — a fact that of a surety pleased his mind ; 
for it not only led htm to an original source of knowledge, 
but took him back a few more years into the seventeenth 
century. 

One thing is remarkable in these papers, that however 
recondite in their speculations, they so constantly land 
the investigator in distinct, reliable, and practical result* 
His barque was never showy, nor, though classic, did it 
ever indulge in painted sails — still less was it swift ; but 
the steersman, quietly self-reliant, made straight for the 
destined port. 

In the ''Botanical Origin of Gamboge*' (18C4) the 
source of the commercial tU'ticle was traced to Garcinia 
Morelki ; that of SaiKmilla-Rhataiihia (18G5) to A"/'a- 
meria Ixirm^ L. var, Granatensis Triana, llie Leaser 
Galangal (by the aid of Dr. Hance) to Alptnia offici- 
nurum ; and the account of this, the liaJix Galangw of 
Pharmacy, was presented to the Linnean Society with 
accumulated historical illustration. 

Another specimen of his varied and curious learn- 
ing is afforded by the short paper on ** Pt-nghawar 
Djambi," in which Dutch literature, old French and 
English poetry, German and Latin, Mr. John Smith and 
the British Museum, were pressed into the service of the 
writer. 

Tampico Jiihq> proved to be the root of a new species 
growing in the interior of Mexico, the Ipomcea shmdans. 
In his fathers garden at Clapham, this plant and the 
common Ipomma purga could be seen side by side, 
where both their points of difference and similarity might 
be observed at leisure. 

The Ipomwa mtvilans kind the Liqnidavihfti nvimtatt* 



CALABRIAN MAKNA-OTTO. 



11 



orm the wreath round the marble medallion (an ex- 
ell«Dt likeness hy Woolner) which now adorns his 

brother's house at Mortola, near Mentone* 

He 13 supposed to have attached most importance to 
ilia essay on Calahrian Manna (August 14, 1872), a 

[previous historical note ou the same subject (1870), and 
r'areira Brava (1873). Yet, if general opinion be con- 

[Bulted, the warmest praise will be bestowed on a com- 

jmunieatiou read before tlie Pharmaceutical Society on 

IWeduosday, March 2, 1859, ** On Otto of Rosa" Mr, 
MorsoD occupied the chair, and there was nut only a 
crowded, but a most appreciative audience. If I might 
venture to express the conviction of his hearers, it was, 
xind remains, one of his happiest efforts, and exhibits his 
powers in their perfection. The research shown is great, 

I the arrangement faidtless, and the whole thing well done. 

In order to prosecute these investigations, Hanbuiy Kiwwkdgo 

'to acquire a sufficient knowledge of Turkish, and 
le notion of Arabic, To what extent this was carried 
am not competent to judge, but that certain Oriental 
languages and Chinese, besides Spanish and modern 

I Greek, were included in his studies, Ikera scripta nianet 
— his own manuscript's will show. 

The point at issue in the Pareira Paper was that its 
botanical source was not Cusamjyelos Pareira, but that 
it is the root of Chondodendron tomentosum. The Pareira 
qupslian, involving the spelling of the word Chondoden- 
dron V. Chondrodendron, gave rise to one of those 
cihauBtive and rather overwhelming letters which he 
b^aQ to indite. He contended that a word which was 
bdcketl by great weight of authority, that had been lung 
in *^ ' Tid had been a faithful servant in botany, might 
«t iV the rcfjuireineuts f»f the [aescnt generation. 



PdfTira 
hravtt. 




12 



MEMOIB OF DANIKL HANBLJHY, 



Etymolo- 
gical dia- 



A similar missive was despatched to the Academy, 
and published April 3, 1875, in which he argues that 
the Linnean orthography of the word Cinchona may be 
maintained, though the Countess of Chinehon spelt her 
name otherwise, and Mr. Clements R. Markham followed 
her example. 

These discussions on etymology are not strange to 
many of his private circle ; still less his laborious efforts 
to arrive at the minutiaa of correctness. During the past 
twenty years his correspondence was filled with abstruse 
notes and queries. He argued out the orthography of 
inquire u enquire, the duplication of t in accented and 
non-accented syllables, the meaning of A*a, as in 
Diarrhodon {Btu poSmi^)^ Diachylum (Sia x^^^^)i ^tid 
Diaeurcuma — the translation of Myrepsus, the explana- 
tion of Spagiria and Spagyrist ; the source of Latin and 
Greek quotations^ — the correct interpretation of an un- 
advisedly selected motto, JIahenda ratio ixdtiiidinist 
and the term pharmacist, which at length he determined 
to adopt Now, when it is recollected that his social 
position, his connection with phaimacy, his place as a 
scientific man, and his delight in travel, brought him 
into familiar contact with various classes of societ)^ and 
that from all he diligently gleaned information, we may 
understand the wealth of his acquired stores of know- 
ledge ; all of which, together with what he learnt from 
books, were devoted to rendering more full, accurate, 
and reliable the results of his own investigations. Thid 
is a specimen how he answered a casual note connected 
with Materia Medica : — 

'* If I were Uving at Shanghai I would certainly use my best 
endeavours to obtain the plants which yield good Chinese 
rhubarb, notwithstanding the fact thnl all persons who have 



THE BOABD OF EX^UHNERa 



13 



I hitherto tried to do w have failed Hankow is the city whence 
bitibarb is brought t^o the coast for shipment to Europe, and it 
m a journey of 600 miles from Shanghai ; but it is by no means in 
phe rhubarb country : no, that drug, or at least the best qualities 
of it, are produced in Kansuh, 800 miles from Hankow, and in a 
region hitherto unvisited by Eurrrpeaus." (October 24-, 1868.) 

H Subsequently he verified the plant producing the Rhobarh. 

^fcheum of pharmacy ; grew a specimen in the garden at 

^Chiphani, and introduced iU cultivation at Banbury. An 
authenticati^l Bpecimen of rhubarb taken from the very 
spot of its production was sent to him for inspection, but 

â– ^t came too late. 

^ It was with no affectation that he once ^^Tote, " The 
fourth page of your note contains such a gross mistake 
ibout myself that I must correct it by assuring you that 
It is as hard as iron for me to compose a decent piece of 
Snglish — in fact, quite impossible, unless it is written 
>ut two or three times/' 
For twelve years (from June 1860 to May 1872) he ExumincT 

for tu'elve 

[was on the Board of Examiners of the Pharmaceuticid ye^rs. 
ciety. being, according to his owti view, seven years 
long : he considered a five years' tenure of office the 
[furthest advisable period. During the whole time he 
infined his attention to Botany and Materia Medica. 
His strictly pharmaceutical work was limited, and it did 
lot claim his first attention, though he compiled two 
S^olumes of autograph prescriptions. The one retained 
\^m his owTi possession was not remarkalde. At the 
^â– evening meetings of the Society he was a constant 
Hart^endant, but not a speaker, for his was not the gift of 
^Bthe impromptu : all the more reason that we should give 
^ooe specimen of what he thought about a subject that 
has again attracted notice. 



14 



MEMOUt UF DANIEL HAXBLTRY. 



Uiiivi^rsal 
Phaniiti- 

COJKEIIL 



"To most of your remarks un tlie subject of an UniviLTsal 
Pliarraacopaeia I cordially asseut. 

" The idea strikes me as visionary, inconsiderate, unpracticaL 
Consider how such a work might be made, and that it is to 
be equally suitable for Munich and Philadelphia, for Lyons and 
Liverpool As it would be plainly impossible to get medical 
men and the public to abandon the Galenical formuhe they have 
been accustomed to, the Universal Pharmacopceia rnuat oontain 
a selection at lea-st of those of all countries, and so become a 
veiy voluminous book. Or it must abandon formulse altogether, 
and include only the simpler substances, such as carbonate of 
soda, corrosive sublimate, iodide of potassium, castor oil, and 
tlie like. In either case such a book would be practically 
useless, 

"But there are so many reasons wliy an Universal Phar- 
macopceia cannot be, tliat it is difficult to select the most 
cogent. 

" I^lmrmacopoeias, as you say, do not happen to exist They 
are formed to meet certain clearly defined requirements, and 
must differ according to th-c habits of the people who are going 
to use them, the drugs wiricn A country pkoduces, the climate, 
&c. The Indian Phanuacopcc^ia, for instance, which is now 
being drawn up, is designed to aflbrd to P^uropeans in India and 
to tlie many natives now being educated in the Government 
colleges, couvenient formidtx? for prescribiug (inter alia) various 
dn^ng commonly found in India. 

" How could the idea of an LTniversal Pharmacopceia be 
brought to bear in such a case as this ? 

*• A decimal system of weights and measures would obviously 
be applicable in all countries \ but the Latin language is scarcely 
so expansive, though I have always deprecated it being aban- 
doned in the British Pharmacopceia. 

" You must not consider these hasty lines as either a * notice * 
or a ' set paper/ tliough you can of course use them in whatever 
way you think proper/* (March 26, 1867.) 

It has been already stated that at the evening mc 
iiigs of the Society he would sit a silent and apparently 



PUBLIC MATTEHS. 



15 



I 



an unmoved spectator, except when liia own special 
subjectB were introduced. Rarely, perhaps never, did he 
[give the smallest utterance of opinion in public on poll- 
tical matters ; and he shmnk like the sensitive plant 
from the touch of disputation. Yet, that this marked 
reticence was not to be interpreted as apathy » the quota- 
tion of these vigorous lines will show : 

" In reflecting on the scheme for admitting a number of per- 
sons without examination, I have approarTied (I wiH not say 
arrired at) conclusions different from those entertained by many 
of iny friends. 

- Frineipk, I think, ought to be placed above eTpedienci/. 
Kow, did we not hold out to the world that on and after a 
certain date no one should be admitted a pharmaceutical 
chemist without examination ? If we confer a title nearly equi- 
valent to this (quite so, perhaps, in the eyes of the public), do 
t;c not practically break faith ? It seems to me tliat this is one 
of the cases in which the majority cannot bind the minority, 
because the compact is, so to speak, made individually. A man 
aays, * I have spent my money and obtained this title on the 
distinct understanding that it was worth something, and that it 
could be got in no other way.' * Ah» but/ say we, ' it would be 
a great advantage to the Society at large if you would give up 
this right you think so miich of, or at least consent to share it 
with others/ ' But no/ he rejoins, * I don't think so : let the 
others get it as I did, by paying for it in time and money ; or let 
tliem be content to do without it' 

*• Now it strikes me that this giving away of the rights of 
others auffhi never to have been entertained any more than the 
idea of repudiating one's debts : that however disagreeable, in- 
convenient, and apparently disadvantageous the compact existing 
between the examined pharmaceutical chemists and the Society 
may seem, it should be held sacred, and that it should never be 
made to give way on the plea of expediency. It is too much, 
like taking a wrong step in order to take a right ope afterwards. 
But it will be urged, ' Would you miss the opportunity of 



Priuciplo 
Expedi- 



Hi 



MEMOIB OF DANIEL HANBURY. 



bringing all these outsiders into the foldT ' Well, ito/ I woildl 
say, ' I would admit them willingly if I could, only I cannot j 
bestow On them that privilege which has been already conceded i 
excludvtlif to othere/ " 

JDietmi We come in due order to that which was to hiiii 
«r th* an unfailing pleasure — his election as Fellow of the Lin- 

g^jJ!J? nean Society, which took place in 1855. There he was 
1855. supremely in his element ; intimate with a great number 
of the Fellows, and held in imreserv'Dl respect. "The 
rjinncan Society " (he says in an explanatory letter to 
a fricnil, January 21, 1867) ** has been a source of much 
interest and pleasure to myself; and I look back with 
much Batisfaction to the many pleasant hours I have 
passed within the walls of its meeting-room and library, 
as I have attended the meetings regularly, and not un- 
frequently brought to them some of my friends. I have 
formed a larger acquaintance among the FX.S* than 
many who have been longer connected with the Society, 
— always an advantage, as tending to give to these 
gatherings a more social character/* He frequently 
served on its Council ; was actively engaged in the 
alterations w^hich have Ixjen effected in the rather sump- 
tuous arrangements of its library and meeting-room ; 
and held the office of treasurer at the time of his death. 
An animated correspondence arose between himself and 
others of the Fellows respecting the best means to be 
employed in order to render the evening meetings at 
Rurlington House at once more useful and more in- 
teresting. He was strongly of opinion that both objects 
might be effected, 
Hcrbflrittm. It is sinccrcly to be hoped that the Herbarium, to the 
arrangement of %vhich he devoted many years, as well as 
his Museum specimens, may be allowed to remain intact 



( 





It would be a grievous thing to see 80 valuable a collec- 
tion dispersed in different directions* 

To the Transactions of the Linnean Society he con- 
bated : *'Note on dtssia Moschata'* (H. R. et K.), 
xiv. 161 ; '*0n the Species of Garcinia which affords 
^4amboge in Siam" {G. Marelh), xxiv. 487; and, with 
Mr. Currey, "Remarks on Sclerotium Stipkatum aud 
imilar Productions/' xxiii. 93. Numerous other com- 
unications will be found scattered through the Journal 
of the Linnean Society* 

Much laborious work was devoted to the compilation 
of the Pharmacopoeia of India ; and he had no incon- 
iderable share in drawling up the *' Admiialty Manual 
'of Scientific Inquiry/' 

I feel no desire to enumerate his various honours, 

ing that they were never aUuded to by himself; 

suffice it to say that he was a Fellow of the Chemical 

Society (January 21, 1858), and in 1869 was on its 

Council ; that he was elected Fellow of the Royal Micro- 

i scopical Society, June 18C7; and that the cro^Tiing 

H|ioDOur was bestowed also in 1867, when he was elected 

Ha Fellow of the RoyiJ Society, and placed on its Council 

â„¢in 1873. Let him speak for himself: **For some time 

I strenuously refused to allow myself to be placed 

among the candidates for admission to the R,8,, feeling 

^^that it would be invidious were the honour of member- 

^^fihip conferred on a pharmaceutist who had really accom- 

^plii^lied so little for science, and who had in many ways 

H smaller merits than several others who could be selected. 

But it was xn^ged, * You must leave that to the judgment 

€>f your friends/ So this I did ; and I do not know who 

drew up my certificate, and, with one exception, by 

whom it w^as signed/' 



Currey aud 
Hanbnry. 



^ini 
â– Beei 



Soientifie 

ilistLuc- 
tions^ 



Elfc-cted 
Fellow of 
the Uoyal 

Society, 
1867. 




18 



MEMOIR OF D.VXIEL HANCURY. 



Frien(!i 
and corre- 
siioudonts. 



Jonntfaan 
Tereira. 



lu aclJition to his otlier better knuiMi distinctions, he; 
could claim an alphabet of scientific titles, and he waai 
Honorary Meml>er or Correspondent of various learned 

societies ; while the University of Muuieh made him an 
Honorary Doctor of Medicine. 

Let us turn now to some more personal traits of 
character apart from immediate scientific work. 

An old and beautiful adage Siiys, ** Tell me wnth wliom 
thou goest, and I will tell thee what thou doest." Of 
this, no man was ever a more striking example than 
Daniel Hanbury, He did not affect the society of his , 
brother pharmacists, but the savant^ speaking whatever fl 
language, who conkl throw light on his cherished botani- " 
cal researches, was welcomed as a brother. He has left 
behind him a voluminous correspondence, absolutely de- 
voted to scientific subjects, and unrelieved by a solitary 
domestic detail It is matter of regret that he allowed 
his fancy so little play, and that his sympathies were too 
severely restricted in their range. We must take him as 
he was, and as he meant to be ; and recollect that he 
adhered to the motto he himself transcribed from 
Fourcroy, *' II faut que chacun ne fixsse que ce qu'il salt 
faire/' 

Chief among his companions was Jonatlmn Pereira, 
whose loss was mourned in 1853 by universal Pharmacy* 
Hanbury paid him the sincere flattery of imitation ; the 
mechanism of his papers was directly copied from the 
object of his admiration. 

With him may be associated Nicolas Jean Baptiste 
Guibourt, the dry little lecturer in the Rue d'ArbaJfete, 
who wrote learned books and had Materia Medica at 
his fingers' ends. 

Next may be mentioned Sefior Joaquim Correa de 



I 



FRIENDS IS COUNCIL. 



19 



^M^Uo, of Campinas, Brazil, for whose sake be learned 

HSpauish, till when ho had to trust to John Miers for tlic 

Btnmshition of his epistles. Sucli aid was not necessary 

^ when he received the welcome communications of G. 

Thuret, of Antibes ; Gustave Plauchon, of Paris ; or L(?on 

Sonheiran, of Montpeliier. Amongst his cosmopolitan 

L advisers, Moordeen Sheriff, of IMadras, with liis masterly 

â– "Supplement to the Indian Pharmacopceia^' stands pre- 

" eminent ; not forgetting Dr. H. F. Hance, to whom he 

was largely indebted ; W. G, Milne, of Old CVdabar ; 

1 Dr. Beke, famed for his Sinai expedition, or his widow 

^krho 80 courageously seconded her husband's difficult 

^nask. 

" To these might fairly be added as his intimates the 
^ckief scientific writers in America, and the distinguished 
Hbnembers of the Linneau Society » notably ita late Presi- 
dent, Mr. George Bentham ; Professor Thiselton Dyer ; 
and a very near friend indeed, Mr Frederick Currey, 
with whom, as with Professor Oliver, he jointly worked 
k It would be unjuiit to hLs memory to pass over his 

Hbianddup with younger men, or that he gladly availed 
himself of the help of Mr. Broughton and Mn CI 11. 
Wood in quinology ; or that of Mr. Charles Uniney in 
laboratory details. Others pharmaceuti<:*ally connected, 
^indeed, but as well known in the world of science, were 
H^e objects of his regard. Such were Heniy Bowman 
Hvrady, who had attained the same honoui^, and the two 
^l)rother3, Henry Groves, of Florence, and T. B. Groves, 
^^{ Weymouth. 

^P How he was associated with Dr. Hooker and John 
Eliot Howard is as little necessary to stat«, as to 
chronicle his uninterrupted intercourse with Professor 
Fluckiger, of Bern, L. A. Buchner, of Muiueh, or Professor 

c 2 



IJtcmry 
f Hen da. 



Fellowa 
of iha 
Lmnttfui 
Society. 



Qtiindo- 



20 



MEMOIR OP DANIEL HANB0RY. 



Eiclmrd 
Spruco 

and 
Colonel 

Yule, 



The letters of Richard Spruce, the explc 



Martius. loe letters oi liieaara ©pruce, tue explorer 
of the Amazon aiid Rio Negro, as well as those ol 

Colonel Yule, of Palermo, would each fill a decent! 
sized volume- The latter writes thus : — *' On your own 
account I should say, don't be in a hurry to finish your 
book [the Pharmacograjihiti], It is a delightful em 
ploy men t. Now^ I miss Marco Polo^ and find other work 
very difficult." Such was the circle in which he moved, 
and whieli made him appropriate to liimself the w^or< 
'' Actijucundi lahores, jucimdior labor" 

Hanbury had other friends from whose minds hi; 
memory will not easily fade— these were little children.. 
For them he had always a smile of welcome and a cheer- 
fid word ; and in their society he was as unlike a stai( 
and grave philosopher as heart coukl wish. His way o: 
interesting and amusing them was a sight to see ; h 
never talked down to them, but led them up to him, 
and yet the children's delight was perfect At home, 
and in his study among the varied curiosities and 
specimens, "in the garden showing them rare or beauti- 
ful plants, Hanbury was never more charming than 
when surrounded by a group of children. 

Remark has often been made about the nature of his 
handwriting ; it formed part of his character ; it was 
legible to admiration— with no solitary flourish — each 
word stood in its own grounds, and there was plenty of 
breathing room between the lines— the ink alway 
seemed black, and the printer was as glad to receive 
such copy as the individual reader. 

A fac simUc of his handwriting is here presented : — 



4 






thy ^ 



C^^t>t^ 







KOnWIClI-EXETER-PARIS. 



23 



I 

P 



He wixs a prumment member from the commencement 
of the British Pharmaceutical Conference, of which he 
was Pre^iident, at Norwich in 1868, and at Exeter in 
1869, That he should have accepted the position ex- 
cited some surprise, for he was never credited with an 
admiration of popular assemblies ; banquets he disliked, 
nor liad his botanical researches led him to any practical 
experiments with Nicotkma tabacum. Nevertheless, 
he managed well, and made a good dinner speech at 
Norwich. Botli his addresses were models of presidential 
discourses. 

It was at Exeter that, very early in the morning, with 
the aid of a small pocket dictionary, he translated the 
German description of chloral hydrate, being the first 
introduction of that remedy to an English public. 

He served on the juries of the International Exhibitions 
of 1862 and 1867, in the former year being secretary to 
the jury on veget^able products, and in the latter engaged 
on prodntts agricoles (non alimeiiiaire^). 

Seated roun<l a sociid table, the guests were discussing 
the merits of the Exposition UniverscUc. Hanlmry was 
nmongBt the number, but never a word spoke he. They 
discussed the paintings, the Napoleon statue, and the 
fine arts generally — still the oracle was dumb. Return- 
ing homewards with a friend, a sudden joy lit up the face 
of Daniel Hanbury. ** I was fortunate, most fortunate," 
said he, " for, on arriving at Paris, I found out a work- 
man's entrance to the dry goods department, and so I 
was never compelled to see the Exhibition once." 

Reporting the Materia Medica of these Exhibitions 
overtasked his constitution : he did not husband his 
strength, and a voice of warning may be raised against 
Ikia unwiBC strain upon mental and physical powers. At 



Bntish 
Pharma* 
ceutical 
Confer- 
ence* 



Ciaoml 
Hydrate, 



Exposition 
Universelle. 



PariB work* 




24 



MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY, 



tton of the 
Frencli 

Iftiigtitge. 



the Exposition of 1867, he presented himself at the 
hour of opeuing, and never left until compelled to qmt 
the building. To the fascinations of the gay citjr, even 
its innocent recreations, he was just aa much a stranger 
as when botanizing at Naples he let Vesuvius continue 
its irruption without for a moment being diverted from 
his labours. 

It was matter of remark in his home circle how assi- 
duously he made use of every opportunity of associating 
with French people for the sake of conversing in their 
language. They wem often invited to his fathers house, 
and he showed special interest in their society. He waa 
seen to advantage when his thoughts were expressed in 
a language which he loved so well, and his style caught 
something of that charm which characterizes the graceful 
composition of our friends across the C^hanneL From 
this large section of his work, the follow^ing note is 
selected :— 



Letter 

iff Dr. 

AiUmao. 



**LoNDRE«i h 7 Fivrier, 18f8, 
*' MONSIKDR, 

" J'oi re<;u il y a trois jours avec beaucoup de plaisir, le 
paquet de plaiites seches que vous avez bien voulu m'envoyer 
piir I'iiitcrnietliaire de M. Garrett, et je vou-s eu rends gr&ce tres 
flinctreinent. Je vous accuse r&eption aussi de voire honoree 
du 5'^" Novcnibre. 

*^ LVchantillon de votre ifp'ospcnnum Ei^jthro,i^jlmn bien 
qu*il ne comprend rii fleui's ni fruits, ne m'est point sans valeur. 
Si dans le temps il vous soit possible de m'envoyer deux ou 
tvoix It/guaiea de la plaate, j*eii serais tres reconnaissant* On 
peut bien les envoyer dans une lettre. 

**L'autre Mifrmpcrmwn r^pond assez bien an M, ialuifera^ 
n liK.; je suis trt*s content d en avoir nn echantillon avec fruits. 
Les denx especes de Myi'ocaqnis lu'out fait beaucoup de plaisir. 



CONTINENTAL TRAVEL— SMYBN A. 25 

•• Si je piiis vous aider d aucune mani^re dans une affaire de 
ience, surtout dans la botanique ou la phannacologie, je vous 
"^ttie de compter au moins sur ma bonne volontiS. 

AgTvez IMonsieur Tassurance de mes sentiments devou^»9. 

" Mr, le Docteur F. F. Allemao." 

He loved to travel on the Contment, and particularly Tm? 
in the district of Anvergne and the southern provinces 
of France, where he cultivated the society of eveiy 
botunist of note ; he spent a pleasant summer vacation 
l^'ith the late Professor Marti us in Bohemia, and he was 
a frequent visitor at his brother's residence in Mentone. 
There he carried out those ideas of acclimatisation wliich 
lie so well expressed in his first presidential address. 

With reference to Ids tours, it should be mentioned 
that as fax as possible he made personal observations on 
everything connected with his special studies in every 
locality he Hsited, At Smyrna (1854) he gained infor* Smyma. 
mation about the collection of scammony an^l ^t^ ti-ade; 
and owing to the kindness of Sidney H. JIalt was 

able to furnish interesting particulars. The striking 
characters of pure natural scammony were found to be — 
its pale yellowish-brown hue ; its transparency ; its great 
brittleness ; its property of readily affording a white 
emulsion when ruljbed with water ; and the scanty 
amount of a whit^j residue wliich it leaves on being 
treated with ethcn Scammony resin is to be distin- 
guided from scimimony by allVirding hiirdly any emulsion 
when rubbed and wetted. 

At Grasse and Cannes he noted the flower manufac- 
tures, and described the process of enjleuragc. 

He went to Sicily (1872) on purpose to learn something siciif. 
about the production of manna, and at the same time 



26 



MKMOIR OF DANIEL U ANBURY. 



Indiiu 



HfwTcer 

and 

Haubury. 



gathered authentic information on the cultivation of 
liquorice and the nianufaetiire of the juice. 

It was in serious contemplation, had his life been 
spared, for him to visit the East, and particularly India, 
with the view of investigating on the spot obscure points 
connected with tlie origin of certain drugs and other 
vegetable products. 

These travels, almost without exception, were conse- 
crated to the sole object of extending pharmacological 
research, Havinij set before him one definite line of 
action, he pursued it to the unwavering exclojaion of 
other influences, and neither the charms of scenery nor 
historic associations, still less the voice of pleasure, could 
tempt him from his course. Better and wiser bad it 
been for him to have carried his bow occasionally unbent, 
and to have induljxed in some def][ree of relaxation amidst 
his severer occupations. 

Scanty recollections have, for the most part, been 
preserved of these scientific expeditions, but the events 
of the journey to the Holy Land have been recorded by 
his companion. Dr. Hooker, A brief outline of their 
tour will present some points of interest. Gaining Paris 
in the autumn of 1860, they found it in manifest pros- 
perit}% wonderfully beautiful and grand. Even in the 
Jiirdin des Plantes there was some improvement, but the 
chief sight was the gardening in the squares, bright with 
exquisite and rare plants. Palms and eyeas growing in 
least expected places, in spots as secluded as in Soho 
Square ; while in every part of the town the keep of 
grass bordei-s, edgings, and shrubberies was perfect. 

On September 15, the two friends, with Qipt. Wash- 
ington and others, left Trieste by the Austrian Lloyd's 
steamship Vulcan for Beyrut, vid Smyrna, On \K>t\vd 



I 



4 



4 



CORFU— THE ADRIATIC— SVRA. 



27 



Corfu. 



Paxo, or 



were a troupe of opera singers and dancers, the former ^?^ *^ 
of whom beguiled the tedium of the voyage. A Chio6 Lwid- 
merchant enlarged on the hateful nature of the Turkish 
government, a theme not unfrequently suggested by 
occurrences on the way ; there appeared, indeed, to be 
an universal opinion that any materirJ improvement was 
impossible except under foreign intervention. At Corfu 
they tried to get some fresh Zante grapes for the Museum, 
but found that they were quite unknown there in a 
cultivated state, being confined to Zant43 and Cephalonia, 
where they are grown extensively. Tliey passed hy the 
Adriatic to the Ionian Islands, amongst which is the 
email island of Paxo, where tradition says the news of 
the death of the gre^it god Pan was conveyed to the 
crew of a Venetian ship simultaneously with the occasion 
of the sufferings of our Lord. The most interesting part 
was the narrow strait between Ithaca and Cephalonia : 
the scenery very nigged, and mostly covered with 
myrtle, laurel, arbutus, olive, and here and there clumjis 
of evergreen oaka Thence they went by the Strophades 
to the Arcadian coast ; entered the ^gean Sea, and 
skirted the Island of Delos, the reputed birthplace of 
Apollo, and which contained the second oracle of Greece. 
Syra is reached — the groat centre of Greek commerce, %ni. 
and famous for its sr-hools, in which children are taught 
Greek, and little girls and boys read Demosthenes in a 
pore tongue, Hanburj^ and Dr. Hooker now exchanged 
the Vulcan for a very large iron screw steamer named 
the Trehizond^ which was bound for Smyrna. 

The party was most agreeable and very happy, but 
Hanbury was " atrociously upset.*' 

The motion of the screw was execrable, making the 
wbole cabin vibrate, and there was nn abominable rattling 



28 



MEMOIR OF DANIEL IIANBURY, 



Chiofl, or 
Kbio, 



Golf of 



of chains overhead, which was not conducive either to 
quiet thought or literary compositioiL 

Onward now to Chios, one of the many birthplaces of 
Homer ; and though it may be doubtful whether it was 
there that the poet first saAV the light, certain it is that 
the island is famous for mastich, grapes, and olivea Now 
the travellers approach the magnificent gulf of Smyrna, 
all along the coast of which the sultana ralain is culti- 
vated. The scenery is beautiful exceedingly : the green 
shore contrasting with the lofty rugged -topped moun- 
tains, covered here and there with, scattered ranges of 
forest But though Nature is sublime, the country was 
found in a horrible condition, with bandits close outside 
the town. 

The richness of the botany of Asia Minor was a suffi- 
cient compensation for inevitable drawbacks. Smyrna 
itself has probably not less than 1,500 species in a radius 
of ten miles. There they saw olives with resin exuding, 
a sight which is very rare. Fig-packing was going on. 
Leaving Smyrna, with its wretched town, bad houses, and 
filthy, narrow streets, they sailed by L'ljnpSratrice for 
Bey r At : passed the Ionian and Carian coast to Rhodes, 
and on Monday (Sept. 24) anchored oft' Cyprus, in which 
PiiplioBtiie is Paphos, renowned for wine and honey. Next day 
Bttfa or Lebanon was in sight aa a splendid long ridge rising 
high out of the eastern horizon. Beautiful is the situa-« 
tion of Beyrlit, at the foot of Lebanon, an undulating 
flat with rocky shore ; the houses all nestling in green 
foliage of mulberry^ ricinus, olive, and fig. Vines, date^ 
acacia, plane, and poplar gi"ow in the little gardens. 

At the H6tcl do Belle vue they held conclave about a 
Dragoman, and selected Habeeb Somah, who had accom- 
panied tlie Misses Beaufort. Mounted on most wretched 






Baffo. 



I 



LEBANON AND THE CEDARS. 



29 



animals, they left BeyrAt, being a party of eight riders, 
ten Uaggage hoi'ses and mules, and an escort, following 
the mountain route a^ marked on Van der Velde's map. 
They went towiU'ds the bay through lanes filled with 
Saecharum, Donax, Rose, Asclepias, and Rubu8, crossed 
the river Berytus, and thence wended their course along 
the seashore. The setting sun and the grass-green of 
the curling breakers as seen by transmitted light were 
exquisite* Lebanon was sighted, and the travellers lialted 
at Ain el Houran, a cold, naked, desolate place, without 
bush or tree, but tufts of Tragacanth, which yielded tbe 
gum abundantly ; some flowers, and eternal Carduaceae. 
The upper part of Lebanon they found to consist of red- 

, bare rounded ridges, forming a great shallow amphi- 

I theatre : at the bottom of which is a broad flat, with low 
undulating hillocks on which the Cedars st^ind. These 
form one small clump like a black speck in the great 
amphitheatre, and there is no otlier tree or shrab visible 
near them. The wood is intenseli/ hard and close 
grained, A fine log wajs sent to Kew, No doubt the 

\ persistence of the trees is due to the peculiar nature of 
the well-drained moist hght sod of the stony moraine. 
Below, they found some nice plants and WioiUdendron 
ponttcuvi ; also the' Tragacanth Aslraf/alus, with the 
gum oozing out : specimens of which were secured. 

i The Cedars, about 400 trees of various ages, stand on 
evident old glacial moraines, 0,000 feet in elevation, and 
occupy five or six hillocks. They are fifty to eighty feet 
high. The distinctive character of moraines consists in 

I their being blocks of limestone of various composition, 
conglomerate, vesicular, and compact. Almost all Curdua- 
ceBd dls;ippear above the Cedars, Berbery, Tragacanth, 



Acanthulinum are the commonest shrubs, with 



Aiii el 
Houitm. 



Tlio 
Cudara, 





Boalbec 



yW pf aiina 




i 



small, pretty Crocus ; Bome Alsinea3 and CompoaitSB. 
No trees, Haiilmry and Mr. G, Wtisbmgtou sketched 
and planned the Cedars, ** The largest is forty feet in 
girth, and three others are also very large; all the 
largest are ver)^ old and branch from the very base* The 
smallest are about twenty-seven inches in girth, which by 
comparison of sections of older trees and rings would , 
make the youngest about fifty years old. All are of â–  
much the same character ; are short-leaved, not glaucous, ' 
dark green, and very horizontally branched. Several â–  
trees stand well apart from the group." [Dr. H,] â–  

Two ascents of Le!>anon were made, nor were the 
travellers slow to admire the superb character of the 
view obtained from the summit. Baalbec was the next 
point of interest, and they camped in the hexagon of the 
great temple. They were lost in astonishment at the 
grandeur of the ruins, and the beauty of the moonlight* 

They gazed on the splendid purple of Lebanon in 
the setting sun, and the orange of Anti-Lebanon— 
" splendid," Dr. Hooker remarks, '' in spite of Turks and 
eaith quakes," And now Damascus burst upon the view. 
What can be said in new coined language of the magni- 
ficence of its panorama ; or of the beauty and lovely 
situation of the city ? Immense valleys, rich, bright 
green trees, mulberries, figs, walnuts, aspens, poplars, 
vines, and cypresses. Under such circumstances it is 
difficult to avoid turning poet as well as a bot^mist. The 
city forms a w^inding stream of clay-coloured houses 
meandering through the velvet green, the lights and 
shades of which are admirable. Yet the city itself has 
no recommendation but its site ; the lanes were very 
bad, and there were loads of Turkish soldiers every- 
where. The two companions entered by low gates of 



JERUSALEM-NABLOUS— NAZARETH. 
>iiry, and proceeded a long way through wretched 



31 



knea, amongst still more wretched bazaars, to the 
^fttreet called Straight/' wherein was tlieir hotel 
Great alarm prevailed amongst the Christians, who 

j^were all leaving after the massacre, and ruins piltnl four 
&t deep were in every kne ; there were heaps of muti- 

llated corpses, bones, and stench ; burnt books and 

(pictures ; 3,500 to 4,000 troops; much sickness, dj^scn* 
tery, and diarrhoea. Amid such scenes, they went down 
their street, which is cidled, but is not, straight Omit- 
ting the details of tlie route and the misery of the 
Jewish population, they came to Jerusalem : the Church Jerusalem. 
of the Holy Sepulchre, the Place of Wailing, the Mosque 
of Omar, and the hundred other scenes m'hich w^ill 
remain memorable throughout all time. At Nabloua> 
the ancient Syehar, the bigoted Sloslem inhabitants 
eursed the travellers, and the boys jeered at them in 
street. They visited the Samaritan synagogue, and 
it by a filthy town route, almost on hands imd knees, 
idt»ng dark alleys, to the Chief Rabbi's house. He was 
le civil old man, who took them into a dingy chamber, 
lind showx^d them the Samaritan Pentateuch. It appears, Samaritan 
however, that a copy, and never the true, old book, is tcacit 
ghown to stmngeiu So they were told at least by 
Profesiior Lewisohn, a Russian converted Jew, who had 
spent much time in Nablous. He has examined the 
original, and finds by the final lettei-s of the columns 
tliat it is of the age i>f Phineas, son of Eli. 

At Nazareth their quiet was disturbed by groups of NazarLth, 
women and gii'ls, wlio crowded round the well by hun- 
dreds, waiting to draw water. They camped amongst 
the olives ne:ir the well outside the town ; all Saturday 
the disturbance was continued, nor on Sunday was the 



U£L. 



J. iEk_ 



32 



MEMOIR OF DAKIEL HANBURY. 



Mount 
CarmeL 



The Place 
of Sacrifice, 



4 



harmony less troubled ; from wliicli the Doctor drew the 
inference, which was doubtless assented to by his friend, 
that in future it would be wise to leave well alone. 

Hanbury now went with tlie baggage direct to Tiberias, 
and on October 30, 1H60, the five weeks in Syiia and 
Palestine were at an end. One sight worthy of mention i 
remains to be described, Mr. Eogers, Vice-Consul (son of H 
the celebrated deceased wood-<iiirver), met them at Caifa, 
and offered to take both to Mount Carmel, the place of 
sacrifice. They left, accordingly, on Friday, Nov, 2, and 
ascended obliquely eastward to the top of the ridge. 
They found arbutus, hypericum, oak, and pine. Theyi 
proceeded along mountain tops, opening up beautiful 
views to southward of valleys and the w^ooded coast , 
Plenty of quereus, with red galls, were found south of] 
Safed, as well as the common oak of the country, but no i 
valerian on the heights. The daisy was common in the 
Druse villages, and the Laurus iiohiUs, a small tree. At | 
Esfia there were good houses, and the people were cleaner 
than usual ; but enomious manure heaps were left outside 
the village, reseml ding the slag heaps of Swansea, and 1 
they w^ere never removed except by those natural] 
scavengers, the wind and rain. There were a few olives, 
but little other cultivated forest trees, as they were both 
cut for fuel and burnt for manm^e, and the grass was < 
grown for sheep. These Druses are a strange race ; they 
hate the Jews least, the Christians less, and the Moslems 
most ; they believe in the transmigration of souls, and \ 
that the world was created with the existing number of 1 
inhabitants, who never alter in numbers. 

At 1 P.M. (Nov. 2) the pilgrims arrived at the place I 
of sacrifice, and gained a spkndid view — the finest theyj 
had seen in Palestine. Gilgal, Gilboa, Jezreel, Little! 



MAGNIFICENT PANORAMA. 33 

HermoD, Nain, Tabor, and the Lake of Tiberias were view in 
Splayed before them. The Mountains of Moab, Gilead, ^*^««*i»«- 
and Hauran, and the Nazareth Hills were conspicuous. 
They gazed upon Cana, Safed, and Acre, and the coast 
north almost to Tyre. Before them were stretched 
the plains of Zebulon, Esdraelon, and Sharon ; the hills 
of Samaria and the coast south to Jaffa. 

They descended by the spring whence water was 
brought for sacrifice, to the place where the prophets of 
Baal were slain, and so home by Kishon to the foot of 
Carmel. Not unnoticed by the way were the gall-oaks, 
storax, and the laurels. 

On Nov. 10 they anchored at Malta, arriving in four End of the 
days' time at Marseilles. The journey being thus °^™^y- 
happily accomplished, need we wonder that even 
Hanbury, reticent in expression and measured in his 
admiration, sometimes drew a contrast between the 
attractions of foreign travel and the more sober realities 
of "a shop in Lombard Street." [Begun Sept. 15, 
1860. Ended Nov. 14, I860.] 

A pleasant memory reaches us from Florence. Han- Florence. 
bury once paid a visit to his good friend Mr. Henry 
Groves. The object of the Italian visit was to obtain in- 
formation about manna, and also to see with his own 
eyes the various irides that grew in the neighbourhood. 
He stayed four or five days, and examined the drug 
stores of the city. Two miles distant, in the outskirts, 
grow tlie irides, in the grounds of the Certosa Monastery, 
and thither went the two companions to consider the 
lilies of the field. They were enabled to see the three 
species that yield the orris root, and Hanbury took speci- on is Root.* 
mens of the roots, and afterwards figured and coloured 
them at the house. Another day he called on Professor 

D 



u 



Mkri 



Po|mkr 



Life of 
Jacuh 
DelL 



ffiitaffy Maaeimi ; 
dsf be did iMMitlj At obm Ihing — that is, 
wm^ afaftsbed in Us finmnile stodj-, and **haw well he 
knew haw ta aet about it can be menfied bj tboee who 
bavB aeeft bim at wwk : tbe ipclboificit, aeardiiiig ques* 
tima wbkb be placed to bia iiifmaMl wete almost of 
the nature of a ecoaa^^xaminatkm, ao desbcHB waa be of 
elicitiDg die whole biatotj. Nor w^s his precision con- 
fined to atndy, but in tbe boine die aerrant mraarked the 
melbodieal way he l^ in di^moi^ bk garments, and 
conld not help exdaiming. in ber ^Kedmontese dialect^ 
' Giudmana I qnesto h on Sior per ben V He was very 
abstemiotis at meal times, and eoold never be persuaded 
to take more than he thought good for himself under 
any circumstances^" 

His strictly popular work was confined to a paper on 
** Prices,* in the Almanac of the Chemist and Drug- 
gist; "Details respecting Frangipani," in Notes and 
Queries; occasional remarks in the A(hen<tum; a paper 
(reprinted afterwards) in Ocean Highways, "On the 
Botanical Origin of Myrrh ; " a Dote, often quoted, " On 
the Adulteration of Saffron;*' a paper read before the 
Phytological Society (1858) ''On the Botany of the Col 
de Lautaret ; *' and a sketch read at the Bath Conference 
(1864), called a ** Chemists Holiday-Jottings in France,*' 
in which, inter alia, he describes a visit to the Alps of |H 
DauphiJiy, and the Monastery of the Grande Chartreuse. " 
He did not fail, however, to remark the firs, pines, and 
turpentine ; nor the larch manna of Brianjon, with its 
peculiar sugar called Melezitose. 

Mr. Haubury was the author of the ** Sketch of tlic 
Life of Jacob Bell'* which appeared in September 1859. 
JSotli tlie biographer and the subject of the memoir wpn 



I 



COUNTESS OF CHINCHON— LONDON INSTITUTION. 



35 



C(JtMltvM« 

of Clj In- 
chon, 



cut off, " alas ! at the early age of forty-nine years :" both 
were in the fulness and brightness of their powers ; both 
actively engaged when tlie last summons came. 

His very latest work is a review of Markham's " Memoir Mi^motr of 
of the Countess of Chinchon/' to which allusion has 
been already made. His last sentence is as follows : 
** It is now several years since Mr. Markliam lifted up 
his voice against this corruption [the Linnean spelling of 
the word Cinchona], or, as he terras it in the present 
work, 'this ill-omened mutilation of the Countess's 
name ;* but hitherto, it must be confessed, with but small 
effect The new spelling has, indeed, been adopted in 
the official documents of the Indian GovcaTimeot, but it 
scarcely finds acceptance in a single scientific work on 
botany or chemistry." There is also a posthumous 
paper in one of the Camden Society's publications, 
treating of the accounts of tlie executors of Richard, 
Bishop of London, a.d. 1303, and Thomas, Bishop of 
Exeter, A.D. 1310. 

We must not forget to mention that he aided in the 
direction of the affairs of the London Institution, and 
was at home in its admirable library. The lil>rarian (the 
late John Cargill Brough) had a host of pleasant and 
roost characteristic recollections to relate respecting him. 
One was the famous instruction given to a visitor who 
wished to consult a work : '* You will find the book 
up in the gallery ; it is the second from the left-hand 
side from the door, on the bottom shelf The librarian 
is a most obliging person, and be sure and ask 
him for a duster." Those who have ever penetrated 
to tliose upper regions will acknowledge the necessity 
for the advice. 

The books treasured in his library at Chipham wen.' 



LaTjflon 



36 



MBUOIR OF DANIEL HANHCHY. 



Cbiplijuii. 



Jlexicaii 



i 



not many, but well selected. There were the whole series 
of botanical works, such as might have been expected iu 
the lil)raiy of any worshipper of Linneus, and numerous 
presentation copies of standard treatises, as was also 
natural. There were rare editions of celebrated authors, 
some of giTat value ; u few specimens of the art of print- 
ing. There were Latin volumes of tnivel, and the nar- 
ratives of the early Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish 
explorers. The classics — French, German, and Italian 
literature—were included ; while pamphlets that were 
either remarkable or unique, were clothed with costly 
and sometimes curiously devised bindings. These lux- , 
mious clothings were bestowed on single, not on collected fl 
tractates. And there stood the well-read and constantly " 
exhiljited work of his friend Colont?l Yule, ** The Travels 
of Marco Pulo," which Tvas seldom in his libmry, and 
was described to admiring visitors with warm praise ; 
then there were the Latin folios, a fine copy of the 
" Mcdicse artis Prineipes," Matthioliis, Avicenna, Galen, 
Valerius Cord us, and other ancient worthies ; lastly. 
School Lexicons and Dictionaries of most elementary 
character, a few theological disquisitions, and so the 
total is complete. 

An admiring botanical friend, with whom he had long 
corresponded, but whom he had never seen, bequeathed 
him his collection of water-colour drawings of the 
Mexican fungi. These were executed in a superior 
manner, and went to enrich his store of art illustrations 
of his favourite studies. Besides, he had in his pos* 
session a hirge assortment of photographs and sketches 
which belonged rather to the portfolio of the traveller 
than to the pharmacologist, and maps coloured for special 
purpn^cs. 



I 
I 



ITALIAN COASTr-GUAKD-^CnABACTER. 



37 



(taliaa 
guard. 



^ 



Private 
Character, 



111 1870, Han bury went to Mortola fur a short time to 
Buperintejad the estate of his brother Thomas, during the 
temporary absence of the latter in Chimi, Judging from 
letters he became head gardener as well as director- 
.emL When there, commiserating the condition of 
the Italian coast-guard on that part of the shore, he 
ordered from Florence a small collection of books for 
their amusement and instmction. Thuse were chiefly 
tmnslations of well-known English works. The gift was 
duly acknowledged by the official thanks of the Italian 
Government. 

It is due to the fine character of Daniel Hanbury to 
revx^al tlie source of his unbroken equanimity ^ — a deep 
spirit of devotion which found its expression, not in out- 
ward declarations, but in the uniform tenor of his life. 
Sometimes, indeed, the angel troubled the waters, and 
he was not afraid to give utterance to the sentiments 
of Ixis heart^ — once more especially, when in an earnest 
conversiition he contended for the spirituality and the 
vital influence of the communion of which he was a 
member. 

No pressure of literary work was allowed to interfere 
with his morning's reading in the Tauchnitz edition of 
tbe New Testament His name is absent from the lists 
of charity, but in works of benevolence he was muni- 
ficent* A constitutional reserve of manner did him 
perpetual injustice. He will be mourned longest and the 
most sincerely by those who were his associates, and by 
those whom his open-handed generosity relieved in their 
hour of need. 

Happily, the lamented early death of Daniel Hanbury Th^ Phar- 
did not take place before he had finished his great work 
in aasociution with Professor Fliickiger, called the 



vmcoffta* 



38 



MEMUlR OF DANIEL llANBlUiY. 



P/utrmiWognqyhia, This was his moat impoitout under- 
takings except his share in the compilation of the "Pharma* 
copoeia of India." The title was not accepted hastily, 
nor without revision : *' Britauiiica " and " Nov^a '* being at 
opinoins fii^j suffojested as additions. Neither did the form of its 
publication meet with universal approval, some objecting 
to the severity of its binding and the narrow margin of 
the page. He replied that an edition de bixe had not 
been in contemplation. Others thought that the absence 
of illustrations of microscopical structure was a defici- 
cncyj an opinion to which he heartily assented. The 
two following memoranda taken from his note book will 
be read with interest : — 



the 

Pharmaeo- 

graphia. 



account. 



« 1873. 



25 
xi 

Pltarmacographia. 
11 



Left with printer the first portion of MS. of 



I 



1874 



-r-. On the evening of this day (my 49th biilhday) 



I made the last correction, and returned to the printer the 
Preface and Index for press.'* 

The origin of the Phai^macographia is thus de- 
scribed by Professor Fliickiger : — 

" Finally, Hanbury's separate investigations were followed by 
a comprehensive work in wliich he displayed his best labours. 
His views oji Incense l^ad led in 1864 to an acquaintance with 
Fluckiger, which from their first meeting in 1867 became the fl 
closest friend.sliip. From that time forwanl they occupied them- 
selves in working out in common the same questions, which 
resulted in the thought of airangiug their conclusions in a per- 
fectly systeoiatic form. To this they were incited by the fact 
that English literatare could produce no work answering to the 
views of the two friends* The task was taken in hand, and 
carried out both by waiting and by word of mouth. 

** All that was possible was done to elucidate those doubtful 1 



THG " PnARMACOaRAPHIA; 



39 



points of a practical and scientific nature which cropped up in 
unlooked for abundance.** 



I 



It remains an imperishable memorial of his accurate 
wsearch, of his varied reading, and the profound know- 
ledge of his subject. With it we may safely leave his 
reputation, and it forms a worthy termination of his 
unwearied diligence. He was a man who devoted 
himself to one book of Nature, but left no leaf uncut 
and no page unstudied. He was blameless and most 
kindly in private life, without a shade of ost-cntation ; 
one to whom might be applied in their full sigmficance 
I the words — 

^B '* Ctii Pudor» et Justitia^ soror, 

^^^^ Incornipta Fidea, nudaque Yeritas 

^^^H Qoando uUum iaveniet parem 1 " 

W Son 
r memo] 



P 
^ 



Some may read with a certain interest this brief 
memorial, but by none would it have been perused with 
more affectionate sjTiipathy than by the mother who so 
fioon was called to follow her distinguished son. 

Professor Dragendorff, of the University of Dorpat, Hanbuiy 
and others, unwilling that a life consecrated to science uedai 
fihould pass nncommemoratedj have proposed that a gold 
medal, bearing the name of Daniel Hanbury should be 
awarded annually as the highest distinction Pharmacy 
can bestow. 

The medal to be adjudged to a scientific man, of what- 
ever nation^ \^ho has especially distinguished himself by 
genuine original research in the domain of Pharmaceutical 
science ; or better still, the natural sciences that have a 
bearing upon Pharmacy. **I incline to the opinion," 




40 



MEMOm OF DANIEL HANBURY. 



Professor 
dortf. 



says the Professor, " that our science is eonfiiied to no 
single nationality, and that consequently he who labours 
for the advancement of Pharmaceutical science acquires 
an international importiince. Just such an eminent 
international position, I think, had Hanhiiry taken. An 
Englishman by birtb, he lived and worked for all 
civilized peoples/' 

An additional claim to our respect is that Hanbuiy 
triumphed over social temptations ; his surroundings 
whispered to him, Soul^ take thine ease ; but, proof against 
seduction, he strove end toiled as though necessity had 
been his strong incentive. 

Those who think that easy circunoistances and leisure 
are favourable to intellectual effort are tremendously 
mistaken. Hanbury worked on laboriously in spite of 
his pastoral life at Clapbam or success in Lombard 
Street, And so an English name has been added to the 
list of those whom men hold in honour. 



SCIENCE PAPERS, 



CHIEFLY 



PHARMACOLOGICAL AND BOTANICAL. 



SCIENCE PAPERS, 



ON TURNSOLR 



Although the subject of these remarks may by some be 
considered more to concern the dyer than the pharmacist, I 
trust tliatj taken in connection with another substance well 
known to chemists, and often confounded under the same name, 
it may not prove altogether devoid of interest 

Turnsole, or Tournesol, is a name applied to two^ articles 
of diflerent origin. The one is tlie Litmus of English chemiste 
(Toumcsol en pains of the French), a blue substance imported 
from Holland, and beUeved to be derived from some species of 
lichen. The property possessed by its solution, of being changed 
by acids from blue to red, ia its most important character. 

The other species of Turnsole, and that on which I propose 
to offer a few remarks, is called Turnsole Rags (Towr7iesol m 
drapmux). It is sold as pieces of very coarse hempen cloth, of 
a purplish black colour. Steeped in water (which readily 
extracts all the colour) we obtain a bright purple solution, 
which is reddened on the addition of an acid or of an alkali. 
The plant affording this colour is the Vroion tinctorium, Liim. 
Crozophora iincioria, Endl., and la MmtrcUe of the French. It 
is indigenous in the south of France, and has been cultivated 

' The "Tumesal in Hwen" and *^4n cof/m^" of Pomet, being lUMiifestly 
different preparations, and no longer objects of commerce, are excepted. 



1850, 



Tumault 
Eaga. 



44 



TLTRNSOLE-MANUFACTURE AND USES. 



Mamiftic- 



1850. for use since the year 1833, previous to which time the wild 
plants only were collected. The locality where the cultivation 
is carried on is resbicted to the neighbourhood of the small 
town of Gnmd Gallargues, in the department of Gaix]. 

According to J. P. Hugues, to whose pamphlet (Une Exmir- 
sion dafis la Commu7i£ de G-rand GaUarf^ms dans 1835 : 
Nismea, 1835), and a pen^onal visit to the spot during the past 
autumn, I am indebted for most of these particulars, the 
plants, which vary from six to eight inches in heiglit^ and whose 
seeds are developed though not ripe, are cut in tlie month of 
August, ground to pulp in a mill^ and the juice, which amounts 
to about half their weight, expressed. Tliis juice is at first of a 
dark green colour, but speedily assumes a purple hue by simple 
exposure to the air. In it the cloths (which are merely pieces 
of coarse sacking carefully washed) are soaked, dried, exposed 
to the vapour of ammonia derived from a heap of stable 
manure or some similar source, and immersed in another 
portion of juice with which a quantity of urine has been mixed. 
A second drjnng completes the process. 

In this state the Turnsole is purchased by dealers, packed 
into large eacks, each capable of containing four quintals, 
and carried to the neighbouring ports, whence it is shipped to 
Holland. 

But little is known of the purposes for which Turnsole is 
purchased by the Dutch. According to the author before 
quoted, its use is confined to colouring the exterior of cheese, 
though it was formerly thought to have served in the manu- 
facture of blue paper, the colouring of wine, and confectionery, 
Pomet, in common with other old authors, imagined it formed 
the colouring matter of litmus, an opinion since entertained 
by Guibourt (Histoirc des Dro^ius Simples: Paris, 1836), hut 
relinquished in a subsequent edition of his works. T)r. Ure 
states the name Turnsolo to have been applied to litmus in 
order to conceal the true origin of the latter substance. 

The manufacture of Turnsole has been carried on in the 
south of France from an early period. Pena and De Lobel 
{Siirpium Adversaria Nova : Lond., 1570) con'ectly describe the 



Usiaof 
Turnsole. 



NOTE TO PERUlltA ON LITMDS. 



45 



I 




I 



Litmus. 



plaut and its locality, and mention its employment both in 1050, 
medicine and for dyeing. It is also described by Pomet, and """ 
figui^d in the English translation of his History of Drugs^ 
printed in London in 1737. Phny alludes to it under the name 
of Hdiotropion tricoccon. 

In conclusion, it may be observed as a curious fact, that 
although formerly in general demand, Turnsole rags appear to 
have fallen into complete disuse everywhere but in Holland, 
in which countrj^ all that are now produced are consumed. Of 
the uses to which they are applied by the Dutch we are still 
in want of more precise information. 

Note addressed to Fereira an Dutch Cake Litmus, 

LoHnoir,7*A of I2ih mo., 1850. 
My bejlR Dr. PEREiRA,^Some months ago I was favoured Samplcia of 
by thee with the sight of a specimen of litmus said to be free 
from indigo, wbich thou hadst recently received from Holland. 
It was in much larger cakes than the ordinary kind, and of 
not nearly so tine and deep a blue colour. This induced me to 
examine two samples of litmus received by our house from 
Amsterdam in 1846, one of wliich agreed in its characters witli 
that above-mentioned, while the other was of the usual sort, 
and of excellent quahty. 

1. The firat of these, which I have since called litmMs without 
ifuiim, afibided no crystals of indigo on being carefully heated. 
Its aqueous solution was of the usual intense purple, and the 
residuum when deprived of all the colour cold water would 
extract, was of a fine deep blue colour, 

2. The second sample, litmus coniainiiifj indigo, on being 
heated in a capsule, aflbrded tlie small copper-colom^ed crystals 
so characteristic of indigo. Tlie aqueous solution possessed nearly 
the same amount of colour as the other» and of almost the same 
tint The residuum was also deep blue. Neither Prussian blue 
nor cobalt could be detected in either sample. 

The remarkable point, however, in the history of these samples 
18, that the value of the litmus in large cakes (No. 1) is so much 
greater than tliat in small cakes (No. 2) that the difference in 
favour of the former amounts to more than 50 per cunt. 

It is no easy matter to say what is the cause of this singular 
variation in price, as the rkeaper litmus is of better appearance, 
and affords an amount of colour of similar richness, very nearly 





46 



RESIN OF NUIUVAY «1^BUCE FIR. 



Litmuii. 



laao. equal in intensity to that of tbe otlier sort Almost the only 
^^ difference tbat could be detected iii these two samples (excepting 
the absence of indigo in one) was, that the residuum of No* 1^ 
when coloured with an acid, was of a finer red than that of 
No. 2 similarly treated. This doubtless arose from tbe indigo 
in tbe latter partially obscuring the red colour. 
Various Accompanying these samples, wliicb were from one of the 
qualities of mogt respectable litmus manufacturers at Amsterdam, our cnr- 
respondent sent tlie price current oi another maker, which I 
inclose for thy inspection. It offers no fewer than twenty- 
three different qualities of litmus, the cheapest of which is but 
a ninth part of the value of the most expensive. We were 
however informed (as we might indeed have easily supposed) ' 
that several of the lower qualities of this manufacturer were 
far from genuine. 

I remain, very respectfully thine, 

Daniel Hanbury. 

[The price current referred to was that of Jan Deklcer, of 
Wormerveer, in Holland] 






ON THE EESIN OF THE NORWAY SPRUCE Till 
(Abiss exedsa) 

In the Materia Medica of the Lcndon Pharmacopceia two 
forms of the resin of the Norway Spruce Fir (Abi^s ej^ceha) 
are enumerated : one, Ahutis resina, called Common Tims or 
Frankincense ; the other, Fix ahictma, or Burgundy pitch. The 
latter is stated to be the lesin in a prepared state {Resma 
prcfiparaia) ; the preparation essentially consisting in the removal 
of the impurities by st mining. 

The first of these substances, viz., Abidis resiria, Ls rare in 
English commerce, and it was not until during a recent visit to 
Switzerland that I had an opportunity of obtaining an authentic 
specimen. In many parts of that country this species of Abies 
is very abundant, forming extensive and beautiful tracts of 
forest. The resin exudes spontaneously from fissures in the 
l)ark of the tree, and especially from those places where 
branches have been broken ntf. Wlien it firat issues, it is 



BURGDNDY AND BALTIC PITCH. 



47 



Abieiis 



soraetimes quite transparent and liquid, but is more coniTnonly ia50. 
found opafiue, and of a pale yellow colour and soft consistence. 
By exposure to the air, it hardens and becomes of a browner tint. 
Some of the hardened teal's are intern ally white and opaque, 
like drop ammoniacum, the broken surface acquiring a pink hue 
by exposure to the ai^:. The odour is peculiar, terebinthinate, 
cheesy, and i-ather aromatic ; the taste slightly bitter. 

The article now sold as Abiciu resina is believed to be 
imported chiefly from America, and in odour and colour much 
resembles common American turpentine hardened by age. It 
usually occurs in large agglutinated masses^ whose surfaces 
when long exposed become transparent, brittle, and of a deep 
yellow colour. Internally, they are soft and opaque^ pale yellow 
marbled with whitish patches. The odour is that of common 
American turpentine, though not so powerful. Some of this 
resin appears to have exuded spontaneously, and contains 
such iropurities as small chips of w^ood, sticks, and leaves. The 
leaves are evidently not those of the Norway spruce fir. 

Wheu genuine AUetis resina is melted in hot water, strained Burpudy 
and cooled, we obtain Burj^ndy pitch, as a very pale, yellowish 
brown substance, almost entirely soluble in cold alcohol, easily 
softening in the hand, and having a peculiar, agreeable, aromatic 
odour. Burgundy pitch, apparently genuine, is imported from 
Hamburg in tubs called stands, each containing about one 
hundred pounds, but it is usually in so impure a state as to 
require straining, sometimes a rather difficult process in- 
volving considexable loss. It is moist, of a greyish bufT colour, 
speedily becoming dark on the surface by exposure to the idr ; 
when strained it acquires a browner hue, and is very adhesive. 
It was formerly called Ehine pitch, to distinguish it from 
another imported variety now seldom seen, which was design 
nated Baltic pitcL 

Baltic pitch is a brittle resin, externally transparent, and of 
a bright yellowish brown colour, internally pale buff, and very 
opaque. Its odour is slight but agreeable, though wanting the 
peculiarity of that of genuine Burgundy pitch. I know not its 
botanical origin. 



Pitch. 



Baltic 
Pitch, 



48 



BURGUNDY HTCIL 



1850* Artificial Burgundy pitch, apparently intended as au imita- 
Artificial *^*^^ ^^ ^^® ^^^ ^^^^ described (since it strikingly differs fram 
Burgunily the Hamburg or genuine sort), ia manuftictured in London and 
elsewhere, and is sold in bladders, as a clean, brittle resin, very 
moist, of a fine orange yellow colour, and having but little 
odour and taste. It does not completely dissolve in cold 
alcohol 

Other varieties of spurious Bui^undy pitch are employed 
on the Continent, but as they do not occur in English commerce, 
it seems unnecessary here to describe tbem. 



1067. 



Br. Blt^^ 



In answer to some questions, which wei^ asked in the dis- 
cussion w^hich followed the reatling of the paper, Mr, H anbury 
stated that he believed the resin of the Spruce Fir was not 
collected as an article of coairaerce in the districts which he had 
visited, and from which he had obtained his specimens. The 
trees grow to a considerable height, often more than a hundred 
feet. 

ON BCTEGUKDY PITCR 

BnrffUfider ffarz (von Abies excelsa). 
The authoi'S of the British Pharmacopceia have defined 
Burgundy pitch (Fia; Burgimdka) as a resinoiia exudation frmn 
the stmi of the Spnice Fir, Abies exceha. DC* [Pintis Abies L., P, 
exceha Lam.) melted and strained. They have thus followed 
the London College of Physicians, which for nearly a century 
and a half has included this substance in its Materia Medica, 
indicating in the later editions of its pharmacopoeia a similar 
botanical origin. 

On tlie Continent the term Pij^ Burg%mdi€a (which is not 
frequently applied) appears to have a less definite signification 
than witli us, being used synonymously with Eemiu alha to 
designate the resins of various coniferaus trees after purification 
by being boded in water and strained. The following descrip- 
tion IB tmnslated fixjm one of the more recent and esteemed 
works on pbarmacologj% tbat of the late Dn Berg,^ 

* Fhartnazentischf Waarmknnde^ Berlin, 1863, p. 566, 



BURGUNDY PITCH, 



49 



Wiite Eesin, White Pitch, Yellow Eesin, Yellow Pitcli [ Wcisses 1867. 
Ilm*z^ 7i>ei88C8 Pediy gelbes Harz, gelbts Peeh], Resina s. Pix Hava s, ^~ 
citrina. 

It is obtained by melting common resin with the frequent Dr. Rcrg. 

(addition of water and subsequently 8trainiTl*,^ According aa 
the melting has lasted a longer or shorter time, the reain remains 
paler in colour and constitutes Wltite Rcsin^ or becomes darker 
and is called Ydlow Reun, and is thereby richer or poorer in 
oil of turpentine. The first, owing to the water which it con- 
tains, is almost entirely opaque, white, brittle, and l>ecoraes 
gradually yellow. The second, through the formation of a little 
colopholic acid by reason of the longer melting, is of a 3^Uow, 
dark yellow, or brouTiish coloiu, very brittle, here and theie 
clear, and has a conchoidal glassy fmcture. An inferior kind, 
called White Pitch, is obtained from the resin that is first pro- 
duced in the manufacture of tar, and has a brownish -yellow 
colour. The true Bitrgumhj Resin or PUdt, jRt'.mia s. Ph: Bur- 
ffundicu,\^t\\<i simOarly prepared resin of Pkm txceha and Pinus 

^Pinaster, which is brought into commerce in the form of dull, 
/-yellow brittle masses of a glassy fmcture, softening in the 
hand Ordinary Burgundy Pitch is White Eesin which lias 
f>een gently melted for a shoi-t time without the addition of 
water, so that it is in foct freed IVom a part of its water, 
but has not yet acquii-ed the brown colour of colophony. 

In France as in England the term Bnrgundij Pitch {Poix 
de BourgoffTte) is by the more accurate writers restricted to the 
melted and strained resin of the Spruce Fir, of wiiich subst^^nce 
the following description is given in the last edition of the 
Codex : — Codex, 

[Translation]. — Burgundy Pitch is of a brownish yellow, 
solid and brittle in the cold, 11o%ving when warm, very ten- 
acious, having a peculiar odour, and an aromatic taste without 
bittexuess ; not completely soluble in alcohol in the cold. 
There is frequently substituted for it another product called 
white pitch [poix Manchr], prepared \xii\i ffaiipoi^ or a mixture 
of yellow resin and Bordeaux tuipentine, melted and mixed 
with water; this artificial pitch has a strong smell of Bordeaux 
turpentine and a very marked bitter taste. It is entirely soluble 
in alcohol, 

^ (NoU hf translator), — Otdwoi, dry resin collected in Frauce from tbe 
tmoks of PinUi maritiina, Jjamb, 



50 



BUBGUNDY PITCO. 



1S67. 



Buron 

Iiiidt:r» 



Wiere tlien is true Burgundy Pitch manufactured? Is it 
actually met with in commerce? By what characters may we 
judge of its purity ? 

The authors of the British riiarmacopceia mention it as a 
jiroJuction of SwitzeTlaiid, where the Spruce Fir is certainly 
found in gi'eat ahundance. But I have it upon excellent autho- 
rity, that of my friend Dn Fliickiger of Bern, that at the 
present tiaie no terehinthinons resina are collected in Switzer- 
land for commercial purposes. Neither is true Bnrgundy Pitch 
produced in France, as its name would seem to indicate, Finus 
marUima, Lamb., being in fact the only tree the resin of which 
is collected in tlnit country as an industrial product* 

Knowing these facts ami having failed to gather any precise 
information from pharmacological writers as to the districts 
where the resin of the Spruce Fir is an object of industry, it 
was with some interest that I examined the various collections 
of forest-products in the French Exhibition, Nor was I dis- 
appointed, for among the contributions from Finland, I discovered 
a snite of specimens illn.strating this very subject Baron Linder^ 
of Svarta, near Helsingfora, is the exhibitor of the I'esin of the 
Spruce Fir in two forms^ namely :— 

1* The crude resin as exuded from the trunk of the tree and 
described in the following words : ** Bnrras on goinme concrete, 
arlhcrvnte aux sapios {Finns Ahies), Produit brftt servant i\ la 
fabrication de rijsine, etc. etc. — Prix 12 francs les 100 kilogi-/' 

2. The resin purified by melting in contact with the vapour 

of water, and straining. It is thus described on the label attached 

to the specimen : ** Ehint jaune cuite (4 vapeur d'eau a chaleur 

modi5r^e) de harras de sapin {Finns Abie^), Prix 4U francs les 

100 kilogr, : production annuelle 35,000 kUogr:" 

' The name Burffmidy PiUh seems in fii;ct to be a complete misnomer, no 
tueli substance having been ever produced in Burgundy* Poniet, writing 
in 1694, tbna speaks of *^^ Foix graase ou Poix blaticJu ou Poiz lUBour- 

** On fait fondj'e le Galipot ttvec tant Boit pen dTiuile de Tereben thine, et 
de la Terebenthine commnni?, et ensuite c'ent ce que nous uppelons Poiz 
gra^se^ ou Ptdx hhnch^ de BonrffOfjni^ k cause que J*on pretend que Isk 
itieilleure et Ja premit;re s'est fiiit^ k saint Nicolas en Lorraine : ce qui est 
tout le coiitmiro d'aujourdliui ; car la meillenre Poix grasse vient de Hoi- 
laude et de Stnu^bourg, dVii nous la faisond venir/' 



PRODUCTS OF THE SPRUCE FIR. 



51 



ler. 



Of these two resio8, the first is not found in English com- laez, 

merce : — the second constitntes genuine Burgundy Pitch, pre- 

I cisely such as may be bought in the London market. The 

^M quantity of this purified resin produceil annually, it ^^ill be 

" observed, is very considemble, being equivalent to 77,000 

pounds, or more than 34 tons weight Baron Linder is likewise 

an exhibitor of the crude resin of Pinu^ $}/hestris^ of the same 

in a purified state, of Oil of Turpentine, Iceland Moss, and a 

few other productions of Finland. 

The Paris Exhibition shows that true Bui^indy Pitch is also J. 
produced in Germany. Mr. J. G. MiiUer of Xiocherberg, near 
Oberkirch, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, has taken the trouble 
to exhibit an instructive and complete series of large specimens 
in illustration of the products of the Spruce Fir, comprising:^ — 

1, Portion of a stem ot Abies exceha about four feet long, treated 
for the production of resin. This stem has had cut in it longi- 
tuilinally at equal distances, four even and regular channels, an 
inch and a half wide and of tlie same depth ; from the sides of 
the channels, the resin exudes and is scraped off with an iron 
instrument made for the purpose. 

^H 2, The crude resin {Roh-Harz) as scraped from the stem, 
^t contained in the original triangular bark-basket used in the 
country, 

»3, W asset Earz. — This has been obtained by boiling in water 
md pressing thu crude resin. It is grey and o]mque, contains 
DQch water, and is identical with an impure bub genuine Bur- 
gundy Pitch sometimes found in the London market. 



4 Gtrdnifftes Fichtenlui7'z, Bhine purifi4e. — ^This is No. 3 in a 
purified condition, or, as we should call it, True Burgwndy Pitch 
in its purest condition. 



In addition to the^e specimens, Mr. Mliller also exhibits 
aples of i-esin prepared for the use of brewers, who, in Ger- 

D)any, employ reain (Brauer^ech) for coating the inside of beer 

casks, 

£ 2 



52 



BDiaUNDy PITCH. 



1067. Anotlier exhibitor of genuine Burgundy Pitch is Mr. Tlieodor 
Ifulhier of Hid tar Biiilil, I'oat MocUing near Vienna, who shows 
Fichknharz^ or crude resin of the Spruce Fir and Fuhtetiperh, 
which is the same in a purified coudition. The latter may be 
regarded as a tjrpe of good Burgundy Pitch. 

These contributions to the Paris Exliibition show that the 
resin of the Spruce is collected for trade purposes in Finland 
and in Germany,— and in tbe finst-nanaed country upon a 
very considerable scale. It does not, however, appear that 
it is ever tenned Burgundy rUch in the places whem it 
is produced. 

Although genuine Burc^undy Pitch (usually, it niu«t be ad* 
mitted, in a very impure state) has been always obtainable in 
the London market, it is rarely found genuine in the shops, 
— an artificial compound being very generally supplied in its 
place. 

This artificial Burgundy Pitch is of most variable appearance. 
On examining eight samples of it, I find that in my notes I bave 
defieribed it as dull tawny, liright iawny yellow, bright yellow, 
brilliant orange yellow, or bright orange brown. Some samples 
have a dull wax-hke fracture, others a more or less shining or 
conclioidal fmcture. Some exliilut, wlien broken, numerous cells 
containing air and water ; ^others ai-e more compact. All are 
more or less opaque, but become trani^parent on the surface in 
the course of time by the loss of water. All the samples have 
a weak terebinth i nous odour, not one possessing the fra- 
grance of tnie Burgundy Pitch. All are free from bits of stick 
and such like impurities which arc frequently found in tbe 
genuine drug. 

I am not in the secret of the manufacture of tliis artificial 
Burgundy Pitch, for w^hich indeed each maker must have his 
own formula. According to common report, however, it is 
formed by melting together common resin with palm oil or 
some other fat, water being stirred into tbe mixture to produce 
an opaque appeamnce- In examining the clmmcters of genuine 
and spurious Burgundy Fitch, I have noted tbe following 
differences ; 



BUKGUNDY PITCa 



53 



Tkue Burgundy Pitch. 
Colour dull yellowiah brown ; 
fracture shining, coiichoidal; 
|n translucent ; some samples con- 
^B tain much water and are opaque 
*^ and of a dull grey colom*, and 

I require straining to free them 
from impurities. Odour pecu- 
liarly aromatic. 
Not whollysoluble in alcohol 
of *838, but leaves a small 
amount of tine white flocculent 
matter. 
Placed in contact with 
double its weight of glacial 
acetic acid in a vial, is dis- 
solved with the exception of 
a small amount of floccident 
matter. 



ARTIFICIAr. BURUUNDY PlTCH. 

Colour usually more brilliant 
than that of the true Burgundy 
Pitch, 



1867, 



Odoiu- 
aromatic. 



weak and hardly 



Still less completely soluble 
in alcohol of '838. 



Similarly treated, forms a 
turbiJ mixture which soon 
separated into two layers, a 
tldck oily liquid above and 
a bright solution below. 



Tlie foregoing characters apply to most of the artificial 
Burgundy Pitch which I have examined* and may be useful, 
far as they go, for distinguishing the genuine from the 
^spurious. The odour of true Burgundy Pitch is in itself an 
excellent criterion which cannot be conveyed by description. 
Solubihty in glacial acetic acid serves to reveal the presence 
of fatty matter which is a common, perhaps an essential in* 
gredient in the artificial Burgundy Pitch made in this country. 

From what has preceded may be deduced the following 

ConcltisioTis, 

1. True Bui^uudy Pitch is the melted and strained resin of 
Abie^ cxcelsa, DC. 

2. An ai-tificial compound is usually sold in lieu of it both in 
this country and on the Continent 

3. True Burgundy Pitch is pioduced on a large scale in 
Finland, also of fine quality in Baden and in Austria. 

4. True Burgundy Pitch differs palpably from the artificial, 
and may be easily distinguished from it. 



54 



OIL OF THYilK. 



1S50. 



Vidians, 



OX OIL OF THYIIE, COMMONLY SOLD AS OIL OF 
ORIGANUM. 

The vast number of plants included in the botanical order 
of LabiattB, and the very close alliance of many, render it not 
surprising that the history of their essential oils should in a 
few instances be involved in a degree of confusion or doubt. 
Nor is this the less to be wondered at, when we reflect on the 
great sirailarity of many of these oils, our impertect means of 
distinguisliing theoi and of ascertaining their purity, the 
unavoidable alteration produced on some by extraction, to 
say nothing of differences arising from locality, or from want 
of care in conducting the process of distillation. 

The essential oil which I propose to submit to notice at this 
time, is not one of impoTtance to medicine ; yet ha\dng had 
the opportunity of visiting the district wbere it is obtained, I 
have elicited a few facts regarding it which appear sufficiently 
interesting to l)e laid before the Pharmaceutical Society. 

The volatile oil sold by Chemists as Oleum origani is often 
popularly, and almost always commercially, termed Oil of 
Thyme, Writers on Materia Medica generally mention the lat^ 
ter name as an incorrect appellation of the true oleum origmii 
v7d{/ariSf a statement the converse of which I believe to be far 
more usually the case. 

During a visit to the South of France in the autumn of last 
year, I procured from the manufacturer a sample of an essential 
oil of thyme, as well as a specimen of the plant fix>m which it 
is distilled. This oil, w^hich was submitted to I>r. Pereira, 
proved to be identical ivith the olenm arigani of Enghah 
druggists ; and the plant, which was kindly examined by Dr. 
Lindley and G. Bentham, has been ascertained to be Thymus 
vuhjaris. The latter gentleman, in a note to me, states that 
the plant in (question is '* the true Thymus vulgaris, so abundant 
on the arid wastes of Low^r Languedoc as to be much iLsed 
with rosemary and lavender for fuel" 

Thymus vulgaris, the common thyme of the gardens, is 
collected from the rocky hills in the department of Gard in 



OIL OF THYME. 



55 



tfie South of France, and the entire plant is submitted to dis- 
tillation with water. The oil, which is of a reddish-brown 
colour, is called Uaile voagG de Thym, Redistdlatiou reoders 
it colourless, and it is then termed Httik blanche de Thyni, The 
coloured od, however, is that most commonly sold. 

The ti*ade of distilling oils of thyme, lavender, and rosemary, 
is chiefly in the hands of small manufacturers at Milliaud, 
Anjargues, Souvignai-guea, and other villages in the vicinity of 
Nismes. From the makers, the oils are purchased by the 
merchants in the neighbouring towns, and thence exported to 
distant parts. 

Tlie question naturally arises, — Is all the oleum orif/ani 
used in this country tlius derived ? I believe it to be so. I 
have not been able to discover that any is manufactured here, 
nor have I succeeded in procuriujj^ a sample so essentially difiFer- 
ing from oil of thyme as to warrant iny believing it to be 
genume oil of origanum. The extremely low price at wdiich oil 
of thjine can be produced in the Sontli of France, and the 
common purposes to which it is applied, seem to i>recbide all 
attempt at competition in other localities. Cheap, however, 
as it is, it is yet occasionally tlie subject of adulteration with 
oil of txirpentine, whose odour in such case may be readdy 
detected, especially on comparison M'ith a good sample. 

That the consumption of oil of thyme in this country is con* 
siderable, may be gathered from the following extract from *' An 
JSjTposttOTT/ SUdenunt of the Consumption of imported Commo* 
diHes fffithin the United Kin/;dom in two years pnk'edimj and two 
yeaj'B following the establishment of th^^ Xew Tariff* Presented to 
boift Houses of Parliament hf/ command of Her Majesty, 1845/* 

OIL OF THYMK 



1850. 



True coni- 

Oil of 
unktiowu. 



C'onanmp- 
tioii. 



QuAXTiTfci AVTAiycD ron Home C^ksi^mptioh. 


Tern ending fttb Jauqaij. 


Ye«r« emliog SIhJulj. 


iBao. 


1841. , 


mi. 


1844. 


11.038 lb. 


8,810 lb. 


7,W1 lb. 


7,6531b. 



5G 



on* OF OBIGANUM. 



Autlieiitic 
spociuicu. 



Although tlie duty under the new tariff was reduced from 
Is, 4J, to Is, per lb., the consumption declined. 'VVTiether it has 
continued tc» do so, it is not easy to ascertain, as no official 
return similar to that above quoted has since been published. 

OH TRUE OIL OF ORIGANUM. 

isai. In a recent number of the Phannaceutical Transactions,*' 
' I endeavoured to prove that the article sold in this country 
as oil of origanum is, in reality^ the oil of thyme {Tkyvw^ 
mUgaris\ imder which latter name it Ih imported from the 
South of France. I further stated, that so far as my 
observations extended, true oil of origanum was unknown 
in English commerce. 

As it appeared desirable to have an authentic specimen of 
oil of origanum for comparison, a quantity of the oil was pro- 
cured and drstilled with water in the ordinaty way. The plant, 
which was chiefly collected in the neighbour! lood of Sheeruess, 
was quite fresh, and very fully in flower when submitted to 
distillation. It aflorded au exceedingly small amount of 
yellow oil, seventy pounds producing scai'cely an ounce. This 
small pi-oduce may in part be attributed to the coolness and 
humidity of the weather for some time before the plant was 
collected, as it is evident from the following passage in Brande a 
Diciionarij of Materia Mcdiva^ that a much larger amount of 
oil is usually obtained. This author states, " the average produce 
of essential oil from this herb [origanum] is one pound from 
two hundredweight ; but it varies exceedingly with the season 
and culture of the plant" 
Distinetive Contrasted with oil of thyrae^ oil of origanum is distinguished 
by the following characters : — 

1 Odour, which issoraewdiat analogous to that of oil of pepper- 
mint, and entirely dissimilar from that of oil of thyme. 

2. Coloui, which in oil of origanum is bright yellow, while 
the ordinary kind of oil of tliyme is of a more or less deep red- 
difih-browu. 

* ViiU vol X,, p. C. 



OlmiBctera. 



CALOTIBA WOOD. 



57 



The specific gravity of the two oils is so nearly alike, as to 
afford no distinctive criterion. That of oil of origanum is 
*8854, of oil of thyme (average of three samples) '8934, at 62*" 
Fahr, 



1851, 



ON AN ARTICLE IMPORTED AS CALUMBA WOOD, 

SUll'OSED TO BE THE PKODUCE OF A 

MENISPERMUM, 

{Calumha-Holz aus Sild America) 

Some months since there was imported into Loudon from 
the island of Ceylon, under the name of Calumba Woml, a 
quantity of woody stems cut into lengths of from twelve to 
eighteen inches, and varying in diameter from one to four 
inches. The article was not w^holly unknown to druggists, a 
small quantity having appeared in tlie 
market some years before. 

This woodi which is covered with a 
thin, pale, ccrky bark, is of a bright 
greenish-yellow colour, slightly bitter 
taste, and devoid of odour. A trans- 
verse section shows a small compact 
medulla, surrounded by very porous 
woody tissue, traversed by remarkably 
distinct medullary rays, each of which , . 

^ "^ ^ ^ Trahitfursf. S^rUftti 0/ Cnlumba Wood. 

divides at its outer extremity into two (Naiurii aire ) 

- 1 ' 1 1 « 1 r^ i 1^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^11^ pre|>art!4 froni an 

layers, which divcrj^e and lorm arches impneMion taken from iiw wood a- 
by uniting with the corresponding 

prolongations of the adjoining rays. Between some of the prin- 
cipal rays, smaller imperfect rays are occasionally observable. 
The heads of the arches are occupied by a loose, shrnnken 
tissue, very different from the mature wood, with which, however, 
it is in immediate contact. There is no appearance of concentric 
2ones. 

ITiia peculiarity of structure rendered it probable that the Cal- 
umba wood might be afforded by some plant of one of the three 
natuml orders, Pipcracca:, Aristoloehiacew, or Menispermaceos, 



Cdumta 
wo-od. 



58 



MENISPEMMCM FENESTHATVM. 



lasi. From the first of these it appears to be separated by the 
" absence of a jointed structure, volatile acrid matter, and some 
other peculiarities characteristic of the pepper tribe, while 
from the diagnostic characters of the wood ol the two remain- 
ing orders given by Decaisne {Comptes JRendm, vol v^ p. 392), 
an origin among the Mei^kpermdcem was inferred. 

Upon the supposition that this inference was correct, re- 
ference was made to Koxbargh*s Flor-a Indica^ from which it 
appeal^ (p, 809), as well as from the statement of Colebrooke 
(Limiean Trans., voL xiiL, p. G5) and Ainslie {Materia Indica, vol. 
ii, p461) that the bitter yellow wood of the Jlaii^rmujn fenestra- 
turn, Gsertn., is emi>!oyed as a tonic by the natives of Ceylon ; 
and that, moreover, this plant has been confounded by Europeans 
with the true Calumba, which has not been discovered in that 
island. It will, however, be best to give the statement of 
lioxburgh, which is as follows : — 



Eoxliurgk ** Metiispermum feTUsiratum, GwtL Stm. 1, p. 210, t. 46, I, 5. 
* * Trunk and large brandies scaudent, stout, thick and 
ligneous, The wood of a deep lively yellow colour, and of a 
pleasant, bitter taste. ♦ ♦ ♦ The above descriptiou was 
taken from specimens sent to me from Ceyloo by General 
Macdowall, who, at the same time, gave me tlie following 
account of the plant. 

' 1 have lately been at some trouble to diocover whether or 
not the true Colombo root is a native of our soil, and shall 
probably remain in doubt until I am furnished with your 
oijinioru I now forward a specimen of the root, and some of 
the leaves and tlowers which grow from the stem of the branch. 
It is a very strong creeper, and the natives make \ise of it to 
tie their cattle, and lor other puiposes of husbandry, where 
ropes are necessary. 

* Siiould this prove tlie celebrated Colo^nbo roof, I believe a 
great quantity of it might be collected and seut to Europe, 
where it is in great request, but I can scarcely presume to 
tliink, after all the labour of the learned Tliunberg in particular, 
who deuies its existence here, that I shall be so fortunate as to 
discover it. Your opinion shall Ijc decisive with me, and 
although it may not be that valuable mecUeine» I suppose it yet 
may possess many excellent qualities, It is called by the 



CALUMBA WOOD. 



5» 



1 Cingalese Venivel-gdta or BaTU/wel-getia ; EDglifiL, the knotted 
bkmt It is in repute among the iiihabitfiots, who slice it into 
pieces, and after having steeped it in water several hours, svvii]- 
low it with the liquid. They recommend it as an excel- 
lent stonmcliic. 

' When the seed ripens, I shall have the pleasure of sending 
you some of it at all events. 

* I have sent you a pretty large bit of the root, sawed iruni 
the centre of a knot, that you may make an experiment upon 

'* Note. — This is certainly not the Colmnbo Root of our Mattna 
tedim,—Rr 

The Cingalese name Venivel-geUa, so nearly corresponds witli 
that of Wtni-wmla-gata, applied l>y Moon {Ccttaloguc of Indl- 
Qcnou^ and Exotic Plants grotoing in Cci/lan, Colomho^ 1821, 
70) to a plant which he calls Cissampelos convolvulacm, var. 
'j8, whose root he states to be medicinal, that I have been led to 
suspect tliat Moon*s plant may prove identical with the Menu- 
ptrmvm fencMratwm oi Roxburgh. 

It is, however, evident that wo are without any frmf that 

^Calumha wood is produced by AL fcncstratum, and although 

Hjfrom tlie foregoing statement of Eoxburgh it may appear pro- 

Himble that such is the case, yet, as many i>lants of this genus 

^ure employed medicinally in the countries of which they are 

^Xiatives, I think it must be concluded that there is at present 

by no means sufficient e\'idence to decide to which species it 

should be cossigned. 

I Dr. Pereira (to whose valuable assistance on tins and on 

^Bnany other occasions I am greatly iy<lebted) has shown me a 

^"burioiis old tract, entitled, *' Some Ohscrvations made vpon the 

Calttmha Wood^ otherwise eailed Calumhach^ imj^oTted from the 

Indiu : sh&mng its admirahle virtues in curing the Gout, and 

eaMng all 807*ts of Mhumatical Pains. Writte^i hj a DofUor of 

Physiek in the Counirey^ to the Prcddent of the Colkge of Pht/- 

sicians in London" London 1694. But as this author gives 

^K no description of the wood, it is not possible to say to wliat 

^substance he refers, though it is likely that the Calambac, or 

Aloes Wood of the old pharmacologists^ may have been intended. 



lasi. 



60 



IKSECrr-^\^ITE-WAX OF CHINA. 



2851. 



ils the Calamba wood recently imported did not meet with a 
ready sale, a quantity of it was sawed into disc3 of about a 
sixth of an inch in thick uess, and in this state offemd as 
Calumba root! Tlie appearance of these discs is so entirely 
different from tliat of genuine Calumba root, that there seems 
but little danger of their being purchased in mistake, at least 
in tJiis country. The smoothness of the sawed surfaces, hard- 
ness, and peculiar Ligneous structure, together with the absence 
of starch, are quite sufficient to distinguish this drug from the 
true Calumba root. 



1053. ON THE INSECT-WHITE^WAX OF CHDSTA. 

{Weis&€s cJmic&isches Iimcknimchs.) 

Synonymb.— '^^ <3 ^^ Chuog-plh'la, ie, insect white^ 
tvax; Plh-la, Pe4a or Pd-la, ij; whik-ivax. In English, tlie names 
White wax of imects, C%inef>e v-cu:, Chinese insect-waXf Japanese 
imx,^ Tree wax, Ckmi'se vegdahk wax, Vegetable spermaceti^ have 
all been used to designate this substance. 

The crude wax is called Ld-teha ix. wax-sediment ; the so- 
called cocoons of the insect Lii-cktmg wax-seed, or La-tsze wax- 
son ; the insects also are caUed La-ckung (Julien). 

History. — Accorfing to Sin-kouang-ki, the author of a well- 
known Chinese treatise on af^riculture called Kon^'-tchiiij,^- 



^ This name baa been applied to n kind of wax supposed to be extrat^ted 
from the seeds of likus succe^anta^ Liirn., aa related by Kaempfer {Amin^n. 
p. 794) and Tbunberg {Flor. Jap. p. 122). See Martiny^s EncukhiMie der 
Mniicinueh'pharjna^^cutMien Naturalun uitd Eohwaarenkumhj Band i., 
p, 172. A sample baa been kindly presented to nie by Dr. Theodor MartiuB, 
and I bnve likewise met with it in tlie London market^ eighty cases having 
been offered for sale as Japan BeeswaXj by Me«*irs. T, MeiTy and Son, Mjiy 
20, 1 B52. My specimens conBiat of a white wax, of sujiiewhiit rancid odonr, 
in circular cakea of from 4 to 4J inches in diameter, nearly one irudi thick, 
^t on one side nnd ronnded otf on the other ua if cast in a small pancer. 
They arc sparingly covered with a white powder» and, in Mr, Merry's wax, 
preaent hero and tiiere traces of a sparkling crysUlline efflurei<»'cnce. The 
msinir points of the samples I find to be Respectively 125 'b"^ and 131'^ Fahn 
Dr Martiny gives it m + 45° 0.== 113** Fiihr. 



INSECT-WHITE- WAX OF CHINA. 



61 



siouen-cliou/ it was not until the middle of the thirteenth i863. 

rcentury^ that this remarkable productiou came into notice in 

iCbina, previous to that date the wax of the bee alone having 

been employed. It appears, however^ to have been by no means 

pAl»undant at a period long posterior to this, as the Abbu Grosier 

Bpeaks of it being reserved for the emperor and mandarins of 

tiigh rank.^ Dii Halde, in his Description G^og^rapJdqne, Sis- 

ffntiue, Chmnologiqiu dc V Empire dcla C/ii/i6% published in 1735/ 

igave an excellent account^ of the prodnctiou and cultivation of 

Ithis insect wax, and it baa subsequently been noticed with 

Imore or less aecuracy by various other authors on China, all, 

[lowever, appearing to borrow from the native writers. 

The Chung-pVi'id of the Chinese has been confounded with 

other insect products, as with the secretion of Coccus cerifems, 

?abr., called White Lac, and with the substance formed by Flata 

limhata, F, nigricornu, and other allied insects of the family 

^ulgoridc^,^ The difierence between it and these substances I 

will endeavour to point out 

Dr. Pearson, who examined the white hic collected at Madras 
by Dr. James Anderson/ has recorded the following as some of 
the characters of that substance : — ^ 

White lac is brittle and semi-transparent ; when strained and Wliite ke. 
purified, it has a greater specific gravity than water; it fuses at 

' Quoted by M. Stanislas Julien in hb Noiiveaux ReTmeiftiemmU $ur la 
I Cm iVArbra et tur lu Iruectta qui la produismt, — Cmnptes Mendus^ 13 April, 
184<i, p, 6ia 

'- I)u Halde a&jn not until the djnaatj of Yuen, i.e. ji,d. 1280. 

^ General Dtieriptum of China, trajislakd from th^ Frmrh of the Ahbi 

•wr. Lond. 1788, vol i., p, 441. The Abl>6, however, never visited 

, His Description Gh* trait dt la VkiTit is an abridgment of the 

f dntoiR of the Mission to Pekin hj the Jesuits. See Dibdin's Bibliographical, 

intiqnarian^ and Fidurf^que Tour, vol. ii, p, 32L 

* At Pari*, in four vohimes, folio. â–  Tome iii,, p. 495. 

* See J. 0, Westwood s Jntroduction to the Modem Clamjimiion of In^cdA. 
Loud., 1840, vol. ii., p. 429 ; also Meports ht^ the Juries — Exhihitimi of the 
tVorh of InduMry of all NaiuMs, 185L Lond. 1852, 8Â¥o. p. 624. 

' See CorrttpondAnu frn- the Introduction of Cochineal Insects from 
j A mericot the Varnith and Tallow Tneg frmn Oiina^ tlit Discovery and 
IC'w/fur« of White Lac^ the Culture of J?ca Lae^ ^c.^ by James AnaeTSon, 
IM.D. Madras, 1791, 8 vo. 

* Ob$eTvai%ons and EimcnminU on a tmx-like mOttanee resmibling the 
in-laof tfi4 Ch%fUiS.^PhU^ Tranmd., 1794, p. 383. 



62 



INSECT-WHITE-WAX OF CHINA. 



1803. 



CaptuiD 
Hut ton. 



145*" Fall. ; is soluble in ether and in alcohol ; it is imperfectly 
saponifiable with a fixed alkali* Pressed or rubbed until it be 
soft, it emits a peculiar odour. In the mouth it becomes soft 
and tough, and has a bitterish taste. These properties iudicate 
it to be essentially distinct from the Chinese insect-wliite-wax. 
The description of the formation of white lac given by Dr, 
Anderson does not accord with the best accounts of the pro* 
duction of the Chinese wax.^ 

The wax-like substance afforded by Plata limhata is dropped 
as a sweet sticky liquid upon the leaves of the plant on which 
the insect feeds, so that they appear to be thinly bedewed with 
honey, ^* This," says Captain Mutton, " gradually accumulates, 
and, as it passes from a liquid to a solid state, appears like a 
thick coating of wax upon the leaves, but as it dries by exposure 
to the sun and atmosphere, it hardens into a snowy white brittle 
substance, giving the tree the appearance of being wfiite-vjashedf 
or frosted over with T^diite sugar, like the top of a Twelfth Night 
cake. It then cracks and falls in pieces to the gi-ound, where 
it soon dissolves from rain and dew^s and is lost/'^ This secre- 
tion. Captain Hutton states, was found " to dissolve readily in 
water, and w^hen boiled and allowed to cool, a deposit of clear 
w^hite crystals w^as formed in the vessel" Neither this deposit 
nor tlie crude substance could be combined with heated oil ; 
" while the attempt to melt it on tlie fire without w^ater or oD, 
proved altogether abortive, the wax merely burning and consum- 
ing away till it became converted into a hard and baked sub- 
stance. Slelted in water, the mixture assumed a brownish hue 
with strong aromatic scent." Captain Hutton reasonably con- 
cludes that the Chinese wax is not the produce of FlcUa Ihn- 
bata} 

' I bflve never met with Dr. Anderson's Monoffraphia Cotci ceriferi 
(Madras, 1790), where the insect according to Yirey {Comptes Eindu^f April 
20, 1840, p. 66fJ) is described and fignred. 

â–  Note on the Flata Ihnhata and the JVJdk Wax of CJiitm, by Ciipt 
Thomas Button, B.NJ., in the Joumal of tAe Asiatic Sociii if of Bmgal^ 
Cftkatto, 1843, vol. xii., p. 8»a 

â–  The msecfc oh&erved upon a priret near Turon in Cochin-China, and 
figxu^d by Sir George Staunton in nis Account of Lord Macartney^t Embcuty 
to Chvia (Loud, 1797, 4to, vol i. p. 353) is evidently an immature Flata, 



TNSECT-WHITE-WAX OF CHINA, 

pKODtCTiON. — Until almost the present time the species of 
insect producing the Chinese wax has been a matter of great 
uncertainty. The foi'egoing accounts appear clearly to prove 

J that it is not afforded either by the Coccus ceri/erus, Fabr.^ 

^Bof India, or by a Fifda. 

^B It is to the persevering endeavours of Williaui Lockhart, Esq. 

^m of Shanghai, that we owe the discovery that the Cbhiese insect- 

^m wax is produced by a species of Coccus hitherto undescribed. 

" AVithin the last three months thi^ gentleman has transmitted to 
England a specimen of the erude wax as scraped from the tree, 
\ in which a number of the dried full-grown bodies of a female 
Coccus are to be found, as well as pieces of stick encnisted 



63 



1853. 



^L 



A n t\ MMun I 



i JllMcU ftiUieriitg ti» pieces of jstkk ptftkUf encmsttjtl with tUe wax 



t). V(!>rtlic«l ftocUoa of a piece of the crude w&x, showiii^ tlit ^Kieitlou of the yoiuig lruu>ct« 

with the wax, and with the insects still in dtu, Mr J. 0. 
Westwood, who has examined the specimen, has reported upon 
it to the Entomological Society, Feb. 7, 1853/ proposing at the 
same time the name of Cocciis Sinensis for the new insect, 
Tlie imperfect condition of the specimens and the want of the 
male insect preclude the possibility of a complete scientific de- 
scription being drawn up ; the existing remains consist of a dry, 
hollow, nearly spherical mass, frequently somewhat shrivelled, 
externally sliining, and of a deep reddish-brown colour. Tliis 

â–  AihmuKumf Feb. 
p. 3820. 



Sitionsis. 



19, 1B53, p. 229 ; dho Zoologiii for March 1853^ 



64 



INSECT. WHITE^W AX OF CHINA. 



lesa* mass or shell, which is the ftill grown body of the female insect, 
varies in diameter from -^ to ^ of an inch. It has a linear 
opening on one side indicating the part at which it was attached 
to the branch, and is besides frequently perforated with one or 
more small holes. As the wood-cut shows, it occurs as it were, 
seated in the wax encrusting the branch, like a minute gall or 
small round sessOe berT)^ Besides these large females, the wax 
contains imbedded in its under surface an abundance of minute 
insects in a younger state, which are probably the real pro- 
ducers of the wax. In form they are not unlike little oval 
wood-lice (Onisci), The crude wax itself forms around the 
bmnch a white, soft fibrous, velvety coating of from one to 
two-tenths of an inch in thickness. AV hen scraped off, as in 
a specimen which I have examined, it occurs in light, flat, 
curled or rounded, irregular pieces, the larger of which, are 
about half an inch in greatest leugih. Having observed that 
its microscopic characters presented features of interest, I sent 
a specimen to Mr. Quekett, the result of whose investigations 
were afterwards published. 

So far as I can ascertain, no European has yet had the oppor- 
tunity of examining the living wax insect in its native locaU- 
tica ; I therefore insert the folio whig account of its cidture, as 
taken chiefly from Chinese authors,* at the same time making 
no attempt to reconcile it with the well known habits of other 
species of Coccus.^ 

1 Quoted by Dii Halde in his Description de la Chine, ed. 1735, tome iiL, 
p. 495 ; by Sl Stanishi3 Jii!ieD in the dnnpies Heudngj 13 April, 1840 
(pp. 518^626) ; also hy Dr. D. J. Macgowan^ in & pa|>er On the Uses of the 
StilljDgia Behifem or Talhw Tree, mth a nolm of (hi Pu-la or inj^d-wax of 
China, contained in the Jmirnal of thif. Agricnliural and HorticuUuj'fd 
Socitt^ of Jndia. Calcutta^ 18.^0, vol. Tii,| part. i. p. 16i. Tlirou£;h the 
kind assistance of Mrs. Lockhiirt, I have heen enabled to coi^ipare with these 
one of the accounts in the originnl Chinese contained in the iierbtU called 
Fun-Uaou-hang-milh, 

* It may be inter^ating to those unacquainted with the habits of Coctus to 
read the following lines re^p-ecting a welbknown speciea, C Ktrmet : 

" In their yoyth, the females rei?emble little white woodAite, which wonld 
have but six feet. They run fpon the learea, and afterwards fix upon the 
stems and bmnches of trees und shmbs, where they pass many month!* in 
succession. It ia then that they assume the fi^re of a gall or ©xcresceiioew** 
— C*ltvier's Animnl Kin{fdo7n, London, 1832, vol, xv,, p. 286. 



4 




IKSECT.WHITE WAX OF CHINA. 



65 



In the spring the cocoohb containing the eggs of the insect ibm. 
are folded up by the cultivators in leaves (sometimes of the 
ginger plant) and suspended at various distances on the branches Ciiltivntion. 
of the tree which is to be stocked. After having been thus ex- 
posed for from one to four weeks, the eggs are hatched and the 



Q 



WaX-TRCK AMD IMUECT. 



Fftcctiuileof 1 drmwing made ttom the Piiu-t4&oa'kiing-mQ,h The npper chiiTftct«ni on the 

' in thB rigr " 
. . , , t twinUtt^tvan4tt9), The Ijuicer cli&mcters ( 
i {d (iQjiect wUlt4^-wax). 



left m Ckitngla (l[u«ct-w&x) ; beneath them, Lackung (wftx<i«e<l) ; in tHfi hell^hand froro«r ttt 
1 tidttotu, Turi-(r*tjrfntf-«lum(wijiior-gt(Mli'tn«>. The huger dukmcters on tha tight ore Ckung-pih- 



Dt8, which are white and of the size of mOlet seeds, emerge 
id attach themscdvea to the branches of the tree or conceal 
themselves beneath \is leaves. Some authors state that the 
insects have at this period a tendency to descend the tree, at 
the base of whicli, should there be any grass there, they would 
remain, and that, to obviate this difficulty, the Chinese keep the 
ground perfectly bare, so that they are induced to ascend. 



INSECr-WHITE WAX OF CHINA. 



1853. According to the author of the Pun-tsaou-kang-muh the 

Collflction of ground under the treea must be kept very clean in order to 
luiect W&at. g^ard against ants devouring the insects. Fixing themselrea 
on the branches the young insects speedily commence the forma* 
tion of a white waxy secretion, which becoming harder suggests 
the idea of the trees being covered with hoar frost Tlie insect 
itself becomes [graduaUy imbedded I or] as the Chinese authors 
say changed into wax. The branches of the tree are now 
scraped, the collected matter constituting the crude wax. The 
time of the collection probably varies in different districts, some 
authors giving June and others August, as the period at which^J 
the wax harvest takes placa At the latter period (August oi^M 
September) the waxy matter containing the insects becomes so ^ 
firmly attached to ttie tree that its removal would be attended 
with much difficulty, and it is in the wax thus left and at tliis 
period that a sort of case or cocoon ('* purplish envelope," 
Macf/owan) is formed,* in which the eggs of tlie insect are 
deposited. Tliia nest or cocoon, which is stated to be of the 
size of a rice grain, gradually increases until in the following 
spring it becomes as large as a luris egg (!), su^esting when 
attached to the branch the appearance of a imit,^ The 
cocoons, called La-cliuiig or £a-isze, which inclose multitudes 
of eggs, are i-emoved, sometimes together with a piece of the 
branch on which they are fixed, and reserved for the fui-ther 
propagation of the insect. 
Food. Respecting the tree or trees upon which the wax-insect feeds 

(for like the Coeciis Imca there may be several trees that support it), 
it is evident that our information is as yet extremely defective. 
Mr, Fortune entertains great doubts whether the insect really 
feeds as reputed on any species of Rhus, Ligit&iruin^ or Hibiscn 



^ Probably the inBated body of the mature female insect h& here re- 
ferred to. 

* In the Pun-tsaou-kang-rauh the estpression used signifies fotcVt-heatL 
Now it is quite certain that the bodies of the female Cocci received in Mr, 
Lockhart*s spenimen had attained their full development. Wbmtj tben, can 
the Chinese aiithw mean bj this moaatrous aftergrowth f Ciiti he have con* 
fused with it the packets of egj^'s suspended to the tree for the proiJ»gation 
of the insect I 



INSECT* WHtTE- WAX OF CHINA. 



67 



When in China, he obiaiued from the province of Sze-tohuen, 
through some Catholic Missionaries, a living plant whit^h he 
V'aa assured was tluit on wliicli the wax-insect is found.^ 
This plant, which is now in Enj^land, is a deculnous woody- 
etemmed shrub of about 1| feet high. Avery scanty specimen 
of it which I possess hits imparipinnjite, glabrous leaves ; lateral 
leaflets Ih to 1| inches long, including the petiolules, wliich are 
about two lines long, ellipticul, very oblique at the base, inequila- 
Jteml, rather strongly serrated, penniveined and distinctly reticu- 
lated on both sides over the surface ; terminal leaflet thrice as 
large as the rest, nearly ovate, very imequal at the base, and 
with a petiolule nearly an inch long* As it has not yet flowered^ 
neither the genus nor even the natuml order can with certainty 
be determined ; but judging from its leaves, the plant has muc!i 
similarity, as suggested by Mr. Fortune, to some species of ash 
(Fraxinus). According to M. Julien, the plants upon wliich the 
wax -insect is reputed to feed are four hi nnndjcr : 

" 1, Kiu-tching. — This tree, according to M, Adolphe Brongniart 
as quoted by M. Julien,* is Wins sticcedanca, Linn. Other 
names are applied in China to the Niu*tchiug (literally pwre* 
virgin) t as Tchiug-mou (pure-treA:), La-choa (wax-tree). It is also 
called TmiQ-hing in common with tlie following. 

2. Tung-teing.^-This name Mr. Fortune has informed me h 

applied to LigvMrum lucidum, Aiton.* Dr. Macgowan men- 

Ltions L, lucidum as the tree on which the wax-insect is reputed 

Ito feed. Eemusat identifies it (under the name of ToungAlmrig) 



1853. 

Fortune*a 

WttX-pllLUt. 



Spcies of 



M. Julien. 



* See Gardener^ t Chronieh and Agricultural GazdiCf Aug. 21, 1852. 

A BoliUiy leaflet fuuud in Mr. Lockhajt^a apeeiiiien of vmx so obviously 
correspouds with tbo*»e of ^£r. Fortuoe^s plauts, tliut I see little reafoa to 
doubt tbe fkct of its being oiu nf thase wliidi Hup^^rt tbe Cocctis sin^ensis. 

* JuUcn ill Comptes lUudus^ April 1^, 1840, p. 619. 

* Mr. Fortune adds, however, that aJtboii^ih be kis seea the tree m great 
^ftbunddnce in districta of Cbtkiixng and Kkn^uan, he haa never observed 

wax-insect \if>on it. Indeed, I am niyaelf of 4>pinit>n Ihiit the state- 

'meoit that the wax-iusect feeds upou Ligiutrmn lucidum h altogether 

exToneoufl ; for although this tree is certaifdy called Tnng-tningj yet Do 

Haiders iissertion ia that the wax-tree has branches and leaves reMmhting 

tbo9e of the Tuug-tsing, while the fruits of the two trees are difftrtnt, 

V 9. 



m 



HEBSCT-WHITE^WAX Of CHKA. 



is^a. 






tt LffmMrwm ft^inm, hai dtm no m^AoAj^ De CandoDe 
hm alliided to L §Ubrmm m nr. ^ of X. Jfqulaut, Wall 
(AvAm. TttL fiL 2MX ud Thnnlieig hm mL,fMrmm amopg 
tbe Jfante 4ibc«m of bk flora J^qbms.* 

TuBg4mng, rmnoosij spdl TlMf^fuv AniHijuV* '^ >^ ^^ 
odled Chom-icv^-^timg (water-winter-greeo) ; it is proboblj Ibe 
Ckami:Ui-dm (aqialic>wax-tree) of Gtotier. 

Ifach â– ttwi tan n, aays Dn Macgcmao, quoting a dunesa 
aiitlMv; and aamming Hgmairmm Imeidmm to be the wax-tree^ is 
paid to the onltmikiii of this plant: exteaaTe distrida of 
eoimtfy aie oof«red with it, and it fonna an important bianch of 
agfictdtmal indostiy. The treed, which are ptopoigaled either 
bjr aeeda or enttings, are planted in rows and pruned periodicalljr, 
while the gnvnnd is well manurod and kept free frooi weeds. 

3. Cfadai-kin (the Kin of moist places), Xiti-la-chou (female 
n-ax^tree), is thooght by M. Julien to be allieil to the Jfon- 
Kin (arboreflceDt Kin) identified by B^musat as HibUcuM 
Syriactu, 

4 Tcha-la C* appliquer^re '') Jnlien, is cultivated chiefly in 
the country of Chou, a dependency of the province of Sze- 
tchuen. Like the preceding, its botanical name is unknown. 

LoCALiTii:8-^ — Tusect-whit^-wax is collected in the proviuces 
of Sze-tchuen,Hou-kouang, Ytin-nan and Fo-kien (Julien), also in 
Che-kiang and Kiang-nan (Du Halde). Bu Halde says that that 
collected in the provinces of Sze-tclmen and Yun-nan, and in 
the territories of Hen-tcheou and Yung-tcheou is of superior 
quality. 



Chemical Properties and CoMPosixiox.^The chemica] pro- 
perties and composition of Chinese insect-wax have been elabo- 
Ntiw Hlr B. c, rately and ably investigated by Mr. B. C. Brodie .• According 
to this chemist, the Chinese wax as it occurs in commerce is a 

> NoticfJi it ExtraiU da Manvscnii d€ la BibUothhqm du Eoiy ^r., PAria, 
1B27, vol xi.» p. 274 

• Pige 364, No. XXV. 

* On the Ch«mic4d Naiw$ of a Wax from China, by Benj.unin Collins 
Brodie, Euy^ in the FhHoaophiial Transaetiotu for 1848, p. 15£l. 



liru«Ji«, 



I 



I 



CHEMISTRY OF CHINESE INSECT- WHITE-WAX, 



69 



Bubstance nearly in a state of eliemical purity. By alcohol i^^^ * 
Isma'' ' >ns of a greasy matter may be separated from it, and 
Ion M ion it afforda traces of acrolein, which is not a product 

jdf tlie pure wax. The impurities, however, are unimportant. 

The melting point of the commercial wax is 18l*# Fahr. ;^ Melting i>oitit. 

[that of the perfectly pure wax, ITQ'O". Chinese wax is very 

Ifilightly soluble in alcohol or ether, but dissolves with great 

facility in naphtha, out of which fluid it may be crystallized. 

The mean of M. Brodie's analyses of the purified wax gave its 

[composition thus — 

Carbon 82*23u 

Hydrogen ...... 13'575 

Oxygen 4190 



10*0000 



[which numbers agree with the formula Ci^g Hj^s 0^.^ Although 
I the wax is scarcely saponitied by being boiled in a solution of 
I caustic potash, it may readUy be decomposed by fusion with 
[the solid alktdi becoming, as Mr, Maskelyne has observed, 
( broken up into substances with the formula C^^ K^^ O., [cerotin] 
-}- C;4 H^ O4 [cerotic acid], two equivalents of water being as- 
suined in the saponification. Mr. Maskelyne, in some experi- 
ments perfbnncd subsequently to those of Mr. Brodie,lms shown 
[that by the action of lime and potash t!ie cerotin may be oxi- 
and the whole converted into cerotic acid,^ 
would liowever refer the reader to the origiual papers of 
tliese gentlemen for a copious and interesting account of the 
iiemistry of the wax, 

oonJinn thi8 ijUitemetit so fiir m rejjards three specimena in my 

; a fourth I find to fitse at 180° Fahr., while some prepared hy 

fhe cnide wax nent by Mr, Lockhurt foaes at 182"75^ F«hr. 

its melting point to he U*G" {Fharm. JourrUf vol. vL, p. «3t>), 

JW4U) giTea it A8 100" Fahr. I but this ktter muat surely be a 

^UjKC\L, p. 170. 

e/i< (hifintiim of Chineu FTcu, by Nevil S, Mnakidyne, M.A,, in the 
* " ' ' tk$ Vhemietil Stfci^ty, vol v., p. 24 (April 1853), 



tlienuml 
propertied. 



^WHm-ir&X OF CHKA. 



tass* 



coils bam 22 to 35 cnts (Ul to Ijl 6dt) pa 
Hw only p c MMMimH c ifwiitiii «f 
ttetIamsnre«C VMUtfeji 



or 

' hm asys the wmx 



men vmx into 

idoK. Some of 
tUs wax wM m April iS47, fatted U 3iL per pound, m pdce 
too lorn, I belieft^ to bo lanvatm; ond m finlher impoit- 
otioa thot I Idiov of hos micao tafcm phoa 

The inoect-wvx oocors in commcico in dnykr cokes of 
YBw^i^f ^p f^aiMJiirw * tmot of thooo imparted Into Londoa hod m 
iKimoter of ofcool 13 incdiei^ o thkdnieoi of slioiil 3} imd^ 
were perfonied neor the eentio with o hole fths of on inch 
acroeaw The brok^ snifooe geneniDT eshibito the wox oo a 
heootif C1II7 sporiding* highly czTsUdline sabetonee aomevhot 
icoetobUng spetmooed hot much harder; aoane cokes ore in- 
femalljr mocfa less crrstalline and sparklii^ than othos. The 
wojL is eohnukflo aod inodoroiis or neody 00^ taoldesa^ faritiliQ 
oad leodilj polTensable at the tempemlme ct &f Fahr. 

UsBB. — In China^ candles aie mode of the tooect-irax per ae, 
hot more conuDonl j of a mixtnie of it with some sofler hUj 
onbslance. To give to these softer candles a bard ooottng and 
to prereiit their guttering, tbey are dipped into melted insect* 
wax often coloured red with aLkanet loot^ — sametimee green 
with Terdigris, 

Ur. Lockbart teUs me that the edges of books and the edges 
of the soles of shoes at^e rubbed with the wax in order to give 
them a bright face ; and that it is also rubbed on the brush with 
which red earthenware is polished.* 

" Jctumal ^f the AgrieuUMral and HarfieuUwiU Soddif ef India^ toL 
â–¼il, prt i. p, 164. 

* I will here admowled)^ the kindnesB with wliich mj friend Mr. lock* 
hiiri ha* Mj ammUd mj icrestigation respectiDjyr the subsUuioe aoderiiotioe.. 
If jr thttka ifo «l»o due to Mr. G. F. WlUon, of VaoiclmU, for Borae vmlaahle 
iatonatioii sbcmt iu commefciibl history ; to Mr. Hagh Batekjr. ol Reg:eDl 



8Clotl| for aiding roj loQairies and for a fine specimen of the wax ; and to 
Sir w, J, Hooker and Mr, Kippiai for their assisUmce in endeavooring t4> 
tdeotifj Mr* Fortune'a wax tree. 



INSECT-WHITE-WAX OF CTUNA. 



71 



The use of the wax in tlie candle manufacture in tliis country ism* 
has been made the subject of a patent granted in 1845 to Mr. 
Samuel Childs. He advises its mixture with stearic acid in the 
proportion of one part to twenty, and speaks also of em- 
ploying it in the manufacture of " Composite," bees' -wax and 
epermaceti candles. When combined with stearine it has been 
found serviceable in what is technically called hrcciHiig the grain 
(i,e., diminishing the crystalline texture) of the stearine pre- 
viously to its being foFDied into candles. 

As a medicine, the insect- wax is used by the Chinese both Medical m 
externally and internally for a variety of ailments* Du Halde 
says " it makes flesh grow, stops bleeding, eases pain, i-estorea 
strength, braces the nerves, and joins broken bones trOgether."^ 
Grosier, besides mentioning its employment as an application 
to wounds, states that it is sometimes swallowed to the extent 
of an ounce at a time as a stimulant (') by those about to speak 

I in public* 
K( 



KOTICE OF A 



SPECDfEN OF 
CHINA 



INSECT -WAX FROM isse. 



{Eeud before ike Linncan Society, April lUh, 1856.) 

[Abstract.] 

Mb, D, Hanbuht exhibited a specimen of Chinese Insect- 
wax in the crude state, attached to the branch on which it had 
been formed by the insect, Coccus Pe-la, Westw.^ {G, siTiensis, 
Westw., Pharm, Joum, xii, 4V8). 

The specimen was obtained by Dr. JrCartee, of Ningpo, at a 
spot abmt fourteen miles N.E. of that city. The exact locality 
is described as "three mUes from Chiu-bae, southerly, behind 
the first range of hills across the river, — in the direction of 
Ling-fimg," where the trees supporting the wax-insect occur on 
the banks of the canals. 



Specimen. 



Local ily. 



» VtiCTxpiion of the Empin of Chiiia^ tramlattd from ih^ French of 
P. J. B. Iht HakU. Lond, 1741, voL ii., p. 250. 



^ Getttrfd Ikseriptioji of CT^iiwi, 1788, voL L, p 442, 
* Gankn€r'9 ChronieU, for Aug. 2o, 1853, p, 632. 



72 



NATAL AND CHINESE INSECT-WHITE WAX. 



i85e. i)r. M*Cartee procured specimens for Mr. Fortune, which that 

gentleman lias taken to India with the view of introduciut? the 
insect into that country. He also sent specunens to William 
Lockhart, Esq., of Shangliai, through whose kindness that 
exhihited was received. 

It may he remarked that, according to the Chinese accounts, 
the trees upon which the wax -insect lives are of two or three 
speciea Of one of these, resembling an ash, a dried specimen 
was on the table. Mr. Lockhart has in his garden at Shanghai a 
Wftx-ti««. snuill wax-tree of this species which he hopes shortly to culonize 
with the wax-insect The tree has not yet flowered, and its bo- 
tanical position is as yet undetermined. A living plant of tlje 
same species was hrouglit to England by Mr. Fortune, from 
whose hands it passed into those of Messrs. IlolKsson and Sons, 
of Tootiog. 

Specimens of the manufactured insect- wax from Cliina were 
also on the table. 



JAblIbX Wax- 
insect. 



GliiiiMe Wiut 
insect 



NOTE ON INSECTS PRODUCING WAX EKOM PORT 
NATAL AND CHINA. 

By J. 0. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S., &a 

(Mead at the same mmtiitg, April 15iA, 1856.) 

The w^ax-insect from Natal, exhibited by Mr. W. W. Saunders* 
13 the female of a large species of Coccus, analogous to the Cocctis 
ceriferus ; each female being about the size of a pea, and of a dark 
ehestnut colour, but encased in a solid layer of white waxy 
matter nearly a quarter of an inch thick, so as to niake tba 
entire insect as large aa a boy's marble ; the under side being 
flattened, or rather concave, so as to fit the convex surface of 
tlje branch on which lliey are found. The size of the insect 
would render it easy of observation, and the thickness of the wax 
would make it a more important object of commerce than the 
wax-insects of South America 

The Chinese wax-insect, of which so fine a specimen on the 
branch has been exliibited by Mr. Daniel Uanbury, differs from 



"WUBRUS" DYE FROM "BOTTLEllA TINCTOBTA." 



73 



to 



tlie latter by the waxy matter being deposited over the surface 
of the branch, and not conhoed to a coating of the insect. The 
Bpecimeiis submitted to my exaniijiation are probably of con- 
sidemble age, as they have been much deteriorated in a com- 
mercial point of view, by being attacked by other insects, namely 
a species of ant, of which I found the heads and other parts of 
several specimens ; and a species of nioth, of which I found 
portions of many chr)^salides ; the larvae of wliich, I do not 
donbt, had devoured the animal matter of the Cocci, as well as 
buiTowed into the wax. There were also some fragments of a 
Curculio (Oiiorhtpichus f), but these, I suppjse, must have been 
taken accidentally on the trees io collecting the Cocci. 



1856* 



ON WURRUS, A 



^ 



DTE PRODUCED 

TINCTORIA. 



BY ROTTLERA 



( Wnrrus-Fa/rhstofft von Eottkra tindoria.) 

Among the drugs forwarded to England by James Vauglmn, 
Esq., late port-surgeon at Aden, and described in recent num- 
bers of the Fhitrmaccuiical Journal, was a subsUince sent under 
the name of Wumts or Waras} It consists of a brick-red, 
granular powder with but little taste and smell. Examined 
under the microscope it is seen to be composed of small, round- 
ish, tmnslucent grains of a ruby red colour, much resembling 
(except in colour) the grains of lupuline. 

Upon showing some of the IVurrm to Mr. Alexander Gibson, 
of Bombay, wlien he was in London, he immediately suggested 
that it w^as the red powder rubbed from the capsules of EoUkra 
iinctoria, Roxb. ; and upon a subsequent comparison of it with 
specimens in the hei barium of the Lfnuean Society, I soon 
convinced myself of the cori-ectness of his opinion. Mr. Gibson 
informed me that the tree is abundant in the Bombay Presi- 
dency, where it attain.^ a height of from twelve to fifteen feet ; 
and that it is frequently observed in the vicinity of streams and 
on the edge of the jungle. 



1853. 



MoUUra 
tindoria. 



* See Pharm. Jonrn.^ toI. xii.,p, 386. 



74 



•*WUBBUS" DYE FROM '* ROTTLERA TIXCTORIA." 



1S53. 



Dr. Rox- 
burgh. 



Dr. F. 
DuchuKiu* 



I.- 



Dn Koxburgh, in his Flanis of the Coa^U of Carmnandel^ haa 
published a beautiful figure of Bottiera tinctoria, accompanied 
by the follow ing description of the fruit (voL iL, p. 36, fig. 168) : 
*' Capsule roundish, three-furrowed, three-celled, three-valved, 
size of a small cherry, covered with much red powder. Seed 
Bolitary, globular." After stating that the tree is a native of the 
inland mountainous parts of the Circars, flowering during the 
cold season^ he thus proceeds : — 

" The red powder which covers the capsules is a noted dyeing 
drug, especially among the Moors, and constitutes a consider- 
able branch of commerce from the mountainous parts of the 
Circars. It is chiefly purchased by the merchants trading to 
Hydmbad and other interior parts of the penin^sula. When 
the capsules are ripe or fulUgrown, in February and March, they 
are gathered, the red powder is carefully brushed oft* and col- 
lected for sale, no sort of preparation being necessary to pre- 
serve it. . . • , ♦ 

** lliis red powder dyes silk a deep, bright, durable, orange or 
flame-colour of very great beauty. The Hindoo silk dyera use 
the following method \— 

"Four parts of Wassunta-gunda [the Telinga name of RoUlera 
tincioria], one of powdered alum, two of salt of soda (native 
Barilla) which is sold in the bazaars, are rubbed w^ell together 
witli a very small proportion of oil of sesamum, so little as 
hardly to be perceptible ; when well mixed, the whole is put 
into boiling water, proportionable to the silk to be dyed, and 
kept boiling smartly more or less time, according to the shade 
required, but turning the silk frequently to render tlie colour 
uniform." 

Dr. Francis Buchanan met with Eoiilem iinctoria in the Ani- 
malaya forest in Coimbatore, near the frontier of Malabar.* He 
states that the tree is called in the Tamil language Carimga 
Munji Maram, which signifies Monkei/'s-face'tree, "for these 
animals," says he, *' paint their faces red, by rubbing them with 
the fruit. The tree is small and the timber bad. The natives 
deny all koowleilge of the dyeing quality possessed by the red 
powder that covers the fruit ; but at different places in Mysore, 
A Journty from Madras Uirough the Connlrict of Mysoref Canara, and 



yfr 



Mahibiir. Lond., 1&07. 4to. Vol. ii., p. 339. 



"ROTTLERA TINCTOEIA/* 



75 



I Wft8 told that the dye was imported from this part of the 

coimtiy/* * 
, Dr. BuchaDao, speaking of the articles of trade at Bangalore,* 
I states that most of the Capili-podi dje> or powder obtained 

from the fruit of EoUkra titidoria, is braoght there from Chin'- 

raya^pattana^ bat that a little is also procured from Ilama-giri ; 

both places are in Mysore, 

fDr. Whitelaw Ainslie, in his MaUria Medica of Hindostan 
(Madras, 1813, in 4to), page 146, has likewise noticed the 
•' Capihjmiie ** dye aftbrded by MoUicm timtoria, 
•: 
of J 
biac 
pro] 



lasa, 



ROTTLERA TINCTORIA, ROXB, AND ITS MEDI- 
CINAL PKOPEETIES. 



1850. 



The pecnliar red powder which is obtained from the capsules 
of Roitkra tinctorifi, Roxb., a tree of the Natural Order Eupkor* 
biacem, has long been used in India oil account of its valuable 
properties as a dye for silk. 

Its application as a remedial agent having recently attmcted 
attention in this country, in consequence of the favourable 
reports made by several practitioners iu India, who have found 
it eminently successful in the treatment of imnia^ I think it may Succeaaful iu 
be not uninteresting if I briefly recapitulate its history, and 
quote some of the statements that liave appeared regarding its 
medicinal properties and mode of adrainistratioD. 

Tlie genus RMkra, so named in honour of tlie Eev. Dr. 
Eottler, an eminent Danish missionarj^ and naturalist, was, as at 
present restricted, founded by Roxburgh in 1798. 

Evtthra tindarla, Roxb., is a tree of from 15 to 20 feet in 
height ; it is common in the hilly districts of India from Burma 
to the Punjab, and from Ceylon to the hot valleys of the whole 
of the Himalaya, where it ascends to an elevation of 5fii)0 feet ; 
it is found in the Philippine Islands, in China, and in North- 
Eastern Australia ; it appears also to occur in the South of 
Arabia and in the Somali country, from which regions the dye 
obtained from it is carried to Aden for sale* 

* A Jottrneif /tqw Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara, and 
MalalMtK Lond., 1807. 4to, VoL iL, p, 343. * Ibid, vol i., p. 2T>4. 



tijtnia^ 



Kev. Br. 

Kuttlar. 



7« 



- BOnTLERA TIKCTORIA.' 



jsai 



Tlie fhutofthe treeistzieooeoiismiideflbei 



Frait of on tbe outer surface witli minute^ 



HoUUra, 






nmndi^i 



I pea. 



oareenA 



parent glands of a bri^ i«d oolofir. Aocoiding to Boxbmgfa 
the fruit ripens in Febnuuy and Maidi, at whidi period it is 
gathered, and the red, glandular powder is caiefiiUj bnished off 
and preserved for osa 

Before further describing this snfaslaiice, I may properly 
advert to the names by which it and the ^ee affording it are 
known to the natives of India ; for some information on which 
part of the subject I am indebted to the kindness of Professor 
H, IL Wilson, of Oxford. 

The Sanskrit name of Hottlera tindoria is n^nif Punmiga, a 
word having several synonyms, among which are ifif Tttmja and 
il^ ICesora ; — hence in Bengali we have Pimndg, Kcsor and 
Tun^, and in Hindustani Pitnndg, 

The red powder from the capsules is called in Bengali ^trI 
Kdmald, abbreviated to Kdmcd, The Sanskrit word irFo^ 
Kapila, signifying tawny or dusky rtd, would appear to be also 
applied to it. In the Tamil language the substance in question 
is termed Xajiilapodi, a name compounded of the Sanskrit 
Kapila and the Tamil 0urno. Fod% the latter word meaning 
tlie pollen of a Jlmjoer^ or dust in generaL 

VmantagandJia, a Sanskrit word meaning spriyig-fragrance, 
is, according to Roxburgh, a designation in tbeXelinga orTelugu 
language of the same red powder. . In the bazaar at Aden, it 
is kijown aa an article of trade under the name of ^^^^ Warm, 
a word properly siguifying saffron. It is probRble, however, 
that this term has been given by the Iiulian Mohammedans^ 
and is not iKsed as a designation of the powder elsewhere. 

Tlie IliiKiiistani name Kdmaltlhm.wlth slight variations in 
ipelling, liecn adopted Ijy the Em'opeans in India, and I shall 
therefore empluy it (omitting the accents indicating the long 
quantity of tlie vowels) us the most convenient terra by which 
U} *h*Higiiute tlie red powder derived fiHjm the aipsidcti of Rotticra 
tiuctorm. 



KAAIALA.ROTTLERINE. 



77 



1858. 



Kama la. 



I 



Kamala, as found in the Imlian bazaars, lias the aspect of a 
brick-red powder, possessing from its structure that peculiar 
mobile character whicli we notice in Lycopodiiira and Lupuline. 
It also agrees with Lycopodiuin in the tlilTicuUy with which it 
is mixed with water, and in the manner in which it ignites 
when thrown into the air over the flame of a candle. Ex- 
amined with a lens, or still better witli the compound microscope, 
it is seen to consist of gamet-red, semi-transparent, roundiah 
granules, of from ^l^ to ^ris ^^ ^^ i^^li in thameter, more or 
less mixed with minnte stellate hairs and the remains of stalks 
and leaves: the latter substances however are easily removed by 
careful sifting, the drug thereby acquiring a brighter red colour 
and more uniform appearance. 

Kamala has but little smell or taste. It is insoluble in cold cliemMtry of 
â– water, and nearly so in boiling water. It is soluble in a solution "^ '^' 

of an alkaline carbonate, and still more so in one of caustic 
alkali, a deep-red solution being in either case produced. The 
addition of an acid to these solutions occasions a precipitate of 
resinous matter. 

Treated with alcohol or ether, Kamahi afl'ords a large pro- 
partion of soluble matter and a solution of a beautiful deep-red 
colonr The alcoholic solution upon the addition of water 
becomes turbid from the precipitation of resin. By repeated 
digestions in hot alcohol, the whole of the resinous colouring 
matter of Kamala may be removed, a pale-whitisli substance 
^H l>6ing the only reRiduum. 

^M Dr Thomas Anderson, Regius Professor of Chemistiy in tlie Rottlerine. 
^M University of Glasgow, who has made Kamala the sulijeet of 
^K^Mcial in%^estigation,^ finds that if a concentrated ethereal 
^^B^u^i^^ ^^ Kamala be allowed to stand for a couple of days, it 
eolidifies into a mass of granular crystals. If these be drained, 
pressed in bibulous paper, and purified from adhering resin by 
lepeated solution and crystallization in ether, the crj^stalline 
ftnlistonce ie obtained in a state of purity. It then consists of 
yellow crystals having the form of minute plntes and a fine 

** On th-t CoUmring Matter of JioUhrti (tvHoriaf' Edinburgh New PhilO' 
1 Joumalf Jim.— April, lHfl5, p, 21>6, 




T8 



CBBMSSHLT OP lOITLERiXK 



This gwlwlniipe hM teen i 



I by Dr. Anderson 



«l EottkniM^ 



*^*®- wliny lustre. 

Dr. Andermm states that Bottlerine is insoluble in irmter; 
8}nriDgly soluUe in odd tilcobdl, more m in boiling. In ether, 
it is readflj soluble. It dissolyes in an alkaline solution with 
a dark-red <xilour. Its alcoholic solution is not precipitated by 
acetate of lead. 

Bromine instancy decolorizes it, with formatiou of a suV 
atituiion-product, which dissolves readily in spirit, and is 
thrown down by the addition of water. This compound does 
not crystallize, and could not be obtained in a state of purity 
Kitric acid oxidizes Eottlerine, forming at first a ydlow resinous 
matter, and by longer continued action a quantity of oxalic 
acid. Concentrated sulphuric acid in the cold dissolves it with 
a yellow colour, which, on the application of a gentle heat, 
becomes first red, and finally very dark, sulphurous acid being 
evolved. Heated on platinum it fiises into a yeUow fluid, 
which decomposes at a higher temperature, giving off pungent 
fumes and leaving a bulky charcoal 
Anmlyieiof The mean result of four analyses gave the composition of 



Uuulcrijie, 


Hottlerine as — 

Carbon . , 
Hydrogen 
Oxygen . . 


, . 69-112 

, . 5-550 

. 25.333 




CalcuLttion. 

* 






6947 

5-26 

25-27 

100-00 


0. 


132 
10 
48 




99-995 


190 



Tlie attempts made to confirm this formula have not led to 
any definite result, Rottlcrine forming no compound with the 
metallic oxides, and that with bromine not having been obtained 
sufficieutly definite, 

A concentrated alcoholic solution of Kamala deposits upon 
cooling a pale flocculent matter, sometimes in such abundance 
as comijletely to fill tlie fluid. This substance is soluble in 
boiling alcohol, but sparingly in cold ; hai\tly soluble in ether, 
and inioluble in water. It appears to have no crystalline 



CHEMISTliY OF KAMALA. 

structure. It givea no precipitate with the salts of lead or 
silver, and does not appear to form a compound with any other 
Bubstanca In drying it shrinks much, resembling hydrate of 
alumina coloured with oxide of iron. The quaotity obtained was, 
however, too minute for a full investigation of its properties. 

From Professor Anderson's experiments, the composition of 
Kamala may be thus stated :— 

IBesinous colouriog matters (including Eottlerine) . , 78*19 

Albuminous matters * 7*34 

Cellulose, &c 714 

Water 349 

Ash 3 84 

Volatile oil trace 

Volatile colouring matter . . • ? 
beii 



10000 



79 



1B50* 



Analyais 
of Kuuialii, 



Kamala is used throughout India as a dye for silk, its colour 
being extracted by boiling it in a solution of carboniite of soda* 
I have a specmien of silk dyed with it, which is of a rich 
orange-brown. The root of the tree ia said to be also used in 
dyeiug. In Indian medicine, Kamala is considered as " of a 
warm nature," and ia given as an antlielmintic in very small 
doees*^ It has also some repute as an application in certain 
cutaneous complaints. Among the Arabs of Aden, it is admin- 
istered internally in leprosy, and is used in solution to remove 
freckles and pustules.^ Dr, William Moore, of Dublin,^ Physician 
to the Institution for the Disejises of Children of that city, has 
made some trials of it in Herpes circinatm, by rubbing the 
powder over the eruption with a piece of moistened lint, Dr. 
Moore states tbat two or three applications, accompanied with 
the internal administration of alterative doses of rhubarb and 
grey powder, sufficed fur the removal of the disease. 

* Irvine, MtjUtria Mtdica of Paina^ Calcutta^ 1848, p. 48* 

* VauffhaD in Phann. Joarti, and Tram. Vol xii. p. 386, 

* On ike Value of the Mutt (era tinctaria (KaiDee]a)a4a Local Application to 
Herp€M Cireinaiut^ by Win. Mtx)re, M.B., &c. Dublin Mogpxtal Gazette, 
Nov. 16, 1857, p. Mb. 



Csi-s. 



80 



KAMALA AS AN ANTHELMINTIC. 



1S58. i^i^ however, in its character of an anthelmintic that Kaniala 

appears most to deserve the attention of the medical man and 
pharmacist 

Eeferring to the reports that have been published, we find 
that the anthelmintic powers of Kamala have been investigated 
in India by Drs. Mackinnon, Anderson, Corby n, and Gordon. 

Trials of the drug in this country have as yet been very few* 
Dr. Arthur Leared, who has been one of the first to prescribe it 
in London, has recorded one successful case,^ since which he in- 
forms me he has had four others also successful. 

Dr. C, Mackinnon,^ Superintending Surgeon, Bengal Medical 
Establishment, in inti^ducing to notice the new remedy, states : — 

Antbelmintie "My attention was first called to it by a gunner of the 
prmi«rtio» of bri^rade, affected with tapeworm, in whom both turpentine and 
kousso had failed to expel the worm. He stated that a com- 
pel i ion of his aflected with tapeworm had taken the remedy 
with success. I immediately seat for some, and, witliout any 
previaus preparation of the patient, gave him tlnee drachms. He 
was a lai^^e, powerful man, and tins producing no eftect, in four 
hours afterwards the same dose was repeated. It now operated 
very freely and frequently, and with the fourth stool a hirge 
tapeworm, six yards long, was passed. 

" The result was so satisfactory, that I have continued to 
employ the remedy whenever a case presented itself; and t 
have now given it in sixteen different cases, and in all without a 
failure. As far as my experience goes, I have found it a better 
and more certain remedy than either turpentine or kousso, and 
much less disagreeable to take than either of these remedies. 

" In none of my cases subsequent to the first did I ever exceed 
for a single dose three drachms, This usually purges from tive 
to seven times, and the worm is usually expelled dead in the 
fourth or fifth stool. 

" In tTvo of the later cases in which I administered it in 
hospital, both patients recently recovered from fever, and still 
weak, the dose of three drachms purged very violently — from a 
dozen to fourteen times. In thrre subsequent cases I reduced the 
dose to 1|- drachms, and no actiou on the bowels succeeding it, 
I gave in six hours afterwards half an ounce of castor-oiL 

> Mediml Tim^aiul Gazett€, Bee, 19, 1857, p. 628. 
« Indian Anrmk of Mtdical ^Scimm. Ed. 2, No. 1, p. 284. Calcutta, 
1854 



KAMALA AS AN ANTHELMlNTia 



81 



ed four or five times, aud in each case the worm was i ^&b , 
passed dead. 

" In almost eve^ case the long slender neck of the worm ap- 
Ejd in the motion. 

* To a native child of five years of age, I gave a dose of 40 
grains, and a tape-worm was duly expelled. The drug usually 
purges speedily. In about half the cases, some degree of 
nausea and slight griping were experienced ; in the remainhig 
half, no inconvenience whatever waR sustained, some of the 
patients declaring it to be the easiest purge tliey bad ever taken 
iu their lives * ♦ » * '* 

Dr. Mackinnon gives the following summary as the result of Dr. Mack in* 

I . . nmi'H ex pen - 

ms experience ; <.,iee: 

1. TTiat Kamalci is a safe and efficient remedy for tape%vorDi, 
Mid more certain than either turpentine or kousso. 

2. That to a sti^ong European 3 drachms may bo safely given 
AS a dose. 

3. That \q a person of feeble habit or to a female, 1\ drachms. 
followed, if necessary, by half an ounce of castgr-oil, is a suf- 
ficient dose 

Since the paper from wliicli the foregoing are extracts was 
published, Dr. Mackinnon has stated^ that in subsequent more 
iisive trials of Kamala, during which he has administered it 

{nearly 50 patients, in two instances only was no worm ex- 
pelled. 

Dr. Anderson, Assistant-Surgeon, 4:5rd Regt. Light Infantry,'^ ^^r, Anderson, 
states that the occurrence of tapeworm is very common among 
the Europeans serving in the I'uiijab, and that it is also preva- 
lent among the Mussulman population of that pi^Dvince. 

*' The vermifuge properties of Kamala," writes Dr. Anderson, 
•arc as well marked as those of any of the best reputed an- 
thelmintics, not excepting the Abysiimian remedy Koiisso, The 
i oiily objection to it is, that when the powder is used, consider- 
kble nausea occasionally follows, but certainly not more than 
^"^ -' ' produced by the sickening preparation of pomegranate 
i other anthelmintics. 

nmh 0/ Mfdicul Scunee, vol. iiL (1856), p. 80. 
'•*tt Unetorifi.^ its an artid© of the Materia Medico, Indian 
'va/ ."^eifntt, vol iiL (1856), p PI 

a 




iiite 



82 



KAilALA AS AN ANTHELMiNTia 



loaa. " After three drachms of the powder have been administered 

Dr. AiideTBon. ^^^ worm is usually expelled in the third or fouith stooL It is 
generally passed entire, and almost always dead, and in all the 
cases I have examined (about 15), I was able to detect tbe head. 
In only two cases do I know of the worm being pa-ssed alive. 
The advantage of the tincture over the powder consists in its 
action being more certain and milder, and in it being rarely 
accompanied by nausea and griping. In two or tluee cases, only 
two or three stools followed the dose usually given, and the 
worm was expelled Lu the second stool ; hi one patient, only one 
stool was caused by the medicine, and in it the worm came away 
dead/' 

Dr. Anderson alludes to 95 cases of tapeworm in which 
Kamala was prescribed, and of this number he was aware of 
only two in which no worm was expelled. Of these 95 cases, 
86 w^ere European soldiers, 8 were Mussulman natives, and one 
was a Hindu of the lowest class. All these persons were in the 
habit of indulging freely and constantly in animal food, and 
among this class tapeworai is cornmon ; those, on the other hand, 
whose animal diet is less copious are less liable to taenia, w^hile 
among several native regiments, Hindu Sepoys and servants, 
says Dr. Anderaon, whose food is entirely vegetable, the parasite 
is unknown. 



Dr C. A. 
Gordon. 



I 



Dr. C. A. Gordons experience of tlie efficacy of Kamala 
corresponds entirely with that of Drs. Mackinnon and Anderson. 

He observes,^ " With Kamala there is no unpleasant eGFect. 
It is not even necessary to take a dose of purging medicine as a 
preparative ; and beyond a trifling amount of nausea and griping 
in some instances, no unpleasant effects are experienced ; while 
by far the greater number of persons to whom it is administered 
suffer no inconvenience whatever beyond what they would from 
a tlose of ordinary purging medicine/* 

The obsen^ations of Dr. Gordon relative to the occurx^ence of I 
tfcnia are confirmatory of those of Dr. Anderaon, and are to' 
tlie eftect that the free use of animal food of very indifferent 
quality among the Britisli tmops in tlie N, W. Provinces must 
be regarded as the cause of the prevalence of the malady. In 
1 Medual Titrm and G<tzeU€, May 2, 1857^ p, 429. 



I 
I 

I 



KAMALA AS AN ANTHELMINlia 



83 



fthe case of soldiers stationed at Peahawur, tapeworm is so 
common, that it is believed ttat every tliirtl man suffers from it 
during the two years that the regiment usually remains there. 
To give Dr. Gordon's own words : — 

"Those who have escaped the misfortune of baving had to 
[pass some years in India^can form no idea of the vast herds of 
itean, half-star\^ed pigs tbat roam over the fields and waste 
[grounds in the vicimty of villages; nfither can they have any 
I conception of the nature of the food on whicli tbese pigs snb- 
fsjst" 

After some revolting details as to the habits of swine in India 
Dr. Gordon continues : 

" Pigs, however, are not the only animals that live in this 
filthy manner in India. Cattle and slieep, that are so paiiicnlar 
in their food in Britain, acquire degenerate tastes in India ; and 
it is needless to enter into similar pnrticidars regarding ducks, 
fowls, turkeys, and pigeons, all of wliich are more or less used 
as food by our countrymen there/* 



1858. 



The dose of Karaala may be stfitcd as from a { drachm to ^ 

I drachms suspended in water : a single dose is frequently found 
sufficient, and in general it is not ntcesssuy to give any oiber 
medicine before or after. In some cases, however, where but a 
email dose of Kamala lias been administered, castor-oil has been 
ofterw^ards given with good eOect. Dr. Gordon has prescribed 
Kamala in the dose of 1 drachm, repeated at iuten^als of three 
lioni^. 
Kamala may also be given in the form of Tincture ; the for- 
mula for whichj recommended by Dr, Anderson, is as folIo%vs:^ 



1^ Kamalxe, %v}, 

Spiritfls rectiOcati, fsxvj. 
Macera per biduum et cola. 



(^o ethereal tiucture may be prepared of tlie same strength, 
ut it is said to offer no particular advantage over the alcoholic. 
The dose of Tinciura Kamalw is from 5j to 5iv, diluted with 
some aromatic water. [N. Reperfc. f Phann. vii. 145.] 

G 2 



Habits tif 

swinii ainl 

en I tJ Kin 

IniJiii, 



D0FS6« 



TiiicUiie 
of Kama! A. 



84 



8CJMATR42I ODFFEE LEAVSa 



— OX THE USE OF COFFEE-LEAVES IN SUAIATRA. 

(Bemitattiy dtr CajfeMdtUr im Smmaira.) 

TitE ejOBteoee of caBeioe in the levres as wdl as in the 

berries of the coffee-plant has attracted some atleniioii, and a 

project for sobetitatiog them for those of the tea plant has been 

'Ottdyf'i actnally devised br Dr. John Gardner, of London. Aooonling 

JSSS^m, to tiiia gentleman the leaves require to be subjected to a oertain 
process of preparation before thej aie used. What this pnMXSi 
k I am nnable to state ; but specimens of tlie prepared coffee- 
leaves were placed by Dr Gardner in the Great Exhibition of 
1851, tqgiether with the caffeine extracted from them, since â–  
which time advertisements have appeared in the Ceylon papers 
soliciting tenders for the supply of coffee-leaves by the fcon. 

Whether these advertisements have met with a response 
I know not, but in March last my attention was drawn 
to a letter signed "An 014 Su/natran*' published in the Cher- 
land Sirufapore Free PreM for Jan, 3, lBo6, This letter, which 
was reprinted in the Phm^nacctdical Journal for March (voL 
xii» p. 443), states, that on the western side of the island 
of Sumatra an infusion of torrified coffee leaves is of universal 
consumption among the inhabitants, so much so indeed as to be 
regarded as one of the very few necessaries of life.* 

N. M. WiLtd. lTp>n applying to the writer of this letter, who proved to be 

N. M. Ward, Esq.. of Padang, I speedily received the following 

more detailed comnmnication, since which a box of prepared 

Sumatran coffee leaves, kindly forwarded by liim. has reached 

•my hands : — 

**Pai>a>o, Ihtk May, 1853. 

" Dkau Sjb, — It is not witliout satisfaction that I learn 
thnt the iiotice inseitcd in the Suifjapore Fir^ Pre^ on the use 
of tlie CotTee-leaf in Sumatra has attracted attention, and 
obtained increased piiVdicity through the medium of the Plmr- 
jiiitf't'iftiral JourTi/if. Although long aware of its value as an 

' Til in empl<>ymGr»t of coffeedenvea was not previously uanotioed. Bnmde, 
in 111* Maniuit of Chtmistrif {hand. 1848, vol. ii., p. 1616X briefly states tlmt 
tlic IcnvDB of the cotfcc-plant are used in Java tmd BuinHtra as a ^ubslituie < 
fur ivAf nud that ft is probable they contain iJmuf.. 



I 



SUMATKAI^ COFFEE LEAVES. 



85 



article of diet among the natives here, it never occurred to me that i«m, 
^ it might be introduced successhdly as snch nt home, until I learnt Dr. Gardner's 

from the Free Press that a patent had hoen tttken out by Dr. i«iitent. 
[Gaiilner. It then struck me that as its adoption in Europe 

would unquestionably be attended with important advantages to 

the labouring classes^ a knowledge of the tact of its general 

â–  use here might be of service^ by giving that confidence in it 
wliichmust necessarily be wanting to a new and untried articla 
The fact of its being tlie only beverage of a wliole population, 
and of its having from its nutritive qualities become an important 

I^ecessary of life, wiO be. a sufficient gimrantee of its safety as 
im article of diet, and of its freedom from deleterious ei^ecta. 
"The natives have a prejudice against the use of water as a 
"beverage, asserting that it does not quench thirst or afford the 
Btrength and support the coffee-leaf does. With a little boiled 
rice and infusion of the coffee-leaf, a man will su]>port the 
labours of the tield in rice-planting for days and weeks sue- * 
cessively, up to the knees in mud, under a burning sun or 
drencliing rains, which he coidd not do by the use of .simple 
water, or by the aid of spirituous or fermented liquors, 1 have Advaniagi^a. 
Lad oppoiiiinity of observing for twenty years the compjuative 
use of the coftee-leaf in one class of natives, and of spirituous 
liquors in another, the native Sumatrans using the former and 
the natives of British India settled here the latter, and 1 find 
that while the former expose themselves with impunity for 
any period to every degree of lieat, cold, and wet, the latter 
can endure neither wet nor cold for even a short period without 
danger to tlieir health. 

"Engaged myself in agriculture, and being in consequence 

â–  much exposed to the weather, I was induced several years ago, 
from an occasional use of the coffee-leaf, to adopt it as a daily 
beverage, and my constant practice has been to take a couple of 
hcaps of strong infusion with milk in tlie evening as a restora- 
Itive after the business of the day. I rind from it immediate 
[relief from liungcr and fatigue, the l>odily strength increased 
land the mind left for the evening clear and in full possession of 
jail its faculties. On its first use, aud w^hen the leaf has not 
I been sufiBciently roasted, it is said to produce vifjiimire, but I 
jam inclined to think that where this is the case, it is rather by 
[adding strength and activity to the mental faculties, than by 
linducing nervous excitement. I do not recollect this effect on 
I myself except once, and that was when the leaf was insufficiently 



Persoiml 
testimony. 



86 



SmiATRAK COFFEE LEAVES. 



leaa. 



Kativo use. 



liMBtin^. 



" As a beverage the natives universally prefer tlie leaf to the 
berry, ^^iviiig as a reason that it contains more of the bitter 
principle and is more nutritious. They are not iinacquaiuted 
with the extract in a half solid form obtained by decoction, but in 
the lowlands I am not aware that they apply it to any particu- 
lar purpose. Tlie roasted leaf used to form an article of trade 
betwixt the coffee districts of the interior and the lowlands of 
the coast, but since thS government monopolized the produce, 
this trade has in a great measure ceased, the natives believing the 
sale of the leaf as well os that of the bcny forbidden. In the 
lowlands, collee is not planted for the berry, being not sufficiently 
productive ; but the people plant about their houses for the 
leaf for their own use, not liowever to the extent of the demand, 
so that in the settlement of Padaug they are obhged to have 
recourse to the berry mbted with a portion of burnt rice, 
without which the beverage would be too dear for them. It is 
an undoubtet! fact, however, that everywhere they prefer the leaf 
to the berry. 

^* The sample I have the pleasure to send, is the produce of 
my o%vn ground, properly prepared by a native well acquainted 
with the process. The best mode of roasting, he says, is by 
holding tlie leaves over the clear flame of a fire made of dry 
bamboo. The fireplace should be circular, of brick or otlier 
material, two feet deep, two feet in diameter at bottom inside, 
and one-and-a-half at top with a small door-place on one side for 
intradujfing the fuel. The reason for using bamboo as fuel is, 
that it produces but little smoke, and that little containing no 
creosote, docs not adhere to the leal When suflleiently roasted, 
as described in the Singapore Free Press, the leaves have a 
brownish buff colour, and are then separated from the stalks, 
which are Mraugcd in the slit of a stick afresh and roasted by 
themselves. The natives pound the whole of these roasted 
stalks in a mortar and mix tliem with the leaf for sale ; but as 
the bark only contains extract, it is better to rub oft' this be- 
twixt the hands and to reject the wood. 



Culture, 



" I have already remarked that whOst the culture of the 
cofiee-plant for its fruit is limited to particular soils and 
elevated climates, it may be grown for the leaf wherever within 
the tropics the soil is sufficiently fertila This extensive habitat, 
if I may so term it, added to its nutritive qualities and free- 
dom from deleterious principles, points it out as the best 
adapted of all the productions aftbrding caffeine for general 



PARAGUAY TEA— GUAR ANA— CAFFEINE. 



87 



coDsumption ; and if it should turn out that the article can be 
sent to distant countries without deterioration, I shall have 
every confideuce in its ultimate adoption lor general use, 

** The price here of the leaves pi-epared for use, is generally 
about lid, a pound ; and I suppose it may be prepared and packed 
for the European market of good quality for 2iL, affording suf- 
ficient profit to the planter and bringing it witldn reach of the 
poorest classes of Europe/* 

Such is Mr. Ward's communication. The sample which he has 
sent arrived in excellent condition and appears to have been very 
carefully prepared. It consists of tolerably regular fragments 
of shining leaves mixed with pieces of stalk. Its colour is 
deep brown; its odour somewhat like that of a mixture of 
coffee and tea, and extremely fragrant. Immersed in boiling water 
a transparent, brov^n infusion is obtained, which when made 
sufficenUy strong, forras^ with the addition of sugar and milk, 
a beverage by no means unpalatable. 

Caffeine, as is weU known, is a crj^stallizable nitrogenized 
vegetable principle,^ existing in the bemes of the coffee shrub, 
in the leaves of the tea-plant of China, in the Ycrha dc Mate, or 
Paraguay Tea, of South America, and, as MAI. Berthemot, and 
Dechastchis have proved,^ in Guarana, the basis of a favourite 
beverage in some parts of Brazil, The plants affording these 
uctions occupy very different positions in the vegetable 
kingdom ; the coffee-plant belongs to the natural order Riibiuctm^ 
the teii-plantto Cfr?/H'Wuw, the Paraguay tea {Ikx Parafjuark^isis, 
St HiL) to the IlimuoB^ and the Guarana-plant {FaitUinia sorbilis. 
Mart.) to Sapindacem. 

It is not a little remarkable tliat Caffeine has hitherto been 
detected only in plants which are broadly distinguished from each 
other in their botanical characters ; but it is yet more extraor- 
dinary that these plants sliouJd have been indepaidaithj selected 
as articles of diet by semi-barbarous nations inhabiting widely- 
separated portions of the globe. 



18S3. 




1 Its composition m expressed by the formula Cn H^ N, Q^ 
GiiaFBJiine arc identical wiUi CatFeine. 
' Joiirnv tk Fharm. (Aug. Ifi4a), torn© ixri, p. 618. 




Theme and 



Inftision of 
Coffe<j-k«a?es- 



Caffeine. 



bet. 



88 



SMYRNA SCAJLMONY, 



1863. 

^ NOraS UPON SOME SPECIMENS OF SCAMMONT 

Having through the kindDess of Sidney H. Maltass, Esq,, of 
Smyrna, received several specimens illustrating his interesting 
paper on the production of Scammony, I believe that a short 
account of them will not be unacceptable. 

I will premise it by stating that Mr. lilaltass has resided at 
Smyrna for the last eighteen years, where, as a matter of 
business he has liad constant opportunity for l>ecommg 
conversant with all that relates to the drug as met with at 
that place : indeed, as he informs me he has actually collected 
it with his own Lands in order to become the more practi- 
cally acquainted with it. 

To Mr. Maltass I am indebted for specimens of the following, 
viz. : — 
1. Furi Sciifiitnofiij in shells, collected near Symma. 



SunplM of 

Scmmnoiiy 
from Mn 
Maltass. 



SpnymiL SciniiiKiD.v in Slielb. 



It is remarkably transparent even when viewed in the shell ; 
its colour is a pale golden bix>wn, scarcely as intense as that 
of common glue, of which its general appearance is suggestive* 
A white emulsion is produced on nibbing the surface with a 
wetted finger. 

This scammony affonls 9M per cent, of resin soluble in 
etlier.^ 

2. Pure Smnmwni/ frani the neighbourhood of Smip*9ia : a por- 
tion apparently of a cake about an inch in thickness ; colour 

1 In examining the solubility of scammony in ether, it is needful to dry 
the Bcammony until it ceaBca to lose weight, a precaution which must of 
coura* be obterved in weighing the residue alt^o. 



PUEE AND ADULTERATED SCAMMONY. 



in tbe mass deep brown, in small fragments pale golden- 
brown, translucent ; although compact, readily broken, fracture 
glossy, showing not very numeroxxs air-cavities ; odour cheesy. 
A white emulsion is produced immediately it is rubbed with the 
moistened finger; no traces, either external or internal, of any 
calcareous cont^nination. It affords 88*2 per cent, of resin 
soluble in ether. 

An experienced judge of scaramony assures me that he has 
never observed any of this quality in the London market. 

3. P%TC Scammony from ihe iievjhbourhood of Angora in a 
somewhat irregular mass, probably part of a cake about 1^ 
inches thick. It is veiy pale in coloui-, small fragments appear- 
ing of a yellowish brown, and translucent. It is distinguishable 
from No, 2 by being much cracked, a quality which imparts to 
it a pale colour when in mass, and renders it extremely friable. 
The fractured surface is shining, readily affording a white emid- 
sion when rubbed with the moistened finger. 

This is a very pure scammony, containing 89*4 per cent, of 
resin soluble in ether. The matter insoluble in ether is nearly 
colourless, wliich is also the case with that of Nos. I and 2. 
That from No. 1 appeared under the microscope chiefly as an 
amorphous, gelatinous substance, soluble in water, and in which 
no starch-granules were observed, 

4. Pure Black Scammmuj as collected in shady places. My 
sample appears to have formed part of a cake upwards of an 
inch thick It is remarkably opaque and black even in small 
fragments ; very tliin splinters, however, show* it of a greyish 
liue. It is compact yet very brittle; its fractui'e glossy j it 
possesses the nsual scammony-odour, and affords a dmgy emul- 
sion when wetted and nibbed. My experiments prove it to 
contain 87*9 per cent, of resin soluble in ether. 

This scammony bears some resemblance externally to Solazzi 
extmct of liquorice. It is unknown in English trade. 

5. Smyrjia Scammori't/ " adulterated/' says Mr. Maltass, " with 
xnagoesian earth ^ and vegetable matter to the extent of 20 or 30 
per cent ; such is sold in London as Lachrym^ scummont/.** 

' Or rather carbonate of lime. 



lasa. 



Pur© Angora 
Scummony* 



Pure black 



Adulterated 
Scaramouy* 



90 



RESIN OF SCAMMONT. 



1863. 



Resiij of 
Scammony, 



This scammony is blackish, rather brittle and opaque, either 
compact or frothy: fracture not bright, readily afiFording an 
emulsion. Treated with ether, I obtained from it 79*3 per cent, 
of matter soluble in that menstnmm. 

6. Angora Scammoni/ ad alter aUd with calcai^eous earth and 
starch to the extent of 65 to 68 per cent. This scammony is 
heavy and gi'eyish with a dull clayey fmcture. It is evidently 
very impure^ affording only 33"4 per cent, of matter soluble in 
ether. 

7. Iviitatimi Scammmy, " prepared," says ilr. Maltass, " from 
the refuse of scammony gathered by the Turkish peasants after 
the extraction of the resin, with the addition of gum arabic 
and rosin.'* 

This substance is in hard, opaque, black, irregular cinder- 
like masses. I have obtained from it 44*28 per cent of resin 
soluble in ether. It is needless to comment on the activity of 
such a compound, yet I am assured that even this would fetch 
IO5. per pound in the London market. 

8. Pure liesin of Scammoni/, extracted from .Smyrna scam- 
mony of 1846. Viewed in the mass it is blackish, in small 
fragments transparent and greenish-brown : very brittle, outer 
surface and fractured surfiice brilliant. A ^eiy scanty emul- 
sion is produced when the surface ia moistened and rubbed. 

9. Eesin of Scammmiy, rather less pure than Ko. 8. 

10. Pure Resin of Angora Scammony: transparent and of a 
golden-brown even in the mass. Like the natural Angora 
Bcammony, it is cracked in all directions and extremely friable. 
When moistened and rubbed no emulsion is perceptible. 



Characters 

of pure 
Scammony. 



In conclusion I may remark that the striking characters of 
pure natural scammony, I mean the unmixed inspissated juice, 
are its pa/<?, yellowish-hrowa hue, its transparmtcy, its great brittle- 
nesSf ti8 property of readily affording a white tmnlMon when 
nibbed with water, and the scanty ammmt of a white ^'esidtie 
which it haves upoti being treuted with ether. All these char- 
acters are well shown in samples 1, 2, and 3, 

The opaque Black Scammony No. 4 although marked pure is 



"OLEA EUBOPJEA/' L. 



91 



regardad by Mr. Maltass as questionable. It is certainly a very 
curious variety, is^hich, if an entirely natural product, would 
form an exception to the above remarks, 

Soainmony-?T,sm is distinguisliable from scaminony by afford- 
ing hardly any emulsion when wetted and rubbed. 



1853. 



ON THE FEBRIFUGE PROPERTIES OF THE OLIVE 
{OLEA EUROP^A, L). 

{Olm Eurcpma ah FiebermiUel) 

In a letter whirh I have recently received froai my friend 
Mr. Sidney H, Maltiiss, of Smyrna, he draws attention to the 
value of tbe leaves of the olive (Olm Europwa, L) as a febrifuge. 
The passage is so interesting tliat I shall make no apology for 
quoting it at length : 

*' . . . I nmy here tell you of a discovery I made in 1B43, 
which has proved valuable. I was in the island of Mytelene, and 
at a time when fever and ague of the worst description were 
raging in the island ;— ia ftict, it was so bad that death ensued 
fretpit'Utly after a week or ten days. The small quantity of 
quinine at the druggist*s was soon exhausted, and I could pro- 
cure none to administer to patients. Knowing that biberine 
and salicine were often used for fever and ague, I turned over in 
my mind all the bitters I could think of wliich might prove 
effectual Many were poisonous, and I rejected them, then 
thought of oiict'^ leaves, and after several trials made on myself^ 
I commenced administering doses of a decoction of the leaves, 
say two handfuls boiled in a quart of water till evaporation liad 
reduced it to a pint. TJds I gave in doses of a wine-glassfiil 
every three or four hours. Obstinate cases of fever gave way 
before it ; and for many years I have found it more effectual 
tlian quinine, 

*^ I have recommended it to our medical men, and although at 
first they ridiculed tbe idea, they all use it now* It is a most 
vahmble remedy for the poor in an ohve-gi'owing country." 

This discovery is the more interesting since it* corroborates 
some observations upon the same subject made in France many 
years previously. 



1854. 



Letter on 

olive leavea 

from Mr. 

Mattuss. 



92 



OLIYE LEAVES-VAUOUELDfE. 



1BS4^. 



TatlODS. 



So early as in the year 1811, IL Cazals, of Agde, pointed out 

French obser- the good effects he had observed produced by the administration 

of oHve leaves in cases of intermittent fever,^ and a chemical 

examination of them (as suggested by M. Cazals) was soon 

afterward made by M, Ferrat,^ 

Favourable residts also attended some similar trials made in 
France by Dr, Eidot, and in Spain by Drs. Bugiiin and Faure. 
Inv^ti^tbna Jq 1828 a moi'e elaborate investigation of the subject was 
published by Dr. E. Pallas,^ He states that olive leaves are 
sometimes empluyed as a febrifuge by the physicians of Spain, 
tlmt during the war in that country in 1808 to 18K^3 the French 
Officiers dc Sanie frequently prescribed them as a substitute for 
cinchona bark. In several cases of intermittent fever iu the 
military hospital at Pampeluna, Dr. Pallas observed marked 
beneficial effects from the use of the bark of the olive admi- 
nistered in tlie form of an alcoholic extract 

Dr, Pallas analyzed* the leaves as well as the young bark, and 
found them to contain, among other less important constituents, 
a crystallLKable substance designated by him Vmfqndim, and a 
bitter principle, to which latter he ascribes most of the febrifuge 
properties of the plant. As the young bark contained more of 
these matters than either the leaves or tlie old bark, he concluded 
that it was the preferable part for medicinal use. 

Vmtqueline, according to this author, is a colourless, inodorous 
solid, having a slightly sweet taste. It crj^stallizes iu micaceous 
plates, or sometimes in stellate prismatic crj^stals, which are 
very soluble in w^ater at all temperatures. It scarcely dissolves 
in cold alcohol, though readily in boiling alcohol, from which it 
precipitates as the solution cools. Its aqueous solution imparts 
a faint blue to reddened litmus paper. Young olive bark aflbrded 
Dr. Pallas nearly 2 per cent, of Vauquelin^^ 



Vau^utlme. 



^ Bulktin di P/Mxnrwtcie, tome iii., p. 83, 
' lbid.f tome ill, p. 433. 

* Journal Unioersel d^ Heuneet M^kales^ tome xlix., p. 267, Becneit dt 
MSmoirts de Me'decinc, dt Chirurgie^ tt dt Pfiarmacu MHitaire^f vol xxiii. 
(1827), p. 152 ; vol xxvL (1829), p. WJ. 

* Bccutilt vol xxiii,, p. 152. 

* Vauquelim wouM appe^^r to l*e identical with the substance deaiguatcd 



SOME RA.RE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 

Of the pharmaceutical preparations of olive bark, the more 
useful appear to be a tincture and an alcoholic extract Tlie 
tincture is recommended to be made by digesting one part of 
the young bark in eight parts of spirit of wine of sp» gr* -867. 
It may be administered aa Tinctura cinchonm. The dose of the 
extract is lialf a drachm diffused through a little water,* 

The varied and independent testimonies in favour of the 
febrifuge properties of the olive, seem to render it deserving of 
a more extended investigation, both aa to its medicinal and its 
chemical properties. The Vauqudine of Pallas should be re- 
examined, and its connexion with the crystaUizable principles 
obtainable from allied plants should be studied. 

That some therapeutic value does really attach to the bark 
and leaves of the olive is supported by the fact that both the 
lilac {Seringa mdgaris, L.) and the ash {Fraxinus €X€€him\ L,), 
plants of the same natural order, are reputed to possess febrifuge 
properties, and employed on that account in some parts of the 
Continent. 



OK SOME BARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 
{SeUene Cardamomen,) 



^H '* NnlU res est fortasse in re Phnnnaceutiei magis litiginU qukm CardAiiiomi 

^H tiotitia/*—OKOFFEOY, Traciatus <U Materid Medkd^ i. ii., p. 364* 

I ' 

H alw 

P^ abl 




93 



I8ft4. 



The natural history of the various fruits of the order Zingi- 
heracfWj grouped together under tlie name of Cardamom, has 
always proved a subject of difficulty to pharmacologists. Prob- 
ably one cause of this is the imperfect manner in which botani- 
cal 8i»eeimen3 of these plants have been preserved (occasioned 
principally by the succulent nature of their flowers and fruits), 
and a second may be due tfj tlie fact that comparatively but few 
botanists have been able to labour for a sufficient length of time 

by Lunderer Olivine {Tutntt^i Chemistrif, 7tb ed., 1842, p. 1125). The 
latter Dame h however ohjectioDable, it hiving been applied to two other 
bo«lii59, mimely, to the olive-gieeii eryatalliue fiubstance obtainetl by the 
acliuii of sulphutic acid on SaHcine, and to a variety of the mineral 
ChrytoliU. 

» L*hereuu, in JoMmal de €himi4 Midicuk, tarue iv. (1828), pp. .*j43- 546. 



Tlierapeutic 

value of 
olive bark 
and learea* 



lasft. 



94 



SOJIE RABE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 



1065. iQ ii^Q i^Qi a^n^ httmid regions in which Anwmtim and allied 
genera chiefly abound. 

Among the phannacologists to whom we are indebted for re- 

Dr. Pereira. searches on this diflicnlt siilgect is the kte illustrious Dn 
Pereira, who, with the energy which so signally mai^ked his 
character, was enabled to throw much light on the pharniaco- 
logical histor}^ of various species of Aviomvm occiiiTing on the 
West Coast of Africa, and affording the diflerent varieties of 
Grains of FaradUc or AlellirjvcUa Pepper, 

Important botanical observations have more recently been 

Pr. Hookor. made by Dr, Josepli Daltcrn Houker,* who had had the advan- 
tage of an interesting series of specimens of Amomm7i collected 
with much labour by Dn W, F. lianiell on various parts of the 
West Coast of Africa. 
GuilKjurt E*rofessor Guibourt, of Paris, has contributed many accurate 
observations on the same subject, and especially some notices 
and figures of certain species of Cardamom wlucli, although 
rarely met w^ith in Europe, are important articles of trade in 
the Eastern Archipelago and in China. 

It is to these latter species^ namely, the Cardamoms of Siam, 
Cochin-China, Tonquin and China, that the present paper refers; 
and I must preface it by saying that my object is to place tlie 
information we possess in a collected form, and to point out the 
desirableness of furtljer researches, rather than to communicate 
much that is new. It is my hope that Europeans residing in 
the countries in question, who take an interest in natural history, 
may be sLimulated to some exertion to discover the botanical 
origin, and obtain further accounts regarding the cidture, the 
collection, and the uses of these productions, whicli, apart from 
their interest to the pharmacologist, are derived from plants, 
many of which, remarkal>le for a splendid inflorescence, would 
become valuable additions to the horticultural collections of this 
country. 

^ Hooker's Jour7t<d o/ Boiaufjf vol iv., p, 129 ; vol. vL, p. 289. 




SO^IE E^VHE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 



95 



LAHGE ROUND CHINA CARDAMOBL (FIG. 1.) 

iZarge round Chi7ia Cardani&m.^Tereim, ElcvurUs of Materia 
iirn, part iL (1840), p. 699, fig. 133. 

Large round CJiina Canlumoni, — Pereira, Elwh of Mai, Med,., 
ed. 2, vol. ii (1842), p. 1035, fig. 203. 

Avtrc Cardamome rond d€ la Chi7ie. — Giiibourt, Mktoire des 
Drotfue^, ^iL 4, tome ii (1849), p. 215, fig. 115. 

Emtiid Cardamom. — Pereira, Elevi. of Mat. Med.^ ed. 3, vol. ii. 
(1850), p. 1139, fig. 255, 256. 

Groszcs ni7idc$ Chinesische Kardamom. — Martiny, Enafk- 
lojiddie der Mcdidnisch - jpkarmaceidischen Nainralien und 
HohiraarenJcunde, M. ii. (1854), p. 77*>. 

^^ ^2 Tsaoit-hmii 

FiDe specimens of this fruit were procured \\y my brolLcr, 
Mr. Thomas Hanbury, at Singapore in tlie drug shops of wliicli 
place, he tells me, it appears by no means plentil'nl. Deprived 
of the husk (fig. 2). I have also received it from Canton and 



1855, 




« « ^ 4 



FitJ. L— Lfiri?« raumdChma Cardamom ifruils and neeilft). 



Shanghai, from the latter place utKler the above-mentioued 
\ character, Tsaou-kaw, the same name, I presume as that given 
by Loureiro, as applied to liis Ainomum f/lohosujn} In the 
Hluanian collection in the British Museum, there is a small 
specimen of this fruit, 

* Flora Cochinchinamf, Berolini, 1793| t. i., p. 6. 




96 



SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM, 



iaa&, Tjig Large Emind China Cardamom varies consideralbly in 

Largi^ round size, my specimens bein^ from 1,^ inches to ^ of an inch ia 

Cardaraoip, length. The capsules are somewhat oval or globular, pointed 

at either extreimty, obscurely three*sided (except at the base 

where the triangxilar character is strongly marked); they are 

sometimes attached to a long pediceL The 

pericarp closely invests the mass of seeds ; it 

is brown, thin, and strongly marked externally 

with intermpted longitndinal ridges; it is hardly 

aromatic. The seeds are coherent into a three- 

lobed mass (fig. 2) ; they are generally light 

greyish-brown angular with a deep furrow on 

one side ; they have a slight aromatic odour and taste, the latter 

suggestive of Thyme {Tk^ius vid^arLs)^ though much w^eaker. 

This Cardamom is a native of the South of China, and of 
Cochiu-Chinaj vtiience it is exported. It appears to be much 
employed in Chinese medicine as a stomacliic. 



Flo, 



8mnJl round 
Cliina 



SMALL ROUND CHINA CARDAMOM, (FIG. 3.) 

Cardaviome rond de la Chine. — Guibourt, Hi-st. de^i Drofjui$, 
M. 4, tome ii. (1849), p. 215. figs, 113, 114 (excluding other 
synonyms). 

Until recently I considered this Cardamom as simply a 
variety of the preceding, but the decided opinion of its dis- 
tinctness expressed to me by Professor Guibourt induces me to 
place it under a separate head* 

I>n Pereira seems to have cou founded it with his " Bound 
Cardamom, fig. 255/* which is a representation of M. Guibourt*s 
" Alii re Cardammnc rotid- de ia Chinch as a comparison of the 
woodcuts will plainly show. 

Specimens of the Small round China Cardamom are pre- 
served in the Mus^e d'Histoii'e Naturelle at Paris. M. Guilx)urt 
likewise possesses specimens, and has kindly presented me with 
one. I have never received this Cardamom direct from China. 

The following description of the Small round China Car- 
damom is taken chiefly from M, Guibourt's work : — 



SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 



Capsules pedicelled nearly spherical, from seven to eight i8»»- 
lines ia diameter, slightly striated longitudinally, and much Guibourt 
i^Tiukled in all directions by drying; it is probable, however, 
that the fmit was smooth when fresh. The capsule is thin, 
lighti easily torDj yellowish externally, w*hite within. 
The seeds form a globular coherent mass. ITiey are 
rather large and few in number, son^ewhat w^edge- 
I shaped, of an ashy-giey, a little granular on the 
surface, and present on the outer face a bifurcate 
furrow shaped like a Y. They possess a strongly 
aromatic odotir and taste. ^Znfchtni^ 

To this description I may add that, compared with 
the Large round China Cardamom the capsides in question are 
more wrinkled in a network manner, more fragile and thin, and 
(from immaturity ?) much less adherent to the mass of seeds ; they 
are more globose, not triangular at the base, but Hat, or even 
I depressed like an apple. Their colomv in all the specimens I 
have seen, is a brownish^yellow. I cannot confirm M. Gui- 
bourt's remark as to the highly aromatic properties of the seeds. 

This Cardamom, which appears to bear the same Chinese Amomum 
name as the foregoing, is attributed by M* Guibourt to the ^^LourSro.^^ 
Amomum gluhoattni of Loureiro. 

HAIRY CmXA CARDASIOM. (fIGS. 4, 5,) 

Small round China Cardamom. — Pereira, £lcm. of Mat, Med. Hairy China 
Part ii. (1840), p. 609. Cardamom. 

Small roimd Chiita Cardamom. — Pereira, Ulaju of Mat. Med, 
ed. 2, vol ii. (1842), p. 10S5, fig, 204 

Cardamome poilu dc la CAim^.— Guibourt, Hist, dea Brogues, 
6d. 4, tome a (1849), p. 214, ^g, 112. 

Hairi^ China Cardamom. Hainj round Chiua CardamohU— 
Pereira, Ekm. of Mat MaL,e± 3, vol ii (1850), p. 1140, % 
257, 258. 

Card<im<?ma Chimnsia viuricala ; Weichstachclige Kardamo* 
men, — Alartiny, Enq/klojmdic dcr 3Ial Pkarm* Naturalun uiid 
Sokwaarcnkunde, Bd. ii (1854), p. 776. 

1^ "'^^^^^ Yang-chun-sha. 



98 



SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 



1855. 

Am&mum 
mlloifum f 



Professor Gnibourt lias suggested that this fruit maybe the 
produce of tlie Amomum viUosum of Loareiro, an opinion in 
wliich the kite Dr. Pereira coueuiTed. Loureiro's description is, 
however, (^uite iusuflicient for determining this from the fruit 
alone; and as there 13, unfortunately, no specimen of Amomum 
viUosum either in the British Museum or in the Mirsee d'llistoire 
Katurelle of Paris, in each of whicli institutions some portion 
of his herbarium yet exists, and as the species has been recog- 
nized by no other author, it seems at present hardly possible to 
decide this point. ^ According to Loiueiro, his A, vlUosum is 

called in Chinese Sd Xd liii^ ^^ ^^^^ ^& *— ^ name under 

which I have never received the Ilairt/ China Cardammn, 
Specimens of this cardamom are preserved in the Sloanian 
collection in the British Muaeuni. 





9 # t) li 



ilniru China Cttrdtxmam. 
Fmj. 4— Fruit Flo, fi— Seedi, 

Samples from From my brother, Mr. Thomas Hanbnryj I have received some 
Singaporo. ^^^^ j^j^^ samples purchased by lum at Singapore. I am also 

' M» Las^^e h!i3 .stated in his Mush Botmdqiu de M, B. Iklltsmrt 
(p. 348), tLit tlie AcadiMiiy of Lisl>oii possesses the greater part of Lfjureim's 
herburiiim. I regret to find this does not appear to be the case. M. Fran- 
daco Antonio Pereim Da Costa of Lisbon Iiaj* informed me, that, so far as be 
can ujjcertiiin, tbe herbikrium in que.stion never existed at tbe Academy ; it 
was snpposed to have foniierly belonged to the Miiseu da Ajuthi ; but upon 
the removal of that eatablisluneut to the Academy, no trace of it could be 
discovered. 

* Now usimlly Bpelt SuJi-ihorrtuih, The Chinese characters are tuken from 
the FunMmH^ where there is a coarse woodcut of the i^lnnt. 



I 



I 



m% 



^ARE KI^DH OF CAKDAMUM. 



99 



Botauical 
chttmcl«rs of 
Hairy China 
CardAEnotn. 



indebted to Mr, Lockbait, of Sbangliai, and to Mr. Lobselieid, of i«55. 
Hong K<»ng, for specimens procured in the drug shops of China. 

The Hairt/ China Cardumotn ia sometimes sold attached to 
• the stalk, sometimes removed from it. 

The scape, which when perfect, is about three inches long and 
reclinate, bears as many as eight or ten capsules upon its supe* 
1 rior extremity* The capsules are from six to ten lines in length. 
In the dried state they are oval, occasionally nearly spherical, 
more or less thi-ee-sided, bluntly pointed with a scar at the 
summit, rounded at the base, and attached by a pedicel one to 
two lines long. The pericarp is externally dark brown, marked 
with obscure longitudinal striw and covered with aspLfrities, 
which, after soaking in water proved to be short, thick, Heshy, 
closely-crowded spines. It has when bruised an aromatic and 
tar-like odour, the seeds have a siiuilar tar-like odour and taste 
not unmixed with the aromatic warmth of the Jlalabar Car- 
damom ; they ai"© angular, and upon the removal of the pericarp 
remain united m a tbrce-lobed mtiss* 

Tlie scape is densely villous, especially at its iipper extremity, 
but I can detect no hairs upon the pericarp. If Loureu-o's 
Amomum vlUosum be identical with this P])ecie3 its specific name 
was probably taken from the short spine4ike processes with 
wliich the iiericarp is beset, and which pericarp Loureiro de- 
scribed as " cxtcriii^ dbsessmn villis muUis, crassU*' — a character, 
however, more applicable to another species than to this. 

Mr, Lobscheid informs me that this CardLunom is said to 
grow in the province of Kwang-tting, and in the Yang-yim dis- 
trict of Southern China. It appears to be fretjuently used in Medical use, 
medicine by the Chinese. 

Loureiro states of his Amomum villomim, whose Cocliin- 
Chinese name is Sunkon, that it occurs without cultivation in 
Qui-nhon and Phu-yen provinces of Cochin-China, and that its 
seeds are exported to China, where they are largely employed 
in medicine. 



h2 



100 



SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM, 



lOftA. 



XANTHIOm CARDAMOM. (FIG. 6, 7.) 



Xbiitbioid 
Ciurduiiiam, 



Amomnm imth miall round, hrmtm^oloured fruits in cluderit^ 
Ko. 101 in W. Gomez's Tavoij Catalo^m, 1827. I^IS. in the 
possession of the Linnean Society of London. 

Amomum a:unthimdes, — No. 1956, — ^Wallich, Catalogns Plan- 
tarimi qnas in iiinerc BuTmanic^ a mcm€ Augusti, 1826, ad 
Jincm Mali 1827, obscrvaint KW. MS. in tlie possession of the 
Linnean Society. 

Amomum f xanihmidcs. — ^WalL, CakiL of (he East Indian 
Herbarium, No. 6557. 

Among some specimens of drugs received from China through 
the kindneas of my friend ^Ir. Lockhart^ was a quantity of the 
capsules of a fruit resembliug the Hairy China Cordamotn, but 
diflering from it in the much more spiny character of the pericai-p. 

Upon comparison, it proved identical with a species collected 
at Tavoy, Gulf of Martaban, in 1827, by Mr. W. Gomez, in 
whose MS. collecting-book (above quoted) it is defined as 
** Amomum nnik smidl round brmt)n-€{)louriid fruits in clusters" 
Dr. Wollkb. ^^ I^^- Wallich's MS. Catalogue of Burmese Plant^s (entitled 
as above) occurs the following, in the doctor s own hand i — 

"1956. A7nofnum xanlhimdt's^ Wall* — ^Very like ^. aculeutum^ 
Eoxb,, but differing seemingly in the linear-laiiceolate not 
cordate leaves, and the fruit w^iich consists in short rounded 
clusters from the repent root; it is of an oblong obtuse form, 
thickly covered with prickles. Seems a taU species. Tavoy. 
V27/' 

The next notice of Amomum xantMoideB^ I find in the MS. 
Catalogue of the East Indian Herbarium of the Linnean Society 
inserted thus :— 

_ " 6557. Amomum ? xanthioidcs, Wall. (A. aculeato Eoxb.prox.). 

Tavoy W.G." 

From this last entry, it will be oberved that a donbt seems to 
have been felt as to the genua of the plant in question, a doubt, 
I confess that appears to me groundless, if Amomum aculeatum 
is an admitted Amomum, 



I 
I 



SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 



lUl 



The specimens of Amomum xanthioides collected by Gomez 
and now in the collection of tlie Linnean Society are without 
flowers, but well furnished witli fniits, one bunch of which is 
represented in Fig, 6. I have carefully compared this species 
with its near ally A. amleaturn as figured by Roxburgh/ and 
also with the specimen presented in the herbarium of the 
British Sf useum. In addition to the observation of Dr. Wallich, 



less* 



collected by 
Gomez. 



V,»3 



>' 



Flo. 0.— Frait of AfMmum xanfklcldes, WaTJicbt flrom & ■p^cimen la the berluritiixi of 
Ui« Lifmean Society. 

Qftt in A, x^nthimdes the leaves are linear-lanceolate, while in 
A, acukatum they are cordate [-lanceolate], I may remark that 
A. aculecUum appears to be a much more robust species, with 
larger fruit ; it has besides the spines upon the pericarp not 
simple, but flattened and partially united t%vo or three together, 
a character very evident in the dried specimen, though not well 
represented in Roxburgh's figure. 



* Aniaiitk Euearehrs^ vol. xL, p* 344, pi, vi. 
(e<L Ciirey), vol. i., p. 40. 



Vide aleo Flora Imlica 



102 



SOME HAKE KINPS OF CARDAMOM 



ia55. 



Bastard 
Cfli'damumB. 



Capsules of 

A nimn um 

vcanthioidcs. 



The capsules of Amoimmi jcanthioidcs^ received by me under 

the name ^^ > ^ ij^SIui-Jvi-hd,^ Lad been deprived of seeds ; 
indeed, the terminal syllable in the Cliinese name signifies httsk 
or sfu'll. Yet from a few capsules wliich had escaped the shelling 
pitjcess, I had an opportunity of examining the seeds which, I 
suspected, were not unknown in the English niarlvet. I believed 
them to constitute the Cardamom Sceds^ occasionally ofTered at 
the Londun drug sales, and which I had traced to Moulmein 
and Penang. 

This opinion has been unexpectedly coufinucd. While this 
notice was in tlie hands of tlie printer, I received through the 
kindness of It. I*adday» Esq.» of Singapore, three samples of 
'* Bastard Canlmnoms " obtained from Bangkok in Siam, Tliese 
Bastard Canhimorns have mostly been deprived of the husks, 
the seeds are either detached, or united with tlie paititiong into 
three-lobed masses. But the fnn'ts retaining the husk are so 
evidently those of AmoifrufU xaufhioides that I have no hesita* 
tiou in referring tlie Bastard Cardamoms to that species. I 
also identify them with the Cardamom Seeds of the London 
market. 

The seeds of A. xanihioides much resemble those of the 
Malabar Cardamom, but are not bo rugose : they am, however, 
distinguishable by their peculiar aromatic taste and smell. 

Tlie empty capsules received from China are mostly attached 
to a common stalk, wliich, %vhen perfect, is about five inches 
long, and beset with the remains of slieathing bracts. The 
superior portion, which is mnch stouter than the rest, beai's the 
fruits closely crowded together on short, bracted pedicels. No 
bunch in my possession bears more than twelve fruits, but 
from the number of piKlicels on some specimens it would appear 
tljat the Huweis at least are often twice as numerous. The 
capsules having been deprived of seeds are shrunken and com- 
pressed, but after soaking in boiling water they acquire their 

* I do Dot attach much value to this Chinese nAtn<^, which, I tliink, is some- 
timea applied to the ilainj China Canlamom. 

s I mean the seeda per se. I^Iulabjir Ciirdcunoms deprived of pericarp arc, 
I believe, nevt^r imported. 



4 



SO^m RAKE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 

proper volume (Fig. 7), becoming nearly spherical and about 
tLree-qiiarters of au inch in diameter. Tlie pericarp is covered 
with long, acute, recurv^ed spines, which are longest near the base. 

I have I'eceived no infonnation regarding the uses of these 
Cardamom liusks, which, it would appear^ ai-e exported to China 
and there consumed* 

By a letter from liohert Hunter, Esq., of Bangkok, addressed 
to llr. Padday, I learn tliat the so-called Ba^fard Cttrdamoms 
are the produce of the Laos Country and of Cambodia, where 



103 



18SS. 



Bobert 
Himter* 



Pio. 7 —-i www MM MiHthiQiditt Willii'h, 

they grow wild in the more elevated regions of the mountain 
forests. Their commercial vahu^ is small, those of the first 
quality being worth in Siam about ^hl. sterling per pound. 

It woidd be very interesting to procure perfect specimens of 
this curious species of Amomum, from which a complete descrip- 
tion might be drawn up. 

R1TTER-3EEDED CARDAMOM. (FIG. 8.) 

Cardnnewme noir dt Gaeriner, — Guibourt, Eid. des Drogues, t?d. 
3, tome VL (1836), p. 287. 

Blark Cardamom — Gaertncr, — Pereira, Elcm^ of Mat, Me-d,, 
Part ii. (1840J. p. 699.— i^/fw. of Mat Med.^ed 2, voLu. (1842J, 
p. 1036, fig. 205. 



104 



S031E RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 



1S55. 



CartUmam. 



Cardamame nmr de Gaertn^.—Gmhoxni, Hist. df:s Droffues.ifl 
Bitter-Meded 4, tome ii. (1849), p. 214. 

Black Cardumom, — Pereira, Ekm. of Mat. Jifed., ed. 3, voL ii, 
(1850), p. 1140, fig. 259. 

Cardfrnionia ni(fra ; Schmrze Karda?nomen. — Jlartiny, Eii- 
ci/cklopddic der M€d, Phm^m. Nattiralkn und MokioauiriiJcunde, 
Bd. a (1854), p. 775. 

Cardamome d Semenees am^rc-s.— Guibourt MS. 

Very little is kaowii of the origin of this Cardamom. By 
Professor Guiboiiii;, who first described it, it was doubtfuUy 
leferred to the Zingiber rii^nnn of Gaertner, a plant identical 
with Alpinia AUughns of Eoacoe, but as Dr, Percira has 



Ml 



in the 

Chinese 

Berbul 



pointed oiit^ (and I can confirm his statement), it is totally 
different from the fruit of that species. In the Fim-tsaoU'kang- 
vmh, a celebrated Chinese herbal, there is a rude figuj^e of the 
plant, which is stated to be indigenous to the island of Hal- 
nan. The MS. catalogue of the collection of Chinese drugs at 
the Eoyal College of Physicians of London, mention the pro- 
vince of Kwantung as its place of growth. It is probable that 
both statements are correct. 

For a specimen of this Cardamom as met with in the drug- 
shops of China, I am indebted to the kindness of my friend 
1 Ehm, 0/ M<U. Med,y cd. 3, vol il, p. 1140, 




4 



SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 



105 



lasa. 



(?ftrdamom. 



Mr. Lockhart. The capsules are mostly oval, some ovate-oUoBg, 

and a few nearly spherical, pointed at the extremities, 6 to 10 Bitter-aoedcd 

lines long. The pericarp is of a deep duaky-hrown, coriaceous, 

devoid of hairs, beset longitudinally with interrupted ridges 

usually about 1 8 in number ; it has an agreeable aromatic smell 

and taste. The seeds are obtusely angular and adhere firmly 

together ; they are distinguished by an aromatic, bitter, myrrk' 

like taste. 

There is a fine specimen of this Cardamom in the Mus(5e 
d*Histoire Naturelle at Paris, 



I 



OVOID CHINA CARDAMOM. (Fia 9.) 

Amomum medwnu — Loureiro, Flora Coehiiichinensis, ed. Willd. Ovoid Chini* 
(1793), tome i.. p. 5. Ctrdamom. 

Cardamomt avoide de la Chine. — Gui'bourt, Hist, dcs Drogues, 
*?d. 3, tome ii. (1836), p. 287. 

Owid Chirm Cardnmom.^—VeveiTS^ Elem. of Mat Mt^h, Part 
ii. (1840), p. 698, fig. 132; Ekm. of Mat Med., ed. 2, vol. ii., 
(1842), p. 1035, fig. 202. 

Cardamome oimde de la Ckhu. — Guilvourt, ffist. des Ih'ognc^, 
^d. 4, tome ii. (1849), p. 215, fig. 116. 

Ovoid China Cardamom {Aljyinia alha, Roscoe).— Pereira, 
£lem. of Mat. Med, ed. 3. vol. ii. (1850). p. 1141, fig. 260. 

Grrdinnoma Chinensia (rviformia ; Eifomiiffe Ckinesisehe 
Katdamomnu — llartiny, EnnjMopadie der Med, Fhurm. Natur^ 
alien uml liohwaarcnJcimde, Ed. ii (1854), p. 775. 



Tmoii-hwa, 



Professors Guibourt and Pereirahave referred the Ovoid China 
Cardamom to Amamum inediumf Loureiro ; and, as I think, 
with good reason ; but of the identity of this plant with Alphiia 
alba, Hoscoe, the evidence, although generally admitted, is far 
from conclusive. Loureiro'a description is incomplete ; he did 
not see fresh flowers of his Ammnum mcdiian, no specimen of 
it exists in his herbarium, nor has a drawing of it been preserved. 




lOG 



1055. 



Ovokl Cbiua 
Cardcimoin. 



SOME HABE KINDS OF CARDABIOIL 

Moreover, Roscoe, in enumerating the synonyms of his Alpinia 
alba, has taken no notice of Loui'eiro's Am^omum} 

But Alpinia alha is itself a plant known only hy description ; 
no lignre of it is to be fuunJ, still less a spcciioeu. I nm 
assured by Sir W. J. Hooker it is noticed in none of the Intliun 
Flora, and that it does not occur in any of the catalogues of 
plants cultivated in India. 

The Ovoid China Cardamom is a product of Soutliern China, 
and abundant in the drug shops of Singapore, as well as in 



♦ # ♦ ^ 



Fir., 0.— OvoW Ckinit Cardamom (cfttim fruSts, fruit duiirived of i»rri»'uri), trnd tt^edaj. 



those of China, It is an oval or oblong, three-celled, three- 
valved and obscurely three-sided fruit> of from 1 to 1| inches 
in length. The pericarp is of a dusky-greyish brown deep 
striated longitudnmljy, thick and coriaceous, frequently covered 
on the surlaee wilh a whitish ettloreseence ; it is hut slightly 
aromatic. The seeds are very large, often upwards of three 
lines in length, sharply angular and striated, having a powerful 
and peculiar aromatic smell and taste. 
This Cardamom is remarkable for its large, hard, angular seeds, 

' Linn, Traiu.^ vol. viii,, p. 346. 



SOME liARE KINDS OF CAEDAMO^f. 



107 



whicli alone seem suflicient to pmve its distinctness from the 
Lan^iifs rnlffare of Ka?Di^^ whose seeds are described in the 
Ohtrvaikines lioianicxt of lietziiiis {Fuse, iii, pp. 64, 65) as " Carda-* 
mamo minori mniiliifwJ'* 

The seeds of the Ovoid China Cardxtmmn are used by the 
Chinese for a variety of disonlers, and, according to Lotireiro, 
are also emplojed as a condiment. 

Thei-e are examples of the Ovoid China Cardtimom in Ur 
BuTges's collection at the Koyal College of Physicians, under 
the erroneous designation " Grana raradifii in mpsuli.i,'* 

At the Musee d'Histoire Naturelle at Paris, I have observed 
a specimen of the same fruit, labelled Qud-lcu, 

GALANGA CAHDAMOBT. (PIGS. ]0, 11.) 

I have applit'd the tenn Gahnufa Cardamom to a small me- 
dicinal fruit received under the above Chinese names from n>y 
friend Mr. Loehbart, of Sbanghai, 

The specimen consists of capsules about half an inch in length 
and three lines in breadth, of an oblong form, somewhat con- 
stricted in the miildle, m' t>cca8ionHlly pear-shaped ; some are 
obscnrely three-sided, liach fruit is prtimincnlly crowned witli 
the remains of the calyx ; in a few, the ^ 

loA^er extremity is still attached to u 
slender pedicel. Most of the capsules i 
arc much slirivelled on the outside, ap- | 
parently from having been gatlieied 
while immature (Fig. H) ; a few, liow- 
ever, retain a plump and smooth ap- 
pearance (Fig. 10), The pericarp varies 
externally in colour (according to its 
maturity ?), from a pule to a tluep red- aaianffaVn'rftamomittniUimdKfaai 
diah-browu; internally it is whitish. 
It is glabrous in the mature fruits, thin nnd brittle, not splitting 



1835. 



Oroid Cliina 




m A & 




Gal align 



108 



SOME RARE KDfDS OF CAUDAMOM 



X85S. 

Cardaiiiora. 



Eeferred to 
tlip Grcnt 



into valves; in tlie slirivelkd fruits it appears stronger, from its 
close adherence to the mass of seeda Upon removal of the 
pericarp the seeds are seen united in a three-lolied mass, com- 
pletely invested in a wliitish integument, each cell or lobe con- 
taining, usually, two seeds, placed one above the other. The 
seeds are ash-coloured, flattish and somewhat three cornered ; 
finely striated externally towards a large conspicuous Iiihim 
which faces the wall of the capsule, and which is connected 
-with the axillary placenta by a long, broad funiculus. Each 
seed is nearly surrounded by a tough aril ; opposite tlie hilum 
a scar-like depression is observable. The seeds have a pungent, 
burning taste and aroma resembling the Larger Galangal Root ; 
the pericarp is similarly aromatic and biting. 

Although I liave not data for determining with cerfmnty from 
what plant the Oalanga Cardamom is derived, I am induced, 
after a carefnl examination, to refer it to the Great Galangal, 
Alpinia Gahmga, Willd. {Amomum Galanga, Loureiro ; Lane- 
quas, Eumphius.) I do so, because— L The name Kamt^leang- 
keang^ (Cdo Lcdm Kiam of Loureiro) or Leang-hang is the 
Chinese name of Alpinia GaJanga. 2. The fruit in question 
substantially agrees ivith the descriptions of Rumphins,^ Lou- 
reiro/ and especially of Roxburgh,* 

1 have examined several specimens of Alpinia Gahmga in 
the herbarium of Sir W. J, Hooker; none, however, in frail The 
figures of the plant, also, with tlie exception of a very poor 




' The syUahle Uzf merely si^ifiea utd or fruit 

' Herbarium AmboineitM, lib. 8, c. 9, p 144. 

' Flora Oochinckmejims (ed. Willd. )i t. i., p. 7. I am aware that Loureiro 
here describes the fruit as trivalvig^ but in an eArlier deBcription of Amomum 
Galanga^ communicated by Loureiro himself to Sir Joseph B.mlcs, this word 
is omitted. It was with much interest that I discovered this description of 
A, Qalanga in a httk MS, volume in the handwriting of Loureiro, preserved 
in the British Museum. The volume, which is the MS. Ko. 93, Calal 
BibtiotL^ tome iii.» p* 35, in thua entitled :—Nova Gmcra Planiarum in 
Cochinchind sjmiiU iinMentia descripta jnxta viithodum clar iAntKri; 
iimulque aim verix pfantis missa m Avgliam a Bf)ian(^hih Joanne d« 
Loureyro, An 1773, The specimen of A, Gahmga k unfortuDately eot 
now to be found. 

* Asiaiick Resmrdies, ToL xi. (1810), p. 318. Flora Indka (ed. Carey) 
Tol. I, p. 59, CI, 



SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 



109 



I 
I 
I 



one in the Herbarium AmboiTiefise, do not represent the i«5£* 
frtiit.1 

It is fix>m A, Galanga that the O-rcater or Java Oatangal root 
is derived. It still remains to be ascertained to what plant we 
owe the Smaller or Chinese Galangal, the ordinary Radix 
Galangm of European druggiista.- [Alpifiia officijiaruiii, Ilunce.] 

According to Loureiio, the seeds of Aniomnm Galanga are 
calefacient, alterative, stomachic, sternutatory, beneficial in 
pituitous colic, dian^ho^a, vomiting, and hiccough. The root, he 
states in the MS, before referred to, appears to be GalangaL 

I have observed a specimen of the Galanga Cardamom in the 
cabinet of the 'Royal College of Physicians of London. 



Round or 
Cordamum. 



I 



Tlaere is yet another species of Cardamom abundant in the 
markets of the East, which thougli now seldom seen in Europe, 
except in cabinets of Ilalcria Medina^ is described by all the 
older^ and by many of the modern, writers on pharmacology. 
I mean the Round or Cludcr Cardamom, the fruit of Amomum 
Cardamomum of Linnajus, a plant occurring in Sumatra and 
other parts of the Archipelago as well as on tlie adjacent con- 
tinent. Of this drug, Mr. Padday hag kiudly sent me thi^ee 
samples obtained at Biiugkok by Mr. Hunter. The finest sample, 
marked No 1, is the produce of Cambodia, and worth in Siam specimens 
about 5a. sterling per lb. Samples No 2 and 3 are from Chanti- camb^Sa aud 
bcin (Siam), and marked respectively 4j. M, and 2s, Zd. per lb. Chantibon. 
Mr. Ilunter states that this Cardamom grows without cultivation 
on the lower slopes of the mountains. 

The llotnid or Cluster Cardammn is in common use in China, 
whence I have repeatedly received it under various designations, 
as ffang-IctrWf Seaon-koWt Po-tow-kow ; for the last name, which 
is perhaps the same as that quoted by Loureiro, the charactei's 



are 



^ 






* Neeu V. EscEbeck, Plant Med., pL 67, 68. Thero is also a beautiful 
coluured tlniwiiig, miirked Amormini Gahmga^ No. 1302 (iinfortuDately not 
wspreaeiitiDg the fruit i, fimong the iinpubliahed druwiuga of Dr. Koxbitrgh, in 
Ihe pOBses&ioQ of the Hou. E^ h Company. 

• CTonault Himbuiy'ii Bubseq^uent paper on Galanga, Pharm. Jourii. vol. ii, 
(1871), p. 243. 



110 



WEST AFRICAN SPECIES OF AMOMUM 



18G3, 



Hr. Gusbiy 
MattiL 



Amoma 




ON SOJtE NEW SPECIES OF AMOMUM FfiOM WEST 

AFRICA. 

By Professor Oliver and Daniel Hanbury. 
{Mead be/on the Linnean Societt/, April 16, 18G3.) 

We have in preparation a monograpli of the West African species 
of Airumium \ but aa there are yet some points to be cleared up, 
requiring further communication with residents at Sierra Leone 
and the ports of Liberia and of the Gulf of Guinea, we shall 
not be in a position to complete it during the present session of 
the Linoean Society, It appearB, however, to be desirable that 
brief iliagnoses of the new species should at once he laid before 
the Society, and we have accordiDgly prepared the foUowiiig. 

Specimens of all the plants described have been received, both 
in the dried state aud preserved in fluid, accoDipaoied in most 
cases by coloured sketches, from Jliv Gustav Mann, the able and 
persevering botanical collector to the Itoyal Gardens, ICew. In 
the Museum and ITerbarinm of this establishment tlie authentic 
specimens are deposited. 

Amoml^i, L, 
♦ Scapi unlJlot'L Scmina dl Ipso aha ^ nitida^ 

1, A. Arundinaceuni, sp. nov. Foliis lineari-lanceolatis, 
glabris, subsessilibus, scapis gracilibus 2-3 unc. lougis, bracteis 
brevissime apiculatis, labello erecto rotundato-obovato, fructu- 
lat^ ovoideo nudo vel subnudo, 

Eah, Corisco Bay, 1862, G. Mann, 

** Flares 2-10 co7^€sH,inscapis8i7npUcihus aut distichera7iwsis, 

a, Labellum erectum, iiniplum, roseum v, purpureum. Folia 
glabra. 

"f" Scapi l'2'2fcdalis^ dkiidit ramosL 

2. A. Gigantenm, sp* nov. FoUis amplis, elongatis, lanceolato- 
ohlongia oblanceolatisve petiolatis, scapi ramulis saepius bifloria 



WEST AFRICAN SPECIES OF AMOilUM. 



Ill 



icrae crista lobo centrali producto quadrato-oblongo bifido v, 
subiiitegnj, fructu ovali-lmiceolato, seniinibus ellipsoideis nitidis, 
HqIk Gaboon Eiver, 1861, G, Mann, 

-ff Svapi simplurs, aut breves hnsi nunosu 

3. A, Sceptrum, sp. nov. Foliis auguste oblongo-lanceolatis, 
petiolatis, ligula scarioaa, scapis siiuplicibus apice clavato-tur- 
gidis circa lU-floris, bracteis siiperioribus dorse apiculatis, tem- 
pore florif'ero transverse plicatis, fructu ovoideo-eompresso v* 
subtrigono glabro, pericarpio crasso, seminibus aiigulatia, 

Mab, Gaboon Kiver, 1861, G. Mann, 

i4. A. Maniiii, sp nov. Foliis oblanceulatisellipticisveabrupte 
iminatis, petioktis, scapLs 2-3 unc, 3-2-Horis, bracteis brevis- 
sime apiculatLs v. mulicis, labello late obovato-rotundato. 
Hab. Corisco Bay, 1862, 0. Mann. 

k Labellum erectiua, ampluin, roseuin v. pnrpurGiini. Foliia 
subtus rainute ptibesceatia v. iiiargine brevit^r pLlosa. Stanii- 
uodia libera. 

5, A. Subsericeura, sp. nov. Foliis lanceolatis acuminatis, 
brevi-petiolatis, subtus piibesceiitia veiiulis transvei-se intertexta 
8ub5ericei3, scapis brevibas sicpius bifloiis, fructu ovato-lanceo- 
lat4> V. ovoidco. scmiuibiis ellipsoideis nitidis. 

IFtib, Gaboon Eiver and Corisco Bay, 1862, G, Mann, 

6. A. Limljatum, sp. nov. Foliis oblongo-lanceolatis, acumine 
teniiiter caudatis, brevissime petiolatis v. sessilibus, subtus nervo 
medio atque mai-gine brevissime ferrugineo pilosis, scapis brevi* 
bus 3-floris, fructu ovoiden seuiinilius ellipsoideis nitidis. 

Mak Fernando To, 18513 and 1861, C, 3IamK 

e, Flores i)arvi, lutei. Folia pilosa. Stamiuodia coaduuata. 

?• A, Pilosum sp, nov. Foliis elougato-lanceolatis aciimiuatis, 
Lreviter petiolatis, sparse pilosis, scapis brevibus bifloris, labello 
limbo traiisvei'se elliptico sul>cordato v. fere iutcgro, fructu 
parvo obovoideo in tubo persisteDte periantbii repcnte contracto 
seminibuB perparvis transverse nigulosis. 

Sftb, Fernando 1*0, 1862, G, Mann. 



1863. 

Amoma 

nova'], 




112 



AMOMUJf AXGUSTIFOLIUM, SUNNEliAT. 



1863. ♦♦♦ Scapi breves, chconici^ capit(tt% IQA^'jUri, Folia glabra, 

8. A, Citratum, Fercira, Pharm, Journ. ami Trans, ii. 313.^ 
Foliis elongatis, oblongo- v. obovato-lanceolatis, bi'eviter acura- 
iuatis, petiolatis, scapis crassis, bracteis superioribiis margine 
crispatis, labello amplo erecto, fructu obovoideo limbo lato periaii- 
tbii peraisteote continuo coroaato, semiaibiis obscure aagulatia 
tuberculatistpie, apice breviter conico productis. 
Hah. Gaboon fiiver. 



lasffl* 



Fruil^, 



Sonnerat. 



Jxiiigouze. 



NOTE ON AMOMUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM, SONNERAT. 
{Rc^d before the Linman Society, December 7, 1871.) 

The fmita which I now lay before the Society are those of 
Amomuin angmti/olium, Sonnerat, ripened in my hot-hou^o at 
Claphani during the past autumn. 

Til is species of Amomitm was collected by Sonnerat in Mada- 
gascar, and described and figured in his Voyage aax ladm On'cu- 
tales d a la Chine, published in 1782. It was cultivated in the 
Calcutta Botanical Garden by Roxburgh, who states that plants 
of it were brought thither from Mauri Lias in 1802. An excel- 
lent coloured drawing is in the Roxburgh Collection now at Kew. 

Bojer, in his Ilortus Maitritiamis published in 1837, mentions, 
as occurring in Mauritius, a plant which lie calls Amonmiti neuiO' 
Tosmn or Lonyouzc. That tins is the same species as the A. 
angnstifoliitm of Sonnerat, I have ascertained by means of a 
good suite of specimens and coloured drawings transmitted to 
me several years ago by M. Emile Fleurot, of that island. 
Bouton, in his Mi'dicinal Plants of Mauritius (1857), assigns 
to the Lonyouzc its correct name of Amomum anyaMifoUum^ 
Sonnerat. He asserts that it Wiis brought originally from Mada- 
gascar ; but in a letter to me under date May 6, 1861, he 
remarks that it " is positively a native of Mauritius^ where it 
grows abundantly in marshy places." 

My plant was raised from seeds sent from Mauritius to tlie 

^ Aa no de^crtption of this speolea baa yet been publLthed, we iucludo iU_ 
diagnosia Id the preseot paper, 



LONGOUZE. 



li:i 



Paris Ejchibitionof 18G7. Wheii it flowei'ed, in June last, I was *^^^' 
instantly struck with its perfect resemblance to the West- RegenjManc© 
can A, Danienit Hook, f; and a careful comparison con- **'^- ^^«''«'^''- 
tced me of the identity of the two species. 
Of the West-African plant I have specimens from SieiTa 
Leone, Monrovia^ Grand Bassa» Cape Palmas, Akassa, Old 
Calabar, the islands of Fernando Fo and St Thomas, and the 
river Gaboon. It varies in the colour of the flower, which is 
Bometimes of a imiform chrome-yellow, sometimes crimson, with 
the labellum of a yellow more or less pale, and sometimes, af?ain» r^i^cnption 

* ^ ' f of the Ui'st 

entirely crimson ; but the shnpe of the flower, which is highly Africau pknL 
characteristic, presents but little variatirm. The scape is either 
short or long (that is, from tliree to eight inclies, or more), and 
varies greatly in the niiniberof fruits which it Ijears. The fruits 
are moderately uniform in shape and size j they are filled with 
an acidulous pulp, in which are lodged numerous oblong polished 
brown seeds. Neither the fmit, nor foliage^ nor the two com- 
bined afford positive characters for recognition of the species : 

The synonymy of the plant may be given t!iusi^ — Synatijniii. 

Amomura angustifolium, Sonnerat, Vmjage cam Indes Ormit- 
alts et a la Chim, ii. 242, tab, 1:57; Roxburgh, Fhra Ind., ed, 
Carey, i. 39, 

A. nemorosum, Bojcr, Hart. Mauritianffs (1857), p. 327* 

A. Danielli, Huuk, f., Hooker's Joum, of BoL iv. (1852) 129, 
tab. 5 (sub. nom. A. Afzelii) â–  Bot. Mag. tab. 4764 

A- Clusii (? Smith in Rces Cijdopa'dia (Addenda)^ xxxix.); Bot, 
^ Moff. tab. 5250. 

B THE MADAGASCAR CARDAMOM, OR LONGOUZRi 

^^^^ {Longouzc, Madaffasmr-Cardamamen, von Amomtim 
^^^H angustifolium, SonnermL) 

^V In several works on Materia Medica published within the 
^^ last fifty years,- mention is made of a Madagasenr Cardamom 

I * Read ut the Ev^enin^r Meefcing of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great 

Britain, Febrnary 7, 1H72. 

â–  Fte, Cmirs dCBUL NaL Fharm/ifmdiqne^ I. {lft2S) 361 ; Giiibourt, Hut 
im Dro^. U. (1849) 21 G ; Martiiiy, Enajkhpfidii d. Mfd. k pharm, 

I 



ia7S, 




114 



"AMOMUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM/' SONNERATv 



Names. 



Lotjgonie, 



Drags from 
Mtturitiufl. 



the fruit of a ziiigiberaceous plant called Amomum anffiistifolium, 
Sonnerat, the author of this boUnieal name, was a Freuch 
ti-aveller who visited Madagascar in the second half of the last 
century. Among the plants of that island which he described^ 
was the species in question, which he thought he identified with 
the O^^reat Cardamoni of ancient writers, a drug we now know 
to have a y^tj different origin. The name Grrand Cardmnmm 
had, however, been given to it more than a century l>efore by 
Flacourt,^ another explorer of Madagascar Both Flacourt and 
Sounerat state that the plant is known as Lo7iijotm\ and the 
latter adds that it has been introduced into tbe Isle of France 
where it thrives welL The fruit is described as of a scarlet 
colour, filled with a white pulp of pleasant acidulous taste, in 
which are imbedded numerous, spicy, brown seeds. The plant 
is said to grow in great plenty in marshy places, but no 
mention is made of the fruits being ever collected for the 
purposes of commerce. 

In 1854, Mr. Emile Fleurot of Mauritius, contributed to the 
Museum of the Pharmaceutical Society specimens and drawings 
of the Longmtzt which is now apparently wild in that island. 
They were labelled, in accordance with Bojer's Hortm Mauri- 
iianiis,^ Amm7ium ntinmmum^ under which name they were not 
rectognised m Sonn^rat's plant. It appears, however, that this 
A ncmormuvi Bojer is but a synonym of A, migudifolimn, Sonn,, 
with which in fact the specimens communicated by Mr. Fleiuxjt 
entirely agree. The plant is still claimed in Maurilius to be the 
Grand Cardammne de Madagaamr* 

A collection of ^lanritius drugs sent to the Paris Exhibition 
of 18C7 included fruits of Amomnm arifiusUfoHiim, from winch 
I obtained a few seeds that germinated. During tbe past 
summer (1871) one of the plants thus raised produced flowers, 

Bohwaarenkunfk, II (1854) 771 ; Bei^, Pharm, Wanrmkumkf 1863, 425 ; 
Wiggera, Haridlytich d. PharTnatognosie, 1864, 176 ; Henkel, Jiundbueh d, 
Phannaco^nmu, 1862, 382. 

* VoyagB aitx Indes (hisntalutt d la CKint^ 11. (1782) 24 2L pi 137. 

* Ei$i. de la grande Ish dt MadiigmcaVj Paris 1658, 12C. 
8 Maurice, 1837, p. 327. 

* Bouton, Mtdieifuit Plants growing * * in Mauritius^ 1857, p. 1^2, 



"AMOMUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM/* SONNEUAT. 



115 



which having been fertilized artificially, were sncceecled by ripe ibta. 
fruits. 

Now a most interesting point about this plant is its complete 
identity with a species of Amomum growing in Tropical western 
AErica. Though Mr. Fleurot's excellent drawings might well 
have raised suspicions that such was the fact, it was not until 
my plant flowered that I convinced myself tliat tlie Amomum 
Dnnulli of Hooker could in no way be distinguished from the ^^^^'^^^^^ ^f ^* 
A, art(/ysti/olium of Sonnerat A, Danidli, Hook, f , has been with A. Dani- 
figured three times in the last twenty yeai's/ yet its similarity ^'^'' 
to the Madagascar plant has not been noticed, although of the 
latter there is in addition to Sonnerat's plate, an excellent 
drawing in Roxburgh's unpublished collection, now in the 
herbanum of the Royal Gardens, Kew. 

The West African area of the plant extends along the coast ^^ Africa. 
line from Sierra Leone to Gaboon, and perhajis still further 
south. Growing over this wide district and uniler considerable 
variation of altitude, the plant presents some variations; the 
flower is either yellow or red, or has the labellum alone, yellow. 
The scape is simple or branched, short or long, and varies in tlie 
number of fniita it bears ; and the fruits themselves differ much 
in size according to locality. But the labellum is always narrow 
and pendulous, and the seeds oblong and liighly polished. The 
negroes of West Africa eat the pleasantly acidulous pulp of the 
fruit, and apparently do not use the seeds, but in Manritius 
according to Boiiton, the latter are chewed to sweeten the 
breath. 

I have no reason for belie^^ng that the fruits of Am4>mttm 
an^mtifaliuTn, Sonn., have ever been even an ncrasimial article 
of export, either from Eastern or Western Africa, and feel quite 
certain that they never formed a regular object of comracrce 
with Europe. The seeds are weak in aroma and have a dis- 
agreeable irritating taste, so that they could with no advantage 
replace the Cardamoms of ilalabar or Ceylon.— [X. Fiepert. f. 
Phann. xxi. 228.] 



1 Hooker's Jbiim, of Bot IV, (1852) pi V. 
BoL Mag. tabb. 4764, 5250. 



Bub nom. Amomum AfzeHiy 

I 2 



116 



TRAGAGANTU. 



1855. 



Illustrative 
Samples of 
Ti^gaca til. 



TEAGACANTH AND ITS ADULTERATIONS. 

(Note on a Paper hi/ Mr. Sidney 11. Malt ass,) 

The auihor having bad the kindness to forward a series of 
samplca illustrative of the above notice, it may not be imin- 
teresting here to enumerate tliem : — 

Superior Qualities, 
h Wliite picked Yalavatz gum tragacanth, 

2. Caissar gum ti-agacanth. 

3. French assorted fea/— sample of seven cases, 
4 Broken leaf picked by women, mixed with fine Imf, 

5. Broken iraf of Caissar gum, mixed with fine fei/. 

6. Vermicelli as picked out before mixing with Semmc. 
1. Vermicelli — sample of one case. 

8. Very small Uaf, termed Sesame, mixed with Vc7*7niedli. 

hiftriar Qualities, 

9. Common Irnf mh\ed with Enfjlish assortment . 

10, English assoited /t:^/— sample of four cases, 

11. Common or sorts — sample of two cases. 

12. Small refuse, thrown out — ^alniost wortldess. 

13, Large refuse gum — almost worthless. 

Gums used for tht Adulteration of Tragatanih, 

14. Moussul gum* 

15, Caramania gum, fii'st quality, worth £2 10s, per cwt^ to 
he mixed when broken up and whitened, with fine leaf and 
VeTmicellL 

16. Caramania gum, second quality, woith £1 10*. per cwt, to 
be mixed when broken up and whitened, with sorts gum. 

17. Cammania gum, broken into fragments, and whitened 
with white lead, for mixture with Mnglish assorted leaf in the 
proportion of 50 per cent, 

18. Caramania gum in smaller fragments, whitened with Avhite 
lead for mixture with Vcmiiccili, in the proportion of 50 per 
cent. 



TBAGACANTH-^WOOD OIL. 



117 



and gum- 
resina. 



19. Caramania giira, wliitened with white leail, for mixture *^f^' 
witli sot<8 and common gum, in tlie proportion of 100 per cent. 

The suhstances designated 3Im{ssid (him and Caraviama Gum 
belong to the somewliat ill-defined group described by pharma* 
cologists as Bassora Guvi^ Kiftera Gnm, and False Tntf/nranlh. 

In a small but interesting collection of gnms and giim-i'esins Persian gnm» 
formed in Persia by W. IL Loftus, Esq., and deposited partly 
in the British Museum, and partly in the JIuseum of the Koyal 
Gardens at Kew, is a specimen of our 3fou^ul Gum, stated to b© 
the '^ common Kctlra of the Arabs, exuded irom the Gmmn or 
Gabban of Persia/' la this plant the CoMosptrmum Gossi/- 
piumj De C? 

The Caramania Gum appears identical with the Gomme 
pseiido-adragante of M, Guibourt, regarded by that author as the 
pnxluce of Astragalus g^immifer, Laliill, 

Further researches, however, are much required to determine 
botanieally the origin of these substances. 

The practice of whitening ^um with carbonate of lead is 
deserving of attention, Mr. Malt^ass was informed upon his 
first inquiries on the subject, that the whitening was effected by 
starch ; this, however, proved untrue, and it was afterwards re- 
luctantly admitted that white lead was employed 

I can fully confirm tlie existence of carbonate of lead in the 
_3amples No, 17, 18, and 19 ; and can also state that I have 
Jy detected lead in the adulterated Small Tra^acanih im- 
ported into the London market 
â–  The gum used in atlulterating tragacanth can readily be recog- 

H iiized upon carefid inspection. 

w 



Lead 

carlwrifttp ftti 

adults rant* 



starch 
I luctan 

â–  1 C2 

^L^^amph 



ON WOOD OIL, A SUBSTITUTE FOE COPAIBA. 
{Gurjun-Balsamt N. Mepcrt.f, Fharm. v. 95.) 



Ahoko the drugs that have recently appeared in the London 
market, I have observed one article to which I am desiroxis of 
drawing attention. Ifc is a liquid imported in considemble 
quantity from Moulmein in Burmah, and offered for sale under 



1896. 





118 



WOOD 01L--GUBJUN BALSAM. 



la&e. 



Wood DiU 



Mode of dh* 
taiuiug the 



the name of BaUam Caph% but known in India as Wood Oil, or 
Gurjtm Balsam. 

To Balsam of Copaiba, however, it presents so remarkable a 
resemblance, that, but Ibr thu locality from whicli it was imported, 
it would hardly have bt:eti noticed as anything else than Copaiba 
of rather unusually dark colour. 

In the PariB Universal Exhil>Ition there are two samples of a 
similar li<|md, labelled Jl^^ood Oil, one of them being sent among 
the Materia Medica of Canara, the other from the Tenasserim 
provinecB. Through the kindness of Dr, Hoyle, specimens of 
each have been placed at my disposal Though comparatively a 
new drug in EngUali trade, Wood Oil is an article of common 
occurrence in the bazaars of India, 

i'rom its similarity to Copaiba, it miglit be supposed to have 
its origin in some plant nearly allied to Copai/cra : such, however, 
is not the case, it being the produce of the natural order Diptero- 
carpeGC. 

The following is Roxburgh's account of the manner of obtain- 
ing it from Dij}k'rocarj}us tiirbinatuSt an immense tree, native of 
CMttagong, Tipperah^ Pegu, and other places to the eastwaixl 
of BengaL^ 

"This tree is famous over all the Eastern parts of India and 
the Malay Islands, on accmmt of itg yielding a thin liquid 
balsam, conmiouly called Wooil Oil, which is much used for 
painting ships and houses. 

** To procure the balsam, a lai-ge notch is cut into the trunk 
of the tree, near the earth (say about ^^U inches lium the gronud), 
where a tire is keiit up until the wood is chaiTed, soon after which 
tlie liquid lieginsto ooze ouL A small gutter is cut in the wood 
to conduct the licpiid into a vessel placed to receive it. The 
average produce of the beat trees during the season, is said ^to 
be sometimes 40 gallons. It is found necessary, every 3 or 4 
weeks, to cut ofl' the old charred surfaces and hurn it afresh ; in 
large healthy trees abounding in balsani, they even cut a second 
notch in some other pait of the tree, and char it as the first 

** These operations are performed during the months of No- 
vember, December, January, and February. Should any uf the 



Fivra Indica (ed. Carey), toL ii p. 6l3u 



WOOD OIL— GURJUN BALSAM. 



119 



I 



m 



trees appear sickly the following seasoiii one or more years* re- i»»«* 
spite is given them." 

The same author also states that Wood Oil is afforded by D. 
costatm (/). anffUHfifolius, W, et A.), D. ulatns, Roxb.^ and jD. 
incajiiw, Roxb,, the last mentioned being reputed to furuish the 
largest proportion of the best sort 

Closely allied to the Wood Oil of Dipkrocarpus is the oleo- 
reain termed Cttmphor Oily produced by Dryohalano'ps Camph&ra, Ciwn|»lior CHI- 
Colebr., a tree of the same natural order* For a specimen of 
this oleo-resin and of an analogous liquid called Lagam Oil, 
both brought from Sumatra by Dr, Junghulm, I am indebted to 
the courtesy of Dr. J. E. De Vrij, of Eotterdam. 

Wood Oil, as imported from Moidmein, is, after filtration » a ch^iracteris- 
tiansparent, dark-brown liquid, of somewhat greater consistence *^^**'^^ii, ^ 
than Olive Oil, a sp. gr. of 9G4, and an odour and taste like 
copaiba, though perhaps hardly so strong. One pai't of it 
treated witli two parts of alcohol, sp. gr. "796, is dissolved with 
the exception of a minute quantity of darkish flocculeiit matter, 
which subsides upon repose. 

But its most curious property (as notieed by Mr. Qiarlea Lowe 

ith reference to a liquid w^hich I suppose to have been Wood 
Oil^) is that exhibited when it is heated in a corked vial to about 
266"* F. (130" C). Thus ti^ated it lieoomes slightly turbid, and so 
gelatinous that the vial may be inverted^ even while hot, without 
its contents being displaced ; and on cooling, tiie solidification Solidificaticm. 
is still more complete. Gentle warmth and agitation restore to 
a great extent its fluidity* but solidification is again produced 
upon the liquid being heated to26G'.^ Copaiba displays no such 
phenomenon. 

According to Dr, O'Shaughnessy, when Wood Oil is heated 
in a retort^ a yellowish wliite, erysttdlmthk, solid substance 
having many of the properties of benzoic acid sublimes into the 
upper part of the vessel, to the extent of about one per cent, of 

* On a new Taiiety of Balaam of Copaiba, Phm-maceidical JoumaJ, vol, 
ntv. pi). 65, 66, 

' Mr. Lowe say a 230^ F.» but a much more striking effect if produced on 
the }Vood Oil by the temperatQre 1 have iiumed. 




120 



PENGHAWAB DJAMBL 



i8ft6. t^iig Wood Oil taken. lo my own experiments, I have not 
detected any of this substance. It is true that when Wood Oil is 
heated, a scanty, opaque white sublimate condenses in the cooler 
part of the vessel, but this appears to ariso from the conden- 
sation of a little water among the minute diops of essential oil, 
since it is not produced if the Wood Oil has been previously 
agitated with some fragments of dried chloride of ealciuuL 
Medical U«c, With regard to its medicinal properties, there appears to be 
no doubt from an extensive set of experiments instituted by Dr. 
0*Shaughnessy, conlinned by trials made by other practitioners 
in India, that Wood Oil is nearly equally efficient with Copaiba, 
in the diseases in which that drug is indicated.^ It may be ad- 
ministered as an emulsion, or in pills made up with magnesia. 
Dr. O'Shaughnessy has used the essential oil in doses of from 
10 to 30 di'ops. 

From the close similariLy of Wood Oil to Copaiba, a mixture 
of the two may be anticipated ; from pure Copaiba, such a mix- 
ture will probably be detected by a difference in its optical pro- 
perties. 



1856, 



Description* 



ON PENGHA WAR BJAMBI, A NEW STYPTIC. 

A SMALL package of the curious drug known by the name 
Faiffhuwftr DjutuM, or by the not less barbarous designation 
Pakoe Kidamj, was lately offered at one of the pubUc drug sales 
in the Cily. 

The drug consists of the lower part of the stdk or dipes of a 
large fern, native of the island of Sumatra. The stalks as im- 
ported are in straight pieces, about a foot in length and an inch 
in width. They have mostly been split open lengthwise, perhaps 
to facilitate theh' drying* Their most striking feature, however, 
is the abundant clothing of long, sparkling, golden-brown, 
moniliform hairs, with which the outer part of the stipes is 
thickly covered, and which at the first glance suggest for the 
drug an animal rather than a vegetable origin. 

P^tigkawar Djamhi, though new to the English drug- market, 



Btnt^al Di$ptn8a*<fry (1842), pp. 2S2 — 224, 



PENOIIAWAR DJAMBI. 



121 



the styptic. 



lias for some years past been in the hands of the pharmacists i«£«- 
of Halknd and Gennany, and now lias even a place in the 
Dutch pharmacopceix^ 

The plant wliich affords it is without doubt of the genus Plant yielding 
Cilotium, Dr. Oudenians, in his Commentaries on the Fharma' 
eopoea Neerlandiva^ refers it to C, Cmningii Kunze, a fern of 
the l*hilippine Islands, re^aided by one of our best filicologists 
as not specifically distinct from the 0, Barometz of J. Smith. On 
this point Mr. John Siaith has been kind enough to reply to 
some inquiries I recently addressed to him, iu a communication 
from which I extract the followinj]j : — 



•* I may safely say that the liairy stipes called Penghawar 
fanibi are proiluced by a species of Ciholutm. Of this genus, 
iHx species ai-e described in Sir W. Hooker's ^yerit^ Filkum^ 
viz., Cv glanc€^ciiu% Kze. {Polifpudiimi BaromMz^ L., Cibotimn 
Baromrfz, J, Sm.) and C. Asiiauilrum^ Hook., from the Eastern 
hemisphere ; C Schitdci, Schlecht et Cham., from Mexico j and 
C. t/lmteitm (Dirk^mia f/laitra, Smith in Ike's Cychqh), 0, 
Chamimoi^ Kaulf. and 6'. Mc/izirsii, Hook., from tlie Sandwich 
Islands. All are characterised by having the rhizome or 
caudex and the base of the stipes densely covered with soft 
moniliform hairs. In the Eastern species, the rhizome is 
decumbent, and upon removal from the ground, might easily be 
formed by a little artlid manipulation intotiie fabulous Vff/rhthk 
Litmb oi Bammdz. The plant which affords its production was 
luferred by Unuicus, from Loureiro's description,* to the genua 
Polypodium, and culled P. Barometz. Kothijig further was 
known of it till about thirty years ago, when the late John 
lieeves, Esq.» sent a living plant from China to the nursery of 
Messi*s, Loddiges at Hackney, as the true Banymeiz. This plant 
increased and in time become an niha!»itant of other gardens ; it 
was not, however, till 1840 that it produced fructification, which 
it did in the Birmingham Botanic Garden, a notice of wiiich is 
recorded in the Prormfings of th^. Linnemt Soddy for Fcbiuary 
1840. I then identified it as belonging to the genus Cihotium 






op htt Bofajikeh^j Zfio!ogis4'kc en Phurmacognoxttsche 
OtdtdU fi^r Pharmiic{*i>oea Nterlandica. Door C A. J. A. Oiidenians, M,D., 
RotlertJam, 1854, 1. Afl. jx 17. 

» Page H2, 

* Fhra Cochinchinauis. Ed. Willd., p. 82'J. 



Mr- .Inliu 
SniUb. 



122 



PENGIIAWAR DJAMBI, 



lase. 



CiboUum 
Bmvmetz. 



of Kaiilfuss, and ia my Genera Mlicurn, publialied in 1841, 
I recorded it under the name of Oihotiiim Barmiuiz. 

** In the Berlin Garden it received the name of C glmicopkyl' 
him, afterwards chan^^ed to G, glaucesoms by Kunze, who figured 
it ill Schukhr's Supplaaent^ p. 63, t. 31. Since then (1846) 
dried specimens collected both by Foitune and by Seemano, 
and corresponding with the living plant, have been received from 
China. 

"Kowforthe name Cihotmm Cumin fii. In 1840, Curaint^ 
brought specimens of a Cihotium from the Philippines^ which in 
my enumeration of the ferns of those islands I named Cihotmm 
glmicmn} then believing it to be the Divksonia glaum of Dr. J. 
E. Suiiih (Kee's Cyclop., \o\. xi). Kunze, however, eonsidei-ed it 
a distinct species and named it C. Cumingii, 

** After much examination of welUauthenticated specimens I 
have come to the conclusion tliat C Bamrmfz, J. Sm., C, 
glauc^^tiis, Kunze, C Camingii, Kunze, and C, Assamimim, Hook, 
constitute 07u species only. I tlierefore retain the original 
historical name of C. Barmidz for tlie eastern type of the 
genus. 

'* It appears that the stipes called Feuf/hawar Djamhi comes 
from Sumatra. Although I Lave not seen any fronds of 
Cibotium from that locality, still, judging from the stipes in 
question, I see no reason to doubt the cuiTectness of referring 
it to Ciboimm Cummgil, which, as above stated, I regard as not 
different from C, Baronidz** 



Agnus 
Sct/Uiiciis. 



The authors of the Pliarmacopom Ncerlandka quote AgnuB 
Bcythiam as synonymous witb the %\LmdLtrd,n Ptngkawar Djavihi, 
in which it ia evident Mr, John Smith thinks them correct. 
They do not, however, attempt to fix the botanical origin of 
the drug, but merely refer it to " Filicis species nondiim satis 
cognita.'* 

Professor lliquel, on the other hand, while referring Fmgha- 
war to (7. Cumlmjii^ Kunze, questions its identity with Agnus 
Scythicus in these words: — '^ Agtuts Scythims sen Barometz 
pkarm.f fiHcia etiani caudcx est scd ab eo Ciboiiorum 
di versus," ^ 



^ Journ, of Botf vol. iil (1811), p. 418. 
' Atuiiecta Botanica Induu^ il, 30. 



PENGUAWAR DJAMBI. 



123 



Uaving examined an ancient specimen of the so-called lase. 
Scythian Lamb preserved in the British Museum,^ as well aa a 
living plant of Cihotium Baroinctz, J. Sm., I must confess I lind 
them far more to resemble each other than they do the Suma- 
tran Peytfilmwar, It must, howev^er, be borne in mind that 
a plant having a range so extensive as to embrace Assam, 
China, the Philippines and the Islands' of the Indian Archi- 
pelago, may be expected to vary considerably according to 
the 8oil, the situation, and the degree of moisture and heat in 
which it may grow, so that I am far from impugning the 
correctness of referring both productions to one and the some 
plant 

As I have alluded to the fable of the Scythian Lamb, and it Fable of the 
may not be famdiar to all readers, I may be allowed briefly to ^^**{J^^ 
recall it, although to cite one half of the old authors of the 
Bixteenth and seventeenth centuries, who have delighted to 
tell of its wonders, would be neither an easy nor a very 
profitable^ task. 

Suffice it, then, t-o say that Afjnu^ licyOdcus, Frulex Tariareus^ 
or VeQetahle Lamb was regarded a3 a sort of jAant-ammal^ re- 
sembling in figure a larnb^ whence its liussian name haromdz. Baromete, 
It was said to spring from a seed like a plant, and to be attached 
to the earth by a root, w^hile in its animal nature it rejoiced 
in a sort of tlcsb and blood, browsed upon the surrounding 
herbs by turning round upon its axis or root, until, having 
devoured all within reach, it perished a victim to hunger ! 

Poetry and Materia Medica are not now-a-days in close 
alliance, but such was not the ease in the beginning of the 
seventeenth ceutuiy ; and the author who could wiite an ode 
on Tacamuhaea, Tamarinds, or Cochineal, could have no 
HSifficulty in producing a sonnet on so much more poetic a 
theme as the Scythian Itimb. 

Guillaunte Saluste, Sieur du Bartas, represents the astonish- xb^ ve^eublQ 
ment of our first pai'ents at discovering in the garden of Eden 



limii 






* ProlMibly the &amc specimen as is excellently figured in Ryuudyk^i 
Mihitum Britannicumj L^nd., 1791, fal Tab, xv., tig, 2. 



124 



PENGHAWAR DJAMBL 



laso. g(j remarkable a prodiictioii as a vegetable laiiih, and then ex* 
Guilkume Claims with pious credulity :— 

Salixito, Sieor ^ .„ «» i , * i. ^ 

da Bartaji, O merveilleux effect de la dextre divine, 

La plante a chair et sang, Faniinal a racine, 

La plante comme en rond, de soy niesmes se ineust, 

L'animal a des pieds, et si marcher ne pent, 

La plante est sans rameanx, sans fruict et sans feuillage, 

La plante a belles dents, paist son ventre aflame 

Du fourrage voysin, Tanimal est sennj/'^ 



Atid mediemaL 




The fable is revived in the follomng more elegant lines from 
the pen of a modern author, but they are not very happy aa 
applied to a SianatraTi plant : — 

" Cradled in snow and fann*d by arctic air. 
Shines, gentle Barometz ! thy golden hair ; 
Kooted in earth each cloven hoof descends, 
And round and round her flexile neck she bends ; 
Crops the grey coral moss and hoary thyme, 
Or laps with rosy tongue the melting rime. 
Eyes with mute tenderness her distant dam, 
Or seems to bleat, a Vojetahk Lamb!' ^ 

Before dismissing Penghawar Dfambi, we must, however, 
consider its reputed medicinal and surgical uses. As a styptic, 
the hair of the stipes may be employed in the same manner as 
cotton wool, tow, or the nap of a beaver hat. According to Dr. 
J. M. Van Beramelen, who has elaborately investigated the chetn- 
istry of the drug,* the styptic action of these hairs is solely 
mechanicah Practitioners, however, have tried the effect of 
an aqueous decoction of the hairs or of the stem, as a remedy 
for internal hemorrhage,* and some have reported favourably 

* See the French tmiislation of CiTisiiia's Latin version of McwmrdM, by 
Anthoinelxolin, Maistre Apotiaiire, jiir^ de la ville de Lyon ; Ed. 2. Lyon, 
1619, Svo.f Tfl^hf^ie are preserved some other of those elusions ** i la loiianjje 
de quelqties droguea.'* * The Botanic Gartkn^ ed. 3, pt. IL, p. 30, 

* Ch^mUchf Vnkrmchntg ih» Fanjhawar lijamhi in ViartdjahraschTift 
ftir pmkt. rhmnack, V, bd., 3 heft (1M56), 

* Since the above wjis in type, I have heard from luy friead, Dr* J. E, De 
Vryi of Rotlcrdani, that the late Dr, Molkenboer, a talented Dutch phyisician, 
WAS firaily i»f the opinion that a decoction of FcnghfkWar l^nmhi was bene- 
ficial In iutemul hemorrha;je. 



A GREEN DYE FROM CHINA. 



125 



of it Tlie experiments of Dr. Van Beinmelen leave little 
groimd for placing any reliance on the reputed good efifects of 
the drug so applied ; and I fully concur in that ^Titer's con- 
dusiouB as expressed in temis which I tmnslate thus : — 

" I therefore believe myself justified in the opinion that it is 
highly improbahle that that wliich water extmcts from this plant 
is an active remedy for internal hemoiThagea. Tliere appears to 
me no ground whatever, either from a chemical or physiological 
point oif view, for presuming that we may expect any good re- 
sult in practice from the employment of such a preparation.'* 



1S56. 



NOTE UPON A GREEN DYE FROM CHINA. 
{Chilner Farhstoffaus China.) 

Some weeks since a merchant showed me a small sample of a 
new dye, said to have been imported into Marseilles from China, 
and t<> be recommended for dyeing silk. From its dark hlue 
colour I conjectured it might be a sort of indigo, such as the 
Chinese are stated to prepare from Imfis tincforia^ L., and from 
Pobjfjonuhi iindoyivm. Lour., hut I had no opportunity of deter- 
mining w^hether it was indigo, by any cliemical examination. 

Very recently, however, a larger sample of the same dye and 
a piece of cotton cloth dyed green with it, have heen sent to 
me by my friend William Lockhart, Esq., of Shanghais They 
were accompanied by a communication as to the manufacture 
of the dye upon the authority of the Rev. J. Edkins, the sub- 
stance of which is given below. 

I may add that Mr. Lockhart forwarded to me in the early 

^ part of this year stems of the cultivated tree called LM-chac, 

^ Being one of those from whose bark the dye is manufactured, 

but no specimens from which its botanical characters could be 

ascertained. 

The dye, which is known as a green dye, and called ZUh-kaou, 
consists of a dry paste, in small irregular fragments scarcely 
thicker than stout paper. Its colour is an intense blue-black, 
with a little of the coppery lustre seen upon indigo, Eubi^ed 
upon paper with a moistened ivory knife, it develops a greenish- 



iBse. 



The Dye 



126 



A GREEN DYE FROM CHINA, 



1850. 



Chemical 
dmnctera. 






blue of considerable brilliancy. It is insoluble in water, rectified 
spirit, or ether, whetber cold or hot With tixed alkalis, however, 
a solution of on intense green colour is obtained. A solution 
prepared by boiiing ten parts of the dye %vith three parts of 
carbonate of potash (KO, CO^) has a brilliant bluish-green, and 
possesses the following characters. The addition of an acid 
occasions no precipitate. Solution of hypochlorite of soda 
{Liquor smlcD vhlorinalcr, P. L.), very sparingly added, changes the 
green to blue, which speedily passes to purple and then to pink ; 
a large addition of the reagent destroying the colour completely. 
Solution of iodine produces the same changes from green to 
pink. Sulphurous acid altera the green to a yellowish-brown. 
Hydrochloric acid occasions no change in a solution of the dye ; 
nitric acid renders it brown. 

This brief and superficial examination is almost all that 
my small stock of the dye has permitted, but upon the arrival of 
a larger quantity, I trust a complete investigation will be made. 

The following is the substance ,of the information before 
alluded to, as obtained by the Rev. J. Edkins. 

The bark of two kinds of the tree called 



Proceas of 



Luh'chae, literally Green-shnth, one kind growing wild, which is 
known as the while, and another, which is cultivated, and called 
tlie yellow, are used to obtain the dye. The ii'hik, or wild LiVi- 
ehae, grows abundantly in the neighbourhood of Kea-hing and 
Kingpo. Tlie yclltrw is produced at Tsoh-kow-pang, where 
about thirty men are employed in tlie manufacture of the dye. 
This place is two or three miles west of Wang-teen, a town a few 
miles to the south of Kea-hing. The dye is also prepared in 
Hoonan and at Ningpo, but not so good. 

The process is as follows: — The two barks are placed together 
in iron pans and thoroughly boiled in water. The decoction is 
left undisturbed for three days, after which it is placed in large 
earthenware vessels, and cotton cloth prepared with lime is 
dyed with it several times. Aft-er five or six immersions, the 
colouring matter is washed from the cloth with water, and 



OTORAX BARK. 



127 



placed in iron pans to be again boiled. The colouring matter 
is taken up on cotton yarn [by dipping] seveml times in suc- 
cession ; it is then washed off and sprinkled on thin paper ; when 
half dry, the paper is pasted on light screens and thoroughly 
exposed to the sun. The product is called in Chinese 
Luh-kaau, In dying cotton cloth with it, ten parts are mixed 
with three parts of sul>carl>onate of potash in boiling water. 

It is not used to dye silk on account of the expense, since it 
is only a rough surface that takes it easily, and to colour silk 
so much of the material must be used, that it would not pay. 
All cotton fabrics, also grass-cloths, take tlie colour readily. 
The dye does not fade with w^ashing, wdiich gives it a superiority 
over other greens. It has long been naed by pidnters in water- 
colours, but the application of it to dye cloth was first made 
only twenty years ago. If some method could be discovered of 
applying it to silk fabrics, it would become still more useful 

The dye is sent from Kea-hing as far as Shantung. 



1B56. 



An unrading 



ON STOKAX BARK. 

{Sioraxrindt?) 

Among the drugs fonnerly imported from tlie Levant is one 
now of rare occun-ence, known in works on Materia Medica as 
Cortex Thi/mimnatis, Cortex Thuri% TItm Juda^orum or A^as- 
ca2}ht 117)1, and also by the names Sti/rax ruhra or Stonur, Barh 
Ko thing satisfactory as to its origin has yet been ascertained : 
by some authors it is supposed to be the produce of Sli/rax 
officitiale, Linn., after the expression of the resin, as related by 
Xanderei',^ and when ground, to constitute the Stp-ax miamiia 
of the shops. By other authors it has been referred to Liqui- 
damhar orientak^ Mill., or even to the American L, dyrcLciflua, 
Linn.^ 

Be this as it may, the bark of Stymx o^cinak, as grown in 
France, is entirely dissimilar to the C&rtex Thymiamaiu of the 

^ Pereim, EJtm. of ^laL Mfd,^ ccL 3, vol ii,, p, 1515. 

• P. L. Geiger, Fhctrmaeop. Vnivers, Heidelherj^, 1835, 8vo., p. 52. 



185^. 



BoUnical 
origin. 



M 



STORAX BABK. 



ias4. Levant. When at Toulon in the month of May last, I had the 
pleasure of visiting in company with M, Chambeiron, an intel- 
ligent ^j/f^rwmrif/i and botaaist of that town, one of the few locali- 
ties in France where this beautiful plant is indigenous. In the 
etynix tree, mountainous woods on the east side of Toulon, in the direction 
of Cuers, the Sip^ax abounds. As it is cut periodically for fuel 
in common with the other trees growing near it, it can seldom 
attain any very considemble size j I observed no tree, I should 
say, exceeding eight or nine feet in height. At the moment of 
my visit {17th May 1854) the Sh/roj: trees were in full per- 
fection, |>reseniing with their abundanc»^ of omnge-flower-like 
blossoms, a truly beautiful appearance. No trace of resinous 
exudation could I observe upon the trunk of any, nor did the 
fresh bark f^ossess tlie least odour of storax. Of the bark, 
however, as the opportunity oii'ered, I collected with the 
assistance of M. Chaiubeiron an abundant sample, taking it 
both from young and old wood. After it liad been carefully 
dried by exposure to the air, it had assumed the form of tightly 
rolled quills ; in this state it is externally siuooth and of a dark 
greyish-broM'u, on its inner siuface greenish ; it is brittle, devoiil 
of odour, and has a slightly bitter, non-aromatic, taste. No odour 
of storax could be perceived upon heating the bark over a 
lamp. 

Biirk of The bark of Stp*ax officinale grown in France, is therefore a 
^^j^linaU^ different thing from the so-called mm^cuc Bark of the 

Levant. Whether the latter be really the produce of Styrax 
offimmle^ and the difterence in the two be occasioned merely by 
climate^ age of the trees, or other causes, further researches will, 
I trust, soon sbow. Landerer has asserted ^ that the Styrax ti-ee, 
inodorous in CS recce, becomes fragrant at Cos and Ehodes, 
affording in these islands the resin Storax which is thence 
exported. But at Rhodes, at leii^t, tlie trade in it must be 
very small indeed, as Mr. Niveu KeiT, for many years H.B.!M. 
Consul in that island, recently assured me he was wholly igno- 
rant of it. 

* Pereira, op. cit, 



STOBAX. 



lijy 



ON STORAX. 



t857. 



I 

I 
I 



I 



* VeTUHi ftd acctiratam ac diligenteni Muteritc Mtdiciie tmctiitionpm iiistitueri- 
Jdatn, renietlii cujumjue hlstoriaui et virlutea h modicis rcteiisitiLS c^tponerc non 
[aiifficit ; sed ptium mulu iiisuperconjiiderandaBtuitacperiH^riikuda."— Gkoffroy, 
I Tmel, dt MaL Med, 

Writers on Materia Medica, ancient as well as modem, have 
generally concurred in applying the name Storax or Htyrax 
to two distinct substances, namely Liquid and Solid Storax. I 
might almost say to two [fraujjs of substances, since each compre- 
hends two or more varieties.^ 

The plant to which Storax, at least the solid kind, is com- 
monly refeiTed^ is Shp-aa^ offidfude, Linn., a small tree of the Nat. 
Ord. Sti/racea^, occuning in Provence, Italy and the Levant It 
is thiB tree, to which all authors admit, t!ie account of Storax 
given by Dioscorides in the fii'St cejitury refers.^ In fact, it is 
not unreasonable to suppose that a tree so nearly allied to that 
producing Benzoin, should be capable of aflbrding an onalogons 
product. 

Tliat it may under certain favourable circumst-mccs exude a 
fragrant resin, even in France and Italy, we know from the 
positive testimony of two authors, the first of whom, Duhamel, 
has written in these words : 

" J*ai trouve en Provence, prcs de la Chartreuse de Montrieu, 
sur de gros Aliboufiers, des ecoulements asscz considerables d'nn 
baume tr^s-odorant II n'est pas doutcux, ce me semble, que 
ces Aliboufiers ne fournissent du Storax/* ^ 

* A conventional distinction of coniiniug the name Storax to the solid 
drug and Styrojc to the lujmdj is adopted by some modern atithors. But as 
fiuch a use of terms leads to some iuconsistenej, I have not adopted it, but 
employ the word Storax as the English et|iiivalent of the original Greek 
word ^TVfHii. 

* Perhaps I onght to except Profesaor Orphan idea of Athens, who has 
bintcd that the text of Dioscxjiides on the subject of Storax, requirea 
correction. BuUdin de la S*>cUU Boianiqne de France, T, iij. p. 147* 

^ Traiti du Arbres. Paris, 1755. 4to, t. ij. p* 289. Montrieu or Mon- 
trieux is a little place abtmt 10 mllta to the north of Toulon, in the 
department of the \ar. In tliia neighbourhood the Stifr(Lc groves wild. 

In order to endeavour to obtiiin an jinthentic specimen of the exudivtion of 
Si^rax ojfficivalef I wrote to my iViend Dr. Plancbon of Montpellier, who at 
Diy BUggestion kindly caused incisions to be made dnring the hottest part of 

t stuumer, in the trunk and branchea of a kige and fine Stijmx growing in 



Liipiid and 
Solid Storax. 



Duhannl. 



130 



ST0R.1X, 



1857 

Stifraxen 



The second author is the Abbe Mozeaa, who, iii a conirauui- 
cation under date 18 Jan. 1769 addressed t^j the Journal dcs 
S^avam,'^ states that on a plain in the neighbourhf>od of Tivoli, 
near Eome, sheltered on the K. and K,E. by a chain of moun- 
taina contiguous to Monte Genarro, Rocca Giovane» S. Polo &c. 
which forma semi-circle open to the south, — in fact, in a very 
warm situation, the Sff/rax shrub yields by incisions in its bark, 
the valued exudation known as Styrax en larmes. 

As the account of Storax left ns by Dioscorides who was a 
native of Cilicia^ one of the countries affording the drug, is 
important, 1 Avill liere give its literal translation, subjoining 
in a note the Latin text of Sprengel,^ the latest commentator 
upon that author. 



Account by 
Dioscorides 



Storax is the exudation of a certain tree resembling a quince- 
tree. It is preferred yellow and shining.resinous, having whitish 
[ti-aiialiitiou]. i^m^pg^ retaining for a long period a very grateful odour ; when 
softeued, it emits a certain honey-like humidity. Such is the 
Gabalite, the Pisidian and the Cilician [Storax]. That of bad 
quality 13 black, friable and branny. There is also found an 
exudation resembling gum, transparenti m}nTh-like ; but this is 
produced rarely. Storax is adulterated with the powder of tlie 
tree itself, made by the erosion of little worms, honey and tlie 
dregs of iris * and eome other things, being added. There are 



the Botanic Garden iLero. Tlie cxperimetit was quite aaiaooesBfiil : neither 
aqueoiia eap nor resinous juice flowed irom the incisions, 
1 Tol for 1769, p, 105. 

• " Stjrax lacrima est arhoris ctuu&dam cydoTiise simOiij, Pnefertur flavus 
RC pinguiij, reemosys, gniuioa b^bens albitymtes, quara diutissiime in odurifi 
gratin permanens, qiiique dum mollittir, mel learn quamdiim bumiditatem ex 
fie remittit. Tulia e^t fjabalites, piuidiiiij ac cilicius. Deterior niger, friabilia 
ac lurfuFOBUs. Invenitur et lucrima ^ummi similia, tmnsparens, myrrhic 
R'tnula ; verum heec raro na&citur. Adulterant fLiiteiu arboris ipsius Boobej 
vermiculonim erosione facta, adinieto melle et iridis cruflsaiiit^nto aliisque 
nonnuUifl. Non desiiut, qui et cerani aui sebum aromatic imbutuiu ad 
Bolem acemmum cum ntymce subigjiot et i^er colum latis fomaiinibua 
perviimi in aquam firigidam, quasi verniiculoa eflin^ntes, expriiuaiit et 
veiinmdenfc, quern atyrMcem ideo vermiculatum appetlant. Iiuperiti eum 

' tanquam sincerum admlttuntj non jitteuii ud odcim msignem vebementiam* 
Eat oniiii admndum aeris, qui fi-audia expers est. * ♦ * w 
Pedanii Dioac^oridis Anazarbei dt J^aL MaL, Uhri v., ed. Curt. Sprengel. 
Lipa. 1B2Q, 3(1 T, i. p. 82 (lib. L cap. kxix.). 

• PoBftibly some residne obtainetl in making the preparation called Irini 
spisMfiUintum described lib. i. cap. Lwi. 



STOBAX AS DESCRIBED DY PLIXY. 



131 



f who pound witli storax in very hot weather, eitlier wax or 1057. 
tallow inibued with aromaties, and press it through a strainer 
havijig wide openings, into culd water, forming as it were, little 
worms : tliey sell this, which they call vtnnijhrm StorcuL', Inex- 
perienced pei^ons admit it as genuine, not regarding its remark- 
ably powerful odour: for that which is nob fraudulent i^ some- 
what strong. 

The particulars given by Pliny in his chapter on Storax, are 
very minute and explicit, although his supposition that the drug 
packed in reeds was a natural production and his notion of its 
being attacked by insects, must be regarded as erroneous. 

The following is Pliny's account : — 

" Tliat part of Syria joining up to Judaea , and lying above Act^ouut liy 
Phrpnieia, produces Storaj', which is found in the vicinity of ^'^"^^'' 
Gabala and Jlarathus, as also of Casius, a mountain of Seleucia. 
The tree bears the same name and has a strong resemblance to 
the quince. The tear has a liai*sh taste, with a pleasant smell ; 
in tlie interior it has all the appearance of a reed, and is filled 
with a liquid juice. About the rising of the I)og-8tar, certain 
small winged worfus hover about this substance and eat it away, 
for which reason it is often found in a rotten state, with worm- 
holes full of dust. The Storax next in estimation after tliat 
already mentioned, comes from Pisidia, Sidon, Cyprus and Cilicia; 
that of Crete being considered the xery worst of all. That 
wliich comes from IMount Amanns, in Syria is highly esteemed 
for medicinal purposes, and even more so by the perfuniei's* 
From whatever country it comes, tliat which is of a red colour 
is preferred, and it should be both unctuous us %\'ell as viscous to 
the touch ; the worst kind is that which crumbles like bran, and 
18 covei^d all over with a whitish mould. This substance is 
adultemted with the resin of cedar or with gum, and somtitimes 
witli honey or bitter almonds ; all which sophistications may, 
" ^wever, be detected by the biste. The piice of Storax of the 

Bt quality is seventeen denarii per pound. ^ It comes also 
from Pamphylia, but this last is more arid and not so full of 
juice"* 

The localities here mentioned include those cited by Dios- 
and most of them can be ideutified, Gabala is the 

» Et^iml to 16*. per lb, flioirdiipoisw 

* Phny*« Natural Hutory^ Bcwtock mid Riley's tnmslution, book xij. 
ck&pi. 05. 

K 2 



132 



STOIUX. 



ISS7. 



Storax of the 
aucieuts. 







modern vElage of Djebeleh, a few luileB to tbe soutli of Latakia. 
The riiins of Marathus still exist Casius and Amanus are 
mountains near the Gulf of Iskenderun, still to be traced under 
Turkish names. The position of tlie ancient countries of 
Pisidia, Pomphylia and Cilicia in the south-eastern part of 
Asia Minor is well known ; and Sidon, Cyprus and Crete are 
familiar to alL In several of these localities, Siyrax ojicitialc 
is at the present day a common wild shrub. 

The drug thus described by these ancient authors is that 
which I conceive to be tbe original and legitimate Storax, namely 
a fragrant resin in separate, or more or less agglutinated tears, 
somewhat resembling Benzoin, exuded either spontaneously 
or after incision, from the tmnk of the Siyrax oficinaie of 
Linnieus, That such a diug in a state of greater or less purity, 
was in former, and even in comparatively recent times, an 
article of commerce, appears certain fi'om the specimens still 
existing in a few old collections of Materia Meclica as well as 
from the descriptions of the best Storax given by the pharma- 
cologists of the last century agreeing very fairly with the 
accoimt left by Dioscorides.^ 

This fine kind of Storax, always extremely scarce, was called 
a7nyfjf!aloid from the small, white, almond-like tears of which it 
partially consisted. It also bore the name Siyrax calamites, a 
term derived from the ancient method of packing it in reeds 
(calarm).^ It has, however, wholly disappeared from commerce, 
its name alone Sft/irtx caiarnUis or mimnita being retained in 
favour of that odoriferous, sawdust-like compound which we are 
accustomed to find in the shops. In Francej it is applied to a 
black, extractiform, odoriferous substance wbich I shall more 
particularly describe in a future paper. 



* See especially Kiraten, Exercitaiw ck Styrace^ Altorf, 1736. 4to, 

^ According to Matthiolua, the allusioa to Calami in [connexion with 
Stoiiix first oceura in Galen. I find tlie ptissitge to be as follows : 

** Manifest urn insnper eat Stjniccm qui in cuianjis ^ PampMliA apportatur, 
Anilromachiim priecipere. Paucisfumus atiteui illic styrax muacitur : tan- 
tumque ab hoc vulgari distat, quantum k vino L£uod in labernis venditor 
Fiilemiira/' (Qalen, De Antidofu, hb. i. cap. 14.) 

The term Cahunit*:.^ has been siippoised to be derived frcm <«Ta^aXtnyF, & 



LIQUID STORAX. 



133 



I 



Althotigh we possess no modern account of the collection of isa7. 

lid Storax, coufinnatoiy of that given by Pioscorides, other Collection 
titan those I have quoted (which do not, however, relate to ^^ Storax, 
collecting the drug for the purposes of commerce), there exist 
two remarkable statements of the method of collecting Liquid 
Storax, which it will not be nnprofitable to examine with some 
attention. I ought, however, first to state that it is questionable 
whether the Greeks were acquainted with Liquid Storax : Aroh 
writers, on the other hand, distinctly mention it, though their 
accounts are far from satisfactory and clear.^ 

The first of these two statements is tliat of Jamea Petiver, 
an apothecary of London, who was noted as the possessor of 
a considerable collection of objects of natural history. 

In the year 170B, that is ten years before his death, Petiver Account by 
presented to the Royal Society of Loudon a communication 
which, verbairm et liitraiim^ is as follows :— 



retivor. 



â–  
â–  



*' The Manner of making Styrax liquid a, alias Eosa Mallas, 

Comyimiicakd hj Mr. Tames Petiver, FM.S. 

Rma Mallas grows upon the Island Cohro&s, at the upper end Rioa Malkm, 
of the Bed Sea near Cades.% which is 3 days Journey from Suez : 
It is the Bark ofT a Tree (taken off every Year, and gi^ows again) 
boiled in Salt Water till it comes to a Consistence like Bird- 
lime, then separated and put into a Cask and brought to Judda, 
and so to Modm io Jiim and Juh/, where it sells from 60 to 120 
Dollars per Barrel, according to its Goodness : the best is what 
is freest from Chiy and Dirt., which is commonly mixed with it ; 
and the way to try it is by washing it in Salt Water which 
will cleanse it : The Arabs and Tur/cs call it Cotter Mija. 

N.B. A Barrel is 420 V * 



A statement so precise and circumstantial was received with 
more or less credit, and we find it quoted by GeoSroy,^ Hill,* 



Tule^ reading for ya^aklrrj^, as explained at length by Matthioliia (Comm. 
in lib, i. IH<nicorUl, cap, Ixviii.) 

^ Avicennse Liber Cajionis, lib. ii. tmct 2. cap. 43L 600, 623, (ed. Venet. 
1564.) 

» Philmophical TranaaetioM. 1708-1709. Vol. xxvi, p. 44. 

» TtacL de Mat Med. (1741 X t, ii. p. 493. 

• Hiitory of thf Afaf^a M*'fHm (1751), p. 713. 



134 



STORAX. 



Inland of 

CobrtMta. 



1B57. Alston ,^ Me rat ami 1)q Lens,- Martiiiy.^ Guibourt,* Pereira,* 
~^ lioyle,^ &c. 

Hill, indeed, quaintly remarks, " It is a little unlucky that 
nobody has given us any description of this Eosa Mallas" — 
But is Ihis the only ambiguity ? Let us first ask, — Does there 
cxid ani/ islafid of Cobross at tlie tipper e^id of the Med S^a f 

Tlmuks to the excellent chart of t!ie Eed Sea made from the 
surveys of Messrs. Moresby and Carless in 1830-33, and to the 
miiuite Saiiing Directions for tJie Etd Sea, both published by 
the Hon, East India Company, we have a mass of verj^ exact 
aud positive information relating to its coasts, and to its islands 
from the largest, down to the very rocks and shoals. Now 
Petiver makes his islaud of Cohross to be *' near Cadess, which is 
3 da^s journey fi'om Siuz*' To what distance we ought to con- 
sider this to be equivalent, 1 know not ; but it is evident from 
the chart already referred to, that there is no island in the Pcd 
Sea nearer to Suez than about 160 mDes. Neither this islaud, 
nor any other in the Red Sea, bears the name of Cobross^ or any 
other name which can be supposed to ix^present it, — that is, so 
far as my researches have gone, and I have Uiken nmch pains in 
investigating the subject 
Doubts on Again, — are there any islands in the Red Sea extensively 
the subject, "^^rooded, as Petiver's account would lead us to suppose? On 
this point, the minute information in the Saiiimj Dirtdions^ is 
entirely of a negative character. 

Distrusting my own judgment in such a question, I applied 
to John Walker, Esq., Geogi-apher to the Hon. East India 
Company, and to the Rev. Charles Forster, author of the His- 
iorical Geography of Arabia, gentlemen whose acquaintance 
with sources of information on such matters, might, I thought, 
suggest some explanation of Petiver*s statement : but neither of 
them has been able to throw any light upon it^ 

* Ltctures on th£ MaUria Mtdica (1770), vol. ii. p. 418. 

• Did wnn aire d^'. Matiere Mt^dicak^ t iv, (1832), p. 128, 
" Encyklojh d. fmd,-phann. NaL n. Rohieaarmk. brl. L (1843) p. 94. 

* HUioire de& Thoqu^^ SimpUs^ t. ii, (1849), p. 294, 
» Ekm, of Mat Sled, voL IL (ISSD) p. 1216. 

• Manuai of MaL MM, (1653} p. 639. 




PETIVEB AND LANDERKE. 



135 



Although I am unable to find a Gohross in the JRed Sea, I ie»7. 
must state that D'llerbelot in his BMiothlqtte Orientale gives Cobrtm, 
Cdtjm, as a synonym of Cf/priis : and also, that Pliny mentions ^ ^Y^^^Y^ of 
an island of Coboris or Covoris, which has been identified as one 
of the Sohar Isles, near Biirka, a town situated on the East 
coast of Arabia, near the entrance to the Persian Gulf.^ The 
position of either of these islands is, of course, perfectly in*e- 
concilaMewnth that of Petiver's Cd^ross. 

It is somewhat surprising that of the many authors who have 
quoted Petivers account of Liquid Siorax, none appears to 
have been struck with the fact that the drug is not said to be 
conveyed from " Cobross " to Europe, but that it is " hrmight to 
Judda and so to Afocha" — that is to say, it is carried to a spot 
Borne 1300 miles south of Suez. 

So much for the fallacies in Petiver's account of ''The 
manner of making Sti/rax Liquida'' In a future part of tins 
notice, I will endeavour to show what traces of truth it 
cont4iins. 

The next statement on which I propose to offer some remarks, 
is that of Dr X. Landerer, of Athens, as contained in a com- 
munication published in Buchiier's Bcpirtoriuvi for 1839.^ 

This communication, I translate thus : — 

The Storax plant, Stt/rcur olfieinak is found in various parts of Account by 
continental Greece, as well as in some of the islands of tlic -^^^' ^â–  
Archipelago, There, however, it forms but a small sbnib and ^^ ^^^' 
does not possess the agreeable odour ascribed to it by botanists. 
The bark of the plant occurring ia Greece has not the slightest 
odour, which probably is due to neglect in cultivation. On 
the contrary, such is not the case with the plant as found in 
the Turkish islands of Khodes and Cos, and especially with it as 
cuUivated by the people of Cos. (a) 

As I obtained some time since in Syra from a merchant 
coming from Rhodes some information on the subject, I will 
make it public, not doubting that, though but little, it will be 
acceptable. 

1 Foi-ster'a Hutoric^l OeograpJiy of Arabia, Lond. 1844, Vol. ij. p. 230. 

* Kini*jt U\trtc iihcr di^ OnwinMnntf tUs Sttyrax HtjuidiiA vom ProC und 
Iieibapothekcr X, Laaderec in AtliCD, Biichncr^s Rfp^/iir li Fhurm. Bd, 18. 
S. 35!>*302. 



136 



STORAX, 



1857. 

Account by 

Dr. X. 

I^nderer. 




Errcmeoiift 

iaftiimAtiou. 



Tlie Storax plant is called in Cos and Rhodes fiov^ovpi 
(hnchitri). At its flowering season, it fills the air with the most 
agreeable vanilk-like perfume. At the period (ht the collec- 
tion of the hark and yoimger twigs, which are employed ftjr tlie 
preparation of BarJiurt-jcig, ix. Sti/rax-oil (oil being called in 
Turkish, Jaff), permission is obtained from the Pasha residing 
at llhodes, a small snm being paid for it. Those who are pro- 
vided with the permission to collect, now make with small 
knives longitudinal incisions and peel off from the stem the 
fresh pieces of bark in the form of little narrow ribbons- 
Owing to their adhesive juice they easily stick together [haclkien 
sie le^ht zusammenl ; from them are formed masses of one okt 
weight f«s 21bs,), which are reserved for the preparation of ^Vr//, 
or ant immediately pm-chased by Ehodian merchants and sent to 
Rhodes. 

The preparation of Buehuri'jag is effected by merely pressing 
the before-mentioned masses in presses somewhat warmed, 
called Sif/rakia, and not by boiling. The Jfff? obtained by gentle 
pressure is of an nnctuous consistence, a light grey colour, and 
difiPusea a very agreeable vanilla-like odour. This is the only 
sort that is exported ; but in Cos and Rhodes, it is also used in 
the preparation of a very odoriferous mass made i*y the addition 
of finely-powdered Olibanum and formed into cakes of the size 
of a fist, which are called Sti/rakia. The preparation of these 
masses belongs exclusively to the conventual clergy, who dis- 
tinguish their manufacture with the convent seal. 

By repeated warming and stronger pressure, an almost black 
BuckuTi-jag is obtained, which is used by the inhabitants them- 
selves for the most healiug ointraeuts and medicines. 

The bark remaining after the expression of the jag is bound 
together and conveyed partly to Constantinople and partly to 
Syra and there used for fumigation. 

With regard to the decoction of the bark and the adulteration of 
Stynix -balsam with turpentine, the Rhodian merchant assured 
me that they would not know how to go about it ; and tliat the 
adulteration with turpentine might, in case of detection, involve 
even the punishment of death. 

[Note aJ\ The Storax trees appear at that place to be of 
important value, and are given to the young women as dowry, 
in the same manner as in Greece the bride is presented with so 
many OUve-trees, 

That Dr. Landerer has been greatly deceived by his informant 
will, I think, be very evident from the subjoined testimonies : — 



VARIOUS OPINIONS ENTEBTAINED. 



137 



Testiiiioiiiea 
cited. 



I 



1. Niven Ker, Esq,, who was for several years British Consul I857* 
at Rhofles, informed rae thiit he was quite ignorant of the carry- 
ing on in that island of the mannfactnre described by Di\ 
Landerer. 

2. Sidney TL Maltass, Esq., of Sni)Tna, in a letter to me 
nntler date 7 Octol>er, 1853, speaking of Liquid SforaXj says 
** Cos and Ehodes protUice none/* 

3. Lieutenant Robert Campbell, RN., H.B.M. Consul at 
Rhodes, writes from Rhodes under date 16 December, 1855, 
that Dr, Landerer, in attributing to the islands Cos nnd Rhodes 
the production of Stomx, has committed an egregious errur, as 
they have never produced it 

Moreover, tlie evidence of Mr, Maltass proves, as I shall 
bortly show, that Styrax ojleinak is 7wt the tree yielding 
Liquid Storage, 

There are other exceptionnl points in Dr. Landerer*s account 
which I will for the present pass over, remarking only that the 
statement that liability to the punishment of death is incurred 
in the case of a person being detected adulterating Storax with 
turpentine, is characterized by Lieutenant Campbell as " a mere 
invention" 

Previous to detailing the information which I have collected 
as to the method of preparing Liquid Storax^ it wUl be well 
briefly to review the various opinions which have been held as 
to its origin, 

1. Many of the older writers on Materia Medica consider it Origin of 
aa artificial compound ; Dale, in particular, asserts that w^hat ^^*"'' ' ^^^' 
was found in the London shops in his time (1G93) was alto- 
gether factitious.^ 

2, Those writers who adopt Dr. Tiinderer's statement, regard 
Ltffuid Storax as the produce of Styra^ ojicinnle, Linn. 

8. By many authors, Liquid Storax is referred to Liquidam' 
bar Uyratijlua, Linn., a tree found in the southern part of the 

Vimim quoil in officinia nostri« pro Styrace liquido veiiditur omnino 
fad itk res e«i, at certior factns sum ii pharmacopolia variis LondinonsiLua." 
^Vimntmcaloijia^ Lond 1093, p. 427. 




138 



STORAX, 



ia57. 



LiqmdStomx 
importt'd from 
the UvmU l*^^!^; 



Peraoniil 
I iifunimtiuu 



Uoited states, in Mtsxico, and in otlier parts of Central 
America. 

However capable that tree may he of producing an analo|:rous 
it is well ascertained tliat the Liquifl Storax used in 
England is all imported from the Levant ; and there are suffi- 
cient reasons to conclude that such is also the case with that 
used on the continent, and that it i^ certainly not the produce of 
America. 1 therefore dismiss the supposition that the Liquid 
Siorax of commerce is of transatlantic origin. 

4 By some authors, Liquid Storax has been conjectured to be 
the produce of Liquulamhar aUingiana^ Blnme, 

This tree is a native of the islands of the Indian Archipelago 
and of Burmah, where the inhabitants occasionally extract from 
it an^odorilerous semi-iiuid resin ; but the product is not abund- 
ant, nor does it resemble the Liquid Storctx of commerce ; there 
is not moreover, the slightest evidence of it reaching Europe in 
any quantity. 

It is, however, a curious fact that the name by which tliis tree 
is at the present day known to the Malays, is Hitsamdla, a word 
very close to Petiver's Eosa Mallas. To tliis I sliall revert in a 
future page. 

5. Liqtiidamhar orientale, Miller, is regarded by Guibourt, 
Lindley, the authors of the French Cmkx, and some others, as 
the source of Liquid Siorax^ an opinion which I shall be able to 
show to be correet 

Having brought under review the various opinions current as 
to the origin of Liquid Siorax, and stated the points on which 
I consider them erroneous, I will now proceed to communicate 
the inlbrmation which I have myself received regarding the 
drug from three valued correspondents in the Levant, namely, 
Sidney H. Maltass, Esq. of Smyrna, Lieiit Robert Campbell, 
R.N., H.B.M. Consul in the island of Rhodes, and Dr. James 
McCraith, of Smwna. 

The information is still not quite perfect, but in all essential 
particulars I believe the following is a correct account of the 



I 



LIQUID Sl^ORAX. 



139 



REPARATION OF LIQUID STOIiAX 

Botanical Origin, — The tree from which Liquid Storax Ls 
I obtained, is Liquidanibar oricniak. Miller (X. imbcrhe Alton), 
as is proved by specimens of the leaves and fruits procured at 
my request by Mr. Maltass (see wood-cut). 



1857. 



Localities. — ^South-west of Asia Minor.— Forests in the dis- 
trict of Sighala near Melosso ; forests near Muughla, and near 
Giova and Ulla in the Gulf of Giova ; also near Marmorizza 
and Isgengak opposit^e Khodes. 

Mr, Maltass passed through a dense forest of Liquidamhar 
between the vilhige of Capooisi and the town of Moughla on 
the 7th or 8th of May, 185L Pie describes it as consisting of 
trees resembling the plane, but evideiilly of a different speciea, 
tbe leaf being smaller, and eacli tree far denser in fob'age than 
the plane usually is. ** I also observed," says he, " that most of 
the larger trees had the [outer] bark stripped off from the trunk 
and the inner bark scraped oif. I gathered some of the fruit 
and leaver, and proceeded on my journey towards Moughla, my 
road lying for upwards of an hour thit>ugh this beautiful forest 
I observed that the trees were from tM-enty to thirt}^ feet in 
height, but whenever there was a break in the forest and the 
trees had sufficient air and space, they were of larger growth, 
many of them being forty feet high, more especially in the 
immediate vicinity of streams of water. My guide assured mo 
that in some places in the forest in the direction of Melasso, 
he had seen some of these trees sixty feet in height. He 
eould not tell me the name of the tree, but stated that an oil 
was produced from it called Buchur, and that the trees were 
mutilated to obtain it." 



Ac conn t by 
Mr. Malta^sa. 



ExTRACTiOK OF THE LIQUID STORAX.~In June and July, the Extractioo of 
outer bark is stripped oif on one side of the tree and (according to ^*l^^ Storax. 
Lieut. Campbell) made into bundles and reserved for the purpose 
of fumigation, Tlie inner bark is then scraped off with a semi- 
circular or sickle-shaped knife and thrown into pits untQ a 




From A ipeftimeii obtained by 3, D. Mnltiisa, EKri.^ ttom ttie coAst of Aiid Minor, onpoilte Rhode*. 
Fjtrll. ,/w.j 



LIQUID STORAX, 



141 



Bufficient quantity has been collected, Mr, Maltass state? lasz. 
that it is then packed into strong horse-hair bags and siibjecterl 
to pressure in a wooden lever press. Upon removal fi-om the 
press, hot water is tlirown over the bags and tliey are pressed 
a second time, after which the greater portion of the resin will 
have been extrac-ted. 

Lieut Campbell's account is a little different : he says Iho 
inner bark is boiled in water over a brisk fire, upon which the 
resinous pait comes to the surface and is skimmed oft". Tlie 
boiled bark is next put into hair sacks and x>ressed, boiling 
water being added to assist in the extraction of the resin, or, 
as it is termed, yagh (i.e. oil), 

Dn McCraith says that the Storax collectors, who are chiefly 
a tribe of wandering Turcomans called Yutv]cs, are armed with 
a triangular iron scraper with which they scrape ofif, together 
with the juice of the tree, a certain quantity of bark, wliiuh 
they collect in leathern pouches suspended to tlieir belts. 
When a sufficient quantity has been obtained, it is boiled in a 
large copper and the separated liquid resin is run into barrels. 
The residual bark is placed in hair-clotb and pressed in a rude 
press, the extracted resin being added to t!ie general mass. 

The product obt^iincd by the processes here described, is the 
grey, opaque, semi-fluid resin, well known as Liquid Storax. 

The bark from which the Liquid Storax has been extmcted, is Stonut Bwk. 
emptied out of the bags and exposed in the sun to dry, after 
I which it is shipped to tlie Greek and Turkish islands and to 
} many towns in Turkey, where it is much esteemed for the pur- 
pose of fumigation, although since the disappearance of the 
plague, its employment has greatly diminished. 

This is the substance known to pharmacologists as Cortex 
Thymiamatis or Storax Barkt as is proved by abundant speci- 
mens sent me by Mr, Maltass. 

Adulteration, — Mr, Maltass says that Liquid Storax is 
rarely pure, being adulterated by the aduiLxture of sand and 
ashes, 

CoMMEPXE. — Lieut. Campbell states that the quantity of 



142 



STORAX. 



1857. Liquid Storax aunually extracted amounts to about 20,000 okcs 
Exportation of {5^0 cwt) from the districts of Giova and Vllk and 13,000 okcs 
Liquid Stomx. ^395 cwt) from tliose of Marmorizza and Isgengak,^ 

It is exported in casks to Cou^itaatinople, Smyrna, Syra and 
Alexandria. Some is also packed with a certain proportion of 
water in goat-skins and sent, either by boats or overland, to 
Smyrna, where it is transferred to casks and shipped mostly 
to Trieste. 

It appears from Mr. Maltass, that formerly the whole, both 
of the resin and the residual bjiik, was houglit by the 
mercliauta of the island of Rhodes, but at what period and 
under wdiat circumstances this occurred, I have not been able 
to learn.* 

Though I have no pretensions to be an Oriental scholar, I 
may be allowed to offer a few words respecting some of the 
eastern names of Liquid Storax and the bark wliich iiemains 
after its extraction.' 

Zi>2WK^ ^'^areio; is known to the Tnrks by the name^»i^U iLiAiJ «iJ 

Kara gkifmduk yagJiy^ i.e.. Black FranMncemt Oil} It is also 

called ^J^(j jjs:* BukhtiT yagky^ i.e. Immisc Oil and sometimes 

(according to Mr, Maltass) ^U a3U*m Sighala yaghy^ i.e. Sighnla 

Oil, from the district between Melasso and Macri, where much 
of it is collected. 

The Greeks designate it ^rvpa^ vypd, but often use the 
Turkish name Bukhur y(ighy. 



EosUrn 
names. 



^ In English commerce, forty ohu ate reckoned as equiU to oae hundred- 
weight. 

" Dr. Landerer's account appears to have reference to this period ; ami 
even lib st4itement of the culiivathn of the Storax pkvnt (whatever plant is 
intended) has some support from the foUowing piissiige in Diihamera Traite 
de* Arbrt^% t. ij. p. 288. 

** Au Ltjvimt on cultive anx environs dc Stanchir [Cos], les arbres qui 
donnent le Stomjc, et on lea multiplie pur marcottes," Dr. Landerer's 
^ovxffvph It y^ill iiho l>e observed, is tracei^bie in the Turkish tuune htiUmr. 

* I will here acknowledge tlie fiasistjince kindly afforded nw by Dr. Greet! - 
bill, the tmnslator of Rhazea^ on tlie subject of Ambic names ; aod abo that 
of J, W, Redhoune, Esq. with regard to Turkish names, 

* Olibanum m called in Tarki^^h i^^jUmi ghjKJiluL 



LIQUID STORAX. 



H3 



li^port of Hit External Commeire of Bomhay to wliicU \b^7 ^ 
ay attention was directed by my friend Dr. lloyle, tlie tenii 
lose Mallot's is applied to a drug enumerated under the I^ose MiJloca. 
itegory of Import hy Sea into the Port of JJomhai/} 
The recurrence of this strange name, which Petivcr's account 
"of Liquid Storax had made familiar, struck me as very curious, 
and I wrote to Bombay for a sample of the drug so calleth 
This was kindly procured for me at the Bombay Custom House 
by Dr. Carter, and proved to be our ordinaiy Liquid Storax, 
It is imported chiefly from the Eed Sea, which it doubtless 
reaches from Alexandria, to which port I found it was shipped 
from Bhodes. Here then is the explanation of Petiver*s state- 
fient of the drug being carried soKikivard from Suez — it being 
fact, on its way to India. 

His term Cotter Mija is the Aiubic S*ju Jbi A'ffir maya^ ijcu 
^ay*a being one of the Avicennian terms for Storax, and lai 
atr (literally a drop), a prefix indicating its liquid nature. - 
The only other author with whom I am acquainted that 
alludes to Rosa Mallm is Garcia,^ who, when describing the 
I various sorts of Benzoin, mentions "Boga-mcdha*' which he 
lasscits is the name applied by the Chinese to Liquid Storfx, 
Whether it is the resin of tbe Easayndla {Liquidamhar 



EAstem 
nnmea. 



* Tie foUowing is an eiEtract from ttie Report referred to : — 

" Rose Malices," cwL i{x, lb. 

"From Aden 5 o 

„ Arabian Gulf . . 41 

M Pereiau Gulf. . . 12 



value 186 rupees 
n 1.^74 „ 
» 480 „ 



Totol , , 58 2240nipee3/' 

* Lib. ii. cap, 623. (ed, Venet. 1564).— It can scarcely bo douljted, that iii 
ihw chftpt<?r on **3/*7ia vti Mtha^' which tbe translators have rendered 
SlomXf Aviceiina refers to tbe modem Liquid Stonu, Tbe paaaage ia as 
^ foUowH : 

** ♦ * Stomx humubi alia est, quas extrabitiir per se ipanm gumma : ct 
ftUa est qaaj extmhitur com decoction© : per »© nutem extracta,. e»l citrioa, 
el ({Oiinrfo antiipiatur, ilcolinut ad aureuni colorem» et eat [preciona et j^ttiij ; 
wd qnm cxtntbitur ex cnvtioe e^t nigra : et illud ideti quoDiitm extmbitiir 
cum deooctione corli(i,i iilius arboris^ t>t quod extnibitur, e«t atorax huiuidii : 
Hi qu(xl r«iiitinet »icut t'mx et vintvcm, est sicca." 

' Ar&matum et nmjfliciiim aliquot imdiminrntortim apud Indot mucentium 
HiiMii. Antv. 1574, 





144 



8T0HAX. 



1857. aUhigmna Bi.) lliat is Lt^re inteiiJedj and whether the Rosa 
MaUas of Pebiver and the R0&& Malloe^ of the Bombay List ar 
but comiptioiis of the same term applied ti> a different sub- 
stance, are points which I shall not attempt to decide. 

The residual bark after the extraction of the Liquid Storax^ 
is known to pharmacologists as Cortex ThymiamaUs, Cortt 
Hiurh% Thus JudivoruM, Narcaphthum, Siorax Bark or Med 
Storax,^ and is called in Turkish ^! ju \_ciL i tJ Kara gkyimluk 
yaprak or more correctly ^Uw l^^^ M Kara ghyunluk 
yapra^hij literally Black Frajikincense Leaf. 

In modem Greek it is known by the simple name of ^rvpa^^ 

The name ^ufilafjia (Incense) does not appear to have any 
special application to Liquidambar Bark. 

Belon has asserted that tlds bark is called Manrocajmo^ and^ 
Grt'ck uiuoej*, authors have quoted the name on his authority. I cannot but 
think this an error; Waupo kclttvo signifies Uterally Black 
Smoke, and in modem Greek it is used by metonymy for BlackA 
Tobacco. It does not appear to be now applied to the Liqiiid*J 
am bar bark. 

The name ^daica<p6oy or N/ipKacftOop used by Dioscorides to 
designate a certain odoriferous bark fi'om India,^ has been 
thought by many authors to have reference to the modern 
Cortex Tkymiamatis. But if the latter were collected in the 
days of Dioscorides, that author, a native of Asia Minor, could 
scarcely have been so ignorant of the locality of its production, 
as to have regarded it as an Indian drug. Moreover, neither 
the names Nd^Katfiffov nor NdpKa^ffov (nor Adtca^Bov used by 
Paul us ^gineta^ perhaps for the same substance) are known in 
modern Greek, I confess therefore I do not see evidence for 

* Amygdaloid Storax is also &oiiie times called Fed Sh:trax, 

* " Je vei aussi descbarger yh bri^Mntiu dej^sus la rine da port [d© Rhodes], 
plcin dVne dro^me propre en medecine, appelliie Storax rouge. Lea Grecs la 
nomment mainteuiitit Mimrocdpito. Et m*a km dit qu'il croist en Tisle.'' — 
Belon, Observations de plvsurrs SiJ^gviaritez &c. (1554) liv, 2. chap. 14. 

i^Xotw^ff, o^fKo^itfov XtmiT^atrnf coiirof, Bvpitoyp^evov dia r^i* ciwScW, Koi 

i7rotft'^ifl*7^tV, Dio»c. dt Mai, Med, ed, Sprengel, hb. i, c. 2^ 

* Lib. 7. c. 22. 



STORAX. 




1057. 



respecting 
Storax. 



identifying the Diosooridean drag witli tlie product of Liquid- 
ambar. 

The conclusions to which thie long investigation leads, may Conclusions 
he thus briefly summed up : — 

L That the original and classical Storax was produced by 
Sttp'ax offi^cinaU, Linn. 

2. That, always scai'ce and valuable, it has in modem times 
wholly disappeared fi*om commerce* 

3. That the accounts of tlie collection of Liquid Starax 
given by Petivcr and Landerer are in many important par- 
ticulars grossly erroneous. 

4. That Liquid Storax is theprodoce of Liquidamhar orieniak, 
Miller^ and that it is collected in the south-west of Asia 
Minor, 

5. That the bark of Liquidmnhar onmiak^ Miller, after Liquid 
i^crcas has been expressed from it, constitutes tJie Corirx thij- 
miamoHf of Europe. 

6. That there is no evidence of the Ndafca<f^0oyQ^ Dioscorides 
being the bark of Liquidamhar oneniah\ 



ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIOKS ON STOIIAX. 
(Storax, nacktr&jlicM Banerlcunycn) 
When I had the honour of laying before I he Hmrmaceutical 



1863. 



Society some observations on Storax,^ I lioped to be able to com- 
municate at no distant interval such additional information as 
would complete the history of that drug. During the six y.eara 
that have since elapsed, 1 have not lost sight of the subject, and 
although I am still unable to determine all the points I wished 
to clear up, I am induced, by reasons which I will presently 
explain, again to bring it before the Society. 

To render my remarks more intelligible, I will briefly recapi- 
tulate the conclusions wMch my former paper was intended to 
establish, and which are the following x— 

1 That the Storax of ancient times was produced by Sti/rax 
officinale, L. 

2. Tliat this substance has disappeared fixjm the commerce of 
modem days. 

I Pharm, Joum. vol. xvL p. 417. 



Recapitula- 
tion. 



146 



ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS ON STORAX. 



1863. 



Pn>fe8Sor 
Kriaos of 
Athens. 



Anrient 

History 

of Storax. 



3. That the resin called Liquid Storax is produced by Liquid' 
ambar arientale, Mill., a tree indigenous to the south-west of Asia 
Minor, where the drug is collected. 

These conclusions I had reason to believe were generally ac- 
cepted, until I received a few weeks ago a pamphlet by Professor 
Stamatios D. Krinos, cf Athens, which somewhat disputes their 
correctness. • In vindicating my own opinions, however, I wish to 
draw attention to the new facts put forth in the learned essay 
of the Greek Professor of Pharmacology, and to couple with 
them some additional information on Storax of which I have 
become possessed. 

Professor Klrinos, whose pamphlet, entitled Ilepl Srvpa/co? 
SiaTpL^rj (f>apfiaKoypa(l>iKrf {A PJiarmacographical Essay on 
Storax)} is in modem Greek,* commences by stating that he 
will endeavour to show : — 

1. That Liquid Storax was known to the ancient Greek 
physicians. 

2. The i-easons why he presumes that the text of Dioscorides 
requires a slight change. 

3. That the Solid Storax of ancient authors was not the pro- 
duce of Styrax officinale, L, but of the tree called in modem 
Greek Ziry/a and by botanists Liquidainbar orientate, namely, 
the same tree as that from the bark of which Liquid Storax 
is obtained by decoction and expression. 

In support of the first proposition Dr. Krinos gives an elabo- 
rate review of the ancient accounts of Storax, from which, but 
especially from the statements of the later Greek writers, he 
draws the conclusion that Liquid Storax was a drug with which 
they were acquainted. In the works of Paulus -^gineta, he ob- 
serves, we first find mentioned, besides Solid Storax, a second 
yind. Liquid Storax, and also the resin of the tree, Zirytiot, which is 
the same thing as Liquid Storax. Aetius, who lived in the sixth 
century is cited as mentioning a Liquid Storax; and also a 
spurious treatise of Galen, the writer of which referring to the 

I 'Ey 'ABfpms, 1862, 870, p. 27. 

* I am indebted to the kindneos of D. P. Scanunanga, Esq., for translat- 
ing the pamplikl 



ADDITIONAL OBSEUVATIONS ON STORAX. 



147 



resin of ^ir/la explains that it is synonjTuous with Liquid Storax, 1863. 
The Arab authors are then reviewed, and subsequently the 
pharmacologists of the last and present century. The learned 
author then points out tliat the word fi>7ta, properly signifying (vyia, tho 
maple, is now applied in the south-west of Asia Minor to *^ ' 
Liquidamhar oricntale, a tree which re^rmlks a maple or a 
plane. He also states tliat about the year 1841, he proved that 
Liquid Storax was obtained fiom this tree, and that an account 
of this fact was published at the time in the Melissa^ an Atliens 
newspaper. 

The second proposition of Professor Krinos is that the text Proposal to 
of Dioscoridea is incorrect. Dioscorides states that the Storax- fffDio^corides. 
tree resembles the quince, which is certainly the case if Stj/rax 
afficmale is intended, but by no means so if Liquidamljar oHen- 
iaU.^ But Professor Kiiuos holds that the Storax (solid and 
liquid) of ancient authors is ^fird the produce of Sti/rax at all: 
hence the difficulty of admitting the statement of Dioscorides, 
. the extraordinary proposal of alUring the text so as to cause 
tfcat author to say that the tree resembles not a quince but a 
maple. In reply to this I may remark that it would be needful 
to alter Pliny also^ and that such a mode of disposing of 
the difficulty, unles,'^ supported by some obvious ambiguities in 
the early MSS. of these ancient authors, is surely inadmissible. 

The third proposition, that the Solid Storax of the ancients 
was derived from lAquidmiibar and not from Siyrax^ is one from 
which I entirely dissent ; siill, I am free to admit that a solid 
resin derived from the former tree may have passed as Storax 
in ancient times, though I am entirely unacquainted with such 
a substance* Professor Krinos assumes that as no resio pro- 
duced by StifTox ojfinualc now finds its way into commerce, it 
is impossible to believo that that tree ever really yielded any. 
In this I do not concur : I have already shown that two respect- 
able authoi*s of the last century, Dubamel and the Abb^ Mazeas, 
actually collected Storax from this tree, the one in Provence, 



> In modern Greek, tin? Storax-tree is called ^Aypm KiA8Qi*i7Ja, t\e. Wild 
Quince, 

L 2 



148 



ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIUXS ON STORAX, 



isea. the other in the neighljourhood of Home. 1 liave also ascer- 
tained within the last few weeks from Dr, Kotschy, of Viemia, 
that in the neighhourliood of Alexaiidrettaj the Styrax, which 
flolid Stomx. there gi'ows to a tree, still yields its odorous resin. On tlie otiier 
hand, I am bound to acknowledge that the endeavouris I have 
hitherto used to obtain the resin from trees in the south of 
Fmnce, Asia Minor ami Syria have not b^en snccessful* In 
Syria it is now rare to tind the Styrax forming anything better 
than a large bnsh^ owing to the practice of cutting it periodically 
for fnel, and thongh I have myself examined many such bushes 
I have failed to find upon their stems any exudation. I believe, 
however, that where the Styrax attains the dimensions of a tree, 
Initter results will be olrtained and the correctness of the ancient 
accounts will be fully viiiLbcated. Not only does the statement 
of Diuscorides that tiie St^rax-tree 7^escniMes a qvime inrlicate 
that he could not possibly have had the Liquidambar in view, 
but moreover the allusion made by him, and especially by Pliny 
to localities in Syria wliere Styrax trees, but not Liquidambar, 
are still found, lends some weight to the aigumenfc. The geogra- 
phical distribution of Liqiiidarnhar orkntak is very restricted, 
in which respect it differs from Stip^ax. In the extreme south- 
west of Asia Minor it is gregarious, forming forests of from 20 
Stataraent by to 60 feet in height Dn Kotschy informs me that he has 
^ "V^emia^ xeasou to believe it occurs at Narkislik, a village near Alex- 
andretta and also on the Orontes. He also teUs me that 
six fine old trees, certainhj planted, exist at the convent of 
Antipboniti on the north coast of Cyprus, but that there are no 
other in the vicinity ; that the tree is there called ^vXoi^ rou 
*Ei^ei^Ti? (Governor's wood), and that it and the bark are used 
as incense in the churches. He adds that there are two trees 
of the same kind at tlie convent of Neophiti near Papho, but 
no others on the island. Professor Krinos states that the 
Liquidambar is common in SjTia, a fact which is not borne 
out by the researches of Ijotanists who have visited that 
country,^ not one of whom has noticed its occurrence. 

* As Boissier, Qaillardot, Blanebe, Roth, Bove, Michon, De Simlcy, Lyach, 
Erdel, Ehrenberg, Hooker, &c. 




I 



ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS ON STORAX. 



149 






» 



To? these reasons, I am not prepared to reticunce the opinion 1S63. 
the Stomx-tree of Dioscorides and other ancient writers 
was the Siyrax offieinuh of modern botanists, nor can I abaBilon 
the idea that, like its congener 8. Baizain, it is capable of 
yielding an aromatic real a, which was once obtained in suffi- 
cient abundance to form an article of trade. 

Before quitting the subject of Storax, I tliink it desirable to 
offer a few observations on some of the substances that are 
known in pharmacy under that name, and first we will take 
Siyrax calami ta. 

Tliis drug, as found in English commerce, is so singularly 
variable that it would be diflicult to suppose it a natural pro- 
duct. At Trieste, where certainly some of it is manulactnred, 
it is prepared (as I have ascertained on the spot) by mixing 
the residual liquidambar bark called Cortex Thymiamatis, 
reduced to coarse powder, wath Liquid Storax. Such a mix- 
ture 1 have prepared myself, and can assert that it constitutes 
excellent '' Sbjrux calmfiitu," When first mixed (in the pro- 
portion of 3 to 2) it forms a somewhat moist and clammy mass, 
which in the course of a few wrecks develops an infinity of 
minute silky crystals, giving the wiiole an a])pearance of 
mouldiness. If the bark is scarce, common sawdust, I am 
informed, is substituted for it ; and olibanumj red earth, and 
honey are also employed in producing Siyrax caiamiia of 
inferior quality. The drug is said to be manufactured also 
at Venice and Marseilles. 

According to Professor Krinos, the Greek monks, particularly 
those of the island of Symi, prepare by mixing olibanum with 
Liquid Storax certain resinous cakes which they sell for incense 
under the name of ^frci^So^ocr^oXi^aj/oi/ or tTjovpaKL It is a com- 
pound of this sort that, in^ my opinioo, constitutes i\\e Black Black Si^mx. 
Storax described by Guibourt, Fereira and others, and not 
UB frequently found in continental drag warehouses. In fact 
1 have more than once prepared auch a mixture, which is 
remarkably fmgmnt and quit« devoid of the coal-tar-like odour 
of Liquid Storax ; an eflloresccnee of cinnamic acid geuf^rally 
develops it.self on the surface of the mass, l\ is also this 




MANUFACTURES OF GlUSSE AND CANNES. 



1057* 



Graitse. 




substance wliicli appears to constitute t!ie precious incense 
used at Easter in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jeru- 
salem, and of which small pieces are sold to the pilgrimB at an 
enormous price,^ — not indeed for burning, but chiefly to be 
carried as a charm. 

Iq conclusion, I wish to express an earnest desire that any 
traveller visiting Asia Minor or Northern Syria, or resident in 
either of those countries, would carefully examine the stems of 
iSi7/rax ojfkitiale with a view to discover any adherent resin, — ^still 
more that he would perforate the trunk of that tx-ee and observe 
after the lapse of some time whether such perfomtion is fol- 
lowed by an exudation of resin. [iV. IlepcrLf. Pharm, xiL 24L] 

SOME NOTES OX THE ILINUFACTUHES OF GRASSE 
AND CANNES. 

(Mantf/adurcn von Qrasse ami Cannes — aihcrischc Ode.) 

That portion of the South of France which bor^lers the 
Mediterranean between Toulon and Nice is noted for its mild, 
salubrious climate, and also for the growth and manufacture of 
several pioductiouB of interest to the druggist and the 
perfumer. 

A recent visit to the district in question, and especially to 
the towns of Gmsse and Cannes, having given me the oppor- 
tunity of seeing something of the manufactures there carried on, 
I have thought tliat a few lines on the subject might prove 
acceptable to English readers. Let it be remembered they are 
but tlie notes of a passing stranger, and as such not to be 
taken for more than they are worth. 

Grasae is a town of some 13,000 inhabitants, lying at the 
foot of a range of mountains, and open to the Mediterraneau 
from which it is distant about eight or mne miles. The olive is 
cultivated in great abundance in all the adjacent country, and 
grows fai" more luxuriantly than in many other olive districts of 
the South of France. The mildness of the climate is still more 
manifested by the orange trees, which, with Iiero and there a 
date-pidm, form a striking ornament of the little town gaitleiis 



I 



QBA6SE AND CANNES. 



151 



I 




W 
^ 



of Grasse. The other plants that are cultivated are the rose, 
the jessamine (Jasmimim gi-avdiflomm^ L), mignouette {lieMda 
cdorata, L), and tuberose {PoHanthes tuherosa, L), 

Cannes, a small town situated on the shore of the Mediter- 
raueau, about ten miles from Grasse, enjoys a climate still more 
favoured. Tlie orange is cultivated more extensively ; the rose, 
jessamine, and other plants under culture at Orasse are like- 
wiae grown on a large scale at Cannes; uud in addition we 
find the geranium (Felargoninm RndvJa, Ait., var. ^ rosmm) and 
laie {Acacia FarTiesiana, Willd.), the latter in considerable 
idance. 

species of orange are cultivated about Grasse and 

Bnes, one known as the hitter oramjc or hlgaradicr, the more 
esteemed and more extensively grown, the other as the swtct 
or Portugal orange. 

Orange-trees are grown in all the cdnntry in the neigh- 
bourhood of Grasse, but especially in places in the vicinity 
of the coast. When the season arrives, the flowers are col- 
lected by itinerant agents called Comntissio7unrcSf who bring 
them from the growers to the distillers, their remuneration 
being the small commission of one sou per kilogramme^ or 
about Id per lb. 

The finest Neroli and finest orange flower Avater are dis- 
tilled from the flowers of the biganidier* Inferior Keroli, not 
worth more than half the price of the finest, is yielded by the 
tlowei's of the sweet or Portugal orange. The essential oil 
called Essence dt Pdit Grain is distilled from the leaves of the 
bigaradier: the distilled water mixed with that of the flowers, 
is sold as an inferior quality of orange flower water. 

Hoses are cultivated close tu the town of Grasse, as well as 
in all the country acljaeent, often on a very small scale and in 
situations ap|*areutly very aiid. In the moutli of May the 
flowere are collected daily, and brought by the growers to the 
manufactories for sale. 

The rose water of Provence is of very superior quality : 
essential oil or otto of roses is separated from it after distilla- 
tion. This otto differs fiom the Turkish, even from the purest 




1B57. 



Cannes, 



Orange trees. 



Bifltillati?s. 



Frorence 
Otto. 




^^s 



MANUFACTURES OF GRASSE AND CANNES. 



isar. 



Cttitrk. 



GtTumnm. 



DistiJlatioii. 




specimenB, iji remaining congealed at a much higher tempera- 
ture. In the market it commanfla a far higher price than the 
Turkisli otto, being wortli from 1800 to 2000 francs the 
kilop^amnu} It is bnt little in demand, and the supply is 
comparatively small 

The jessamine; which is cultivated upon an extensive scale, 
is Jasminum graridiJlQrum, L,, a species with large white, ex- 
ceedingly fmgmnt tiowera. The plants are all grafted upon 
stocks^of t/fx*"wuiitwt o£icin(de\ L : they are planted close together 
in rows, and are not allowed to attaiji a height of more than 
about two feet They are kept of this low stature in order to 
facilitate their protection from cold, which is effected by heaping 
the earth completely over their stems at the commencement of 
winter. Jessamine flowers are in season in July and August : 
they are chiefly employed to communicate their odour to oils 
and pomades. Jessamine water was shown to me by one 
manufacturer. 

The Cassie, Acacia farnesiwaa, Willd., is cultivated chiefly 
about Cannes, where it is to be seen forming a bush or small 
tree. Its flowers, which are veiy fragrant^ are used in perfuming 
oil and pomade : they are produced in September, and are worth 
live to six francs the kilor/ramme. 

The geranium is cultivated for the purpose of obtaining its 
essential oil. The tuberose k grown at Cannes as well as at 
Grasse^ its deliciously fragrant flowers being used, like those of 
the cassie, for scenting oil and pomade. 

The establishments where the distillation of essences and 
waters, and the manufacture of other articles of perfumery are 
carried on, are many of them of considerable extent, and kept 
up in a style of great completeness. The stills are of copper, 
and heated by a naked fire ; they are mostly, if not all, of small 
size, compared with tlie great stills used in this country. Their 
small capacity is, however, compensated by their numbers, 
some manufacturers having a dozen and others twice that 
number. In one operation which I saw in progress, the chaise 

^ Equal to (say) 41«, to 45«. per ox. 



INFGSIUN-ENFLEURAGE, 



153 



oils 
!â–  callc 



N 



^ 



of the still witb leaves of the higarade orange was about 1857- 
80 Iba. 

In addition to the manufacture of essential oils, an inipoitant 
branch of industry consists in the prt:paration of scented fatty 
oils and pomades. These are prepared by one of two processes, 
called re«n>ectively In/usiofi and Enfleurage, 

In/uMon consiata, as the name implies, in infusing the sub- Infusim. 
ce whose odour is to be extracted, in a mixture of lard and 
beef-fat melted in a water-bath, or in warm olive oil. The 
chief substances thus treated are the flowers of the rose, cassie, 
bitter orange, and violet. Mignonette is also sometimes sub- 
jected to this process. The flowers are immersed entire, except 
in the case of orange flowers, which are previously bruised. 
After immersion in the fatty menstruum for a requisite period, 
the mixture is straineii off and the residue pressed. The pomade 
is preserved in lai'ge metal vessels, some of which have a 
capacity of 300 Lihgrammes. 

The process oiEnJtturage is resorted to in extracting the odour EnjUurage. 
of the flowers of tuberose, jessamine, and mignonette, Tlie ap- 
paratus required is merely a number of shallow wooden frames 
of about 18 by 15 inches, inclosing at half their depth a sheet 
of glass. The edges of the frames rise about an inch above each 
surface of the glass, and being flat, the frames stand securely one 
upon another, forming often considerable stacks. The technical 
name for the frames is clmssis : those just described are called 
ehaisis aux vilres, or rhassi^ mav pommadcs, to distinguish 
them from a different form, which is used where oil has to be 
submitted to the process of Enficvrage. The proc^^ss in the case 
of pomade is thus conducted: the unscented fat (which Ims 
about the consistence of spermaceti ointment) is weighed into 
portions, each suflBcicnt for one side of the sheet of glass of a 
eJiams, It is then spread over the glass with a spatula in a 
layer hardly a tenth of an inch thick, care being taken by 
employing a little inner frame during the spreading, that the fat 
does not come in contact with the woodwork of the chassis. 
One surface of the glass having been thus coated, the other is 
coated in like manner; and the chassis is ready to receive the 



154 



MANUFACTCJRES OF GEASSE AND CANNES. 



1857, flowers. These are now tliinly sprinkled, rather laid one by 
Enflcurafje. ^^^t upou the surface of the fat, where tliey are allowed to 
remain until the next day or day after, when they are renaoved 
and fiesh flowers supplied, Tlie t-hiisms, charged with fat and 
flowers, are stacked one upon the other, formiog in fact a 
number of little rectangular chambers, the upper and lower 
surfaces of each of which are of glass covered with a thin 
layer of fat sprinkled with flowei-s, the sides being of wood. In 
one manufactory which I inspected, only one surface of each 
chassis was coated with fat, the Jessamine flowers being placed 
in an abundant layer upon the other surface : in another estab- 
lishment, flowers of mignonette were being simOarly treated* 
In this arrangement the flowers do not, of course, come in con* 
tact wnth the fat, hut the latter is simply suspended above them 
to receive and absorb their odour. The flowers require changing 
either daily or every other day for forty or fifty days before the 
pomade is sufliciently impreguated with their odour. It is 
essential that all flowers employed in this process should be 
collected during dry weather. 

When oil has to be impregnated %vith the odour of flowers, a 
chassis is used whicli is of larger size, and has a diaphragm of 
coarse wirework instead of glass. Upon this diaphragm is laid 
a cotton cloth of a peculiar, thick, absorbent texture, soaked with 
oil; flowers are then spi^cad upon it, and renewed daily until the 
requisite odour has been obtained. The oil is then pressed trom 
the cloth and tiltered : each cloth imbibes about 2 lbs, of oil. 
ExtracU The preparations called by tlie perfumers Extracts are made by 
treating the highly-scented oil or pomade with spirit of wine, so 
OS to dissolve out the essential oil which eitlier may have ab- 
sorbed from the flowers with which it has been placed. This 
process is more usually conducted by the general perfumer than 
by the distiller and nutnufacturer of Grasse or Cannes, the busi- 
ness of the latter being more particularly with what he terms 
the tnaiUrm preiniires. The pomade or oil, after having yielded 
to spiiit the greater portion of its odour, is yet valuable for 
otlier purposes t€ which it can readily be applied by the manu- 
facturing perfimier. 



I 




HUYAL SALEP. 



155 



185a. 



NOTE ON A DKUG CALLED HOY AL SALEP, 

(Koniffs-Sakp.) 

Amokg some specimens of Materia lledica from Bombay, for 
wliich I am indebted to the kiiidiiesa of the late Dr. .L K 
Stocks, is one which was received under the designation of Bad- 
Salch or Kiwj Salcjh The specimen being a solitary one, 
ad no information respecting it, beyond tliat conveyed by its 
name, having reached me, it remained almost unnoticed nntil 
within the last few months, when an original package, contain- 
ing ab<-iut 100 lbs. of an unknown and unnamed drug from 
Bombay, was offered for sale in the London market. Upon 
seeing samples of this drug, I recognised it as Bmlshak Sakh; 
and having obtained from this source a more abundant supply I 
have been able to some extent to investigate it, and the results 
of that investigation I will now detaih 

In the first place the name BadsJutfi Sakh dJUjiJuiJlj is 
partly Persian and partly Arabic, — Bad^hah being the Persian 
for King^ and Saldt the Arabic original of our word Sakjj. The 
term may therefore be rendered King Sakp or Royal Sakp ; and 
it has doubtless been applied on account of the drug being re- 
garded as Salep of pre-eniinently large size. That it is in reality 
very distinct from true Salep — in fact, that it is not a tuber, but 
a hulh — was pointed out to me by my friend Dr.' Dudley, who 
has further suggested its botanical origin. I will, however^ first 
describe the drug as met with in commerce. 

Royal Salep consists of dried bulbs (Fig, 1, 2), whose dimen- 
sions from base to apex vary from 1\ to 2 inches. The largest 
specimen weighs 730 grains : the average weight, taking twenty 
bulbs, was found to be 337 grains. Allowing for considerable 
irregularity occasioned by drying, the form of the dried bulbs 
may be described as usually nearly spherical, sometimes ovoid 
or nearly oblong, always pointed at the upper extremity, and 
having at the lower either a depressed ciciitrLx, or frequently a 
large, white, elevated, scar-like maik. Their surface is striated 



[litiilisliah 
SalebJ 



156 



BOYAL SALEP. 



lasa. longitudinally, besides wliich there is mostly one broad and deep 
furrow niiimng in the same direction. They are usually tnim;- 
lucent, transmitted light showing them to be of an orange- 
brown ; by reUected light they are seen to vary from a yellowish 
brown to a deep purplish hue— sometimes shaded at the base 
into an opaque yellowish while. 
Sftlep Bulbg. In substance the bulbs are dense and horny : they may be cut 
with a knife, but can hardly be powdered. After several hours* 
maceration in water, they become soft, opaque, and of a slaty or 
purplish hue, and increase gi^eatly in volume, regaining in fact 
their natural size and form (see Fig, o). If in this state a bulb 



Fio. 1. 



Fia. 2. 



BoUuical 

Oriffiii of 

lloyni Salep* 



be cut longitudinally into two equal portions its distinctness 
from an orchis tuber will be at once manifest. Instead of the 
homogeneous, fleshy mass of the latter, we find a single fleshy 
envelope or scale of excessive tliickness whose edges overlap 
each other ; this scale surrounding an elongated, flattened bud 
(Fig. 4). 

Although this single convolute scale is all that remains in the 
dried bulb, it is supposed by Dr Lindley that other scales ex- 
ternal to it have been stripped off previous to drying. 

Of the plant aflbrding Ito?/al Salep, and of its place of growth, 
nothing appears to be known. 1 have not been aide to <liscover 
any notice of the drug in the works of Ktenipfer, Forskal, Ainslie, 



ROYAL SALEP, 



157 



Roxburgh, Royle, or O'Shaughnessy. IXonigberger, in speak- lase, 

ing of the sorts of Salep used at Lahore mentions one re- 
sembling a dried fig, which I suppose may be tlie drug under 
notice, but he gives no account of it. Dr. Lindley s examination Dr. LiuJ ley's 
of the bulb leads him to the opinion that it is possibly that of ^**®^^ 
some species of Tulip, of which there are four known to occur 
in Affghanistun. Talipa Oailm'Solis (St. Amans), and some 
other speeies, when grow^l in favourable localities, certainly pro- 
duce very large bulbs, which have moreover but few scales ; but 
I am ignorant of any having a scale of such cDornious thickness 



VV-' 



kr 



lU^ 



;/•> 



Fto. a 



Bnyal SAlep^Fio. 3^ tfae bulb, Fio. 1, ftfter mQc^ratlon tn wat«r. 

* " ailer nmue ration. 



of A bulb aft 



Fiti 4. 



Fio. 4, loDLgitudlnat secrtJon 



^M as that seen in the drug under notice. It is obvious, however, 
^ that the question of botanical origin cannot be determined from 
our limited materials. 

Upon the uses of Badshah Saleh, I can say very little : from 
the bulb being mucilaginous and saccharine, I presume it may 
answer some of the purposes for which orchideous tubers are 
valued. At the same time it has a bitterish and slightly acrid 
taste that quite unfits it iis a substitute for Salep In this country. 
The decoction of Badskah Saieb is far less mucilaginous than 
that of true Salep : it is not rendered blue by the addition of a 
solution of iodine* [iV. Jlepert.f. Plmrm, vii. 271.] 



Uses of 

Badabnti 

Sak-b. 



TWO INSECT-PEODUCTS FROM PERSIA. 



Larinus 
maculatus. 



Trih^la, 



TREHAUL 

(Zw€i 2>ersische Insectenprodiicte von Larinus viaculatm and 
i. meUificus,) 

At the Evening Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society, 
January 5, 1859, ^fr. Paniel Hanhury, in presenting to the 
Society a specimen of Zarinm maculalus and its cocoon, begged to 
offer a few reniarks upon the insect, and to explain upon what 
grounds it deserved a place in a collection of pharinaccutical sub- 
stances. II r* IL stated that among the dnigs sent from Constanti- 
nople to the Paris Exhibition of 18.j5, were certain insect-cocoons, 
called Treliala, which are used in the East in the form of decoction, 
on account of their saccharine and amylaceous properties. In an 
interesting paper lately published,* ^L Guibonrt has pointed out 
that under the Persian name of Schakar tigal, these cocoons 
were described by Father Auge, in his Pharmampma Pcrsica, so 
far back as the year 1G81, but that until attention was drawm to 
them in 1855, they were practically unknown to pharmacologists, 

Mr. H. added that from specimens collected by I^Ir. Loftus at 
Kiriind, in Persia, in the year 1851, and now^ in the British 
Museum, it hail been ascertained that the insect winch produces 
Tri'hala is Larinus maculaim of Faldcnnann. This insect, 
which is a beetle about half an inch in length, belonging to the 
family Curtidimiidot, forms its cocoons upon a species of 
Eehinops^ probably the E. jycrskm of Fischer. 

The cocoons are interesting in a chemical point of view, from 
the fact of their affording a peculiar species of sugar, to which 
the name Trehalose has been given by M. Bertelot. ^ 

1 Cmnpfes Rendns, 21 Juin, 1858, p, IS^IS. 
* Ibul, 28 Juia, 1858, p. 1276. 



TREHALA OR TRIG ALA, 



NOTE ON TWO INSECT-PEODUCTS FEOM PEESIA. 
(Bead before the Linjiean Society, December liUIt, 1858.) 

Tn Hie month of June Ifist, my friend Professor GuiLourt, of 
Paris, laid \yetove the Academic dea Sciences^ some account of a 
remarkalile siibstnnce called Tr^hala, the cocoon of a Cureu- Trthala. 
lionidrms insect found in Persia, where, as well as in other parts 
of the Ejist, it enjoys some celebrity as the basis of a mucilagin- 
ous drink atlniinistered to the sick. 

Specimens of this substance, as well as of another iusect-pro- 
duct of Persia, together with the insects themselves, were pre- 
sented a few years aj^o to the Biilish Museum by W, K. Loftus, W. K. Loftmi 
Esq. I who obtained them while enga^^ed by the British Govern- 
ment on the question of the Turco-Persian boundaries. 

The precise detemiination of the species of these insects being 
a matter of doubt, they have at my request been lately examined 
by M, Jekeh of Paris, nn entomologist with whom tlie family of 
CuTctilionidas 1ms long been an especial study. One of these 
insects M. Jekel lias identiCcd with a spwies of wide distrilm- 
tion ; the other pro\ing undescribed, he has drawn up a descrip- 
tion of it, which, accompanied by a figure, I have the honour to 
lay before the Linnean Society, To this, I venture to add a few 
obser\^atians upon the productions to which I have alluded. 

Tiie first of these is TrSkala or Tricala, under which name it 
formed part of the collection of Materia Medica sent by ]M. 
Delia Sudda» of Constantinople, to the Paris Exhibition of 
1855, and since deposited in tlie £cole de Pbarmacie in Paris. 

Triliala (Fig. 2) consists of cocoons of an ovoid or globular 
form, alwut J of an inch in length ; their inner surface is com- 
posed of a smooth, hard, dusky layer, external to which is a 
thick, rough, tuberculated coating of a greyish- white colour and 
earthy appearance. Some of the cocoons have attached to them 
the remains of the tomentose staUc of the plant upon which they 
were formed ; others have portions of a tomentose spiny leaf 



M. .Tekers 
identification. 



Tri^hftln, or 
Trinila. 




* Cmnpttg RmdWf 21 Juin, 1858, p. 1213. 



m 



160 



TWO nv'SECT-PHODUC 



DM PERSIA. 



I85d. 



Description. 



built into them; and, more rarely, out* finds portions of ibe 
floweriDg heads of the plant, a species of Uthuwps, similarly 
inclosed. JTany of the cocoons are open at one end and empty ; 
others have a longitudinal aperture, originally closed by the 
stalk of the plant, and still contain the insect ; a few are en- 
tirely closed. Specimens of this insect, extracted from the 
cocoons sent to Paris were examined in 1856 by my friend Mr. 
W. Wdson Saunders, who pronounced tlieui to be Larinm 
mamiatus of Faldermanu^ — a determination also arrived at by 
M. Jekel from specimens presented by Mr. Loftus to the British 
Museum. Eespecting these latter, one of which is represented 
in Fig. 1, M. Jekel makes the following remarks: — 



maculatitj. 



Ilabitet* 




*' Larenus maculatus, Faldcrmmm, Faun. Tmmcatic. ii, p. 228, 
4rt9, tab. 6. f, 10, et iii, p. 198.— Sclionh. Gni. et f>p. Curad. iii, 
p. 112 et vii. 2. p. 7.— Hochhuth, Bull Moscoii, 1847 No. 2. 
p. 538 (var, 7). 

" Var. y. Lari'fL Onopordinis, Sch. loc. cit iii. p. Ill (excl. 
synon.). 

*'0f this species, Mr. Loftus captured several specimens, all 
of small size : from some of tliem the pollinosity had been rub- 
bed ofif, as is represented in the figure by Mr. Ford (in/k Fig. 1), 
which shows only a part of the inferior hiyer of tomentnm and 
the greyish ground of the dorsal and lateral macube; the latter, 
being the most densely coloured in fresh specimens, are always 
the most persistent. These belong to Selionherr's var. 7, w^hich 
that author formerly regarded as the iMrimts Onopordhm, Fabr. 
Others of Mr, Loftus's specimenSj which are very fresh, belong to 
Var. (i ; none to the typical variety, which is often larger in 
size. 

" This species has a very extended habitat : I have received it 
from European Turkey (Frivaklski), Beyrouth, Caucasus^ Persia 
(Dupont), &c. &c- ; ancl it is recorded by Schonberr as also found 
in Barbary and PortugaL 

"This is the insect which proceeds from the rough chalky • 
looking nidus figured by Mr, Ford, Vide Fig. 2/' 

The entomological question being so far disposed of, I may 
be permitted a few remarks upon the properties which have ob- 
tained for TriMlit a place among drugs and dietetic substances. 

The first author who gives any account of the substance is 



162 



TWO INSECT' PRODUCTS FKOM PERSIA. 



1S49. Father Ange also states that the substance is called in Persian 

Schakar tiffftl ( JUjj Jw) literally Sngar of nests ; hut his Ambic 
names, Schakar el ma-usckcr (yt*JI iX^) and Saccar d aschaur, 
apply to an entirely different 8iihstance, namely, to a saccha- 
rine matter exuded, after the puncture of an insect, from the 
stems of Calotrojm procera, R. Br.^ of which plant he gives a 
quaint but tolerably charact-eristic description, 
Mr. LoftuH. M^- Loftus, who obtsiined the specimens which he presented to 
the British Museum, at Kir rind in Persia, in September, 1851, 
gives as the Persian name of the cocoons Shek roukek — ^a term, 
probably, tbe same as the " C-hezoukck" (a misprint?) of Father 
Ange, but the signilicatioii of which I have not been able to 
discover. 

Another notice of the same substance, with a figure, is briefly 
given in Dr. Honigberger*s Tkiriy'^fifve Ymrs in the East 
(Lond. 1852, vol. ii. pp. 305-6), where we read that Manna 
teegJml, or Shukure tceffhaJ, which are certain insect-nests of a 
hard texture, rough on the outside, smooth within, about half an 
inch in length, and of a whitish colour, are imported into 
Lahore from Hindostan. 

M. BourJier, M. Bourlier published in 1857 an interesting note on the 
same substance,^ wlxich has been followed by ^1 Guibourt's 
comnmnication to the Academte des Sciences, and still later by 
a memoir on the chemical history of Trfliala by M. MarceUin 
Berthelot, also presented to the Academy.' 

M, Guibourt. From the investigations of M. Guibourt, it appears that the 
cocoons are composed of a large proportion of starch (identical 
witli that found in the stem of the Echinoj^s, upon which the 
insect forms its nest), of gitm, a peculiar saccharine matter, a 
bitter principle, besides earthy and alkaline salts. 



Dr. Honig- 




I This Raccharine subfitance b noticed by AviccnBa as ^uccamm alhumr 
(Lib. il Tract, il ciip, 756, ed. Val^v. Yenet. 1564)» Jind alfio by Matthiolus 
(Comiii* in Lib. ii* l>io&c. cap. 75). Tt is likewise referred to by Endliclier 
(Eiichiridioti Botanicum^ p« 300), Hoyle {lUu^tr, of ihs BoL &/ tito Himnkujan 
MminiainSf vol. L p 275), M^r&t and De Lens {Diet. cU Mati^re MHimU^ 
t. i, p^ 467), &a 

• Rmm€ Phnrmnceutiquc de 1856^ piir Dorvatdt, p, 37, 

> CompUi Eendus^ 28 Juln 1858, p 127C. 



TWO INSECT PHODUCTS FROM PERSIA, 



163 



^ 



Abuudnjit in 
Cooalauti- 



The saccharine principle, which has been especially examined ie*9. 
by M. Berthelot, and named by hini Trekaiose, is a l>ody analo- m. BcrtJielot. 
gous to cane-sugar, but possessing distinctive properties, which 
separate it frara that and all other varieties of sugar. 

M Bourlier states that THhala, wliich is abundant in the 
shops of the Jew drug-dealers of Constantinople, is frequently 
used by the Arab and Turkish physicians in the form of a 
decoction, which is regarded hy them as of peculiar efficacy in 
diseiises of the respiratory organs. 

The second insect-product to which 1 would draw attention, H- Product, 
is a saccharine substance resembling dark honey. Mr. Loftus, 
who obtained it near Kirrind, 1 3th July, 1851, and whose 
specimen is in the Biitish Museum, states that it is exuded from 
a species of thistle when pierced by a Rhynchophonms insect ; 
but he fails to inform us for what purposes it is used by the 
inhabitants. 

Mr, Loftus having also presented the Museum with excellent 
specimens both of the plant and insect, I am able to state that 
the former is Erhinops persietis, Fisch., and the latter a new Echimps pet-- 
species of Larmus, to which M. Jekel hofi applied the ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^,111^ 
Larinus meilifwu^, and of which he has drawn up the following fici^- 
description : — 

*' LAEmus MELLiFicus, J^M (Fig. 3). Bpeviter ovatus, 
convexus, niger, nitidus ; infra subtiliter, lateribus thoracis 
niargineque elytrorum intus medio versus angidariter ampliata, 
apicem occupante griseo-cinvrasccnti ttinnenlosis ; rostio leviter 
puDctato, basi utrinque bicaufiliculato cum ele%'atione metUa 
lata subcariniffuiui ; thorace subconico antice tubulato, supra 
confertim sat rude puuctato, lateribus siibrugoso ; elytris striato- 
pnnctatis, interstitiis latis, planis, trans versim subtilissinie 
rugulosis, cum abdomine tenuissime alutaceis, punctis majoribus 
remotioribus inijtressis; pectore, lateribus, pedibusque rugoso- 
punetatis, femoriljus infra fortiter oblique costato-nigosis ; tibiia 
intu.s, anticis fortius crenulatis. Long, (rostr, excl.) 16-18, lat 
elytr. 8-1* mill. 

'' Tat ria— Persia, prope Kirrind, ubi Eckinopsidu speciem 
frequentnt, cujus planke caules ab boe insecto puncti materiam 
qunnidam saccbaiinam sudant.'* ir. A' Loftvs, Mus. Brit. 

M 2 



J 



rjTTO OF R03a 

Very similar to L. Onopordinis, but proportionably more 
elongate and less convex ; rostrum and thorax longer ; pilosity 
of the body underneatb much thinner and shorter: thighs 
thicker, more clavate, the anterior evidently costate-rugose 
underneath ; without whitish marks on the elytra, and without 
that layer of light*brown earth-like pollinose transudation 
which is often wanting in nibl*ed specimens of LaHiius 
Onopordinu, The freshest specimens have the griseous man^u 
of the elytra, which part^ from the base under the shoulder, 
obliquely and angularly ampliate interiorly towards the middle, 
where it reaches the second stria. This griseous pilosity fills 
all the tips of the elytra, leaving bare only the sutures, an 
angular notch behind the middle (which forms with that apical 
part of the suture a kind of hook on each elytron), and 
two round spots, one sub marginal fronting the tip of the notch, 
the other larger, discoidal, beliind the foot of the notch, much 
above t!ie tip. [iV. NiperL / Pharm, viii. 535.] 



mao. 



Importanre 
of auihr-ntic 
specimens 



(L\ OTTO OF ItOSE, 

{Rmenol) 

The importance of authentic specimens is well understood by 
naturalists. The Ixitanist, who has had the opportunity of 
verifying llie IJnnean name of a plant by comparing it with 
Linmeus's own specimen, is sensible tliat no more satisfactory 
proof is wanting. The entomologist who can appeal to the 
speciniens of Fabricius, or the zoologist who can point to those 
named by Cuvier as identical with his own, feels that he can 
rightfully adopt the names given by those authors. Nor is the 
student of Materia Medica much less in need of authentic or 
type specimens as standards of comparison. Yet how difficult 
it woidd be to point to a specimen of Sarsaparilla as indubi- 
tably the root of one particular species of Smilax^ or to Bud 
in our museums a specimen of myrrh or olihanum, or gam- 
boge, with indisputable data as to its botanical origin and place 
of production. 



I 




PHODUCTION OF OITO, 



165 



These observations have been suggested by the difficulty 10^0. 
which occurs to the di-u^ist in the purchase of Otto of Eose^ priccoTotto. 
The wholesale price of the article varies from 14.i to 20^. per 
juiice^ a fact indicative of a wide range of qualities. But as- 
iniing that the most expensive article is the purest, it will be 
found to dilTer materially from the Otto described by our liest 
authors, Pereira states^ that at temperatures below 80"* F,, Attar 
of Hoses is a crystalline solid; and the same assertion is made 
by Dr, Eoyle/^ Firande states^ that it melts at 84"; Redwood, 
that it fuses between S^** and 8G^* Martiny gives 86" as its 
fusing point^ Chevallier, Richard, and Guillemin suy that it is 
concrete below 84^ to 8(5^^ Dr Jackson states, of tlic (Jtto 
made at Gliazeepore, that it melts at 84^^ 

Vet the Otto of the London market^ as all druggists know, ia 
never found with so liigh a fusiug-point, and, in fact, there is but F»taing point. 
a portion of that which arrives, of which one could say that it 
IB solid above 60' F. 

TJiese discrepant facts liave long engaged my attention, and 
believing that the general subject of Otto of Rose merits the 
notice of pharmacists, I have placed on paper the observations 
which I have collected. 

For convenience I think it best to discuss the subject under 
three heads, namely, Production, AduHerallon, and Chemical 
Charai'ters, First, then, the 

Production ov Orm of Rose. 

The Otto of Rose with wliich at the present day the English Pixjiiuetiun. 
market is supplied, is protluced in Tui'key, on the plains lying 
south of the Balkan mountains. 



* EUrjunU of Mat Med, Ed, 3, vol. ii., p. 1812, 

* Manual of MaL Me^L Ed. 2, p. 432. 

* Mantud of tVu-miVn/. Ed. 6, p. 1551. 

* Supplfmenl (o the Fharm. Ed, 3, p, 8(>1, 

* Encykiop. d, Mtd.^Flnmu, Nat,'iind Mohmmreuk. Bd. ii., p. 34*9. 

* Di^'i. dtn Droff. T. iii,, p. 158. 

' O'Sbauglmessy's Baigal Dispcmatonj fp. 32B), in whii h work Dr. Jack- 
B*m*9 interesting account b jfiven M length. 



166 



OTTO OF ROSE. 



X0a9. Otto of Rose is also collected in Provence, in tbe South of France, 

by the distillers of rose water, and this Otto, the production of 
which iH very limited, realizes a large price. In the state of 
Tnnis, in Persia, and in the northern parts of India/ Otto of 
Kose IB also manufactured, but none from these countries finds 
its way into the London market. 
TiukUh otttu With regard to Turkey, the chief localities in which the rose 
is cultivated for the production of Otto, are Kizanlik, a large 
town l)'iDg on the southern side of the Balkans, about seventy 
miles to the north of AJrianofJe. At Eski-Zaghra, in the 
valley of the Tuiija, to the south-east of Kizanlik, the rose 
is also cultivated on a large scale, and at Carlo va f also on the 
southern side of the Rilkans, and aliout 100 miles from 
Adrianople nna-h Otto is said to be produced. 

The flowering season commences in May and the roses are 
usually collected befoi-e sunrise every moniing. When the 
weather is dry and liot, the flowering season is short, and the 
roses blooming about the same time, it is impossible to collect 
them all 

The process followed is the simple one of distilling the roses 
w^ith water in copper stills of no very considerable dimensions^ 
(Collection of and collecting the Otto from the distilled product. 

In very favourable seasons, tlie three districts above men- 
tioned can protluce from 300,000 to 360,000 metieals, which, at 
six nieticuh to the ounce, would give from 50,000 to 60,000 
ounces. This, however, is of rare occurrence, as, independently 
of hot weather, other causes, as frost, or caterpillars, may reduce 
the crop. 

I am informed that in the year 1854, the crop in the three 
districts above named though not abundant was calculated at 
250 fiOO meticalsj 2qu.e.\ to 41,666, ounces; in the year 1855 it 

1 Ghazeepore on the ftaii^es is tiiiiif*u8 for its tiiiuuifocture of Roee Water 
fijid Otto of Rose. Tlie Litter I would willingly have examined^ bat have 
b«en unnble to obtain a specimen, or^ in fuct^ of any Indiim Otto of Ko«e in 
a Rttvte of purity. 

TuTikiao Otto of Rose, valued at nn enormous price, wuk sent to the Greiit 
Exhibition of 1851, but. I had no o|*portiinily of oi>tainiii^a sample. 

' Sotiietimps Rpelt i^arhya^ but I cannot find it under cither nnm<% evea 
npon the best maps. 



Otto. 



ADULTERATION OF OTTO, 



167 



was estimated at 30,000 ounces ; while in 1856 it did not much 
exceed 13,000 ounces. 

The Otto of Rose is transported from the producing di5tricts 
in lai^, flat, tin bottles, covered with thick, white felt, and 
bearing a calico label inscribed with Turkish character. By the 
dealers at Constantinople it is transferred to cut and gilt glass 
bottles imported from Germany, and in these it usually finds its 
way to the markets of Europe. Sometimes, however, the large 
tin bottles are imported into London, it being supposed (and 
with some reason) that the Otto they contain has escaped being 
tampered with at Constantinople. 

According to the official returns prepared for the Board of Trade 
the quantities of Otto of Rose imported into the United Kingdom 
upon which duty wtxs paid, were, during four years, as under: — 



1859. 



Otto 111 tin 
bottles. 



1854 
1855 
1856 
1857 



1251 lbs., equal to 20,016 ounces. 
1012 „ „ 16,192 „ 
1522 ,, „ 24,362 „ 

1591 „ „ 25,456 ,, 



The duty is one shilling per pound 

Adulteration of Otto of Rose. 

Although in Turkey the adulteration of Otto of Rose is Adultemiion 
sometimes pmctised by the producers, and especially of late g ^^ . 
years, since the repeal of a law in 1840 or 1841, prohibiting 
such adulteration under pain of death,^ it is chiefly at Constan- 
tinople that this fraudulent practice takes place. 

Among the substances which liave been used for the adultera- 
tion of Otto of Rose, I may mention two as specially deserving 
attention. The first is spermaceti, which, in Turkey, is, I am 
assured, frequently mixed with the cheaper quaUties of Otto ; 
the second, which is far more systematically and e.\tensively 
employed, as well as more difficult of detection, is an essential 
oil, called in Turkish, Idris Yagki} It is not unfrequently 

* I give this upon the autliority of Mr. Edward Scbnell, of Adiianople, to 
whom, through my friend Mr. Malta ss, I urn iodebted for athei ptirticuLirs 
Ti*hf»ecting the production of Otto of Kose m the BalkaD. 

- I have talcen some jiains to discover the si^iiitication of thijs mun^j but 
without much success. Mt friend Mr. Redhrm&e^ thinltF^ it is Jib, -r ^ - 



168 



OTTO OF BOSE, 



OIL 



laa©. imported iuto London from Turkey, and is tben known in the 
London drug tmde as Turkish Essence of Gtranium. 
Origin of IdrU Let US consider wliat is its origin. The Catalogue of the 
Turkish Section of the Great Exhibition of 1851 states that it is 
brought from Mecca A sample presented by M* Delia Sudda 
to the l^cole de Pharniacie of Paris, has likewise this origin as- 
signed to it/ 1 am, moreover, inforoied by my friend Mr, Maltass, 
that the Idria oil found at Smyrna is all brought by the pilgiims 
arriving from Mecca. M. Guibonrt has stated to me upon the 
authority of a gentleman at Constantinople, that the dealers there 
affirm that the oil in qnestion comes from India by way of 
Egypt. 

Although it is thus tolerably evident that the essential oil 
called Idris Yagki is imported from >fecca, or perhaps from 
Jeddah, the port of Mecca, all that \ve know of these places 
tends to show that it is not produced there. Mecca appears 
to have no manufactures, but to be entirely supported by the 
pilgrims who flock to its holy places : besides which, the nature 
of the country and tlxe climate utterly forbid the idea of a 
green herb being produced in quantity for distillation. 

Jeddah is also i^'ithout manufactures, but it has a large trade 
with various ports ou the Ked Sea, as well as w^ith India, 
luiing pla<;e, Burckhardt, who visited it in 1814, lias left a minute description 
of the various trades carried on, and even the number of persona 
engaged in each; and it is perfectly clear from his account, 
that even for the most trifling manufactured articles, Jeddah 
is dependent either on Egypt or India.* 

From Bombay, on tlie otlier hand, an essential oil is ex- 
ported, which is undistin^uishahle from the Turkish Essence of 

IdrU yaghi, which may signify Tnarsh-maliow oil : and aa Ihere is a word in 
Turkish ( ^x^y Jul Ebf-gtimtji) which is tised to denote both the marsh- 
iQflllow and une of tiie common garden geranimras, so it is possible that the 
Arabic ^^j^ac mItu may have th« same doul»le signification ; — thongh the 
appHcatiun of any term signifying gtranium to the essentij*! oil in question, 
ie» as I shall show, only correct in so far aa that there is a similarity of 

* Jfiurnnl 4r Pharm, it fie Chimin, Tome xxii., p. 310. 
' Travel* in Amhi^, Lond, 1829, 4to, p. 41, &c. 



Jed dub ft 
trudiiig not 
n mauiifac- 



TRADK OIL OF GEUANIUM. 



ir,9 



Gerauiuio.^ This liquid is known in India as Boslt^ or Ro^ laao. 
Oil,* and in the London market as Oil of Gint/er-Gmssov of HoaiieOil 
Gera/iLunL It is the produce of the more northern parts of ^^'^^^ **<^'" W- 
Indlftj where it is obtained hy the distillation of certain grasses 
of the genus Androfogon, but the precise species of whicli I 
am at present unable from personal knowledge to name. 

From the Rtpori cf the Ejita*nal Commerce of Bombay for 
the year 185G-7, a valuable mass of statistics, compiled by 
R Spooner, Esq., Keporter- General, and published by authority 
of Government, I find that Roshi (or Ko^ila) Oil was exported 
from Bombay during the year in question to tlie extent of 
1922 gallons. Of this enormous quantity, 541 gallons were 
shipped to England, and the remaining 1381 gallons to the 
Arabian Gulf. The lUport does not state to wliat ports in the 
Arabian Gidf this quantity of Ivushe Oil is shipped ; but as 
none is reported as shipped to Aden or Suez (for whicli places, 
as for the United Kingdom or France, there are special returns), 
it is plain that it is shipped to other ports than these. 

Now, although there are several other ports in the Arabian Import tra^e 
Gulf, it is Jeddah, the port of Mecca, that stands foremost in ^* '''^'^'^**'' 
importance. To quote a competent authority :^ '* From iti* 
position, it is th^ tnt repot of all goods coming from India and 
Egypt. The merchants of Cosseir, Yambo, Hodeyda and 
Jfassowah draw their supply from it." According to Burton, 
the value of the injport trade of Jeddah with India amounts 
to about 25 lacs of rupees (£250,000) annually.* 

Coupling these facts with the testimony of the Turks, that 
the volatile oil called Mris Yafjki is imported from Mecca, anrl 
still more with M. Guibourt's information that it is brought 
from India, 1 think there is good circumstantial evidence for 

* I must, however, ndmit tliat in English trade-Iista the two are separatety 
enuiiierateiJ, the Turkish fetching a higher price* 

â–  This orthoj^phy, Profeaaor H. H* Wilson irifonim iwe, is the most 

correct, the word being Mardthf, and written ^t%* {Vide Moles worth's 
Mamlhi and EKfjliAh IJktionaTj, 2nd. eil, Boinlmy^ 1857). It in, however, 
often u^pelt Mo^ft^ Rofiiti^ Rowsah or JiCona. 

^ R. Iniiefi^ Esq., of Cairo, quoted in Pttrkyn's Li^e in Ahyssinia^ toI i. 
p. 4<»2. 

* Fil^rima^t to El-Mfdiunh nud Mtccaht vol, iii. p. 37.9. 



170 



OTTO OF ROSE. 



IBB9, identifying it with the RoAhi O-il that is imported from Bombay ; 

and when we consider the immense influx of pilgrims every 

year to Jeddah, the transport of the drug northward to I^ypt 

and Turkey is easily explained. 

Although I have thus demonstrated (as I think) the identity 

of the Turkish Idrls Yaghi with the Rosh^ Oil of Bombay, 

and therefore proved them the produce of one or more species 

of AndropOffcnif growing in India, it may be proper that I should 

Tdria Oil not briefly state otlier reasons for considering that this volatile oil 

*^?*i ^'^f"^'^ lias no claim to the name often ^jiven to it of Essence of Oeraniiwu 
Uil of Oera- *f 

mnm. I may say, then, that it differs from true essential Oil of Geranium, 
such as is distilled from a variety of Pdargoninm Maditla, Ait., 
in the South of France. 

1. In odour. 

2. In optical propertieSi in having (according to the observa- 
tions of my friend Dr. De Vry) no rotator}' power when 
examined by polarised h'ght, whereas, French 00 of Geranium 
possesses the power of right-handed rotation.^ 

3. In chemical properties, inaamuch as when exposed to the 
vapour of iodine, it does not acquire the intense coloration that 
occiira when Oil of Geranium is so treated. 

4. In commercial value, true Oil of Gemnium being worth 
six times the price of Idris Yaghi, and ten times that of the 
Bombay Eoshd Oil 

Before being mixed with Otto, the Idris Yaghi is subjected 
by the Turkish dealers to some purifying process, chiefly, it 
would seem, with a view to diminish its colour, a pale colour 
in Otto of Rose being deemed a sign of goodness. 

Chemical Character3 of Otto of Eose. 
As I have already observed, there exists regarding the tem- 
perature at which Otto of Eose liquefies, great discrepancy 
between the statements of authors and the result of observations 
made upon the Otto of commerce, 

* But, as some essence uf geranium from Algiers, examiced by the same 
observer, wns found to have the power of kft-handid rotittion to an aimoat 
equal extent, it is obviously posuhk that by mixing the two, an essence 
having no rotatory power might be prmlijcecl — an improhable explanaiioi). 



CHEMICAL CHARACTERS OF OTTO. 



171 



Otto of Kose, it is well knowD, consista of two bodies, a 
Hquid essential oil or elajopteue (upon which I have made no 
exi>eriiiients) a ad a atearoptene. The stearoptene I find to be, 
when pure, a colourless crystallizable substance, devoid of 
odour and taste, fusing at 95** F., very slightly soluble in alcohol 
of sp. gr. '838 in the cold, but more soluble if heated. It is 
soluble in the liquid portion or ekeoptene of Otto of Rose, but, 
according to its abundance, separates more or less readily with 
a depression of temperature. It dissolves readily in ether, 
chloroform, or olive oil, but not in solution of potash or 
ammonia. 

These two bodies, the elffioptene and stearoptene, exist, 
according to my observations, in the Ott^j of different districts 
in very different proportions, and to their relative amounts I 
attribute much of the variation whicli I find in the specimens 
examined. The amouiil of stearoptene was determined in a 
series of pandlel experiments, conducted simultaneously by 
tieating a given weight of Otto with alcohol (sp. gr, "838), 
throwing the precipitated stearoptene upon a filter and 
thoroughly washing it with fresh alcohol; tlie same amount 
of alcohol being employed in each case. The stearoptene was 
then pressed fur some days between paper, and after exposure 
to the air and drying over oil of vitriol, was weighed.^ The 
fusing-point was determined in each case by the same ther- 
mometer placed by the side of the bottle, and the observations 
were confirmed by repeated trials. 

The English and French samples experimented upon were 
obtained direct from the manufacturers, and mostly upon my 
personal application. The Turkish sample No. 7 was manu- 
factured at Kizanlik, where Messrs. Herman, from whom 1 
received it, have an establishment 

certainly, of the absence of rottitory power ia the Idris Taghi^ but one 
which it iij fair tn mention. 

* I am quite awjire that this luetliod of detemiming the amouot of 
steftTopteDe is not free from otfjectiimj since, the more abimdant the 
eIa?oi)tene, the less will the stearoptene (io which it h sohible) be precipitrtfced 
when the Otto i^ ftrat treated with alcohol. 



£liiMj|itene 

anci 
Stcamptene. 



Dotermina* 

tion of 
Ste-aroptene. 



172 

1869. 



VHiiiition uf 

fllNillg-|)0illt. 



OTTO OF ROSE. 

The results I have tabulated as under : — 
Table showing the Eesults of a comparative Examination 

OF TWELVE samples OP OtTO OF RoSE. 



Xo. 


Place of Hanufkcture, 

and 
Maoufacturer's Name. 


Fusing 
Point. 


Percentage 

of 
Stearoptene. 


Other Characters. 


1 


EmolisA. 
London— Memrs. Allen 
and Hanbury N. 


»l' F. 


08 1 


Of a pale atmw colour, cryatalliue, odour 
weak and not remarkably flragraut 


2 


London -Mr. Whipple, 
at MesMFS. Barron 
and Go's. 


87* F. 


506 


Reaemblea Na 1. 




French. 
Paria— M. Chardin Ha- 
dancourt 


85 5' F. 


60-8 


A crystalline niai>a, of a pale green colour; 
oduur weak but agreeable. 




OraMe — M. Antolne 
Chlria. 


74' F 


87-2 


Of a atraw colour ; when congealed, form- 
ing a highly crjatallino maaa; odour 
very toigmnt. 




Gra«»e-M. Mero. 


71" F. 


419 


Of a browniah yellow ; forming, when 
congealed, a tran.sparent maaa uf platy 
cryatala. 




Cannes— MM. Herman 
Frirea. 


70' F. 


35 


Reaemblea No. 4. 




TUBKiaH. 

Kizanlik. 


«5'F. 


67 


Col«»ur veiy pale yellow; when congealed, 
it conatitutea a confliaed maaa of platy 
cryatala ; odour exceedingly fragrant. 




! aeal G. 8. 8t Co. 


63' F. 


7 3 


Co'our very pale yellow ; a maaa of plaly 
cryatala when congealed. 




f 


62" F 


6-4 


Reaemblea No. 8. 


10 


» 


62" F. 


6^ 


The fineat Otto of the London market i 
In ita characters it resembles No. 8. i 


11 


? 


61" F. 


4-6 


Reaemblea No. 8. 


12 


r second quality. 


5(rF. 


4-25 


Wholeaale price in London, in large j 
quantities, 14<. per ounce. 1 



This table shows that the fusing-point of Otto of Eose, and 
the proportion of stearoptene varies greatly in different samples. 
But it will. also bo observed that there is a similarity in the 
Otto produced in each locality. Thus, that of the South of 
Kugland and North of France (samples Nos. 1, 2, and 3) has a 
high fusing-point (varying from 85"* to 91°), and contains a large 
percentage (50 to 08) of stearoptene. The Otto of the South 
of France fuses betwen TO'* and 74*, and affords from 35 to 41 
per cent, of stearoptene. That of Turkey, if we may consider 



BOTANrCAL AXD PHARMACOLOGICAL INQUIRIER 



173 



samples Nos* 8, 9, and 10 as equally genuine with No. 7 (Messrs. las©, 
Herman's), fuses at from 65** to 62'', and affords from 7'3 to 6*4 
per cent, of stearoptene*^ Sample No. 11 may V>e re^aitled with 
some suspicion from its resemblance to No, 12 — the latter being 
acknowledged of inferior quality. 

Whether the differences that exist in the characters of the 
various kinds of Otto are the result of climate or of the method of 
manufacture, or whether (especially in the case of the Turkish 
Otto) they are to he traced to a difference in the species of 
rose arc questions for determining which I have at present no 
sufficient data [K RtptrL f. Phamu viii. 365.] 



BOTANICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL INQUIRIES 
AND DESIDERATA.^ 

(Botanisck'jjharwmogtwstMichc Attfgahtn.) 

BY SIR WILT J A >[ J. HOOKER, assisted by DANIEL HANBUEY. 

Africa — West Coast, also East Coast^ iNCLUDiNOr the Red 
Sea and Arabia. 

Copal. — ^Information is much desired respecting the varieties 
of this substance which are found in commerce, and which are ex- 
ported from the West Coast of Afria Some copal is believed 
to be dug from the ground, but one variety at least is collected 
from the tree. This is the Sierra I^oue copal, and is produced by 
Guihouvtm copaili/cra, Dennett — Koho of the natives : specimens 
of this tree, including the ripe pods, are requested : it grows at 
Goderich and in other localities near Sierra Leone. 

Grains of Paradise. — Although Amomum Melfffueta, Roscoe, 
the plant which yields this dnig, is now well known, there are 
some other interesting species nearly allied, with which botanists 

' The test used m Turkey by the persons who purchase Otto from the pro- 
ducers, Ib to phmge a smsiU vi§»l of it into water at 10^ R^-auiimr (= 55"* F.). 
If, in the space of five minutes the Otto congeals, it Is regarded as genuine. 

' Extracted from the Admiraltij Manvat of Scitntifie Inqitirtj. Third 
edition, 1859. 



1050« 



174 



1059. 



BOTANICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL INQniilES. 

are very imperfectly acquainted. It is, therefore, desirable 
to procure specimena of such plants from various parts of the 
West Coast of iVfiica These specimens should comprise the 
flowei^ and fruits, as well as the foliage. As the f!owei^3 are 
very delicate, it h necessary to preser\''e some specimens in 
spirit of wine or in dilute acetic acid. Some specimens of the 
fruits should also he preserved in the same manner. As the 
specimens often grow intermixed, and as flowers and fruits are 
produced at different seasons, special care is requisite to avoid 
confusion* 

ICoRVBlMA Caedamom is the name under which the late Dr. 
Pereira has descrihed an Ahyssiiiiaii cardamom, having the shape 
and size of a small fig, which is exported from Mussowahj a port 
at the southern end of the Red Sea. This drug, which has 
long heen known in medicine, is perforated at tlie smaller end. 
and when strung upon a cord, is commonly used hy the Arahs 
and Ahyssinians as beads for their meshehas or rosaries. Tt is 
said to be brought to the market of Base in Southern Ahyssiiiia 
from Turahd, a country situat-ed in about 9^* N, lat and 35° E, 
Ion. The plant for w*hicli the name A7nomum Korarima has 
been proposed is entirely unknown. 

Olibanum. — The Olibannm found in European commerce is 
believed to be produced partly on the African coiist near Cape 
Gardafui, and partly on the southern coast of Arabia, whence it 
is sldpped to Bombay. 

Olibanum is also produced in India by certain species of Boh- 
wdlia called Salai or Saleh, one of which is 5. glahra, Roxb., 
anotlier B. thuriffra, Colebr. It is extremely doubtful if the 
OUbannm aliorded in India l>y these trees fmds its way to 
Europe, but information on this point is desired. 

African OHbanum is yielded by a tree called Plossleafonhunda, 
EndL {Bommllia, Koyle) ; but as tlie drug varies considerably in 
appearancei it is highly probable that it is obtained from moi-e 
than one species. The variety called Luhin Matkt, from its 
being shipped at Bunder Mattee, is, for instance, a very dilierent 
drug from ordinary Olibanum. A resident at Aden may be able 



MYRRU— GUM TRAGACA^TH-Sl'ORAX. 

( gfttlier some intbrmatioQ Bpon this subject, as well as upon 
the next 

MYRUll^This celebrated drug is collected in great quantities 
by the Somali tribes on the African coasts near the southern 
extremity of the Eed Sea, whence it is brought to Aden for 
aliipment to Bombay. A variety of myn-h, which ia probably 
3ielded by another species, is also produced (according to 
Vaughan) in a district lying forty rniles to the east of Aden, to 
which place it is brought for sale. A third variety, distinguished 
by the Arabs as Bism Bdl, is also collected by the Somali tribes, 
and sent by way of Aden to India. It is a point of murh 
interest to determine with accuracy the plants which attbrd the^e 
several sorts of myrrli, and for this end it is earnestly requested 
that those who have any opportunity for investigating the subject 
will not neglect to do so. 

Asia Mii^ou, Persia, Central Asia. 

Gum TBAGACAi^fTH is produced in Asia Minor by several 
species of Adragalus, which it is desirable further to identify. 
TraveUei-s and others who have the opportunity should preserve 
specimens of any species seen to yield the gum, as well as 
specimens of the gum itself; noting at the same time whether 
the latter was obtained from incision in the stem, or whether 
exuded spontaneously. Fine gum tragacantli is produced at 
Caissar (or Kaisarieh) and Yalavabz, in Asia Minor, at which 
places the practice of mjiking longitudinal incisions in the stem 
of the shrub is adopted ; the gum is also collected at Isbarta, 
Bourda, Angora, &c. 

Gum tragacantli is frequeutly adulterated with another gum, 
which has been called Fahe Tragacantk, HotjCriim', BassmuGum, 
or Gum KnUra. At Smyrna it appears to be known as Cam^ 
man Gum, What is its origin ? One of its properties is to 
swell up into an opaque mass upon being placed in water, in 
which, however, it does not dissolve. 

Storax* — None of the Storax found in commerce in modern 
times is derived from Styrax officinale^ L. ; yet it is certain that 



175 



IS59. 



176 



1039. 



BOTANICAL AND PIIAEMACOLOGICAL IXQUIIilEa 

tills tree h capable, under favourable circumstances, of yielding 
a liigbly fragrant resin wliicli was once niiicli valued. Autlien- 
tic specimens of this resin^ which is the original and legitimate 
SiaraXt are much desired. It was formerly produced in the 
south of Asia Minor, w^here the tree is still found in great 
abundance. 

Salep,— Obtain specimens of the diflerent plants which yield 
salep in Asia Minor, Persia, and Cuslunere, and especially of 
those that afford the best kinds. What is the plant which aflbrds 
the drug called B(uMnh Sahh^ov Royal Salep ? Where is it pro- 
duced, and for what purpose is it %^alued ? It has been exported 
to England from Bombaj". 

SUMBUL RoOL — Nothing definite is known respecting the 
botanical origin of this remarkable root, whit b is said to come 
into Europe by way of Russia. It is probably produced some- 
where in Central Asia, 

AssAFCETiBA.^ — Although the ordinary assafo'tida of commerce 
is doubtless the produce of Kartktr Assafodida, Falc.» there are 
some varieties of the drug which, it is i-easonable to conclude. 
are derived from other species. One of those sent fmm India to 
the Great Exhibition of 1851 was a brown pellucid gum resin, 
containing pieces of the stalk of the jjlant, and differing con- 
siderably from ordinary assafcetida. 

Another variety, which has long been known, has been called 
$^ioni/ A&m/aiida, from its containing about 50 per cent, of 
gypsuTn, an addition which, in the case of so cheap a dnig, it is 
difficult to understand, Assafcetida is produced in Persia, and 
reaches Europe by w^ay of Bombay. 

Sacapekum, a gum-resin resembling assafcetida, but not ac- 
quiring a pink colom' upon exposure to the air, and of not so 
strong an alliaceous odour. As it is occasionally shipped from 
Bombay, it is presumed that it is produced in Persia, Though 
it has been used in medicine for ages, its botanical origin is not 
ascertained ; from analog^-, however, we may infer that it is the 
produce of some lai'ge plant of the Nat. order Umht-Uiftrct. 



OALBANCTM— RHUBARB— CATECHU— GRAas (ULS, 

Compared T^ith assafcerida and galbamim, sagapeiiinu is a rare 
and costly drug. 

(fALRANr»t — The remarks we have made upon sa^^apeninn 
apply to a great extent to the gum*resin known as Galbanum. 
Galbanum is, however, a far more abundant substance than 
saj^apenum. It occurs in trade in two varieties, wliicli are sn 
distinct as to lead to the inference that tliey are yielded by 
distinct plants. Galbanum is said to be imported into Russia 
in large quantities by way of Astrachan, but that which reaches 
England comes principally fi'om Bombay. 

Opopa^ax, another fretid gum-resin, the produce, according 
to most authorities, of Opopanux Chironium, Kocli, a large 
umbelliferous plant, native of the south of Eurojie, and of Asia 
Minor, There is no modern account of the collection of this 
drug, noi' is its place of production ascertained. 

EnHBARB. — Determine the true source of the various sorts of 
mcdu'ijial rhubarb, e.speciaHy of the Cljinese rhubarb said at 
Kiachta to the Russians, and of that exported from Canton. 
Strange to say, we ai-e still in the dark respecting the real origin 
of this most valuable dmg ! In this and all such cases tlic tlnw* 
shonld l)e procured by one who is an eye-witness to it being 
gathered, and specimens of the foliage, flowers, and fruit, care- 
fully dried for the herbarium on the spot, should accompuny it. 

Indu, Siam^ In III an Ain'HriiJLAGr^ China, &c, 

CATECHtr. — Observe the processes hy which the varinns kiuils 
of Cateehu, Cukh, Terra Jtqumira, and Gtnnlnr are obtained; 
and if from trees, whether from others bcsi<Ies Acaeia Cnterhfi, 
Areca Cale^^hii, and Uncarija Oamhir. We wish to identify the 
trees with the respective extracts. 

Grass Oils.— The gi-asses used io India for aflbrdiug the 
fi'agrant essential oils known as Lemon'tjmss Oil or Emnim of 
Verbena, Qhigcr-graufi Oil, CUroneUe, &c., require investigation. 
What, for instance, is the source of i\w. essential oil impoilcil 
fiom ('eylon as Oil of Lemon-grass ? It is consi^lere*! quite 
distinct from Ciiromlh', which is also a production of tlip jsLnid. 



177 



1859. 



178 



1859. 



BOTANICAL AKD PHARMACOLOGICAL IKQUmiE8. 

Bekzoik or Gum Benjamin. — ^Obtain complete specimens of 
the tree which affords this drug in Siam. 

Cabdakoks. — The so-called Wild or Rutard Cardamom of 
Siam is produced by Anwmum xaiUkioid^, Wallich, a plant of 
which complete and wdl-prtserved specimens are requested, in 
order that it may be described and figured. The seeds per » 
have been imported into England, while the empty capsules are 
found in the drug-shops of China. Are the latter exported 
from Siam to China ? 

\\^mt is the origin of the cardamom called by the Chinese 
Tang-thun-sha^ the Hairy China Cardamom of pharmacologists I 
It is said to he produced in tlie province of Kwang-tung, and it 
may be a native of Cochin China. 

Nothing is known of the origin of the scitamineous fruit to 
which the name Large Boimd China Cardamom has been given, 
and which is known t<i the Chinese as Tsaou-koui The same 
remark applies to the Biiie7*S€Mcd Cardamom^ Ylh-du-tsze, 
and Oroid China Cardamom, Tsaou-Kwo or Qitd-ku ; it is pro- 
bable that all of them are productiotis of the soutli of China, or 
of Cochin-China. 

Cassta Bark.— Specimens are much desired of the tree which 
afiTords this bark in Java, on the Malabar coast, in the south of 
China, and in Cochin-China. Botanical specimens should in all 
instances include good samples of the bark, young and old, 
obtained from the same tree. 

Cassia Buds. — These are the immature fruits of a Cinna- 
fnomum^ native of Cochin -China, specimens of which are 
requested. 

An inferior kind of Cassia Buds, known as Lovmgoopoo, is 
found at Madras. VlTiat is the species that affords it ? 

Aromatic Barks of other Laurhum, as Vulitlawang^ Mnssoi/, 
Sintoc, are objects of commerce in the Indian Archipelago, and 
are but imperlVctiy known in Europe. The tmveller should 
embrace the opportunity, wlieu it occurs, of seeing the bark 
collected, and of obtaining authentic specimens of it, and of 



GALAN<iAL-KL£MI-8ARSAJ'ARlLLA— RHATANY, 

the tree yielding it Massoy Bark la pixKluced on the west 
coast of New Guinea. 

Galangal Root.— Endeavour to procure tlie plant affording 
this drug, wliich is imported from the south of China. 

Elkmi.— Tlijs resin is abuudantly produced in the forests of 
the Philippines, where it often assists in giving a cheerful blaza 
to the tire of the traveller It is also expoVled from Manilla as 
a drug. The tree that affords it is probably a Canarium^ but it 
is desirable to have complete specimens, in order to rtscertaiu 
the specieF with exactness. Elenii is also produced in Mexico^ 
where it is known as Copal. It occurs in coninierce iu scraped 
pieces, which are senii-cyliudiical, yellowish, semi-opaque, and 
having the usual strong and fragrant odour of Elenii This 
drag is the pmduce of Elaphrium ilanifirmn, Koyle, a trets 
iiccurring near Oaxaca, of which specimens are requested iu 
order that it may be further examined and described. There 
are other resins, of whose origin little is known, %vhich have 
lieen imported from Mexico, Briizil, and other parts of tropical 
America as Siemi 

Cektbal and South America. 

Sabsapakilla. — The species of Smilax, the roots of which 
constitute the various sorts of sarsaparilla found in commerce, 
are very imperfectly known. Good botanical specimens, com- 
prising flowers, fruits, and leaves, and accompanied by the 
stem and roots, should be carefully presented, and transmitted to 
England for determination. The so-called Jamaica Sarsaparilla 
grows neiir the Chiriqui Lagnon, in the state of Costa Kica, and 
a species very similar, if not identical with it, at Bajorque, on 
Oie Eio Magdalena, New Granada. Other sorts of Farsapanlla 
are prorluced in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil, &c, 
1 hat of Guatemala grows in the department of Sacatepeques in 
that state. 

Ehatany Eoot. — A variety of this drug has been exported 
j:if late years from Savanilla. in New Granada. Obtnm 
ecimens of the plant from which it is derived. 

N 2 



179 



1059. 



BOTANICAL AXD PHARMACOLOGICAL INQOIRIES. 




]^LLL.iJiBO Bahic, a highly aromatic bark, produced in 'Sew 
Granada. Of its origin nothing certain i^ known. 

Balsam op Copaiva is imported from several parts of Braaal ; 
it varies somewhat in properties, and is the produce of several 
species of the genus C&paifera. It is desirable to obtain thej 
balsam of each species, with a specimen in flower and leaf, aad,^^ 
if possible, in fruit, Of the tree affording it» and the name of the 
district where the tree grows, and its native appeUation ther 

LloNALOE, — The name of a remarkably aromatic wood eenl. i 
the Piiris Exhibition of 1855, from the department of Ve 
Cruz in Mexico. By what tree is it afforded ? 

L!GNUM NEPHitmcuM.^ — ^Tliis rare wood was sent to Uie Paris 
Exhibition of 18r»5 rroiii ^ft^xieo. To w^hat tree is it lo he 
refeiTed ? 

Cinchona Bark, or Peruvlo BARic^This valuable drug, the 
only source of c]ninine, is derived frum various species of 
Cifwktma gi-nwiii;^' ainijg the wliole chain of the Andes, from 
New Granada to Bolivia. Of these ti"ees it may Ije said that 
good, pressed, 1x>tanical specimens of ani/ species are interesting 
and desimble. Such specimens ought to include tlie flowers 
and fruits, and in every case to be accompanied by several 
pieces of the bark, young and old, stripped from the verjf tree 
from which tlie botanical specimens were gatherefl : all being 
most carefully and clearly labelled upon the spot with every 
particular worthy of note. 

A point of considerable iuterest, still to be determined, is the 
proporfwn *tf alkaloids contained in the youn^ and old bark. 
For this determination two or three pounds of each sort of 
bark are ref|uisitc; and for a perfectly fair experiment they 
ought to 1h^ collected from the same individual tree. 

The attcution of EnglisliTin?n residing in the countries indi- 
cated is especially requested to this l:>y no means unimportant 
question. 

Balsam of Peuu,^- The drug known under this dcs];j:tiaiioii 
is produced, nu» in IVru, but in Central America, in a district 



BALSAM OF FEHIJ— IIALSA.M uF TULU. 



ISl 



lying between Acajutla ajid Purl LibeitaJ, iii tLe wosterii jiart 
of the state of 8au Salvador, known as the Balsam Coast The 
tree which atfords it may also be found at Ispanguasate (where 
it hns been phnited), and near Chiqniniulilla, and on tJie coast 
of Suchiiltepeques* Of this tree, which is the Mp'mptnmim 
Penira: of Itoyle, good flowering speciTiiens are much desired, 
as are also fresh seeds, in order tliat tlie plant may he raised in 
our liot-hoiises. The seeds should he tmnsmitted by post, as 
their vitality is not long retained. The balsam, which is called 
BHlnftmo nffjro, is brought far sale to Sonsonate, previously to 
shipment at Acajutla, 

Although the plant above mentioned \h undoiibtedly that 
which atlurds the balsam of Peru of connnerce, yet there u 
re^ison to think tliat a bnlsam of similar character w^as formerly 
extracted from other species. Monardes (1565) states that 
balsam of Peru is lighter than water, but the lialsam of modern 
times is Junincr, Inquire into tliis. Is not balsam pre[iared at 
Cliongon, near Guayaquil I Is any produced in Mexico ? We 
have received the seeds of a Myrospcrmitni from that country. 

Balsam of Tolu, — Mijrtyijbm Toliu/rm, II, li X., tlm tree 
which aflbrds this substance, is very imperfectly known. It 
gR»ws in New Granada, in tlie neigldiouihood of Turbaco, and 
especially in the high savannas near Tolu, Corozol, and the 
town of TaeaHuao. It is also found at the mouth of the river 
Siuu, near El Zapote, and here and there on the banks of the 
Kio Magdalena, in the environs of Garapatas and Mompox. 

Is it not possible to obtain at least the seeds, not to mention 
a supply of good botanical speeiiuens, of this laTuous tree, ami 
some account of the extraction of, and trade in, tiie brdsam it 
aflbrds ? 



1B59. 



On PhEjSEUVING PlANI^ FOa the llEJiBAKlUM. 

Tins is by no means the tUtlicuU process wbich many have 
imagine*!. The object is to prepare the specimens in such a 
manner that their moisture may b(^ 2" ^^'^*% fibsorlMxl^ the colours, 



182 



BOTANICAL AND PHAR5IACX)L0GICAL INQUIKIES. 



1859. 




60 fur as possible, preserved, and fitiuli a degree of pressure 
imparted thut they may not shrivel iii drying. 

For lliese purposes, provide a quantity of paper of iiioderato 
fcdiu size and rather absorbeDt quality — brown or stout grey 
paper answers the purpose exceedingly well. -An excellent kind, 
when not to be used in a hot and moist country, is Bent alts 
hoianicfd paper ^ IG inches by 10, which costs (folded) los, a 
ream ; or of larger size^ namely, 20 inches by 12, 21s, per ream. 
It is sold by Newman, No. 9, Devonshire Street, Bishopsgate 
Street, London. In a hot and moist region, 1>rown paper may 
lie employed with advantage. Two boiirds are requisite, of the 
same size as the paper, or a trifle larger, one for the top, the 
other for the bottom, of the mass of papers. Some pieces of 
inillboiird placed between the specimens, if these are numumus 
or particularly thick and woody, are very useful. For pressure 
nothing is better than a heavy weight on the topmost board, or, 
while truvelliug, three leathern straps and buckles, two to bind 
the boards transversely, and one longitudinally. Thus provided, 
gather your specimens, if the plant be small, root and stem; 
if large, tnke off portions of the bnmches, a foot or rather more 
in length, always selecting those which are slender and in 
flower, or in a more or less advanced state of fruit Long 
slender plants, as f/rasses, sedges, and many /rr?i-T, may be doubled 
once or twice. Place them, as quickly after being gathered as 
you can, side by side, but never put one upon the other, on the 
eame sheet of paper, taking care that one part of the bundle be 
not materially thicker tlran the other ; and l^y over the speci- 
mens one, two, three, or more sheets of paper, according to the 
thickness of your paper and of your plants; and so on, layer 
above layer of paper and specimens, and subject the whole to 
pressure. In a day or two, according to the more or less succu* 
lent nature of the plants and the heat and dryness of the climate, 
remove them into fresh papers, twice or oftener, till the moisture 
be absorbed, and dry the spare papers in the sun or by a fire, 
for future use. 

If the specimens cannot be laid down as soon as gathered, 
they should be depoFiited in a tin box, which indeed is essential 



PRESERVING HKRBABiUM PLANIU 



183 



to tlie botanist when travelling ; there they will remain uuin- 
jured for a clay and niglit, supposing the box to be well filled and 
securely closed, to prevent evaporation. Some very succulent 
plants, and others with fine but rigid leaves — the heath and pine 
tribe, for example — require to be plunged for an instant into 
boiling water ere they are pressed. In this case the super- 
abundant moisture must be absorbed by a cloth or by blotting- 
paper. 

When sufficiently drj" the specimens should be put into dry 
papers, one sheet or folio between each ; except they are 
unusually woody (wliich is the case with oaks and pines), and 
then more paper must be employed, care being used to distribute 
the specimens pretty equally over the sheets, and lima a great 
many may be safely stow^ed in a small compass. A slip of 
paper should be placed with each specimen, stating its name, if 
known, and the date and place of collection. Specimens so 
arranged are now ready for transport, either packed in boxes or 
covered with oilcloth. 

Mosses and cryptogamous plants may be generally dried in the 
common way : those which grow in tufts should be separated by 
the band to form neat specimens. Seaweeds require a slight 
washing in fresh water, and common blotting-paper is the best 
fur removing the moisture from this tribe of plants. 

It is almost needless to add that all plants, whether living or 
dried, ought to be transmitted to Europe with the least possible 
delay ; the latter, especially in hot or moist climates, are often 
Boon destroyed by the depredations of iosecta* 



105O. 



184 ECONOMIC BOTANY. 

1871. INQUIKIES KELATING TO PHARMACOLOGY AND 

ECONOMIC BOTANY. 

(Botanische Fragen und Desiderata,) 

BY PHOFESSOR OLIVER, AND DANIEL HANBURY. 

Extracts from the Admiralty Manual of Sdentijic Inquiry, 

AsLA. Minor, Armenla., and Persia. 

Gum Tragacanth, vide page 175. 

Storax, vide page 175. 

Salep, vide page 176. 

Larch Agaric (Polyporus officinalis, Fries). — This fungus now 
comes from Northern Eussia, where it grows on the stems of 
LaHr, sibirica, Ledeb. During the middle ages it was exported 
from Asia Minor ; and in the Paris Exhibition specimens fi'om 
this region, that is to say, from the Gulf of Adalia, were ex- 
liibited. What is the tree from which this Asiatic Agaric is 
obtained ? 

AssAFCETiDA, vule page 176. 

Sagapenum, vide page 176. 

Galbanum, vide page 177. 

Opopanax, vide page 177. 

Africa — ^West Coast. 

Copal, vide page 173. 

Grains of Paradise, vide page 173. 

African Turmeric is said to be the rhizome of Canvxt speciosa, 
Rose, but further investigation is desirable. Living roots might 
easily be procured at Sierra Leone, and sent to England for cul- 
tivation. 

African Mammee {Ochrocarpus africanus, Oliv.), native of 
Sierra Leone and Prince's Island. Specimens of the tree, and 
(in alcohol) of the fruits, which are as large as an orange, are 
requested. 



BllTEB KOLA— BirrER WOOD— DRAGON^S BLOOD, 



185 



Bitter Kola of Fernando Po. — The common BUter Kola {Cola 
Nuts), largely used by the natives of West Tropical Africa, is 
known to be tbe produce of a wide-spread tree Cola acumin- 
ata, Br., but tbe origin of the Bitter Kola of Fernando Po is still 
uncertain. There can be no doubt that it is the seed of a Gut- 
tifer {Garcinia or Xantkocht/mus), so it must he sought on a tree 
with strictly opjHJsite leaves; the seeds probably contained in a 
pulpy fruit 

Balsam of St. Tuobias is the name of a tree growing in the 
island of St. Thomas, in the Gulf of Guinea. Specimens in 
flower and fruit, also of the resin, il* it afford such, with inform- 
atiuu as to the mode of procuring it, would be acceptable. It ia 
{>robably a species of Soruuleia. 

Bitter Wood. — A species of Quassia (Q. A/ricana, Bailh) is 
found in the Gaboon and Camaroous rivers. Specimens of the 
wood are rerpiired to show whether it may serve as a substitute 
for the Tiopical American species (Q. ainara). 

What is the Kpokpoka tree of West Tropical Africa, from the 
fibre of which the " dodo " cloth is prepared ? Specimens iu 
flower are wantetL 

Specimens in flower or fruit of any shrubs or trees of Upper 
Guinea, affording elastic gums, india-ruhher ov gulkt-j^rvka, with 
accompanying gum and motle of its collection, are particuhuly 
requested. 



1S71. 



Afkiua — ^East Coast, including the Keu 8ea, Akabli, 
*\:i!iu Madao.vscaii. 

Mykru, vidt pf^e 175* 
Oliilvnum, viik page 174. 
KoE«uni4A Cardamom, vitti- page 174 

DRACiOiJ^s Blood, of tlie Island of Socotra — By what plant is 
it afforded ? 

Catha EDLLiK. called in Anibic KiU, A large supply of the 
dried leaves of this shrub, say one Imndred pounds, should be 
ptxxjured for chcinicul examination. The plant grows in Southern 
Arabia and iu Abyssinia. 



186 



ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



IB71. Kabula,— A peculiar sort of Kamala, evidently not derived 

' from BaHlera iindaria, Roxb-, has been imported from Aden. 

Nothing is known of its place of growth or of the plant by 
which it is afforded, (Fharm. JuUHN. ix. (1868), p. 179.) 

Kousso.^ — Fresh seeds of the Kousso tree, Braytra ani/ulmin' 
tica, Kimth, should be procured for cultivation. 

Gum Arabic, — Acucia Verek, Guill. et Perrott, a tree growing 
all over the northern part of Central Africa, from Setiegambia 
to Abyssinia, is said to produce the best sort of gum arable. Frag- 
ments of the stem, with the gum exuding, from Western as well 
as from Eastern Africa, are requested, in order to ascertaiu the 
identity or diversity of the gum produced by one and the same 
plant in difl'erent localities. 

Calumba Eoot.— Whether this drug is furnished wholly by 
jatearhiza Colmnha, Jliers, or in part by /. Ifursii, Oliv., both 
of them plants of Mozambique (but the latter found also in 
Jladagascar), is not known. Travellers visiting the localities 
where the drug is collected should obtain good specimens of the 
plant, as well as living roots, which are fleshy and easily trans- 
ported without earth. 

Tanghin of Madagascar {TangMnia mmnifera, Poir).— A 
specimen is requested of the poisonous milky juice. A portion 
should be partially dried with a gentle heat j another portion 
should be mixed with spirit of wine and sent in a fluid state. 

CAOUTCnouc, or Ijojia-rubber. — In Madagascar, as well as in 
Mozambique, there are several trees said to jield this substance. 
Good specimens and definite information should be collected. 




Ikdia, Si am, and tub Indian Archipelago. 
Catecuu, viih page 177. 

Benzoin, or Gum Benjamin.— It would be interesting to ob- 
tain good specimens of the tree which afl'ords this drag in Siam 
in order to compare them with Styraj: Baizoin, Dryand., which 
produces the Benzoin of Sumatra. 



ACONITE ROOT-SALEP-MANNA— HEMP. 



187 



I 



Camphor of Blcmea grandis, B.C. — Some pounds of it are 
desirable, in order that its nature may be investigated. (See 
• Pharmacopceia of India,* p. 128.) 

MiSHMi Bitter, or MisiiMt Tita. — The small yellow rhizome 
of Coptis Tecfa, AVulL, a drug known in medicine since a remote 
period, is produced in tlie Mishrai mountains to the east of 
Assam, and probably also somewhere on tlie confines of China 
further north. The plant wliich yields it is very little known, 
and complete specimens are desirable. It is possible that some 
second species may furnish a portion of the drug. 

Aconite Root has been imported in considerable quantities 
from India, In what district is it collected, and from what species 
ot Aconitnm / 

Aromatic Barks, known as Culitlawang, Masoy, and 
SlNTOC, derived trom trees of the order Laurine^, are objects 
of considerable trade in the Indian Archipelago. The traveller 
should embrace the opportunity, wLen it occurs, of seeing the 
bark collecteri, and of obtaining authentic specimens of it, and of 
the tree yielding it. Masoy Bark is produced on the west coast 
of New Guinea. 

Salep. — The tubers of several species of OrcIiU and Eviophia 
collected and sold in India under the name of Salep. It is 
desirable to ascertain what species of Orchidaceous plants 
furnish this substiuice, especially in the Hioialayas and in 
Cashmere, 

Man:?a. — It has for many years been asserted that a kind of 
manna is produced in the East on a species of Tamarisk* It 
requires to be determined wliether any oriental Tamarisk yields 
a saccharhic substance of the nature of manna, and whether it 
is collected, and where. 

Hemf.^ — A very rough but tenacious hemp is poidiiced in 
Northern India, at Kangra, and elsewhere, and beai's the name 
of '* Kang^nt hemp" or '' Himaiai/foi hemp!' Is thifi the produce 
of Cftnnabis Saiivff, of which tliere is some doubt? 



1071. 




188 



ia7i. 



ECONOMIC BOTANY. 

Tanyin — What is the source of the '* Tanyin fruit " of the 
Burmese trade lists, and what its uses ? 

MocHAEAS. — This brown astriugent substance, wliich is tbimd 
in the bazaars of India, is said to be partly deriveil fioui 
Salmalia Malabaricu, part is said to be an exudation from tlie 
trunk of the Areca palm (Are<*a catechu). It would be well to 
ascertain if any astringent substance is exuded, or whether any 
galls are formed, as some suggest, on Areca catechu. The source 
or sources of the Morharas should be determined. 

Rajau-c^v^es, expoii:ed from Borneo. The species of palm 
yielding these is uuknown. 

What tree affords the so-called Atfih&yna or Kyahocca wood ? 

GUTTA-rKRCiiA is, even up to the present day, little kuowu. 
It is said to be yielded by several plants, such as species of 
Ist/umiilnij Chrt/mjjhi/lhimf Syet^oxi/loti and others. Attention 
should be paid to the vernacular names, such as Guttii'ikirha, 
Uf/iaiajnUihy Kalian, Tubauov Tftlan, etc. Abundant and eare- 
I'ldly pi^eseived wet and dry specimens of the leaves, flowers, and 
fruits of the different kinds, the products of the same individuals 
from which the dried specimens are obtained, are greatly ucL^ded, 

Caoutchouc, or India-bubbek.— In the Malayan Archijielago 
there are many trees which j^eld caoutchouc. Urctola clastim 
is the source of the Borneo india-rubber. 

What trees produce the so-called Singapore rubber, and the 
Java, Sumatni, and Siam kinds ? Are they species of FlaLs ? 

In Assam Flcns elasfica is the chief, if not the only source 
of india-rubber. But Fkm lacei/em may also yield it. Is any 
india-rubber collected from the latter, and is it kept separate or 
UQixed with that of K elastim ? Specimens of each, acconjpuided 
by good dried specimena, would be valuable. Are there no other 
trees capable of yielding india-iiibber in quantity ? Willuf/hhcia 
uhiliSy the **Lidi-afii* of Chittagong and Silliet, is said byEoxburgh 
to yield good india-rubber. Specimens of tlie india-rubber, and 
also ciLrefnlly-prepared and abundant specimens of the leaves, 
flowei-s, and fiuit, both dried and in spirit, are mucJi needed. 




RHUBARB— CAMPnoB— CHINA ROOT. 



189 



N 



China, Cochtk^China, aitd the Piulippiis^s. 

Rhubarb. — ^The tnie source of tlie rliubarb produced lu tlie 
western provinces of Cliina and the adjacent regions is still un- 
ascertained. It 13 desirable to obtain living roots or seeds of 
the plants, as well as a Adl account of the collecting and dry- 
ing of this well-known drug. 

Camphor, — That of commerce is obtained from Formosa and 
Japan, la any produced in China, and where ? The Camphor 
Liturel (Cinnamomum Camphom, Nees) is well known t^j 
flomish in many localities of the central provinces. 

What is the camphor said to be obtained from a species of 
Arte m ma (wormwood) called A^gai? A few pounds of it are 
desued. 

CniXA Root is exported to Europe from Canton, The plant 
is said to grow in the provinces of Honan, Kwangt^ung, and 
Kwan^si, Good spec i mens of it are desired. 

Roijt called Green Fuichuk Ftt'Chth, of which large quantities 
are exported from Ningi>o» The plant is an ArlMoiochia : to 
determine the species, pressed and dried specimens with roots 
wouUl be acceptable. 

Cassia Bark, imle page 178. 

Cassia Buds, mde page 178. 

Bambo.o — Specimens in floAver of a bamboo, affording tlie 
broad leaves which are pinned together by the Chinese to line 
tea-chests, are required to determine the species. 

Stab Anise, — Information should be collected by an eye- 
witness as to the production in Southern China of this spice. 
It is Faid to be brouglit to the Canton market by the Fnkif'ii 
junks. Botanical specimens of tlie tree, and full particulars 
regarding the collection of the fiaiits, are desirable. 

Chinese Oil of I'eppkrmtnt (so called) is said to be distilled 
at Canton. Pressed and ilried botanical specimens of the plant 
sctti to t>e used should he sent to Enghiiid for the fletirmi nation 
of the name. 



1871, 



190 . ECONOMIC BOTANY. 

iBfi Cardamoms, vide page 178. 

St. Ignatius's Beans, called in the Plulippiniid Coi/acat/, or 
Pepita de Cathalogan, The plaut. said to be a climbiug shrub, to 
which tlie name Igmitia amava was given by the younger Liu- 
nauis, is a species of Stryckiios, probably unknown to modern 
botanists. It is believed to grow in Bubol and ^^ebu, islands of 
the Eiyaya group of the PhiUppines. As it is one of great 
interest, no opportunit}* should be lost for procuring abundant 
flowering specimens as well as the entire fruits, both dried and 
preserved in alcohol, and some considerable pieces of tlie stem 
with the bark attached. 

Elemi, vide page 179. 

Mexico, the West Int>ies, Central and South Amekica, 

Mexican ELEiii, known in ^fexico as Copal, is yielded by 
Elapkrium dmni/a'um, Iloyle, a tree grow in*; near Oaxaca, good 
botanical specimens of which are much desired. 

SAJtSAPARiiXA, vide page 179. 

Cinnamon of Ecuadoil— This bark, which resembles the cin- 
namon of Ceylon, is produced by a noble tree growing in the 
province of Canelos. Specimens of it, including flowers and 
the large fruits preserved in alcohol, are much desired. The caly.\ 
of the fruit is used as a spice, under the name of Ishpln^o. 

Balsam of Copaiya, vixk page 180. 

Woods, — LtoxtrM nephriticum. — Tliis rare wood, noticed by 
some of the earhest explorers of America, is a production of 
Mexico. To what tree is it to be referred ? Its infusion is re- 
markable for having the blue tint seen in a solution of quinine. 

Satin-wood of the West Indies. — Specimens in flnwer and 
fruit, with the wood, are requested. The origin of the Coca, or 
CocuS'Wood of the West Indies, is also uncertain. Specimens in 
flower of any tree affnnling the lancewouds of commerce in the 
West Indies or Centml Amerioa are needed for the determination 
of the species. 




PAREIRA BRA VA— CINCHONA BABK. 



191 



KlNG-woop, Maraoaybo-wood and Mustaiba-wood, all im- 
ported from Brazil, and Nicaragua- WOOD from Central America, 
are of unknown botanical origin. 

The Kose-woods of Bhazil. — There is still some doubt as to 
the trees wliich yield the different varieties of tiiis timber. 

Ipecacdanha. — WTiat is the plant wliich furnishes the larffe 
Ipecacuanha root of New Granada? 

Parkiba Brava, — The plant affording the inert woody stems 
which constitute the Pareira Brava of couimerce, and which are 
exported to Europe from Rio de Janeiro, has not been ascer- 
tainedi neither is the locality in which it grows accurately 
kuown. The subject is deservmg of investigation. 

Cinchona Bark. — In addition to the bark of CinrJwna Turn- 
jensis, shipped at Pucilo Cahello in Venezuela, tliere are others 
less known botauically which are brought from the same port. 
Soma of these barks appear to be derived from varieties of Cin- 
diona wrdifolia, while others seem to belong to what is called 
Qmnqvina rose d'Ocafta. It would be interesting to have 
authenlic specimens of the ttoweriug and fruit-bearing branches 
of the trees, together with sections of the branches and trunk 
(the biirk being in situ), for comparison with the species described 
by Karsteu. 

Tlie so-called .Ffite CincJwnaJi may be distinguished, according 
to Dn Weddel!, by their capsules, which are generally large, and 
having valves which separate from the apex towards the base. 
The flowers are relatively large, and devoid of perfume. It 
would be of some interest to have authentic specimens of the 
barks of those trees belonging to the genus Buena (Cascarilla or 
Ladcuhrrgia) in order to asceitain whether they contain alkaloids 
or not. The l>arks ought to be accompanied by flowering 
siiecimens. Some pounds of each bark would be required for 
chemical examination. 

Para EnAT^VNY. — ^Tliis root, imported from Para in Brazil, is 
described in Phai-inaceuHcal Journal, i. (1870) 84. The plant 
yielding it should be ascertained, for which purpose good speci- 
mens, including cntiTC roots, are ref|uisite. 



1871. 



192 



ECONOmC BOTANY. 



1071, ^fiLK OR Cow Tree of Para.— Specimens in flower and fruit ' 

of this tree, which is called 3Iassarandi{ba^ are required for thej 
accurate determination of the species. ^M 

Caoutchouc, or Ixdia-hubber. — All the Central Ameritmnl 
caoutchouc is pre.^unied to he obtained from CaMilloa elaatira^ 
the " Uk-uU ** tree. Are there any other species of this genus, 
or trees likely to be mistalvcn for (Ja.4iUoa elaatim sources of 
supply ? In New Ciraoada there is said to be a pinnate-Ieav^^ 
tree yielding caoutchouc^ what is it ? ^M 

Hetea (Siphgnia) BR.\ziUENsrs is the chief source of Para 
india-rubber, but other specieR yield it, as R. Inten, R. discolat, 
H. pauvifolia anil //. rif/ldi/oUd, It would he exxeedingiy ' 
desirable to know the relative yield of these several trees, and 
to obtain good specimens of them. 

Tn Pernambuco and Ceara there is much good india-ruldier 
said to be the produce of Hanronda sp^Mosa, the " Mangaba *' 
of the Brazilians. Reliable specimens and information are 
desired, 

In British and French Guiana caoutchouc trees exist, good 
specimens of which, with their several products, should l>e 
collected. 



MALAMBO BARK. 

{Malamho-Rimie^ von Croton Malmnhn,) 

1059. The origin of this aromatic bark, which has been a disputed 

Oricinllt'ti r^ question ever since its iutroduction to Europe by Bonpland in 
njiiji-d by Mr. the year 1814, Jiaa at length l>een satisfactorily deteruducd l>y 
Mr, H. Karsten, of Berlin, A residence of twelve years in the 
northern countries of South America has enabled Mr. Karsteu 
to make many interesting and important observations on the 
vegetation of that botanically rich region, the results of which 
observations he is now cornniimicating to the scientific world ' 
in a magnificently illustrated work, under the title of Fhrm 
Col U in b U€ Tcj' ra / ' if m q n t- , <u Ija vc n tin vi Sptv I m i / 1 ft S* lo fo 

^ Berlin, F, riiijujiler, folio. 



MALAMBO BAUK. 



193 



this work, in which tlits Malaniljf> tree is beautifully figurei), we i ^^^ - 
extract the following description and remarks : — 

Croton Malambo, Krst. Eaphorhiacc^, IL Br. Character 
differentialis. 

Arbor foliis ovalibiia, crenato-serratis, glabris basi hi- et in 
crenaturis uni-glandulosis, 

Cliaracter naittmlis. 

Arbor ducMlecini- vel qumdeciin -pedal is in littoribus austra- The Maldmbo 
Hbus maris caribtci liabitaiis, truiicn recto qiiadripedali, cortice "^^^'^ 
suberoso flavescenti odore cauiplHmtoaruinatieo pm?dito, tecto ; 
eacnmine ratnoso ellipsoideo ; foliis alleriiis, glabris lurcino odoris 
glandulis oleifms^ pellucitlo-punctatis bistipulatis, — ^stipulis mi- 
niitis linearibus, acutissimis, cadiicis, — longe petiolalis, petiolis 
1 — 2.J pollicaribus, lamina ovali basi rutandata excisa, subtus 
iitrintjue f^landulam ininutam, patellitbrniem gerentibus, mai-gine 
cr^nato, in crenaturis glandidam ill is similein foveiite, 4~5 
poll ices lunga 2— 2^ pollices lata. — InHoreseentia termiualis 
racemosa, monoica. Flores bractea niinuta, caduca sustentati, Inflorescence. 
feminei iiiferiores 3 — 8, longe pedunculati, niajori'S. Calj^x cani- 
panulatus, quinquepartitns persistens, lobia lanceolato-lriangu- 
laribug, inargine pilo?iusculi.s, it^stivationa valvatis. Discus 
glandulosus byiKjgynns quinquedentatus ; dentes (petala nidi- 
nientaria) tiliformes, longitudiue calyeis nrceoli, apice pilosi, 
subpenicillati, cum lobis calycinia altcniantes. Ovarium pilig 
stellatis caducLs liirtiun, triloculare, lociilia uniovnlatis ; styli 
tres basi pilornin fasciculo peuicillato tecti, bitidi, stigrnatosl 
Flores masculini superiores plurea, breviter pedicellati. Calyx 
quiiiqiietidus extns pilis stellatis hirtus, lobis triaugularibua, 
a'stivatioiie valvatis. l*etala quincpie, lobia calycinis alterna, 
lanceolata, longitudiue calycij?, hyalina, intiis pLlosa et maigine 
fimbriata, evaoescentia, sestivatioue imbricata. Stamina 18 — 20 
disco piloso, decern crenato inserta; tilazuenta libera, subulata, 
glabra, per (tstivationem erecta; antliene ovales birimosEe basi 
affixae. PoUen globosuni granulosuni. Ovarii mdimentnm 
nullum. Fructus sub-globosas 3"'— 4"' in diametro, stylonim Fmit. 
residuis coronatus, lievis, glaber, capsularis, tricoccua, coccis mono* 
spennis ; seminis (baud maturi) testa fiavescens. Floret Majo. 

Tlie preceding species is distinguished from every other of 
the genus Croton (as we find from Ilaillun's recent labours on 
this family) by the 10-sided glandular ring of tlic miili' flower 

o 




11)4 



MAI.AMIUJ liAKK- FKAKGll^XXI. 



ies9. 



Crottm 
Mniamlo, 



and tlie position of the stamens in tlie bud, whicli while in this 
state are not incurved, as is usual in the genus^ but stand per 
fectly erect. To found a generic division, however, npnn these 
characters appears unnecessary. To the sol>gL'nus Eacroton 
(Baillon, Etmle gindrak des Euphorhiadcs, 1858) C. Malamho is i 
close proximity. From the very few species with glabrous leave 
Avith which C, Ilalaniho may be compared, the latter is distil 
gnislied by Its oval leaves from C, cajitan4:i/vlium, L {Sp. PI., ed. 1), 
which has ianeedatt leaves, and from C. ovaHfolhtm, Wilhl an<3 
C. mierophi/ilu7n, Lom., by its being olnbrons and not hairy. 

CroioTi Malamho grows in tlie neighbourhood of the Caribbean 
Sea on the north coast of Venezuela and New Granadw, in the 
former of which countries it is know^n by the names of Torco ^ 
Palo Mathias^ and in the latter by that of lilalamho. In Nev 
Granada especially, it is of very frequent occurrence in tlie 
country lying between Rio Haeha and Carthagena, where some- 
times in the low forests of the coast it prevails to a vast extent*^ 
Its stem, w^hich grows to a heiglit of four feet, is covered w^ith 
yellowish-wdiite, rougli, externally somewhat corky bark» whicli 
possesses a very aromatic odour resembling that of Calamus 
aromatinis. The leaves have, when bruised, a peculiar hireine 
fKlour, which is not very agreeable. The bark is a remedy of 
eonsidemble reputation throughout all Columbifi ; its aqueous 
infusion is used inwardly in diarrhcea and as a vermifuge, while 
the alcoholic tincture is employed externally in rheumatisi 
Its application for these purposes is extolled by both the medical* 
profession and the publit?. It is said also to have proved useful^ 
in the treatment of cholera. 

[In the Uniteil States, it is said to be largely used for th4 
adulteration of ground spices] 



FKANGIPANL 

(Ifaks ami Qiferies, Dec, 24, 1859,) 

leso. This is the name of a composition sold as a perfume, anj 

OnffiiT^the ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^* through the enterprise of its vendors, has beei] 

word. much pressed on the attention of the public througli the adver- 



FRANGIPAKL 



195 



Using columns of our newspapers and periodicak. The origin isd*. 
of the term seems worthy of a note; especially as many, I 
doubt not, liave like myself supposed it to be without mora 
signification than the names of other peii'umeiV nostrums : as* 
for iustancse, Guards Bouquet^ Jochiy Cluh, and the like. 

Franuipani is the name of a very ancient and illustiious ih^ Fmngi- 
family of Kome, one niemljer of wliich, Mutio Frangipani, ^^^ family. 
served in France in the Papal army during the reign of Charles 
IX. The grandson of this nobleman was the ilarq^^s Frangipani, 
Mareehal des Arojt'es of Louis XIII.; and he it was who 
invented a method of ^<?i/wm{M^^^/(?y€^, which, when so perfumed^ 
bore the name of " Frangipani gloves."* Manage, in his Origini 
ddla Lingua ItaUana, published at Geneva in 1685, thna notices 
the Marquis and his invention :- — 

"Da uno di que* Signori Frangipani, (rabbiam veduto qui 
in Parigi) furono chiamati ceiti guanti porlumati, Qimnti di 
Franfpptmi" 

From the following passage in Le Laboureur's Memoires de 
Cadeifmu/ it appetirs that the brother of the Marquis Frangipani 
had a share in the invention : — 

" Ce dernier Mai^quis Frangipani, et son frfere mort auparavant 
luy, inventcrent la composition du parfum et des odeurs qui 
retiennent encore le nom de Frangipane/* 

What the composition of the perfume was that gained for the Ths Perftima, 
Marquis so much reputation, I have not been able to discover. 
Ili5nage, who, it will be observed, was a contemporary, and had 
met the Marquis in Paris, alludes merely to perfumed glm-es^ 
and I am inclined to think that this was the only form in which 
the invention at first appeared. Le Laboureur speaks of his 
inventing '*la composition du parfum et des odeurs," which 
perhaps may be understood to refer to some essence, powder, 
or pommade. This much, however, is certain, that various 



> F«i« Brtyle, THtiminaire HUtonqtu et eriiique; Jft^rm, Qrand Die* 
fionnutV*, ed. 1740. lonie iv. p. J S3. 
» Ed. BnixelleN 1731, tome (i. p. 65K 



IM 



FRANGIPAKL 



Gluve«, 







oofnpositions^ as pommade, enetue^ and /xwneler, distingiiisl^ by 
tbe name of Fratufipani or Frmigipant^ were sold bjr perfttmeis 
down to the early part of the present century, when thoy 
gradnally fell into disuse. Duriitg the last few years, however, 
the name has again found its way into the Ust of perfamea^ 
and Franffipani is now more sold than it probably ever 
Ijefore, Tlje formulas for tbe various compounds, as *' Pommi 
a la Frangipane" "Esprit de Frangipane/* &c^ are so utterly 
discrepant, and have such slender pretensions to represent tbe 
ori^'iual, that it is needless to quote tlieni, and I shall only refer 
the reader v:ho wishes for them to the works named below.^ 

Tlie subject of perfuTned gloves, which, I may remark, have 
long since disappeared from use, introduces us to some curious 
particulars regardiog the trades of glover and perfumer. Savarj\ 
in Ills //icUonnaire univer^l de Commerce (Geneve et Paris, 
1750), trills us that the glovers of Paris constitute a considerable 
community, havijig statutes and laws dating back so far as liyO. 
These statutes, after receiving various confirmations from the 
kin;!S of France, were renewed, confirmed, and added to by 
Lf>uis XIV. under T>eiters Patent in ^farch, lt>56. The gTovei*s 
are therein styled " Marehiuid^ ilaitres GaiJiiei^-Parfumeui'55/* 
In their capacity of glovers they had the right of making ajid 
selling gloves and mittens of all soiis of materials, as well as 
the skiii*^ used in making gloves; while as perfumers they 
enjoyed the privilege of perfuming gloves and of selling all 
manner of perfumes. Perfumed skins wei^e imported from 
Spain and Italy, aud were used for making gloves, purses, 
pouches, &c* ; they were very expensive and '* fort k la mode,*' 
hut thfir powerful odour led to their disuse. With regard to 
gloves, Savary remarks:— 

** 11 fi'en tiroit autrefois quantite de i>arfumes d'Espagne et de 
Eome; mais leur forte otleur de muse, dambre et de civette, 
qu on ne pouToit soutenir saus incommodite, a fait que la mode 
et Tusage s'en sont presqne perdus : les plus estimt^ tie cea 
Gans etoient lea Gans de Franchipane et ceux de Neroli/'a 

^ Ccliinrt, Nmivrau Mtmue! rnmpM thi Parfunuur, Paris, 1854, ISino.; 
Pif«is<^, Art of iVrfintti'ry^ Loiirlori, 1856, 8vo, 
* Tom. i',kni{i. 



FKAXGIPANI. 



191 



Many receipts are exkiut for the perfinniug of gloves, and iss*. 
though some of them are curious, they are too leii^^hy for me 
to quote more than the titles. Here, in the Secreti dt la Si{/7wra 
Isiibdia CotUm, tte quail si confeuf/ojio Ca^te Minrrali, Medici' 
7ml L J Arkjiciose td AMiimii'hf, e moite dc VArte rrofHmatoria^ 
afrpartenetUi a <^ni gran Siff7U?ra (Venet., 1574, 12mo), we 
find directions fnr *' Cuiicia di guanli perfottissima, con tiiuseo 
ed ambracan/' and again *'Concladiguanti senza musco perfetta/' 
1 Ijave also before me, from an old French work published at The Secreu of 
Lyons in 1657,^ the pi'ecise directions for **Civette tr^a-exquise -^l*^"*- 
pour parfumer gauds et en oindre les mains." In these coni- 
posilious musk, aniber*;ris, and civet, were the chief perfumes; 
and as they were applied inside the gloves, combined with some 
sort of oil or grease, their use at the present day would be 
thought intolerable. The gloves of Frangipani were also pre* 
pai-ed w^ith grease, as I tliiuk we may gather from the following 
lines of Cerisantes :~^ 

** Amice, nil nje aicut antei\ juvat 
Pulvere vel Cyprio 
Coniatn nitenteni pectere ; 

Vel 4na.s liritannus texuit subtiliter 
Milie luodis variiis 
Jactare vejitis Ueuias ; 

\^\ qoain jxriuuit Frangipanes ipsemet 
Pelle, nianum gmcileui 
Coram puellis promeiv.*' 

The word Fnmchpnnne, or Fnmffipam, is applied in French Framn^mie. 
cookery to a sort of pastry composed of almonds, cream, and 
sugar. In the West Indies it is used to designate the fruits of 
Plinniem alba, L., and P, ritbrftj L., because, according to M^rat 
and De Lens,^ '* on mtrouve dans ces fruits miirs le goflt de noa 
franchipanes." If these fruits are eatable, it is remarkable that 
neither Sloane nor Lunan mentions the fact, F7xingipanicr is 
however, the French name of the Plnmiera, 

* They forui part of an odi* a<idressiHt ** Ad Vincenten^ Vtctonini,** whii'h 
nmy lie found at the end of the Ltttin h:'tter8 of Balzac (Bfihatii VarmiHfnu 
Lihri tres : fjundevi Ephtolm St:i^i{r^ ed. M'^. llfiirt^iri, Pjiria, 165!>| 4tc>). 

* Diet, ik ia MatU-rc Maiicak^ touie w 4(K'i* 



198 



TWO VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS FROM TRAVANCORE. 



ON TWO TUBERIFORM VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS 
FKOM TEAVANCORK 

Examination by the Rev. M. J, Behkeley, M.A. 

{Fead before the Linnean Sodthj, March 3, 1860.) 

laao. In the spring of tbe year 1858 a notice was read of some 

remarkable vegetable productions from Cliina*^ Two similar 
organisms have lately been transmitted by Dr. E. J. Waring, of 
Trevandmm, Travancore, to Mr, Hanbury, who has kindly 
^ intrusted them to me for examination. Prepared sections 

accompanied tlie specimens, and I have had the advantage of Mr* 
• Currey's assistance in their examination ; after all, however, I can 
do little more than place on record the account transmitted to 
Mr. Hanbury. 

The first, called in the Tamil language C\^ni\nTjTh^&tj 
ruttu-nutjiga. Piittu'manffa, a name which I understand may be translated 
White-ant Mango or WJiite-ant Fruit, occurs in Travancore. 
The follow^ing history of it was sent with the specimens to Mr 
Hanbury : — " Three weeks since, I had occasion to open the floor 
of the centre room of my house for the purpose of building two 
walla ; and on digging to tjie depth of three feet below the surface, 
I found several holes scooped out in the earth, perfectly smooth 
and circular, of sufficient size to admit a man's hand. Hanging 
dow^n from the sides of these cavities were clusters of 4, 5, 6, or 
10 of the accompanying fruits, of various sizes and shapes. On 
showing them to the native practitioners, they eagerly took 
possession of the greater number, calling them by the name of 
JPitttu-manffa, and stating that they were found, though but rarely, 
under the foundations of old buildings, and that they were formed 
or produced by tlie white ants. They likewise stated that they 
were highly valued for medicinal purposes. The cavities at>ove 
alluded to are doubtless the chambers or galleries formed by the 
white ants .** 

* Joum. of tht Proceedings of the Linneon Society, vol iii. (1869) BoUny, 
p. 102, 



TWO VEOETABLK PnODUCriUNS FROM TRAVANCUUE. 



199 



the tir^t 



They louk at firsfc eight extitimely like some neat vai-iety of i860 
Xylaria^ pobjmorpha, with a slender stem and pointed barren BesiTipHou of 
apex. There are, however, no perithecia heneath the jet-hlack 
cuticle; and the structure is not delicately filamentous, as in 
Xylaria, On tlie contrary* the mass consists of very irregular, 
swollen, and sometitues constricted, more or less anastomosing, 
and more or less densely compacted tlireads, Towanls the margin 
the substance is firm, but looser towards the centre, so that the 
individual threads easily sepamte. Tlie structure in some 
respects resembles that of Fachyma ; but there is no indication 
of tlie threads having undergone any chemical change. I should 
say that it is certainly not the root of any Ph^enogam, but of a 
fungous character, though it does not exactly agi^ee in structure 
with anything that I know. Notwithstanding some little resem- 
blance, it cannot, I think, be associated with Fa^kyraa Cocm ; 
and therefore, if it be desirable to give so very doubtful a pro- 
duction a name, it may be called Sderofium sHpitatum, Berk. & Sd^roiiwH 
Curr. It is distinguisliable at once by the stem and the shining *'*F*^'"'" 
black continuous cuticle. The total absence of veins and diffe- 
rent texture forbid its junction with MylifitL 

The second production, also sent by Dr, Waring to Mr. Hun- 
bury from Travancore, is known by the name of Caroiu- 
pallagum, which mfiy be rendered Black PaUapim^ FaUiajHm 
signifying a Tnedicinal siibHlance, It is dug from the chalk- beds 
in the raountaius which separate Travancore fromTinnevelly. The 
hiJl people, whu bring it occasionally into Trevandrum for sale, 
state that it is the root of a small plant with a red tlower. It is 
much esteemed by the native doctors for various complaints. 

The account, however, which the natives give of its origin 
is evidently wrong ; for it cannot be pretended that, like Fachyma, 
it may be a peculiar state of the root of some Phienogam. Its 
structure is in fact very like that of Mylllta austrnliH ; and 
though there is a slight difference in the outer coat, it is probably 
the same thing with the MyliUa of China, known under the 
name of Zuy-wan, and to which Homninow has given the name 
ot Myfitia tapidcscais {Gaiahfjus Medkamaitonim Sincfrntf-m, 
Tetropoli, 1856, p. 34). 



S|Jei:iujeJi. 
CitruiH'pttila- 



LuiJ-\ 



SCLEBOriUM CTnTTATCM— rACHYMA 0000& 



iseo. 






Fungoid 
imtur«> 




The «peciineii4, iodeed, are not so much ad%iuiced aa tbose of 
Uie Luy-wan^ m that the peculiar sacs are few and only partialljr 
develofied ; but there is no doubt that the structure of the two 
ji idf^olicaL 



REifARKS ON SCLEROTIUM STIPITATUM, BERK, ET 

CURR, PACHYMA COCOS, FRIES. AND SOME 

SIMILAR PRODUCTIONS. 

By Fkbdxrick Curbey, M.A., akd Daxiel Haxbcby, 

(Bead he/ore tlie Linnean Socidy, May 3, 1860.) 

Wk have investigated with some attention the nature of the 
body to which, in the preceding paper, Mr. Berkeley has given 
the name of SckivHum dipiiatum, and have compared it with the 
otiier tubcirifarm bodies described by him in a former paper 
pubUHhed in tlie 3rd volume of tlje Journal of this Society. 
I'hese other bodies diTe^Pm*hyma Cocas, Fries (the Fc-foo-Ung of the 
ChinGBe) : the substance called in ChiwdChoO'limj ; andProfeasor 
lIomniiHjw'a Myliiia lajrUh'sceiiS, We have thought tliat a few 
additional remarks, accompanied by figures of the specimens 
and uf their micros^cipic stnicture, may facilitate future inquiries, 
wldch are much needed in order to arrive at a satisfactory con- 
clusion as to tlie nature of these anomalous productions. 

And first M'ith regard to ScltToiittm sHpilaimfh PL IX. Figs. 
1, 2, and 3 represent the only three specimens which have 
hitherto reached this country, nearly their natural siza We 
lire quite of Jlr. ]»erkeley*s opinion^ that they are of a fungoid 
nature, although it is impossible to speculate as to what the 
perfect state nioy be. JSevcral hard, shapeless, fungoid bodies, 
the nature of which was long jnisunderstood, have been found 
to produce, under favourable circumstances, perfect fiinffi of 
wcU-knuwji aud very diverse genera. The tuber from which 
Paiza tuberosa is ultimately produced was supposed by Hedwig 
to he a dried anemone root ; and the true nature of the common 
ergot of rye was quite nnkuown until Tulasne called attention 
to the fact that it consists only of coujpact myceUum, which 




« 



SCLEROTIDM STIPITATUM-PACHYMA COOOS, 



201 



ScUrotium 
roKum. 



Sderotiitm 
sti}niatum. 



under particular treatment, may always be raade to produce a laao. 

species of Cordi/ceps, — an obsoivation which has since been veri- 

lied by Mr. Berkeley and other mycologists. There is a black. 

cylindrical, fungoid body fouml in the interior of the stems of 

rushes, long known by the name of Sderotmm roseiim, which 

lias lately been found to give rise in the spring of the year to a 

species of Feziza, a description of which will be foiuid in the 

lat volume of the Journal of this Society.^ This Scleroliinn has 

also been trea^ted successfully under cultivation : a specimen was 

gathered last November and kept during the winter under the 

requisite conditions of moisture; and in the tirst week in April 

the Ptziza appeared, a few days only befoi-e its occurrence in its 

native haldtat We think it not improbable that Scleivtium 

stijniatiim might be treated so as to induce it to perfect its 

fructification; and we have some hope of procuring a further 

supply of specimens from India, to enable us to institute tlie 

necessary experimeuts. The specimens hitherto received, besides 

being only three in number, were destined by their sender, Dr. 

Waring, for the Museum of the Pharmaceutical Society. Plate j 

IX., Fig. 4, represents a thin section of the white inner suUstance 

of the Sclcrotinm, taken from near the circumference. The 

threads are of very iiiegular shape, and hardly similar in any 

two sections ; but their general nature may be seen from the 

figure just referred to. 

2. Pacht/ma Cocas, Fries, The variety of names wiiich this 
reinai'kable substance has received rendei's a list of its synonyms 
not uudcsimble; we therefore subjoin one AVhich, with the neetl- 
fnl references, will, we believe, be found nearly, if not quite, 
complete. 

Pachyma Cocos, Fries, 5j«/. Mt/cologicum, vol. ii. (1822), p. 242 Synonyms of 
vol iii/(1829) p. 223 ; Mcnchm Fmu/armn, vol. ii. p, 39. Okeu, ^^'ff'if^ 
Lthrhuch (L Katurgcschichf^t 2ter Tlieil, Botanik, 2te Abtheih 
Ite Halfte (1825), p. 93. Tulasne, Fungi hi/pofjcri, p. 197. 

P. solidvm^ Oken, Lehrhuh (L Nttlim/i\^chuhi€ (/. c), p. 93. 

P. Pivdorum, Huraninow, in Tataiinov, Ctdi. Mtilkamuiiormn 
Sinen&ium (Petrop. 1856, 8vo), pp. 2-23. 

' " On a oew Species of Fiziza^ beiug llie full develoneient <^f Schroiium 
rmtum, Kneiif." Kr F, Currev, Egq., >' L.8. (o/>. cit, toI i, j*. 147). 



202 



TACHYMA COCOS. 



Synonyina 
Pofhyma 



Lyeopfrdfm 
sviidum. 



DescTiption 
Pkte X. 



F, Com/erarum, Horauinow in littw 
^f bderotium Cocos^ Schweinitz, Sf/nop.'iis Fongoncm Carolinm 
SitperiariSf in Act Societatis Xatune Scrutatorum Lipsiensis, 
turn. L (1822) p. 5G. 

Lycoperdmicervmitm^Walt-eTjFioi'a Caroiiniava (1788), p. 262, 

X. soiidum, Gronovius, Flora Virginica (1762), p. 170. Slac- 
bride, Lmu, Tmm. vol xii. (1818) p. 368. 

Tifhera Tetnt viamvia, ejrlerjie puHa d scahratinins Candida^ 
Gro[joviu3, Fhm Virgimm (1741^) pars ii. p. 205. 

Indiufi Bread or Tuckakoe^ M. J. B. in Gardeners' Chronidt^ 16 
Dea 1848. 

r^.'fij-litii, Cleyer, Specimen MuUchim Sinicm (1G82), Mtd. 
Simp, No, 189. 

A^^^^L {Fith-ling vel FooMng)^ Pau-taaoa-kang-nmh, cap. 
xxxvii. sect. 4 (cum icone). 

Fine specimens of tliis production^ received many years since 
from Dr. Macbride of South Carolina, and described by hiin in 
the 12th vohime of the Limmin Traiisactions, under the name 
of Lycoperdon soiklum^ are to be seen in the ^Iiiscum of the 
Society ; and one of the most characteristic of these specimens 
is represented in PL X. Fig, 5. Ph X. Fig. G represents a longi- 
tudinal section of a very similar specimen, and is interesting 
as exhibiting very coinpletely the manner in wliich the root has 
been affected hy the Farhgma. Dr. llacbride states that the 
Pachyma originates between the wood and bark of living roots, 
that it gradually detaches the hark, while it spreads rooud the 
wood and converts it into a substiince similar to itself. The 
present section, however, exhibits an intermediate condition ; 
for, although the bark is detaclied and the Faehgma interpolated 
between it and the wood, a great part of the wood itself is but 
of little affected. The portion referred to by the letters retains 
its natural colour and appearance ; and when examined in section 
under the microscope, is found to consist of healthy woody 
tissue in an almost perfect state. This portion, when looked at 
witli a lens, or even with thu naked eye, may be seen to be 
traversed by narrow lougitndinal vv bite streaks, whicli the micro- 
scope shows to he very similar in composition to the part marked 
h^ next descril>ed. Thii4 part (h) to the naked eye looks like 



I 
I 
I 

I 




'B-aca Lu«. Soc Vol JOQU TabiO V 



e<tv* »i<v>. -M^ im^wmC 



>'^t*w ^jii 



PACIIYAIA COCOS. 



203 



wood of a very pale colour, but it presents a totally diflerent i«ao. 
appearance under the microscope. It consists of what appears 
to be a mass of mycelinni, the tlireails of which have forced 
their way through the substance of the wood in every direction, 
separating the cells and converting them into iiTegularly-shaped 
bodies of a highly refractive nattire, having a good deal the ap- 
pearance of starch-granules, hut without any concentric nmrk- 
ings, and exhibiting no reaction with ioi^Une. A section of this 
portion is shownri in PL IX. Fig. 7. The reinaining parts of the PUu IX. 
specimen, marked tvand d, and which constitute the main povtiou 
of the Pachi/ma, hear a general resemblance, wlien seen under 
the microscope, to the section shown in Fig. 7 ; bnt the compo- 
nent bodies vary more iu size and many nf them attain larger 
dimensions ; the mycelium also is f^ar less plentit'oL A reference 
to PL IX* Fig. 8 will show the form of a few of the latter bodies, 
a combination of which with tissue, such as that shown in Fig. 7, 
constitutes the mass of tlie Ftiehytna. We entertain no doubt 
that the bodies shown in PI. IX. Fig. 8 are of the same nature 
as those in PL IX. Fig. 7, i.e. they are wood-cells, in a more 
advanced state of disease and distortion. If it is wished to Descripb'on of 
examine the threads or mycelium separately from the substance g[^ruSIlJ*^ 
of the Fiwhi/nm, it may be done by selecting a specimen such as 
that shown in PL X. Fig. 9, in which the substance is traveled 
by cracks. It will then be seen that (at least in some specimens) 
the opposite w^ills of the cracks are united by masses of white 
woolly fibres ; and by taking a small quantity of the wool in 
forceps, and placing it under the microscope, it will be seen to 
consist exclusively of delicate tli reads entirely free from the 
irregularly-shaped starchy-looking bodies forming the mass of 
the ParJn/ma, These threads are similar to those in PL IX, 
Fig. 7, and are, we suspect, of fungoid origin ; and altliough we 
see no reason to doubt that the Pachyma is in the main (as has 
been long supposed) only an altered state of the root of the treei 
we think it higldy probable that that altered state is the eflet^t 
of fungoid disease, and that all the threads above alluded to may 
1j€ the mycelium to which the disease is due* The section shown 
in PL X. Fig, 6 exhibits at one end, at the points t, a brown 





1 hf Mr. Bgfcejgy^ m> ii—Tli ■ : Bto tbe Ai if i, they 
are not mdend bfaift lif iottKL la €■» cr two ipmsMU we 

have BcAkai an abandnee of dottUf irjnaadilal cijilsihv and 
«e ham alao ohaerral IkHt ihe jahahywe off Iha iotamr k onidi 
Hum ton^ aftd kalhay than in jliiifwii, vhich litter ia in 
fact aiaOy polTemaUe. The npmmem of Ch»4im^ ywty 
tniurh in size a^ well as in form. Tha larg^est we have (and 
wbkh iJi drawn in PL IX, Fig. 10) weighs 481 gtains. and the 
•mallcat la grains; tlie mreaigd of 46 siieciinens is 86 j;:Taiita. 
AH axljjbit a thin, bLick, more or less shriTdled cuticle, elcisely 
tlt?«atiog the aniform, corky, cream-coloored substance of which J 
tha naaa of the tuber conststa. 




MYLirrA LAPJ i)es:exs. 



205 



i 

,1 

I 



Microscpio 
structuro. 



4. Miff Ufa lapulrjircm, Horaiiiiiow, in Tatar i no v, Catal. Mcdi- i«60, 
ctimentorum Sinemium (Petrop, 185G)» p. 34 Synonyms ot 

Lai udn, Cleyer, Specimen Medicine Sinu^ (1682), Med. ^'^IJj^l^jJ'^P'" 
Simp. No. 227. 

^ fe (/ir?/-im«), Pun-tsaou-kang-niuh, cap. xxxviL sect 4 
(cum icQTie), 

& triLlj rT6D «3 iL Caro m -pa llagum. 

Tiiu ftfurth tubt'iit'orni substance to which we have alluded is 
tliat namtid by Honiuiiiow Mt/litta lapukscem. Specimens of 
this production, both from India and China, are drawn in PI 
IX, FigH. 14-17. In a dry state they are extremely hard, so much 
8o that, in the case of the Indian specimens, they might easily 
be supposed at first sight to be some stony substance from the 
chalk-beds out of wlucli tliey are dug. There can be no doubt, 
however, of their vegetable nature, and but little, we think, aa 
to their affinity with the hypoga^ous fungi Althoogli no trace 
of fruit is discernible, the inner substance is marked with veins, 
and a microscopic section shows the division of the tissue into 
areA}la: similar to that exhibited by the hj^iogteous fungi. It is 
not easy to say whether it is truly of parasitic growth, though 
the natives of India assert it to be so. It wiU be seen, by 
referring to PL IX. Fig. 15, that the specimen there represented 
has a small root-like excrescence on the left*hand side ; and this 
excrescence, of which we have examined sections, is eertiiinly of 
wo<xly structure, although we are unable to say to what plant it 
belongs. Out of fifty Chinese specimens, however, only four 
exhibit these roots, which it is possible may be of accidental 
occurrence. The largest of these specimens weighs 106 grains, 
and tlie smallest 5 grains, the average weight of 50 being 24'6 
grains. The largest Indian specimen weighs 268 gmins. 

We are infurmed by Dr. Waring that the native Indian name, 
Carom- palkujiim, means literally Black jmHaguni, pHdla^jum 
signifying a rneditn^ml siihstancc. Our specimens are all grey or Colour, grey 
browni rather than black ; hut the wrinkles on the surface, which bkck. 
are very minute, aud which cannot be seen clearly without a 
lens, are of a very dark colour. It is possible that the specimens 





ill the hard mui dry c&miUmm m vUA Agf wemA lUs coontijr. 
We IkmkE: il hmdfy fMbaUr thtft the d^ ifBPiiiiiim in on 

AoeMbe ti e nJht to ftwtify.ei&oi^ Omi 
of eqpiC of rre ja^wlufi ii g fent eito beviiv Inea heked in en 
lUnifinpnH^ â– eiinjii mgDoideel oT Iwi Craet- 
wilboei kng tlieir TitaBtjr. 
We are ezpefiniesiiQg widi tbe MfliUm / end if «e eooceed in 
eausicig it to ptodece frnit. m Aell noC bSk to npnt the result 

ExPiASATioir or Plates. 



E^Uutiofi Figsi 1, 2, 3. Specimens of 
of J 



j^tpdafeei, Bk. and 

«**«^ Curr; 

Fig. 4 Thin secibn of the inner eabstanoe of Sderaiium 
dipiUUum, higfalf magnified, 

Vig. 5. Specimen of Pa/Ayma Coeim^ ¥r^ in the lianean 
Society^a herbarium. 

Fig, 6. Longitudijml section of another specimen in the same 
herbarium. 

Figs* 7 and 8. Thin sections of portions of the latter speci- 
men, highly magnified. 

Fig. 9; Portion of another specimen of P, Cocm in the 
Linnean Society's herbarium, sliowing cracks in the substance, 
the walls of which cracks are united by woolly fibres. 

Figs. 10 and 13. Specimens of Choo-Hng, 

Figs. 14 and 17. Specimens of Myliiia lapidescens, Horan* 




NOTE ON A :\IANUFACTURED PRODUCT OF SEA- 
WEED CALLED JAPANESE ISINGLASS. 

(Sogmannte Japanischc HmismUase,) 

TnK communication to the Acaddmie des Sciences of Paris 
by M, I'ayen^ of the results of his examination of a gc4atinou3 

^ '• Sur 111 V%(\me et \m Nida de SnlungaBe," Citmpia PendnSf 17 Oct. 1859, 




JAPANESE iSIXtiLAfSS SO-CALLED. 



207 



I 



I 






substance maimfactured from sea-weed in China and Japan, leoo* 
induces me to ot!er a few additional ra marks upon the same 
subject, and ako to draw attention to some specimens of the 
substance in question. It will be most convenient to commence 
with the specimens, of which I have two, 

1. Under the incorrect name of Japanese Isijujiass, there has 
been lately imported into London Jtom Japan, a quantity of 
a substance having the form of compressed, irregularly four- 
sided sticks, apparently composed of shrivelled, semi-transparent 
yellowish- white memVirane ; they are 11 inches long by from 1 
to 1^ inch broad, full of ca\itie8, very light (eacli weigliinc^ 
aljout three drachms), rather flexible but easily broken, and 
devoid of taste and smell Treated witli cold water, a stick 
increases greatly in volume, becominj:^ a quadratigular spongy bar 
with somewhat concave sides 11 inch wide. Though not 
soluble in cold water to any important extent, the substance 
dissolves for the mof^t part when boiled for some time, and the 
solution, even though dilute, gelatinizes upon cooling. 

2; The second specimen, also from Japan (which 1 owe to the 
kindness of the late John Reeves, Esrp), resembles the preceding 
in all its properties, but it-s form is very ditTereut, it being in 
long, shrivelled strips about ^ of an inch in diameter. These 
strips when iDimersed in water speedily increase in volume, 
and are then seen to be irregularly rectangular. This substance 
in colour is usually whiter titan tlie preccLling ; it is also more 
readily soluble, cleaner, and altogether a more carefully manu- 
factured article. 

The substance under notice in all its forms is used by the 
Europeans in China as a substitute for true isinglass, for which 
many of its pro|»ertips render it highly efficient That which is 
jjerhaps most distinctive, is its power of combining with a very 
large proportion of water to form a jelly. This property is due 
to the principle named by M Pay en Grfow, of wlncli the Gelose. 
Japanese -sea- weed product mainly consists. The jelly formed 
by boiling this sea -weed product or crude gelose in water, and 
allowing the solution to cool, requires a high temperature for 
fusion, differing in this respect from a jelly made of isinglass, 
which readily fuses an! dissolves in warm water. Tliin character 
fxscasions a pecuUaiity in the taste of culinary jellies made of 





208 



JAPANESE ISINGLASS SO-CALLED. 



Chemituil elm 
nictiiT* of 



laea. the new material, iiiaBtunch m they do not dissolve in the mouth 
ns oritiiiary animal jelly. The jelly of gelose is but little prone 
tu undergo change — so little indeedtlnit sometimes under the name 
Seaweed Jelly, of sm-u'cefl jdly, it is iujportecl to this country from Singapore* 
sweetened, flavoured and ready for use, and in this state it 
may l*c kept for years without dcteriomtion. 

Oelose differs from animal gelatine in not precipitating tannic 
acid; from starch jelly in not being rendered bine by iodine; 
fmm gum, by its insolubility in cold water and its great gela- 
tinizing power. P'rom the mucilage of Chondrm crisptis, named 
by Pereira carraqmnin, it appears to differ cbietly in its power 
of combining with a great amount of water to form a jelly, 
which is not the case with carrageenin. 
BoUniml ori- Of the botanical origin of crude gelose, or Japanese isinglass, 
glu of Gelose. ^^^ ^j^^ mode of its preparation iu Japan and China we are not 
yet well informed. RL Payen finds it may be extracted from 
many .species of sea- weed, but especially from Gelidiu7ft conieuiTi, 
Lamour., and GracUaria liclienoitks, Grev,, the former of winch 
yielded in his experiments to the extent of 27 per cent Gdi- 
dium corneum is certainly used by tlie Chinese, as I find by a 
small collection of economic Chinese algw sent to the Society of 
Arts in 1857, the specimens in which Dr. Harvey of Dublin has 
at my rer^ue^t been kind enough to examine and name. It 
appears, however, tluit several other sea- weeds are likewise 
employed l)y the Chinese, some of thorn qu account of their 
gelatinous qualities ; such are Latirenvm ^jfi^ji/^sa, Grev., Lamin^ 
aria mceha7*iniit Lamour., Porphjra vulgaris, Ag., and a species 
of GradlaTia, apparently G, eraMa, Aarv. (Alg. Zeylan* No* 29.) 
Another sea* weed which is largely collected in the Indian archi- 
pelago for exportation to China, and which is one of the species 
known aa Agar-agar^ is Eucheuma spinosa, Ag. 



I 
I 




NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 

REVISED BY THE AUTHOR. 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



formal ion. 



To draw up a general description of Cliinese Materia Medica i««oofl. 
is a task tliat, in the present state of our knowledge of the 
natural liiatoiy of China, it were almost vain to attempt. 
Oppoi-timities for scientific investigations in that vast country Bounds of in- 
have as yet been far too limited, its zoology, botany, and 
mineralogy too little explored to enable any one to describe 
other than in a very imperfect manner even a small number 
of the varied products derived from the animal, vegetable, 
and mineral kingdoms, which come under the general denomi- 
nations of dru^s* But although sources of information are 
scanty, they are not entirely wanting; and I have, conse- 
quently, been led to tliiuk that under the simple title of Noie^^ 
it might be both useful and interesting to place on record such 
remarks upon Chinese Materia Medica as have been suggested 
by the examination of a considerable number of specimens 
which I have received through the kijiduess of friends in China. 
That, therefore, which I propose to do in the folIo%ving pages is 
I to give a short descriptive catalogue, firstly, of some of the 
mineral substances employed in Chinese medicine, which I have 
had the opportujiity of examining, and of most of which I 
possess specimens ; and, secondly, of a small number of animal 
and vegetable products^ which may, from their origin, uses, or 
affinities, be of interest to the pharmacologist The iiDperfect- 
ness of the information I have collected wiU, I trust, induce 
further researches on the part of those W'ho, being residents in 
Cliina, have opportunities which I cannot command, but with 
whose labours I shall always be glad to co-operate. 




21i 



X'OTES OX cmXESjE MATERLI. MEDICA, 



iseo^a. Before conmieiiciiig the taak proposed^ il ta dednilife brieflj 
to leriew some aomeeft of infomialioii upon Chinese Malerui| 
]kledic^ to which frequent reference will hare to be made, 

or a conmderable nnmber of native works, the most importantt 
and well-known is, nndonbtedly, the gn?at herbal entitled Pitii-J 
Tb« CttineK Uoou^n^'mUh} written by Le-sbe-chin, in the middle of tbfl 
Vnn-XMMon- ^i^cteenth century. It was commenced in the leign and bj 
Ujig mub. the command f»f the Emperor Kea-tsing, and completed by thej 
Bon of the author in the reign of Wan-leih, to whom it was! 
presented in the year 159G. For some centuries previouaj 
to this period^ works of the same character had appeared at i 
intervals, some of them published by authority of the govern- 
ment, and others by private individuals. Of a few of these 
works, Du Halde has preserved slight notices, to which I woulc 
n«**cripHrin of refer the reader who is desirous of ftirther information^ Ac*1 
HeriiSr* cc^rding to this author, the Pun-tsaou of Le-she-chin was written | 
with the design of obviating the ditiiculties and conftisionJ 
arising from a multitude of authorities, by supplying in onel 
work a compendimji of all that was more valuable in its pre- 1 
decessors. This design it probably fulfils, as it is lield in high 
estimation by the Chinese and is frequently reprinted; but, 
excepting a revision and enlargement which it underwent in 
the fourteenth year of the Emperor Shun-chi, a,d, 16o7, nOi 
attempt appeal's to have been made for the verification of old,] 
or the acquisition of new, information The Pun-tsaou 
divided into 52 chapters, usually bound into al>out 40 tliin octave 
volumes, tlie first three of which contain ivoodcuts of many uf the 
minerals, plants, and animals referred to in the text. These 
woodcuts, four of which occur on a page, amount in number 
more than 111)0; the iiame is placed above each, and sometime 
a synonym at the side. No general translation of the Pun-tsaou 
into any Eurapean language has been publislied, though small 
portions of the work to illustrate particular subjects luive fre- 
quently been translated. These extracts show that among much 

^ Like other Chinese natnea, it is written hy Europeans in varLoufll 
nijiiimT.H, n.*t, Ftn thsno hmg tiwj, Pen tmo eanijmoH^ kc. 

^ Dvactiittion th f Empire dr h ChinUt P.irisj 1735, fol, tome iit, p. 



se 




NOTES ON CniXESB MATKIUA MtlUlCA. 



213 



Hter 



Sinkm. 



that is iDteresting, there ifi a lai'ge admixture of the absurd and S6o es. 
fabulous, so that it is questionable whether the labour of trans- 
lating 80 voluminous a work in its integrity would be repaid by 
the value of the information acquired. It is much to be desired, 
however, tliat a list of the woodcuts should l>e drawn up and List of the 
printed, together with the I-atin names of such minerals, plants, J^^^JSjj^JjJ* 
or animals as can be identilied. Such a list would fonn a con- 
venient key to the Pnn-tsaou, and although but a compara- 
tively small number of the names might at first be determined, 
a basis would be laid for futui-e labours. 

To give some idea of the subjects treated in the Pun-tsaou, 
and the manner in which they are arranged, I have drawn up 
the synoptical table of its contents printed on the following 
page, wliich Professor Stanislas Julien of Paris has favoured me 
by examining and correcting,* 

With regard to European works touching upon Chinese Ma- 
ria Medica, the first to be mentioned is one entitled Specimen 
^tdieinm Sinieee, published in 4to, at Frankfort, in 1682. This 
work, which was edited by Andrew Cleyer, a physician and 
botanist in the ser\4ce of the Dutch East India Company, is a 
collection of Latin treatises, some of them being translations 
from the Chinese. A list of these treatises (not, however 
agreeing with the titles of the treatises themselves) ia placed 
on the title-page. The author or translator of most, i( not of 
all, of these works, Avas not Cleyer, but Michael Boym, a Polish 
Jesuit missionar)^ who went to China and India in 1643. After 
Boyin's death in 1656, his MSS. were ssnt to Europe, where those 
constituting the work in question were published in 1082, 
Owing, however, to disagreements between the Dutch East India 
bmpany and the Jesuit missionaries, the name of Boym was 
suppressed, and the work appeared as edited by Dr. Cleyer, first 
hysician to the Company. The treatises comprised in the 

I may also here acknowledge the infonnatioo 1 have tlerived from Dii 

Jdde (op. ciL liL, 437 — D), an well rs froTii Mr. S* Wells Willkms, in the 

oiijpreUe naive accoant of the Pun-taaoii jriven in hU Midtfie Kuifff^om^ vol. i. 

icbap* vl I have alao to thank my friends Me^'^srs. Lockhart jmd \V. G. 

ach, who hiive kindly detennined for nie many {xoints involving a 

dge of the t'hinese language. 




n. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE CONTENTS OF THE CHINESE HERBAL 

Cbftp. 

Hlntroductor; Obflcrvntloss up<m tbo pmctlce of M(^dicLai$ and Indci of Reoelpta 
^' jLlstM of Ifadlciueit for tlie oure of aU DlBctme*. 

(I. [Waienv FfuM, and EartbH, 

8. MINERAL Itotab .,..«....«.«.„^*«« «.«« .««**«.*««.„ Pig. 1— \Q* 

... ...„,.... ......Gemi M<i..*.i^ .*,.....».M»..»»..»».» »....,*.»»*..»« 11— 22 

1>. - „ .....,.L BtoUM ,„ — «.„,« 23— «3 

10, »«»«„., ..„IL Stoneii „.^,,.. * « - «.« 44— Tl 

11. * Biiline Bton<» [m Comnioxi Suit, Aluin, Dcjnuc, Snlphiir, Ac ]... 73— S7 

J^' } VEGETABLE— l«t DIvijion, Heiibs. »«.| 1. Hill PLuita „.„ „-«.***..,... «8— IM 

llv »..„.„. „.. «.«*.„-* 51. OdorifeTtma Plant* *^«.-*»«M..^ t&6— SOT 

|i*l.......».M».M....M«>..,^..„..,«^MM,.«.KM«-*M ...... S. FLaititii which grow lb damp p1aoe« 9QB — 839 

11 «.*«.....«4.M».»..»»«*.*„«*,*.„.*..^.««*»*««..»*...» 4« FMliioriOUfi Plantid 3S4 — $78 

la ... « «^......* „....*,.„ „.« 6. Onwping and Uliniblng Planta...,„ 37»— 451 

11>. « «..„. ^.„ 6. Aqmtlc PLwiU... 453- All 

m «*.«-..M «....„«..„^.. , 7. KockFlanU „.. «. .., 472-- 4tK> 

Mn«8«8atu) LUheim „.., till— 602 

Hiscellauttoua Plants^ and Plants 
liavlng na»MLis, l>ut not >*«t used 
In MtHlicine. 603 - AS5 

lU<m\t, Wlioat, RJce, Ac. ....,.»».... fiSft • 5^5 

MilK^t, Malifc, A<x „« .«» 636— 644 

Lte^iDinoua Plants »... 64i&— S^!' 

AUmetitory Prt'jwmtiuni fof a tb- 

SBt&ble uatnru, mid nmd In me- 
loitK, aB bolkd rice, ^reast, &oy, 

vinegar, wine, Ao ] 
FUata harlng a strong oilour and 

imngetit taate fai garlk% mti»^ 

t&rd, gingi^r, fcc] ...». .»,*„.,,. 563— 676 

Boft and Birwoih i»lnnts fnutbifrb^, 

as lettUL'ti^ {'hicury, lllalU^w, &c.] 577 — 009 
Plants prodUL'Ing fmlt n^m t)ie 

ground [an tht» |^>urtl Xj\\ig] ©07— 616 

Aqnjitic VeircUbkM laa edible ud»- 

wecdflj 61«- 620 

Fnnjfl „.« ...„ 621— tt26 

Cultivated Fruita 627— 636 

HiU PrutlH „ 656— 664 

Foiwlgn Pmita « «....*.. 665— 664 

Aromatic Fmlta „... 686— 6MI 

Fmit« which grow on tlM ground, 

and have no kemcli [u mdo&A] 697 — 702 

Aquatic Fsmita ^ 708— 707 

Arunintlc Trees »....»». 706— 732 

Stately Troe* „ .„*.* 7aS" 777 

Bnahy Treea*« ....*.... .«,... «... 778— 85tl 

Parasitic llanta ♦ S22— 626 

Fl(3]iLiblb PLkuta and Tr«es[aa oslor, 

baniboo, Ac J ..^. „.....«„.... 827— 82iJ 

MisceUaneotut 1 



26. 



-2nd Dlvlston, Ohjubtb » f 1. 

« 2. 

S. 

.« 4. 



- Srd DJvlalctn, GuuKABY Hersh,} L 



ST. ,^ , 



W. „,. 



..„...* a. 



U. 

-4th Dlvlalon, Fauitb | 1. 

— .- 2. 

......„..» 3. 

.. ... «. .« ...«.«...«„ «, ... .- 4 

(6. 



-6^1 IH^infon, Tuicra .^.J 1. 

..»*...« ....„ 2. 

»,,..«.,«.—«.......«.....«« a. 

ft 



38. On Gannenta and Domeatfc Utcnilk (appcrtaltiing to medicine,) 



ANlM.iL Ut Divijiioii, Imkecw.« f L 

«».*... *.." ^ ...». % 

„«....•,.-. „.«„ 3. 



2nd Piviaion* Scalv A^imalsI 




3rd D3 vision. Shii.lv AnnaiAia,! 1. 
2. 

4tli Divifltoii, Btiuw .,..».«......f 1. 

^..,.^.„^*„_ % 

{J; 

etbDtvlslon,FAinv 4jaMAi.fi... f t. 

-It 



llnsejta tmm from egga .«.........»« 630^ 860 

Inaeots produced by nietamor- 

Vhm\A - 860— 87i 

Aquatic lnfl«<ctd (including fh>ga) 676^ 686 

Dragtjoa , 887- 8»8 

SeritontB ..............*,...»....».» BM— 0OS 

Fishes hartng btaIos .«.„. 90S-- OSS 

— ^ no scales •««.... (eS— »6a 

Tortoiaea 964— 962 

MoUuflkit ^^. .... 963^ 986 

Aquatic Biida „.- « 986—1007 

Birds Ui-tng upon open Isada »....! 001^—1026 

— In woods 1027—1042 

Mountain Birds .««.^....1043--106« 

Dotiii^^tlc Qiiadrnpeds ....» m. .»...! 063—1 064 



Animals ....„-....„.„.„1066— 1094 

Rotleut Animals..... ..1095—1194 

Mookeya .„. ...... 1106— 11 10 

OUt Dtridoa, Man (|tia<t« of tbc> human l*ody and hiimaR Hccnrtioiis and «%iTutlaua 

pmploj'iNl Ln medicine.) 
HUs K^f^A of numbcn dors not exitt in \hf tr^rlgjnal Wbco added in V& It al^Q^U A ^'onronltnt 



lud rf Adj means of lefetence to «jij partituJjij htMue 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



215 



I 
I 

I 



I 



Speeimtn Medicinm Sinicm relate chiefly to medical subjects, and ie6o-©a* 
tispecially to the Chinese doctrine of the pulse. One section, 
however, of 30 pages, attributed to Boym, is entitled Medkavunta Chitiese Sec- 
Simplicia q^iw a Chi-MTisihiLs ad %isum mediciim adhibentur. It ^^" ^ ^^j^^] 
is an unclassified catalogue of 289 drags, giving of each the 
Chme^se name written after the Portuguese orthography, but 
without the Chinese characters ; to this succeeds a brief descrip- 
tion, chiefly as regards medicinal properties, wliich are expressed 
according to Chinese ideas. Occasionally the author is able to 
add the European name* 

Incomparably more important and useful than Cleyer s Speci- 
men is a little work pubUshed at St. Petersburg in 1856, for a 
copy of which I am indebted to the kindness of Professor 
Uoraninow. It is entitled Catalogiis Medkamerdonim SiTuimum 
qucR Pekini comjmranda et detertmnanda curavit AUxdndtr Tar- 
tarbiov. Doctor Maikinw, MeditTus 3fisswnis Eosskw PckiiieTms 
spaiio amwnim 1S40^-1S50, (Petropoli, 1856, 8vo.) It is, as 
its title implies, the catalogue of a collection of Cliinese drugs 
obtained in Pekin by Dr. Tatarinov, physician to the Eassian 
mission in that capital, which drugs, m we learn from the preface, 
were subsequently examined and for the most part determined by 
Dr. Paid Horaninow, professorof Materia Medica at St, Petersburg. 
With the exception of the title-page and preface, which are in 
type, the catalogue is in lithograph, and forms a thin octavo of 
65 pages. Tlie Chinese characters for each name are given, and 
their sound expressed both in Russian and English vtTiting 
charact'CTs. Tlie arrangement is alphabetical, according to the 
names written after the Eussian orthography. The name of 
each drug, so far as it could be determined, is given in Latin 
without note or comment The catalogue includes the names of 
500 substances. 

jiltbough tliQse two are the only European works witli which 
I am actjuainted that professedly treat of Chinese Materia 
Medica, there are some other valuable sources of information, 
which are too well knowTi to require more than tlie briefest 
notice ; sucii are the Flora CochrnchimTisis of Luureiro, a wurk 
in wbic'li the medicinal properties of many plant.'* uf Soutlu/rn 



Tartaiiiiov 

and 
Horaiiinow. 




Louroiro*s 

Fii/ra Cock in 

chititfiM''. 




216 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



Kaeiiiprtir's 
A mainifat€4. 



i8GO'6fl* Clima are briefly noticed The Ama-nitcUes of the Germaa 

botanist K^mpfer, published in 1712, contains an important 
section of 145 pages upon Japanese plants, for many of which 
the Ciiinese characters with their Japanese sounds are given. 
Nor should I omit to mention an Index of Plants of Japan and 
China, published in 1852 by MM. Hoffmann and Sehulte^/ in 
^vhich the Latin names of about 600 species are enumerated, 
together with their equivalents in Japanese and Chinese, the 
Chinese characters being given. 

With regard to inorganic Materia Medica, some information as 
to the Chinese designations of various mineral substances may 
be gathered from Xefexstein'a Minci'alogia Pobjglotta (Halle 
1849, 8vo, pp. 248) ; the Chinese words, however, are expressed 
only in Eoman chai-actera 

The mineral Materia Medica of the Chinese is such as one 
nmy expect to find among a people having no scientific acqnaint- 
auce \\dth chemistry. Numerous substances are employed which 
are devoid of all active mediciual propeities, while othei's of great 
power are so administeretl tliat the dose must be extremely uu- 
ceitain. Although most of their mineral drugs are used in the 
crude state, there are a few, such as the mercurials, which are 
the results of chemical operations that are evidently conducted 
with considerable skill. 

In the following list I have thought it best to group the sub- 
stances described under the simple headiugs of Cahareom, Mag- 
7iesian, Arsenical, &c., instead of attempting any more scientific 
arrangement. 



Mitieml 



I 
â–  

I 



SULPHUR, 

Siili#!iur, t?r ^M Wt JVt'l'leuQiwanff ; Native Sulphur, — Ka&mpE^ 

states that it is fLiund abundantly in Japan. 

^JK W LiW'kwang ; Sulphur. — Cleyer, Med. Sinipl, No. 
157; Pim^mov^ Fig. 85. The specimen has been fused and 
partially crystallized ; it has a greyish-yellow colour. 



' Jvurnnl AAiaHqiie, Oct., Nov., 1B52. 



NOTES ON CHINESE IIATEKU MEDICA. 



217 



I 

I 
I 



SILICA. 1B60 60. 

Q -tj ^ Pijh'6h%h-yi7ig ; Massive Quartz, — Pnn-Uaou, Silica. 
Fig. 20, 

ALKALINE SALTS. 

™ SecLou ; Nitrate of Potash. — ^The Chinese distinguish AlkalinoSttlta. 
several varieties, as Pd-seaou, IVaiiff-smo^ii, Ma-ya-seaou^ &c. 

9$ Kthi ; Native Cai-bonate of Soda. — Dr. T. Martins has 
described this siiLstaiice, a quantity of ^vhich was imported 
into Hamburg iD 1845. It is said to be found on the Thibetan 
frontiers of China.^ 

Vm Vy Pdng-&}m ; Borax ; Biborate of Soda, — An excellent 
sample of refined bomx ; probably imported in a crude state into 
China fi"om Thibet, where, as is well known, it occurs in certain 
lakes. Borax is extensively vised in Cliina by silversmiths and 
coppersmiths.^ 

TC O'J w Yuen-mmg-fnn ; Sulphate of Soda.^Tt is in 
crysUds, and obtained in all the noithern and central provinces 
of China, M> Kclnnann enumerates it in bis catalogue of 
Thibetan medicines.^ 

$Bf ^y NaoU'sha ; Chloride of Sodium (a peculiar form). — 
The specimen which I have received under the above Chinese 
name is a small rounded fragment of a crystalline substance, of 
a greyish-green hue, which upon analysis proves to be nothing 
more than chloride of sodiinn contaminated with a little earthy 
matter. Such, however, it cannot be regarded by the Chinese, 
who from some fanciful idea, possibly derived from the locality 
whence it is obtained, imagine it possessed of great medicinal 
viilues, and pay for it at the extraordinary rate of 20 dollars 
(£5) the oimca 

* Fharn^ J<mm, and Tram,, vol vi.| P. 182. 

* Dr. McCarte© says that what is sold at Ningpo is exceedingly impure, 

ft better article la sold under the name /i ^tl yuch-shih — inooufitone, 
^ Bulktin dt Fharm,, t. iii., p. 392. 




218 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



laeo-Qfi. I/ami'Sha is stated by Keferstein to be a name for carbonate 
of ammonia and sal-ammoniac, but I liave received neither of 
these snbstancea fi"om China.^ 



Caliiareoua 




CALCAHE0U3 SUBSTANCES, 

^ ^ 5 Jlanshm/shth ; Calcareous Spar (Carbonate of 
Lime) ; Ilttn xvk xt, Cleyer, Med. Simply No, 16L\— It consists 
of fragments of colourless crystals. 

^ J^ Kwang-fun ; Levigated Wliite Marble (Carbonate of 
Lime). — This substance is sold in the form of cakes, each weigh- 
ing from two to three ounces, and inclosed in a little box. It 
is a remarkably pure form of carbonate of lime, and a very 
good specimen of careful levigation. 

® 5L ^ Chung-joo-sMh ; Carbonate of Lime in stdactitic 
masses.^ — Ptm-tsaou^ Fig. 37. It is obtained from caves, Tlie 
Chinese name sigmhes Hmi^Tig- (like a bell) mUk-stone, 

fE iW^ -%J Eim4uy-sMh ; a granular greenish- white Dolo- 
mite (Carbonate of Lime and Magnesia). 

^ ?m -S ffeuen-idnff-sIiXh ; Selenite (Sulphate of Lime).— 
Pu7irtsa<m^ Fig, 80. Small lenticular crystals (sometimes twin- 
crystals), translucent^ but having a dull exterior, They vary in 
diameter from y^ to ^^ of an inch. 

>Q W ShXh'kaou ; Fibrous Gypsum (Sulphate of Lime). — 
Jl^ caOf Cleyer, Med SimpLt No. 166; Pim-tsaou, Fig. 27. 

^ >6 ^ Tszc'shlh-ying ; Fluor Spar (Fluoride of Cal- 
cium). — Pun-isaou^ Fig. 21. In fragments of irregular size, and 
of a purple or greenish colour, 

^ ^ ^ YaTtg-kk^-sMh ; Asbestous Tremolite ; Silicate 
of Lime and Magnesia. Pun-isaou, Fig. 44. — Irregular maasea 
of a pale greenish colour. 

* It i& remarkabk that in India Siilamraoniac ia called Naiishatlar, See 
Baden H. Fowell's Hawihook of the Eamoniic rrodncfs of the Punjab^ 

p. ea 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATEMA MEDICA. 



itAGNESIAN AND AWMINOUS SUBSTANCES. 



r 



® m ^u Yin-tsing-Mh ; Silvery-white Mica. — Pun-tsmu 
Fig. 54. I have also received a transparent green mica under the 
same name. 

^£ ^ Nr KiTi-inng-sMh ; Brown Mica,— Pii?i-tea(?«, Fig. 54 
n ^ Tsing-mung-shXIi. — Pmi-tsaou, Fig. 56. 

21 w ^ Kin-iming-skKh ; Cm milm oiX, Cleyer, Med. 
SimpL, No. 154. 

® ^^ -5 Yi'^"^'^^-^^^^' — This siibstancei and the two pre- 
ceding, are micaceous earths. 

^ m -5 ^'i^ei-hu'SsIi^Ji ; Steatite or Soapstone ; Silicate 
of Magnesia, — Hwit-sMht Pun-tsou^ Fig. 31. A friable, greyish- 
white variety : the so called Soapstone, from wliich the Cliinese 
often carve beautiful ornaments, is a siUcate of alumina, known 
to mineralogists as Agaimaiolite. 

%L ^ Bmiff'Sha.^-TbiB substance is in the form of coarse 
reddisb-brown santl, which, when examined with a lens, is seen 
to consist of tninsparent angular fragments, mostly of a pale 
pinkish hue, mixed with some of a yellowish^brown, or more 
rarely greenish^black. Sp. gr. 3'848. Professor Guibuurt con- 
siders it is probably some variety of garnet reduced to powder, 
and in the absence of positive information I have therefore 
placed it among the aluminous substances. 

?re 75" ^ Fei-hw^-sMJi. — An argillaceous eai-th, of a pale 
yellowish colour, soft to the touch, and formed into little, rect- 
angular, oblong blocks. 

5r ^ Bb Chih-sldh-che, — An aluminous earth, of a pale 
pinkish colour, or white, in soft, friable, irregular masses. Tt 
has been examined by Mr. J. Morland, jun,, whose analysis 
shows its composition to be nearly that of Kaolin. Tlie two 
ore as follows : — 



ATiimiin>u9 
Substanoeau 




220 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATEHIA MEDICA. 



Ma^nesmii and 
Alumiijoua 
isiibsUtiiLua. 



ChVh-shXk'cJte Pure Kaolin 
Silica 42-93 . . ^^^fi 



Alumiiia 36^53 

Oxides of Irun nnd I^fauganese ] -^.^- 
(mostly Manganese) J 

Magnesia and Lime '94 

Water 14 75 



396 



l;i-9 



100 100-0 

The ChXh'sMh-rhc contains also a trace of fluorine, wliicli was 
calculated with the oxides of iron and manganese. 

fi ^ PXh-fan ; A\%xm,—Pun'Uaou, Fig. 86. 



. AroeiiicH] *Suli- 



Native Orin- 

lUtfUt. 



Benlgar. 




ARSEiilCAL SUBSTANCES. 

1^ ^ Sin-sklh; Arsenious acid, also called P^h-sin and 
Hung-pe, — Of the specimens which I have received, some are 
apparently a natural mineral, constituting a translucent, crj^stal- 
line mass, varying in colour from pure white to a yellowish 
brrjwn or grey. Other specimens have the aspect of the ordi- 
nary massive white arsenic of European commerce. 

i^K is Tszt'kwang; Yellow Sulphnretof Arsenic; Native 
Orpiment; Pun4$mw, Fig. 26. — It occurs in the province of 
Yunnan ; prabahly also in Burmah, as it has been shipped in 
considerable quantity from Moulmein. Ainslie states that it is 
exported from China to India,^ 

Orpiment is resorted to by the Cliinese in cases of ague, but 
compounded in a manner so absurd as to render the dose 
extremely unceitain or even a nonentity, 

^^ W* Hmng-hivaiig ; Native Eed Snlphuret of Arsenic ; 
Ivealgar : Uldm hodm^ Cleyer, Med, Simp.^ No. 176, — It is found 
in the province of Yunnan,^ in the south of China, and has been 
exported in small quantity to London from Canton. Bealgar is 
also sometimes imported into England from Bombay. 

* Mai, Med, of ITitidoBtan, p. 53. 

• Da HiiUle says that it is brougbt from tlie province of Chensi. — lMscrip(, 

d$ la Vkint^ t, L p. 2«>7. 



NOTES OX ClILNESE MATEKIA MEDICA, 

Small shallow cups, elegantly carved out of this lumeml, and 
often higldy polished, are used by the Chinese for a<lminiatering 
certain medicines ; by which means, when the inner surface of 
the cup is, as sometimes happens, in a somewhat disintegrated 
condition, it is evident that a minute dose of arsenic may be 
administered. One of these cups, with its fanciful wooden stand, 
is represented in the annexed woodcut. Other carvings, but of 
a purely ornamental nature, are also manufactured from realgar 
by the Chinese, and from their magnificent red colour and fine 
polish, are often of considemble beauty. A realgar medicine 
cup brought to Paris by the Siamese ambassadois in 1(384 was 
examined chemically by Homberg,— i/fls/. dc VAcmh Roy. dra 
Sciences (de Faris) annce 17U3, p. 51. 



221 



Cups. 



"rffitij-vHrn*^; 



^ f,^ Hung-dn ; Ked Sulphuret of Araenic with Arseai- 

0U3 Acii— A native mineral, constituting a highly crystalline, 
si rial ed mass, of a red or pinkish colour, mottled with white, — 
passing in places into a steel grey. It is composed of Red 
sulphuret of arsenic with a large proportion of arsenious acid. 
I'hu dark parts are probably due to metallic arsenic. 

COMPOUNDS OF ZINC, LEAD, AND COFFER. 

H^ H* ^n Fow-hrn'sHh, iiho called Lm-kcm-shih ; Zinc Ziin' Bloom. 
Bloom. Dana. Syst, of Minera!of/if, eiL 4, voL ii., p. 400. — An 
opaque white mineral, easily broken and marking the fingers 




222 



NOTES UN CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



1860^611. 



Porrins'a 
tiDulvsis, 



like chalk. It consists cliiefly of fragments of a botryoidal crust 
showing, when broken, a glistening, fibrous, radiating struc- 
ture, sometimes divided into bands or layers slightly stained 
with oxide of iron. Mr, J. D. I'errins, of Worcester, who has 
obligingly examined the mineral for me, found its specific gravity 
(taken with precautions to deprive it of the air in its pores) to 
be 2 '67. Mr. Perrins's analysis gave its composition aa 
follows :— 

Oxide of Zinc . . . , , 72*64 

Carbonic Acid 14^95 

Water . , 10'63 

Carbonate of Lead * . . . 1*78 



lOO-OO 



I 
I 



From these results, wliich closely approximate to those obtained 
by Smithson from the analysis of a similar minei al from Bleiberg, 
in Carinthia,^ the following formula may be deduced: — ZnO, 
COj+2(ZnO,HO), with an admixture of PbO^COg. Zinc 
Zinc Bloom, Bloom, according to Dana, occurs with ores of zinc and lead at 
Bleil>erg and Raibel in Carinthia, where it has probably resulted 
from the decomposition of calamine. 

The Chiiie3e mineral is from the southern province of 
Kwang-si. As found in the native drug-shops, it occurs chiefly 
in pieces of from one-i^uartcr to one inch in length. Larger 
pieces which are perfectly white, are worth 400 cash the tael, 
which equals about one shilling per ounce, 

w Pb IB McXh-io-sang ; Litharge (Oxide of Lead). — Puii- 
isamij Fig. 8 ; Cleyer, MedSimpl., No. 168. 

^ ^ Wri^tan ; Bed Oxide of Lead ; Bed Lead 

^ 7T Tung4an ; a dull red powder, consisting chiefly of 
Red Lead and Carbonate of Lime. 



Liihoi^. 



Hed Lead. 




* Cltemical Analysis of some Calamines, by James Smithaon, E&i[., F.B.S* 
— N%chQUon*s Jovrjial, vol, vi. (1803), p. 74 



« 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



223 



SB* w Yum-fun ; Carbonate of liearl ; White Lead, 
Prepared at Canton and Soo-cliow. A compound plaster, of 
which carbonate of lead and oil are the chief ingredients, is 
used by the Chinese. 

0i ^ Tung-lUh ; Carbonate of Copper {aHiJbnal). — It 
occurs in the form of small rectangular cakes of a pale, green 

I colour, opaque and friable, 
Fij 
mc 
cal 



I 



iaeo62. 

White Lead. 



Copper Carljo- 
natc. 



coarse, 



FEBEUGINOUS SUBSTANCES, 

5ft 5E Yensdnq ; Magnetic Oxide of Iron* — ^A 
blac^k, sand-like powder, strongly attracted by the magnet 

[ 1®2 ^ Lin-tsze-shth ; Magnetic Iron Ore, Fun-tmm, 
Fig. 45. 

H ^ ^ Tszc-jm4ung ; Per-oxide of Iron in cubic masses 
more or leas broken* — It appears to have been obtained by 
calcining iron pyrites. Pun-isaou, Fig. 5, 

ft ?1*S "5 Tm-choo-shlh ; Red Haematite; Per-oxide of 
Iron. PiiTh-Udou, Fig. 46, It has the form of botryoidal con- 
cretions, with a scaly fracture, and ferruginous, metallic ap- 
pearance. 

p| 3R ^ Yu'leang-shlh ; Brown. Clay Iron Ore. — Nodu- 
lar concretions resembling the Lapis jEtites of old European 
Pharmacy, a mineral wlilch, to use the words of Oeiger, *' olim 
demmier ad partum proniavtndum adhihebatur" 

^ .iS #1 Woo-ming-e ; Hydrous Peroxide of Iron in 
roimded grains ; Limonite. — Purt-imeu, Fig. 34. This substance 
consists of rounded grains, varying in size between coarse sand 
and mustaxd-seeds, with occasional grains still larger. Some of 
them have a dark, polished surface, and metallic appearance, 
but the majority are brown in colour, and are more or less dull, 
when pulverized their colour is ferruginous. Tliey are not 
attracted by the magnet An analysis by my friend, Mr. J. 
Morland, jun., shows them to have the foUawi^g compositions- 




Iron Com- 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 

Peroxide of Iron .... 03*47 
Sesqiiioxide of JIanganese . 3*55 

Silica 15 '55 

Alumina 4"98 

Do., with trace of Pliosplmtes. 1'12 
Water 11*07 



99'74 

Dr. Ure mentions a pisiform variety of Brown Clay Iron Ore 
in small solid spherical grains, which is used in Dalmatia as 
shot. The Chinese mineral is found in the provinces of 
SzecLuen and Kwajigtung. 

SpE W ^ Skay-han-shXh ; Nodular Iron Pyrites, more 
or less passed into the condition of per-oxije. 

9B. ^ Tan-fan ; Green Sulphate of Iron ; Cleyer, Med. 
Simply No. 164. , 

^^ Luh'fan ; Gmen Sulphate of lvm\.—Pim-hmm^ 
Fig. 87. It is in the state of coai'se powder. * 



MKRCURIAL COMPOUNDS. 



Shittf-1/tn / Mc^cnr3^ — Pun tsaou, Fi.^. 24. 



3tc^ 

^ /T Mv Jlun/j'shin^-i/^ ; Nitric Oxide of Mercury; 
Red Precipitate. — A heavy powder, of an orange-red colour, 
leaving no appreciable residue upon heing heated to redness. 
It contains a little nitrate of mercury, bnt no arsenic. 

$§ ^ Kin^-fim ; Chloride of Mercury ; Calomel— My 
^lecimen of the substance called Kitui'/un, consists of small, 
brilliant, colourlevss, transparent crystals, mostly thin and plate- 
like/or even pectinated; some are needle-shaped. Chemical 
examination proves it to consist of two distinct substances, 
namely, Chloride of Mercury and Sulphate of lime. The 



I 



I Dr. McCnrtcfl says tbat «t Ningpo what is sold ab L^h-fatk " leema to 
be Sulphate of Copper/'— Letter to I). H., 5 Dec., 1867, 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



225 



I 



chloride is in a state of great purity and beautifully white. 
The sulphate of lime is in minute, transparent, acicular crystals, 
to the naked eye perfectly simulating the chloride of mercury, 
which it is ingeniously used to adulterate. Tlie proportion in 
which the two salts exists is not readily determined, as it is 
impossible to obtain a uniforni mixture for experiment with- 
out powdering the entire specimen, Fmm three experiments, 
however, it appears that sulphate of lime constitutes at 
least a fourth part of the specimen of Chinese calomel under 
notice.* 

King-fun is mentioned by Cleyer as E kim fum, and sup- 
posed by him to Imj a natural production, a suggestion quite 
inadmissible as regards my specimen. Mr, Lockhart informs me 
it is brought from the province of Gan-hwuy, liut of the locality 
where it is manufactured, and of the process^ I am quite 
ignorant. Tlie ^longols ave said to purchase siMimaie of tlie 
Kusaians : -^perliapa by this we may understfiud eakmiel also. 
The Chinese appear to have a correct notion of the use of 
calomel as a purgative, and they also employ it in the form 
of ointment in cases of ulcer, to cleanse and produce a free 
pundent discharge. 

^^ I^J^ CkW'sha ; ^ f J^ Tan-shu ; Cinnabar ; Red 
Sulphnretof Mercu^J^ — Pim-tmoii, Fig. 23; Cleyer, Med. SinijiL, 
No. 177. This mineral has been regarded by the Chinese as 
the Philosopher's Stone^ and most extravagant ideas have been 
entertained respecting it. The Eev. J. Edkins in a communica- 
tion recently laid before the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic 
Society ® has pointed out that alchemy was pursued in China 
long previous to its being known in Europe, — ^in fact, that for 
two centuries prior to the Christian era, and for four or more 
subsequent, the transmutation of the base metals into gold, and 
the composition of an elixir of immortality, were questions 

^ See F. Porter Simith on Chineae Chemical Manufactures in Ph. J. 
June 22, 1872^ p. 1031, wbo refers to Dn vis's Chinesej voL ui., for aonie 
Bcc«.»unt of DiakCng calomel 

» Bull d€ Fharm., iii., p. ^7, 
, * JVanJiadions of thi. China Branch of the Eoyal Asiutie Sodety (Hoti|j 
I Kong), Part 5, 1655, Art. iv. 



1860 02, 

Chinese 

CulomeK 




Cinnabar* 



226 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



ieeO'6t9. ardently studied by the Chinese. It is moreover a matter of 
Alchemy, history that intercourse between China and Persia was fre- 
quent both before and after the Mohammedan conquest of the 
latter country; that embassies from Persia, as well as from 
Arabs, and even from the Greeks in Constantinople, visited the 
court of the Chinese emperor in Shansi; that Arab traders 
settled m China, and that there was frequent intercourse by sea 
between China and the Persian Gulf; that China had an 
extensive alchemical litemture anterior to the period when 
alchemy was studied in the West. All these facts go to prove 
that that pseudo-science originated not with the disciples of 
Mohammed, but that it was borrowed by them from the 
Chinese. 

PhOosopher'a With regard to tlie philosopher's stone, it is remarkable that 
fcstone. Tirhile the alchemists of the West have spoken with doubt as to 
what it was, with the Chiuese its identity appears hardly to 
have been questioned. That wonderful body which, when used ajs 
a chemical agent, was supposed to have the power of convert- 
ing other metals into gold, and, when employed as a medicine, of 
conferring immunity from death, is, according to the \^Titings of 

Marcso Polo, the Chinese alchemista, Cintiahar. Marco Polo notices this idea, 
that sulphur and mercury are capable of prolonging life. Of 
the Cingui {i,€, Chugi, the Jogis in India), he says x — " These 
are longer lived than other people, for they live from 150 to 200 
yeai*s . . . , f or I tell you they take quicksilver and sulphur, 
and they mix them together and make a drink of them , • , * 
and they say that it lengthens their life . » , . and they do 
this twice every month , . . * These people use this drink 
from their infancy, in order to live longer, and without fall, 
those who live so long as I have told you, use this drink of 
quicksilver and sulphur." — Quoted in the Art. *' Marco Polo and 
liis Recent Editors/' in Quarterhj Ramw, July 1868. 

Ko-hnng, author of the Pau puh tn plan, a work of the 
fourth century of undoubted genuineness, enumerates various 
mineral and vegetable productions possessing in liiflerent degi'ees 

EiUir rUm. the properties of an Elixir FUw. Of the iirst of them, Cinna- 
bar, he writes in terms thus translated by Mr. Edkins : — 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA, 227 

When vegetable matter la burBt, it is destroyed, but when leeoea, 
the Tan-sha (cinnabar) is subjected to heat, it produces, ciimabar 
mercury. After passing through other changes, it returns 
to its original foruL It differs widely, therefore, from 
vegetable substances, and hence it has the power of making men 
live for ever, and raising them to the rank of the genii. He who 
knows this doctrine, is he not far above common men ? In the 
world there are few^ that know it, and many that cavil at it. 
Many do not even know that mercury cornea out of cinnabar. 
When told, they still refuse to believe it, saying that cinnabar is 
red, and how can it produce a whiU substance ? They say also 
that cinnabar is a stone, — that stones wiien heated turn to ashes, 
and how then can any tiling else be expected of cinnabar? 
They cannot even reach this simple truth, much less can it 
be said of them, that they have been instructed in the doctrine 
of the genii. ...... 

The specimens of cinnabar which I have received are in small Mooopolj in 
ciystalline fragments and very pure. According to Kajmpfer/ â„¢ Cinnabar 
both native and artificial cinnabar are exported from Cliina to 
Japan, the artificial being used by the Japanese as a colour 
and the native being employed in medicine. The same author 
tells us that in his time tlie buying and selling of cinnabar was 
a monopoly of certain merchants^ in vbiue of letters patent 
granted by the emperor. 

^ $j|^ Yin-choo; Vermilion ; Levigated Eed Sulphuret of Vermilioo. 

Mercury. — The process for preparing vermilion is described by 
an old Chinese author to be as follows : — 1 lb. of mercury and 
2 lbs. of sulphur are triturated together until they form a 
blackish pow^der, which is put into a crucible, closely covered 
with an iron lid and luted down. Tlie heat of a wood fire is 
then applied, the lid being kept cool hj something wet. The 
sublimation is thus effected, 1 lb. of mercury usually producing 
14 ozs. of cinnabar of the fii'st quality, and 3 J ozs. of the 
second. In the Library of the India House (London) is a series 
of beautiful native drawings representing the preparation of 
vermilion by the Chinese. 



» Hut 0/ Japan, Lciucl, 1727. Vol. i., p. 1 Ul. 



Q 2 



228 



i OX CmKraE MATKRU UEDIGA. 



ia€ 



S itnie of 
Meiciuj. 



Fruits md 




duneK venoilicMi is ma aitkle of legoltf importatioD into 
Londoii, where the finer qoatities ittliae from Sn 3d to 3«. 6fi 

per Ox 

M 71 IS Hwang^im§-^; Xitffite of Mercmr^r with 
senile Peioxida — A pale boff powder, wholly Tolatile. 

FtUnS AHP S]EED@. 

:^ Hi Mwa-tmfoem ; Fraits of Zanihmgiwm {Ruinctm, tril 
ZanikoarifUm) ; Hoa4mao, Gaiboirrt, ffvit. du Drag., t iij:, p. 514. 
— Japamiat Ptppcr, Steohoiisep Phil, Mag,, 4th series, voL vii, 
(1854). p. 23 ; Pkarm Joum, and Trans., toI. xviL. pi 19 ; Pun- 
UacfUf fig. 685, 

Hwa-tseeum \s a name applied to the fruits of two species of 
Zanihcaylnm, mtmely, Z. piperUum, D.C., and Z, alaitim, Roxh.* 
The first is a native of Japan, in which conntiy its fruits are 
used as a condimetit; the second is indigenous to India and 
China, and, as proved by specimens obtained by my brother, 
Thomas Hanbury. of Shanghai, is the source of the Rwa-tseaou 
of the Chinese shops. 

Zantkoxylum- alatnm, first noticed by Capt Hardwicke, in 
1796,- is a small trv^o occurring in various parts of Northern India, 
as in Oude, Eobiknnd. Hnmaon, Nepaul, Sikkim, Bhotau, 
and Kliasia, and extending far eastward into China. As may 
be expected from so extensive a range, it varies considerably, 
especially as to the size of its leaves and number of its leaflets 
and the number and size of its spines ; but the transition from 
one form to another is so gradual that no botanist who should 
examine a large series of specimens could doubt their belonging 
to a single ty^e. 

The fruits (Fig. 1), as found in the Cliinese shops, consist of 
the carpels usually dehiscing and empty, but sometimes inclos- 
ing the round, black, shining seed. In perfect specimens we 

I 1 retitin Roxlmrgh'a name for this plant, because I am certain of ita 
idetitily. Stpndel Buptreecles it by that of Z, tttanthopodium^ B.C.: but 
this latter m not identical, iit lea^t according to M, Alpbonse de CundoUe, 
wlifi, at iny rpqueat, ha* kindly compared it with specimens of Z, alalvvif 
Rnxb., from Chiim. 

* Aiiaiick Ihseurcha^ vol. vi», p. 376. 



I 

I 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



229 



find a slender pedicel supporting the cai'pels, which are nomin- 
ally four in number, but of which at least one or two are mostly 
abortive. The carpels ai*e oval or nearly spherical, ^^^ths of an 
inch in longest dimension; externally they are of a blight 
reddish'brown, covered with prominent tubercles liUed with 
oleo-resin; intemEdly they are furnished with a harf, papery, 
white membrane, which becomes loose, contracts and curls up 
when the seed falls. The drug has a peculiar aromatic taste, 
and, when crushed, an agi'eeable imd highly aromatic odour — 



laeoes. 



Â¥m. L 



I 



properties due to the oleo-resin contained in the outer part of 
the carpel 

The fruits oi Zanthuylnm alatam, Koxb,/ have been sub- An^ysis^f 
jected to chemical analysis by Dr. StenbonsOj who ha§ obtained ^Y^i^^^t 
fix)m them by distillation i — 

1, An essential oil, to which the aromatic properties are 
chiefly due. This oU^ which when pure is called by Dr. 
Stenhouse XmUhoxi^lcnc, is a hydrocarbon isomeric with oil of 
turpentine. It is colourless, refracts li^ht strongly^ and has an 
agreeable aromatic odour ; its composition is Cj^j Hy. 

2. Xanihoxytin, a stearopten found floating on the vfB.ier, Xanth&x^lm. 
diatilleil fi-om the seeds, and also separable from the crude 
essential oil 

After repeated crystallizations fi-om alcohol, xanthoxylin may 
he obtained in a jstate of purity, and then presents the form of 
large crj^stals of a fine sOky lustre, insoluble in water, but 
readily soluble in alcohol or etheiv It has a very slight odour 
of stearine, and a slightly aromatic taste. It distils unchanged ; 
its fusing point before and after distillation remaining the same, 



ErraneouBly suppost-d at the tijne to be Iho&e of Z. />ipmlw?H, D.C. 




180 



NOTES UN CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



laeo-ao* Buiiiely 176- F., audits solidifying point 172'4'' F. Its cotnposi- 
tion is C^ H(j 0^, 

The fruits of Zmiihojoyhun alatnm are used in Cliina as well 
^^raminor. aa iu India as a condiment. Tlie Fagara or Fa^ara minor of 
the old pharmacologists ^ is probably referable to this species. 

S ^ ^ Pih-tmh4e; Carpels of Tribulm t^rrcMris, L 

[Zygopkylhtr) ; r^'cii-lt^ Cleyer, Mad. Simp., No. 28 ; Pun-tsaou, 
Fig. 322. — ^These little spiny carpels have slightly iistringent 
properties. Loureiro states that they are beneficial in h^cmor- 
rkagia narium and in dysentery ; also as the basis of a gargle 
in tendeniess of the gums, and in ulcers and inflammation of 
the mouth and throat. 

The herb was formerly official iu Europe, but is now obsolete. 

B S* Fa4mv ; Fruits of Croion TifjHum, Lam. {EupJiorbi- 
aceo') ; Pd-fcu, Cleyer, Hcd. Simp.y No. 224. 

The seeds, from their drastic purgative properties, are r^aided 
by the Chinese as extremely poisonous. 

S ^ Jf^ Lni-sung-bva ; Seeds of Sfryrhyws Ignatia, Juss. 
{Logaiiiacca) ; Saint Ignatius's Beans. — These well-known seeds 
are imported from the Philippines, in the Bisayas provinces of 
which ishiuds the tree which affords them is stated by Blanco, 
the author of the Flora dc FiNpuim, to be common. But 
neither this botanist nor any other has been aide, that I am 
aware of, t-o procure complete specimens of the tree, so that it 
is as yet nnd escribed. 

?N ^ "i Muh'pe^'tsze, also called Fan-miih pel ; Seeds of 
iuricia CoehineMnenms, Lour. {CurcHrMi&ce-ct); Fun-iBOOU^ 
Fig, 387 and 386; MiS-pe^-di, No. 188, Cleyer.— Orbicular or 
obscurely triangular compressed seeds (Fig. 2), tubercled at the 
margin, and having a dark brown, fragile, rugose testa, fi«- 
quently marked with depressed reticulations; in diameter they 
vary from f to li-inch. The yellow cotyledons within are 
extremely oily. 

* Vidt Dale, FhaTJiuiGcilogim Snppi^ Lond,, 1706, p. 298 ; also Chabnms, 
Stirpium Scia^Taphia, GeaeT., 1677, p, 26. 



Sirychnos 
Iffnaiia, 



Muricia Co- 
chinchintn$is. 



i 
4 

4 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



231 



According to Loureiro, the seeds and leaves of MuHcia loeoea, 
CacJiinchinctms are aperient, and useful in the treatment of Chinese Secda. 
tumours and malignant ulcers, and of obstructions of the liver 
, and spleen. The plant is a native of China and Cochin-China ; 



^^^ 



J 



Fjo. «, 



I 

I 

I 



it 18 not enumerated in the Flora of Hong Kong,^ and, I 
believe, has not been obtained by any collector in recent times. 
There ia an indifferent specimen of Loureiros in the British 
Museum. 

5(^ ^ ^ Kmt'min{j4^zc ; -^^ â„¢ Tmou-keui-mmq ; 
seeds of Cassia Tora, L {Liguminosa:), — TatarinoVi Caial. Med, Cassia Ihm, 
SiiiCTt^, p. 5 ; Ainslie, Mai. Indica, vol. ii., p, 405. 

Seeds of a cylindrical form, 2 to 3 lines long, pointed at 
one extremity, rounded at the other, of a dark brown colour, 
with two light stripes on opposite sides. 

^ ^ShVi kXh; Seeds of Aieurites triloha, Forst {Buphor- 
btac€€€); jHf/ht7is Camirium, Loureho. — Tlie kernel of the seed 
yields abundauce of oil. 

IS M J Choo-shth'isze ; the small seed-like nuts or 
achenes of Bransondia papyri/era, Vent. {Morem)^ Paper Mul- Brtmsonctia 
berry Tree, 

These are roundish seed-like bodies, somewhat smaller than 
the seeds of white mustard, slightly compressed and keeled on 
one side, of a pale brown, or, when fresh, orange colour. The 
fleshy part of the compound fniit is saccharine and edible ; what 
virtues the seeds are supposed to possess I do not know. The 

" Beiitham, Flora Hongkofigtruu, Lond., 1861, 8vo. 



Jngktns 



papyri/era. 




i 




C'hnbulic 
MyrolMiktii. 



j|ifeilii|6}it 
Pmpnvtf. 



colour and indooea an oilj 
LDoreiro states thai Ike seed 
daily aie recommsided as an antLel- 
mintic and in the rachitis of children.* 
Their anthelmintic properties, though 
recorded by Rumphius and several subsequent writers besides 
Ijoureiro, have not attracted much attention in Europa Re- 
cently, however, Dr E, J. Waring, of Travancore, has pub- 
lished a paper on some of the principal indigenous anthelmintics 
of India, in which he has quoted some favourable reports of 
the properties of the seeds in question.* From these it appears 
tliat the seeds are chiefly used against lumhrici, especially when 
occurring in chiltlren. They are sometimes given almost ad 
Wntum, liut generally the dose of four or five good seeds is 
found to be sutiicient 

M -? Ilo-Uze ¥i Wl ^Ko-HUe; Fruits of Temiin- 
alia Uluhiiia, Roxb. (CmihreiacecE) ; Chebulic Myiobalans. 

These fruits are well known in English commerce on account 
of their astringent properties, vi'hich render them valuable in 
various processes of dyeing. In medicine they have been 
held in esteem fur ages, not only onaccount of ilieirastringency, 
but also froDi their mildly purgative propei'ties. Hill remarks 
that when given in substance they do not exert their pui-gative 
faculty at all, but are astringent only, whereas when admin- 

' Hisi(fry of Japan (Bcheiichztr's tmnflktioii), Loud., 1727, jVppendix, 
p. 22. 

' Flor, Ctichinch., p. ^37* 

* Indian Antuih o/ Ahdical Science, No. 12 (166<>). 



NOTES ON CHrNESE MATEKIA MEDICA. 



233 



istered in mftiaion or decoction they open the bowels in a very 
gentle and easy manner^ In China^ Europeans, I am ixilbrmed, 
occasionally have recourse to myrobalans as an aperient — at 
the instance, I suppose, of native practitioners. The dose is 
from 2 to 4 drachms in infusion. 

^ -^ "X* Tmf}ff-urh-isze ; Fruits of Xanihimn strumariitni^ 
L. (Compos'Uw) Benthaui, Flo}\ Honghmf^, p. 181 ; Pun-tsaou, 
Fig, 252; f«m7A g-u, Cleyer, Med, Siiap,, No. 114; K^empf. 
Amcen,, p. 892. 

JLanihiiim stntmariiini, an almost ubiquitous weed in teoi- 
jiei-ate and w^arm climates, is found both in China and Japan. 
Its leaves, under the name of Herha Lajypm mmoris, were 
formerly official in Europe, and were administei-ed internally 
in scrofula, herpes, &c,, and externally as an apphcalion to 
scrofulous tumours.^ 

4*fe ^ J Shay-chwang-tsze ; Frxiits of Cfiidimn Monndcn ; 
Cusson ( Umhd!if€ra).—XB cAodm pi, Cleyer, Med. Simp.^ No, 37 ; 
Pu7i-tsaonj Fig. 157. 

Minute ovoid umbelliferous fruits; mericarps, w^ith very 
prominent equal ribs, one vitta between each ; commissure bi- 
vittate. 

Cnidhim Monnieri has been found by the Eussian botanists 
in inundated spots on some of the islands of the A moor, where, 
however, it does not appear to be a common plant. It also 
occurs in the neighbourhood of Pekin,^ 

VM bT Fe-shXh ; Seeds of Torrm/a nud/era, S, et Z. (Touxy 
tjicoe); Taxus nnd/era^ 1^ \ Podocar^rus nncifer. Loud,— Fey-tsi/, 
Tatarinov, CataL Mtd. Sin,, p. 23; Ft vulfjd Kaja, Ka^mpf. 
Amfen, p. 814, Fig, p. 815 ; Pun-tsamt, Fig, 072. 

From 1 to li inch long, ovoid or oblong, cylintlrical, pointed 
at the upfjcr extreruity, less so at the lower. The testa is of a 

1 History nf thi Mat MuL Lond», 1751, 4to, p. 503. MyrobilikiiP 
were included iij the MnUria Medica of the LondoQ PhamMcsuxeiiJi down 
to the year 172L 

* Mtirray, App. Medicain. jVoL L (1793), p* 212 ; Gpiger, Fhnrm. Univen^ 
(183ft), \,\K 128. 

* MaxiniQwicz, PritnUioi fhrm Amurtnm (1659)» pp. 126,472. 



1860-6a. 

Chinese 
FruitB. 



minons. 




Cnidhim 
Monnun, 



234 



NOTES ON CHINESE M.1TERIA MEDICA. 



Saliaburia 
adiiiHti/oluu 



I860^a. cinnamon-brown colour, woody and fragile, marked longitudinally 
fTilnmn firrtfn ^'ith broad^ shaUow stride, and having a smooth scar at the base, 
near to which, and opposite each other, are two small oblong 
prominences. The nucleus, which is deeply corrugated^ is covered 
by a thin brown membrane ; its base is marked by a conspicuous 
cicatrix. 

The seeds of Torreya nudfera are eaten like hazel nuts, and 
although reputed somewhat laxative, are considered wholesome. 
Ill Japan an oil is expressed from them, which is used for 
culinary purposes, 

H ^ Fih-kwo ; ^ ^ Yin-hAn^ {SUver'almon(t) ; Seeds 
of SiilMuria adiantifoUa, Sm. (Taxine<r),—Gingko hilohaf L,; 
Gingko, arbor nncifera folio adiantino, Kaempf, Ammn^ p. 811 ; 
Pmi'Uamt, Fig. %^%, 

These are nut-like, oval pointed seeds, from J an inch to an 
inch long, keeled lengthwise on two sides, and having a smooth, 
fragile, bony, pale brown, outer shell or testa. The nucleus of 
the seed consists of amylaceous albumen inclosing a pair of long, 
narrow cotyledona, the whole enveloped in a delicate reddish- 
brown membrane. 

Salwhuria adiaTitifolia is commonly cultivated both in Cliina 
and Japan, where it attains a large size. The male plant was 
introduced into Europe atout a century and a half agoj 
tiie female much more recently. Tlie tree is not nncoraraon 
in gardens ; and in the warmer part of the Continent it ripens 
its handsome, plum-like, yellow fruits perfectly. The seeds, 
Ksempfer tells us, are eaten to promote digestion " ac tumentem 
ex cibo ventrem laxare ! " The pulp, which has a penetrating 
offensive smell of butyric acid, has been chemically examined 
by Dr. Schwarzeubach,^ who has extracted from it by means 
of ether a peculiar crj^stallizable fatty acid, which has been named 
Gingkoic acid. Ginghdw acid^ and which has the composition C^g H^^ O3 -|-H0. 
GingkoiG acid forms tufts of acicubr crystals, which have not 
been obtained colourless, but are of a brownish yellow; it ia 
easily soluble in alcohol or ether, and exhibits in either case 



* VurUdjohumkrifi fiir Praktiiche Fharmacie, Bd. vL, 424 




NOTES OS CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



235 



I 



I 
I 



acid reaction. It fuses at 95** K, and congeals at 50^ 
Heated with solution of potash, it fonned a soap-like compound. 
The other constituents of the pulp are pectiu, gum, glucose, 
citric acid, and chlorophyll^ 

yt *i^ 1 Ta-hai'tsze ; Frvdts of Erio^losmm ? or NepheUum t 
(Sapijidaeeai) ; Bm-tam-paijanfj, Guibourt, IliM. dm Drogitea, 
tome iii,, page 543 , Btiiigtalai (otherwise written Poung-ta-rai) 
of the Siamese.^ 

This fruit is of some interest as having been introduced into 
France about twenty years ago as a certain specific in diarrhnea 
and dysentery. Its claims to this chiiraeter, w^iich were tested 
in the Hflpital Beaujon in Paris, did not however hold good, 
no results being obtained from its use, but such as were 
attributable to the effect of repose, diet, and a mucihiginous 
beverage. But the drug had the merit of an unknown origin, a 
barbarous name, and a very high price,^ and notwithstanding the 
unfavourable report made upon it by those officially appointed 
to give it a trial, it continued for some time to be prescribed. 

Boa-tam-paijanfj, for such is the name under wiiich it was 
introduced into Europe, though in Bangkok, whence I have 
received specimens, it is better known as Bttnglakn, is pro- 
duced in Cambodia, from a tree w^hich has not at present been 
botanically determined. Sir Robert H. Schomburgk, British 
Consid at Bangkok, succeeded in obtaining fresh seeds which 
germinated, but the young plants thus raised perished before 
attaining maturity. The leaves which Sir Robert sent me are 
about 5 inches long, simple, entire, oblong or ovate, acuminate, 
rounded or subcordate at the base, and perfectly glabrous on both 

^ In the Annala de Chimu ei de Phi/dqiie for Mamb, 18fJ4, M. Bochainp 
pnblishes a paper on the existence of several odorirerous and homologous 
lattjf ftciifl in tfie fruit of Oitujko bitofHi^ L. He hiia found therein, formic, 



ftcetic, propionic, butyric, valeric, caproic, and caprylic acids, btityric, 

' ("fiem. News, May 7, 1864. p» 226. 

picuJa are reported 



acetic and caproic predominatintf, 

* Are they not the ** Lnkkrahow SrfihJ* of which 48 pii 
as shipjied from Btinf^kok (all to Hong Kong) in 1871^ Vommarcial H^orti 



of H. M. Con^vhihueml in Siam for 1871, p. 6. They are actually the 
needs of Scaphium icaphujfrum^ Wallich. 8ee my note iu Pharm* Journ., 
iv. (1863) p. 109. 

* In the wholesale price list of MM. Menier, dniggiutu, of Paris (18&4), 
it b quoted at 200 francs per kilogramme, i.e. £3 13*, i>er lb. 




Chinese 
Fruits, 



Boa-tarn- 
paijang vel 
Bungtaiau 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



I860 eft. 

Chiueae 
Fruitfl. 



Ottibourt'a 
tiualyKLB of 

paijang. 



sides. The fruits, as found in commerce (Fig. 4), are from f to 
IJ inch loiifj, ovoid, usually somewhat elougated at the lower 
extreraity» wliich terminates by a large oblique cicatrLx. Exter- 
nally they are of a dark liruwn, deeply wrinkled, though generally 
leas 80 at tlie superior extremity. The pericarp, which is from ^ 
to rtV <^f ^^ i^^'h 11^ thickness, consists of a thm epidermis, beneath 
w^liich lies a dry, black resmous-looking pulp, surmuuding a fragile 
slieU lined with a whitish membrane (the testa of the seed ?), The 
^^ ^^ ^^ centml part ol" the fruit is 

^^^L ^Ha. i^VIL ^^^^P^^^ Ky ^^^'^ cotyledons. 

^^^B ^â– HIk n fl ni which in their dried and 
^^^B HRuImI II V If ^^'^'^^^^'^^ ^^^^^^ '^^'^ ^^^ ^^d 
^BKm Vl&SHr ^^^Ujf 'oucave: the radicle is in- 
^Hr wBtSf ^1^ ferior, very short and tur- 

^^ ^wr ^* binate. When the truit is 

,™ . . .„ * macerated in water, its outer 

Flo. 4. <Th*j rtglit hund ftffwi* r«p?o»enU * 

fruit CUE loDgitudiiiiiUj.) shell or pericarp increases 

enormously in volume, forming a large gelatinous mass.^ 

It is this mucilaginous propeilry that confers a value on the 
fruit in the eyes of the inhabitants of China and 8iam, in both 
which countries the jelly is sweetened and eaten as a delicacy, 

Baa-tam-jmijawj has been analyzed by Professor Guibourt, 
and found to consist of the following substauccs : — 
In the pericarp. 

Green oil . , 1*06'' 

Bassorine 59*04 

Brown astringent matter . , \ i-qq) 64'9U 
Mucilage ..,**. * J 
Woody fibre and epidermis . . 3 "20 ^ 

Jn the nucleus. 

Fatty matter. 2-98 

Saline and bitter extract . . 



Starch . . . 
Cellular tissue 




. 2-98 1 
. 0*21 \ 

31-91 



3510 



100-00 



* Sir R. H. Scbomburgk hae been k*l«l that where the trees j»row by a 
foad'Aide^ their ihut« sometitnes drop to the ground &o abandanlly, ihat if 



NOTES OK CHINESE :^UTERIA MEDICA. 



237 



J% W ffumc'shth ; Legniries of Sophora Japaniea, L. (Zegu- 
viinosir). 

Sophora japonim. is a tree of very common occun-ence in 
Cliinti anrl Japan, and not onfreqiient in the gardens of Enrope, 
Ita flowers, called Hwde-hum^ are largely used in Cldna for 
dyeing yellow, or rather for rendering blue cotton green,^ and 
the legumes are said by Endlicher to have a similar application.* 

These latter, in t!ie dried state, are from 1 to 4 inches long 
by f\j to ^j^ of an inch wide, wrinkled, flesliy, semi-transparent, 
more or less contracted between the seeds, which usnally do 
not nnmber more than six in each legume. 

& y^ Tmou-keS ; Legumes of Gleditachm Sinensis, Lam. 
(Leffiiminasm), Mimom fera. Lour, j Tatarinov^ Catat Mi^d, 
Sin., p. 57. 

Tlie valves of the broad, flat pods are regarded, according to 
Loureiro, as attenuant, stimulant, and purgative. They are 
also lauded for their effects in the removal of phlegm and other 
viscid humours, and in the form of a sternutatory or suppository 
aiH3 said to be peculiarly efficacious in apoplexy, hemiplegia, 
and paralysis. 

'fm R Dh Poo-kwuh-cke ; Legumes of Pmraka mrf/iifolia, 
L, {Leguminmm) \ Pim-tsa&u, Fig. 177. 

These arc flat, oval or reniform, black, one-seeded legumes^ 
which being very small and indehiscent niay readily be mis- 
taken for seeds; they ai-e about two lines long, and are 
sometimes surrounded by the calyx, which is 5-lobed and 
marked with prominent ner\^es and minute glands. The fruits 
of this Paoralea have an aromatic flavour, and are used in India 
(of which country the plant is a native) as a stomachic, as well 
as in certain inveterate cutaneous diseases,^ 



they hecome wetted with miDj Bnch a nmm of glntinons jelly is forraed as to 
render the passage of the road on f(xit or borsohack a matter of difli<^iilty. 

' Martins on Wai-fd, thte flower-buds of Stqihora Jftpmnca^ Pharni. 
Joum.^ Aug. I 1854, p. 64» 

• EiithitiiUmi Botanuvmf p. 677. 

^ Aimlitjj Mat, Indicthj vol. ii., p. 141 




l86Q6fi. 



jajiotiica. 



Cliinese 
Legumes. 



PaomUa 
coryli/tdia. 



?^ «r^ 




NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA xMEDICA. 



1060-efi. 



ffavenia 
dulcU, 



These ai'e smooth, black seeds (Fig. 5), f of an inch in 
diameter, of a compressed spherical form, each fyrnislied (when 
perfect) with a largR, rigid, persistent podospeniL A transverse 
section shows a pair of plane cotyledons, between the flat 
sides of which and the thick and hard testa, lies a layer of 
black, homy albumen. 

Of the origin and application of this drug I have no infor- 
mation. 

^ ;fH -y* Che-ktii-t3Z€ ; Fruits of Rovtnia dulcis, Thnnh, 
{Ekami^iew), Skfcu ; Kaempfer, ^m^m. 808,9; Fiin-tsam,Tig. 684. 

The cmiously- contorted, fleshy, fruit-bearing peduncle is 
edible, and said to have the flavour of pears. It is used in 
China and Japan to diminish the effects of an excess of wine* 




CHiru9/'UBea, 




Fio. S; — (Ttie figure In the ceutrfi thuwe tlie tmuivcri« Bection of a seed ilfghtly mi^nlfled. ) 

1^ ^ ^§f Hnc-kin-ska; Spores of a Fern {Filices) \ Pun^ 
tsami, Fig, 325 ; Cleyer. Med: Simp, No. 173. 

A light, mobile, rufous-brown powder, which, when thrown 
into the air and ignited, bums like lycopodium, for which 
substance it might be substituted. 

jj^ ^ Ch^-Mh ; Dried Fruits of CiiTus Jusea, Lour, {Auran- 
iiaccw), Fior, Cochinck ed. Willd. 571. 

My specimen of this drug consists of the fmit cut into 
halves and dried ; in this state it forms circular discs of from 
one to tw^o inches in diameter, nearly flat on the cut side, convex 
on the exterior. The peel is firm and excessively thick, being 
alx}ut half the diameter of the dried pulp : externally it is 
rough and of a deep blackish-brown, internally of pale buflt 
It is bitter and agreeably aromatic. 



I 



I 




NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



239 



Loureiro states that CitmsfuMa is widely diffused La Cochin 
China, but less common in ChiDa. He adds that the entire 
peel of the fmit is considered attenuantj deobstment, and 
mildly cathartic. 

The zest of a thick-skinned orange or citron dried in very 
tliin slices, is fonnd in the Chinese drug shops under tlie name 
of ^ Q Kciih-pih} 

1^ ^ Tsing-pe; Immature Fruits of Citnis ? {Auran- 

Hiieem) ; Cin-pi, Tat^rinov, Caial. Med. Sinem., p. 12. 

In Tatarinov 8 Catalogue, these fruits are referred to Ciirus 
mierocarpa, Bge., a plant which Professor Bunge describes as 
*'fnU€X in caJdariis Pckincrmbim frequeiis, fructu maiuro menst 
Januario et Februario onttstus"^ I do not know what further 
range this plant may have, hut if it is only cultivated on a 
small scale with artificial heat, it can hardly be the source of 
a common drug like that under notice : I think it best there- 
fore to leave the species of CUnis undefined. 

The fruits called Tsimj-pe are from J to f of an inch 
in diameter, and resemble the Baccw Auraniii of European 
pharmacy, except that the latter have a somewhat less rough 
exterior. 

^ iL %^ Ma-trnv-lifig ; Fruits of Arisiolockia Kmmpferi, 
WOld., Sp. Plant, VI., pars i., p, 152 {AriMolock'Um)\ Hoffmann 
et Schultes, Joitrn, Asiatiqne, Oct, Nov., 1852, p. 275 ; Kwmpf. 
Icofus, tab, 49 ; Fuii'tsaou, Fig. 388, 

Oval finits of 1 to If inch in length, formed of six thin 
and papery valves, inclosing large, flat, obtusely -triangular, 
winged seeds. Each fruit is supported on a pedicel at least as 
long as itself. 

In Tatarinov*s Catalogue the name Ma-tow-ling is referred to 
A, cofitoria, Bunge, an identification I have not been able to 
confirm, though I have had the kind assistance of Professor 

* T, T, Cooper observed immense rjuimtities of orange ped beinff dried lit 
Maiii-yaDg, a town about 50 miles west of Hautcow. Travds of a Furneer of 
Commerce, 1873, pw 38. 

• Mnnmres presenth a PAeademU Impiriah det Sciences de 8t PeterS' 
hmrg, tome 2 (1835), p. 84. 



I860 €11. 

Chineftd 
Fruits. 



Tsing-pe. 



240 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



Aud Kots, 



Cugeuta, 



1860-69. Buoge* A. cQniorta ia found in the neiglibourhood of Pekin, 
Chinese SewU ^^^ occnts also in the Amoor country. 

^ ^ -^ Too-sze-isze ; Seeds of Cnscida JSuropasa, L 
{0* major ^ Bauh.) (Convolvulacea') ; Ftt^n-tsao^i, Fig. 379 ; TH mi pfij 
Cleyer, Med, Simp. No. 9 ; Tu-sy-tstf, Taiarinov, CataL Med. 
SiTiens,, p, 61. 

Roundish seeds of a light brown colour, about the size of 
black mustard. The long filiform embrj^o, spirally rolled round 
the fleshy albumen, which is characteristic of the genus CusmtOj 
may be readily seen if a seed be soaked in water and its testa 
then removed. 

For the species of Ctiscuta to which these seeds are referred, 
I adopt the authonty of RIM. Hofifmann and Schultes ;* but 
although C EuTop{ra is found in Japau, and probably occurs in 
China also, there is another species, C. Chinensis, Lam., the 
seeds of which I find to be extremely similar, so that it i& 
very likely they may pass under the same native name. I am 
not aware Avhat virtues are ascribed by the Chinese to tliia 
drug. The entire plant (Herba Cusmdw majoris) was formerly 
official in Europe as a purgative. 

^ "^ Lien-isze; Nuts of NelumMum speciasum, Wilhi 
{Nfln7nhiacect) ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 703, 

These nuts, which in shape and size resemble small acorns, 
are produced by the well-known Nelumbrium or Egyptian 
Water Uly. Bean, called in Chma Water Lilp, a plant extenEively cultivated 
both in that country and in India, as well for its ornamental 
flowers as for its various useful properties. The nuts have a 
farinaceous kernel, which, when boiled or roasted, is good to 
eat The thick fleshy rhizome is likewise edible when cooked ; 
the starch which it contains, separated by rasping and washing, 
constitutes a sort of arrowroot, called by the Chinese ^ Jfa 



4 



4 




NOTES OX CHINESK lUTEliU MKDICA. 



241 



The plant is abundant on canals and shallow lakes, from tlie laeo ea, 
surface of which its siDgular fruits (Fig. 0) are collected in 



> ^.^4^, 



Trupa 



I 



immense quantities, on account of their kernels, which, when 
roastedi are edible. 

t^ ^Che-isze; Uf tjl, sShm-vke ; Dried Fruits of two 
or more species of (janhnia (Mnhiaixm) ; Che-tsze, Fun-tsami, 
Fig. 78.*^; Czzi'Xsy (Che-isze), Fraci us Gardtiim'Jlondw,Tiiiminoy, 
CaL Med. Simns,, p. 17. 

Under the ab<jve Chinese natnes (other \vi:^e spelt Tvki-tse 
and Chan-khi) I have received the dried 
fruit of two species of Gardenia. 

The larger (Fig. 7), called Che-tsze, 
occurs as a smooth, oblong, orange-brown , 
imperfectly two-celled berry, of from 1 1 
to 2 inches in length, crowned with the 
remains of the calyx, which are pro- 
longed down the sides of the froit in 
six prominent riba. The pericarp is 
fragile and horoy, marked internally }>y 
two narrow prujecting receptacles. The 
seeds are numerous and un bedded in a 
dark orange pnlp. 

Dr. T. W. U, Martins 1ms presented p,^^ 7^ 

me with specimens of tins fruit under 

the name of " Wongshy ** ( Whauf/'Cke J^ fJH. ^' ^^^ refers 
it to Gardenia radicans, Thunb. 

The smaller fruit (Fig. 8), called Skan-che, is from ^q ^^ i ^^ 
inch in lengtli, of an ovoid form, smooth, six- ribbed, furnished 

E 




Oardeni:t. 



Oardtni'a 





242 



X0TE8 ON CHINESE MATEEIA MEDICA. 



laeoes. 



ftitrida. 



Ganlenia 



ffrandiJhrcL. 



on the inner surface of the pericarp with two narraw wiug-like 
receptacles opposite each other, The seeds are nidiilant in an 
orange pulp. 

The precise species of Gardenia aflbrding each of these fraits 
is not yet clearly made out There appear to be at least three 
plants whose fruits are used on account 
of their colouring properties. These are : 
L Gardenia Jlarida, L, a large, very 
rainous shrub, native of Japan, China, 
India, &e. IMaj or Champion found it iu 
almudance in several localities in Hong 
Kon;^',^ Mr. Fortune has informed me 
that it is common iu the hilly districts at some distance from 
Shanghiu, and that its fruit is collected for dyeing purposes, 
but not produced so abundantly as that of G. radicans. 

2. Gardtmia rmikans, Thimb., a nmch smaller plant than 
G. fiorida, with a decumbent rooting stem. It is a native of 
Japan, China, India, &c. Mr. Foiiune has given me its Chinese 
name as Whanff4sze, andstattxl that its fruit is commonly col- 
lected in the north of China for its colouriug properties, 

3. Gardenia grandiflora. Lour., a native of Cochin-Cliina. 
Lonreiro nieutions tluit its fruits impart a beautiful colour to 
silk, and that they are also used medicinally in decoction, in 
fevers, and in a variety of otlier complaints.^ 

The fniits of tliese Chinese Gardenias (which are so similar in 
properties that the analysis of one will probably serve for the 
other two) have been examined by several chemists, amtng 
whom, as the most recent, may be mentioned Sir. Lorenz Mayer, 
of the hibonitory of Pmfessor Koclileder, of Pmt^ue. According 
to the investigations of this gentleman,^ the splendid yellow 
colour of the Gardenia is due to a body named erodm, which 
appears to be identical with the polychroite of saflron. Crocine 
is imcr^^stallizable ; when in powder it is of a bright red colour ; 




> Hooker's Joum, of Bot, vol. iv. (1852), p. 193. 

* F!ar. Cork Inch., p. IS'X 

* On the Yellow Colourinj? Matter of the Fmit of Qnrdenia ^aii*} 
bv F. Rochleder. Chanv'al Gw^i^tfe, Sept. 1, LhG«, p. 331. Fkam^ 
and TratiA,, vol xviil (li<59),p. 62G. 



^1 

» Jourrim ^H 



NOTES ON CUINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



243 



I 
I 

I 



it dissolves readily in water or alcolml, its solution possessing iseo ©a. 
the colour of chramic acid. Salts of lead give orange-red pre- ^^ 
eipitates with a solution of erocine ; if a coiicGivtrated aqueous Croam^auJ 
solution be treated with su))jhiirie acid, the mixture assumes t:r^«stme* 
an indigo-blue colour, which changes to violet. By the decom- 
positiou of erocine, a body called eiHXxtine is obt-ainefl Tlie 
composition of erocine is, (2 C^^ H^^ O^J + HO; that of 
crocetine C^^ 11^ O^^, 

TSc I'S Kan-Ian ; Fruits of two or more species of Caimriam 
{BarMmcta:) Pun-tmou, Fig. 0(j8; Cliiueae Olive, CIiijjeb« uliv*f. 

Most persons who Ijave lived iu Cliiua are acquainted witli a 
small edible fruit, which from its oblong ghai)e aud being 
generally sold preserved with salt, has acquired the name of 
Chi turn Olive. The stones of this fruit ai^ also well known from 
being frequently carved into beads and other omamei)t.s. The 
Chinese oh've, I need hardly observe, hns not the least aflinity 
with the true olive {Olea Enroijoui, L), but belongs to the natural 
order BurMmctm and genus Canarlmn, The precise species, 
for there are probably two or three, are not well made out 
Ix)ureiro descril>es in his genus Fimela, now referred to Cana* 
rium, two plants yielding edible fruits, namely, J\ niijra 
(Canunujn Pim€la, Konig and Sims, Annals of Botany^ vol. i, 
1805, p. 3(:U, tab. 7, Fig, 1) and P. alia {Canarium alburn^ 
Eaeuscbel, i\V7W€*rtt'/a/£?r Botmiiats, ed. 3, 17^)7, p. 2S7).* 

Dried specimens of the fruits of these plants were presented 
to me by the late lln Reeves. That of Plmtla nigra is an oval Phntin vigm 
drupe IJ inch long, covered with a smooth black skin. The ^^^*^^' 
pulp, whioli is rather tirm, surrounds a large, obscurely trianguJar 
pointed stone. The fruit of Pimcla alba resembles that of 
P. nifjra, except that it is of a pale brown and has its outer 
skin nmcli corrugated by drying. 

Besides tlicse, and probably distinct from them, there arp» 
according to my friend Mr. I^ckhart^ two other fruits used by 
the Chinese and commonly sold at certain seasons, the one at 

, ' Iixfonua.tion on this snbject 18 j*iven in a paper l*y Hiince, on the «o- 
called (Jlitii of Southern Chitm, Pharm. Journ,, Feb, 2.% 1^71, p. 684. 

H 2 




r 



244 



KUTES UN CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



1860G3. 



MtUm. 




Shaogliai, the otlier at Fuu-cliow. As I liave Bot seen either 
of these fnuts, I can offer no opinion upon them ; but to those 
resident in the districts in question, I would address the request 
for specimens, including the pi^ssed and dried flowers and leaves 
of the plantia, in order tliat their botanical names may be deter- 
mined. It is also desirable to ascertain in each case, how the 
fruit is used by the Chinese, by what names it is known, and if 
the tree is cultivated or gro%Ys spontaneously, 

/ 1 1 JU^i i Ckueu'leat-isze ; Fruits of Ahlla sp, {McHacect) ; 
CzHan-hin~tsij, Tatarinov, Caial Med, SiTieiis., p. 15; Fun-tsaou, 
Fill. 745. 






Fto. 0.— Tliree fteeil«^ itniural ftlse ; loti^tudlna] Bcetlon of & »e«d; 
Lair&eed (t«ita rviuuvcd) showing leaf)' uo^ledon. 

A flesliy, gloliular drupe about an incli in diameter, cover 
with a shining, tldn, horny, yellowish-brown skin, witlnn which, 
surrounded by dried pulpy matter, is a large stony endocarp 
furrowed lougituditially and containing seven or eight cells 
of which, however, not more than six ai'e usually deve!oi>ed. 
Loureiro gives Xim-lu^u (Chuen-leen) as the Chinese name of 
Meiia Azcdarack, L, but the fruits of that tree are five-celled 
and much smaller than those in question. The drug under 
notice is used in China as a vermifyge. 

7C Wit 'iTa-funfi'tMe; Seeds of ChaulmoograB^.{Pangitct)\ 
Pun-tsamt, Fig. 77o ; Da-fyn-isy, Tatarinov, Vat, Med, Sijutu.^ 
p. 19. 

These seeds (Fig, 9), which are imported into China from 



NOTES ON CIUXESK SIATEHIA MKDK'A. 



245 



I 



Siam, are from |-ths to |ths of an inch loTig» of an oblong or ovoid 
shape, very irrefpilar, owing to mutual pressure in the fruit of 
which they formed a part They eonsist of a hard woody outer 
shell (testa), to whose surface, portions of firm, dry pulp, or of 
the rind of the fruit, are often adherent, — sometimes so as to 
unite two or three seeds into a mass. The albumen is oily and 
incloses large, lieart-shaped, leafy cotyledona 

The plant alfording these seeds is not well ascertained. It is 
doubtless a species of Chauhnoogra : probaldy, jiulging from the 
resemblance of the seeds, nearly allied to the Indian Cmloraia, 
Eoxb. The seeds of the latter plant are lai^^er, and have a 
thinner and smoother testa than ia the case with those found 
in the Chinese shops. Both seeds have a reputation as a remedy 
in skin complaints, especially in that ninst frigbtful of eastern 
diseases, leprosy. Dr. Holison, Inte of the Canton Hospital, 
whose experiments appear to have been made witli the seeds 
of the Indian Chmihuoogra, reports respecting tbem,^ that he 
has found them to effect a cure iu mild cases of leprosy, not of 
long standing ; that the remedy (conaisting of the powdered, oily 
nucleus of the seed) was administered in one drachm doses 
twice a day during a period of four mouths or moi*e, and that 
the expressed oil of the seeds was occasionally nibbed on the 
affected suifaces. The first appearance of improvement obseiTed 
was in the eruption becoming less prominent, and red, minute 
white scales appearing round the circumference of the patches, 
and the central parts assuming the character of healthy skin. 
Saline aperients are to be administered occasionally during the 
course of treatment 

iS ^' Lecn-lraou ; Fruits of Forsythia si(sp€7isa, Yahl 
(Olearca-) ; Siebold et Zuccarini, Fiora Japonim, p. 10, t. 3. 

As found iu Chinese commerce, these are little boat-sliaped, 

brown capsules. ^ to f of an inch long, with a thin longitmhnal 

partition. They constitute the valves of the fmit, whicli, in its 

perfect state, is thus described by Eudlichcr: — '* Capsula ovata, 

cr>mpre33iuscula, sublignosa, corticata, bilocularis, loculicido- 

* "On tlie Leprosy of the Chinese" Mtti. TimtJ^ and Gazdk^ June 2, 
1860. p. 558. 



1860-69. 



reputrtl 
rpmc'ily for 







246 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



isao^ea* 






Daphnidhtm. 



bivalvis, valvis pkniusculis, meilio septiferis. Semina in locuHs 
paiica. pendula, corapTt^ssa ; teita membranacea hinc in alam 
angristam, inde in raaTginem angiistissimani expanaa. Embryo 
in axi albuminis eaniosi, parci rectus ; cotyledonibus foliaceis, 
radicula brevi, cyliiidriea, siipem.^ 

4 m H^ "5" Woo-tun^-t8Z€ ; Seeds of Slermlia platani/olia, 

Lin. fil. {Sterculiaiw)r 

Spherical, about tlie size of peas, externally covered with a 
slirivelled, shiuiuj^', pale^biijwn skin. 

^ -^ 3?H IWt'ch'vf/'kca ; Berries of Daphnfdmm Cubtha, 
N. ab E. {Lauriii€4E) ; Laurm Cubtha^ Lour.; Cdy Mang tang 
(C chin ch i nese) . 

The Chinese name Pelh-ching-km^ under which I have received 
these berries, appears to be also applied to cubeba ; and in fact, 
if one may jnd^e from the wood- cut iu the pHn4mou (Fig, 690), 
it is to the latter drag that it prtipeily beloni^s. Wliether the 
Chinese confound the two and use them indiscriminately, or 
%vhetheT they consider one as a mere variety of the otlic^r, I am 
unable to say. Tlie friend who obtained one specimen in njy 
possession, presented it to me marked *' Cnhehs*' and I believe he 
is not the only person who has fallen into such an error. M. 
Eondot, in his Cmjuneree iVExpm'tation dc la Chine (I*aris, 1848), 
enumerates cubebs as a production not only of Java, but of 
China likewise ; he also mentions that the Chinese cnbebs are 
exported exchisively to India, whence we may conclude that 
they are not {suitable for European markets. Are not these 
Chinese cubeba the drug under notice ? 

Tire drug which I have received consists of small berrii 
which, in size, form, and general appearance, much i-esemtle 
peppercorns or cubebs ; examined attentively, however, they are 
seen to be one-seeded globular bemes (Fig. 10) attached to 
a pedicel someHmes half an inch long; at the base of each 
beiTy traces of the perianth are visible. The pericarp is thin, 
fleshy, and in the dried state, corrugated. The seed is globular, 

* Oen. Html., p. 573. 

' Well figured in Bitillon^s Hist df^ Piantcs^ Mahacces, 1872, p* 60, 



I 




NOISES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



247 



with ita cartilaginous, sliiuiBg brown testa surrountled, loii^- laeo-ea. 
tudiually by a narrow ridge. The cotyledons Bi*e hemispherioalj 
tbick, and oily ; the radicle superior. 

In endeavouring to assign a botanical origin to this drug Botankal 
1 have been guided cbiefiy by two cousidemtions :— 1, The j^^p^liium 
evident laurineous stnicture of the berries. 2, Their superficial Cubeba, 
resemblance to cubel>s. Turuing to Loureiro's Fiom Cochin^ 
rhifiefish, we f\ud, under tlie name LanntrS Cuht'haj a tree described, 
tlie fruit of which so remarkably coincides Arith the drug under 
notice, that I cannot but conclude the two are identicaL This 
tree was transferred hy Nees ab Esenbeck, in his St/sfema 
LauHnariim^ to the genus Daphnidmm, but he borrowed the 
description of it from Luureiro, and had evidently examined 



1^ 



Fig. 10.— Tuu U'lTJra, natiini] hizr ; berry ji»*uniifif>il, wimI tniu«ver»d 
ttectinu uf ditto ; colyliMJaii wUb m<iiete (tnngnllled}. 

no specimen — in fact, it is apparently unknown to recent 
botanists, Loureiro describes its fruit as " Bacca globosa, nigra, 
I>edunculata, minima : semine globoso/' He adds that the 
ben'ies are strengthening, cephalic, stomachic, and carminative, 
and that in decoction they are useful in vertigo, hy&tericftl 
affections, paralysis, melancholy, and impaired memory — ^pi-o- 
peiiies which are possessed by the bark, tlmugb to a less degree. 
The fresh fruits ai"e used for the presei'ving of fish. The odour 
of the berries is fragrant, their taste is aromatic and somewhat 
pungent, and occasions a flow of saliva. Tliey have the size, 
form, and colour of black pepper. Each berry is attached to 
a slender, rather long pedicel, whence they might be called not 
inappro|>riately Piper m udai tt m . 






lATpi round 
China Canln- 




pmlmbly iu Southeru Cbma also* 
Chinese name. 

^ ^ Ya-lsaou ; Legumes of Pfrosopis t {Leyuniinosm) ; 
Ya Cad, Clever. iVed Simp., Xo. 223. 

These are the pods of some leguniinous tree at present unde- 
termined, but which, judging from analogy, is probably not far 
distant from the genus Frosojm. They are from two to four 

of an inch broad, more or less 
sickle-shaped and compressed, their upper edge prolotiged into a 
narrow wing. The anterior extremity is pointed, the posterior 
attenuated into a sort of stalk. The pods are indehiscent, and 
have thick pulpy valves, which are externally smooth and of 
a deep brown. The substance of the pod, %vlien chewed, even in 
very small quantity, produces an extremely disagreeable sense of 
acridity in the fauces. Its properties are thus quaintly described 
by Cleyer : " Intrat hepar et stomachum. Catarrhos solvit 
Aperitivum est mcHtuum. Tumoies coniplanat." The drug is 
said to be produced in the province of Szcehuen," 

^ tS TsaoU'-how ; Dirge Round China Cardamom, P/mrm. 
Journ,, xiv,, 353, Fig. 1, 2. 

Although tins species of cardamom, as well as those that 
follow, have already been described and figured in the Pharma- 
ceuikal Journal,^ it will probably add to the value of this paper 
if I briefly recapitulate the characters by wdiich they are distin- 
guished, and the chief poiJits of interest attacinng to theUL 

The Zarffe Round China Cai-damoin varies considerably in 
size, my specimens being from 1 1% inch to ^V of ^^ hich in 
length. The capsules are somewhat oval or globular, pointed at 
either extremity, obscurely three-sided (except at the base, where 
the triangular chamcter ia strongly marked) ; they are sometimes 
attached to a long pedicel. The pericarp closely invests the 
mass of seeds; it is brown and strongly marked by interrupted 
longitudinal ridges ; it is hardly aromatic, Tlie seeds are 

* " On some Rare Kinds of Curdamoni," Pfuirm. Jonni.^ xiv*, 352 ; alao, 
Journ. d^ Ph/innfi^if d tk C7n'm«>, Mtii et Juln^ 1855; Bonplandia^ 1 Juiii|ly55. 



I 



I 



NOTES OS CHIXESE MATERIA MKDICA. 



249 



I 



I 



Smull ronnd 
China Thu la- 
mom. 



coherent into a three-loljed mass; they are generally li^jht leeoea, 

greyish-brown, somewhat oblong and angular, with a deep ' 

fniTOW on one side ; they hnve a slight aromatic odour and 

taste, the latter suggestive of thyme, though much weaker. 

This cardamom, as generally met with in the Chinese shops, has 

been deprived of its husks. It is a native of the South of China 

and of Cochin-China, whence it is exported. It appears to be 

much employed in Chinese medicine as a stomachic, but it must 

be very inferior in power to some other species. 

Small Round China Cardamom. — Cardamoms rmide de la 
CA*we,— Guibonrt, BisL dcs Drag., M. 4, tome ii. (1849), p. 215, 
Fig. 113, 114 (excluding other synonyms) ; Fharm, jQum,^ xiv., 
354, Fig. 3, 

A snialler fniit than the preceding^ wliich it much resembles. 
The following description of it is taken from M. Guibourt^s 
Ifistoire drs Drogifes : — 

" Capsules pedicel led. nearly spherical, from seven to eight 
lines in diameter, slightly striated longitudinally and much 
wrinkled in all directions by drying; it is probable, however, 
that the fruit was smooth when recent. The capsule is thin, 
light, easily torn, yellowish externally, white withio. The seeds 
form a glo!*ular coherent mass. They are rather large and few 
in number, somewhat wetlge-shaped, of an ashy-gi-ey, a little 
granular on the surface ond present on the outer face a bifurcate 
furrow, shaped like a Y. They possess a strongly aromatic odour 
and taste." 

To this description I may add that, compared with the Large 
Bound China Cardamojn, the capsules in question are more 
wrinkled in a network manner, more fragile and thin, and (from 
imniatuiity ?) much h^ss adherent to the mass of seeds ; they 
even are mote globose, not Iriangulnr at the base, but flat, or 
even depressed like on ap])le. Their colour, in all the specimens I 
liave seen, is a brownish-yellow. I cannot confirm M. Guibourts 
remark as to the highly aromatic properties of the seeds. 

This cardamom, which appears to bear the same Chinese name 
as the foregoing, is attributed by il. (iuibourt to the Ammmim 
glohosum of Lourciro. 





250 



NOTES ON CHINESE JUTERIA MEDICA. 



Ovoid China 
Ciirdaraom . 



Xanthiuid 



^ ^ Tsaou-lnvo ; Ovoid China Cardamom. Fruit of 
AmofRum mi'dium, Lfjureiro, Flon Cock,, ed. Wilkl (171^3), p. 5 
(Scitaminm:) ; Cao-tja, Tatariiiov, CataL Med, Sijietis.^ p. 5 ; 
Fharmt Jaum. xiv,, 419, Fig. I*. 

The Orokl Chitia Cariia7no?n is a product of Southern Cluua, 
and alnmdant in the drug shops of Singapore, as well as in those 
of China. It is au oval or ohlong, tliree-celled, three*valved and 
obscurely three-sided fruit, of from 1 to 1 1 inch in length. 
The pericarp is of a dusky gieyish-hrown, deeply striated longi^ 
tudinally, tliiek and coriaceous, frequently covered on the surface 
with a whitish efflorescence; it is but slightly aromatic. The 
seeds are very large, often upwards of three lines in length, 
sharply angnlar, hard and striated, having a powerful and 
peculiar aromatic smell and taste. 

Tlie seeds of the Ovoid China Cardamom are used by the 
Chinese for a variety of disorders, and^ according to Loureiro, 
are also employed as a condiment, 

Amomum medium is a plant known at present only through 
an unsatisfactory description by Loureiro in his Fiora Cochin^ 
chinen&iti, 

^j? "P ^ Sha-jin-kd ; Capsules (deprived of seeds) of 
Amomum xanlhioides Wallich (Scitaminav) ; husks of the 
Xanthioul Cardammn. Pharm. Jmim,, xiv,, 418, Fig, 7. 

These empty capsules are mostly attached to a common stalky 
which, wdien perfect, is about five inches long and beset with the 
remains of sbeathiug bracts. The superior portion, which is 
much stouter than the rest, bears the fruits closely crowded 
together on short, bmcted pedicels, Xo bonch in my possession 
bears more than twelve t>uits, but from the number of pedicels on 
some specimens it would appear tluit tlie Howlers at least are often 
twice as numerous. The cai>sule3 having been deprived of seeds 
are shrunken and compressed, but after suakingin boiling water 
they acquire tlieir proper volume, becoming nearly spherical and 
about three-qutirters of an inch in diameter. The pericarji 
13 covered with long, acute, recurved spines, which are longest 
near the base. 



NOTES ON CHINESE SLMEKIA MEDICA. 



251 



I 
I 



Amomtim xanthioides is a native of Biirmah, where it was 
discovered by Wallicli in 1827. U also occurs in the Laos 
country and Camboflia, where its fniita are eolh^cted for use. 
The plant being but litth^ known, it was with much pleasure that 
I learned from Sir H. IT. Schomburgk^ by a note under date 
March 28, 1861, that he had just succeeded, after many 
endeavours, in procuring living specimeus, which he had in 
cultivation at Bangknk^ and from which he hoijed to obtain 
flowers and fruita. The seeds of ^4. xanthinidrs deprived of 
their pericarpi, are sometimes sold in the London market as 
Malahar Cardanwim, for which they are not a bad substitute. 
To what uses the Chinese apply the husks, which are devoid of 
aroma» I am unable to say. 

Wf ^^ Vftnff-chtm'Hha ; Hairy China Cardamom. Pharm, 

Joyrn., xiv., ?»54, Fig. 4, 5, 

A small scitamineoiis fruit supposed to he that of Loureiro*8 

Ammnum viliosutn, a Cochincliinese plant, of which very little is 

known. It is sunictimes sold attached to the stalk, sometimes 

removed from it. The scape, which, wlien perfect, is about 

three inches long and reclimite, bears as many as eight or ten 

capsules upon its superior extremity. The capsules arc from six 

to ten lines in length. In the dried state they are oval, occasionally 

nearly spherical, more or less three-si(!ed, bluntly pointed, with 

a scar at the summit, rounded at the base, and attached by a 

pedicel one to two lines long. The pericarp is externally dark 

brown, marked with ol)scure lonnitudinal strm and covered with 

asperities, which, after soakmg in water, are seen to he sliort, 

thick, fleshy, closely-crowded spines. It htxs, when braised, an 

aromatic tmd t^r-like odour ; the seeds have a similar tar like 

odour and taste, not unmixed with the aromatic warmth of the 

^lidabar cardamom j they arc angular, and upon removal of the 

pericarp, remain united in a three-lobed mass. The scape is 

densely vilhju.'? ; tlie pericarp of the immature fruit is slightly so, 

but in the mature fruits this character is not observable. 

A plant producing this cardamom grows on the mountains 

of rursat in Cambodia,^ 

^ Tljorrl, j\ro/€jt Mrdieajfji flu Voifnr^r ff Exploration du Mi^koiig d de 
Corhinchrtf, Paris, 1870, p. 30. 



Xanth imdes. 




Canlttniom. 




252 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIxV MEDICA. 



i«0O^«d. 



BitterfiCPtlcd 
CAnkiTtom. 



duuti^nu 



This cardamom is said to pio%v in the provioce of Kwaog- 
tuDg, and in the Vang-yun district of Southern China, It 
appears to be frequently used in medicine by the Chinese, and is, 
no doubt, a good representcitive of the Elettaria cardamom 
oHicial in Europe. 

ffl: ^ 4 Ylh'Che-tnu ; Bitter-seeded Cardamom. Phamu 
Jouni., xiv., p. 418, Fi^. 8; Pun*kaon, Fig, 173,* 

The capsules are mostly oval, some ovate-oblong, and a 
few nearly spherical, pointed at the extremities, sbc to ten 
lines long. The pericarp is of a deep dusky brown, coriaceous, 
devoid of hairs, beset longitudinally with interrupted ridges 
usually aliout eighteen io number; it has an agreeable aromatic 
smell and taste. The seeds are obtusely angular and adhere 
firmly together j they are distinguished by an aromatic^ hitter^ 
fitj/rrh'like ta.ste. 

It is not known what plant produces this little fruit The 
IIS, catjilogue of the collection of Chinese drugs at the Eoyal 
College of Physicians of London, mentions the province of 
Kwang-tung as its jtlace of growth, and it is also said to grow 
in the island of Hainan. 

pj M S i Kffoti-hmig'l'ean^f'tiyze ; fJ- S ^ Hung- 
tow-hnv ; Vn\\i^ of Alpinia G a langa, Willd. (ScitaminecB) ; Ga- 
hmga Cardamom, Hiarm.Joifrn., xiv,, Fig, 10, 11. 

Capsules about half an inch in length, of an oblong form, 
somewhat constricted in the middle, or occasionally pear-shaped ; 
some are obscurely thiee-sided. Eatli fruit is prominently 
crowned with the remains of I he calyx ; in a few^ the lower ex- 
tremity is still attached to a slender pedicel. Host of the cap- 
sules are much shri%^elled on the outside, apparently from having 
been gathered while immature ; a few, however, retain a plump 
and smooth appeai^ance. The pericarp varies externally in 
colour according to its maturity, from a pale to a deep reddish- 
brown ; internally it is whitish* It is glabrous ; in the mature 

^ Received from R. Swinhoe a specimen of this dnig, which he says i« 
from Hninjin, where the aborit^ines iiN* it as tea. He ndtU that tbt*ipe i$ 
*' ij[ood ren5on " lo l>elieve it to be the fruit of the nlpiQia which ulfonk th« 
Galangal Hoot of commerce, 15, vij., 70 




4 
4 




KOTES ON CUIXESE MATEIUA MEDICA. 



253 



fruits thin and brittle, not spliltiug into valves ; in the shrivelled 
fruits it appears stronj^er, from its close adherence to the mass of 
seeds. Upon removal of the pericarp the seeds are seen united 
in a three*lobed mass, completely invested in a whitish io tegu- 
ment, each ceU or lube containing, usually, two seeds, placed one 
above the other. The seeds are ash-coloured, flattish, and 
somewhat three-cornered; finely striated externally towaixis a 
large conspicuous hilum which faces the wall of the capsule, and 
which is connected with the axillary placenta by a long, broad 
fttnicuhis. Each seed is nearly suiTounded by a tough aril; 
opposite the hilum a scar-like depression is observable. The 
seeds have a pimgent, burning taste, and aroma resembling 
the Lanjer Gahinijal Root ; the pericarp is simikrly aromatic 
and biting. 

Authentic specimens of the fruit of Alpinia Galan^a grown 
in t!ie Calcutta Botanic Garden, and kindly placed at my 
disposal Ijy L>r. Thomson, are identical with the Chinese drug. 

^ ^ ^ ^ Tmig-po-iow-kQW ; Hound or Cluster Carda- 
monv Fruit of Ariwmmn Cardamomum, I* (Scitamiiicm) ; also 
called in Chinese Hang-kow^ Smou-koii\ &c. 

A well-known fruit, described in all the larger works on 
Materia Jledica, but which in recent times had become rare, 
its place being supplied l>y the Malabar cardamom {ElUiaria 
Cardumomum, MatonJ, the seeds of which are very similar in 
odour and taste. Since, however, the opening of Siam to 
European commerce, round cardamoms have been fi*equently 
imported into London from Bangkok, 



laeoaa. 



A Ipinia 



Note about TaiHg-muh-hcaju/, — From the Trade Report for 
Ningpo for 1 808 by Acting Commissiuner Bowra, publislied in ihe 
Mepcnrts mi Trade at the Treaii/ Farts in China for 1868. Shanghai 
Customs' Press, p» 51. Of the medicines ejt ported from Ningpo 

fully one-third is a root known locally as Fa'chW { f3 7ft ) cif 
to the annual value of about 79,8o3 taels. (= £ 20,617). It is 

' Hance, who !i;is examined the living plant, inakei$ of it a new apeciea 
wbich be culls Arigtolochm r^ciirriUhra, Viik Trim en's Jmirii^ of BoU 
March, 1&T3, p. 12 \ Fhavm. Journ., iliirch 15, 1873, p. '^o. 





254 



laeo-efl. 



Greftti Pat- 
chuk. 



NOTES OX CHINESE MATERIA JIEDICA, 

cultivated in the SkaO'shitnj prefecture, and highly esteemed as 
a remedy in rheutoiitistiL It is worth §10 to $15 per picuh 
and is mainly sent to H6-nan and Sz-ehinan* It is not the put* 
chiik of India, Miuiigh said to be sometimes pahned off as such. 
The plant, which resembles the English bhthwort, is a common 
garden creeper in Xiiigpo. 

It is exported from Ningpo as Gi*een patch uk 



BOOTS. 



ChiucieHyote. ^ ^ YiVi-kin. — Tubers of a species of Curcuma (ScUa' 
I'fl/t-A-iff. mintw) \ Pun-isaou, Fig. 170; Tatarinov, CuluL Med, Simns,, 
p. 32 i Vi^-kint Cleyer, MecL Simp,, No, (»">. 

Oblong or ovate tubers (Fig, II) tapering at either end, from 
J to J J inch in length, covered externally with a thin, ad- 
herent, brownish-grey cuticle, usually 
{but not invariably) smooth. When 
broken, they exhibit a shining frac- 
ture, and are seen to consist of a hard 
semi-tran.sparent, horny, orange-yel- 
low substance, easily separable into 
two portions, an inner and an outer. 
The tubers have an aromatic odom', 
and a slight taste resembling turmeric^ 
and contain an abundance of starch. 
Many scitamineous jilants produce 
at the extremities of the roots spring- 
ing from the rhizome, starchy tuhei^ such as those above de- 
scribed. Dr. Koxburgh calls tliem pendulom Inhere, from their 
descending into the ground beneath the rhizome,^ They are 
usually less aromatic, and moi-e amylaceous, than the rhizome: 
from those of some species of Curcuma, the so-called Etist Indian 
arrowroot is manufactured. 

The plant producing Ytih-kin is undetermined ; it is a native 
of the south of China, and is most probably a species of Curcuma. 



Fia n. 



* Se^ figiivea given bj Runiplnnsi, Kasmpfer^ Rtwcoe, and othem* 



KUTES UN CUl^IESE MATlCniA MKDICA, 



255 



^ tt YiVi-chuh; 11 



laeoas. 



rU'chUh 



i 



luzomc of Batnhiisa Arnuilo, Nees 
iineos) ; J'^ ch(\ Arundo Bo mhos. Lour, (nou Litin.) 
This dru|3^ consists of a rliizome of a pale yellowish-brown 
|Coloar and somewliat translucent, in contorted pieces of some 
inclies in length, flattened or nearly cylindrical, i% to ^^ of an 
inch in greatest diameter, marked with concentric rings at un- 
' equal (iistauces, and dotted with the remains of radical fibres. 
The pieces are moist, comi^ressihle and liexible, but break readily 

I "With a short fracture. They have a sweetish, mucilaginous 
taste, with but Uttle odour. When macerated in water, they 
regain their uatuial iliniensions, becoming tliree times as thick 
fis iu the dry state. The root and young shoots of this bamboo 
are stated by Loureiro, iu the medical language of the day, to 
te resolvant and attennant, to promote diaphoresis and diuresis, 
and to purify the bluod, 

II ^©' yfC Tsanfi-shuh ; Ehiiiome of Afrmtijlmhs sp. (Com* Tsangshah. 
jpos-lke)', Puji'tsaou, Y\g, 102. 
Portions of a rhizome from | to f of an inch in diameter, 
occurring in oblong, jointed, occasionally branching pieceSj of 
1} to 3 inches in length. They are invested with a rough, broAvn 
cuticle, and some pii^ces are beset with radical fibres. The cut 
surface exlubits a spongy whitish substance, scattered througli 
which, cells filled with resinous-looking matter of a deep orange 
colour may be seen with a lens.* Tmng'skUh has a slightly 
aromatic odour, though but little taste. It is enumerated among 

I the drugB of Kiang-nan and Hoo-kwang. According to MM. 
Iloffmaun and Schultes,- three species of Atradt/imlts, namely, 
A. lancta DXX, A. if/rata S. et Z., and A, owita D.G., are 
known by the Chinese name above given. Thnnberg, who de- 
scribes two of theru under the genus Atraclylis^ does not allude 
I to their possessing medicinal properties. 
iL ^ IlcmU'SiX'iig ; Eiuen sen, Cleyer, Mctl Siw}}., Ko. 44 ; HcuensUng, 
Pun-imojiy Fig. Ill); Simm'ttztn^ Tatariuov, Cat, Med, SinenSj 
p. 48. 

* This resin^iiiS'Iookijitj matter is not removed by water, alcohol, or ether, 

* Journal Asiatiqtif J Oct., Nov., 1852, p. 275. 



256 



NOTES OX CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



Cortjdtth'M 
amligua. 



i.06o-d3. Fleshy roota of about four inches in leii^h and one inch in 
diameter at the middle, whence they taper to either extremity. 
They are longitudinally wrinkled and furrowed, and covered with 
an adherent brown cuticle ; internally they are fleshy and black ; 
they have a sweetish taste and but little odour* 

^ S^ ^ i'^n-hm'Stth ; Tubers of CorydalU ambiffua, 
Chamissu et Sehlechteiuhd in Linivmi, t. i. (1816), p. 558 
(Fttmariw) ; Fim-lsaau, Fig. i:VS. 

Little, hard, brown tubers, of somewhat flattened spherical 
form, averaging half an inch in diameter. Kxternally, they are 
covered with a thin wrinkled cuticle; wlieu broken^ they exhibit 
a bright yellow, semi-transpai-ent, waxy appearance* 

Cor^daiis amhi(/ua Cham, et 8chL, from which, according to 
Messrs* Hoffmann and Schultes,^ this drug is derived, is a plant 
of Siberia and Kamtschatka, throwing u]! its flowers upon tha 
melting of the snow in early spring ; it is also found in the 
Amoor country. I am indebted to Dr. E, Kegel, of St. Peters- 
burg, for an authentic specimen of the tuber of this plant, com- 
parison of which with the Chinese drug is confirmatory of their 
identity. 

3^ rl %* Mtk'mun4u7ig ; Tubers of Opkiopogon Japoni- 

UonmUariti cus, Ker {Smilaceo:) ; Convallaria Japonicat L ; Ahndo, K^empf., 

Jajxmiea. j^^^^cm^^ p^ 823, With Fig. \ Pun-tsaoii\ Fig, 268 ; M^ mAeii turn, 

Cleyer, MeiL Slmp.^ No. 14. 

This drug consists of cylindri- 
cal fleshy tubers, fix>ra 1 to 2 
iuelies in length, and from | to 
I of an inch in diameter, taper- 
ing at either extremity (Fig. 12). 
They are of a pale yellowish 
grey colour and translucent; 
Boraewhat slirivelletl through 
drying, soft, flexible, yet easily broken, A central ligneous cord, 
resembling a stiff thread, runs longitudinally through each. 




Fio, la. 



i 




NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



257 



The tubers have a slightly saccharine and aromatic taste, with 
a somewhat terehiiithinous not unpleasant odour. Their aqueous 
decoction is not rendered blue by iodine. 

Ophiopogon Japonimts, a low-perennial with a creeping rhi- 
zome^ produces small tubers as expansions of the radical fibres : 
that they are really identical with the drug found in the Chinese 
shops^ I have been able to convince myself by actual comparison. 
Ksempfer, w^ho figures the plant well, states that a second species 
called in Japanese Temondo, and common in the province of 
Satzuma, produces larger tubers, and is therefore preferred. Two 
varieties of Ophiopogmi Japonicm are described by Thunberg ; ^ 
one of them may possibly be identical with Ktempfer's Temondo. 
According to Loureiro, the tubers of his Commelina medica 
(Aneilema, E. Br.) are called Mlh-mun-tnng. 

The di'ug under notice is in frequent use among the Chinese, 
the candied tubers being eaten as a medicine. 

/^ n -^ Te^n-mun-tung ; Tubers of Mdanthium Cocldn- 
chinen-se^ Lour. ; Tum-mipi-duii, TjitarinoVi Cata!^ Med. Siiietw,, 
p. 66; Pim-tmou, Fig. 40 L 

These, like the preceding, are fleshy, translucent, yellowish- 
brown tubers, of the thickness of a writing quill to that of the 
little finger, and often 3^ inches in length. They are usually 
flattened, and more or less contorted and longitudinally furrowed. 
They have a mucilaginous, slightly saccharine taste, but do not 
possess any marked odour. 

Loureiro states that this drug is regarded as diaphoretic and 
expectorant, and that it is administered in phthisis and also 
(in the form of decoction ?) to allay feverish thirst and heat. It 
is also preserved with sugar as a sweetmeat. It appeai^s to be 
produced in the province of Chekiang. According to Loureiro, 
the plant is frequent in dry hedges both in Cochin-China and 
China. 

^ § MUh'heang ; Root of Auchlandia Costm, Falc. (Com- 
pOi%t€e)t Linn. Trans., vol. xix., part i. (1842), p. 23 ; Aplota^ 
Lappa^ Decaisne, in Jacquemont's Vogage dans rinde, tome iv. 

* Fhra Japonica^ p. 139. 

S 



iseocft. 



Ophiopogon 
JapanieuM, 



r«monjfo. 




Mdanthium 
Cochin* 



Aueklandia 
Costus. 



r^ 



258 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDIC A. 



isea^ea 



Puichuk, 



Chum-WQo. 



Tmioii-wofi 
\Aaynii\tm 




I 



(1844), BoianifpM, p. 96, pi. 104; Mu-sian, Tatarinov, Cat, Med 
Simns,, p. 40; 3i^-htamj Ckyer, Med. Simp., No. 18; Costus 
Moot or FuichuL 

Tills root is collected in enormous quantities in the monntains 
of Cnshmere, whence it is conveyed to Calcutta and Bombay, 
and there shipped for China. 

The drug has a pungent, aromatic taste, with an odour resem- 
bling that of orris root. Tliere is an excellent account of it, with a 
figure, in Professor Guibourt's Hutoire des Drogues, tome iii* p. 25 

jll ihff Chuen-imo ; Root of? AconUum sp. {Eanunculaceo!), 
Conical or top-shaped tuberous roots (Fig, 13), 
about 1| inch in length, covered with a 
blackish-brown cuticle ; internally they are 
wlute and amylaceous. Tliey taste slightly 
bitter, and leave a persistent sensation of 
numbness and tingling on the tongue with 
some acridity in the throat. 

frround to powder, and mixed is^ith an equal 
quantity of the root Tscimi-woo (next described) 
and of the flowers Namt-yang-hwa^ also in 
powder, a compound is obtained which is re- 
puted to produce local anaesthesia. This powder^ moistened, is 
to be applied to the surface of the part to be operated upon for 
two hours previous to the operation, by which means, it is alleged, 
insensibility to pain will be prodoced, 

!^ ^ Tsaou'WOQ ; Root of AiViiltum Japonicum, Thunl). ; 
Tatarinov, Catal Med. SineTis., p. 5. Blackisfi tuberous roots 
analogous to the last, but smaller in size and less regular in form 
(Fig. 14). They are from ^q of an inch to upwards of one inch in 
M ^^tKk lengtli, and from y% to y*^ of an inch 

^^m ^^^9 ^^ diameter ; oblong or ovoid, either 

^^f Jmjljjjm f .-^^ *4 tapering or rounded at their ex- ^^ 
^^m ^^^T ^H|v tremities, covered with a smooth or ^| 
^^H ^^m W^ fuiTowed blaekisb cuticle; inter- 

^m ^P ' nally, they are wliite and inodorous. 

P,^ j^ They are used with the precei 



Fio. 13. 



I 



« 




NOTES ON CniNESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



259 






for producing insensibility to the pain of a surgical opeiation. iseo-ea 

According to Dr. Chriatison/ they are ako the basis of an ex- 

tract nsed to poison the anows employed fur killing game/^ Dr. C, 

who examined some of this extract, reported that it had evidently 

been prepared with care and skill, and that a iniimte portion of 

it, applied to the tongue or lips, oecasioaed an intense sensation 

of numbness and tingling. 

This aconite root is said to be produced in the province of 
Chekiang; I refer it to Aconitum Japonicum, Thunb. upon the 
authority of MM. Hoffraaau and Schultca,^ hat it is highly 
probable the Chinese name is not restricted to a single 
species/ 

^ A^ ^ Tsint/'mUh'heafiff ; Eoot of Aristohchia sp. ? 
Tatarinov, CataL Med, Sinens., p. 12. 

A grey, brittle root, of the thickness of a goose quill, whitish 
and farinaceous intenially. It has a slightly aromatic taste, 
with but little smell : referred to an Arisialochia in Tatarinov's 
Catalogue. 

^ f^ Che-moo; Rhizome of Ancmarrhcna asphodel&ides^ 
BuDge (Lilimecp) ; Tatarinov, Caiai, Med. Smem., p. 16 ; Pun- 
tsnou, Fig, 97. 

A rhizome, the size of the little finger (Fig, 15)^ occurring in 
pieces often four inches long; the upper side is flattened, or 
even somewhat channelled, beset with coarse, appressed, ascend- 
ing, rufous, or yellow i ah lirdrs, wliich pass into scales at the 
once growing extremity, where also the remains of a stem rising 
at a right angle from the rhizome sometimes occur. The under 
side ia convex, and covered %vith thick radical fibres, or more 
usually with their scars. Tlie drug bas but little taste and suiell : 



Cft€'Vt09^ 



* On a New Poison from the Interior of Gliina, Eflink Maliml Journ. 
April. 1H59, p. nm. 

* T. T. Cooper meotionu that the Lu-t«ti tribefl in Smvth-we«teni China 
QM iifTOWB dipped with h poison of aconite.— 7>fl»y/j of a Pwnutir o/ 
AwiwMTf^ 1R71, p. :ilo, 

' Jounu Atiatiijui, Oct, Nov,, IB^% p 27L 

* Miiximowic;; cuutrtemteB nine stpeciea of Aconitum as occumng in the 
pon of the AiurKjr^ four in the neighbourhood of Ptkin^ nnct three in 

Ugulia. — PrimUux Ftoroi Amurenngj St* Petereburg, 1869. 

s 2 



260 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA, 



laaoei. it ia brou^^hfc from the provinctj of Shansi, Tlie plrtiit is enu* 
iwerated by Maximowicz in the Flora of Pekin,* 



lV«?iiiA, 



Ckmn-keun^^ 



Tantf'kwei, 




Afs ^K Yu-shiih; Root of a plant of the nat. ord Umhdlifermt^ 
Contorkd fleshy roots, anteriorly about f of an inch thick, but 
lower down swelled into nodular tubers, an inch or two in 
diameter, covered everywhere with a wrinkled brown akin; 
internally they are of a pale rusty colour, moist and easily cut^ 
and have an aromatic odour and sweetish aromatic taste. 

/" *^ Chuen-kmn^; Czuansiun, Bud. Levistici! TatarinoY^ 
Catai, Med, Smeii^,, p. 15. 

Nodular masses consisting apparently of the modstock of 
some umbelliferoua plant allied to Angelica, The specimena 
are from 1^ to 2 J inches in diameter, having a very irregular, 
rough, brown, outer surface, and a pale yellowish-brown, cavernous 
interior. 

The odour of the drug resembles that of the root Tang-kwd 
(next described), A decoction of these two roots is taken daily by 
the Chinese women for some time previous to childbirth, under 
the idea that it diminishes the dangers incident to such a state. 

m iSti Tan^-hwei; Boot of Aralia edulis^S. et Z. ( Umbtlliferm), 
Fiura Japonua, tab. 25; Bolm quatz, vulgo Doym, K^mpf., 
Am€m,t p. 826; Pun-Ua&u, fig. 155. 

* Primit, Ft or. Amurm*,, p. 47a. 



4 



NOTES ON CHiNKSE MATERIA MEDICA, 



261 



This is a flesliy brancbing root, in size, shape, colour, and laeoea. 
general appearance somewliat resembling gentian. It is internally 
whitish, has a sweetish, aromatic taste, and an odour approaching 
that of celery or angelica It is said to be brouglit Iroin tlm 
western provinces of China. 

In Japan accoixiing to Yon Siebold, Aralia edulis is nniversally Araiia eduUs. 
cultivated in fields and gardens where it attains a height of 
three or four feet, flowering in August and ripening its bluish* 
black berries in November. It is valued chiefly on account of 
its root, which is eaten like Scorzonera, but the young stalks 
are likewise a delicious vegetable.^ 

y\ ^ Jiii^Sitn^; Root of Panax Ginseng^ C. A. ]^Ieyer 
{Aralidctai) fids Horaninow ; Pmi-tmrnt, Fig. 90 ; Ginseng Eoot Ginseng Kout. 

The most esteemed variety of tliis famous drug is that obtained 
from Corea, hut good qualities are produced also in Mongolia, 
Mantchouria, and other monntaiiious parts of the Chinese 
emfdre. The American ginseng imported into China is the root 
of Panax qtdnqiiffolium, L ; it is much less esteemed than the 
native drug. Ginseng is regarded by the Chinese as tJie most 
potent of restoratives, and the finer quahties realize extravagant 
prices.^ Its medicinal value appears, however, to the European 
practitioner entirely overrated, the root being simply mucila- 
ginous, aromatic, and shghtly bitter and saccharine.* 

TT IS Shing-ma; Eliizorae of Tkaluirum ruhdium, S. et Shing-nm, 
Z. (Eanun^ulacem); Szeji-7na, Tatarinov, Cat Med. Sinetis., p. 53; 
Pun-imou, Fig. 130 ; Sun indo, Cleyer, Med, Simp., No. 90. 
It is said to be produced in the province of Shan-si, 

^ ^ Jrf MiJW'Uze-koo. The pseudo-bulbs of an orchideoua 

> 2320 picula imported annually into Ningpo, Bowra*« Trade Eeport^ 16G9, 
* See the interestmg account of a ginseng merchant containod in 
Mr. Lockhait's Mttdical MiMioiiary in China, ed. 2, p. 107. — Also consult 
Noti€4 sUT It Ginseng par. S. Raczynski in the liuU, dt la Soc, Imp. df4 Nat 
d4 Mo4COU, 1865, No. 1. pp, 70"7tj| avec une pluBche. There h an ahstmct 
in the Bull, de la Soc. Bot. tk France^ torue xiv. (18C7) p. 50 (Beema chiefly 
micro-chemicaJ). 

' Avuricanf Corean and Japan Ginsmg, the quantity of each imported 
into Foochow in 1864» 5, 6, 7 and 8. Se^ Rejiortt Qn Tradz at tht Trtottf 
port* of China for 1868, p. 63. • - ' ' 




262 



laeO'dfl. 



Kwang-kuo^ 



ehtii. 



Sang-pumn- 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 

plant ; they are more or less ovate, shrunken, translucent, and 
horny ; they vary in length fTOin | an inch to IJ inch. 

7L JS Kwang-koo ; Small bulbs resembling those of a 
tnlip; they are about yV of ati inch long, smooth, and of a buff 
colour. The thin enveloping outer membrane has been removed; 
when cut, the external scale is seen to be very thick. 

W^ ^ WL Seaau-hwan-chai ; Rhizome in size and form 
rcseml>ling that of Triticum rejyeTis {Radix graminis), of a bright 
yellow colour, tasteless, and inodorous. It is said to be derived 
from an aquatic plant inhabiting Cochin-China. I have not 
been able to identify the Chinese name, nor do I know the uses 
of the drug, 

^ ^ S Sang-pwan-hm ; Tubers (tuber buds) from the 
leaves of (?) FlnelHa tuherifera, Tenore (Aroidea^; Ariscnna 
temaimn, Schott, Mektemata Botanim^ 1832, i., p. IT; Pnti- 
tsaou, Fig. 857 ? 

Under the name of Sang-pwan-hea, there occur in the Chinese 
shops certain tubers (Fig. lf>) having the aspect of little balls 

bout lialf an inch in dia- 
meter, ilattened on one side, 
and in colour of a dirty 
whiti^.^ More closely exa- 
mined, we percei%^e on the 
flattened side a depression 
or sort of umbilicus, at- 
tached to which the remains 
of an enveloping membrane may sometimes be found. Around 
the depression, and extending over half the tuber, are a number 
of little pits. The tubers are brittle, yet soft enough to be 
easily cut with a knife. Their cut surface is perfectly white, 
and shows no trace of concentric layers, or other structure 
than a uniform mass of starchy, cellular tissue. 

Mr. H. G. Schott, of Vienna, an authority of tlie highest 
eminence on Aroidem, has obligingly examined these tubers, 

^ Growt about Fekin. Hancfi, Linn, Joi*m., Bot. xiii. (1672), 88. 




I 
I 

I 

â–  

I 
I 

I 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATEKIA MEDICA. 



263 



sod has suggested that tbej are produced by Pinellia iuheri/cra, leeo^ea. 
Tenore-, a plant of wide distribution in China, as well as in Japan. ^^^ 

The TLBLme FifMti-hea (^«^ signifies crude) appears to be applied 
to several species of Arum, 

1^ S, Nan-miff;^ Tuber of Arum jmUaphi/llum^ L Nan^n^, 
{Aroidc(€)\ Tatar, Caial. Med. Sinem,, p. 40; Cieyev, Med, 
Ship., No. 88, 

Hard, whitish tubers, ^ an inch to 1^ inch across, of flat- 
tened spherical form, having a depression, generally surrounded 
with little pits, on the upper surface, marking the situation of the 
bui Many of the larger tubers have smaller ones branching from 
them. In the dry state the drug has but little smell and taste; yet 
when chewed, even in minute q^uautity, it proves exceedingly 
acrid. Both Clever and Loui'eiro^ enumerate many virtues ascribed 
to this drug, but they are too indefinite to merit much attention. 

This drug resembles tlie preceding (Sang-ptvan-he^), but the 
. tubers of this attain much larger dimensions and are far less 
regular in form and size. 

WOODS, BABKB, &C. 

i^ ^ Chin-hmng ; Wood of AquUaria Agallocha, EoxK Lign Alow. 
(Aquilarimet) ; CJitn hiam, Cleyer, M^d. Simjh, No. 208 ; Sinkm, 
Kaempfer, AmfenUaks, p. 903; Agallockum, Calambac, Agila 
Wood, Aloes Wood, 

The history of this celebrated substance, wliich is the aloes 
or lign aloes of the Scriptures, is so replete with interest, that 
it is difficult to bring even the most succinct account of it within 
due bounds. I will, therefore, refer the reader who wishes for 
further information to the authors cited below.^ 

It may in the first place be observed that this, the Biblical 
aloes, has no relation with the extract now called by that name, 

* The plant to whiclx Kfiempfer (Amotn, p. 786) npplies these chafactcra ii 
the Arum triphyHum of Thuobeix*s Flora Japrmicaj p. 233. 

* Flora CochinchmemiSj ed. Willd,, p. ^52, 

* GuilwTirtj MUt dcs Drog., M. 4, tome iii., p. 313 ; Roxburgh on the genua 
AquUaria^ Linn. Trana.^ vol. xxi , p. 199 ; Royle, lUustraHons of the Hot 
cf the Himalaya f vol. i., p. 171 ; Loureiro, Fl&ra Cochinchins^inBt ed. 
WilM,, p. 327 ; Kiiopfer, AmiEnitata^ p. 903 ; FinlaysoDp MisHon to iiiam 
and ifwi, pp. 94-25B, 




2U 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATEKIA MEDICA. 



Lign Aiocs. 



A^fgur. 



Ohurkee, 



and that it does not possess even the most well-known character 
of that drug — intense bitterness* Aloes wood is the produce of 
Aquilaria AgaUocha, Eoxb., a tree of vast size, growing in the 
mountainous parts of Coch in-China, the Laos countryj and ad- 
joining regions, and extending westward into SUhet and Assam.* 
The wood in its ordinary state is not valued as a drug, being 
pale in colour, light, and inodorous. But under certain conditions 
a change takes place in portions of both trunk and branches, 
the wood becoming gorged with a dark, resinous, aromatic juice, 
and a«iuiring a greater specific gravity. It is these portions of 
the wood that constitute the drug in qiiestion, whicli is esteemed 
the more in proportion as it is ponderous and abounds in resinous 
matter. In Silhet, the collection of aloes wood is a precarious 
and tedious business ; those engaged in it proceed some days* 
journey into the hilly districts, where they fell any trees they 
may find, young or old, and then» on the spot, search them for 
the aggur, as the valued wood is called. This is done by 
chopping off the bark and into the wood, until they observ*e 
dark^coloured veins, indicating the proximity of wood of 
valuable quality, which generally extends but a short distance 
from the centre of a trunk or branch. In this manner a whole 
tree is searched through, the collectors caiTying away only such 
pieces as are ricli in odoriferous i^sinous matter. In some 
districts it is customary to facilitate the extraction of the 
resinous wood by burying portions of the tree in moist ground, 
or by allowing the entire tree to i-emain a length of time after 
it is cut down, the effect of which is to cause decay in the non- 
resinous wood, and thus render it easily removable by an iron 
instrument. I have specimens of aloes w^ood in which this 
process has evidently been adopted. Aloes w^ood is sorted by 
the collectors into various qualities, the finest of which, called 
Glmrhee, is worth in Silhet from 12s, to I65. per pound.^ As 
may readily be imagined, the drug occurs in pieces of extremely 
irregular shape and size ; I have seen none exceeding a pound 

' Garroo or Ea^le Wood collected in the interior of the island of Hidoui 
and bartered hj the Aborigines, Trade Eq^otU for 18S7 (Appendix). 

* AquiUma, Ajallocha and A. malacc€n4i$t both occur in Siunaiia and 
also according to Teyamumi in BankA, Miqiiel, Prod, Flora Snma4mnfr.t } &60. 



4 



NOTES OX CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



265 



in weight, while some of excellent quality is met with as small laeo ea. 

chips and splinters. The larger pieces have mostly been scooped Ugn Aloei. 

and trimmed with great care, so as to remove, as far as possible, 

all the less resinous portions. The wood is of a deep browa 

colour, marked more or less distinctly with innumerable coarse 

parallel veins loaded with resinous matter. A good sample yielded 

me 48 per cent, of matter soluble in rectified spirit. The wood 

has a slightly bitter, aromatic taste ; its odour is peculiar and not 

remarkably agreeable ; some persons compare it to sandal wood, 

others to ambergris. In the Bible we find it associated with nibUcal 

other perfumes, as in the Psalms^ and Proverbs ^ with cassia or associations. 

cinnamon, and myrrh, in the Canticles^ with spikenard, safiron, 

calamus, cinnamon, frankincense, and myrrh, and again with 

myrrh in the New Testament,* where it appears such a mixture 

was used in embalming the body of our blessed Lord. 

In the present day, aloes wood is chiefly used in China, where 
it is principally consumed as incense. It is, however, to be met 
with in all Eastern bazaars, including those of Syria, where I 
have myself seen it for sale. In Silhet it seems to be chiefly 
collected for the sake of extracting from it a sort of essentitd 
oil or oleo^resin, which is obtained, according to one account, 
by distillation, according to anotlier, by infusing fragments of 
the wood in boiling water, and collecliug the '' uUur*' (oil) that UUur, 
rises to the surface, I have a sample of this ufiur which has 
been prepared, as I judge, by the former process. 

Aloes wood has long had a place in the Materia Sledica of 
the Pharmacopoeias of Europe, but the finer quabties of the 
drug have hardly ever been imported. It does not appear to 
possess any properties that call for its admission to modern 
medical practice. 

^ ^ Ya-htang ; Wood of (?) AquUaria Chinensis, Ya-Juang. 
Spreng. {Aquilarine^) ; a Ught, spongy wood formed of coarse 
parallel fibres, devoid of aroma, but having a bitterish taste. 
I have referred it, upon the authority of Mr. S. Wells Williams,* 



* Psalm rlv, 8, 

* Cant, chap. iv. 14. 



â–  Prov, diap. vii. 17, 
* Jnhn, chap, lix. 39, 
* En^Hsh and Ckintse Voeah.^ p, 103. 




266 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



iseoefi. 



Bo^e-pHth. 



Urffang-jAh. 






Shth'tv€i. 



fVon-pti-Utzc. 




to Aquilaria Chinensis, Spreng* {Ophispenmim Siiwns€, Lour,), but 
with doubt, since the Chinese name given by Loureiro for that 
tref^ is Fti mdu yong, 

J? '^vHoW'pnh; Bark of Magndia hijjmlmua, S. et Z. {Mag- 
7\oliac€(€) ; Heii'p^, Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 200 ; Tatarinov, 
Catal Med. Sinens,, p. 8 ; Pun-tsaott, Fig. 735. 

A rough, thick hark, which in my specimen has been tightly 
rolled round several times* so as to form a cylinder 7 inches 
long by 2i in dianxeter. The bark has a bitterish, pungent, aro- 
matic taste, and is prized by the Chinese on account of iU 
reputed totiic and invigorating properties. 

!Pf TO Hwaiig-plh ; Bark of Pteromrpm Jlavm, Lour, (ic- 
gumiTwsm) ; Tatarinov, Catal. Mai. Sinms,, p, 9. 

Stated by Loureiro to be resolvent and vulnerary ; also to be 
used as a yellow dye for silk. 

Pw "^ ?E Namt-yang-kwa ; Flowers of Iihododendron f 
(EHmcew) ; Cleyer, Med. Simp., No, 186. 

Used ill conjunction with aconite root as a topical application 
to produce insensibility to the pain of a surgical operation (vide 
p. 258). Dr. Horaninow refers this Chinese name to Hyoscyamiis. 

^ ^ SlMi-wei ; Fronds of NipTiohohm Lingua, Spr., Aero- 

siichum Lingua, Thunb. Flm\ Jap., tab. 33 (Filices) ; Pun-tsaon, 
Fig, 474 

?f. Ilf- ^ WoQ-pei-tsze ; Galls of Rhm semi-alata^ Murr. 
(Aftacardiactm) ; IT pot ft*, Cleyer, Mt^. Simp.^ No. 225 ; Pun- 
tmou, Fig. 839. "" 

These galls now constitute so regular an article of comraerc? 
that it is not needful here to describe them. Some plmrmacolo- 
gists have asserted that Distglium Tacerrumim, S. et Z., a large 
tree of the nat. ord. Hamanulidcm, growing in Japan, is the 
plant upon which they are produced. That this is erroneous I have 
satislied myself, — 1. By an examination of herbarium specimens 
of tbis plant, and of Rhits semi-alaia, Murr. 2. By an examina- 
ation of original packages of the galls, imported from China and 
Japan, which I find to contain the leaf-stalks and remains of 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATEBIA MEDICA, 



267 



flowei^ of Rhus, but never anything which I could trace to Uis- laeo ea, 
folium, 3. By the completely different form of the galls of the 
Disti/lium, as figured by Siehold and Zuccariui in their Flm-a 
Jiijioaica^ tab. 94. 

Chinese galls (so-called) have lately been imported from 
Japan ; they are somewhat smaller than those shipped from 
China, but appear to be produced by the same tree. 

J^ ^ ^ Muh'Shlh-Uze ; Calls of Qutreus sp. {Amenta- ^^^h-^hih^tat. 

c€m) \ PuTi-tsaou, Fig. 756, 

These do not differ from the galls of Qu^rcus infeciona, Oliv., 
the common Aleppo galls of Europe, mentioned as an import 
into China, in 1514,— see Barbosa, also Porter Smith, 

^^ ^ Filh-ling ; Pachijma Cocos, Fries (Fungi) ; Lycoptrdon Foh-iing, 
solidum, Gr^movius; PS fd lim, Chyer, Mtd Simp,, No. 189; ''**^^*^ 
Tatiirinov, CaL Med. Sinens,, pp. 2-2;i; Pim-tsamt, Fig, 822; 
Indian Bread, or Tuekahoe."^ 

A very remarkable substance resembling large, ponderous, 
rounded tubers, having a rough, blackish -brown, bark-lika 
exterior, and consisting internally of a compact mass of consider- 
able hardness, varying in colour from cinnamon-brown tu pure 
white. These tuberiform bodies which in weight vary from a 
few ounces up to several pounds, are found attached to the roots 
of fir-trees, or sometimes buried in tlte grunnd in locahties where 
firs no longer grow. They occur in South Carolina, in some of 
the noithern and western provinces of China, and in Japan. 
Theh true nature is sufficiently perplexing. Tlie older waiters, 
aa Martinius and Cleyer, considered them to be a sort of CMtui 



1 Fuii-liiiff, — ^ConBult a paper by Paravey Sur tOrigine du Succin^ du 
F&utin^^ ct Truffes di verses . . . Bordeatuc, 8oc, Linn, actes xvii., (1851) 
40-53. 

P, Cbampion finda Fachyma Coeos to yield a subetaDce which he has 
named FackymoM ; it is insoluble in water^ soluble in potash, and forms 
ii]?oluble compounds with salts of lead or lime. Trea^*;d with wsLrm hydro- 
chloiic acid it reduces i>otasato tartrate of copper, and in Dreaence of fmuiug 
Ijitric acid it formii a very combustible compouud, wbicb detonates like gun- 
cotton whcD struck. Its compcwitbn csones ponds to the formula C^^ Hj^ Oi|. 
Abstracted from Comp. E4na. \xjr., 1526, in Joum, of Cfum. Soe., March 
1873, p. 283. 




268 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



Pctchjftna 
Cocot. 






Boot (Smilasr)y a supposition which their oiiiward appearaoce 
certainly favours, but which is immediately negatived when we 
find them to contain no trace of starch. Loureiro and End- 
licher are content to descrihe them as tubers found upon the 
roots of fir-trees. Other botanists liave placed them among 
Fungi j' Grunoviua and Walter in the genus Lycoperdon, 
Schweinitz in Sderotium, Ok^Ji, Horaninow^ and Friea mPachymaJ- 
The latest observations on the subject are some which were sub- 
mitted to the Linnean Society by Mr. F. Currey and myself, 
and published in the Zinncan Transadions? The opinion 
there expressed ie that t)iei?e tuber-like bodies are an altered state 
of the root of the tree, probably occasioned by the presence of 
a fungus, the mycelium of winch traverses, disintegrates, or even 
obliterates, the wood and bark This mycelium appears under 
the microscope in the form of fine threads, usually more or less 
mixed with bodies of irregular shape, somewhat resembling starch- 
granules, but which arc, apparently, cells of the woody tissue 
in a more or less advanced state of disease and distortion. 
Nothing is known of the more developed form of the fungiis 
represented by this mycelium. 

The American Fah-ling has been examined chemically by 
Professor EUett, of South Carolina College, who has stated it to 
consist entirely of pure pectine of Braconnot f but I think its 
composition deserves some further investigation. I find that 
the pure-white internal substance (which is quite insipid and 
inodorous) is very slightly soluble in cold rectified spirit and 
in cold water, and not nsore so when boiled in water, the solu- 
tion in each case yielding a flocculent precipitate with acetate 
of lead. When boOed in a weak solution of carbonate of 
soda, the substance dissolves rather more freely, and the 
solution affords a scanty gelatinous precipitate (pedic acid?) 



^ Also Du Halde*s Dmerip, de la Chine, 1735, iii., 522. 

* Vd. xxiLi. p. 94, where the reader mU! find full referencee to the botanical 
works here referred to^ as well as fibres of Fach^ma Cocoi^ Fries. See also 
Berkeley On somt Tuhtriform Produdionj from Chirm^ Journ, of Proceed- 
ings of Linn, Sac., vol. lii., Botany^ p. 102| where there is a tmnsbtion from 
the Chinese reearding these aubstances. 

^ Berkeley, f.c. p. 106. 




NOTES ON CHINESE MATER[A MEDICA. 



269 



when treated with an acid, or {peciaic uf lime f) with a solution laeo-os. 
of lime. "^ 

In China the Fak-ling ia made into edible cakes, which are Indian Bread 
frequently sold in the streets ; it is also reputed medicinal in a 
variety of disorders. In America it has also been used as an 
article of food, whence the name Indian Bread. 

^g ^^ Choo'ling ; ^erheley, Journal of Proetrdings of Lin- Choo-Ung. 
nean SocieLif, voh iii. \%b%. Botany, p. 102; Currey and Han- 
bury, itnn. Trans., volxxiii^p. 95, tab. 9, Figa 10-13; Chu-llm, 
Cleyer, Med. Si^np., No. 207 ; Tatarinov, Cat. Med. Sinem,, p. 17 ; 
Puii'imov, Fig, 824. See Porter Smith's Contributions, p, 206, 
line 3. 

Tuberiform bodies of much smaller sixe, less regular shape, as 
well as less ponderous than the preceding ; they are covered 
with a thin, black, more or less shrivelled cuticle, which closely 
invests a homogeneous, corky, yellowish-brown substance. The 
microscopic structure of these quasi -tubers resembles that of 
tlie Filh-linj ; but the threads by which their substance is tra- 
versed are more interwoven and more branched, and liave not 
the appearance of being the mycelium of a fungus. The same 
irregularly shaped bodies as seen in Fah4imj, are also present, 
but their dimensions are smaller. In a few specimens, an 
abundance of doubly prismatic crystals has been noticed. 
" Treated with the same chemical tests as the Foo-iinff,'* remarks 
Mr, Berkeley, "it [the Ghoo4ing\ exhibits precisely the same 
reaction. There is not the shghtest trace of starch or cellulose, 
and it is evident that the structure is not accordant wdth that of 
any fungus or ph^nogaraous tuber.*' 

The Ckoo-ling m stated by Chinese authors to be parasitic 
on a tree, beneath which it is picked up in spring and autumn, 
many fanciful virtues not worth repeating are attributed to it. 

ffl^ /L I'^^^y-yan ; Mylitta lapidescens^ Horaninow {Fun^ ; 
Tatarinov, Caial. Med. Srnem., p. 34 ; Currey and Hanbury, Lttui. 
TranSf vol xxiil p. 96, tab. 9, Fig. 14-17 ; L4iu6n, Cleyer, Mtd. 
Simp., No. 227 ; Pun-tsam, Fig. 825. 

This substance occurs in the form of small rounded nodules, 
varying in weight from five gi*nina to nearly half-an ounce. Their 



Luy^wan, vcl 
Mylitta 




270 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA, 



Mtfliltn 
lapuksccnn. 



Liquid Ben- 
zoin. 



Sung'heimg. 



exterior surface is of a dark broii^Tiish-grey colour, aud generally 
finely corrugated: their iiiner substance has agranular appear- 
ance, is of a pinkish-brown colour, and of almost stony hardness. 
A microscopic section shows that the tissue is divided into 
areolm after the manner of that of the truffle and other under- 
ground fungi ; no trace of fructification has been observed in 
any specimen. 

This curious vegetable production, which had previously only 
been known from its occurrence in the drug-shops of China, 
has lately been obtained in Southern India by Dr, E. J. Waring, 
who states that it is dug from the chalk-beds in the mountains 
separating Travancore from Tinnevelly, In India, as in China 
also, it is used as a medicine, being regarded as powerfully 
diuretic. 

>Tv >? My ^ ShMy-fjafi-Bdh-keang;\iim^?A^ 

This drug is a dark-brown, semi-tUiid resin, having an extremely 
fragrant odour of storax. It is met with in small globular 
wooden shells, apparently the pericarp of some fruit, about 
1 J inch in diameter, closed with wax. Its origin is very ob- 
scure. Tlie Chinese assert that they import it from the Straits, 
or, in other words, by way of the Indian Archipelago j but I 
have not been able to trace it either there or in Siam. It is 
curious moreover, that this frflgrant resin, e^-^en to the shell 
inclosing it, is extremely like that kind of balsam of Peru which 
was brought to Europe long ago in the capsules of a Lecythis, 
and naturally supposed to be a product of South America. 

The Liquid Benzaiti is very expensive, a single shell, holding 
perhaps half an ounce, being worth four dollars, or 205. 

i^ ^ Sunfj-hcang ; Sum kiam, Cleyer, Mid Simp., No. 190; 
Tatarinov, CataL Med. Sijuns., p. 50* — A pale-yellow terebin- 
thinous re^in, closely resembling mastich, occurring in small 
irregular tears, somewhat opaque externally from mutual friction, 
but perfectly transparent within, and exhibiting a vitreous 
fracture. It would be a good substitute for mastich. 

The name Sung-heang is said to be also applied to other tere- 
binthinous resins. 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATEitlA MEDICA, 



271 



^ )^ Ping-pi'en; Camplior of Ihyohalanops Gamphora, ^®^^^' 
Colebr. {JJiptemcurpert) ; BorDeo or Baros Camphor. Dr^robalanofa 

Obtained chiefly in Sumatra from fissures in the interior of 
the trunk of the tree. As the best tree when felled rarely 
yields more than a few ounces, the drug is very costly, being 
worth on the spot about 50^. per lb. It is chiefly exported to 
China, but a consideTable quantity i% consumed in the island for 
the purpose of embalming the bodies of the petty chiefs, a 
custom the expense of which often provee exceedingly ruinous 
to the family of the deceased. The best quality of this camphor 
occurs in the form of flat colourless crystals, the largest of 
which rarely exceeds half an inch across. An inferior quality 
is coarse^ pulverulent, and of a grey colour. Dryobalanops 
camphor has the odour of common or laurel camphor, mixed 
with something that has been likened to patchouli. It is less 
volatile than laurel camphor, and has a greater specific gravity, 

that it sinks into water. It^ composition is C^ H^g Og, that 
bf laurel camphor being Q^ H^^ Og. 

^ Q ^ CJmv^-p%h4ah ; Chinese Insect Wax ; Pun-tscmir, Chinese iDsect 
Fig. 837. Secreted by Coccus Pe-la, Westw.,^ upon the branches "^^^^ ^^*^ 
of Froitinus chimnsis, Roxb,, which is cidtivated for the purpose, 
and possibly upon other trees. Some accounts of the habits 
of the insect by a competent observer are much required, the 
Chinese statements on the subject being extremely obscure. 

j^ Jj^ B|| SMh-keu€'mi7if][ ; Shells of Halwtis fumhrU^ 
Reeve; Fun-tsami, Fig. 969 ; Tatarinov, CaL Med^ SiThens.^ p. 54; 
Cleyer, Med. Simp, No, 172. 

* Mr. We^t wood's deacription of this Coccus was publitlied in tbe 
Gardiiitra' ChronicU for 30tli July, 1653. Part of the woodcut that accom- 
panied it I hftve caused to be copied, and have added to it a figure of 
Fraj:i7tu$ chinenxUf Ronb., in fruit, and one of a branch of that tree coated 
by the insect with its waxy secretion,— both taken from specimens in my 
own collection. In this cut {Fig. 17), A. representa the winged male insect^ 
the body of which is of a dark chestnut colour ; tbe abdomen und elongated 
anal point reddish*buff ; legs feddish, thigha brown, wings veiy slightly 
stained with browniish-bulf, and the two subcostal veins fiesh-coloiirei 

B. Female insiect, showing the mode m which the body envelopea a twig. 

C. A very minute larva, half the i^ize of a |>in'8 bead ; and D. one of the 
young at a more advanced period of growth* See p. 272. 




KOTEB ON ClilXKSK MATERIA WEDICA. 



273 



This sliell is stated to occur on the coasts of Fuh-kien and iseo-ea, 
Kwautiing, Messrs. Cuming and Lovell Eeeve, who have 
f^xamined it, concur in referring it to Halwtis funchris, a New 
HoUaTid species, figured by the latter gentleman in his beautiful 
Caneh4}ioa{a Iconica, sect Haliotis, pL xii. 38. 

h1 H Lung-huTiih ; literally, Dragons Boiim ; lAm cS, LtHtg-kwUh, 
Cleyer, Med, Simp,, No. 252; PuH't^aou, Fig. 888, 

This coinmodity is sold in the Chinese shops in irregidar pieces 
of a few ounces weight, curiously covered with paper and marked 
with a stamp. Upon pkciitg a thin slice of it irnder the micro- 
scope its tine nature is revealed, and it is proved to be fossil 
h^Tf/. ^lany imaginary virtues are attributed to it, as well as 
to the following, 

ffl ® Zi/w^7-r7re; literally, Draf^ons Tedh. — These also Lnntj-du, 
are fossil, and obtained, according to the Chinese, in the north- 
western provinces of Shen-si and Shan*si. Mr. G. XL Waterhouse, 
of the British JIuseum, who has, at my request, been good enough 
to examine a considerable number of specimens, is able to dis- 
tinguish among them the following : — molars of the lower jaw of 
lihinaccros iukorhimL% Cuv,; fragment of tooth of MaModon; of 
Ehphas, near E, iiisi/jiiin, F. et C; many molars of Equm, teeth 
of Htppoihermvi, comprising molars of both jaws, agreeing 
perfectly with those of the Hippothtrium of Germany and 
Fmnce; an upper molar of a Hippolhrrium probably distinct 
from the preceding; portion of an upper jaw, with the four 
posterior molars, of a ruminant allied to the sheep, but of 
smaller size: molar teeth of two species of stiig; molar tooth 
of hear,* 

'15 4^? '^^^^^*' ^^^^ ' J^'ossil Crabs of the Post- Tertiary Period, 
Pun-isaou, Fig. (^G. • 

A celebrated Chinese medicine mentioned by Kircher, Grosier, 
l>u llalde, Cleyer and others, and supposed to be an antidote to all 
kinds of poison, as well as to possess innumerable other virtues, 

^ Prof. W. Boyd DnwUins, of Owens College, Manchester, haB ascertained 
thiit there nre caves tn Borneo whieli arc extensively worked for teeth for the 
Chinese market. (Note from H. Woodward , 9, viij., 187(1) 

T 



Shth A«ae. 





274 



NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDIC A, 




i86oaa. Tlie specimens which T have received, and which are said to 
Foeail craba ^^ ohtained ill the island of H.tiuan and on the opposite shores 
of Kwang-si, belong to a single species, Maa^ophthalmus LatreiUii, 
Edvv., {Go7iophx LafrciUH, Desni.), with the exception of one 
which is refeiahle to a species of the genns Cancer not yet described. 
Probably identical with 3/. Lutrdllii is the fossil M. Desmarestii, 
described and lignred by ^I. Lucas in the Annnhs de la SoeUii 
En(mix/Iof/i(juc de Framr} Nor is the animal ffuitid mei*ely in 
the fossil state, for, as pointed out to me by Mr. 11. Woodward, 
of the British MiLseuni, who lias examined the subject w^th 
care, a recent species found in the Philippines, and named by 
Mr, Adam White J/, serraiu.%^ appears to possess no' cliaracter 
tliatcan distinguish it from the fossil form. 

My friend M- Kondot, of Paris, obtained from the Cliinese 
2*har}naf:tetis at Canton, in addition to specimens of the Marroph' 
iludmus, a fine example of Portnniis (Ltfpa) kHcmlotif Desni,, 
recently shown liy Dr. Alphniise Milne-Edwards^ to be identical 
witli the Srt/ila serraia of I)e llaan* still found living in Japan, 
the Philippines and at Port Natal It is a ninch larger crab than 
the otiiers, measuring seven to eight inches across the carapace. 
There are several very perfect specimens of it, reputed to be 
from the Philippines, in the geological collection of the British 
Museum. 

ShXh-yen. ^S ^ Shtk-i/f 71 ; Fossil Shells ; Tatarinov, Cat. ^f^'d, Sineji^., 

p. 54.; Pim-tmoit, Fig. 65. 

These fossils have been examined and described by Mr. Thomas 
Davidson, to whose account and figures in the Proceed in//s of 
ike Gtologval Sonet t/ {June 15, 1853), I refer the reader who 
wishes for full details. Tlie actual specimens are in the British 
Museum. ^Ir. Davidson remarks tliat the specimens belong to 
eight Devonian species, seven of which are common to several 
European localities, among which may be mentioned Fei-ques 

^ Yol. viii. Serie I, 183{), p. 567, t. m 

* Brifuh MiiAium Li»t af Crui^tac&i, London, 1847^ p. 37, 

* AunaffA rfvj? Si'Unee* NnturtUfHf Zoolog , torn. xiv. (1861), pt i. oml il 
Soe miollier iwippr by Alplj. Jttlm?-lidw.irtls m tome xviii. (1862) p* 3L 

* Fa n it a Jitj to n tea, 1835. 



NOTES ON LUINKSE MATKKIA MiiDICA. 



275 



I 



Nehou (>\'ance), Belgium and the KiM, but tliey are not founJ leeo-ea. 
all existing together in aoy one of these localities. In external Fossil slielU 
aspect the Chinese specimens most resemble those from Ferques, 
where, however, two of them, Cpim Mwchisoiviana and 7i'//?/«- 
chamlla Hanhnrii, have not yet been discovered. If to these 
be added two described by M, de Kouinck, tlie total number 
of Chinese Devonian types at present known will amount to 
ten species, viz. :— 3 Spirifet\ 2 IikynchonrUa, I Frodnctns^ 
1 Cranki, 1 Cornuliles^ 1 Spirorlis, and 1 Aulopora, 

These fossils are asserted to occur in the southern province of 
Kwang-si, where coal is also met with. 

A that tonal A^ote, 

T^wet-Ultik'Wax.^T. T. Cooper,^ who passed throngli the lQs<-rt-\viate- 
white-wax country of Szeclmen in 18G9, describes it as an ex- ^^'^^' 
tensive plain surrounded by low hills, lying l;>etween Ya-tzow-foo 
ami Kia-tin^-foo, i,i\, nearly son*h of Chen-tu-foo, the capital of the 
province. The country was all under wax and rice cultivation, the 
wax-tiees being planted on ttie small embankments surrounding 
paddy fields, which are at n^ost but ibirty yanls S([uare. The 
trees have the aspect of stumps uniformly about ei^^ht feet in 
lieigbt, and as thick as a man's thigh. The wax cultivation is 
a source of great wealth, second only to si!k. 

The eggs of the insect are all imported from Yunnan, and anive 
ill Szecbuen in March. Towards the middle of ^larch the trees 
put forth leaves and shoots, on which the young insects attach 
themselves; by July all tlie brfmclies are thickly crusted with 
wax ; in the begiiming of August they are lopped off close to the 
trunk, cut into small lengths and taken to the boiling houses, 
where they are transferred to large cauldrons of water and 
boiled. 

' Travdt q/ a Pionm of Commtra, 1871, pp. 428-4:i0.— A:8o p. 32a. 





276 



CHINESE SAL AMMONIAC. 



1865. 



NOTE OJf CHINESE SAL AMMONIAC. 



(Chinemseher Salmiak.) 

Among a numerous collection of Chinese dmga, a report upon 
wliicb I publislicfl in the Pkarmarcuiiml Journal in the years 
^nm-shj, 1850-61, and 62, was a substauce called Naou-s/ia, which par- 
ticularly excited my curiosity, on account of the enormous price 
at which it is vahied by the Chinese, and the remarkable 
virtues ascribed to it. But as is the case with many similar 
substances (of which we are not without parallels in European 
medicine) the value of this drug proved to be due, not to its 
peculiar properties, so much as to the superstition and ignorance 
of those who sell or administer it. 

The Hrst sample I received was accompanied with the inquiry 
if it were not iodide of potassium, and had it been that sub- 
stance one could hardly be surprised that even twenty dollars an 
ounce might be paid for it. It was a rounded fragment of a 
substance of dark colour and compact crystalline structure, 
which chemical examination proves to be chloride of sodium. 
Since his return from China, my friend Mr, Lockhart has kindly 
placed in my hands a more ample supply of this substance, the 
examination of which has shown that thougli essentially chloride 
of sodium, it contains traces of alkaline snlphuret, and that it 
resembles in composition and general appearance one of the 
forms of impure chloride of aodium found iu the bazaars of 
Imlian Blat:k India Under the name of Black Salt, 

Tatarinov, in his Oaialogm of CkiMse Medkines} represents 
the name Naoit-sha to be applied to sal ammoniac of volcanic 
origin, and in Pekiu at least such is truly the case. When my 
friend Mr. Lockhart was residing in that capital in charge of 
the hospital established under the auspices of the London 
Missionary Society, he took the opportunity of making some 
inquiries regarding the drug in question, and ver)* recently he 
has handed me several specimens of it obtained in the Pekia 
shops, Tlie information Mr. L. elicited %vas not very copious, in 

* 'Catal Meil !?$n(Hm\ p. 41, 



Salt. 




I 



fact all he could learn amounted to tlus — that Nmu-sha is 
brought from certain volcanic springs in the province of S^e- 
chuen, and in Thibet, and that the various kinJa of it, differing 
from one another chieHy in their degrees of purity, are distin- 
guished by the names Na&usha, Ycn-naoii, and ShXh-naou. 

The sped mens received from Mr. Lockhart were of three 
kinJs, the purest of which consist of a compact, crystallines 
colourless, saline mass, which analysis proved to be chloride of 
ammonium. The second kind was also chloride of ammonium 
but of different appearance, having more of the aspect of a 
natural production than the first. Tlie third specimen woi 
likewise chloride of ammonium, but much contaminated with 
earthy matter. 

There can be no d<nibt, I think, that this Cldnese sal am- 
moniac ia a volcanic product, such as is known U^ occur on 
Etna, Vesuvius, and Heela, as well as in the vicinity of ignited 
coal-seams. Whether it is by ignorance or design that the 
Chinese confound it with an impure form of common salt, I 
cannot affirm; but the circumstance calls to- iniud the fact 
proved by Beekmaun/ that the sal ammoniac of the ancients 
was common rock-salt, dug from pits near the temple of 
Jupiter Ammon in Eg^'pt, and that the name was subsequently 
transferred to chloride of anmiunium manufactured in that 
country from the dung of camels. 



1865« 



from Jfr. 

Lockhart 
sliown to be 
chloride of 
a niuonium. 



NOTE OX ANACAHUITE AVOOD, A EErUTED REMEDY 
EOK C0N81MIT10N. 



DcRiNG the past autumn there Iiave been several inquiries, 
chiefly on the part of merchants connected with Germany, for a 
new drug imported from Mexico under the name of Anaeahuiie 
Wood, A single package of tliis drug was offered for sale in 
September last by a Loudon drug broker, and purchased for 
shipment to the Continent. lu Germany the demand has been 
very considerable, and although 10,000 pounds of the wood 



AnaeahulU 



> HUtoiy of Inrtutimt* (tnd DiVormVi, 



278 



AXACAHUITE WOOD. 



1B61. 






have been imported into Bremen and Hamburg, and sold at a 
high rate, the reriuirements of purchasers are still far from 
being satisfied* 

In order to explain the circumstances that have led to the 
introduction of this new drug and the valuable pmperties which 
it is asseited to possess, I ^vill here give the translation of a 
short paragraph extracted from a jiopular German journal into 
the pages of tlie Archiv dtr Pharmucie for November last : — 

There grows at Tam]>ico, in Mexico, a tree with the wood of 
which, called A^iavuhvitr, tlie Indians cin^e all chest complaints, 
especially discuses of the lun^^s. The i id i a bit ants of Tampico 
have also used this remedy, nud have succeeded in completely 
curing consumption with it, even iu the case of pei*sons in 
whose families the disease appeared to be hereditary. Tlie 
Prussian Consnl at Tain]>ico has for years past observed the 
beneficifil cflectB of this wood, and, as in all eases tbe patients 
were cured by tbe use of it, be has been iiulnced to communicate 
tl*e subjt^ct to the Prussian (iovernineut, and to send a con- 
sideralile quantity of the wood to Berlin, where experiments 
are now being made in the liospittds to determine its medicinal 
etficacy. 

Anacahuite wood is administered in tbe simple form of 
infnainn, shavings of the wood, previously deprived of its hark, 
being treated with boiling water, as in the preparation of tea. 
This infusion is drunk in the morning fastin;^ and ai^ain in the 

O o o 

evening at bedtime. In cases where the disease has already 
made considerable progress^ the infusion may be used as often as 
tbe patient is inclined to drink. Highly seasoned food and 
Btrong alcohol ic beverages as well as coileej nmst be avoided 
while the medicine is being used. Spitting of blood is removed 
in a few days ; in all cases, however, it is advisable to continue 
the use of tbe medicine for some time even after recovery. 

Auacabuite wood, it will thus be seen, is a production of 
Tampico, whence, in fact, all the supplies that have reached 
Europe have been shipped. Its botanical origin is at present 
unknown. Dr. Otto Berg, who has elaborately described its 
external chameter and anatomical stmcture,^ thinks that from the 
organization of the bark and wood it is probahly derived from 



I 



^ Bonpl<imUa, Ifjtli Art,, 1860, p. 302. 



ANACAIIUITE WOOD, 



Atiaciihuite 



some papilionaceous tree, althougli there are only general jip- laei. 
pearances that guide him to such an opinion. It is lobe hoped, ' 

however, that this question may be soon set at rest by good, 
dried specimens of the flower, fruit, and leaf of the tree being 
obtained from Tampico, and subiuitted to some competent 
botanical authority in Earupe,^ 

Anacabuite wood, as I have seen it, consists of truncheons of Desmptitm ©f 
about two feet long, varying from the thickness of a finger to 
that of a man*s arui» The wood is covered with a thick, fibrous, 
greyish-brown bark, coarsely furrowed longitudinally with deep 
cracks, and so tough that it may be stripped off in pieces of 
considerable length. A white pulverulent matter, resembling 
an efflorescence, occurs between the layers of liber from which 
it escapes as dust when the bark is torn. AVhen one examines 
a transvei-se section of a truncheon, one perceives the bark to 
be of considerable thickness and to consist of two more or less 
defined zones^— tlie inner more compact. The wood is of a 
pale brown, marked with concentric zooea, wliich, however, are 
too little diyitiugiiished from one another to be counted with any 
certaiuty. Tiie pith is frequently eccentric ; its transverse sec- 
tion sometimes shows a stellate form. 

Anacahuite wood is inodorous and insipid. A strong de- 
coction is transparent and of a sheny-brown colour ; it is 
blackened by a persalt of iron, but neither a solution of gelatine 
nor of iodine aflects it. The t^ste of the decoction is extremely 
slight and unremarkable, so that one may reasonably be per- 
mitted to doubt the extravagant, thougb, if true, very gratifying 
assertions regarding the virtues of the drug. The experiments, 
indeed, that have been instituted in the Great Hospital at 



Decoct ioD of 

Anaeahiiito 

wood. 



* I have not be^n able to fioJ any notice of Anaciihuite wo4id in any 
snthor treating on Mexican Materia Medicn who&e works I possess. Her- 
nandez {Hernm Alcdmtrum Kortr Hi^anff^ TAf^aunf^, Romte, 1651, p. f57) 
mentions a tree callea Morhi GaUici nrfmr^ wb<>se Mexicjin name, Naiia* 
huaqiiahvitl^ is, perliaps, not an impossible Tension of our AnacaJiuitg. 
Holler (fifitfen in J/cj-ilo, Leipzig, 1853, Anliang. aeut. 3) doea not ennmenito 
Anacahuite amon^ the useful plants of Mexico j nnr do I find it in the 
eatjilogtie of Mexican products (including a long list of woods) sent to the 
Paris Exhibition of IHhb ; or in the papers of Schlechtendal on Mexican 
wood contributed to the pages of the BotanMi^ ZtUung, 




280 



ANACAIILTTE WOOD, 



Mei. 



isdfl. 



Medical 



Botanical 
Source. 



Fnii'liii. have liitborto hatl, as I am iiiformeJ by Dr. 0. G. 
Mitaclierlich, no satisfactory result?. The details of tlie cases 
have not, however, yet been publishecl. [X Ecpcrt. f, Phami., 
X., 30(3.] 

ORIGIN OF ANACAHUITE WOOD. 

{Anacahuitlioh, sdn UrspruTig). 

It is now about two years since the name of this druj? 
appeared in t!ie German pharmaceutical jonmals as a new 
remedy for consumption. Shortly subsequent to this period 
large quantities of Anacaliuite wood were imported from Tam- 
pico, and extensive trials were made in Germany in order to de- 
termine whether the good effects which the wood was stated to 
produce in Mexico could be realized in Europe also. Chemical 
analysis^ was aUo resorted to in order to discover whether it 
possessed constituents that could in any way explain its alleged 
beneficial action. The results of all this labour were by no 
means favourable to the new drug; its valuable effects in 
phthisis could not be observ^ed ; analysis did not indicate that it 
possessed any important medicinal properties, and as a natural 
conclusion, anacahuite wood was thrown aside as a remedy of 
no value. 

One question however remainedj and that was : What plant is 
it which yields this drug ? Upon this point until recently no in* 
Ibrmation could be obtained, J}\\ Otto Berg, of Berlin, Dr, 
Berthold Seemann, of Loudon, and myself,^ consulted all the 
authorities at our disposal, but without arriving at any 
positive conclusion. I also put myself in communication with 
Lieutenant-Colonel Cumberlege, our consul at Tampico, but his 
sudden death which occurred soon after, prevented my deriving 
the information I hoped he would be able to afford. Dr. Seemann, 
however, made a fortunate suggestion ; he pointed out that ac- 
cording to Dr. Torrey, Cordia Bmsneri, A. De C, is called by the 

^ Buchner, Uehrr dm Anacahitik-hoh^ in Ntuu Matertorium fiir Pkar- 
ffuxck, BcL X. (1861) p. 97 ; abo MuUer, in VxeritljoJlwutchrifi fur FrakL 
Fharm., Bd. x. p. 519. 

' Fharfft. Jount,^ and Tram, 2nd Series, vol ii. p. 407, vol* iiL 
p, 16-1. 



I 



28 2 



ANACAHLTITE WOOD. 



isea. 



Botanical 
origin. 



Propprtiei of 
L'oi'dia;ceiJe. 




llexicans Xacahuita, a name sufficiently like Anucakuite to 
jufetifj a suspicion of identity. This suspician has been changed 
into certainty. In a recent number of Flora, occurs the follow- 
ing interesting notice, which is iTpublishedin .Bf?7/^/a;trfta of 1st 
No%^ember last. 

In the summer of 1861, the Botaniciil Gardens of Gdttingen 
received from Jlr, Giesser, the Hanoverian consul at Tainpico, 
two stems of tlie Amicahnite-tree, which although in a very un- 
promising conJitiiai upon arrival, yet by suituble treatment soon 
threw out new shoots. They have now gmwn into strong 
shrubs, and last winter produced flower-buds, the full develop- 
ment of which was, however, prevented by the unfavourable 
season. Mr. Gresser. at a subsequent period, sent also dried 
leaves of the Anacahuite, aud the fiuit preserved in idcohobwhiebp 
with the glowing specimens, afforded data for determining the 
plant to be the Cordia Foisskri of Alphonse De Candolle, de- 
scribed in the 9th volume of the Prodromua, p, 478. 

In the herbarium of Sir William J, Hooker, of Kew, there are 
good specimens of Cordia Boissieri, froui which, with the per- 
mission of Sir William the woodcut on the preceding page has 
been made. 

Touching the properties of the natuml order Cordiacea:^ to 
which Cordia belongs, the remarks of Enilicher^ are to the 
following effect. The pulp of the drupes is mucilaginous, viscid 
and astringent with some sweetness ; in a few it is acidulous ; 
the fleshy cotyledons contain a bland oil The saccharine fruits 
of Cordia Myxa, L., a tree indigenous to tropical Asia, and cul- 
tivated in Egj'pt from a very remote peiiod, were used by the 
ancients in coughs and other disorders of the respiratory organs 
on account of tlieir soothing and laxative properties^ In Europe 
they are now vitvy mrely employed. Tlie West Indian d/rdia 
Sehestenaf L, has similar virtues. Of some menibers of the order 
the w^ood and leaves are resinous and aromatic, Tlie brown wouil, 
elegantly veined with black, of Cordia Humphii, BL, has the 
odour of musk. The Itark of Cardia Myxa., L, is frequently used in 
astringent gargles in India, and the root is reputed to be laxative. 
' Enchiridion f p. 319. 



tXT?:RXATinNAL EXH iBITlON, 18Ct2. 



283 



CHE]\riCAL AXD rHAEiLVCEUTICAL rEODUCTS OF 
TilE PEOPOSKD INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 

OF 18G2. 

(From the Joiumal of the Society of Arts.) 

Sir, — As the project for holding a great Industrial Exhibition leei. 
in the year 1862 is likely to be carried into execution, it be- susrestiona, 
~ omes all those who feel an interest in the niovement to oiler 
rhat assistance they can towards its successful accomplishment. 

From the pages of the Jourmd it appears that some of our 
colonies have ah^eady taken up the matter, and have resolved to 
contribute collections that shall fully represent their industrial 
resources. The executuin of this design would prohahly he 
assisteil, and the I'esulting colleetions enhanced in interest and 
value, if suggestions derived from the Exhibitions of 1851 and 
1855 were di'awn up and comnainicated, through the Journal, to 
committees abroad. 

It is with this view that I take the liberty to offer Rome 
i^emarks upon the pliarmuceutical products, botli raw and manu- 
factured, whicli we hope will figure in the collections of 1862, 
and upon their ntode of exhibition and the infornratiun that 
should accompany them. If those interested in other subject^ 
would, in like manner, dmw up a ft^w notes on points to which 
it is desiraljle to direct attention, I cannot but think that useful 
results would follow. 

The reuLarks I have to offir will lie best arranged under the 

spective heads of UnmanufuttAtral Dnnjs, Ch'mkal and Pkar- 
^fnaceutiral Products, to which I will add a few observations on 
the Manner of ExhibUion and Cataiot/ius, 

Uiufmnufadured Di'U{f^. — Substances of this class are not Riiwdrugi, 
very attractive objects to the general public, but they are often 
extremely interesting and instructive to the man of science, as 
w^ell as to the manufacturer. In the London Exhibition of 
1851 there was a considerable collection of such products, but a 
far tiner at Paris in 1853, Specimens of raw drugs sent from 
foreign countries should be c^irefully packed , so that tliey may 




284 



IXTEHXATlUXAL EXHlBITlUX, 181)2, 



Snggestions 

Ilaw J>nig8. 



an'ive in good condition ; thegi*eat enemy to be guarded against 
being humidity, which occasions specimens to become mouldy* 
If seat from abroad arrangements should be made for examin- 
ing them upon their reaching London, for rejecting any that have 
become spoiled, and placing such as are in a state for exhibition 
in suitable jars or cases. Every parcel should be labelled in the 
fullest and clearest manner, and each series of specimens should 
be accompanied by a list, giving fuller particulars than can be 
stated on a wrapper. In the case of a drug that is but little 
known, it is desirable to have the native name, an I the scientific 
name also, whenever the latter can be given upon undoubtedly 
good authority. As a general rule, the economic product is the 
only part of a plant which it is needful to exhibit, but there 
are cases in which it would be extremely desii*able to procure 
such specimens as would illustrate the origin of such product, 
and the method of obtaining it. Thus Baham of Tolit, a pro- 
duction of Xew Granada, would be vastly more interesting if 
accompanied by pressed and dried specimens of the tree (now 
almost unknown) from which it is derived ; and the same remark 
applies to sarsaparilla, to myrrh, to gamboge, to olibanum, and to 
numerous other drugs. 

In the Paris Exhibition of 1855 there was a lurge collection 
of drugs from India, but unfortunately it was very ill-arranged. 
Many products, in fact, were never made accessible for exhibition 
at all, and could only be examined upon leave being obtained to 
open the bags containing them. Some specimens were placed 
in stojtewarc bottles, so that inspection was out of the question ; 
while a vast number from Ceylon and from Java, Sumatra, and 
other islands of the Indian Archipelago, were destitute of in- 
telligible labels, and wholly unarranged. It was also iximark- 
able tiiat the pharmaceutical raw products of some important 
countries were entirely unrepresented ; and that while there 
were admirable collections from French colonies, such as Pondi- 
cberry and Bourbon, and from some of our own colonies, as 
Jamaica and Demerara, almost nothing was contributed by 
Brazil, our settlemente in China, our possessions on the West 
Coast of Africji, or the Island of Trinidad 




JNTEUNATIONAL KXUIlilTJoX. 18i;2. 



283 



VJianical and Pfmrmacevtical Prodiids. — This is a class of i»0i# 
aiiiclea the exhibition of wliicli dniws fortli a far more competi- cmnmonMiiM 
live spirit than the last ; and consitlering the progress that manu- r^^'-^o^nnicnded. 
factxiring chemistry- baa made during the last few years, and the 
liberal character of otir import duties, there cannot fail to be an 
ample display of contributions, both Britisb and foreign. Tlie ex- 
perience of former Exhibitions does not suggest nmny remarks re- 
garding this class of substances. I may, however, mention that 
enormous specimens of crj^stallizcd salts, such as the ferrocyanide 
of potassium, sulphate of copper, &c., shown in Paris in 1855^ are 
less indicative of the goodiiess of the articles than of the 
expense and trouble of conveying them frorn the manufactory to 
the place of exhibition. Hydrochloric or aulpburic acids, in 
glass jars containing ^a//<j;i.s (such as I saw in Paris in 1855), 
are also quite as efficiently represented by smaller samples. 
The excessive absurdity of an entire case filled with dozens of 
bottles of cod-liver oil, of one and the same sort, all properly 
sealed and labelled, and apparently ready for sale, need not be 
insisted on, and we may well wonder that such a display should 
be adii lilted. Specimens agsiin, which are exhibited chiefly for 
their beauty of appearance, and which are evidence of no special 
skill on the part of tlie manufacturer, should bring little credit 
to the exhibitor Of bow mucli greater scientific value was the 
series of Dr. Frankland's organic mdicals in the Paris Exliibition, 
than the henps of brilliant, iridescent bismuth that soplentifidly 
decorated the cases of many of the Frencli chemical manu- 
facturers. 

Affmnerof Exhibition, — Under this head I would say a few 
words regarding the bottles and other receptacles in which 
specimens should be placed. In the Paris Exhibition there were 
vessels of honour, and vessels of dishonour, — stone bottles, 
utterly imperv^ious to light, and vases so elaborately cut and 
gilt that their contents were hardly more perceptible. Of course 
such extremes should lie avoided ; moreover* bottles should not 
(except where essential for the preservation of the specimens) 
be hermetically closed, but should be fitted with such covers 
that the contents can be readily examined Viy those authorized 



Containing 



W IKTEBSTAtiaXAL EXHJBITIOX. 1862. 

8t« to do 80. Every ^eeiiDea sbonld be mosl desrij and legibly 
j^ kbeDad ; Imi even m ibis we msjr InYe an exees& I haire seen 
a nice aeriea of jars from one of our oobmies, the contents of 
which were aluuMit completelj liidden by the amplitude of the 
paper labels pasted round the g1a«. Labels, indeed, should 
give their infommtion briefly, faller detatk being reserved for 
catalogues, of which I will now speak. 
lm\i(rtMDte of CaialopiiM, — ^These are very desirable for all considerable 
eit«iogii««. (^iie^j^JQug (,f ra^ materials. In the Exhibitions of 1851 and 
1855 there were several catalogues of particular departments^ 
which could be had by those who felt interested to apply for 
them, though some, printed abroad, were difficult to obtain. 
The colonies of Algeria and BritiBh Guiana published very good 
catalogues, which may still be usefully referred to for informa- 
tion regarding the products of those countries in 1855. On the 
other hamlp the products of Guatemala, New Granada, and 
raruguay (aud to some exttnt those of Mexico) were greatly 
diujinislied in interest from the impossibility of obtaining the 
information which well dniwn*up lists would easily have 
afforded. 



MINOR XOTES OX THE MATERIA ^^rcOICA OF 
T\Ui IXTERXATIOXAL EXHIBITIOX 

{Arzneisiofffi dcr Wdiausstellung.) 
issa. CoNTRAYERVA RooT. — It has long been known to phamiacolo- 

giBts that tlii« drug, as foond in the shops, is not derived from Dor- 
sfen'a Cotdmjcrmi, Linn., but that it is usually the root of anotlier 
species, D. hrmilirnsis. Lam. The Exhibition, however, contains 
two specimens of contrayerva root which are ascribed and, 1 
have no doulit, correctly, to D. Contrajerva. One of them bos 
been J'urwaided by M. lielaiiger, of the Botanical Garden of 8t, 
Vierre. Martinique, the otlier by Mr Deveoish, of TrinidaiL 
iJr. Urliger, the Colonial Botanist of Trinidad, states tiiat the 
drug is in great repute among the Spaniards of tlie island as an 
alexiteric* Contrayerva root has become nearly obsolete in 
Eurojiean medical practice, and, indeed, almost of necessity, for 
it is very scarce, and the little that can be found is usually old 



PODS OF MYROSPERMUM—ilAKXA. 



28T 



and wonii-eateii. Were it necessary to re-introJiice it, supplies loea* 
could be obtained from Trinitlad, in certain localities of wliich 
island, I am informed by Dr. Crii^^er, Z>. Coatrajerva is abundjint, 

Pods of Myrospebmitm.^ — Tlxe Trinidad collection of diniga * 

contains a good specimen of the entii'e legumes of M^ro^permum 
frutescem, Jacq., a tree known in the island by the name of 
Guatamare, These legumes are a verj" popular stomachic and Ouatamqre 
carminative, and are also used externally in the form of tincture, "*^^*"'^ 
for pains, etc. The tree, which in Trinidad attains an altitude of 
from sixty to one hundred feet (and hence bears a very improper 
specific name), yields from incisions in its stem a small amount 
of balsamic resin which hardens in the air and is ttien uudis- 
tinguishahle from Iklsani of Tolu, None of this resin is 
collected in Trinidad, where the tree is not very abundant and 
apparently not indigenous. Young plants of M. fruk^mns^TSLised 
from seeds sent by Dr. Criiger, may be seen in the Eoyal Gardens 
of Kew. 

Pods of Jlfi/rmpermunif having the posterior or winged portion 
broken off, are also sent to the Exhibition from Venezuela, No 
information accompanies them, except tliat they are called 
Sercipa, and are from the province of Ciuaj^ana. Careful Sfr^ipa from 
inspection shows that they are the produce of two species, the ^^^^^*^^^' 
smaller pods being apparently those of M.frutesceris, Jacci.^ and 
the larger those of some other species which I cannot identify. 

Manna,-- Very few pharmacologists having seen any other Manna, 
form of this drug than that derived from the Manna ash {Fra.r^ 
inm Omits, L.), it is peculiarly interesting to find among the 
Materia Medica of ihe Exhibition jit least four other kinds of 
manna, namely the following: — 

1, Manna of ihe Oak. — Ifr. S. H. !Maltass, of Smyrna, has 
But, together with various other interesting drug.s, a saccharine 
^ibstance called lllarhekir Manna respecting which he has given DisrWkir 
me the following iiiformation, upon the authority of a relative ^^^^ ^i*"^** 
who resided for two years in Diarljekir, The manna is found 
upon the leaves of the dwaif oaks, from which it is collected by 
the peasants, who use it instead of butter in cooking their food, 




:88 



INTERXATKiXAL EXIJIlilTION, 1802. 



loea. and ascribe to it iiu purgative properties, at leaat while it is 
freslh The manna is deposited wpon the trees much more 
copioiLslj after niisty wi^nther than at any other period The 

Oak Jraium- Sample of orik-maniia in the Exhibition constitutes a moist but 
.solid moss of egghitinated tears, closely resembling some of the 
common qualities of ash-manna. Its taste is simply sacchariuei 
and agreeable. 

Austrnlian 2. Encali/phui Manna, — There ate several specimens in the 

^^mniill*'^ Exhibition of this substance, which is found iu the form of 
small rounded opaque-white nuisse? npotithe leaves and younger 
bmnches of Eimtlffpius viminailSf Lji liiL The exudation, which 
is said to result from the punctures of insects, takes place most 
copiously in the early part of summer, at which time the manna 
appears as a transparent liquid, resembling thin honey, and 
firadnally solidifies. This Austrahan manna has not hitlierto 
been collected for njedieinal purposes. 
Lerp 3. Aitstmlum Ijised-Majma called Lerp. — Having only 

[Australian], re^jgntiy obtained a specimen of this substance, which to me was 
previously unknown, I am unable tci offer much information 
respecting it. According to the Vulorian Mi:hibiiion Eeportf'puh- 
lislied at Melbourne this year, we find the leaves of Emaiyptus 
dumom. Conn,, called by the colonists Malk Sanih^ become coated 
at certain seasons of the year witli an opaque white saccharine 
6ul>stance in such profusion, that the shrubby vegetation has the 
appearance of being iceiL This substance, which among the 
al^origines of the northern districts of the colony obtains the 
name hrp, is the secretion of an insect of the Ps^ylla family, and 
consists (judging from the specimen in my possession) of a 
series of deju-essed hemispherical cells, each from a tenth to a 
sixth of an inch in diameter, placed contiguous to each other, 
and adhering together so as to form irregular flakes, sometimes 
an inch or more across. These cells are composed of a semi- 
transparent, colourless, or yellowish substance, wliicli is some- 
what smooth in their interior, but which on their external 
surface forms transparent woolly filaments, so closely interwoven 
that the outer surface of a flake shows no evidence of the cellu- 
lar structure beneath. Each cell is the Iiahitat of an insect. 



MAXNA— CINCHONA— BALSAM OF COPAIBA. 



289 



Alhagi 
Mtinna, 



CimLnna 
Bark, 



which when fully developed, escapes by boring a passage through leea. 
the top of the cell to the outer air. 

The Lerp Manna has an odour resembling manna of the ash, ^^^ Mamm, 
a similar colour and the same clammy feeling to the touch ; it 
has a saccharine taste, but does not dissolve in the mouth. It is 
not wholly soluble in cold water or in cold alcohol ; boiled in 
water, it breaks down so as to form a turbid mucilaginous liquid, 
which is coloured intensely blue upon the addition of iodine. 
Like the Australian mamia previously noticed, the Lerp manna 
has not at present any useful application. 

4. Alhaiji Manna has been sent to the Exhibition from India. 
It is a saccharine substance in small, loose, dry gi-aina of a pale 
brown colour, mixed with lioth leaves and pods of AUmgi 
(? Maurorum, Tourn.). It therefore differs in appearance from 
the Syrian alhagi-manna, sent by Dr. Gaillardot, of Saida, to M. 
L6on Soubeiran, which the latter describes as compressed into 
loaves or cakes. 

CixcHONA BARK,^Neither Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, nor New 
Granada have contxibuted any series of the Cinchona barks 
which are produced in their forests. Thei'e is, however, a fine 
general collection exhibited by ilessrs. Howard and Sons, of 
London, and illustrated by drawings of the plant as well as by 
healthy living specimens of Cindt^jia suceinihra, Pav., C, mivran^ 
iha, li. et R, C, VriUmngo, Pav., 0. nitida, R. et P., and 6' ;jf:rii- 
viana, Howard. Among the productions of the Dutch colonies 
are specimens of genuine Calisaya bark grown in Java, also of 
the bark of C PahiuUana, Howard, a species of very little 
medicinal value. 

Balsim of Copaiba.— The specimen sent from Trinidad is 
interesting as being entirely produced by ooe species, namely, 
Copaifera officinalis, Jacq., a tree abundant on the south coast of 
the island. Balsam of Copaiba is not at present, I believe, an 
article of export from Trinidad. 

Seeds of Scaphium ; BoA-TAM-rAUANG. — In a recent number 
of the liiarmaceutmd Joifrnrd,^ 1 described and figured uuth-r 

» July, lB(»i,p. 6, 

U 



Bolsum of 
Oopftiba. 



290 



DCTEBKATIOKAL EXHIBITIOK, 1862. 



lofta. the GUsBBd moms Ik jm-fwrn^ m ding whicli some years ago had 
SoedTof ^^ epbanatil repQtatioiii in Fkria ms a specific in dianhcea and 

dyMttlorf. ¥mak JtarMgaiManee to tlie fruits of certaia species fl 
of Xri^fhumm msA Kr/Aelimm^ I conjectured it might belong to V 
one of thorn genei% or at least to the Order SapindcLceax. In 
May Its^* howeTer. ]£ Deeatsne requested me to examine 
whallier it was not nJthet the mtd o( Seaphium, a genus or ^J 
StoMlMMMi in whidi tha follicles indosii^ the seeds aremono- Hj 
6p^iiious» Teiy laige and kaf-like, and open long before the seed 
attaiiia laatnrity. The oomotiiess of M. Decaisne's opinion was 
iooii ooafirmed by speetmens of Seofhium mtphigcrum. Wall. 
contained in the herbarium of the Eoyal Gardens of Kew, and 
in that of the T.innean Society, and no doubt remained that the 
seed of that plant oonstitiitcs the drug called Ta-hai-tszii by t]ie 
Chinese, and B9a4mm*paijang and Bunff4alai by the Siamese. 
Tho French collecdon of products from Cochin-Cbina includes a 
specimen of it^ whicli in tlie catalc^e is referred doubtfully to 
Stertulia {Seaphium) too^i^tra; it is stated, though probably in 
error, to be used in dyeing. It is also sent to the Exhibition \ 
from Siam. 
Behon Eoot, ILvDJX BSHl3r. — This drug, wliich held an important place in 
thti medical writings of the Arab school, and which thence 
camo to be introduced into most of the Pharmacopoeias of 
Eui-opo up to the commencement of the last century, was 
rt3cently the subject of an interesting communication to the 
Journal dr Phni-niacic et dt Chimu ^ by Professor Guibouit, of 
Paris. Tbei-e are two sorts of Behen, the white and the red, 
both of which have long been obsolete in Europe, though still 
found in the bazaars of the north-west of India, whence speci- 
mens have been sent to the Exhibition, White Behen is referred 
by all writers on Materia Medica to Cenianrca Behm, L., a plant 
of Persia and traditionally also of the Lebanon. Eed Behen is 
generally attributed to Sfatke Lmonium, L., but the root of 
tills plant, whether produced in Europe or in Asia, is so veiy 
ditferent that I cannot suppose there is the least connection i 
between it and the dnipj in question. 



4 

i 




AMOMUM FRUITS. 



291 



I 



Amomum Fecits. — The Exhibition contains the fruits of laea 
several species wkich are not without interest to the pharma- Amoma. 
cologist Thus we find fruits of Amamum Cardamomum, L., and 
A, xajitJiioidcs, Wall., E^nt fmni Si am and Cochin-Chiua ; and 
fruits of A, maximum, Euxb., fiom India, From the French 
settlements on the Gaboon River, come specimens of the fruits 
of Afmmiitm cUratum, Pereira^ a species of which we at present 
know very little, but which is remarkable for the agreeable lemon- 
like odour of its large angular seeds. The fruit of A, Danidli, 
Hook, f , a very variable plant, common all along the coast 
of Tropical Western iVfrica, is in one of the English coUectious, 
where we also find fruits of A. latifQliura^ Mz., which are 
striking from their large size. A, iatifolium, a native of Sierra 
Leone, was described by Afzelius in 1813 in bis Rcmtdia 
Guinee7i8ia, published at Upsal, but it is a plant still almost un- 
knouTi to botanists. There are specimens of two other fruits of 
Anwmmii from the Portuguese settlements on the west coast, 
which probably belong to undescribed species. Emits of 
Amomum Meltguda^ Rose,, the seeds of which constitute the 
Grains of Paradise of the shops, are sent from the West Indies, 
where the plant, whicli has been introduced from Western Africa, 
thrives as well as in its native jungles. Lastly, I may name as 
the most interesting of all, Afnomum JTomrmflf, Pereira, the j. jTwaWiii/i 
fruits of which have for ages been known as the Greater Carda- 
mom (Cardamamum majus), thougli the name is now misapplied 
to Grains of Paradise. The true Cardam&mum majus, which is 
figured and described in several of the older works on Materia 
Medica, is atiU an object of traffic in the East, and^ strung upon 
strings, may still be seen adorning the stalls in the drag bazaar 
of Damascus, In Abyssinia it answers the purpose of a small 
coin, and as such it figures in the collection exhibited by the 
Liternational Decimal Association, The seeds of A. Korarima 
are an agreeable aromatic, in flavour much resembling the seeds 
of the common Elettaria Cardamom, and entirely devoid of the 
burning taste of Grains of Paradise. The plant for which 
the late Dr. Pereira proposed the name Amofnum JCorari7na is 
entii'ely imknown ; it is supposed to be a native of eastern 

u 2 





292 



INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1862, 



1862. 



Siatice 
luti/oUa, 




Centra! Africa, whence its fruits are exported by way of Abyssinia 
and Mtissowab. 

Root of Statice latifolu, Sm,— Among the few drugs sent 
from Kussia to the Exhibition, ai-e specimens of the tliick woody 
root of Siatice latifolm, Sm. {St, coriaria^ PaU.), which is remark- 
able for its compact substance and large size, so uiililve "what is 
usnal in other species of Statice ; this root I have recognized to be 
identical with that imported some years ago into Marseilles, and 
described by jM. Gniboiirt in his Ilistoire dcs Drogues, tome 2, 
p. 416. With respect to ite production and uses, I have been 
favoured with the following remarks by Mr* George Peterson, 
the Russian Commissioner of the Exhibition, who, as a member 
of the Scientific Committee for the Crown I^nds of Russia, has 
the best opportunity for lieing correctly informed upon the subject 
The " Sta(ic£ eoriaria of Pullas/' says he, " grows wild in the whole 
prairie country of Southern Russia, known mider the name of 
steppes, that is, land without forests. I have myself during two 
years travelled through this region, and seen roots of it of the 
length of more than thirtj-^ feet and with a top diameter of four 
and a half inches- The plant is also found in the north of the 
Crimea and in the southern part of Bessarabia, but in general it is 
more common in the eastern part of the prairie region near the 
Wolga, and to the east of this river To dig out the roots is 
very difficult, because the subsoil is hard and cannot be worked 
w^itli a pickaxe. T!ie root penetrates the soil and subsoil in a 
nearly peq>endicular line ; the longest roots are discovered on 
steep Jriver-banks, which are under washed each spring-time by 
the swollen rivulets and also after heavy rains, the latter occur- 
ring very seldom. A small number of tanners have begun to 
employ the roots of St aim, but as the supply is precarious and 
the leather tanned with them brittle, no progress is made in 
utilizing this tanning material, wiiich in more skilful hands has 
proved one of the best, as, for instance, in Spain.*' [iV. Mepcrt 
/. Flmrnu xi. 445.] 



BALSAM OF PKIIU. 



2t)3 



N 



NOtE ON THE USE OF BALSAM OF PERU IN THE 
ROMAN CATHOLIC CliURCH. 

{Chsbrauch des Pervbalmms in dcr romw-hen Kirche) 

In an mteresting notice respecting the liquid commonly, isai, 

though incorrectly, chilled Baham of Peru, given some months 

[9|go in tJie American Jounml of Pharm{icy, the "WTiter, Dr. 
Charles Dorat, pointed out that the balsam was at one time in Dr. c. Diirat, 
such great esteem, that its employment was sanctioned by high 
ecclesiastical authority in the preparation of the Chrism used in 
the Roman Catholic Church. It appears, moreover, that tliere 
still exists among the archives of Guatemala, crjpies of hulls of 
Popes Pius IV. and Pius V,, authorizing the clergy to make use 
of this balsam in the Holy Chrism, and pronouncing it sacrilege 
to destroy the trees producing it 

Thinking it would he interesting to ascertain with precision 
the terms of these ancient documents, I asked my friend. Signer 
Vincenzo Sanguinctti, Professor of Jlineralogy at Rome, to make 
application in the proper quarter, and to obtain for nie, if 
possible, copies of the bulls in question. Professor Sanguinetti 
was kind enough promptly to respond to my request, but he 
found that the records of bulls issued during the pontificate of 
Pius IV. have been lost, and that none can now be discovered 
in the archives of the Vatican. His search for the bull of BulUf PimV, 
Pius V. was, however, successful, and he forwarded me a copy, 
which, with a translation, I have given below. It will be 
observed that the bull allows the substitution of Balsam ofPtni 
for Mec-ca Balsam^ wliich latter, mixed with oO, constitutes the 
ordinary Chrimia principale of the Roman Catholic Church, ^ 

" Vide Dr. Hook's Church Dictionary, Ed. 6, Lond., 1852, where Cfirism 
m thus defined :^ 

** Vhrimt — Oil consecrated in the Romiish and Greek chu relies by tho 
bishop, and used in baptism, c^^nfirmatiou, orders, and extreme unction. 
This chriam is consecrated with great cereuiouy upon Holy Thursdiiy, Theie 
are two aort^ of it ; the one is a composition of oi! and balsam, made u&e of 
in baptism, confirmation, and orders ; the other is only pkin oil consecmted 
by the bish*jp, and used for catechumenii antl extreme unction. Chrism km 
been discontinued in the Church of Engkud since the Reform at ion." 

Consult also Hotfmann, Lexicon Univermlif Lugd. Bat., 1698 (in verbwn,). 




294 



BALSAM OF PEBU. 



immi. 



Fieuliu. 



Prtfttnblc 



FACtJLTAS EPISCOPIS DTOUKUM. 

{In emfediane Sacri Chrisnwtu cerio liquart $eu su^ea in locum 

BaUamL) 

PITO PAPA Qtri5TUS, ad perpetuam ret mancriam. 

Dfgna reddimur attentione solliciti ilia ad exauditionis grattam 
a^lmittere vota, per qa^ in necessitatibus in sacramentoram 
confectione occurrit, et consuli possit 

j. 1 Expositum siquidem Nobis nuper fuit, quod in partibus 
lodiarum ubi antistites commorantur, non invenitnr nee inveniri 
potest balaamus vel oleum ex balsamo ad conficiendum S, Chris- 
nia necessariuoi ; reperitur auteni qnidam liquor, sen succus 
mira odoria fragrantia, et ad lavaada vulnera ad modum condu- 
cens, qui coiiirauniter habetur pro vero balsamo, pnestat enim 
effectus quos balsamum ab Alexandria allatum pnestitisse per- 
liibeiur. 

{ 2* Quare iidem partium Indiarum praBsules Nobis humiliter 
supplicari foccmnt, ut in pnemissis de aliqoo opportuno remedio 
providere de beniguitate apostolica digtiaremor. 

§ 3. Nos igitur necessitatibus hnjusinodi consulere volentes, 
hujusmodi supplicatioinbus inclinati, tarn Archiepiscopis quam 
Epiacopis illamm parti utn, et pro tempore in ipsia partibus 
commoraturis antistitibus, ut de cetero perpetitis futuria temper- 
ibu3 ia confectione S. Chrismatb dicto liqu^^re seu succo in 
locum balsarai, uti libere et licite possint, amplain licentiam et 
facultatern, apoatolica auctoritate tenore preeseatium concedimus, 
et desuper indulgemus ac dicto Sancto Chrismati cum dicto 
succo rite tamen confecto, tantam fidem adhibendam esse, ac si 
in illo balsanuis intervenisset. 

§ 4. Non obatantibus pnemissis quibusvis apostolicia ac in 
IVovincialibus et Synodalibus Conciliia editis genemlibus vel spe- 
cialibus constitutionibus et ordinationibus cseterisque contrariis 
quibuscuraque. 

Datum lk»ma^ apud S. Pet rum sub anoulo Piscatoris die 2* 
August! 1571» Pontificatus nostri anno VL 



4 




BALSAM OF PERU. 



295 



^ 



Tramlatmi, 

A faculty granted to the Bishops of the Indies for the 
preparation of the Holy Chrism with a certain liqnor or juice in 
the place of Balsam. 

I*iii3 v., Popo, for the perpetual commenioration of this matter. 

We are rendered most anxious to admit to the favour of a 
careful hearing these prayers, worthy of attention, hy which a 
case of neoessity occurs in the preparation of sacred things, and 
how the same may be provided for. 

1. Forasmuch as it hath lately been explained to us, that in 
those parts of the Indies where our prelates sojourn, there is 
not found, nor can be found, the balsara-treG or oil therefrom, 
necessary for the preparation of the Holy Chrism ; hut there 
is found a certain liquor or juice, of wonderfully fragrant odour 
and exceedingly efficacious for the cleansing of wounds, which 
liquor is commonly used instead of the true balsam, for it pro- 
duces all the effects which the balsam brought from Alexandria 
is accounted to have produced. 

2. WHierefore these same prelates of the parts of the Indies 
have caused us to he humbly supplicated, that under these 
premises we would, of our apostohc bounty, vouchsafe to provide 
some convenient remedy. 

3. We, therefore, willing to provide against necessities of this 
kind, and moved by these prayers, do, of our apostolic authority, 
concede by the tenor of these presents, full licence and permis- 
sion, as well to the archbishops as to the bishops of those parts, 
and, for the time being, to those prelates who may in future 
sojourn in those parts, that they may, in the preparation of the 
Holy Chrism freely and lawfully use the said liquor or juice 
in the place of balsam. And by a further indulgence we decree 
that the same efficacy shall be attributed to the said Holy 
Chrism if prepared ariglit with the said juiee, as if balsam were 
an ingredient in it. 

4 Any previous constitutions or ordinances whatever, whether 



isei. 




MANUFACTURE OF BALSAM OF PERL'. 



1B63. 

iViri'ira^s 
confirmt'cL 



apostolic, or given forth bj pro\iuciaI and synodal councils 
M^hether special or general, to the contrary notwithstanding. 

Given at Kome, at St. Peter's under the Fishernian*s ring, 
tlus 2nd day of Aognst, 1571, in the (^th year of our Poutiticate.^ 

ON THE MANrFACTUKE OF BALSA3I OF PERU. 
{Gcunnnumj dcs Pcndiahaifiis.) 

It is now thirteen years since the late Pr. Pereira laid before 
the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain some account of 
the process by which the liquid known as Balsa?}} of Pct^i is 
prepared in the State of Salvador in Central America, and at 
the same time described, so far as the imperfect materials at liis 
disposal wonld allow/the tree from which the balsam is obtained. 
Subsecpiently to this, namely, in the year 1860, Dr. Cliarles 
Dorat, of Sonsonate in the State of Salvador, communicated to 
the American Journal of Pharmacy a notice of the manufacture 
of Balsam of Peru completely confirmatory of that given hy 
Dr. Fereim, which account was published in the PJiannacmiical 
JmtmaL 

The balsam-tree, which Pereira at first regarded as Myr^r^ylon 
p\(ht8cens, HBK, w^as afterwards called by him provisionally 
(until materials for a complete botanical description should be 
obtained) tlie Afyrospermitm of Soiisonate. Upon the death of 
Pereira, tlie late Dr, Poyle drew up in botanical terms a de- 
scription of the tree, upon which he conferred the name of 
Mf/rospermum. Ptreirm, which in 1857 was changed by Klotzsch 
Mjfroatiffon of Berlin to Mi/mrylon Pcreirw, he maintaining tlie distinctness 
of the two genera Mj/rospennum and Mip'oxi/ion} 

Tlie question of the origin of Balsam of Peru having been 
thus elucidated^ there may seem little reason for again bringing 
it before the Society ; but having received within the last fort- 
night, through the kindness of Dr. C, Dorat, somewhat ampler 
information upon certain points, accompanied by some excellent 
original sketches representing the collection of the balsam at 
Juisnagua, near Sonsonate, I think the subject sufficiently 

' JVr, RtperL /. Phann. x. 302. 

* Bonplandia, 15 Sept, 1857, p. 274. 



^crnrc^ 



SPOXTAXEOUS EXUDATION. 



29/ 



interedtiDg and ioiportaut to deserve furtlier attention. I am leea, 
the more strongly of tbis opinion because I find that continental Uncertainties, 
jihannacologists are by no means agreed as to the botanical 
origin and place of production of the balsam, or even as to the 
mode of its manufacture, one of the most recent writers 
describing it to be obtained by boiling the bark and branches 
or else by destructive distillation like tar; and two others 
naming four species of Mijroxijlan as being probably employed 
to yield it. 

Dr. Dorat, with wboin I have interchanged letters occa- Dr. a Domt* 
sionally fur some yeai"s, and from whom I recently requested 
information upon certain points connected with the history of 
Balsam of Pern, thus replies to the inquiries contained in 'my 
last letter : — 

As I presume that you are writing a description of the balsam- 
tree, I seed you by return steamer the re*|U!red answers to your 
questions, together witli a specimen of the naturally-exuded 
resin, and a few beetles which are invariably found under any 
part of the decayed baik of tlie Mi^roi^pcnmim} That do 
possible mistake nii;^]it exist on my part, 1 rode to Juisnagiia, 
it being still the collecting season, and took a &ketcli of the 
process, which, with a verbal description, will, I trust make all 
clear to you. 

Now to answer your questions : as to the naittral or sponfa- Nntiiral t%\iA- 
neofUB exudaium. In young trees, say, until the sixth or eighth atiwi. 
year, I have never seen any. After lliat age a greenish resin is 
frequently found during the sunamer months on the northern 
side of the trees when they are at rest, that is from December to 
May. It is at first frothy and of a pale yellow colour, hut as 
it becomes hard it changes to gi'een. It occurs in small 
quantities and is ditiicult to get clean, as it is verj' sticky. It has 
ashghtly bitter taste, but no aroma. The Indians consider that 
the trees which produce much of it yield an inferior balsam. 
This, however, is only one oftheir many superstitions concerning 
these trees, Tlie largest quantity I have myself seen was upon 
a very old tree ; it appeared in large tears lying one over the 
other, almost like grapes. 

Early in the months of November or December, or after the CoHectiou. 
last rains, the balsam-trees are beaten on four sides of their 

* Mr. Francis Walker, mIjo has been good enough to examine this insect, 
considers it identitul w^ith tlie PiLSialus intentitiaHs of Percheroo. 



•^ 



298 



MANUFACTUEE OF BALSAM OF PERU. 



1863. 

Collection of 
the Biilsaiu. 



Stems witli the back of an axe, a hammer, or other blunt 
iristmmeut iiutil the bark is loosened, four intermediate strips 
being left untouched that the tree may not be injured for the 
next year. FiYe or six days after, men with resinous torches, or 
bundles of lighte<l wood apply heat to the beaten bark, wliich 
becomes charred. It is left eight days, during whicli the burnt 
pieces of bark either fall or are taken off. As soon as they 
perceive that the bare places are moist with the exuding balsam, 
which takes place in a few da}'a, pieces of rag (of any kind or 
colour) are placed so as entirely to cover the bare wood As 
these become saturated with the balsam, wliich is of a light 



Eapc Bag ufled far }>re«slng the R»^. 

yellowish colour they are collected and thrown into an earthen- 
ware boiler, three-quarters filled with water, and stirred and 
boiled gently until the rags appear nearly clean, and the now 
dark and heavy balsam sinkH to the bottom. Fresh rags belonging 
to the same owner are continually being put into the boiler 
until sun-down, when the fire is extinguished ; when cold the 
water in the boiler is poured off, and the impum balsam set 
aside. During tMs process the rags that appear to have been 
cleared of balsam are taken out of the boiler at diflerent times 
and given to a man to be pressed, by which means much balsam 
is still obtained. The press consists of a small open bag about 
fourteen inches loni;, made of stout 




MANUFACTURE OF BALSAM OF PERU. 



299 



twine, open at the middle and looped at both ends to receive two ia«3, 

sticks. The mgs are placed inside, and the whole is twisted 

round by means of the sticks and the balsam squeezed out 

A washerwoman wringing out a wet cloth fairly represents the 

process. The balsam thus procured is added to that in the 

boiler. The next day, the cold balsam is weighed and put into ManipuUtion. 

iecomales, or gourds, of different sizes and sent to market — its 

price at present is five reals per pound, If it is wished to purify 

it, tlxe boiler is left standing for several days, when the impurities 

float to the surface and are skimmed o0' A little water is also 

left to float at the mouth of the tecomate when brought for sale. 



/; 



V-. 



•^^^^^^ 



GtjnrtlR, or Tecenmifcf.— One cover«l wtUi i^Aiitftlii learns 

Tliese tecomates are tied up in plantain leaves, witli a stopper 
of the same. 

A very hue quality of balsam is collected from the broken pods 
in tfie sanie manner as above.^ It requires more trouble and 
rare to collect, and there being no demand for it, it is scarcely 
ever met with. I believe it is known as Baisfirno bianco. From 
the flowers there is distilled a most delicious and fragrant 
ogjiarditnte, far superior to any brandy. 

A healthy ti-ee will produce balsam well for about thirty 
years, after which, if alloAved to remain untouched for five or 
six years, it will again produce. The eollecting bej;dns shortly 
after the last rains, that is, some time in November, and is 
supposed to be linished in May. During the rains none is 

1 It is moi^ pmbwbly nuide l>y simple expreasion, and not by boiling,— 
D. H. 



Balsam'^ 



MANLTACTURE OF BALSAM OF PKRU. 

collected. lu tlie dog-days, that is from the 15th July to the 15th 
August, there being scarcely any rain here, a small quantity is 
collected by a few enterpriaijig Indians. 

Tlie beating and application of raga is only made dnriog 
four days of each week, that is four cosechaa (harvests) per 
month. Should the flow of resin decrease, fresh heating and 
rags are applied, and after eight days tlie boilii^ is resumed, 
and so on as long as the diy season permits. It was formerly 
the practice to apply fire to cuts made iu the bark and to allow 
the exuding resin to burn for a short time : now after a good 
beating the bark is only lieate<l by torches or Ijiiniing wood. 






Ancient Tribulary BuJititn Jar, 



Tributary 



I believe I mentioned to you that before the conqnest and for 
a short time after, baJaam formed a part of the tribute paid to 
the chiefs of Cuscatlan, the chief department of the St^te (now 
S- Salvador), and was brought from the coast in earthenware 
jars representing the ^a/j^i^ or Mexican pheasant {Crdx gloUcera), 
Many of these old jars are now found in the mounds and excava- 
tions of the ancient pueblos on the coast I send you a copy of a 
broken one in the possession of our worthy Bishop. It is one- 
iburth the original she. The paJuU feeds on the young nuts, and 
is found in great numbers on these trees during the season. 

The small pucMos scattered over the so-called Balsam Coast 
are numerous. The principal ones are : — 



BALSAM PRODUCTION. 



301 



1063. 

Pueblos on 

the Balsam 

coatit. 

lV]>c<!03 or 
Coyo. 



JuiSNAGUA, a modemte-sized pueblo, abcmt six leagues from 
i^ousoiiate, formerly rich in cacao but at present of small account. 
It is tlie first town where balsam is produced ; there are 
in the vicinity about 400 balsam-trees. 

Tepecoyo, or Coyo (Indian Mount of Wobes)^ on an elevated 
ridge, the valleys on either side being well watered, is situated 
twelve leagues south-east of Sonsonate. About a league south 
of the town there is a gold mine, which was opened in 1832, and 
the ore sold in Guatemala> Owing to the depravity of the 
Spanish niinei^, the Indians rose against the owner and expelled 
him, since which they will not allow any one even to visit it. 
The produce of tins pueblo in balsam is small, having been last 
year only six arobaa of twenty-five pounds. 

TAMANigirE, situated in a circular valley, surrounded by very TaTnamque. 
high and heavily-timbered mountains, among which are numerous 
tigers, wild hogs, lions (puma), and fonr-fingered giM^en monkeys, 
YanOla is plentiful, but not of the finest quality. There are at 
pi'esent worked 14U0 balsam-trees, producing about 160 arobaa 
yearly. In the vicinity are 1500 cacau-tiees of fine quality, 
producing seventy arobaa of cacao-beans. The Indians are a 
diimken and supeistitious race. 



Chiltiuapan, near the sea, on an elevated and extensive 
plateau, between two rivers, tlie Sonto and the Sonsapuapa, 
nmning to the sea with fine tisb, and numerous caymans. Tbe 
dense foi^st surrounding this pretty pueblo contains 2569 balsam- 
trees, producing 450 arobas of balsam, value about 8*5500, The 
next article of value is cacao, of which there are 1700 trees, 
value of produce this year $830. The Indians of tbis pueblo 
are honest and very industrious, as besitles the balsam and cacao 
they have now coflce plantations, and grow much Indian corn. 
The dress of tlie women consists only of a small petticoat, 
crimson with a black stripe. They speak the Nahuat idiom. 

Talkiqite, at the foot of the Cerro del Tamagag, or Snake-hill, 
ituated on a most extensive and fertile plain, six leagues from 
*Sonsonate, south-east. There are not above 500 balsam-trees 
about this pueblo. It is more noted for its fine qualities of 
timber, vanilla and cacao. It is from tbis vicinity that the best 
mora (fustic) is obtained, and also the finest grained rosewood 
(Grenadilla). The streams, of wluch there are several, abound in 
leeches, which are sold in Sonsonate at four reals each. The 
Indians being in constant communication with Sonsonate are a 



Chiltiuapftu. 



Talriique. 



302 



MANUFACTURE OF BALSAM OF PERU. 



1063. vicious and lazy race. As in most of these paeblos, the wild 
animaJs comtiiit great ravages among the cattle. 

Jicjdapa. JiCALAPA, Situated OD a smidl plain, about three leagues from 
the beach, intersected by deep galleys (harrancas), heavily 
wooded, principally with large cedars. The ludians ai*e an idle 
race, and oidy cultivate about 1200 balsam -trees although many 
more exist iu the dense woods, wliich remain uncleared. The 
heat is very great, and the climate most unhealthy. Mai^e ia 
mostly cultivated, and pkntaina are numerous. The animals are 
tigers, pumas, warris, ant-eaters (two varieties}, armadilloes and 
large black monkeys whicli form a great portion of Indian 
delicacies. 

Ttcftopeqwe. Teotepeque, a small pueblo, situated on a beautiful eminence 
sixteen leagues from Sonsonate and one league from the sea. 
Tlie climate is very hot, often 105^ R in the shade, but from 
its elevation very healthy. The men wear a scanty breech cloth, 
and the women only an apolog)^ for a petticoat They are the most 
debased of all the Indians of the coast, plant a httle com and 
live principally on fish and every kind of animal, including their 
favourite dish the iguana. There are plenty of balsam-trees on 
the slopes of the mountains, but not above 300 are worked. 
They sell their balsam to the neighbouring pueblos in exchange 
for Ttianta. The hills also produce sarsaparilla, and several gums, 
incense, &c. 

Comasagufi, CoMASAGUA, — This towB, although producing a little balsam 
does not belong really to the balsam coast, being nearer San 
Vicente. There are about 1000 trees, but their cultivation has 
been nearly abandoned for that of cofifee, the climate being cool 
and appropriate to that plant. The balsam is sold in San 
Salvador, They have vanilla, maize, wheat, rice, potatoes, 
peaches, and a variety of fruit to supply the market of San 
Salvador. The inhabitants are mostly Ladinos, ver}- steady, 
brave, and industrious. The dress of the women changes here to 
red and blue checkered. 

Jayaque, Jayaque. — This town, which from records has existed for 

260 years, is situated on the fertile declivity of a mountain 
called La Cumbre, a few leagues from Izalco, and near the hot 
river Cachah There are about 1000 balsam trees under cultiva- 
tion. Sugar, however, is the principal branch of industiy, value 
this year in panela or moist sugar f4000. The forests abound 
in fiiie woods, mahogany, cedar, rosewood, fustic and latirel, 



DR C. DORAPS SKETCHES. 



303 



copalclii and a few cinlna trees, with sarsaparllla, About the ib©3. 
year 1780; this town, then very lai^e» was nearly destroyed hy a 
flood of liquid mud, that issued suddenly fruni a small bill 
opposite ; a jjreat portion of tlie inhabitnnts tied to the upper 
lands, and settled the present pueblo of Atcos, on the main road 
to San Salvador. The whole of these lands are volcatuc, and 
form part of the volcanic f^^ronp of Santa Ana and Izalco. 

These are tlie princij>al towns tradiog in balsam ; there are, 
however, many small viUnges and cJiacrm, or farms, having trees 
and workiu;:r them, with whose names I hare not become 
acquainted. The In^lian name of the balsam is Hod shi-li, or Od 
sheet ; in Spanish it is called JJaimmo negro. 

The drawings I inclose you are first, a sketch of the process 
of extracting tlxe balsam ; second, a Te^'omate with its covering, 
and the open bag used as a press ; tliiid, sketch of a tribute jar 
representiniT the lyajuil. 

In addition to the sketches here refen'ed to, and which are 
produced in the woodcuts of this paper, Dr. Dorat has favoured 
me with specimens of the balsam-tree^ Mijroitiflon Ptreirw, Kb ; SDccimetia of 
and as I have also received it from three other independent ^ ^^^^^"^ 
collectors, I do not feel the least hesitation in regarding it as the 
source of tlic whole of the Balsam of Peru of commerce. 
I)r. Dorat is himself nf this opinion; and the late Mr. Sutton 
Hayes, who was an excellent botanical observer, and who gathered 
specimens of the tree at Cuisnagua and in other places, assured 
me that so far as he knew, no otlier species of Myroxylmi occurs 
on the balsam coast or in Guatemala. 

Although there is some evidence to show that the balsamic 
exudations of one or two other species of Myroxyloji or Mt/ro- 
spermum were formerly collected in other parts of tropical 
America and sent to Europe as Balsam of Peru, it is hardly rmpoTtation 
on that account the less certain that for nearly three centuries ^^ ^^ BiilnAm. 
the great bulk of the drug imported has had the same origin as 
that of the present day* At the period of the Spanish conquest 
the balsam was an important production of the very region 
where it is still obtained, as is evidenced by its forming part of 
the tribute carried by the aborigines of the coast to the chiefs in 
the interior. It appears, moreover, that the estimation in which 
ifc was held by the Indians was soon shared by their invaders ; 



304 



MANUFACTUHE OF BALSAM OF FEBa 



1863. for in consequence of the representations of missionary ecclesi-^ 
astics, Pope Hus V. was induced to issue a bull under date 1571, 
authorizing the use of the balsam produced in the country for 
the preparation of the Holy Chrism of the Eoman Catholic 
Church. A copy of this curious document is preserved among 
the archives of Guatemala (of which state Salvador was formerly 

Origiuoftha a part), as weU as in the Vatican at Rome.^ As to the balsam 
liftiue. having acquired the name of Pei-u, a country so remote from its 
place of production, the circumstance is intelli^ble when we 
know that during the early period of the Spanish dominion, the 
productions of Central America were shipped to Callao, the poit 
of Lima, the cayjital of Peru, and great emporium of its trade, and 
thence transmitted to Spain. From tliis cause the drug acquired 
the name of the coimtiy from which it was shipped to Europe, 
Names of exactly in the same manner as Turkci/ gum arabic, Turkey 

*f^m tar/of â„¢y"*^' ^^^^ India rlmbarh, Bimdmy senna, etc. have acquired 
bhiiiiiieni, and still bear designations very little indicative of their real 
origin. In proof of this I may quote an interesting passage oc- 
curring in De la Martini^re*s Dictminaire QeograjMqxtt 
(Paris, 1768), where under the head Cullao, the author enumer- 
ating its imports, mentions as coming from Sonsonate, Eealejo 
and Guatemala, the Balsam which bears iks name of Peru, but 
w^hich, says he, co7ii€s in realify almost entirdy from Guatemala, 
He adds that there are two kinds of it, the tchilc and the hrmvn, 
the Litter being the more esteemed.^ 

Alcedo, author of a Geographictd Dictionary published at 
Madrid in 1780-9, writing of Sonsonate, obser^^es that it includes 

^ Ftdfl fiko Pharm. jQum. and Trans, vol* ti. (1861) p. 44C. 

***.,. Dims la Jiiurne nie dii cote dn nord sont les nuigaBma dea nmr- 
clijmdises que lea vaisseaux Eapagaola np|>ortent du Chili, du P^u et du 
Mexique. 

Dti Chi]i vicnneut lea cordages, les cuirs, lest Buifi . . . 

Da Mexique, comme do Honmmite^ Etahjo^ Q\mtfnmlay de k bray et du 

iidron qui n est bon que ptnir le bois, parce qu*il brfiJe h^ cordjii^es ; dea 
1018 poiir les t^eintures, du souifre et du bjumie qui porte le nom de P^rou, 
iimia f|ui vient eil'ectivemeijt jjiesque t^ut de Guatemala, 11 y en a de deux 
sorteis, de bknc et d<3 brim ; ce denner eat plus e^^tiuii', on le met dims dea 
COC43S quund il a la consisUuice de la bnij, luais coiumuueuieut il vient daun 
des pots de terre en liqueur, nlors d est suiet k §tre falsi tie, et inel6 d'huile 
p4>ur en aingmenter k quautiL^/' — Dk la 51 AETiNiiaK, Dictionimirt Geogra^ 
yhique (Paris, 1768, fol), Tome 2, p, ^8. 




iiLU METllOU OF I'UEl'A RATION. 



305 



Cojwjt, 



in irs jurls<Uulioij tlie ct^lebratetl Btfham Coast, where is pro- iBoa 
diiced the richest balsam, whieli in all parts is held in particular 
estimation-^ He further mentions that the only cummercial port 
is Acajutla, ftmr leagu«.^s from the capital, and that it is fre- 
qut^uted by vessels fiom New Spain, Terra Firnia and Fern. 

Juan-OS, in liis History of Guatemala^ describing the province 
of S, Siilvador, remarks that its natural pro Juctions are in ^jfenentl 
similar to those of the other provinces on the southern coast, but 
that the balsara*tree is found exclusively iii that province, upon 
what is called the Bnham Coast, which extends from the port of Tlie Balnnm 
Acajutla to the Bay of Jiquilisco/^ 

Baily, a recent author, whose work entitled Central AmctHca 
appeared in 1850. remarks that the balsam was long erroneously 
supposed to be a production of 8outh America, for in the early 
period of Spanish domhiion it was usually shipped to Cullao, in 
Peru, wlience it was sent to Europe, where it received the name 
of BaJsajti of Pent, bein^ deemed indigenous to that count^}^ 

The old method of preparing tlie balsom does not appear to Old niethod?* 
have been that i-esortod to at the present day, for Dr. Dorat IitLs 
stated that the SpiUiiards were in the habit of obtaining it by 
cutting down the trees and boilinjj[ the wood,— a wasteful and 
destructive f*ractice which was afterwaids prohibited. Whether 
the process now followed was also in vogue, or how and when 
it was introduced, is not evident ; the extraction of the balsam 
by l>oiling chips of the trunk and branches is, however, described 
by niost wiiters on Materia Mcdica Monardes, whose account 
is the earliest, asserts that the balsam extracted in this manner 
is collected with shells from the surface of the water, a statement 
difficult to believe, as the balsam of modern times, has, a sp, gr. 
of 1*150 to lino. But 1 find that even this is capable of some 
explanation ; for upon saturating some cotton cloth in Balsam 
of Peiu and then boiling it in water, I was able with a spoon to 

^ " Compri4ionde on su jiirisdEcclon la cole1>radfi Voi<ii[ del Biibnaio, d& 
donde 8€SJU'U el mas rico que se conoce, y tietie particular estiujitcifm t^ii ttitlna 
partes. "^i/*Vr*'orj fir 10 Gtotjrafiro-Hidorico ck las Indiui OceUUutaUs 6 
Amt^rua^ ittiuQ [\\ (17*^8) p. 577. 

5 HnviijLj been unable to consult the original work, I have quoted Bail)*8 
tmiipliitinn, I ondon, 1823. 



of preiwrn- 
tioa. 



^!ouardefi. 



i 



306 



MAXUFAtTUHE UF BALSAM OF PKKL. 



1803. collect Jloatuuj ua Uiv sarfcwe^ uearly the whole of the bakam 
taken. MouarJes says^ however, that the balsam was thus 
removed ajhr Ihe cooling of the water, iu\ assertion which seems 
improbahle, since moat of the balsam, if heaviei than water, 
siuks upon cooling. 

How far the bal&am obtained by boiling the wood agi^eed iu 
propertiea with that procured after charring the burk, as is done 
at present, it is not easy to say. It was ceitainly a dark 
fragrant liquid, which wlien as thick as pitch was sometimes 
inclosed iu little calabashes,^ such, I presume, as may still be 
found iu a few old collections of Materia Medica. Some of 
this which 1 have examined is a soft solid resin, sinking mpiJly 
in Water, but rising to the surface wdien the water is made to 
WLtte bflkam, biil. What the vjhK^ balsam mentioned by De La ^lartinii^re was 
derived from, I know nut : possibly it was the resin of li^iui^lambar 
wluch is still a product of the country, — possibly (though I do 
not think it likely} the resin fioui the pods of the balsini-tree. 

Another point of considerable intei'est brought to light by Dr. 
Dorat 8 communication is that the reain {or more pro;[>erly, as it 
proves, gum-resin) naturally exuded from the balsam-tree is en- 
tirely devoid of balsamic odour and ttiste. As my friend Dr. 
Attfield has kindly undertaken a few^ experiments u[ion this 
suljstance, I shall not here eutei into farther particulars risspect- 
ing it, except to remark that its total dissinidarity fi-om Balsam 
of Tolu disproves the statement of those write is who have 
mamtained that that drug is the concrete balsam of the tiee 
wliich 3 ields Dalsam of I'eiu. 



rrofc8sor 
Attfiald. 



ADDlTIONxlL NOTE ON TllE MANUlACTUllE OF 
BAL8A11 OF FEliU. 



iB64p In my papjr on Balsam of l*eru I endeavoured to show 

1. That that drug has been always a production of Guatemala^ 
or rather of that part of it which is now called Salvador. 

2. That the tree which yields it is the Myroxylon rcrtirm of 
Klotzsch. 

^ Dc la MiuUaiciT, Lc. 




CONFIUMATUKY urLVlONS. 



hut it acquired tliu uauie uf Jialsavn vj Ptt'ii solely from 
tlie circiimstuiice of it btdiig tranaported to Europe by way 
of Pent 



1864. 



de Acosita, 



Since commuuicaUug to tlie Society that paper, I have referied 
to several of Llie eiiily writers on Central America, in the hope 
of findiDg further cuiilii'maltL>n of the opinions above expi-esaed. 
In ihis I have not been wholly unsuccessful, as the following 
brief extracts will show. 

Father Joseph de Acosta iu his Uisioria SaiHnil ;/ hforul de F*itber Joseph 
las Indias, puldisljed at Seville in 1590, ^ays:— ''..., That 
which is more iniportfiut, is, that for making the Chi ism, ^vliich 
is £0 necessary in the Holy Church and so greatly venerated, 
the Apostolic See has declared that with this Intliau balsam 
Chrism is to l>e made in the Indies, and with it thai of the 
Sacrament of Conlirmation, and those moreover used in other 
ceremonies of t}ie Church. 

" Balsam is brought to Spain from Xew Spain ; and it is in 
the provinces of Guatemala and Chiapas and otliers in those 
parts that it most abounds, although the most precious is that 
which comes from the island of Tolu in Terra Firma, not far 
from Carthageiia.*' * 

Herrera, who wrote a history of the Weist Indies published at 
Madrid in 1001, states, in describing Gnateniala, that ' there are 
found in this pmvinee mauy fountains and springs of hot water 
having diflerent properties, virtues and colonrs : tlicre is tine 
talsam in abundaoee, which the Spaniaixls knew without learn- 
ing it from the Indians, notwithstanding wliat a certain author 
lias ^\Titten. Moreover there is liquidambar, copal and sucbi- 

copal and other kinds of gums and juices, very perfect 

The harbour of Acaxutla near Trinity [Sonsonate] at 13 degi'ers 



Merivm*s 
lU'couiit of 
Guutemaln. 



***,,.. Lo que tiLfta bii porta c!, que pani la siibhtitneia de luizei' Chrisuia, 
que tuu necessario ea en hi i«aiH!ta I;^le«»a, j de tania veiienicloo, ha decLimda 
la Setie Apostohca, quo cod e«te Balsarim de lEtliiiis se ha^ii Chrii^aia eo 
ludias, y c<m el s* de el Siieramento de Cunfirui^icion, y los de iims^ donde la 
l^lesia lo usa, Traese ;i Es^Miiia e! Biilaamo de la nueva E^HpaTm, v In provinck 
de Guuiiuiiilu, y de C'liia|jat y otras por alii es d*>nde uma ibuuda, uunque el 
raas preeiado es^ el que viene de l« Islii de Tola, que es en Tiernifinae no 
lexos de Ciirt;igena/'— lib. iv. t\ 28. 



ItALSAM 0»I.I,K*TI<»N AT .IlISNAd I A 



309 



I 



of ktitude, is tlie juincipul port of Lli<* prnviiice for going lo im&A, 
New Spaiu and Peru." ^ 

Tlie fnllowing jiassagi* from De I^iet/s Novua Orhis ficn i/o lie Ijiet'n 
scrijdio Indue Occid nihil Li, a wurk held ia dtsei\'ed esUieai, is of *^*coujit. 
peculiar interest as pruving tluit Uie custom of diarriug the 
trunks of the halsam-trees was pursued l>y tlie Indiana in early 
times, while the Spaniards had their own method of collecting 
the balsam. It occurs in tlie chapter lieaded ''San Sfdvado*\ 
San Miguel, Chuluiera — sptrialu dfurriptio hnrum jrronnei- 
anim et eorum r/vrr hfdinit prruUarift^^ and may in* thus reu- 
dei*ed :^— 

" On the borders of the district (*l (iuaynioeo, grow many 
trees wlueh aObrd hnlsam: and the entire coast, which i.s culled 
Tonalfij produces trees, the timl>er of whicli ia exceedingly coiu- 
pacfc and heavy, and ot wldch in a certain temple there are 
colnmiis lifty feet in Iieight. In the suniuu'r the natives collect 
the juice of the lialsani-tree, alter slij^htly huiiuug the bark of 
the stem; hiii the Spaniards allow it to exnde by itself: the 
tree bears fruit like ahnoiids, which coutnio a gohlen-cr^huned 
juice/*' 

The opposite woodeut, taken front e coloured sUelch made Dr. ('. Donun 
upon the spot by Dr. Dorat, represents the collectinu oi' the s'^^'trh. 
balsam at JumuBgua near Sunsonate. 

' ** Oa trouve en ctste proviuce plusieura fontaines et Sioaroes d eaux 
chaiides ayant tiivei^eH proprietes, vertus, et eouleura : il y st do bunsiiie, 
beuu et benucoup, que h\s EssjmjkjiKils C4:>gnureiit nan^ rupjirendie des Itidiens, 
contre n^ qii'en iiuteur t*ii eHciit. Pins il y a de Fiiiubre h^initle, la goiniue 
Htiimef copal et 8iichico|xih et shUtoh sortes de.s goinme^ et li^jneia^ trL'ii-p<ii"- 

faits Le liavre Aenxutlsi. pres de Xa Tiiiutc a 13 de^ri^s de 

haultear, est le priDoipal iturt de la proviiiee, [ximr aller eii Knif E.<]iayiie, el 
en PertJ," — Dtscripiion dts Imffx (trci'lftttaka^ iraduii dt I'hfiHUjinol^ Ani&t, 
1622, cap. xii. I have also Lonffiiltcd tJic Spanish edition publi^iud at 
Madrid, UIOl-15, 

' '*ri» finibus Giiaymwo pa^d» plurimiE niiscimiiir rtrbore«, t^wm BalsaTiiinu 
ediint ; viniverF*'i*iue era, r[naMi Tonatmn vocaiit, uiitrit iirborL^*!! adavodun* 
finim at(|'ie ponderosa juuttTif, e qua in «[iiu<liini tein[j!(j repcnanliir eahiuma; 
quinipiaginta pedes alta\ lodigente iiquoreiu Bjd.Hiuni colli^uDt a'state 
cortice Imnci leviler adu.st^ ; Hiy.pani anU^ui per se eiiamiire «iniint : fert 
urbor iiJa fnictus auiygdnlis siniik's, tpiibiis inest sijccas anrei coloris.''* — Novnn 
Orhi^ seu fk script to huUtr Ociidentatig^ Libri xviii., uactorc Joanne de Liiet, 
Lugd, BaUw, 1633, lib, vii. c. IL 




310 



WIXTKR'S^DAHK. 




OX CORTEX WIKTERANUS} 

1803* I HAVE read with mncli interest in tlie first number of this 

volume of the Nema Repcrtorium, the communication of Dr. 

Dr. HfliikH. lleukel on genuine Coriex Wlnteranus, and I beg leave herewith 
to submit same remarks on the same subject, the rather, as I 
perceive in tliat paper that the comniprcial article which is 
used instead of this drug in the German market is identical 
with what is found amongst our English druggists. 

The observation of Henkel that an impurtant difference exists 
between Uie bark of the I)n}tit/s IVinhri, mid tlie bark commonly 
used as Cortex Wirdtri in the market, finds complete confirma- 
tion in my own experience. 

Speeimenft of I have examined many fine stems of Drimys which were 

Drimys. collect.id by Captain King in 1832 in the Straits of Magellan, 

and wlrich are now in the colleetifni uf the British Museum, as 

well as samples of the same drug which wer(^ collected by M. de 

Guiliot, likewise in the Stmits of Magellan. 

Conii>ari»n;n>f Moreover I had a!i opportunity of being able to compare the 

iijecimetis- WinterVbark of Cbili, New Granada, Venezuela and Mexico — 
and in addition, samples of bark from the cabinet of the Royal 
College of Piivsiciaus in London, aud from the collection of Sir 
Hans Sloane in tlie British Museum ; aud in all cases have 1 
with the nuked eye (I was unable to examme them all micro- 
scopically) found decided characters nearly corresponding with 
those specified by Henkel. 

It is certain that no Winter's- bark from the Straits of Mageb 
Ian is now used by us ; whilst no commercial relations exist 
between the.^e remote iiarts of the earth ami Europe. 

Djnmt/fi Winft'n^ Forst,, is, however, widely distributed, for 
according to J. IX Hooki^r (Flora Aufarikn, part ii., p. 229), on 
whose opinion I lay great weight in questions of this nature, 
the species known as Drimys ehikmis, DXl, Drimys grunMtn- 
81$, Linn.» fil. antl Drimtjs M'exicann, D.C. are only forms of one 
and the same plant. We also know for certainty, that Winter*s- 

' TrHnsl*ite<^1 from tli© origiim! frnper in the Nfues Rtptdtiiinm f*ir Phat* 
iHtuir^ Baiul xi., H«^ft (1, p, 241, 



WINTER^S-BAHK. 



311 



bark 15 not collected in tlie Straits of Magellan ; that the same 
is cnlleeted, on the contrary, and moreover is in nse, in Chili 
where it is known as Canelo, as also in New Granada and 
Mexico. 

From these countries, specially from New Granada, it comes 
occasionally to Europe, and T have more than once seen thia 
hark in Lon(h>n, where it is hough t at a very low price under 
the name of repper-hark, its origin being unknown. 

With reference to the ordinary bark of commerce, I am of 
opinion with Henkeh that this name is lij no means properly 
t^iBclected. On the contrary, I do not consider it the bark of any 
Canella, much less still of CiineUa alha, Murr,, whicli last also is 
very sufficiently distingiiistied by the chemical behavionr of its 
decoction (as Henkel hiuiself points out). 

The tTue source of this hark has puzzled all pharmacologist 
who were convinced of its difference from Drtmye ; and the un- 
certainty was the greater as the spot where this bark, which has 
ceased to be an imported article, occurs, for a long time remained 
unknown. 

In consequence of the. Paris Industrial Exhibition, and of the 
importation of numerous colonial products thereby induced, i-e- 
iiable data were obtained which definitely settled these questions. 
The Winters-bark of commerce comes from Cinnamodcndwtt 
corticosum, Miers, (Annah and Magazine of Natural History^ 
May, 1858, Grisebach, Fim*a of the BntUh West Indian Islands, 
vol. i. p. ir)9), a tree growing in Jamaica, of the family Canel- 
lacete. This tree, which attains a height of 40 to 50 feet, jg 
known on that island as Wild Cinnamon, a name which there is 
also given to Cdnella alha, and hence is well cleared up in part 
the confusion that has so long prevailed in this matter. Should 
we want a chemical proof in order to separate the Cinnamoden- 
dron from the Drimys bark ,^ we use for the purpose the Tincture 
of Iodine, which, in the decoction of the (Jinnamodendron bark, 
gives a black, in the Drimys, on the other hand, a lirowo pre- 
cipitate, 

Dr Henkers third conclusion, that though perhaps Cortex 
Candlrr albw mav not be identical with the Cart ex Winter- 



18611. 



Cmuifi, 



bark. 



spectiiig 
origin. 



Cinnamfidfn' 

dron c€Tfi' 

contm. 



Teat by Iodine 
Tincture. 




ORDEAL BKAS Mf CAL.IBAR, 

im€a, anus of coramerce, yet from its a^^reement in structure 
*"" the latter may still be a epecies of Candla^ appeafs to gtre loonn 
to a floubt whetht^r gen»:rally O/ritj: Candlm albm may l»e legi- 
iiijiately attributed to Cnndin afha. Mutt. Thia doubt I canool 
ihare with Henkel, for T have received speciineiis of barka af 
Cftntllu alha from the Bahamas aud Jamaica, which show o<m- 
vincingly tJiat the comraoti opinion maintained amongst phar- 
niacolo^'8ti4 on tins point is well founded. 



XOTK ON TJIE OliDElL BEAN OF CALABAR. 

(Phi/ifost if/ma VeneTtmum, Balf.) 

ia«a. 1^1^^ recent experiments of Dm. Aigyll liobertaon, Fraser, 

StewaJ-t, Mci^srs. Bowman, Wells, and others on the Ordeal Bean 

of Calabar,^ and the fact elicited by these experimeiit.s, tVmt it 
p083€i*8e8 the peculiar p^iwer of causing the sphincter pupil he 
mid ciliary nmscle to coiiitract, render it probable that this re- 
mitrlutble flood will find a useful application in ophthalnnc 
medicine; and the present moment is theiefore appropriate for 
reviewing some of tiie facts hitherto ascertained respecting it. 
Tlio first iinpoHant notice on the subject is contained in a 
Dr. riiriHtJ- most interesting aud valuable paper by Ur. Christison, read 
befure the Koyal Society of Ed in burgh, 5 th February 1855, In 
tbii* ijaper the author, after alluding to various vegetable sub* 
fitiuieea used by the imtives of U'opical Western Africa in 
ordeal by poitxin, deecrilies as one of pre-eminent virulence, a 
large leguminous seed called Es^re used by the negroes of Old 
Csdrxbar hi tlie Gulf of Guinea. This seed, %vliich Dr. Christison 
cidled the Unkal Ikan of Old CahthKr, and the botsiuical origin 
of wliich was at that time unknown, was the subject of some 
reuuiikal>le toxicological experiments which am]>ly proved it to 
possess powers of no ordinary character. I)r Christison also 
made some experinienta on the seed with the view of isolating 
its active proximate principle, but was unsuecessfub partly owing, 
it is pmhable, to the limited amount of materia! at his disposjil. 

I ICilinhur^k Mi lin^ai JouriK, Murch 18113 ; Medical Times and GazeiU^ 
Miiy 10, I8lia. 






Uii 




ORDEAL BEAN OF CALABAR. 



313 



*' All I can say," he observes, " is that the seetl, like others of its leea. 
natural order, contains much inert starch atij legmnin, and 1-3 
l^er cent, of fixed oil, ftlsn prohably inert; that its active pro- 
|ierties may he concentrated in an alcoholic extract, which 
constitutes 27 per cent of the seed ; and that this extract does 
not yield a ve^t^table alkaloid by the more simple of the ordinary 
methods of analysis/' ^ 

Some of tlie Ordeal Beans in Dr Chiistison's possession GtTHiiuftiion 
having been placed in earth, germinate<l in the Botanic Garden %^jfj^^^ 
of Edinburgh, and in tlie g?inien of rrofessor Synie, producing 
vigorous plants ; but as these did not flower, no determination 
of the genus to which the plant belonged could be made. At 
length, about the year 1859, the Ilev. W. C. Thomson, of Old 
Calabar, a good bolauiciil observer, was so fortunate a.s to obtain 
after many trials complete and excellent specimens of the plant, 
soiue of which, preserveil in fluid, were communicated to Mr, 
Andrew Mun^ay and Professor Balfour. Their examination 
devolved chiefly on the latter gentleman, who on the 16th 
January', 18*>0, read beJbre the lloyal Society of Edinburgh a 
Dmription of the Plmit lohieh I'rothues the OrJml Bean o/ riant prnduc- 
Calalmr which, illustrated by two plates, was subsequently pub- ^"^^â– Ij^'*^*^!*'*! 
lished in the Society's Transadions.'^ 

The Ordeal Bean belongs to the natural order Lrfpmnnoiifr, the 
sub-ordt^r PftjHliomuew and tribe Phaseohm ; but subordinate to 
this, its cluiracters have been considered suilicieutly peculiar to 
warrant the formation of a special genus for its reception. This 
has accordingly been done, tlic new genus receiving from Dr. 
Balfour the name of Physosiigma? and the one species which it Fh^xostHnna 
contains that of verwnosum. 

* Pkarm, Joum.^ vol xiv. (1855), p, 472» 

* From (f^vtrdfiu to infiafe, and o-Tiy^o. The jjemis is t)i\is defined. — 
Cftlyx cari^parmljitus, apice qiuidrifidu'^, liiciniis hrevibus^ lacinia syprenm 
hiiida. Corolla ere;<ceiitii'ormb, papUionacea i vexillum reciirvum, npice 
bilolsHtTim, l)i\Ki ani^istidam, uiJir^int^ iitrix|ne nnriculatnm, niembnum 
ihtlexil iiuctmnj ineJiii luii^itndiiialiter bicallfisiim ; idee obovHto-oblongap^ 
liliene» supm cadrnun conniventes, versus biisin appendirulat^\ Diiicua 
vat^inifen Uviiriiiin stipitatuni, ii-:i-ovulaliim. StyUis enni rarina tortus, 
infra stigma snbtus barbatiis ; sttffina obinsum^ cutiilb* tavo oblupie tectum. 
Le^uinen dtliisceaij, oltgospeTnium, tdlipUco-oblongiini, aiibcomprcasuni, extns 



rencHcuniTfU 



< 



314 



ORDEAL BEAN OF CALABAR. 



tiffma. 



Botaniciil 
chanuitorfl. 



1B63. The most remarkable character of tlie genua Phym$tigma is 

Genus PhjfWB- ^^^^ derived from the stigma, which possesses a singular, crescent- 
shaped, hooded appendage. By tliis character, ami the long 
grooved hilum of the seetl, it is separated from the nearly allied 
genus Phaseolus ; iuid frotn Mucnra, to which its seed bears 
considcrahle resenddance, liy the cliftracters of its flowers and 
jiod; froiu Canamlia, hy its diadelphous stamens ami other char- 
acters; and from Lahlah^ by its phaseoloid carina and pistiL 

PkifAostvjma renenomim, tlie Ortleal Beau, is a large cMmhing 
perennial with a woody stem of two inches diameter and some- 
limes fifty feet in leugtlL Its large leaves are pinnately 
trifoliate, with ovate acuminate leatlets. Its papilionaceous 
flowers are in pendulous racemes, the stalk or rachis of winch is 
covered with tuber-like knots; each flower is about an inch in 
length and of a pale-pink or purplish colour, beautifully veined. 
Tlie le^Hime when full-grown is about seven inches in length, 
elliptico-oblong, with a short curved point stipitat'C, dehiscent 
and containing two or three seeds- The seeds, wliicb are oblong 
or somewhat renifonn, are from 1 to 1| inch in length by 
about ^ of au inch in breadtli ; their convex edge marked hy a 
long sulcate hilum» extending as a deep furrow from one ex- 
tremity of the seed to beyond the other. The exterior of the 
feed is somewhat rougJi witli a dull polish ; its colour is a deep 
chocolate-brown, somewhat lighter on the raised edges of the 
furrow. The seeds weigh, on an average of twenty, 67 grains. 

The Ordeal Beau is diflVult to obtain even near the localities 
w^here it is produced. Dr. Christiaon states upon the authority 
of the Rev. H, U Wadtkll, of Old Calabar, that '* the plant is 
everywhere destroyed by order of tlie king, except when it is 
preserved for supplying the wants of justice,— and that the only 
store of seeds is in the king's custody/' Whether this remains 
to be the fact I know not; Vuit Mr. Gustav Mann, Collector 
to the Koyal Gardens, Kew, to whom T WTote some time i^o 

rugOBunij eadocarpium intua tela hxk celltilftH t^ctiim, tsthtnifi ceUulfkaia int^r 
seminiL. Seniinii j^tniphiolata, henii^phfcrico oblongii, hilo latesulcalo semU 
cincta* 

Herbffi suflTrnticoftn? volubiles in Africa occt den tali tropica crftRc«*nf^is : 
foliis pimiatim-trifoliolittift, sti|)elljitis, Horibii.^ nodoso-TnceniojiiB, jiiirpureia. 



Royal pro- 
perty. 




PtlYSOSTIGMA VENENOSUM. 



315 



requesting a sii|>ply of tlie beans, remarked in a letter under date xaea. 
Kav. 24t1i, 1861, that he had been able to procure but few, " as 
the people tlid not like to give them to Europeans." There h 
no reason, h jwever, to suppose that this reloctance will rontirme 
if a good money -value become attached to them. 

The best form in which to employ the Ordeal Bean as a Made ^r 
medicine is a fKjint of importance to the pliarmaciBt, but one f^mpioymt^nt. 
upon which further experience is required. Dr. Christison found 
that the active matter of tlie bean could he separated by alcohol, 
and he obtained (as already stated) 27 per cent, of extract by 
this menstruum. I found that upon reducing the bean to a coarse 
jjowder and exhausting it with cold alcohol (sp gr. -SI^^S), 2*3 per 
cent, of dry extract was obtained ; and upon further exhausting 
the residue with similar alcohol at a boiling temperature, a 
further product of extract amounting to 2*2 per cent Whether 
these extracts are alike in power is at present hardly proved, 
but the result of a single experiment apiiear;> to sliow that tlie 
second is as powerful as the first. Tlie alcoholic extract rubbed 
down with water, forms aturbid liquid which, hosvever efficient, is 
certainly not an elegant prepiiration, and it has been said rapidly 
to spoil. It has been prepared of several strengths, so that one 
minim may represent, I, 1, 2, or 4 grains of the bean. In glyce- 
rine, the alcoholic extmct dissolves freely, yielding a tolerably 
clear solution ; and if this menstruum be unobjectionable as an 
application to the eye, it will certainly prove convenieut pliarnia- 
centically, as it affords a solution not liable to change by keeping. 

The residue of the bean, after the extract had been obtained 
1B8 above described, was dried ; and with the view of aseert^iining 
whether it still contained a poisonous principle, some of it, mixed 
with bread and lard, was adniiuistered to a mouse and rat. 
Neither animal would eat the mixture verj^ readily ; the mouse 
after some hours ate a pellet containing five grains of the residue 
and died in the course of the next day. To the rat, which at 
intervals ate a much larger quantity, the residue also proved 
fatal in about forty hours. These ex-periments show that the 
1>ean had not been entirely deprived of its active properties, 
[N. lieptrLf. Phami., xii., 289.] 



Alcoholic 
extract. 



Olyporiiie 
sulutimi. 



3 IB 



CALABAll UEAN-OPHTIIALMIC USK. 




ON THE BKST METHODS OF APPLYING THE 
CALABAR BEAN IN OPHTHALMIC MEDICINK 

(Calabarhohnc in thr AugtuheilkKndr.) 

laea. [ have stated that certain difficulties occur in fornjing a \uv- 

Difficiiltu's in paratioii of the Calabar Bean which can he conveniently applied 
Oplitbilniic ^^ ^j^^ p^,^, rj,]^^^^^ difficulties arise from the fact that the 

alcoholic extract, which contains the whole of the poisonou.s 
principle of the hean,' can only be imperfectly dissolved in 
water, atul that its alcoholic solation is inadmissible. There 
is also another difficulty wiiicli occurs w^ith all liquids that 
are required to be dropped into the eye, and that is, that the 
flow of teara which instantly follows sucli an application 
yjeatly reduces the aniouut placed in contact with tlie mem- 
brane, — <ir at any rate renders it very nncertaiu. 

These considerations have sur^^ested other expedients for 
apjilyiug the remedy, one of which is to use the extract by 
itsell ; anotlier is to employ it tlifTused through paper, after 
the manner recommemled by Mr. J. F. Streatfeild for the 
Mndeaof application of atropine;^ and a third is to use a solution of 
ApiilamUoii. ^1^^ extrnct in glyceiine. Each of these methods lias certain 
advantages. The extract, which is prepared by exhausting the 
finely. powdered bean with alcohol (sp. gi\ *838) and evaporating 
the solution, is not a honiogencons body, but coutaijts a small 
amount of greenish fatty oil which separates as the solution ia 
concent riited. Its action ni>on the eye is rapid and pow*erful. 
The best means of using it is to moisten a caniers-lunr pencil 
with w^ater, and then with its tip to rub off a niinute quantity 
of extract and ajiply it to the palpt'bral conjunctiva of the 
lower lid : — so applied, its specific action ensues in the course 
of a few minutes. This method of the direct application of 

^ Since publit^hing my former piqier I have ascertained that llic finely 
powdered bciin d<?i»rivcd of everylhing that akobol would remove is no 
longer i>oisonoiis to nit^, 

* Ophthahuif Hoqnial lUpari^ Jan. 1662, p. 310 ; also Fharm. Journ.^ 
Jan, 1863, p. 329. 



CALAUAII UEAN-UI'UTIIALJUU USE. 



:m 



Atropine 



prt'jiiiifd 



the extract would prubably be harJly advisable in any oLber laea. 
tban professional liands. 

The method of applying atropine ta the eye, by soaking a 
piece of thill bibulous j)aperar deliiiite size in a known quantity 
of solution ol atmpine and then allowing it to dry, has been 
recommended in this country by Mr: Streatfeild and in France 
by Mr. Leperdrieb^ Such paper should be cut into small pieces 
from I to J of an inch square, the proportion of atropine being 
so regulated that a single square shall represent a drop of the 
onlinary solution of two graiiia to the onuce. Paper prepared 
on this principle with a solution of Calabar Bean answers Cukiuir lii'im, 
extrouiely well, and promises to afford the most defiuite method 
of regnhiting the quantity of tlie remedy to l>e applied. The 
following is the process whicli T have adnptod. One ounce Troy 
cf the bean, reduced to fine powder, is to be tboioiighly ex- 
hausted by hot rectified spirit ('838); the solution so obtained 
h to be filtered and evaporated until extract begins to depoj?it 
on the bottom of the dish, which will occui when the aoUiiioi* 
has been reduced to about ten fiuid drachms. Wheu cold tliia^ 
solution is to be passed through a small filler, and is then ready 
for the paper. This may be tldn writing paper, the si^e con- 
taineil in which has been renmved by boiling ;- it should be 
)n*mersed in the solution four times, and be allowed to drain 
Olid dry between each inimersi(»n. Of paper thus preimred, a 
piece measuring Jth of an inch square placed witliin the lower 
eyelid couimeiices to act in about twenty minutes and continues 
to produce its effect during several hours. Its presence in the 
eye occasions no uneasiness beyond that which is attributable 
to the drug. 

A solution of the extract of Calabar Bean in glycerine, made 
in the proportion of 2k grains of extract in lOi) minims of 
pure glycerine, has also been tried and found to answer well, the 
glycerine in no way inteifering with the action of the extract. 

Further experiments may suggest still better preparations: for 

* Bulhtin de la Soei/te de PharmocU th BruxdJfSj Murs, \\ 93, 
' Mr. Strtnitfeild recommentb gmn nniipr, hh ^rhifc jKipiT when sonkfil 
witli toar* is nut iilwav;* ca.sily tli.stmgubheii from tlie Lonjiinctiva. 



Crlvcrriiic 
jscjfutioiK 




318 



ZANTHUXYLUM ALATUM. 



1863. some Lints respecting tliose liere nieiitioiied, and for numerous 

' careful obaervatiuna upon tlieiii, I liave to Lliaok Mr. dairies 

Jolin Workman of tho Iloyal LoiiJoii Ophtlialiuic Ho.'^pital, 

Moor fields, and Mr. Bader of Guy's Hospital. [A\ Eeptri, of 

Phartfh, xii. 435.] 

MEMOKANDUM OX A PRESUMED CASE OF rAUTHEN- 
0GENESI8 IN ZANTHOXYLUM ALATUM, Koxb. 

{Rmd hefvre Uw Linncan Society, iVbr. 19, 1863.) 

iad3. 1^' January last Dr. Anderdou brought under the notice of 

"^^ the Lin u can Society a presunietl case of partlionogenesis in a 

Aheriiu species of AhrUt, a shrub uf which, in the Butauic Gardens of 
Oalcutla, bore a large crop of well-ripened fruits contaiuiug 
fertile seeds, though only pistilllicrous flowers could be detected 
at the time of Howe ring. 

A case of similar character lias come under my own uutice ; 
ZonihifxyUmtin Iiidiau species of Zanthoxijlum, the Z, alatuvi of Tloxburgh, 

alatum. ^ dia?cious plaiit^ flowered in my father's garden at Claphajn, 
in the sjuiug of 18G2. As 1 had examined the tlowers w^ithout 
being able to detect stamens, and knew that no other plant of 
the same genus grew^ near, I was not a little sur|>rised to find 
the ovaries swell and the berries attain their full development, 
and still more so -Aiieu, Laving carelessly placed three or four 
seeds in a pot of earth, a seedling Zanthoxyhmi made its 
appearance. 

In the spring of tliis year the slirub, now i^moved from the 
conservatory to the open border, again llowered, and though 
snhjected to a much more carefid scrutiuy tliau previously I 
failed to discover upon it any other than pistilHferous flowers. 
Still the ovaries became enlarged, and the shrub again hears 
mature berries, some of wliich I now exhibit to llie Society. 



1803. 




NOTE ON CASSIA MOSCtlATA, if., A, A:, 

(Brad he/ore the Lhintan Socidi/^ June 18, 1863.) 

The genus Cassia as constituted by Linmeus furnishes 
medicme, as is well knowu^ tw^o drugs of some importance! 



CAbSU MOSUUATA. 



319 



Fistula. 



Castia 

brtutiiiana. 



iiaruely. Senna leavm ami the potis called Cassia Fisiulcf, iti 1863* 
CQiiuectioQ witli the second oi wliich I beg leave to siibiuit to 
the Linnean Society the fullowing observations. 

Altliuu^^li the name Ca^ia Fisfula, whicli is the common 
coinmeicial desiguatiun of the dnig, is properly applied to 
the ripe legumes of Cas^tia FiMula, J-., only, it sometimes 
designates those of C. brasilhtHaj Lam., and^ as I shall presently 
shuvv, those also of a tlurd species of Cussia. The legumes uf 
the first'iiamed, which, on account of the liLxative saccharine 
pulp contained between their ti'ans\erse septa, find a place 
in many of the pljarmacopceias of Europe, are liiniiliar to most 
botanists; they are straight or slightly curved, cylindrical, 
smouth, indeliLscent woudy legumes, 1^ to 2 feet long hy J to 
1 inch in diameter, and of a deep chocolate-colour The legumes 
of C. hrasiliana, whicli are seen in commerce but rarely, difler 
fiom those of V. Futuia in being compressed and thicker, and 
in having two prominent ridges marking their ventral .suture and 
tme sinular ridge their dorsal ; from each suture ramify pro- 
niineut nerves, giving a rough surface to the legume, which 
is in ell-' used by a cracking and exfoliation of the epidermis. 
The third form of the drug wiis distiuguished severitl years ago Third M|>edL'a 
by rrolessur Guibourt, of Paris, who described it under the notLtS^bTM 
nante o( Fiiiit' O/.^^c de rAjndrique, obseiviiig thiit it difiei^ Guibourt aud 
from ordinary Cnma Fiduia in being of smaller size, in con- 
taining a pulp of pale colour, and austere, astringent, yet 
saccharine taste, in the seeds beiug separated by thiuuer septa, 
and in tht* extremities of tlie legumes being Hpicuhite instead 
of rounded, M. Uuibourt regarded these pods as derived from 
a varieiy of Ca^ma Flslula, L., or possibly from a diifereut 
species. My friend Mr. Murson has also observed some Cassia 
pods of unusually small size imported into the London market 
from New Granada, and which were apparently identical with 
M, Guibourts drug. In some of them, wliicii lie w^as kind 
enough to give me, I could detect no differences which appeared 
sufticient to distinguish them from the legumes of Cassia Fistula, 



L., to which plant 1 referred 
variation to want u( culture ur i 



attributing tlieir slight 
soil. A few months ul^u. 



320 



CASSIA MOSCilATA. 



Botanic d 




1863. however, Mr, Sutton Hayes, of Paiiaina (to whose kiiidiiesi^ I 
Mn Rutton ^i^^ iudebted for many interesting communications), sent mts 
i> s^^i Am S^^'^^*''^ P^^'^ mail'ed Canajldola de pargm\ wliiuh I I'ecognised 
purgar. as the stiiiill variety of Cassia of Messrs. Guihaurt and Morson. 
In reply to my remark that they were derived from Cassia 
Flsttda, L, Mr. Hayes observed, " I think you are wrong as to 
the tree which produces the pods I sent you being a form cf 
the true C Fuiffla, I have often seen botli trees ; and tlie 
tme G. Fistida is much less like the Camjlstola de pnrgar thnn 
many other species of CaMta. The flowers of C Fwlnia, L., are 
of li«j[ht yellow and in very long racemes, and the leaflets are 
different in shape and much larger, The flowers of the Cana- 
Jidola de pimjar are yellow, becoming brick*red vi^ith age ; the 
lacemes are much shorter than those of Cassia Fidnla ; and 
the leaflets are altogetlier dififerent, being much smaller and 
quite like those of C hrasUimm ; in fact the CaTinjUtola dt 
purgnr is mucli nearer C. hrasiltana than it is to C Fistula. 
Tlie wood of the tree is very dark-coloured, heavy, and compact, 
and is considered one of the best on the Isthnms: it makes 
excellent fuel. The tree is very common in open woods on 
hills, and is perfectly indigenous ; %vhereas C, Fidnla is to be 
found only about towns and in old cleared places, as if intro- 
duced, I have never seen C. FLUula in the virgin forests, C 
hnmlianu is very common about Panama.'' 

Upon examining Mr Hayes's plant and comparing it with the 
species of Cassia already described, I have fVmnd it to agree 
with the Cassia moscluda of Jluinboldt, lionpland, and Kunth, 
80 far as the chamcters of that plant have been recorded; and 
M. Triana, who is now engaged on the Flora of Xew Granada, 
and has compared Mr. Hayes's speeimons with the type speci- 
mens in Paris, has arrived at the same conclusion. As the 
notices of this plant hitherto published are quoted entirely 
fivm the Nom Gaura cl Hpceies, the authors of which have 
not seen the flowers, I have thought it desirjible to draw up a 
conqtlete description, which I have now tlie honour of laying 
befoi'c the Societv. 



CamamcM- 



CASSIA M06CHATA. 



321 



Cassia.^ — Sect Fistula, DC. Subsect. Ehradeaim. 

C. mcschata (H„ B., K., Nova Geoera et Species, vi. 338) ; 
arborea ; fulialis imiltijugis, oblongis, apice rotundatis^ iitrinque 
pubescentibus delude aiipta gkbrescentibus, antheris glabris, 
legnminibus cylindricis. 

DC. Prod, ii. 489; Vogel, Synopsis Generis Caasise, 11; Walp. 
Eep, i 812; Cathartocarpus laoschatus, Don, Syst. of Gard, and 
Bot. IL 453. 

Hah Ad isthmum PananiJi, ubi ab incolis Canajhtola ih purgar 
vocatur (Sutton Hayes, No» 58) ; ad fluvium Magdalena {Htimholdt 
ti B&npland, Triana) ; ad ripam lluminis Casiquiare paulo infra 
ostium superius, arbor nnicus ab Orinoco, nbi abnndare dicitur, 
allatus [Spntce, No. 3300) ; ad pagiiin Villa vicencio prope Btigota 
(IWana, Na 4376), 

Arbor 30-40-pedalis, ramulls novellia flavescenti-pubescen- 
tibiia Folia al tenia, abrupte pinna ta^ petiolo coimnuni 4—10 
poll, longo, pubescente, supm pubescentia ampliore flavescente. 
Fdiola 10— 18-juga, snbopposita vel alterna, oblonga, inrequi- 
latera, basi iitrinque rotimdata, apice obtusa, interduin mncronu- 
lata, reticulato-venosa, 1^—2 polL longa, 6—7 lineas lata, margine 
integerrimo, pabescente, nen^o medio subtus prominente, pubes- 
cente, pagina foliolomm sttperiore nitida pai*ce et breviter piloaa 
vel glabrescente, inferiore fuspescenti-piloaa vel pubemla. 
Stipulm triangn lares, caducie. Eammi laterales, 6— 10-pollicare5, 
flimplices, gi'aciles, pubernlL Flm-es ilavi, mox nibescentes* 
PedieelH ad 6 lineas longi^ gracillimij minute pubescentes. 
Cali/x qiiinqnesepalus, puberulus vel glabrescens, sepalis rotnn- 
datis, obtusis, concavis, reflex is. Fcfala qiiinque, concava, reticu- 
lato-venosa, flava, glabra, subaequalia, seniipoUicaria; superina 
ovale, longe nnguicnlatum, altera suborbieulata, breviter ungni- 
culata. Stamina decern, iiitequalia, glabra; qnatnor inter ee 
seqnalia, coroUa panim breviora ; tria liiB triplo vel quadmplo 
longiora, curvata, tjasi geniculata ; tria brevissima, quornm 
lateralia incurva, medium filaniento craaso, dilatato. AnthercE 
staminum quatuor brevioroni ellipticse, bilobae, basi et apice 
biporos^i dorso medium vei-sus affixoe ; antlieree staminum trium 



laea. 



HabiUt. 



Arbor, 



Fl&ra. 



322 



CASSIA MOSCHATA. 



iB6d, longiorum late elliptica?^ birimosiei iutrorsum debiscentes, basi 
affixsa ; antheras staminum trimn brevissimorum birimoeae^ 
trilms supradescriptia Iiatid dissimilcB sed valde niinores. 
Ovarium loDge stipitatuiii lineare, adscendens, fakdforine, margiiio 
superiore basin %-ersus parce pilosum, aliter glabnim. Stiffnm 
'Ztgumen. oblique truoeaium. Le^umen cylimlvicmn, rectum, l-lj*pedale, 
ligiioaum, durum, Ifleve, coTticatuni, breviter apiculatum vel 
obtusum, septis transversis nuraerosig ut in Cassiw Fuiulm^ L. 
legnmine (cui siiiiillimum) iiistractum. Semina ovato-roUmdata, 
coiupressa, nitida, durisaima, 3 liiieas longa, coloris cinnamomei 
in succo saccharino adstriugonte immersa. 
Distinctive Cassia mosehata, m remarked by the nutbors of tbe Kova 
^Cai^i^mos' ^^^^^^ ^^ Species, OS Well as by Mv. Sutton Hayes, is nearly allied 

tkata. to C. hrauliana, Lam.; but it i-s easily diatingiiislied tVoui tliiit pknt 
by ifcs comparatively glabrous yellow tlowera and its totally 
different legumes. These legumes are stated by both Mr. Hayes 
and M. Triana to be used in medicine in New Granada instead 
of those of 6'. Fistula^ L ; so that their occasional appearance 
in European commerce is not surprising. They differ from the 
latter l»y their smaller size, less regularly straight and cylindrical 
form, and especially their paler and less saccharine pulp, which, 
when fresh, is stated to have a slightly musky odour. These 
charocters are of but little value botanically; the leaves how* 
ever of C. jnoschata, its shoiter racemes, and nearly glubrous 
ovary, amply sutlice to distinguish it from C, Fhtula, L 
[Transact, Linn. Soc, xxiv. (18C4), IGL] 



NOTE ON CASSIA JIOSCRATA, Hiimb. B. K. 

{I^harmmeulimL) 

Among the ramiy botanical treasures with whieli the travel 
of Humboldt and Ikmpliiud euriebed the herbaria of Europe, and 
whicb were described in that noble work the Nova Oemra €t 
Species rianhirum, is a species of Cassia discovered on tlie 
shores of the Magtlalena in New Granada. This plant ti*as 
placed by Kunth in that section of the genus of wUich Coma 




CASSIA MUSCHATA. 



323 



FiMula, L. is tlie type, and which is characterised by a long, iae«. 
woody, indehisceut legume, divided into culls by tmnsverse in^^oct 
septa; and, as the pulp (or more correctly j/^k^) surrounding its sp^tumtmsof 
seeds was found to have when fresh a musky odour, it received 
the specific name of moschata. The specimens collected by 
Humboldt did not include flowers, and thouglt the fruit was de- 
scribed, it does not appear tliat specimens were sent to Europe. 
The plant was thereforo known only ftoni the description in the 
JVVra Gcrwjri, and from specimens consisting of leaves only, one 
of which is preserved in the rausenm of Paris. A description 
of this Cassia was subsequently published in the Proilromns of 
UecandoUe, in the Si/nojids Gerteru CtisauE of Vogel, and in 
Don's St/slem of Gnrdcniruj and BotHnj/, but as none of these 
authors appear to have had other material upon wliicli to build 
than the original notice of Humboldt, the plant i-emained very 
imperfectly k i lown. 

It happened, liowever, that in the early part of the year 18C2 
the late Mr. Sutton Hayes forwarded to London from Panama, 
pods of a species of Cassia known there as Canafistola de purgar, dvUptola de 
having a strong i-eseniblance Uj Cama Fisiulat but diilering i^^^'tf^^- 
chiefly in being of smaller size. In reply to my observation 
that the>se pods were simply those of C. FLitula, L,, apparently 
somewhat dwarfed by want of culture or a poor soil, Mr. Hayes 
offered the more accumte information already quoted on 
page 320. 

Mr. Hayes having with Ins remarks sent me some excellent 
flowering specimens of this CaJlufisiola dc punjar, it became im- 
mediately evident that the plant was wholly distinct from Coma 
Fistula, L Further examination and a careful comparison with Cnnipamon of 
specimens, including the type sjiecimens of C, mmchata, II.B.K., specimens. 
and some moi'e recently brought from New Granada by ray 
friend M. Triana, proved, as conclusively as in such case was 
possible, that Mr. Hayes's plant and Cassia m^chafa, H.BK. 
weie identicaL Being now in possession of complete speci* 
mens, I presented a description of the plant to the Linuean 
Society, which, with a figure, has been recently published.* 
^ Linnean Transa^tiom, vol xxiv. p. 161, pL 2(>» 

Y 2 



324 



CASSIA Mt^SCHATA. 



Phurmacea- 



Casna moichata, H.B.K. is allied to C. FiMula, L, and C, brasil^ 
iana, Lam. : from the first, it ia distinguished by its luultijugate 
leavBH and shorter racemes ; aud from the second, by its much 
smaller legume, which is devoid of prom bent sutures. The 
woodcut represents a raceme of flowers, legume and leaf (some- 
what reduced in size) ; on the right, a flower, the sepals and 
petals of which have been removed; on the left at top, the 
stipitate ovary ; below on the left, an anther of one of the 
three long stamens, — next to it, an anther of one of the four 
medium-sized stamens, one of the two short lateral stamens and 
the central short stamen with inliivteil filament (all magnified). 

But it 18 in its pharmaceutical aspects that I wish to draw the 
attention of the Society to Cassut maschatcL Many years since, 
M. Henry, of Paris, published a notice of a sort of Cassia which 
had been imported from America, and had then newly appeared 
in French commerce.^ This drug bore a close resemblance to 
Cassia Fistula, differing from it principally in its smaller size, 
pale-coloured, somewhat astringent pulp, thinner septa, and in 
the legume being attenuated into a point at either extremity. 
M. Henry published an analysis of the extract obtained from 
this Cassia, and contrasted its properties with that aflbrded by 
ordinary Cassia Ftdula^ the i-esult showing the two to be exceed- 
ingly similar. A description of this Cassia was also published 
by Professor Guibourt, wlio expressed the opinion that it might 
bo derived from a species of Cassia distinct from C* Fistula^ L* 
Much more recently, my friend Mr. Morson obtained a package 
of a small variety of Cassia imported from New Granada, which 
I felt no hesitation in regarding as the Small American Cassia 
{Peiiie Casse (rAmt^rique) of the French pharmaciens, and which 
1 now consider I am warranted in referring to the Ca^ia tncs-^ 
ckaki of Humboldt and Bonpland, SI. Triana, who is now to* 
gaged in writing a flora of New Granada, informs me that tlie 
legumes of Cassia moschata supply the place in that country of 
Coma Fistula^ a fact which renders their occasional importation 
into Europe not surprising. From Cassia Fibula, they may be 

* Ji)umald«i ChimuMMic^i iL (18S6) 370. 

• Hi*t. dis Drog. iii. 347. 





GARCTNIA AFFORDING GAMBOGE IN SIAM, 

distinguished Ly tlieir sitialler size (1 to 1| feet long hy G to 8 
lines broad); their form, which is less regularly straight and 
cylindrical and often attenuated at tlie apex ; and their pale, 
austere-tasting pulp. This last character would render their sub- 
stitution for ordinary Cassia undesirable, [K Bq^ert /. Phirm. 
xiii L] 



iuto Europe. 



ON THE SrFXIES OF GARCINTA WHICH AFFORDS 
GAMBOGE IN SIAM. 

(With Plate.) 
{Read before the Linncan Society, April 7lh, 1864.) 

ifoitE than two centuries and a half have elapsed since one > 
the old Dutch voyagers, returning from an expedition to India, 
brought to the notice of his learned countrymen a guni-like 
substance of an orange colour, to which various important medi- 
Introduction cinal properties were ascribed. This was the first introduction 
to Europe of gamboge, a production which, from that time to 
the present, has been an article of import. r»ut, like many 
other substances liaving technical nses» its precise place of pro- 
duction long remained unknown, while its botanical origin has 
up to the present time not been exactly determined. The object 
of the present comnmnicatiun is to lay before the Liunenu 
Society some information latel)' gathered illustrating this latter 
point. 

The whole history of gamboge, including tlie various opinions 
that have been entertained as to its source, and the facts that 
have been made out daring two centuries respecting it, having 
Ijeen admii-ably told by the learned French pliarmacologist. Pro- . 
fessor Guibourt, and a m*f?r^«t^ofthem having been given by Diu 
Planchon and Triaua, in their recent AUnwire sur la Familie dt»] 
Gatiifhrcs (p. 19()), it would savour of plagiarism here to repeat! 
it I shfdl therefore content uiyself witli referring to these ( 
writers, and simply state those points touching the origin of I 
this drug which it is desirable to bear in mind on the present I 
occasion. 

Passing over the supposition of Clusius and Bontiua, wha 



Professor 
Uuibouit. 




GARCINIA AFFORDING GA.MBOGE IX StAM. 



327 



imagined that from its acridity gamboge must be produced by 
ISkOine eiipborbiaceous plant, we tind that llermaim announced, 
in tbe year 1G77/ that the druj^ was derived from two trees of 
Ceylon, now ascertained to belong to the order Guttifcrw, one 
of which is known to modern botanists as tbe Garcinia Cam- 
hoffia of IJesrousseaiix, the other being in nil probability tlie G, 
Manila of tlie same author. Starting from this point, it would 
seem, remarks M. Giubouit, that each attempt to diffuse more 
precise and correct information upon this subject has elTeeted the 
contrary result. I may therefore excuse myself from attempting 
an explanation of t[:ie confusion and intricate synonymy in 
whicli the writers of the Linuean period have involved the sub- 
ject, aud state at once that, although it Iras been well ascertained 
that one species of Gtirrinia occurring in Ceylon- and olhere in 
continental India are capable of yielding gamboge, it is equally 
clear that the whole of the drug found in European commerce 
Is produced in Siam or in regions contiguous to that country. 
Siam, however, is still unexplored by the botanist ; but the gam- 
boge-tree has been transported tlience to Singapore, and many 
specimens of it, cultivated as objects of curiosity, have for some 
years past been flourishing on the estate of ^Messi-a. Jose D*A1- 
meida and Sons, of that island. From some of these trees speci- 
mens were obtained a few years ago, and tmnsmitteil to Pro- 
lessor Christison, who published an account of them in the 
Proceedings of tht lioyal Socidy of Edinhiirgh? Professor 
Christison has stated tliat the tree is nearly allied to Oardnia 
eUipiica, AVallich, but that it differs from that species in having 
tlie male flowers pedicellate instead of sessile. From want of 
specimens, it appears that Professor Christison did not complete 
his investigation, at any rate so far as to publish any definition 
of the plant in question. In tbe Eoyal Botanical Gartlen of 
Edinburgh tliere has been, until recently, a living specimen of 

* Ifheetle ITorittg 3fa?criwi7 tdi<>',j>t. 1, p. 42, Hermann bad resided in Ct^ylon. 

' **Tbiii Ifrarcinia MortUa, Desrouas.] is the only speiiea growing in 
Ceylon from whidi crjimboge k obtiiinuble ; and, as tbe tree h not unf^ommon. 
the pigment migbt be collected iu considerable qniiutities." — Thwaites, 
Ennmtraiio Fhntarttm Zryhihirrj p, 4t). 

2 Vol ii. (Ib5l) p. 363 ; Phirm. Joitrn, and Tram., vol x. p. 235. 



1864* 

Bottinioal 
iJridu- 



S28 



GABCLVIA AFFORDING ai 



IN SIAM. 



ise^. the aame tree ; bat as it has borne no flowers, it has not been in 
a condition to render much service in tlie determination of the 
species. 

Deeirous of attempting to set at rest the question of Uie 
origin of gamboge, or at least of obtaining farther materials 
npon which to work, I addressed myself some months ago to 

Umm. D'Al- MeasTS. D* Almeida, of Singapore, who promptly and courteously 
g^SpiiJe, replied to my letter, and forwarded a jar containing an abund- 
ant supply of specimens of the gamboge-tree cultivated on 
their plantations, Messrs, D* Almeida informed me that the 
trees, of which they have twenty-eight (Itut which might have 
been increased to thousands had any pains been taken to do so), 
are from 35 to 50 feet in lieijiiht, the largest with a cii-cumfer- 
ence of about 3 feet ; and that they grow very luxuriantly, 
without any attention, on the slope of a low hillocic Messrs. 
D* Almeida further observe, *Uhti/ are the real gamhoge'tre^;** 
and add that at various times they have caused gamboge to be 
extracted froHi them. 

The specimens receiveti comprise numerous small leafy 
branches bearing male flowers, several branches with fruits, and 
a few with female ftawers, the whole preserved in alcohoL Pro- 
fessor Oliver has kindly assisted me in examining them, and in 
comparing them with tlic specimens of Garcinia contained in the 
herbaria of the British Museum, Kew, and the Linnean Society, 
as well as with the published descriptions and figures, and espe* 
cially with the recent memoir of Drs. Planchon and Triana, 
Sin§ftpof« The Singapore gamboge-tree appeared to us exceedingly nearly 

Onmboge-trcfl. ^j^j^^ ^ ^j^^ Garcinia dliptim of Wallich, of which we ex- 
amined authentic specimens, and equally close to the Ceylon 
species 6. Mardla, one of the two plants originally pointed out 
by Hermann as the source of the drug, and tlie plant described 
by Dr Eohert Graham in 1836 as Hebradcndron mmhogioidts} 
From both these, however, it differs in having pedicellate instead 
of sessile or nearly sessile male flowers — a difterential specific 
character, the value of which in such a genus was to us ques- 



Coiiipamoa to ihe Botanical Mo^rutHCi vol. iL (1636) tab. 27* 



GARCmrA AFFORDING GAMBOGE IN SUM. 



329 



iatt4. 



Gnrcifiia 

Morella, 



tionable. We therefore tniDsinitted specimens of the Singapore 
tree to Mi\ Thwaites in Ceylon, requestmg to have his judg- 
ment as to the probable correctness of referrmg them to G, 
Morella, Deamusa., a plant with which he w^as perfectly familiar, 
Mr, Thwaites, whose opinion ujMjn other grounds we regard as 
deserviDg much consideixitiou, replied that, although the Singa- 
pore Garcinia looked a little diflferent from the Ceylon G. Mo- 
rella^ there could be bnt little doubt that it was only a form or 
local variety of that species* If the coiTectness of this view be 
adinittedj it will be convenient to designate the Singapore, or 
rather Siam, gamboge-tree, Garcinia Mobella, Desrouss,, var, 
pedicellata, and to define it thus : — 

G, Mordla, Desroussseaux, in Lamarck, Encyd&p. Miihod., 
Botan. iii. 701, Tl. 405. Fig, 2 ; Thwaites, Enum, PlarU., Zeylan. 
i, 49. 

C. elHptica, WaUich, Catal No. 4809. 

ft GuUa, Wight, Illmtr, of IndiatL Botany, L 126, Tab. 44 
(exclus. synon, Linmei.) 

Hchradi^idron mmhogioidts, Graham, in Hooker's Companion 
to BoL Mag. ii. (1836) 193, tab. 27. 

Var, /8. palicdlata ; floribus masculia pedicellatis (pedicelli ad 
3 lin. longi). 

The Garcinia dliptim of Wallich appears to Professor Oliver 
and myself to offer no characters autlicient to distinguish it 
specifically from G. Moreilu — a conclusion substantially arrived 
at by Dr. Graham nearly thirty years ago, and I have therefore 
added it to the previously admitted synonyms of that plant. 

The curious structure of the anther in some Oarcinim induced 
Dr. Graham t^ propose for certain species a new genus, upon 
which he conferred the name of ffehradaulron, which, though Behradendrmu 
abandoned by subsequent botanists, is made the title of a section 
of the genus by Drs. Planchon and Triana. The examination 
of the Singapore Garcinia has given occasion to Professor Oliver 
to investigate anew the peculiarities of the circuniscissile anther 
of Graham's IFehradrndron : the result of this investigation 
will be best conveyed in the words of a memorandum with 




330 



GARCINIA AFFORDING GAMBOGE IN SIAM. 



autlivr. 



iafl4. whicli Professor Oliver lias favoured mc, aiid which is as 
follows : — 

" The specimens of the gamboge Garci/iia from Messrs. 
D'Alnieida have afforded me excellent materiul fi^r the examina- 
tion nf the antlieiH of this species, %vhich exliihitau unexpected 
and curious sirncture, which structure, huwever, is no duubt 
common to all the species of the section Ilehrailaulron. 
Structiiv« uf " Proft^ssor Graham, in his paper upon Hthmdaidroii, in the 
Campankm fo tlu lUifnuimi Magazine (ii. 193), quotes an ex- 
tract from a letter which he had received from tiie late Rohert 
lirown^ in which Mn Brown poiutedout to him * th tit approaches 
to this structure (referring to the circ\unscissile anthei's), and 
v;liich serve txj explain its ajudogy with the ordinary structure 
of the family, exist in Garfinm.* Messrs. Plauchon and Tiiana, 
in their excellent memoir on Giiitiftrw, in the description of 
tlieir sixth section of Garcinid (J Hehradtrulmn), refer thus to 
the peculiar structure of the anthers : — * antherie peltatie rima 
circular! (leliisceotes, ideoque quasi circumscissic.' Mr» Brown^s 
observation as to tlie existence of intertnefhate forms, connect- 
ing the structure of the Ilthrffdendron-miilieT with that of other 
Ga}rinia\ is a true one ; but in the genus Gftrriaia there occur 
two distinct forms or types of anther, and he does not indicate 
of which form he regarded the IIt'hmdcmlron-i\niher as a modi- 
fication. In some Gareinias, as in G. panic ulaiaj the anthers are 
tridy peltate^ the comparatively slender ajFCx of the lilament 
being attached lU'ar the middle of the back of the anther 
(Fig. 1). In these species the anther-cells are riglit atul left on 
the upper surface, and tiie dehiscence is longitudiuol, as usual* 
In some other Gan-tnia' the filament is continued directly into 
the base of th2 anther, passing from the base to the apex, the 
anther heinj^ technically aduate. A prion the explanation of 
the Hi'hrad^ndroji'^niheY would be simply this : — that tlje con- 
nective of a peltate antlier had become dilated transversely to 
such a degree that the lines of dehiscence were marginal, and 
the dehiscence ^^^^m-circumscissile, as Messrs. Plauchon and 
Triana term it. I believe, however, that the anthers of the 
gamboge Gareinia are not peltate, that tliey are truly circum- 
scissile, and that they are a singular adaptation of the adnate 
type of anther. It would appear as though in this species thick, 
nearly sessile, and very densely packed anthers, of the adnate 
type, have their lateral normal polliuiferous lohes wholly, ot 
almost wholly, olditerated, and the pollen, lodged in cells of 
irregular form and number towards and around tJie apex of the 




GarcimaMoreUaPer ''^.Tjcdiodlata/. 



GABCINU AFFOBDIXG GAMBOGE IN SIAM. 



331 



anther, is set free l>y a special transverse line of dehiscenco lee^, 
arlaj^tecl to tliis peeiiliar condition. Evidence, in eiipport of 
the view that tlie anther of 6*. MorcUa is a modification of the 
adnate rather than of tlie peltate form of anther, we tind in 
the eireuuifttance tliat the pollen is contained in numerous 
irregular pouches, the anther heing, in fact, imdtilocular, as mn.y 



tru^iiire of 



\\Q well seen either in a young anther (Fiy;s. 2 and 3) or in an 
anther after dehiscence (Fig. 4). T!ie circumscissile lino of de- 
hiscence, common to the numerous locnlaments of the anther, is 
continuous all round the discoid apex of tlie connective, and is 
not interniptcd at two points correspond uig to the organic apex 
and base respectively, as it is in anthers of the ordinary peltate 
form." 

DESCEIPTTON OF THE PLATE. 

Fig. 1. Brancli bearing male floM^ers, 

Fig. 2. Male flower. 

Fig. 3. Male Hower, calyx and corolla removed. 

Fig. 4 Stamen showing the circumscissile anther* 

Fig. 5. Female flower. 

Fig. 6. Female flower, calyx and coroHa removed. 

Fig. 7. ristil. 

Fig. 8. Longitudinal section of same. 

Fig. 9. Transverse section of ovary. 

Fig. 10. Branch bearing fruits. 

Fig, IL Transverse section of fmit, four-celled. 

Fig. 12. Ditto, three-celled — one- seeded hy ahortion. • 



'ii3P^ 



332 



BOTANICAL ORIGIN OF GAMBOGE. 



— ON THE BOTANICAL ORIGIN OF GAMBOGE. 

(Read before the Pharmaceutical Society, Den. 7, 18()4.) 
{Garcinia Mordla, Stammpflajize des GuUi-OumfniJutrzes,) 

The botanical origin of gamboge has been long involved in 
some obBCiirity ; for althoiLgh tlie drug was evidently produced 
by a plant of tlio genus Garcinia, it has not until recently 
been possible, for want of good specimens, to determine the 
species. 

Exi-ortaiioii. Hermann, a Dutch naturidiat of the seventeenth century, who 
resided in Ceylon, referred the origin of gamboge to two plants, 
one of which is known to modern botanists as Garcinia Mm*eUa, 
the other as ft Cambodia ; and we have it on the authority nf 
Mr. Tliwaites. Director of the Euyal Botanic Gardens of Tera- 
denia, that the former is capable of aftbrding a very good fonn 
of the drug, but that such is not the case with the latter. It i?, 
however, well known that gamboge is not an export of Ceylon, 
but that it is a production of Siam^ a country which is still 
nearly unexplored by the botanist. Wliether gamboge in 8iam 
was yielded by the same tree as that which aftbrds it in Ceylon, 
was a question which could only be settled by a careful examina- 
tion of good botanical specimens. 

Some years ago Dr. Christiaon, of Edinburgh, received from 
Singapore specimens of a Garcinia cultivated there on the estate 
of Messrs. D'Almeida and Sons, wiiich Garcinia had been 
brought from Siam as the true gamboge-tree. Dr, Cbiistison, 
whose account appeared in the Pharmaceutical Jauraal for 
November, 1850, found this plant to be nearly allied to the 
G, iiiiptim of W'allich, but to differ from that species in having 
male iiowers pedicellate, instead of sessile. Desirous of carrying 
the inquiry a little further, and of attempting to set at rest the 
question of the origin of gamboge, I recently addressed myself 
to Messrs. D'Alnieida who promptly replied to my letter^ and 
forwarded a jar containing numerous specimens of the gamboge- 



BOTANICAL ORIGIN OF GAMBOGE. 



333 



tree cultivated on their plantation at Singapore. These speci- i8©4. 
mens I carefally examined comparing them with pnblLshed de- Examination 
scription^s and figures, as well as with specimens contained in the ^^ Specimcus. 
herbaria of the British Musenm, of the Eoyal Gardens of Kew, 
and of the Linoean Society in which i|^vestigation I had the 
valtiahle assistance of my friend Professor Oliver. The correctness 
of Dr. Ch r is ti son's ohservation respecting the pedicellate flowers 
was immediately obvious, and it was also evident that the plant, 
hut for this character, bore a strong resemhlance to Garcinia 
dliptka; we noticed further that it came equally near to the i 

G, Morella of Desrousseaux. Under these circumstances we 
thought it desirable to obtain tin? opinion of Mr, Thwaites, who, 
besides l»eing an excellent botanist, was familiar with various 
species of Garcinia in a living state and especially with 
G. Morella. Mr Thwaites, after examining specimens of the 
Singapore gamboge-tree, which we had sent to him in Ceylon, 
replied that the plant was, in his opinion a form of (?. Morella^ 
scarcely differing from the Ceylon type, except in having 
pedicellate instead of sessile flowers. This opinion was com- 
pletely in accordance with that of Professor Oliver and other 
botanists whose opinion I had asked ; and I therefore felt 
warranted in bringing the plant before the Linnean Society, in 
whose Transactions a figure of it has been published. 

Messrs. D' Almeida informed me that the number of gamboge- 
trees cultivated on their plantation is twenty-eight. Gamboge 
has at various times been extmcted from them, but rather, it 
would seem, as an object of curiosity tliBU for the purposes of 
commerce, {Transact Linnean Soc., xxiv, 487; iV. Repert, f, 
Pharm., xiv. L) 

ON THE BOTANICAL ORIGIN OF SA VANILLA 
RHATANY. 

( Ursprui^ der Ratanhia von Sitvanilla.) 

It is a fact well known to druggists that the Rhatany root, lOtfS. 
which formerly found its way into European commerce from 
Peru, has to a great extent been superseded by another and very 




\ 



334 



8AVAKILLA UHATANW 



lues. excellent furm of the drug exported from New Granada, and 
commonly known in the market as Savanilla Rkatanjf^ But 
from what plant this latter drug is derived, or in what part of 
the vajst territory of New Gmnada it is produced, are points 
upon which I believe that bo definite information has yet been 
pubhslied. 

Having endeavoured during some years past to elucidate these 
questions hut without much success, 1 gladly took occasion of 
Mr. Woir^s the recent mission to New Granada of I^lr. John Weir, collector 
nJw GmiJuJii, *^* ^'^^ Koyal Horticultural Society, to suggest that inquiries 
should lie made at Santa Marta regarding Savanilla llhatany, 
and that Mr, Weir should, if possible, visit the locality where 
tlie root is collected. The Koyal Horticultural Society having 
accorded permission to Mr, Weir to devote some attention to 
this object, he soon succeeded in ascertaining that the rhatany 
in question is obtained from the vicinity of Jirou, a small town 
lying to the west of I'amplona and about midway between it 
and the river Ahigdalena. To this place, Mr. Weir directed his 
course, arriving there in the latter part of January 18G4, wlien 
he thus wrote : — 






** J(t/K 3 Is/. lufiniriug to-Jay where the Rhatauy ])lant was to 
be founds Mr. L. informs me that in various places among the 
naked liills and savannahs around, the plant grows in plenty, 
but none neartir than a short day's journey from Bucuramanga. 
He told me, also, that he used to export large quantiLies of the 
drug, but timt he had lost §2000 by the la.st lot lie had sent 
away, and had not sent any for the last twelve months. I saw, 
however, a quantity of tlie root in another house, packed in 
bags ready to be sent away. 



" Frh. int. Started this morning for the valley of Jiron, A 
few leagues above the village of lliat name the lihatany w^as said 
to be common, much of tlie root being there dug for export. 

Tlie road lay up the bottom of the valley ^ following the course 
of the stream the whole way. Two leagues above the \HlIage 
the plant begins to be frecpient, and a league furtlier on there are 
large tracts covered with it. The soil it grows in is arid, hard, 
and gravelly in the extreme, so much so that in taking up the 
root the instrument used is a strong iitjn crowbar, a little flat- 



SAVAXILLA iniATANY, 



335 



tened at the luwer eud ; frum the same cause tlic roots aiti gene- lees, 
rally brokun into sm;ill pieces in tlie pioceF's, it being rather 
brittle when fresh. The general heigVit of the plant is about 
four feet, but in some places it seems to grow stronger than in 
otliers, and I saw considerable patches of the shrub ([uite six 
feet in height 

'* I gathered many specimens of tlie plant in flower and fruit, 
and also a small specimen of the root attached to the stem 
and branches." * 

The specimens licre alluded to, comist of the pressed and 
dried plant bearing flowers and fruits, and stems with roots at- 
taehed. the last being in every respect identical with the 
iSavanilla lihatany of commerce* A slight examination sufficed ExaTnination 
to prove tlie plant a species of Krayncrla^ and the next point of " spetmict»«, 
interest was the determination of the species. Turuuig to the 
newly published Prodromm Fionr N'ovo-Ora7iate7ms of MAf. 
Triana and Planchon, one finds three species of Knimeria there 
iruumersiterl, namely^ Kr, Lcinu, L., Kr. gnindljlorn^ St. KiL, and 
Kt. ymrtimdes, Kl., to the first of which Mr. Weirs plant proved 
to be most nearly related. Unfortunately no speeinien of Kr. 
Lmna now exists in the herbarium of Linnteus, but in that of 
the British Museum there are two, representing that form of 
the plant wliich has been figured by Ilayne,^ From this type 
the New Granada plant differs in haviug leaves which in the 
young and vigorous shoots have a spathulate rather tlmn lan- 
ceolate outline, besides whicli they are somewhat mere liirsute. 
In flowering shoots of less luxuriant growth, these diftcreuces 
are far less marked, and the plant in this state appears to 
vary but little from the true Kr, Ixi7ia, The flowers and 
frnits do not pi-esent, so far as I have observed, any marked 
diirerences. 

Upon showing Air. Weir's plant to my friend Dr. Triana, he at Dr. Trintm'ii 
once identified it ns the Kr. Lriiiaoi the Prodromus Fiora: Koro- ' 
Granatfinsis, distinguished in his M8. notes as van ^. granaknsU, 
Considering the present state of our knowledge of the species 

* Prccudingi of tJi4 lioyal Horticullural Socktiff Nov. nnd Dec, 18C4, 
PL 181. 

• Artney GivxkhUf viil 13. 



itt<>iitifjedtiou. 



33G 



SAVANILLA RHATANY, 



i8eA. 



Krameria 



of Kramma^ Dr. Tiiana's determination of tliis plant as a 
vaiietj of Ki\ Ixina appeal's to me highly judicious, and far 
safer tlian the introduction of a new specific name which the 
receipt of further specimens would probably show to he unten- 
able. I therefore accept KraiMHa Ixina, Lw var. /3. granatenm 
of Triana as the plant, the dried roots of which constitute the 
dnig known as Savanilla Ehatany* 

This form of Ar. hAna has an extensile geograpliical range, 
for besides occurring in the locality already mentioned, it exists 
in Bmxil, where it was collected in the island of Itfimaraca 
near Pernamhuco by Gardner, who described it as *' a shrub 
about 3 feet high with long spreading branches/' Another 
specimen from the same botanist in the Hookerian Herbarium, 
is labeUed " common on dry hills in the Sertao of the pro- 
vince of Ceara." ^ 



ON PHARMACEUTICAL HEEBAIilA 

{Fharmamutische Herharien.) 

ia66. That the well-educated pharmacist should possess a certain 

familiarity with the plants employed in medicine, and especially 
with those indigenous to his own country, is a proposition upon 
which there can scarcely be any difference of opinion. The 
effort of mind and habits of observation brought into I'equisition 
in order to obtain such knowledge are in no small degree bene- 
ficial ; while the agreeable reminiscences called forth by an 
iaspection of the plants gathered in years long passed are such 
as may w^ell repay the trouble of forming and preserving an 
herbarium. 

But it is not the formation of a general herbarium or even of 
an herbarium of British plants, interesting and valuable though 
they are, that I venture now to advocate, I wish rather to 
point out the advantage to the student of being able to consult 

* For fnrtlier informntion on the hitherto-described species of Kramrric^ 
and the yttrious kinds of Rhatanyroot found in commerco, the reailor may 
cousiUt a valuable paper by Profesaor Otto Berg, in the Botant^che ZetUmg 
for October and Nf*?eniber, 1856. 



n 




PHARMACEUTICAL HERBABIA. 



337 



Bniall collection of medicinal plants preserved in herlmiium- iM«. 
form, and to clmw attention to the ease with which such a col- 
lection may be formed. One of the regulations imposed by a 
paternal but despotic government on the continent^ apothecary 
is that he shall provide and maintain in good oixler for the use 
of his apprentices, an herbarium of medicinal plants. Let vlb 
draw a lesson from this. In the British Pharmacopoiia about 
170 plants are enumerated as furnishing the vegetable Materia 
Medica prescribed in that work ; and of this number more than 
50 are either indigenous to or are cultivated in Great Britain. An 
herbarium comprising even four-fifths of this number would be Formation 
no unimportant aid to the student who was "reading up" ^ *°ol^an Ht^-^* 
subject so nnin\dting to most as Materia Medica. I would not, barium. 
however, restrict my herbiirium to the plants of the pharma- 
copoeia. There is a considerable numlier that are used in rustic 
medicine, some cf which w^ere held official by the London 
College of Physicians but a few years back. As instances of 
this, let me enumerate Woodsorrel, Sweet Flag, Garlic, Marsh 
Mallow, Asarabacca, Bistort, Bitter Cress, Lesser Centaury, 
Quince, Carrot, Black IleUebore, Elecampane, Lettuce, Bay, 
Common Mallow, Horehouud, Pennyroyal, Wormwood, Buck- 
bean, Tormentilla, and Coltsfoot, To this number may be added 
with advantage certain plants whicli ai*e interesting to the 
pharmacist from their liability to be confounded with others that 
are official, as Pip^dkrtim and Matricaria which may be mis- 
taken for Chamomile, FooFs Parsley supposed sometimes to do 
duty for Conium, Hawkbit and Mhamnus Frangula which it is 
said have been passed off for Dandelion and Buckthorn. 

Afl to exotic medicinal plants^ the difficulty of obtaining Exotic [iknts 
specimens would, I must admit, be far greater, and the pharma- ^**^^^^'^*' 
ceutical herbarium must ine vital ily contain many blanks. StiU 
as the Pharmaceutical Society numbers over 40 members resid- 
ent in foreign countries, it would not, I believe, be impossible to 
interest some of them in procuring and forwarding to oiu* se- 
cretaiy specimens for distribution of some of the commoner 
economic plants occurring in their respective districts. In this 
way our pharmaceutical herbaria might be enriched with such 

z 



338 



PHARMACEeTICAL HERBARU. 



isea 



Public 



MoimtiDg 
botunic-al 
8]>ecimciis, 



Puprr for 
Mown ling. 



tropical plants as tlie Clove, Cinnamon, Allspice, Cassia Fistula, 
Fureira Erava aiid Quassia. 

One of the more complete herbaria of the character 1 have 
attempted to describe ought to be preserved at Bloomsbury 
Square, and others in the rooms of the Branch Societies at 
Edinburgh, Liverpool, etc, ; but in addition I would suggest to 
those who feol or wish to feel interested in botany, to commence 
themselves the foiiiiation of an herbarium of medicinal plants, 
taking as a nucleus those commonest plants of our gardens, fields, 
hedgerows and commons, the Cherry-Laurel, Lavender, Ban- 
delion. Bittersweet, Elder or Foxglove, 

It is unnecessary here to describe the simple operation of 
preparing botanical specimens (an operation for which a phar- 
macist has several facilities) ; but a few Avords may be said on 
the best mftbod of mounting them so as to render them at once 
convenient for reference, and as little liable as possible to 
sustain injury from handling and from the depredation of in- 
seet^. In the first place it should he a rule that no specimen 
should be mounted uuless previously brushed over with an 
alcoholic solution of corrosive sublimate, a pK^cantion against the 
ravages of a certain mischievous little beetle, extremely ready to 
prey on dried leaves. Specimens having been subjected to this 
operation should be redried with slight pressure, and are then 
ready to be fastened to the paper on which they are to be ul* 
timately preserved. This may be done simply with short, 
narrow strips of paper, gummed or glued so as to hold down the 
stems and more prominent parts. Specimens thus fastened can 
be readily removed, when it is desirable to replace them by 
bett^er ; but for an herbarium that is to be frequently handled 
(and by others than its owner) it is preferable to resort to a 
method of attaching specimens still more secure, and this is con- 
veniently effected by the use of common glue brushed while hot 
over at least a portion of the specimen. Strips of gummed 
paper may be conveniently used in addition fur the better secur- 
ing of woody stems, root^, bulbs, and such like. Tlie paper on 
which specimens are mounted should be good and stout, and in 
oblong pieces measuring about 17 inches by 10. The usu 



* 



I 



i 



CULTIVATION OP MEDICINAL PLANTS. 



339 



k 



method of puttiug by mounted Bpecimeua is t4> place tliem loose isoe. 
io brown-paper covei-s, which are afterwards armng*^d one above The Pliarm- 
anotlier in the pigeon-holes of a cabinet. For an herbarium , ^'H^'* 
specially pharniaceuticab comprising as it necessarily would but 
a limited number of specimens, a lai^e book made so as to open 
flat, would probably be even mor^ convenient than the ordinary 
loose sheets in covers. The specimens 'would be retained in 
prfjper sequence, and be more compact and manageable than if 
upon separate sheets* Some well-arranged volumes of this kind 
would ailbrd much of the tienefit to be derived from engraved 
figures J in fact, in many cases the examination of an actual 
specimen is far more impressive and iiiformiug than the inspec- 
tion of a plate. The authors of the liritish Pharmacopoeia have 
carefully mentioned in what w^orks figures may be found of the 
several plants enumerated in that volume, Tlie number of 
works tlius referred to is twenty-six ; many of them are of great 
rarity and quite inaccessible to the majority of persons who 
would wish to consult thera, while to purchase the whole 

■ies a sum would be required approaching £2W. 

1 truKt I have said sufficient to show that the formation of 
herbaria of inedicinal plants is a subject that merits some 
attention at the hands of the Pharmaceutical Society. 



EEMARKS OX THE NECESSIT\^ FOR A FUKTHER 
CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL PLAINTS. 

{Cultur o£icindhr FJlanzen,) 
All who are engaged in the buying or selling of dnigs are io©7- 
well aware of the remarkable fluctuations to which such com- Fluctuaiion of 
modities are liable ; all know that a drug which at one time is '^^^^ 
scarce and high-priced may suddenly become so plentiful as 
to be nearly unsaleable. This is evspecially the case with drugs 
recently introduced and for reasons which it is not diflicult io 
explain. A drug, the pmdnctioii of a foreign country, intro- 
duced as a novelty, is at the commencement commonly in few 
hands, and hence a monopoly existing^ a high price is obtained. 
If the sale prove considerable and the dtiig bid fair ti> hav<? 

z 2 



340 



CTLTIVATKra OF MEDICBAL PLA5T8L 



kBponaal 



tin 



to i&iiiEiiy 



ud 



Rioo. 



l|ieca<:uiiiilm. 



ugmOj to tiie â– 1ii|iiiifl of li^e 
kige M ta involre the cnrBOS of the 
A raeHon camet^ do ono will inpoct i 
ntirev and coM o ^w a ifl y after llbe lipoe of timo Hie dni|g gEOi^ 
»auce» imin the price moiiBte to m fgpre liigh eoov^Ii to leoipi 
a freib impoitilioiL The mauAr of oU-estaUidied dn^ is 
dqiendenl os a variety of coeanutaiieee, mae of vldeh are 
corioiisB from the lemotepeai of their eBeeta. Thus the demand 
for ooltOD ooosequeiii on the war in the United States, stimu- 
lated the coltme of thai crop in Asia Minor ; and as the growing 
aod picking of cotton reqnined manj hands, the wages of the 
jieaimntiy so greatlj advanced that it was less profitable than 
usual to collect Scaniinony* and hence a reduced supply and 
enhanced price of that drug. 

Political convulsions impeding the freedom of commerce, also 
operate extensively in diminishing the exports of a country— 
and to such cause may be attributed the late bigh price cf 
snake-root, senega and other drugs of the United States. The 
increased value of jalap is probably due to the unsettled state 
of Mexico. 

East Indian kino of the best kind m a drug which during the 
past few years has become exceedingly scarce, or I might say has 
ceased to be imj>ort€d. Now this sort of kino, which was pro- 
duced near Tellicherry, was a few years ago brought into com- 
petition with kino from another district of India, wliich though 
considered inferior in quality was freely sold and at a much 
lower rute than the old drug. The price of Tellicherry kino 
00li8er|ueirtly fell enormously, aiid it would seem that the drug 
!ias ceased to be brought into the market. 

Ipecacuanha again has doubled in value since 1850 owing 
pai'tlyp it is said, to the extii*pation of the plant from old 
habituts and the consequent necessity of collecting it from new 
and more diaiunt loculities, and partly to the circumstance that 
the sUjck of the drug is in the hands of but few persons, who i 
are tlius able to restrict the export and in consequence to raise I 
Iho price* 



WASTEFUL MODE OF COLLECfTION. 



341 



The rarity of a drug or its total disappearence is due in some 
cases to an iraprovident and ruinoiia method of collection* 
Thus, a century ago there was still found in commerce Loxa 
bark that had been stripped from tree-trnnks of no mean 
dimensions, and some such bark which I have seen has a 
thickness of a quarter of an iuch and is ricli in alkaloids. At 
the present day, o!d trees yielding this sf»ecies of bark are 
unknown, all the Djxa bark of modern commerce being derived 
from shrubs, which are stripped even to their smallest twigs,* 
The same fate seems likely to fall {if it has not already done 
so) on the red bark of Ecuador, the thick or (aMa form of 
which, derived from the trunks of old trees, is becoming more 
and more rare. 

Mr. Spruce, who in 1859 visited the forest of Azu&y in the 
Quitenian Andes in order to examine the species of cinchona 
which occur there, found that the red bark was in process of 
rapid extermination, prostrate naked trunks, in some places 
surrounded by saplings, being the only remnants which he met 
with of tliis valuable species. The slopes of Chimborazo, whicli 
the same traveller visited in the succeeding year, offered similar 
evidence of an improvident and destructive method of bark- 
coUecting, the very roots of the trees having l>een in many 
cases dug out and stripped of their bark. This valuable cinchona 
is, however, now so \vell established in India (the number of 
trees on the Neilgherry Hills alone amounting in May 18G6 
to 297,405,)- that there is no danger of an utter failure ot red 
bark, at all events of such as may be obtained from young 
wood. 

The advanced price of scammony already mentioned, presents 

an instance in which the supply of a drug is diminished by the 

introduction of a more profitable object of commerce. This 

cause, combined with the clearing of forests, has operated still 

more strongly in the case of some dings the demand for which 

has been small and uncertain. Thus it has been more advan- 

> CrosH^ Report on Ejrpeditioii to Procure S^hU a/ Cinchona condaniinea in 
tl^ FtyrmU of Loia^ November 1861, 

• Parliamentary Retunx, ordered by the Hoitse of Conutionn to bo printed 

lath Juno mm. 



1997. 

Imnrovtdent 
collection. 



Red bark* 



CniiBeB of 
scarcity. 




CanaxMW 

d at wlndi w«re fur- 

wAed faf the Spniili aofaite m « 

to lkOUWorid.we maj wu(i^ Jht JSmfpatnuem oi 
th0 gwul wnjBtrf BImmIj— vnd wes tavBi in ov shops, 
Thii iwlalsftori it tehred ton two rmotV 11116 ^brabbgr i 
of Conrivniai occnmxig in tbe Csasrie^, in whieh iakncb^ 
I hsTe been iiifiwisiwl lijr Dr. BoO^wlicft st my 
leqnest msde epecisl tnquiries w the solgeet^ no sfarabs are 
' to te Umnd haviiig woody stems thid^ enough to be worth 
eoUactJBg, The oil o£ Bhodxitm sold in the shops is wdl known 
to hs sn sitifidsl oompoiiiid. 

Ssgspsnmn may slso be meDtioiied ss a drug that has almoefc 
esised to be imported ; and it is one of which we know neither 
the Ixitanical source nor exact place of production, a lemsik 
that appliea to another gum-feain of the &ame class» nsmdy, 
opopanax. 

Froiu considerations snch as the foregoing, it becomes evident 
that the supply of many drugs which are obtained witbont 
culture is 4jf necessity iJuctuating and precarious and most 
pcfHons will be disposed to acquiesce in the remark of an 
accomplished modem traveller and naturalist, that " whatever 
ve^'ctttble snbstauce is needful to man, he must ultimately 
Ki'f^-Mlty for cultivate the plant producing it" This indeed is a truth exem- 
plilii^d in many ways. In the animal kingdom we find it 
iH'cdfijl to cultivate, so to spe^ik, both oysters and salmon, while 
partridges, pheasants, grouse, hares and foxes all receive in our 
inLuKl piijti'ction sufficient to save them from extermination. 
Iii Iht! vf'i^tvtahle kingdom, and in that branch of it with which 
we havo to do, tliere are several medicinal plants once easily 
pmcunnl in a wild state which it has now become necessary to 
cult i vain. Henbane, belladonna, foxglove, hemlock, penny- 
royal and valerian have all to be cultivated, in order that 



eaUiviition. 




ADVANTAGES OF CULTIVATION. 



843 



Â¥ 



they may be obtained abundantly and regularly ; and it seems leez. 
probable tliat even the common dandelion may soon be honoured 
with tlie cultivator's care. These, however, are examples of 
the cultivation of plants in the country in which they are 
indigenous, 

The introduction of the cinchona into the Dutch and British Ciucliona. 
East Indies presents an instance, and a very remarkable one, 
of the culture of an exotic plant hitherto only know in a wild 
state, I do not intend here to survey tlie progress of cinchona 
plantations. Their success, however, is so pmmising that it 
should stimulate further enterprise of the same kind, and espe- 
cially the introduction to India of ipecacuanha. 

The ipecacuanha plant, CepJudis Ijyccacuanlia, A. Eich., which Ipecucuaiilia, 
belongs to the same order as the cinchona, is a native of Brazil, 
where it occurs in shady humid forests, lying bet ween the 8 tit and 
20th parallels of south latitude. The phmt is also found in Kew 
Granada, in which country, however, its root is not collected 
to any large extent. The supply of the di'ug is therefore drawn 
from Brazil, whence in 1862 it was exported to the valuo 
of £11,225. 

The coDSumption of ipecacuanha in India is lai^e, as may be 
judged from the fact that the Indian Goveninient purchased 
3,571 lbs. of the drug in the year 1860, 4,011 lbs. in 1859, 2,636 
lbs. in 1858 and 1,386 lbs, in 1857. We know but little as to 
the susceptibility of the ipecacuanha plant for cultivation. In 
the hothouses of our botanical gardens, where it is by no means 
common, it appears as a hunible plant of slow growth and tender 
appearance. In attempting its culture in India the first object 
should be to procure from Brazil a supply of recent mature 
seeds^ which should be transmitted to Europe in the most rapid 
manner for distribution, it may be suggested, among the cinchona 
cultivatoi-s in our own possessions, as well as those in the Dutch 
East Indies and in Algeria 

One special advantage that accrues from the cultivation anrl 
preparation of medicinal plants by civilized and intelligent 
f>er3ons, is the much better condition in which they are pre- 
sented to commerce. As an instance of this I may cite 




344 



CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS. 



iae7. TinneveUy senaa, which is but a cultivated form of the senna 
TinneveUr produced on the shores of the Red Sea, and known from its 
wjnna. port of shipment to Europe as Bombay seuna. Hov/ remark- 
able the contrast l>etween these two drugs ! Would not similar 
advantages be derived from the cultivation in India of Columba 
root ? Tbis dru;^ as imported is invariably found to be more 
or less worm-eaten and is often in other respects ill-conditioned — 
defects attributable, as I believe, to the slovenly manner in which 
it is dried, stored and packed. The plant, which is indigenous 
to Mozambique, flourishes perfectly in Mauritius and would pro- 
bably thrive with equal luxuriance in Ceylon and Continental 
Intlia. 

There are two otlier drugs which I have often thought it would 
be advantageous to procure in a better contlition than we now 
usually fiud them ; and these are Hemidesmus root and Chiretta, 
both of which are often imported in an unsound state. Some 
of the former, kindly collected for me in Madras by Dr, Lestock 
Stewart, contrasted most favourably with the Hemidesmus 
ordinarily imported. 

Anotber drug which it appears to me might be obtained in 
far better condition by the exercise of more intelligent skill is 
jalap» but as I have prepared some remarks in a separate form 
upon tliis drug I will not in tliis place aay more. 

Let me in conclusion commend attention to the woitIs with 
wbifh I commenced this paper — the necessity for a further 
cultivation of medicinal plants. [M, jRe^rLf. Pharm, xvi., 365.] 



root ami 
CkiitJtta. 



Jtlap, 



ON THE CULTIVATION OF JALAP. 

{CuUitr der JahpinuHTtdc, Ipotnasa Purga.) 

TuK considerations which render it expedient that the cultS 
vation of jalap should be attempted in some other country thaa 
that in which the plant is indigenous^ are the following : — 

1, The present supply of jalap is precarious and fluctuating. 

2. The drug is often of bad quality even when genuine, owing 
to the rude method in which the tubers are dried, and frequently 
to their having been collected while too young and small 



CULTIVATION OF JALAP. 



345 



3. The frequent admixture of other roots with the jalap of leez. 
commerce. 



Essential 
re^uLsiteii. 



The cultivation of jalap to be successful must result iu pro* 
ducing the drug identical in mediciual activity with that hither- 
to employed, of uuiforni good q^uality, of moderate price, and in 
sufficient quantity to be noticeable in the market. Experience 
^one can determine whether all or only some of these desider- 
ata can be attained. 

Let us now consider what is the climate, and what the soil, of 
the region in which the jalap-plant {Exogonmm pttrga^ Benth.) 
naturally thrives ; and what the method actually pursued for 
collecting and preparing the drug for the market. On tliese sub* 
jects the most graphic information that I have met with, is con- 
tained in a letter addressed by Dr. Schiede, a Crermim traveller and Dr. Schiede. 
botanist, to Dr. D. F. L von Schlechtendal ; it bears date Mexico, 
2 Gill October, 1829, and was published in the periodical called 
LinTura the following year. Of this letter, the following is a 
translation : — 

Before T leave Chiconquiaco^ I must communicate to you the 
most interesting facts wliich I have observed on the occurrence 
of Convolvuhcs Jalapa, as well as what I have learnt respecting 
the collection of the root and its preparation for the market 
In my last coUections from Jalapa, I sent you a large number of 
flovvenng specimens, and added a short description of the plant, 
eo that this latter I may here omit. 

Tlie herbaceous plant whose tuberous root furnishes the 
almost indispensable medicine aiWedjaiap, does not grow in the Jakp. 
immediate vicinity of Jalapa, but several thousand feet higher 
on the eastern slopes of the Mexican Andes, especially about 
Chiconquiaco and the neij^hbouring villages, and also, as I hear, 
about San Salvador, on the eastern slope of the Cofre de Perote. 
The mean altitude at which the plant occurs may be stated as 
about 6000 feet lu this region it rains almost the whole year 
through. During summer tine clear mornings are commonly 
succeeded by violent showers in the afternoon ; in winter indeed 
these latter do not occur, but dense mists lie for days and weeks 
with but few clear interv^als, on the mountains as well as on 

' Chicanqutaco is ti viUage situated on the mountAiii known as the Cofre 
dePerote, aad in the region called by the Mexicans I'tcrm/rwi.— D.H. 



34C 



CULTIVATION OF JALAP. 



Dryinf?" the 
tubci-H. 



iBflT. their declivities. The plant prefers shade, and is found only in 
woods where it climbs over trees and bushes. The flowers ap* 
pear in August anil September. The root is dug up during the 
whole year» but probably that is preferable which is coUcctad 
l.K^fore the young shoote app»ear, — tliat is to say in March and 
April The tubers are sometimes elongated, sometimes round, 
and always terminate in a routlet. In tlie fresh state they are 
whitish, almost iuodoroua and full of a viscid juice wluch has a 
peculiar acrid taste. AVhen collected, the lai^e tubers are cut 
throiii^h, but the smaller left entire. As drying them in the sun 
would probably be inipracticabte, they are placed in a net and 
tlien hung over the almost-constanily burning heartli where by 
degrees tliey dry, and by which process they almost always ac- 
quire a smoky fi]>peamnce and somewhat sooty smell. In about 
ten to fonrteen days tlie Parga is dry, and is then taken by the 
collectf^rs who are mostly Indians, to Jidapa, where it is bought 
up, uikI whence it is conveyed by way of Vera Cruz into the 
miakL't? of Europe. 

The Indians of Chiconqniaco are commencing to cultivate 
Oanlon tntlti- the jalap plant in their gardens. The fnlure will show whether 
its powers are in any degree impaired by cultivation. Culti- 
vation will afford the advantage that the roots may be collected 
at the most favourable time of year, wliich in the thick forests 
is attended with ditiicuity. I do not abaudon the hope that 
Convdmilm Jalapa may some day be planted in our gardens on 
a large scale ; is not the potato a native of a similar region ? 
The |>lant will scarcely bear the severity of a German winter in 
the open air, but the spring and autumn frosts will not, I think 
injure it, for it has to endure the same reduced temperature in 
its native home. 

I now hear that the root has also been exported from Tampico, 
which shows that it occurs northward of the mountains of Chi- 
conquiaco, perhaps in the Sierra Mad re. 



vatioii of 
Jalap. 




To this account may be added a few lines extracted from a 
letter received from a valued correspondent of my own in 
Mexico, to whom T am also indebted for more than a hundred 
living tubers of the jahxp plant: — 

" The tubers of jalap require a deep rich v^etable soil {ddhru 
of the leaves of Finus, Qia'TcuSj Alnvs, etc.), and as they grxjw 
at an elevation of from 7000 to 10,000 feet above the level of 
the ocean, they can stand a good deal of cold and even frost 




CULTIVATION OF JALAR 



34^ 



during the nij^ht In the daytime from G0° to Vo"" Fahr, is their 
almost daily warmth. Around Cor<lova the plant will not sue- 
cued, the elimnte being too warm. I would a<lvise you to plant 
some of the tubers out in the free air, treutin.; them like dahlias, 
that is, to take up the roots in October, and plant them again in 
March or A|iril, Although the plants may not flower or ripen 
seeds, the tubers will grow in size, and what m more iniportiLnt, 
will multiply underground ad infinitum. If jalap-root^s so far 
have failed in Europe, it ie because they have been treated as 
hothouse plants/* 



1B67. 



*Si>il and 
CUmtito, 



Having these data regarding the climate and soil which are 
natural to the jalap- plant, we must next consider what regions 
offer conditions sufficiently similar to render the culture of the 
plant probably successful. It is plain from the accounts I have 
quoted that a humid climate ha\ing a temperature risiug in sum- 
mer to about 75^ F, and sinking in winter to the freezing point 
is that which the plant naturally aflects; and this is conlirmed 
by the fact that the phuit thrives perfectly wxdl in the open air 
during the summer months, in gardens in the south of England, 
but that it will not eudure unprotected the severe frosts of 
winter. Whether the great altitude above the sea-level at which 
it occurs in Mexico, is an indispensalde condition for its com- 
plete development, is a point on which we have no infor- 
mation. 

In Cornwall and in some localities in Devonshire, as well as fSug^'cstiojis 
on the southern side of the Isle of Wight, it is probable the ^'^'^J-'J^^*^^^^* 
jalap-plant would thrive in the open ground as a garden-plant 
during the whole year, and it is very desirable that experiments 
should be made to determine this point, In Madeira it would 
probably also succeed well if planted in situations sufficiently 
elevated. 

But if it be necessary to select the situation in the British 
dominions which for climate and elevation above the sea-level 
presents conditions most nearly resembling those of the jalap- 
yielding region of the Mexican Cordillera, we must, I think, 
look to some localities in India ; and of those that can be named 
the Neilgheny flills in the Madnts Presidency offer perhaps the 
greatest combination of advantages for attempting the culti- 




348 



CULTIVATION OF JALAP, 



laez. vation of jalap. Not only is there a Government gartleE at 
Ootacamnnd, where the plant might in the first instance be cul- 
tivated, but there are numerous other localities in the neighbour- 
hood, slightly differing in climate and soil, where experiments 
Advantftges might be carried on. To these advantages must be added tlfl 
Ootju^mid ^^^^ ^^^^^ Ootacamund is the habitual residence of numerous in- 
telligent Europeans, whose attention has been specially directeiL 
in connection with cinchona-culture, to those circumstances dl 
soil, climate, and planting, on which the successfiil introduction 
of a foreign plant is dependent. 

There are doubtless other localities in India, as, for instance, 
certain regions in the Himalaya, in which the culture of the 
jalap-plant might advantageously be attempted, but until a 
supply of the roots is abundant, it will probably he wise to re- 
strict experiments to one spot. 

It must not, howerer, be supposed that no attempts to cultivat 
jalap have hitherto been made, though it may be safely asser 
that none have resulted in obtaining for the market a better 
Kxperiments supply of the drug. In Mexico, as Schiede relates, the Indians 
were commencing in 1829 to cultivate the plant in their 
gardens ; and I have been informed by a London druggist that 
some of the jalap now found in the market is derived from cul- 
tivated plants. The late Dr, Eoyle states that he sent plants 
obtained from the Koyal Horticultural Society and from Dr» 
Balfour, of Edinburgh, to the Himalayas, where he hoped they 
would soon be es tab lis bed.* In 1862 I forwarded to Mr. N, 
Wilson, Curator of the Botanic Garden, at Bath, Jamaica, a 
jalap-plant of which he wrote to me in October 1863, that it 
was growing luxuriantly at an elevation of 2,000 feet, and that 
had no doubt the plant could be cultivated on the mountains ' 
Jamaica as an article of commerce. 

The culture of Exogonium piitga^ Bentk, is also bein^ 



o re- 

ivatl 

ertefl 



iu Julap culti- 



* Man%al of Mat Med, and Tkerap. ed. 1853, p. 553. In Birdwood' 
Catalogue of the Econ^nw Producis of tfu PriMency f^f B&mfmif, Bonrbag 
1862, it is sUit-ed at p. 57, thiit Exoqanmm purga^ Eetith., is *' cuUivated 
account of Government at Ilewra." I arii, however, ai^aared that tLere 
some error in this statement^ and the plant does not now exist Ln the Hew] 
gatdeo. 



1 

Dg 

1 

rtF 



•^ 



TAMPICO J^VLAP, 



349 



attempted in the south of France by Professor Dr. J, E. ibb7, 
Planchou, of Montpellier, and by M. Guslare Thnret, of Antibes, ^" 
but the summer climate of those localities is so much drier 
than that of the region in which the jalap plant is indige- 
nous, that success is doubtful Tubers have also been sent to 
Madeira. 

Tliei-e IS one other point in connect ion with this subject upon 
which w^e seeai to require information, and that is the age at which 
the jalap tubers can be collected to most advantage. It is well 
known that the jalap of commerce consists of tubers of all sizes 
between those weighing a few grains up to such as weigh several 
ounces ; and that the larger and those which are internally 
most compact, dry and resinous are preferred. 

The adoption of a better method of drying the tubers than that Better moda 
at present pursued will also deserve attention. It is probable tliat ^^ ^n^^e^ 
this object will be accomplished by slicing the tubers while 
fresh, and drying them with the gentle heat of a stove, [N. AV 
pert./, Fkarm. xvi. 42 L] 



ON A SPECIES OF IPOMiEA, AFFOKDING TAMPICO 

JALAE 



i 



(With Plate.) 
{Rmd at the Linnean Society , December 16th, 1869.) 

Two centuries and a half have elapsed since jalap, the 
tubercule of a convolvulaceous plant of Mexico, was introduced 
into the Materia Medica of Europe. Tlie botanical origin of 
the drug long remained nnsettled, evidence of which exists iu 
the fact that two plants, neither of which yields jalap, have in 
succession received, and still retain, the specific name Jala pa. 
The veritable source of jalap, however, was brought to light 
between the years 1827 and 1830, in w^hich latter the plant was 
described by Wenderoth as Cmvdmdus Pitrga. In 1833 it was 
figured by Haync under the name of Ipomcca Ptirga ; but in 
1839 it was tiausferred, on account of its tubular corolla and 



1870. 



Ipomosa 





3S0 



TAMPICO JALAP* 



taro. 



Tuiijpico 
Jalap. 



DotiHii^-'al 



exserfc stamens, to Cliolsy*3 genus Exor/onimn, As this genus 
hiis been recently united to Ipomma by Dr. Meisner, it appears 
beat to return to the name propoeed by Hayne, and to call the 
true jalap- plant Ipommi purga. 

Tlie imsettled couditioa of Mexico, and tlie fluctuations of 
commerce, have alternately depreciated or enhanced the value of 
jalap, and have led to the occasiumU importation of other roots 
possessing moi'e or leas of the characters of the true drug. Of 
Buch kinds of jalap, one of the most remarkable is a tuberetdc 
imixirted a few years ago for the first time from Tampico, and 
tlieuce called Tiunpico jalap.^ This drug has been extensively 
brought into tbe market (that is to say by hundreds of bales) ; 
and though it is less rich in resin and less purgative than true 
jalap, yet, on account of its lower price, it has found a ready 
sale, chiefly in coutiueutal trade. 

As the botanical origin of this so-called Tampico jalap and 
even its place of growth were completely unknown, I addressed 
a letter, in November, 1867, to ray friend Hugo Finck, Esq., 
Prussian Vicc-Consul at Cordova (Mexico), begging that he 
would, if possible, procure for ine some information on the 
subject, Mr, Finck at tirst expressed strong doubts as to Tam- 
pico jalap being anything else than the root of Balaias jalapa^ 
Chois,, known in Mexico as Ptirga matho, Vpon inquiiy, 
however, he ascertained that such could not be the case, but 
that it is a production of the State of Guanajuato, where ifc 
grows along the SieiTa Gorda, in the neighbourhood of San Luis 
de la Paz. At this town, and in the arljacent villages, it is p\ir- 
cljased of the Indiims and carried by the rauleteei-s to Tampico, 
where it is known as Purga de Bierra Gorda, 

All attempts to procure specimens of the plant were for some 
time fiuitle^s, ciiietly owing to the difficulty of huding any one 
in the district who could be induced to take tlie needful trouble. 
TLe perseverance of Mr. Finck and his friend Mr. E. Benecke, 
Consul-General for Fmssia in the city of Mexi>3o, overcame at 
length this obstacle, but oidy to meet with others bardly less 

1 I caBTiot, at !ejU">t, tmecUns Jnlap to lmv<? \w^n offered iu commcTC« 08 a 
distiQCt son earlier thnn about five or six yenre ago. 



rPOMCEA SIMULANa 



1S70. 

Spe^'Uiieua 

frtim 
GuauaJuaLo. 



Succewftil 



embarrassiDg, The first lot of specimens despatched fi-oin 
Guanajuato was stoleu from the mail ; the second sharetl the 
same fate ; while a third, which included live tuhercules, was, 
by successive detentions on the way, ftilly five months in reach- 
ing England. The box, however, came to hand in June last ; 
and amid a mass of damp earth and decaying matter, I had tlie 
satisfaction of discovering one solitary tubercule exhibiting signs 
of vitality. This, pliiced in a greenhouse and carefully nursed, 
Boon began to grow with rapidity, andj on removal to an open 
border, produced a tall and vigorous plant, which towards 
September showed signs of flowering. It was tlien taken up and ^'"'pj^nt 
replaced in the greenhousCj where it blossomed freely in October 
last, but did not mature any seeds. Accompanying the tiiber- 
cides, but of course in a separate box, my correspondent sent 
some pressed and dried specimens from Guanajuato, which 
con\^sf>onded perfectly with the growing } Jant 

Having ascertained, from the study of these materials, that the Ideatification 
plant belonged to the genus Ipomcen, 1^ endeavoured to identity ^ ^ p an . 
it with some species described in the Prodrmnus of Do Can- 
dolle, or in the sabsequently published Annaks of Walpers, 
hut without success. Neither \vm I able to find any correspond- 
ing specimen in the herbaria of the British Museum or of the 
Eoyal Gardens of Kew. In the Paris Museum there is a plant, 
collected by Galeotti on the lofty Cordillera near Oaxaca, which, 
so far as a scanty specimen enables me to judge, accords precisely 
with that received from LIr. Finck. It bears a number which 
is not mentioned in the enumeration, by Martens, of Galeotti's 
Conwlvulacew (contained in the Bulktin de rAcad^mie Eoyale 
de Bnixellcs) ; and I tlu^refore conclude that it is unnamed. 
Under these circumstances I have drawn up the following diag- 
nosis and description of the plant which I propose to call 
Ipmnwa Himulfnis. The specific name is chosen in allusion to "Diagnosis of 
the remarkable similarity which the plant bears in foliage and ^^"^^^J*^*^' 
habit to the true jtdap {Ipoma^a ^jur^a, Hayne), not to mention 
the resemblance of its tubercules. The funnel-shaped corolla 
and pendent flower-lnids of the Tampico jalap-plant arc finite 
' Tome lit. pt 2 (1840), p. 257. 



352 



irOMCEA SIMULANS— CHLORAL, 



IB70. 



JIabitaf. 



Radix. 



unlike tlie correspoiidrng parts of Z jmrga, and fumisli a ready 
means of distinguishing the two species:— 

IponiGm fnmulatis, sp. nov. Kadice tnberosi, caule yolubili 
lierbaceo glabro, folils ovatis, aonniinatis, cordatis v. eagittatis, 
indivisis, pedunculis nnifloris solitariis, sepalis parvis. 

Ilak in xVndibus ^lexicanis Sierra Gorda dictis, prov, Gua- 
najuato (lide cl. Find) ; in regione frigid^ ad ped, 8000 prope 
Oaxaca {K GahoHi No. 1369 1). 

Hadix napiforniis v. snbgloboaa v. elongata, camosa, 2-3 poll, 
longa, basi tibrillosa. Cavles herbacei, graciles. Folia glaber- 
rinia, 2-4 pollicaria, 1-2 poll lata, lobis baseos acntia v. rotun- 
datis V. subtnTncatis, petiolo tenui, l^-SI-poUicari, Peduncali 
axillares, petioluni subii^quantes, penduli, uiiitlori v. in plants 
vegetiore novel li alabrastra duo ferenteSj altero semper (ut 
videtur) abortivo. FcdicelH incrassati, baai bracteis 2 roinutis. 
Sq}ala ovata, obtusa, exteriora pauUnlum breviora. Corolla 
infundibnliforniis, 1|— 2 poll, longa, glabni, rosea, pallide stiiata, 
Stii/ma bilobum, Capsula calycem snperans, conica, 2— locularis, 
valvis 4 coriaceis. Semirm glabra. 

Dcsaiption of the Flate. — Fig. 1, Calyx and pistil; 2, Ovary; 
3, Mature capsule ; all magnified. 



1869. 



NOTE ON CHLORAL. 

{CJdm*al hydrat ah aTznciviiUel) 

At the British Pharmacentical Conference held at Exeter, tTie 
Tresident (Mr. Haobury) ckew the attention of the meeting to a 
specimen of Hydrate of Chloral received from Berlin, where it has 
been introduced as a remedial agent by Pr. Oscar Liebreich. 
Cliloral in an onhydrons state Ls a heavy, volatile, colourless 
liquid produced by the action of chlorine upon alcohol and 
having the composition C^ 01^ OIL If this body is brought into 
contact with a small proportion of water, the two combine and 
a solid crystalline hydrate is the result. This substfinee is ex- 
tremely soluble in water, affording when pure a neutrtil solution 
which is unacted on by nitrate of silver or by acids, but which 
is immediately decomposed by a caustic alkidi, chloroform being 
set free. This property suggested to Debreich the idea of em- 
ploying it therapeutically. He conceived that if it were brought 
into contact with the bloodj chloroform would be evolved in a 



CULuRAIv-RAER ESSENTIAL OILS. 



3 53 



gradual manner, and anaesthesia, less transient than that nbtained 
by inlialatian of ehlorufomi, would be produced. 

It was, in fact, found by experiment that hydrate of chloral 
administered to rabbits produced proround sleep, and sioiilar 
results followed its administration Uj human beinus. The fii^t 
case in which man was the subject was that of a lunatic, to 
whom a dose 1*35 grammes of tlie hydrate was injected subcu- 
taneously, the effect produced being a sleep of tive hours' dura- 
tion. An internal dose of 3d grammes given in a wineglassful 
of water was followed by sleep which lasted for the rather 
alarming period of sixteen hours, Tlie ordinary dose recom- 
mended by Dr. Liebreich, as an hypnotic, is 2 5 grammes, about 
38 grains. 



1869, 



Cbottil hy- 
drflite &>i an 
lijltnotie. 



loeo. 



Rare Essential 
Uilii. 



KAISE ESSENTIAL OILS. 
(Selkne dtker^i^che Odt,) 

At the same conference Mr. Hanbury exhibited to the meeting 
authentic specimens of the folio wingj viz. 

Essential Oil of Canciia alha, 

„ Clove liark or Culitlawang. 

„ Chian Turpentine. 

„ the leaves of Finns si/lvestris. 

„ „ ,, Fumiiio. 

„ the cones of Abies pectinata, 

„ Ftychoti$ Ajmoan, 

,j Origanum vuJffare, 

,^ Mexican Ligmiloe. 

With regard to that obtained from the leaves of Fitius si/lves- 
iriSt and sometimes called Fir-ivood oil, he observed that, admin- 
istered by inhalation, it has of late been recommended in certain 
diseases of the throat and respiratory organs. 

Dr. Morel 1 Mackenzie, by whom in this country it has been 
chiefly prescribed, has also employed the essential oil of the q.i ^^ p^ 
leaves and twigs of Finns Pumiiio, a pine which covers many 

A A 




nttt 
Pumilio. 



334 



RARE ESSENTIAL 01 L3. 



1669. Lit th^ baneti lijuo^toDo slopes of the Soutlieru Alps at an ele- 
" vation of 4000 to 7000 feet This pine is closely related to the 

common Scotch fir {Piniis sylvesttns), but has a curious decum- 
bent habit of growth, giving ifc the aspect of a shrub of 6 feet 
high with long branches spreading along the ground; seen 
covering the mountain side it might at a distance be mistaken ; 
for furze {Uirx EHro]Hra), The essential oil is distilled at 
Reichenhall, in Bavaria, as well as in other places, and is held 
in high estimation by the Germans, who use also an aqueous 
extract made of the leaves, and other preparations. The oils of 
EiBiiIaiun of Pinm s^lveslri^ and of P. Pamilio have been prescribed in 
i imis ayircs- Endand in the form of emulsion made thus : — 



iru. 



W Olei pini sylvestris Sijss 
JMagnesi^^e carbonate 3i^3 
AquiB destillatie ad Jiij 

Misce. — One or two teaspoonfals in a pint of warm water 
be inhaled (from an inhaler) for ten minutes twice a day. 

Dr. Macken!?ie has also prescribed the oils of Abies p€ctinaia, 
of cajeput, of hops, and of sandal wood. The specimen of oil 
of Abies pedinata was distilled in the neighbourhood of Berne. 
In odour it resembles the !ine» transparent and fragrant turpen- 
tine which is yielded by the trunk in very small quantity, and 
which was formerly found in the shops under the name of 
Strash u rg I u rpeul Uic, 

The oils of canella, Chian turpentine, ptychotis and origa- 
num were distilled for chemical examination, and have not been 
employed in medicine. That of lignaloe is used in Mexico aa 
a perfume.^ 

* Some account of the wood from which it is obtairjp<l wiO be found in a 
paper by Mr. Coilim in the Pkarm, Journ, and Trans, for April 1969 
p. 590. 



MANNA. 



355 



HISTORICAL NOTES OX MANNA. 

{Zur Oe&^Mdik der Man>ia in Calabnen und SteiliriL) 

Whatever was the true nature of the suljstjince provided for 
the sustenance of the ancient Israelites, and termed by them 
manna J that name lias in subsequent ages been used to desig- 
nate certiiin saccharine exudations produced in hot countries 
upon the stems, branches iDr leaves of trees, shrubs, or herba- 
ceous plants, belonging to various fftmilies. Thus in the penin- 
sula of Sinai a sweet substance called manna is exuded by a 
species of tamarisk ; in Persia a manna is produced by a sraaU, 
thorny, leguminous plant, known to botanists as Alhafji Mauro- 
nim ; and in Kurdistan, an evergreen-oak aflbrda an anulogous 
product. These substances bave from a remota period been 
employed as food or medicine, and they are still found, though 
in small quantities in the bazatirs of the East. The cedar of 
Lebanon, the larch, a Cuius, and certain Australian species of 
Eucabjptm likewise yield at certain seasons sacchnrine exuda- 
tions in more or less abundance ; and those derived from the 
cedar and larch have occasionally been collected for use. 

The manna of modern times is well known to have a very 
difTerent origin, being a product obtained in considemble abund- 
ance from the stems and branches of a species of ash cultivated 
in Calabria and Sicily. With this manna Europe is wholly sup- 
plied, and it likewise finds its way into the markets of the East. 

During some conversation last summer witli my friend Dr. 
FlUckiger, of Berne, he drew my attention to Ibis curious fact, — 
that in the early history of Sicily no mention is made of manna 
as a production of tlie island. This induced me to look around 
for further information, the result of which has been the collec- 
tion of a few notes on the history of this drug, which seem of 
suftk'ient interest to be presented. 

In the first place, I must thank Colonel Yule, to whom I 
wrote, thinking that his familiarity with historical research, and 
actual residence at Palermo, mi^ht enable him to impart some 
bints for my guidance. But he has been good enough to render 

A A 2 



1869 



Ancient 



Modprn 



CoL Yiile'a 



^ 



Uil^rORlCAL XOTES OX MAKMA. 



OrkurAl 
faiicifrA. 



taM. me still grealer service in fumisliing extracts ftom sevemi ftnl^ip 

whose works I might otherwise have overl«>jkeA 
Mctsorie With regard to manna which has falleti from the atmoephere» or 
'"^'^^^ a« it is termed mdtmc mansM^ the grand example is that de- 
scribed in the book of Exodms. Of this it may be safely aiKnzied 
that, accepting the Mosaic account as the simple narrative of a 
real event, no phenomenon is known which is at all adequate to 
explain it 

But there are other example of meteoric manna which corae 
fairly within tlie range of natural phenomena, and which it 
would be interesting to consider did space permit I may 
observe that the notion that manna is not the juice of a plant, 
but that it is of the nature of dew and falls from Uiesky, is very 
ancient and still lingers in the East. In the case of the manna- 
ash, it was disproved by the Franciscan monks Angelas, Palea 
and Bartholoma?us ab Urbe Vetere, who relate how they caused 
some of the trees to be covered with sheets, so that nothing 
could fall upon them ; and that notwithstanding this precaution, 
manoa was produced as before.* But this reasonable conclusion 
was reganled as scarcely orthodox, and the learned Slatthioli 
w^as at much [>ains to supply an explanation more, as he thought, 
in accordance wiili Scripture, 

The special point, however, which I desire to discuss in this 
ptiper relates tu the period at which ash-manna began to be 
collecteA ^lanna is metitioned more or less particulai*ly by 
most of the Arabian physicians with wliose w^orks we are 
acquainted, but the allusions are all to Oriental manna, and 
not to tliat of Italy or Sicily. This is mauifest from the 
Ebn B«;ithRr. Writings of Ebn Beit liar,* one of the most eminent and learned 
men of his time and a great traveller; and who, being a native 
of Mulaga, would probably when speaking of manna have 
named that of Sicily, the more so as that island, having been 
for nearly 250 years under Saracenic rule, must have been 
familiar to the Arabs of Spain. Ebn Beitbar is moreover in 

1 Geoffroy^ Trartatus de Mat MetL i\, 587, Tlie whc 1© disqaisitiou of 
til IB author, De Manna yofutCta, is replete with information, 
* fia. Sgntheioier, 184(>-4ii, i., 2U7., il 633, 



HISTORICAL NOTES ON MANNA. 



357 



tbe habit of quoting extensively from othfT autliors. He tlied laca 
about A.D. 1248. 

One fact maybe lield to prove tlmt the Saracens were imt 
entirely i;^norfint of tbe production ot manna in Sicily, and it 
is this — there exists a momitain near Cefitlu which is called V»y 
the Arabic name Gihil'fnnvnn, literally Mamia-jnounlinn} OihiUnmnn^. 
Other mountains in the island retain tlie Arabic name of (fihiL 
Whether the word inanna was affixed subsequently to the 
Saracenic occupation, or whether, as is more probable, the whole 
name was bestowed by the Arab jjojiulatiou in virtue of the 
trees of the mountain yielding manna, is a point I am unable 
to decide.^ 

In the thirteenth century, Sicily was onder the dominion of 
the Emperur Frcdeiic IL, a sovei-eign wdjo appears to have been 
very solicitous to develop its resources, as is proved by many 
documents extant relative to the aflairs of the island. Thus in 
a h*tter dated A.D. 1239, he directs tliat ccitain Jews settled at 
Palermo are to farm his date plantations at Favara, and to 
cnliivate them after their own manner. He also writes abciut 
the cultivation nf vineyanls and the introductiun of indigo and 
henna, and of divers other i^ants of Barbary, not then knoMn 
to gi'ow in Sicily, But so fat" as I can discover, there is no 
allusion to manna.^ 

Pegolottt, an Italian who wrote a sort of mercantile h;ind- 
book circa A.D. 1340, has a chapter on Messina and Palermo, 
but does not mention manna as a prod net ion of Sicily; yet in 
enumerating the articles sold by the pound at the former city, 
he names maniui apparently as a forei^^m prodiu^tinn, sincp lie 
couples it with cloves, cubebs, rhubarb, mace and long pepper. 

Further evidence of a negative sort is flflbided by Giovanni 
di Antonio da Pzzanno, who in his work called Llhro di GdhrUi^ 
written eirca A.D. 1442, mentions the exports of Naples and of 






* Atiuc<^t Lrxiron Topograjihicum Simhim, iii. (17(J0), 242. 

' CVilout'l Yule hoA remarked tiuit SnlinHMiii?*, in his Exrrettatwngji PHni- 
ano', alliidea t"> 2iKrXiichfv f^o'^i as? inentioped by the Afediai retail iore^ Orcpci^ 
but without 8iK»clfyino: inon* piirtienhirly whri diev are, 

'â– * HisfOi'i*t DtiittmtJiiica FnJeru'i Strutuli^ jun* J. L. A. HuillnninRholU**, 



3SB 



H18T0R1CAL NOTES ON MA>fKA. 



laeo. 






G. G. I'on- 
tauo. 



Calabria as wine, oil, com, clieese, Sfilted meat» nut**, chestouts, I 
S€ap, and oranges, but makes no reference to manna,^ 

Th(i earliest actual mention of manna as 'an Italian drug 
tliat I have fouiifl, is in the CompcmUum Aromatariorum of ; 
Saladiuus, printed at BcJogna in 1488, Saladinus wag 
libysician to one of the Princes of Tarentum in Calabria ; 
neither the dfitt: uf hb birth nor that of Lis death is known, 
hut it would a|ii>ear that he was living between A.D. 1442 and 
1458; for he states that duiiui^ \m time the King of Arrogon 
punished his druggist at Naples liy a fine of 9,000 ducats and 
degradation from office, because the king's physicians having 
prescribed white coral aa an ingiedient of a cordial electuary, 
the druggist not possessing it, substituted red coral. Thia 
incident affords a clue to the age of Saladinus, for it was 
Alphonso v., King of Arragun who laid siege to Naples, 
captured it in 1442, and died in 1458. 

The work of Sidadinus to which I have alluded is a sort of 
handbook fur tlie armnaiarius or druggist, and is remarkable 
for much practical gnoil sense. Besides numerous forimdte and 
descriptive notices of drugs, it contains a calendar enumerating 
the herbs, flowers, seeds, roots and gums to be collected in each 
month ; — and in terminating the list fur ]^lay thei'e occurs the 
following passage : — 

"Collige etia in isto niesc mana ta in oriete qui in Calabria 
quia tunc ros ille preciosius de celo cadit" 

Contemporaiy with Saladinus lived Giovanni Gioviano 
Pontano (a.d. 1426 — 1503), a celebrated historian, statesmai], 
philosopher and poet. Among his nunieruus writings is a work 
entitled Lihtr Mt'teororum, in which there is a poem headed De 
Pruind d Eore el Mannd ; this effusion notices in very cir- 
cumstantial terms the collection of niauna by the peasants on 

' Pcgolotti'ft work ftirms the thirH volunie and Da Uz/jino's the fourth^ of 
the book published finonymoiiiily by (iiiin Frjinee^co Paij^aiini amler the till© 
of Ddh htchna t di rai't4^ tUtre Grurr-ze Ivifwste dai t'ommnne di Firenst^ 
^^le., Lisb. e Liiccn, 17*:15-ls 4% iii. DIa ; iv. 9(5-98. Soiae vnhinble irifortti- 
atitm on Pej[jt>lotti and his writings niav be found in Lvolouel Yuie*s Cathay, 
and the Jf'aj/ Tuiflier, I/^nd. 1866. (HiikbiTt Society) vol ii. 27fi. 



HISTORICAL NOTES ON MANNA. 



S59 



tbe banks of the Ciati in Calabria, describing the production leea. 
of the drag in langnage wliich may be rendered thus : — 

» , . There in the middle of summer, under a Imrning sun, 
while heat prevails and the cloven earth gsipes,^ — when no 
breeze is stin-ing, and the humid air is still, it Tthe manna) 
gradually exudes aiul, condensed as a viscid fluid, runs into 
diops aud thickens on the thirsty leaves, — and further hardened 
by successive suns, it acquires the appearance of wax and the 
taste of lioney. Such as the bees obtain by their instinctive 
art and mutual aid, this nature produces for the medicinal use 
of maukiud, 

I subjoin the passage in a foot-note,^ 

In the second half uf the fifteenth century flouriiihed Raffaele linflTflele Maf- 
Maffei, called also Vohiterrauus, a vohiniinous writer, who among 
other works has left one entitled Commcntarii Urhani, in which 
we find a senteuce in the following words: — 

*' Manna nostra tetate coepit in Calabria proven i re : licet 
orientali inferior/' 

The signification of this I take to be, that manna first began 
to be collected in Calabria^ within llie aiUlior*s recollection, but 
tliat i£ was not considered so good as the eastern manna. 

It is to be ol>ser\'ed that Saladinus, Fontano and Maffei all 
speak of manna as a production of Cahibria, and it is evident, 

* Quinetiam CalaliTis in gaUibus, ac per ojmcum 
LtiLitur iogenti Crutliia, qua cceniliiB alveo, 
Quaijiie eliam Syriis nyWas convnilibuH boirent 
Fi*l!c<*s sylvfe, <[uarnin de fromle Hquescunt 
DiviDi roris UtkeSj quos s^dula passiiD 
TurLa legit, gnitum ayxilium languetitilms legriii. 

lUic BestAle io uHHlift, f?iib sole llirenti 
Dum regnat cidor et terxJiJ fiDduntur timntea. 

Gum null/P spirant aunr, et. silet humid us aer 

Contnitiitur panlatim, et lento hnniore coaclua 

In gut Lis abit, et foil is sitieutilms haTens 

Leutcscit^ nirsumqiie din mo a sole recocUis 

liiduit et speoiem cenp, meUi^que sjp<irtvm. 

Qiiudque et apes pm'stiint arte, inrrenitoque farore 

Hoc medicos natura lioininniii pniducit in uaiH. 

roHftmi (Jpera, Venet, 1513, LiK Meteor, p, 113. 
» VoUtfimitius (Raph.) CmnwtnL Urban., Paris, 1515, fol., lib. 38. l 413. 
I have cot beeu able to consult ad earlier edition of his work* publithedi it \n 
Aid, at Rome in 1506. 



360 



HISTUKICAL NOTES ON MANNA. 



tmno m 
Mil una. 



SpoDtanemm 
ezudnHon. 



1869. I tliink, tliat for a long time the drug was afforded by that region 

and not by Sicily. 
Ancient Brasavolus, of Feirara, describing the drugs found in tbe shops 
writers on die df^^^a A.D. 1537, mentions manna as a pruduetinn of Calal.tria,^ 

Matthiuli (1548) remarks that of manna he has only seen two 
sorts— *t he Levantine and the Crdabrian.- 

Alberti, in his LkscnUionc tUtutta //ft/m, published at Bologna 
in 1550, mentions manna as found in Calabiia.^ 

Garcia d'Orta (1508)^ and Christopher Acosta (1574)^^ describe 
different kinds of Oriental manna, contrasting them with that of 
Calabria. 

Still more significant is the fact that Faz.elli, a well-known 
writer on Sicily (1558), in a cliaptcr on the productiveness of 
the island boasts of its wine, oil, sugar, honey, fruits and saffron, 
but says not one word of nranim or the manna-ash,® 

The manna collected in these early times was undoubtedly 
that which the trees produced spontaneously, but it was 
neither abundant nor cheap.^ That which exuded from the 
leaves was esteemed the best, and was called maiina difaf^lia, or 
manna di fronda ; it is described as Iteing in the form of solid, 
translucent, white rrrains resembling little grains of maf^tich, and 
having a sweet and agreeable tnste. Tbe second sort was that 
which flowed ppontaneously from tbe trunk and branches, and 
was termed munna di corpo ; while the third or commonest 
kind was that picked up from the ground. 

Towards tlje midrlh' of the sixteenth centni^^ it was found 

that a nmch moie copious supply of manna could be obtained 

Ntw mtHle of by notchi[ig the bark of the tree, and this new method of pro* 

Aotchmg. 4;n|.iiig tlip drug began to be adopted.® Ihit the innovation did 

\ * Exnmtn omniftm Simpitrium, Lugd. 1537, 8**, p. 335, 
' Coannent. in Lib. i Diosc. cap. 70. 

* P. \m. 

vf* Viithqniox dofi SintphSf etc.^ Goa, 1503, '^^ p. 132. 

ii â–  Tnictadty df /fw Drofjas y Alniieina^ de Im Indian Oriettt<tIis^ Bnrgos, 
1578, 8", IX 3m 

* JM J^thtg SieidUj Dec, i lib. i. eh. 4, De UhfrlaU SiciHtr, 
^ Fiore da Cr<ipr\ni in liis Vatahrifi lUnAtrata^ Na|K)U, 1691, says (p. i'o3) 

that the mti«H« fii/n>»(/a baa been sometimes sn*ld even ld Culabrin at 60 
aciuii for 15 ounees. 

* Id Biitihiti^s edition cf the Comraentarie« of Matthioli, piiblbhed M 



HISTORICAL NOTES ON MAJtNA. 



361 



^ 
^ 
N 



^ 



not pass unnoticed, for in the year 1562 Marino Spinelli, being 
protomeJico of the kingdom of Naples, set al>ont inquiring as to 
the article sold by the druggists as manna : and as he donbtless 
found it no longer coiTespotided witli tLat of former days, he 
declared, in concert with other learned physicians, that it was 
by no means good ; aud further to enforce his opinion, he pro- 
cured the issuing of a public edict, pTohibiUug the druggists 
under a severe penalty from using any other manna than that of 
the leaf This law pioved veiy injnrions to the Calabrians ; it 
was felt also to be both severe and unjust by many of Uic physi- 
cians one of wiiom, Aunibal Briganti, took up the question in a 
philosoplucal spirit, made many visits to the manna districts, and 
investigated tlie differences alleged to exist between one sort of 
exudation and another, Tliis resulted in the discovery that 
manna, whether spontaneously yielded by the leaves or stem, or 
obtained from the latter by aid of incisions, is essentially the 
same substance and possesses like virtues. These observations 
were recorded by Briganti in a long discourse written in Latin, 
for wliich, T am sorry to say, he has had very little credit ; for 
not wholly tru&tiug his own judgment on a subject so grave 
and controversial, he sent his MS. from Chieti, where he lived, 
to anotber learned man, Donatus Antonins ab Altomari of 
Naples, who so entirely approved of it that he immediately pub- 
lished the whole of it in his own name 1^ Under the assumed 
authorship of Altomari we have then tin's essay as a quarto 
pamphlet of forty-six pages, printed at Venice in 1562, and 
entitled, De Mannfr diffarnliis ac virilins deque em dif/noscendi 
via ac ratione; and as if to give the work greater weight, it is 
in the form of an epistle addressed to Ilierouimns Albertinus, 
Neapolitan prime minister of Philip Th, a monarch whose 
connection M-itU the English crown and Spanish Amiada has 
caused his name to be %vell remembered in our annals. 

The custom of promoting the exudation of mannu by wounding 

Basle in 1674, the priictice of making mci«iona in tbe bark of tlie tree is dia- 
tinctly ftlJuded to as boing followeil in Apnliii and Calubria ^^ hue (ftute" 

* ** ^V»s« pure un mivimo urgno tli ^ rati t rid inc,'^ — The aecount of this 
shameless piracy is related ijvilh tiiitch TnodeTntion by Enganti hitiiEelf tu hifl 
Italian edition of Garcia DOrtp, publislied at Venice in 1582 (p. 50). 



1869. 



Annil^l 
Bnganri, 



Litemry ap- 
propriation. 



362 



CALABBIAK MANNA. 



duction. 






i»60. I lie stem and bmiiebeB of the trees, must have occasioned a 
ncrawed pro- gT^at increase in the production of the drug, a proof of which 
we have in the statement of Fiore (1691) that the sole district 
of Campana and Bocchiglioio affords aunualiy 30,000 lbs. with 
great profit to the gatherers^ and 1100 ducats of excise to the 
government.^ Of the period when the traffic in manna com- 
menced in Sicily I have no iufonnation. Paolo Boccone, of 
Talenno, mentions in his Miiseo di Fisica t di £$perierme, which 
H|ipearcd in 1G97, several localities in Italy whence manna is 
obtained, adding that manna forzaia (that from incisions being 
thus called) is also produced in Sicily.^ 

In conclnsion, let me reciipitnlate tlie points in the liistory ol 
manna upon which 1 have endeavoured to throw light: — 

1. That the numna known iu Europe in very early times was 
probably all of (Jripiital origin. 

2. That manna of the a^li (Fraxinim ornus, L.) began to be 
collected in Calabria in the first half of the fifteenth century. 

3. That the practice of making incisions in the tree in order 
to promote the exudation was not commenced until about the 
middle of the sixteenth century, previous to which period the 
only nmnna obtained was thiit which exuded spontaneously. 

4. That altliouoh the existence in Sicily of a mountain called 
by the Arabic name GihU-maniw would seenr to indicate that 
manna was collected during the period of Mussulman rule in 
that island (a.D. 827 to a.d. 1070), evidence has not been 
produced to prove the fact; but that, on the contrary, it 
appears that manna was gathered in Calabria long anterior to 
its collection in Sicily, [M BfperLf Pharm. xix. 98.] 



4 




ON CALABRIAN MANNA 

{Calah-uche Manfia,) 

{Head before a Mtdwg of the Britidi Phai^iaceuHcal Conference 
at Brighton, August Uth, 1872.) 

JIa^jna, it is stat«ed in the British Fharmacapmia (1867), is 
a concrete saccharine exudation from the stem of FraxinnM 

» Ddh C(dnhr\a lUmtrata, Nj«p. lODl— 1743, fol p. 25a 
' Obn. lir.— XV. 



CALABRIAN MANNA. 



363 



*jrfiMs, h, and F. rututidi/olia, DC, which trees aie cultivated 
for the purpose of yielding it chiefly in Calahria and Sicily. 
Of the metbod of collecting manna in Sicily there are tolerably 
exact accounts j and the manna plantations of that island have 
also been fully described^ 

Having never heard of manna pkntations in Calahria, nor 
seen any modern account of manna-gathering in that region, 1 
wrote in 1868 to my friend Colonel Yule of Palermo to inquire 
if he could furnish me with any particnlars. Colonel Yule 
lieing unahle to answer my questions, communicated them to 
Mr. Grant, British Consul at Brindisi, who in his turn souglit 
to ohtam the desired infoiination from some of the British Vice- 
Consuls (Italians) in Calabria. But except tbe statement that 
tlie site of its production was the province of Calabria Citm, 
and especially the territory of Rossano on the shores of the 
Ciulf of Taranto, I was unal>le to gain any veiy precise know- 
ledge on the subject 

Here I may remind you of an investigation into the histoiy 
of manna which 1 made in 18G9,- and that one conclusion to 
which it led was this,— tbat nianua was collected in Calabria 
lor hundreds of years prior to its heing a commercial product of 
Sicily, and that the earliest accounts of manna-gathering in the 
hitter only date Irom the second half of the seventeenth century. 

It will be well now to consider some remarks that have been 
made by tmvellers i^gtirding nnmna as an object of industry in 
Calabria ; thougli they are only passing allusions, they sutfice 
to show that this drug was at least a well-recognised production 
of the country in question. 

Baron Riedesel, a German nobleman wiio maile an interesting 
journey through Sicily and Soutberu Italy about a century ago, 
ai»d whose travels have been published both in German and 
English,' tmvelled from Cotrone to Cariati, small towns on the 

^ See in particular n paper by Dr, Cle^hom on the Botany and Aprieiillnr© 
0* Malta and Sicily — I'muMctwns of iht Botmtital Society of Edinhtirghj 
voL X. lHG8-6a 

^ Pharm. Joum,, xi. (1B70) 326. 

' Travels through SSklfy and that part of Italy formerly calkd Magna 
f7reecia. Tranalated from the Gentian by J. R. ForstWi FtK*S., London, 1773. 



lS7tt* 



Iiifinirift* 
on tlio subject . 



Eviiiencp of 



3fa 



CALABRIAN MAXXA, 



iBjm eastern coast of Calabria. Of tlie latter he remarks that "it is 
Cftriati. ^ bishopric of Calabria, .... round which they collect the best 
manna and in the greatest quantity. The ov^Tiers of the manna* 
ti^es are obliged to sell their manna to the king for a fixed 
price ; the better sort, or what is commonly called in mnnoh, 
for 2 mrfini [8^.], and the worse, or infrasca, for 8 ffrajii [*^ff] 
the pound. These i-evenues are farmed for 32,000 ducats 
[£5,533j per annum. The greatest quantity is collected about 
Cariati and Strongoli." 

Al)out twenty miles we«t of Cariati is the small town of 
Cdrigliuno, where, says the Baron, they also collect "vast 
qiffrntiiies of manna.*' 

Half a century after this trnveller, an Englishman, the lion. 
Kicliard Kt*ppei Ciaven, made a journey through Calabria, 
visiting among otlier places Cariati, the vicinity of which was 
at that period still famous for manna. The following is from 
his published jouroaF : — "* The mountains near Cariati abound 
with game, and the forests which richly clothe their summits 
furnish quantities of that ppecies of ash which produces the 
manna, a consideralile branch of commerce in this province, 
and more particularly esteemed from this district." 

The foregoing notices, scanty as they are. are yet of interest 

as coming from eye-witnesses, or at least from inquiries on the 

Peraonal ob- spot IM me now add a few observations of my own, the result 

â– erratioiui. ^f ^ short journey during tlie present year through a portion of 

the province of Calabria C1lra, 
Florence. First, when at Flarence I inquired for Cahhnan manna, 
adtlressing myself to the principal firm of wholesale druggists 
in tliat city. The aos\ver I got wa,s tliat C*alal)rian manna was 
an ailicle they never purchased, but that if I wisheil to see the 
drug it was possible, as it so hajipened that a small keg of it 
had been sent to them for disposal Of Ibis offer I availed 
niy^^elf : I found to my surprise that the drug was a soft viscid 
mass containing small tears, mixed with fragments of leaves, 
sticks, and diii, — in fact, I regaixled it of such verj^ bad quality 

' Tmtr throit*}h (h( Sonthrrn Pror lures of the Kivwkmt of yajfffs, Ltitiilon. 



CALABRIAX MANXA. 



365 



Hos«axio. 



Ontdlu 



tlrat I declineii a sample wbich was kindly offered ma I iBra. 
thought also that if I travelled into Calabria I should easily 
obtain much better, as well as all desired particulars respecting 
the trade in manna, of which, according to the latest edition 
(1868) of Murmy's Iltmdbook for Soitthei^n IMy, Calabria 
Citm is the '* principal seat." I accordingly proceeded south- 
ward. 

Arfjund Florence I may remark, and especially between that 
city and Pisa, the manna ash (Fraxinva mmns, L) is frequent, 
being one of the small low trees grown as a support for the 
vine. Except these examples I hardly saw the tree until I 
reached the shores of the Gulf uf Taranto, when I observed 
some very tall specimens in the strip of humid forest a little 
south ol Policoro. 

Journeying onward I arrived at Eossano, a town in Calabria 
Citm, of about H>/IU0 inhabitants, situated three or four niilea 
from the sea. Here I learnt that the manna trees, which are 
called O-niclH, grow on some of the adjacent mountains,~that 
they are of large size, and are noi cultivated, — that manna is 
obtained from them by incisions in the trunk made by the 
peasants in July and August, — that the manna got is mostly of 
the soft or fatty kind, very little of it being obtained in long 
white pieces or cannoii, and in some seasons none at all. 

The collecting of manua alxjut Kossano is at present, I was Collection in 
assured, a very small and insignificant branch of industry. Few CaUlina Citm 
persons among those from whom I sought information knew 
anything of the gathering of manna, or even of the existence 
of the manna-ash in the neighbourhood One gentleman, a 
principal inhabitant of the town and holding an official position, 
to whom I had a letter of introduction, assured me that the 
incising of the stems of the trees had been since the last four 
or five years forbidden by the Government ; and the same state- 
ment was made by others. It is plain, however, that manna 
is still gathered about Rossano though the amount is quite 
insignificant, for I obtained from a pharmacien in the town a 
specimen, being part of some he had purchased from a peasant 
the previous season. 



366 



CALABRIAX MANXA, 



187fl- 

Dixuse of 
Maima At 
Coriglimno, 



CoienzA. 



MeAsiaa, 




Hoping for more infoniiation, and that I might at least obtain 
better specimens, I went to Corigliano, a small town, tho 
mountains around which produce, according to Murray's Haiul- 
book, *' the finest manna in Calabria/' — a fact without doul t 
perfectly true a century ago. Here I \vas told that no manna 
is now brought in for sale, the collection having entirely ceased, 
I called on five pharmaciens in the town : three of them had 
m stock no manna whatever; the fourth had some whicli 
he had purchased in Naples; but tlie fifth (Signor Giuseppo 
(tuidij had a box containing a pound or two of manna of 
the country, of which he kindly gave me a sample. He 
told me that it was old, none being now coUected. This 
manna is a muist^ semifluid, saccharine mass, of a dirty 
yellowish-grey. 

On the 5th May (1872) I reached Cosenza, the capital of the 
province, situated at the head of the viilley of the Crati, in 
passing through which I observed a few trees of Ormts, The 
locality was anciently renowned for manna. Here I repeated 
my inquiries in several pharmacies, but in vain. At length 
I found one, the proprietor of which showed me some soft 
manmi which lie said had been got near Cotrone, I discovered 
also in another pharraacie manna of two qualities, secHa, and 
in pasta, both of which the pharmacien stated he had bonglit 
of peasants who had collected it at Rossano. The collecting 
of manna about Cosenza was quite ignored by most of the 
persons whom T asked ft:>r iuiorrnation. Those who had any 
aquaintance with the dmg declared it was no longer an object 
of industry in that part of Calabria, One pharmacien asserted 
that the collection of manna lu\d been prohibited for the last 
six or seven years. 

The course of my journey having led me to Jlessina, I had 
the pleasure of making the acquaintiince of Mr. Robert 
Sanderson, a merchant of that city of long standing, whose 
business in Italian produce includes the shipment of mannu. 
On a^sking tliis gentleman about Calabrian manna, he informed 
me he was ignorant of such a commodity ; and on my showing 
him some of the drug in the soft form in which I had procured 



n 



CALABHUN MANNA, 



367 



I 

I 



it at Coaenza, he expressed much surprise, aiid declared it to be 
unlike any Sicilian manna he had seen. 

No specimen of Calabrian manna was contributed to the 
Italian Exhibition held at Florence in 1861; but there appear 
to have been three samples from Eogliano in the London 
Exhibition of the following year.* 

From what I have already stated the conclusion, is I think, 
irresistible, — that Calabrian manna as an article of commerce 
has practically ceased to exist, and Umt the collection of manna 
in that part of Italy is on the verge of extinction. 

I regret that when at Iiossano I was unable to visit the woods 
of 0mm, which undoubtedly exist in that vicinity. But the 
habits of the Calabrian peasantry are such that it is impossible 
for travellers to quit the high roads without personal danger. 

The better to inform myself of manna-industry, and especially 
that I mig!it become well-acquainted with the tree, I afterwards 
paid a visit to the manna plantations of Capaci near Palermo. 
I also inspected the trees wldcli are cultivated at the Iji^tllnio 
Agratna Cadelnitovo near that city,^ and in the park of La 
Favorita. But as the time of my visit (May 16-22) w^as not 
that for collecting the drug, I have no details of particular 
novelty to communicate, 

Eespectiug the manna-ash itself, liowever, I wish to say a 
few words. It has often been stated, as in tlie Bntisk Phar- 
macapmia (for which in this case I presume the Prodroinus of 
De Candolle is the authority), that there are two species of 
manna-ash, namely, Fraxlmts orfius, L., and K rotumUfolia. 
Many modern writers on pharmacology admit but a single 
species, F, lyrnttf^, L., of which F. iritjfndi/oiiu is stated to be 
a cnltivatt'd variety peculiar to Calabria and Sicily, and pro- 
pagated by grafting. 

I do not think either statement satisfactory, F, ornus is 
very variable even in its wild state, and in the same locality. 

* Tliey were contributed by Signer Gioviinni Morrelti of Hogliimo, 
Citliibria. 

* A most interesting Agri cultural collepe founded by privfttc munificence, 
where twenty-two lads are study iB^ scientific and practical hustmndtj under 
the able directorflhip of PiWesii^or Inzengn. 



laya. 



Comroercial 

Calais riaa 

Mauna ex- 

liaet. 



Manna plnn* 

tat ions near 

Palermo* 



Fraxin tin 
&mtis fliid 

folia, B.P. 



368 



CALABIUN MAXKA-SAFFRON. 



1078. 



mmr 



Aa to die tree whieh is cahiTatod in Kcily, and of which I 
hire eimmiiifxi speciiiieiis tmm all parts of the Island.^ il like- 
praeuts great TaiiatioBS, but no special form that cilii ba 
out as deaerring Ibe name roiundi/iiiia^ or even thai 
can he recognised as jMir ejoetBemci a eullivated Yaiiety* It is 
trua that tbe tree in some maana plantations is occasionally 
grafted, certain trees yietdii^ a poor supply of saccharine matter 
being thns replaced by others of a more prodnctiTe nalure. Bui 
I observed no grafting at Capaci, where the trees are grown like 
coppice oak in England, and where sucb a plan of tn^tznent 
would therefore be hardly worth the trouble. 

(The paper was illustrated by several specimens of Calabrian 
manna procured at Bosaano, Corigliano and Cosenza, and by a 
large suite of botanical specimens of Frarinus omiu, L., and a 
stem of the latter sbawiug the incisons of mann&) [X, Reperi. 
/ Pliarrn, xxiL 81.] 




THE ADULTEltATlON OF SAPFROK« 
(Mit Krtide er/aUeJUer Safmn.) 
isya. Saffron Is at the present time the subject of a serious adultera- 
Adulicriitiori, ^^'^^^ ^° which I think it impoitant to call attention, the more so as 
I Had that its nature and extent are not fully known even to 
experieoced druggists. SriflTn^n adulterated in the maimer I am 
about to describe, is uot for the moat part, uiuiUtin^uishailc to 
the eye from the drug in a state of purity, yet the means of 
discrirainatiog between the genuine and the fraudulent are of 
the most simple chamcter. 

Let irie reujark at the outlet that there is, in my opinion, no 
method of testing sallVon more effectual than that of scattering a 
Warn wit*r very small pinch on the surface of a glass of warm water. The 
stigma of the saffron-crocus immediately expands, and exhibits 

^ Mntij of ihem courli.M>asly presentid to m© by Profesaor Todaro of the 
BoUtiicii] Oiirden, Palermo. 

• 8irice the* AillrnvMHtF paf>er hfts been in typo, I have received the AmtricAtn 
Journai of Pharmarijt for September, in which I find a note by Professor 
Mivi»ch cAlliniz attention to the adulteration which I have here deftcrlbed. — 
D.H. 



TmI. 



ADULTEBATION OF S.VFFEOX. 



3G9 



to 



►rra so cliaracteristic, tbat it cannot be confounded with the iw«* 
florets of salHower, marigold or arnica, or with the stamens of 
crocus itself. 

It was in performing this simple opemtion that I detected that Carkjnate of 
some safiron which I had just piircliased had been treated with adiilurant, 
a heavy earthy powder, which speedily separated from the 
lighter stigmata, and fell to the bottom vf the glass. Upon col- 
lecting and examining this powder I found it to be carbonate 
of lime, which, by some ingenious process of which I am 
ignorant, had been made to adhere to the thread-like saffron 
without in the least altering its general appearance. 

To ascertain the amount of earthy matter thus fraudulently 
added, I subjected several specimens of saffron to incineration, 
each having in tlte first instance been dried in warm air until it 
ceased to lose w^eighi The results obtained in the examination 
of eight samples are indicated in the following table : — 

EXAiUNATIGK OF SaFFBOX, 



fifeintttfl. 



Oe»erl]iyDii. 



No, 



Origin lidkuouii 
Vttieucia . . 
Alic^uite . . 



jmit 



aUiiikraUd 



PtTixitihgt ot Ash. 



fiaiDple No. 8, the ouality reiuBrkably fiue. flampk No. 8, so-called VaUmia, 
pure, but not of bueBt qimlity. Sample No. 7^ mlult** ration perceptible to the 
eye, miuiy of the st^meus being crusttsl with nu umiigticolourud earthy 
powder. 



TesUnff 
for earthy 



The method of testing a sample of saffron for earthy adultera- 
tion which I recommend is this : — Place in a watch-glass a very aduItw-ttioL 
small quantity (say, 1 grain) of the saffron, and drop upon it 8 
or 10 drops of water ; lightly touch the safiTron with the tip of 
the finger, so as to cause the water to wet it. If the drug is 
free from earthy matter, a clear, bright-yellow solution w^ill be 
immediately obtained ; if adtdterated, a white powder will in- 
staiitbj separate, causing the water to appear turbid ; and if a 




370 



THE RADIX GALAXG-E OF PHARMACY. 



1879. drop of hydrocliloric acid be now added* a brisk efferresGeDoe will 
take place. 

Saffron almoet dways contains a few of tbe pale yeUow 
stamens accidentally gathered ; but the pollen fiom them which 
18 detached when the dmg is wetted, but which is minute in 
quantity, ia easily distinguished from carbonate of lime by not 
diflsolvinp; when hydrochloric acid is added. Moreover, the form 
of piillen-grains may be easily recognised under the micro^copei. 
[iV. EcpeH./, Pharm. xix. 6G4.] 

HISTOKICAL NOTES OX THE RADIX GALANGJS OF 
PHARMACY. 

{Ziir GeschichU der Galanga.) 
(Read be/ore the Linneun Society, January 19, 1871,) 
i©yi. Ik discovering and describing the plant which yields the 

Radix galangm mijwris of pharmacy, Dr. Hance has added an 
interesting chapter to the history of a substance which for 
many centuries has been an object of trade Ijetween Europe and 
the East. Galangal does not, indeed, possess properties which 
can claim for it the rank of an important medicine, being simply 
a pungent aromatic of the nature of ginger; but it has so long 
htild a place in tlie phanuacopttias of Europe, and enters into so 
many ancient receipts, that I need hardly apologize for offering 
to the Liunean Society a few notes on its pharmacological 
history 

Galangal was apparently unknown to the ancient Greeks and 
Komuus ; at least no mention of it can be found in the classical 
authors. Its introduction into Europe was due to the Arabians^ 
in whose writings it is noticed at a very early period. 

Thus Ilni Khurdddbah, an Arab geograi>ber who served under 

the Klialif iMutamuiid, a.d. 869-885, has left some information 

respecting China, after which he speaks of the country of Sila, 

whicii exports ...... musk, aloes {i.e. aloes-wood), camphor, 

,..,., porcelain, satin, cinnamon (cassia}, and fjalangal} 

' ** i> Livre ihi Roafes d de* Frovutees^ jmr Ibn KhorUiidbeh, tmduit et 
jinoni*^ pjir L\ Uathm de Mcvnanl," /cjum, AiuUiqittf s^r. ri. tonie v. (I865)*j 
p, 204. 




Tntrrxlwtinn 

of IrllLflllgHL 



GAI^iNGAL. 



371 



The celebrated geographer Edrisi, who wrote a.d. 1154, ob- 

l^rves of Aden, that it is the port for Scinde, India, and China, 

from which la&t country are brougiit musk, aloes-woo J, pepper, 

cardaiooms, cinmuuon, ffalangal, mace, myrobalans, camphor, 

mitmegs, cloves and cubebs.^ 

The Arabian physicians from Rhazes and ^Ukiiidi, in the tenth 
and eleven til centuries dowiiM'ards, make frequent reference to 
gdlangal as an ingredient of the compIicateJ medicines then in use. 

Among the later Greeks I cannot tiiid any mention made of 
this dnig prior to Myrepsus, who probably re^iided as a physician 
at the court of the Greek Emperors at Xicai'.a in the thirteenth 
century; though several authors declare it is referred to much 
earlier. It is constantly named by Actuarius, who may have 
been contemporary with Myrepsus. 

In a work published some years ago in Paris, entitled Assists 
(fe Jerusalem ; on, Hcateil dcs Ouvrof/es de Jitrisin'tuhnce composis 
pandant le xiii^ SMe dans Ics Iluifaumes de Jimsakm d de 
Vhypre^ there is a remarkable list of commodities liable to duty 
during the twelfth century at the port of Aeon in Syria (the 
modern Akka), at that period a gieat emporium of Mediter- 
ranean trade, in which many Indian apices and drugs, including 
galangfil, are enumerated. 

Wc find galangal also noticed, together with ginger and zedo- 
ary, as productions of India imported into Palestine, by Jaques 
de Vitri, Bishop of Aeon in the early part of the thirteenth 
century ;' and in the Romance of Godr/roi de BouUlon, a poem 
written in the twelftii century^ it is named as one of the rarities 
of the East, which the Crusaders were deluded Into believing 
M'ould be found in plenty in the Holy Land * 

Marco Polo, in his travels in Asia in the thiiteenth century, 
observed galangal to be produced in Southern China (Province 
of Poochow ?), as well as in Java.^ 

1 fUographie tVEdrm^ tradoit par A. Jaubert ; Parist 1B1C-40, 4to, 
tmiie i. p. 51. * Paris, 184L-43, M. tcune ii. cbip. 142. 

* Vitriaco fJftc. de), UUioria ihiattalU et Vecideniali*^ 15^7, 8yo, 
p. 172. 

* Bihlmthk^ut fit VEcoh ffrA Chartrf, eotue ii. IB-^O^l, p. 437* 

* Li Litre dc Matc^o Polo [M. PiiuUncj : Piiris, 1S65), pp. 522, af?l. 



1871 



ilmpaus 

a Lid 
Actuurius. 



Gftlaiigal mtsn- 
tiouei] m the 
13th ceulury. 



Komanee of 
Godtfroi de 



llarco PolOt 





krad in the port ctf 

9g m r—t ■mil in the 




juBHl of espeMiiif Mtti. Kiw of 
1369 toJiil]r8ii^l36ai 
IJBlhi Ciw i jrg 

mSmithtm 
r. Ibrl Ik Iftl, fir 2IlL6dad far 1 Ilx 32dL> 
As the pffiee of gold bsppens to bt Abo mntJoueA in one part of 
ibe acoouit, il is evsj to form so estiuKte of the lehtive irmlve 
of gihmgil TIu ibom the piioe of 3l per poinid to be e<|m* 
Tilent to IQn of our piMuit nwacy— pol «rt»inffiit fiir o cani- 
moditj inmsported from tbe remolesl Asia to the o^itre of 
England. 
rndmmThfh In Professor J. EL ThofoM BogeiB^s Bisiary of AgrinUiun 
rtld B^m Q^ Prices in £n^land, there are deveo entries indicsting the 
price of g^laugal in England between aj>. 1264 and 1376, The 
liighest was in 1307, when 2 lb. of the spice porchased for the 
Crown were paid Tor at the rate of 6«. 8d, The other entries io- 
dicate the price as from Is, 6^. to 3«. per lb. 

In the fifteenth century galangat was evidently in comtn^ 
tm; for Saladinus, physician to one of the Princes of Tarentum, 
eirea A.D. 1442 — 1459, reckons it among the things nteessaria ei 

* K. llilfhQiidiM AhbaiUim Opera Omnia^ a^etcmnCc J, P, Mifiu; PafinL 
1S5;), p. it 34. 

* Ottmiiinr» Mtmorim Hutoru^u 9ohre la Marina^ Comereio y Aries de la 
Ciudaatk iffitrtt^ia^ 1771), totiio ii. p. 20. 

* The ori|(inftl enlriej* are «a follows : — 
"LofiHy VU" jour d'ootobre, Jehiin Kelleshulle, espicier k St Boutoal, 

nmir impircH pruwa de 11 pour 1© Roy . . , . Gdingftl, demio livre IFki 
Jmidy XlJl- jour d« Uvrier . ♦ - . Galinpal, 2 livrea, 6#. Samedy XXVH* 
J<nir dtf Julng .... Bertbi^leiui Mine, espicier .... Galingid. mie liyrc, 
SS'C , * . ." 

I*. Uotjet D'Afcq, Comptt'jt dt VAr^tntetit dts Boii de Fnmtt aii XIV* 
iiii^k, Pum, IN61, 8vo, pp. 218, 232, 2t>5, 266. 





GALANGAL. 



373 



Major iLtid 
MiiiQr, 



usitata which should be found iu the shop of ev^ery arornatarius} IB71* 
As might be expected, it is included in all the older pharmacopceiaa 
and antidotaria. 

Garcia D*Orta, first physician to the PoHiiguese Viceroy of 
India at Goa, and a resident in India for thirty years, is, I 
thiak, the first writer to point out (1563) that there are two Two kmdj 
sorts of galangal — the one, as he says, of smaller size and more ^ ^ *"**'** 
potent virtues brought from China, the other a thicker and less 
aromatic rhizome produced in Java.^ 

This distinction is perfectly correct. The greater galangal, 
which is termed Badix ffalangm majoru, is yielded by Aijnnia 
ffalanga, Wilki a plant of Java;^ the lesser, called Radix 
galan^ce minoris, or simply Madiv galaiigm, is derived, as we 
now know, from the plant which Dn Hance has described as 
A, ojfficinaiiihu It is the latter drug alone that is at present 
found in European commerce,* 

The name galangal, galanga, or gavingai, Gafgant in German, 
is derived fr^jm the Ambic I'halaiijmi ; whether the word rnay 
be a corruption of the Chinese name tiang-kiang, signifying 
mild ginger, I must leave it to others to decida 

Let me say a few words regarding the uses of galangal As 
a medicine, the manifold virtues formerly ascribed to it must 
he ignored ; the dnig is an aromatic stimulant, and might take 
the place of ginger, as indeed it does in some countries. That 
it is still in use in Europe is evident from the exports from 
China and from the considerable parcels offered in the public 
drug sales of London,* The chief consumption, however, is 

^ Compendium Aromatariontm ; Botion. 1488, fol. 

* Cotloquim dos Simples e Ihogas he rotntis Mrdicinais da India; Goa, 
1663, Colloqiiio 24. 

' Marunta gahnga^ Lino. Sp, PL »ntl Swartz, Obs. Bot, 

* Moodeen Sheriff, in hk lejiriied t^ujyplement to the Pharma4:opaia of 
India (Madms, 1&G9), st)it€S thai in the bujciiars of Hyderabad and in some 
other partii of Intiia the rhizome of A ipinia culcarata^ Rose, is sold as a sort, of 
^'ularigal ; aod that a species of Afptnia growing in gurdeas al>out Madnis, 
which, coiiceiviBg it to be new to science, ne has described and named aa A. 
Kkulinjan^ ha^s h rhizome much re-HenibUng the lesser gnkn^al of China. 

* Three hundred lmr;H, eadi 1121b., imported from Whampoa vvere oflered 
for sale by MesBrs* Lewis and Peat, 27 Oct.j 1870. The quantity was not 
thought Temarkable ; and I am assured that a single buyer will ^oujetimes 
purchase such a lot at one time for shipment to the continent. 



A ruble 
Name. 



Uses* 



374 



THE RADIX GALANG.E OF PHARMACY. 



I87I. not in England, but in Eussia.^ It is there used for a variety 
NasUnka. o{ purposes, as for flavouring the liqueur called nastoika. The 
drug is also employed by brewers, and to impart a pungent 
flavour to vinegar, a use noticed by Pomet^ so long ago as 
1694. As a popular medicine and spice, it is much sold in 
Livonia, Esthonia, and in Central llussia ; and by the Tartars 
it is taken with tea. It is also in requisition in Russia as a 
cattle medicine; and all over Europe there is a small con- 
sumption of it in regular medicine. 

There is doubtless some quantity of galangal of both sorts 
used in India. By a Report on the External Commerce of the 
Presidency of Bortibay for tlie year 1865-66 I find that there 
was imported into the Port of Bombay of " Gallingall " from 
China 520 cwt., from Penang, Singapore, the Straits of Malacca, 
and Siam 70 cwt., and from Ports in Malabar 834 cwt. Of the 
total quantity (1424 cwt.), 716 cwt. was reshipped to the 
Arabian and Persian Gulfs. 

According to Eondot, writing in 1848, the trade in this drug 
is on the decline;' and the statistics which I have examined 
tend strongly to show that this is the fact. 

Tlie foregoing notes may be thus summarized : — 

Historical 1. Galangal was noticed by the Arab geographer Ibn 
Simimary. Khurdddbah in the ninth century as a production of tlie region 
which exports musk, camphor, and aloes-wood. 

2. It is used by the Arabians and later Greek physicians, and 
was known in Nortliern Europe in the twelfth century. 

3. It was imported during the thirteenth century with other 
Eastern spices by way of Aden, the Red Sea, and Egypt, to 
Akka, in Syria, whence it was earned to other ports of the 
Mediterranean. 

4. Two forms of the drug were noticed by Garcia d'Orta in 
1563; these are still found in commerce, and are derived 



• Professor Kegel, of St Petersburg, and A. y, Bunge, of Dorpat, and Mr. 
Justus £ck, of London, have all obli;;ingly supplied me with information as 
to the use of g-alangal in Russia. My thanks are also due to my friend 
Professor Fliickiger, who on this, as on other occasions, has kindly offered me 
valuable suggestions. 

• Histoire des Drogius, Paris, 1694, fol, part 1, p. 64. 

• Commerce d^ Exportation ds la Chine; Paris, 1848, p. 98. 



AFBICAJJ AMMONIACUM. 



375 



* 



respectively from Alpinia galanga, Willd., and A, oficutanun, iB7i, 
Haiice. ' 

5. Galangal is still used tliroughout Europe, but is consumed 
most lai-gely in Russia. It is also used in India, and is shipped 
to ports in the Persian Gulf and Bed Sea. [X Ecptrt / 
Fkarm. XX, 580.] 

AFRICAN AMMONIACUM. 

{Africanisckcs Afmnoniak-Grummiliarz, von Ferida Tingiiana^ L.) 

The fii*8t writer to mention Ammoniaenm is said to be 1873 • 
Dioscorides/ who flourished in the firat century, and who relates DioscoiideB. 
that the diug is the juice of a species of Ferula growing about 
Cyreue in Libya, and that it is produced near the temple of 
Aiunjon, Whether the drug received its designation from the 
deity or the deity from the drug, or whether both took their 
names from the Greek word *Afifj.o<;, sand, in allusion to the 
parched and sandy desert w^here both were found, were open 
questions in the time of Pliny. The story, however, of the 
Libyan origin of ammoniaenm remained current for centuries Origin of th« 
among writers on Materia Medica, and considering that the drug 
was not frequently brought from Alexandria, it had about it 
nothing improbable. 

Chardin, who passed many years in Persia (1666-1677), is 
probably one of the first to point out that ammoniacum is a 
production of that country * He says that the Persians call the 
plant Oachag, and that it grows in abundance on the southern 
confines of Farthia, — that is to say south of Ispahan, wliich Is 
exactly where it has been found by many travellers in modern 
times. 

Jackson, an English merchant wlio resided for sixteen years 
in Morocco and wrote an instructive account of that country,' 
described a sort of ammoniacum produced there by a giant fennel 
called in Arabic Fcshook. This plant, he says, grows on most 
of the plains of the interior, but especially about El Araiche 

* Lib. iii, a B8. 

' Voyage du Chevalier Ckardin en Perte^ nouvelle Edition, par Laoglfea, 
Paris, iii. (1811) 298. 
â–  Account of the Empire of Morocco^ Lond., 1809, 



Nurne. 



ClmrdiD. 



Fe^ook, 



37fi 



AFRICAN AMMOXIACUM. 



i»7«- and M'Sbarrali Rumraellah. The gum exudes ft-om the stem lu 
conaequeBce of the puncture of [a beetle, and falling to the 
ground becomes contaminated with earthy for which reason it 
does not suit the Lcmdon market ; but it is used in all parts Qf_ 
the country for cataplasms and fumigations. 

Lindley, from the examination of specimens sent to England 
fmm Tangier in 1839, determined the plant affording African 

itgmkt amnioniacum to be the Ferula tingitma of Linnaeus/ 
tingiiana, L. Not%vitbstandiiig the statement of Jackson, that a kind of 
ammoniacum is a production of Morocco, it was difficult to 
helieve that this Moroccan drug could be the Ammoniacum 
which the ancients, and egpecially Dioscorides, described as 
bronght from Libya. Pereim ^ and Guibourt ^ having examined 
specimens of the gum sent to Lindley from Tangier, concurred 
in r^arding it as a very different substance from Persian 
ammoniacum. The latter writer even maintained that Dios- 
corides bad slipped into an error^ and that his ammoniacum was 
probably none other than that of our own times. 

Dmibti It was also pointed out tliat the word ammoniacum was some* 

respecting times written arjnoniacum, which might well be a corruption of 
armcniacum, and point to Armenia or some country beyond as 
the source of the dnig. 

The works of a Persian writer* recently made accessible have 
also proved that ammoniacum was a production of Persia as 
early as the tenth century. 

The appearance in London drug sales of a very impure kind 
of ammoniacum, differing notably from the worst variety of the 
Persian drag, attracted my attention so long ago as 1857 ; and I 
was interested in observing a much larger quantity of the same 
article in the year 1871. On this occasion 37 packages wei'e 
offered for sale. I was unable to ascertain whence they had 
been shipped, but the former lot (1857) I found had been 

Moiplor. imported from Mogadon 



4 
4 



* PereirH, Ekm, of MuL Med. ii., part 2 (1^53) 1715. 

• Op. cit, 3 HiiL (k$ Drogues, iil (1S5Q) SM ^ 

♦ Abii ^ransur Mowafik hea All, Libtr Fandamentonim PhairmmtBohffimi^ 
ed. SeliifmiinD, iH2X 



AFRICAN AMMOXUCUM. 



377 



Mr. Mory- 



The drug may he described as in lar;ge, compact, dark, heavy lara. 
masses, formed of ^glutinated tears of a gum-resin of hard, Description 
waxy consistence. The tears are opaque, wliite, and milk-like, , ^^ Afncnn 
or ot a pale greenish yellow, or of a lawn colour, mixed with 
others of a dark blackish brown, which with earthy and 
vegetable impurities constitute a large proportion of the mass. 
The drug has a very weak odour not suggestive of ammoniacum, 
and a slightly acrid but very ]>ei'sistent taste. 

Having recently had to in^'-estigate anew the history of 
ammoniacum, I was led to look into the various memoirs on the 
subject, and also to search for some information respecting the 
Morocco drug described by Jackson. In the latter inquiry I was 
fortunate enou^j;li to have the aid of Jlr. Moiyoseph, a dnig 
merchant of Loudon having connections with Mogadur, wlio not 
only at once supplied me with a sample of the African drug 
according exactly with that I had noticed in the brokeis' sale- 
rooms, but also kindly wrote to Morocco for some of better 
quality, which proved to be less impure and to contain milky 
tears exactly like Persian ammoniacum. 

I also enlisted the sen^ices of my friend Dr, Leared, who Dr. Lefir<?a*# 
during a short visit to Morocco in the past autumn ascertained a 
few interesting particulars, whicli are to this effect : — 

The plant is called kdihy aud grows up rapidly after the first 
rains* Its gum is not much shipped to Europe, but a great deal 
of it is taken by pilgrims to Egypt and Mecca, where it is use<l 
as incense. Its chief shipping-port is Mazagan; a little is sent 
from Mogador, but noue from other ports. The Greatham 
Hall, the vessel in which Dn Lcared embarked, took on board 
25 serons of the gum at Mazagan for Giliraltar, where they were 
to be reshipped for Alexandria. The shippers call it Fttsoy. 

The facts I have narrated show that African ammoniacum 19 
still an object of commerce, and that it is consumed not only in 
Morocco, but that it finds its way even to Eg}pt and Arabia. 
It can hardly be doubted that this traffic is very ancient Nor 
is there^ as it seems to me, any improbability in assuming that 
the ammoniacum which the ancients describe as brought from 
Libya (under which name the whole of Northern Africa west- 



ajccuunL 



378 



BOTANICAL OBIGIK AND LX)IINTUV OF MYimU. 



1«79. 



Vfl wiiffim^n. 



ward of Egj^pt was iiicIucIchI) is identical with that still collected 
in Morocco. That this Morocco drug resembles the Persian or 
ordinary kind is evident from the fact that London drug 
brokers have classed it as ammoniacum in their catalogues, — 
and it is probable enough that the two drugs were confounded 
together at a very early period. 

The Morocco gum-rosin is used in fumigation ; it is worthy of 
note that tlie aiymoniacurn spoken of by Celsus, Galen, Oribasius, 
Alexander Tralhauus, Paulas ^Egineta and Actuarius, that is to 
say by the Greek and Roman physicians who lived between the 
fiiat and thirteunth centuries, is frequently described as ihi/miama 
or su^men, i.e., an incense, or something used for fumigation. 



1«73. 



origin. 



THE BOTANICAL ORIGIN AND COUNTRY OF 
MYERH.^ 

{Htimut und Abstammunff der Mifrrk) 

The remarks relative to myrrh in the Admiralty Manuai of 
Scitntific Inquiry, 1859 and 1871,' having elicited no information, 
it may tend to stimulate those who are located in positions 
favourable for research if the state of our knowledge on the 
subject is briefly explained. The direction in which investi- 
j^tion^ should be made will thus become more apparent. 

Myrrh is a gum-resin, exuding from the stem of a small tree 
or shrub which is a native of the hot and dry countries around 
the southern extremity of the Red Sea. Tbongh the substance 
itself has been known to mankind from the remotest period of 
liistory, and though it has been among the most precious articles 
of ancient commerce, the tree which affords it is almost — ^per- 
haps altogether — unknown to botanists. Whether the myrrh- 
tree belongs to a single species is doubtful ; it is more probable 
that the drtig is furnished by two or three distinct but allied 
species. 



^ RmiatMt from Owov Uifkmm^ Ibr April, IS7X 
• rdb Fk^trm. /iHifT*., i (ISO}, tl7 : il . 1671), S 



dOflL 



BOTANICAL OIUGIN AKD COUNTRY OF MYKKH. 



379 



Let us now consider wLat lias been a'?cprtuiiietl oii the subject. 
In 1820-26, the German traveller Ehreoberg visited the 
countries bordering the I?ed Sea, and among other places, 
Glijzan (Jhizan or Jczan), a town or village lying on the 
Arabian coast in latitude 16"* 4U' N., opposite to the gix>up of 
islands called the Farsan Archipelago, — tliat is to aay, about 
300 miles north of tlie straits of Bab-el-Mandeh. Here, and on 
the neighbouring mountains of lijara 
and Kara (which I do not find on 
any map I have been able to con- 
sult), he discovered myrrh-trees, 
forming, as he says, the underwood 
of a forest of Acana^ Afann{/a, and 
Evphorhia, From these myrrh- 
trees, he states, he picked same 
very fine myrrh. He also obtained 
herbarium specimens, wliich the 
l>otanist Xees von Ksenbeck de- 
scribed under the name of Bahamo- 
daulron Myrrha, — thus, as it would 
seem, completely settling the ques- 
tion. 

A few years ago Ehrcnlverg's 
herbarium was incorporated in the 
Koyal Herbarium of Berlin, and 
these myrrh-tree specimens were 
re-examined by I>r. Otto Berg, with 
results which doubtless occasioned 
him some surprise* I!e found, in 
fact, tiiat Khrenberg's Arabian 
myrrh- tree comprised two very distinct plants, namely, that 
figured by Von Esenbeck, and another to which was attached 
[t'orreethj, let us hope) Ehrenbergs own tickets, stating that 
from it he had got myrrh. Berg gave the new myrrh-tree 
the name of B, Ehrenbergimmm, 

Whether myrrh is collected from both we do not know, 
Ehrenber^ himself does not assert that the natives about Ghizaa 



\y 







Ebrenberg'a 
account. 



Dr. Berg'a 
accouut. 



380 



DUTAKICAL ORIGIN AND COUNTRY OF MYRRH. 



1978* 



Yanghati*a 

•ooount or 

Adon myrrh. 



Cmttenilen, 



collected myrrh at all ; and tlie myrrh of commerce is certaiuly 
not brought from that neighbourhootl 

Whence, then, is myrrh brought ? Vaughan, who was port* 
surgeon at Aden in 1852. says that a little is obtained on the 
south coast of Arabia, about 40 miles to 
the east of Aden. But thia Arabian 
myrrh, of which I have seen samples, 
has not (although pure and clean) exactly 
the characters of true myrrh, and there 
is good reason to l^elieve it the produce 
cjf another species than that affording the 
latter. However this may be, the Aden 
myiTh-tree is wholly unknown to botanists. 
Vaughan further pointed out that myrrh, 
which is more commonly known at Aden 
l»y its Indian name of Hera-bdl than 
hy its Arabic designation of Mur, is 
collected in great quantities by the Somali 
tribes occupying the country between 
Zeila and Cape Oardafui ; and that it is 
also brought from Harar (otherwise called llurrur or Adari)^ a com- 
mercial town of the interior, about 175 miles south-west of 
Zeila. Harar was visited in 1855 by Burton, who describes it as 
the " great Iialf-way house " for the produce of Efat, Gurague, and 
the Galla countries. The drug arrives at the great fair of Ber- 
bem held in Xoveraber, December, and January, and is brought 
up by the Banians of India for shipment to Aden and Bombay. 
Cnittenden.who visited the Somali coast in 1843, and was after- 
wards assistant political agent at Aden, says myrrh is brought 
fn>ni the Wadi Kogiil, a valley debouching into the Indian 
Ocean, south of Cape Gardafui, in about latitude S"* N,, and from 
its bordering districts of Ogahden, Murrey ban, and Agahora. 
He says further that the mountains at the back of Bender Mir- 
ayeh (a town about 20 miles south-west of Bas Filek, on the 
Somali Coast) afford it, and that the drug is brought to Bender 
Mirayeh for m\e} 

1 Juumal of Hoyal Geographical SoeUty, xix. (I84i)), 5, CO, 




Ekf9nl^9rgianHm{mfloT Berg), 



BOT.VNICAL UHIGIN AND COlTNTItY OF MYRRn. 



38! 



Wliether it is true myrrh which is produced in these districts 
of the Somali country, or whether it is another kind of myrrh 
called by the Arabs Bisa-h6l, and whi^h is cliieily coDsumed iu 
India and China, is an open question. 

Again, it has been stated on veiy good authority, that myrrh 
is produced in thtj country lying between Tajdra and Shoa. Sir 
W. Corawallis Hanis, wlio was chief of a mission td the latter 
country in 1841, found the myrrh-tree between Waramilli and 
Kaga Koomi, that is, about 200 miles from Tajilra, on the road 
to Ankober, the capital of Shoa. In an appendix to his narrative, 
he names as localities for the plant the Adal desert, the jungle 
of the Hawash, and the borders of Efat 



1073. 



rarsAn« t 



sG^lMTT 



\}Loaeia 




V 



Sir \\\ C. 
H*rria. 



It will thus be seen that four districts are asseited to produce Four mippoied 
myrrh, namely— 1, the country about Ghizau, on the eastern ***"f^^*'*- 
&hore of the Eed Sea ; 2, the southern Arabian coast eastward 
of Aden ; 3, the Somali countiy south and west of Cape Garda- 
fui ; and 4, the region lying between Tajiira and Shoa, including 
Harar to the soutli-east. 

Furthermore, tliere are certainly three varieties of myrrh, 
which may well be derived from as many distinct species of 
luyrrh-tree. 

What are required for the botanical elucidation of the ori^'in 




382 



PAHEIKA BKAVA. 



laza* of myrrh are numerous, well-preserved, pressed and dried 
specimens of the tree, which ought to include, in addition to 
foliage, the flowt?i's and fruits ; specimens of the exudation of 
the tree shoukl also be collected, in order that competent 
persons may pronounce whetlier it is tnie myrrh or not. Infor- 
mation as to the collection of the drug in any one of the loctili- 
ties named could not fail to be of interest.. 

The myrrh-trees appear to be of low stature and unattractive 
aspect, rigid, often spiny, with scanty foliage, minute flowera 
and small, oval, dry berries. [/V. Hcjyi'rt. f. Pharnu xxii, 624-] 



iS7a. 



Ci&Biimpfllos 
Pare I Fa, 



ON FAKEIRil BRAVA. 

(Tmmialfd iviih Comments (iviih (he Original liiitsfratiorui) in the 
Journal dc Pkarmacic d de Chiinie, Octohre (1875), 282.) 

The botanical origin of the various stems and roots known as 
Pareira brum is extremely obscure. By moat writera the drug 
is referred without question to Cijimmpdos Pareira, Linn., a 
climbing plant of the order AÂ¥tmspennff<'C(r; growing in tlie 
tropical regions of both the Old and New Worhl. 

Some years ago the difficulty of purcliasing Pareim Brava of 
good quality in London induced me to seek a supply in the 
West Indies. I accoRlingly procured on behalf of the firm of 
whicli I was then a member, a quantity of the stems and roots 
of Cismmpelos Pareira, L, collected in Jamaica under the super- 
vision of Mr, N. Wilson, director of the Bath Botanical Ganlen 
in that island. The tirst importation was accunjpimied by 
herbarium specimens of the ]>laut, the examination of which 
removed all doubts as to its origin. I also obtained specimens 
of stems of Ci.isampehs Pareira similarly authenticated, from 
correspondents in Trinidad, Brazil and Ceylon, 

From these materials it at once became evident that the long- 
accepted statement that Pareim Brava is derived from Cusam^ 
peios Pareira, Linn., was eiToneous.^ In fact neither the stem nor 

* This fact was first jwiuted out in lUc Pharmacopma of InMft^ iei(J8, p. S, 
note* 



PAREIHA BRAVA. 



383 



Pi«o, the 
Dutch tra- 
veller. 



the root of the plant at all resembles any of the forms of that isra- 
drug T had ever met with in comnierce* 

"VMiat then is true Pareira Brava ? — To answer this question 
we must look hack to the eaily history of the drug. 

The merit of having first given some account of Pareira 
Brdva is usually conceded to the liutch traveller Piso, who in 
his work Ik Mcdicina Brasiliemi, published in 1648, described 
a plant called by the Portuguese Ctmpeba CipS de Cohrns or 
Hey^ta de Nosm Saihora. Piso's figure is scarccdy recognizable, 
but his description of the fruit as resembliug the catkins of hop 
(semeri maijjtnm cohris rosacei^ c capauiis lupulo similihus pro- 
minens) applies well enough to a Cissampdos, and in fact C. gla^ 
hcrrima, 8t. Hib, is known under these Portuguese names in 
Southern Bm;!il at the present time. My friend Mr, J. Correa 
de Hello, of Campinas, Prov. S. Paulo, has been good enough to 
Bend me a apecimen of tliis plant and of its root ; and the 
latter I find to be wholly unlike any sort of Pareira Brava. 

That Piso does not mention Pareira Brava was indeed re- 
niarked as long ago as 1710 ; * and it is only since the drug has 
been supposed to be derived from Clssampelos that authors liave 
identified it with Piso's Caapcbci, 

Pareira Brava was certainly fii-st brought to Europe by the IntToducticm 
Portuguese. It first attracted general attention in 1688, when *"^'' Europe, 
Michel Anielot, Marquis de Gournay, a pri\'y councillor of 
Louis XIY., and a very distinguished political personage, brought 
it with him from Lisbon whither he had been sent as ambas- 
sador by the French king. There can be no doubt that the drug 
was considered to possess extraordinary properties. Rouilld, the 
successor of Amelot in the Lisbon embassy, also took home with 
liimto Paris some Pareira Brava; and in 1 710 we find it claiming the 
notice of the French Academy,'^ who requested Etienne-Fran9oi3 
(Jeoflroy, Professor of Medicine and Pharmacy in the College of 
Fmnce, to investigate its virtues* Jean-Claude- A drien Helve- 
tius, a physician of great merit, who though a young man was 
consulted by Louis XIY., in his last days, and was afterwards 

* Hist, fit PAcctii. Eovitk da Sciencu. flnit^e 1710, 56, 

* Ibid, 




384 



PAREIHA DRAVA. 



iB7a. 



Sir H«iis 
Sioauc. 



I 



Helvetlu*;. 



Petivcr. 



attached to the court of Louis XV,, tried the new drug still 
earlier/ and gave Strang testimony in its favour. 

Both Geofi'roy and Ilelvetius were correspondents of Sir Hans 
Sloane, that diligent promoter of science, whose immense col- 
lections gave origin to the British Museum, — and among the I 
Sloanian MSS, I have found a letter of Helvetius's ^ addressed 
in 1715 to Monsieur Dnyvenvoorde, ambassador from the States 
General to George L, a portion of which I will here quote ; — 

" I am extrearaly pleased s' that you have apply'd yorself to 
me for ray advice aliout the use of the Fareira bram wliich lias 
been recomended to you, hecause I can give you a very good 
account of it haveiug been one of the tii'st tliat intrnduced it iu 
Franca I have made abundance of lucky experiments about it 
which have made this medicine very well known to me, whei'e- 
fore I assure you, you can do nothing better than to make 
tryall of it. , . The l*areira Brava is a root wliicli comes to ns 
from Brazil by the way of Lisbon, but which the war has 
rendred pretty scarce ; bowever it is to be found among the '• 
good druggists and is sold [at] Paris for 40 livres the pound. 
Tis called in Briuill the l^niverstdl Medicine, and made use of j 
there in all kinds of distempers. A Capuchin monk who came | 
from theuce told me he could not give it a greater character 
tban by assuring me that in all their voyages tliey carried the 
gospell in one pockett and the Pareira Brava in another. . . 

Uelvetius recommended the finely-powdered root in five grain 
doses, to he taken in infusion warm like tea. 

Petiver, apothecary of London, and secretary to the Eoyal ^ 
Society, an active collector of objects of natural history of every flj 
kind, whose letters are also in the Sloanian collection, thus^^ 
wTote, December, 11th, 171G, to Colonel Worsley, His Majesty's 
envoy at Lisbon : — 

" . . , I am glad to liear y* Brasil ffleet is safely arrived, w^ 
I hope has brought some materialls for my succeeding ColUc- 
taneas, and amongst them nothing can be more welcome than 
specimens of y' leaves and fruit of y* Ipecacuanhaj Pareira 

1 HdvetiUB, TraiU dm Maladies lu pint Fr^qumta it da BtnUda ipeci- 

fiqusi pour hs Gwrir^ Paris, 1703, 98, 

• Sloane MS., No. 3340, p, 29 L— The letter has alreadj beeo published in 
Phil Trawi.^ No, 346, Nov. and Dvc, 1715, p. 36j. 



4 



PAREIBA BRAVA. 



385 



^ 
^ 



Eravn, Balsam CapevaB and y* true Brasila and BrasUetto woods, I07d. 
all which will be very acceptable discoveries. ,..'*' 

The first author to give an account ia priut of Pareira Brava 
seems to be Pomet, whose ITistoire des Drogues was com|»leted in Fomet. 
1692.^ He describes the drug as tlien recently seen in Paris, 
and he figures the speciuien given him by Tournefort. 

Geoffrey, in his excellent Tradatits de Materia Medica? a GeolTmy, 
work he did not live to complete, calls the drug by its Brazilian 
name of Batua, or Pareira Brava of the Portuguese, and de- 
Bcribes it as a root, woody, hard, contorted, externally of dark 
colour, rough, with many wrinkles, some long, some running 
round it transversely, like that of Thf^mclaia (Daphne f/nidium, 
L.), internally of a dull, yellowish hue, knit together, as it were, 
witli many %voody fibres, so that when cut transversely it ex- 
hibits several concentric circles, intersected by numerous rays 
of fibres passing from the centre to the circumference ; inodor- 
ous, somewhat bitter, with a certain degree of 8w*eetness like 
liquorice, as tliick as the finger, or sometimes as a child's arm. 
He adds that the Bmzilians and Portuguese most liighly extol 
its virtues as a diuretic, lithontriptic, vulnerary, stomachic, 
cordial, and alexipharmic,* and in fact, regard it as a complete 
panacea. 

The *|uestioa now arises, Can the drug which was introduced Qii<«8tioD of 
with m much of laudation be clearly identified ? Iiientification, 

As already stated, Pomet has figured it, and his engraving 
is excellent. But Sloane has left us better materials. In his 



> Sloane MS., 3340, p. 2m, 

• Afl proved by the letlers of approbatian which preceded it. But it waa 
not publiBhed until 16^, 

' Tom. ii. (1741) 21. 

* Hill jiidiciou.sly remarks that this is going tens hi in its praise, and jei 
ojnittinp;8<inie of its real virtues. ** It is certainly a diuretic," bajs he, "of 
no inferior kind, and bjus done great service in nephritic cases ; and in pleuri- 
sies and in quinsies hiLs been attended m ith more success than almost any 
medicine we know of singly. In suppresaiona of urine scirce anything is 
more efficAcious or more instantaneous in its eflvctj but it is folly to infer 

from this thiit it will dissolve the stone In cases of ulceration of the 

kidneys or bladder, when the urine is purulent and voided with great 
diificultyt there is scarce anything efiual to this root lu a remedy."*— i/f«l. of 

^Mai, itferf. 1751, p. 6(K1, 

c c 




386 



PAREIRA BRAVA, 



1873. 



A.D. 1699. 



Sloatie Mana 
script. 



collection of ^lateria Medica^ now in the British Museum, there i 
are many well-preserved specimens of the drug obtained fromi 
diflbreiit persons and at ditlerent periods, and all of one kind A 
and in lu3 vohuiiiDoiis manuscript catalogues and his otberi 
papers are entries throwing light on their orifjin. 

The first notice I have found is a letter from Lisbon, dated 
October 17th, 1G99, addressed by Joseph Geston to John Ellis,iy 
in whicli the writer says : — 

** By order of my bix>ther, W** Geston, I send you here in- 
closed six sticks of Farcira Brava or Parra Brava. The use ofj 
it, I am informed, is in powder, one scruple, and to the strongest 
patient one octave [drachm] in lihenish wine. . . . Its vertuesl 
are for the stone, gravell, obstruction of tlie urine, and for thej 
colick, — a very excellent remedy/' 

Though this letter is not addressed to Sloane, nor is he men- 
tioned in it, yet from its occurrence among his correspondence^ 
there can be no doubt that the specimens to which it re 
were intended for him. 

The entries in his manuscript catalogues, which are in his own 
liand\mting, are these : — 

" 652. Farcira Brava, — From Brasile, pretended to be good 
for the stone " J 

'* 4039. Farcira Brava,^~-A root used in the stone." 1 

" 6708. The Partira Brava, of a brown colour, from Brazil, 
said to be the best sort. — From Mons'* Geoffi*oy. 

10471. Sev"* specimens of the Pareira Brava^ from Lisboi] 
accounted a gi^eat remedy in suppression of water and the 
stone,— -according to ]Mons^ Geoffroy, the AmbiUta or Bulua\ 
of Zanoni — ^From Dr. Fuller, Sevenoaks." 

In 1866, 1 applied to my friend Theodor Peckolt, druggist, 
lUo de Janeiro, then residing at Cantagallo in the same province, 
on the subject of Pareira Brava, in consequence of which I 
received from him specimens of two phmta, the one marked 
Butua or Farcira Brava kgiiima, and other BiUinJia or Pareira^ 
Brava miuda (literally small Pareira Brava), together w^ith 
large dried entire phant of the former. The herbarium specimen 
of these plants presented no characters by which I could 
* Sloane MS., 404.% fol. 240. 



CHONDODENDRON TOMENTOSUM. 



387 



Â¥ 



Corteti de 
Mello. 



Mr. G. B. 
Fr&Dcifl. 



distingoisli tliem as two species ; and Jilr. Peckolt subsequently ib73. 
informed me that their difference consists chiefly i7i hahit, and Mr. IVckolt. 
that the first or legilimttte Pereim Brava is found in much drier 
situations tliao the small sort or Pcrtira Brava miuda, 

I have also received specimeiis from my friend Mr. J. Correa 
de Mello of Campinas, marked Parreira Brava ptqntna {small 
Pareira Brava) or Ahuta peqii^-na, and others labelled Leaves of 
thi! plant produtinff Parrira Brava, all of ^vhich seein referable to 
Mr. Peckolt's plant Mr. Correa de Mtdlo has likewise sent M 
me the dried root, and I have also received the root as supplied 
by a dnig house of Kio de Janeiro. 

Within the last few weeks two specimens of roots bearing 
some leaves marked respectively Panira Brava, large leaf, and 
Pareira Brava, small leaf have been presented to the Pharma- 
ceutical Society as well as to myself by ^fr. G. B. Francis of the 
firm of Hearon, Squire, and Francis. Between these two sorts I 
fail to recognize any diflference. 

The roots of ^Ir. Peckolt's Pareira Brava hgitima, those sent 
me by Mr, Correa de Ml*11o, and those received from Mr. Francis, 
completely agree with Sloaues specimens, as well as with 
Pomet's figure. 

As to the plant, I identify it with Chondsdendron^ to7mn- 
tosiim of Kuiz et Pavon, with an authentic specimen of wliich 
in the herbarium of the British iluseum I have compared it 
It is the Coccidns Chondodcndran of De Candolle (Prod. i. 98), 
and has been figured as Coccidns (?) plaii/phijlla by Anguste de 
8t. Hilaire,^ and by Eichler,^ as BoiTijo2)sis plah/phr/Ua, Miers. 
It agrees well with the plate of Omampelos Ahuttm in Vellozo's 
Flora Fluminensis ^ with which Eichler doubtfully identifies it 

* Mr. Miers {Ctmtrihution^ io Botany, iii. 307) contends for this name 
heiDg written Chonfhodfndnm as mcire in accordonce with its derivation from 
Xotrdpot, But I think it safer U> retJiin the originid apelling u^ accepted by 
uU botiinists. * Fiank^ UmtlU^ da Broiiiknit^ pL 42, 

* Miirtius Flor, Bras., fiwc. 38, tub. 48, Eichler makes two species under 
the Dkime of Botryopsis^ Miers tigki, six of thetn being apparently forms of 
Ch, ioTinniomm, Mr. Miers 's spwies, aa named by himself, can be seen in 
the Britbih Museum, and a type-spe<iimen of the plant figured by Eichler in 
the Kew Herbaiiuni. 

* Tom, X., tab. 14i». Mr. Miers regards this to represent hin Abit(a ma- 
Cff^hijih^ a very difierent plsint. 

cc 2 



Chondoden- 
dron toTiUii* 





Buiikli of Friiits of Chotnhuirnthoft hmfntmn^. R ET PJ 

evidence that it is the plant which the old Portuguese colonists 
called Pareira Bmva or Wild Vine} Neither the fruit nor the 
foliage of Cissa^npclos Fareira have anything about them 
suggestive of a grape \aiie, 

* From n specimen preserved in nlcoliol, sent to me by Mr. Peckolt, 
' In Portn^it'se the word k written tarrdra, and signifies a Tine thai 
grows against a wiiH or over an arbour. Pdrra is a vine-leaf. 



I 



CHOXDODENDKOX-^CISSAMPELOS PARFJHA. 



389 



The root of Chmulodendron cannot be coufounded with tlie 
stem, which la woody and fibrous and of a different structure. 
Geoffroy*s description of the fonnerj which I have transhited at 
page 385 is correct so far as it goes. I mav add that the numer- 
ous specimens I have seen present but little variation. All are 
portiona of a toituoua, branching root, wrinkled longitudinally 
and having transverse fissures, constrictions, or ridges. The 
root is externally of a blackish-brown, and light yellowish- 
brown within. In Mr. Francis's drug there are young roots 
having the remnants of green aerial stems rising from their 
upper part. In ^Ir. reckolt's speeiraeji the aerial stems are 
fully preserved, as thick as the finger and many feet in length. 
The root seems to be goi^ed with juiceSi so that under the 
penknife it cuts more like a very hard fat or wax than as a 
fibious wood. In transverse section it does not display zones of 
the same regular and beautiful definition that one sees in oixliuary 
Pareira Bmva, In the root of Chondodendron there is a large 
well-marked central colunm composed of wedges diverging 
from a common axis, around winch are arranged a few concentric 
rings intei^ected by wedge-shaped rays w^hich are often irregu- 
lar, scattered, and indistinct. The axis is not often eccentric. 

In Cissamjjelos Pareira the root and stem are nearly alike 
in structure, and in transverse section show no concen- 
tric rings. Those received from Jamaica, 
which were the largest that could be collected, 
were rarely so much as an inch in diameter, 
and in many localities it is diiiicult to obtain 
the stem or root thicker than a goose quill. 

The Pareira Brava of English commerce is 
mostly of lai'ger size tlian the root of Chondothn- 
dron, and is a much more woody substance. Its st^ir^^cwu^/^ 
internal structure, which is familiar to most jMnAi« ipecimen/ 
druggists, is very remarkable, consisting of a 
series of layers which are often developed exclusively in one 
directioru Nothing is known of the botanical origin of this 
drug beyond the fact that the structure of the wood is that of 
the order Menupetmacece. Of late years even this sort has 



1973. 



DeM?rif>tion 
of the root of 



Fanirm, 



ComTnercitil 
Pareira Hmva 




392 



PAREIBA BEAVA. 



1S73. 



Various kiiii 
of Pureini 
Brava. 



( hiMtilodea 
diuii. 




diverse from that represented, thougli generally lesa eccentric, 
with always a distinct central pith. The wood is tasteless, 
and often seems to have been injured by damp. It should 
be rigidly excluded from pharmaceutical use. 
Is Several other sorts of Pareira Brava are known — at least in 
South America. One, of which there is a parcel now in the 
Loudon nmrket, is remarkable for its large size, and for being 
internally of a fine yellow. As it is also very bitter, it prob- 
ably contains berl>erine. 

Another sort is derived from Abuta ru/csc^ns, Aublet^ a well- 
marked plant growing in Guiana and North Brazil. Specimens 
of a thick woody root, marked Ahutua ^rande or Farreira Brava 
gratule, and attributed to this species, have been sent to me by 
Mr. Correa de Mello; they exhibit numerous concentric layers 
traversed by very distinct, dark medullary rays, the inter-radinl 
spaces being white, and rich in starch* It is apparently a well- 
marked sort, and one 1 have not seen in commerce.'^ 

In conclusion J I strongly advocate returning to the use of the 
root of Chondodendron, which is the drug on w^iich the reputation 
of Pareira Prava was originally founded. 

In Brazil this root is regarded as the legitimate sort, and is 
still held in the highest esteem. 

Thongh it has not been clearly recognised by European writers, 
it is not altogether unknown, Guibourt^ seems to have been 
acquainted with it and even correctly surmised its botanical 
origin. It is the root figured by Gobel and Kunze,^ and there 
is an old specimen of it iu the Pharmaceutical Society's Museum 
marked Pareira Brava. I myself met with it in the market in 
1862. Lastly, Dr. Squibb has pointed out* that some small lots 

I When Aublet waa in Guiana, 1762-64, the atems of Ahuta rttft^tm 
were ahipped to France as Pareira Brava hlanc. He says tljere is a vartotj 
of the same with the woady partfl reddish, which is known in Cayenne as 
Pareira Bnwa rouge. He aIso describes ttnd figurea a plant he CJiUs AbiUa 
anmra or Pareira Brava jaune, which hiis the wood yellowish and very 
bitter. This hist is, I think, identical with the yellow wood of which^ ns I haye 
said^ there ifl a quantity now on sale as ^* Pareira Brava.*' — See lii^t^ d49 , 
Fhinteg de la Gniane FrancotJie, I (1775), 618-21, Uib, 250-51, 

« Hist dea Ih'og., ed. 4, iii, (18f>0) 671. 

=* Fkarm. JFaartnkumk, ii. (l»30-34), tab, 13» fi^. 1, b-c. 

* American Jonrnnt of Pharmaoj^ ^Itirch 1, 1B72, 107. 



NGAI CAMPnOR. 



)93 



Fai'eira Brava imported into New York in 1871 consisted in 
large part of a dmg entirely different from any previously seen, 
and that he at first supposed it an adulteration; but tliat 
subsequent examination had shown him that the drug in 
i^plfiition agreed well with the older descriptions of Pareira Brava, 
and especially with Poniet's figure, so that he was convinced 
it was true Pareira Boot From Dr. Squibb's description I feel 
sure that the drug before him was the same as that to which I 
have caUed nt tent ion in the present paiier 

There can be no doubt tliat it would become plentiful if the 
demand should arise, and that it would advantageously replace 
the worthless kind now found in the drug trade. [N. Repert, 
f, Pharm. xxiii 21X\ 



1873. 



I 



ON A PECULIAE CAMPHOE FKOM CHINA. 

[Neua* Camphcr am China, ron Bhimea hahamifera) 
{Li. grmidis, B.C.) 

Altuough the Chinese make large use of ordinary camphor, 
that is to say, of the camphor produced in Japan and Formosa 
by Cinnamoryium camphora, F. Nees et Eberni,, it is %vell known 
tlmt tliey attach a much higher value to the camphor obtained 
in Sumatra and Borneo from the stem of Dryohalaiwps aromatica, 
Gartn. 

But there is a tliird kind uf camphor standing intermediate 
in value between these two, and much less known, to which I 
desire to draw attention. 

Eondot, in his work on Chinese commerce/ published in 1848, 
after speaking of the camphor of China, and before describing 
Malayan or Uryobalanops camphor, has a remark in reference 
to the drug under notice, to the following effect :■ — 

There exists also another sort of camphor, extremely white, 
which is extracted from the leaves of a plant known in China 
under the name of Nf/ai, a variety of Ariimiisia. It occurs in 
crystals, which are very fjure, clear, brittle, with a shining 
fracture ; it is much esteemed m China. 

' Etudt Praiiqtic du Commerce d'Exporttition dc la CJiinf, Paris, 1848, 
34-38. 




1874. 



KGAI CAMPHOR. 



^gu Cain- 

phor* 



I 



Oar author quotes the prices of these sorts oi camphor for 
the picul of I'SZ^ lb., thus: — 



Formosa camphor . . 

Japan camphor 

Ngai camphor ..**,. 
Malay camphor, first quality . 
„ „ second quality 



25 dollars, 

30 ,, 
250 ,, 

2(MI0 „ 
KHIO „ 



Blumra hah 
iowu/*ra,D,C. 



Other refereucea to Ngai camphor are very slight, and impl 
that the writers had no pmctical acquaintance with the sub- 
etance. Such, in fact, was my own case ; I only knew of Ngai 
camphor by name, and I therefore drew attention to it in the 
Admiralty Mmiual of Scicntiji^ Inquiry (1871), by asking the 
following question — ** What is the camphor said to he obtained 
from a spc^^ie^ of Artemisia { Wormtt?ood) called Kgai ? ** This 
brought a reply from Mr. Frederic H, Ewer, of the Imperial 
Maritime Customs, Canton, who kindly sent nie specimens 
of Ngai camphor, together with a small branch of the plant 
from which it is njade. 

The specimens represent two forms of the camphor, the ono 
a perfectly colourless crystalline substance, in flattish pieces, 
as much as an inch in length ; the other, which Mr. Ewer re- 
gards as the crude state of the drug, is a crystalline powder 
of a dirty white, mixed with some fragments of vegetable 
tissue. The purer sample has an odour scarcely dij^tinguishable 
from that of ordinary camphor ; but the odour of the other 
is perceptibly contaminated with a smell like tliat of worm- 
wood. Ngai cauiplior, like that of Dryobalanops, sinks into water. 
The investigations of its other properties and its chemical 
relations having been undertaken by my friend Professor Attfield, 
they will form the subject of a separate communication from his 
pupil Mr. Sydney Plowman. 

The plant sent by Mr. Ewer is no species of Artemisia, though 
a member of the same order. It proves to be Blumea balmm- 
ifbTa, D.C, a tall, coarse-looking, herbaceous plant of Eastern Asia, 
an abundant weed in Assam and Bnrmah, and common through- 
out the Indian inlands. It is well known to emit when bruised 



NGAI CAMPHOR. 



395 



a strong odour of camplior, and in Burmah a crude camplior 
is even extracted from it. Many years ago, a European named 
O'Riley purified some of tliis camphor, and attempted to bring 
it into notice as an article of commerce According to Miison/ 
he made more tlian 100 lbs. of it, which he sent to Calcutta, 
where it was reported to be as good as ordinary camphor. 

It is probable that the iJlumea is not the sole source of Ngai 
camphor ; for according to Mr. Ewer the character J^ {^!/^i), 
is applied to designate several plants, including both Labiatw 
and Compo8Ua\ The camphor is used not only in medicine, 
but also in the manufacture of the scented kinds of Chinese 
ink. Mr. Ewer states that about 15,000 dollars' (£3000) worth 
is annually exported from Canton to Shanghai and Ningpo, 
whence it finds its way to the ink factories of Wei-cliau and 
other places. [^V. Mepert.f. Phurm, xxiii. 321*] 

The Chemistry of Ngai Camphok was investigated at the 
same time by Mr. Sydney Plowman. 

On making an ultimate analysis of three camphoi's the 
following results were obtained : — 



\B7A. 



Seented Chi- 
neso Inks 
made with 
Ngiii Cam- 
phor. 



Camphor 



Laurel camphor 



Expenmetital. 

fC 7S*2 

io 



10-44 
1136 



Th<?oretical. 

78'94 
10-52 
10-54 



100-00 100-00 



Borneo Camphor 



ExperimentAl. 

( C 77-66 

.^H 11-68 

Io 10 66 



Theoretical. 

77-92 
ir69 
10-39 



Ngai camphor . 



10000 100-00 



Experiin«nt>l. 

fC 77-56 
.^H 11-6 
Io 10-84 



10000 
* Burmah, ilt PeopU tuid Natural Prodrntimut, 2nd. ed., 1860, 4881 



4 



396 



CHONDODENDRON VEl CHONDiJODENDRON. 



CnONDODENDRON OR CHOXDiZODENDRON. 



1874* In tlie Fkarmacfutiml Journal for Nov, 14, 1874, it is 

remarked that the authors of the Fharmacograpkia prefer to 
write Chondodcndronf and not as the derivation of the word 
would seem to require, Chondrodaidron. The proposal to insert 
ail r in the secood syllable emanated from Mr. Miers, who, in 
his Monograph of the Menupennaccm, states that the word 
wa8 originally mis-spelt through an error in the presa 
Spoiling. As this name, whicli is that of the genus to which the Pareiiu 
Brava plant has been sliown to belong, may come into more 
frec[ueni use than hitherto, it is well that we should know what 
reasons may be urged in favour of each way of spelling. 

The genus made its first appearance in the work of the 
Spanish botanists Ruiz and Pavon, entitled Florm Peruviaiu» et 
Chiiciuiis Prodromns, sive novontm gciianim plantamm Peravia-- 
narum d ChUtmimii dcscrlptiones et icones, published at Madrid 
in 1794, Here we find it Chondodciidrm, i^ith the derivation 
explained thus—*' a granorum copia quibu^ arhoris intnctis d 
XovUpos, rami ohsiti Hunt J* This is in allusion to the Greek word j^opSpoy, 
signiiyiiig a corn, grain, or any mnall roundWi mass ; and is 
appropriate to the plant by reason of the little black warty 
spots that cover the bark, chiefly of the younger wood. 

From such an origin, coupled with Mvtpov, a tr^e, die word 
CkoTidTodendron would naturally result: but for some reasoa 
— as I believe, for the sake of euphony — the authors of tbo 
genus chose to drop the first r, and to write Chondodttidrork 
That this was by no typographical error is obvious. The word 
occurs again and again ; and though there are enumerated 
several " erratas de impresion,'* Chondodendron is not among them. 
Four years after the Prodromes, the authors published Uieir 
Sgsicma Vegetahilium Florm PeruviaTUit ct Cliilaisis, in which 
they still retained Chondodendron ; in fact, the name has been 
almost universally accepted, 

Tims De Candolle in liis SystfTfia, published in 1818, as well 
as in the first volume of his Prodromm, which appeared in 1824. 



CINCHONA VEL CHINCHOKA. 



397 



wrote CJiondodcndron ; and so the word is adopted Ijy Poppig 
and Eiidlicher,^ Lindleyin his Yegetnhk Klntjdfmi (1853)» Eichler 
in the Flarm Brasiliensis of JIartius, Beuthani and Ilorjker''' 
(1802), and lastly by Baillon in his Histolrc des Planks^ (1871). 
W^ith the sanction of such an overwlieluiing amount of 
authority, I am satisfied to accept the name without an attempt 
at iraftTovement. It lias served for e}|j;lity years in hotanical 
literature, and may fairly claim admittance to that of pharmacy. 



187A. 



I 



CINCHONA, OR CTIIXCHONA ? 

In his recently published Memoir of the Ladf^ Ana de Omrio, 
Coiintess of Chimhon, Mr. Clements R Markham lias revived 
the discussion of a question which, so far as preponderance of 
practice can determine anythinjT, might now be supposed to have 
been satisfactorily settled. It is whether the orthography 
" Chinchona " or *' Cinchona ** should obtain for this now famous 
genus. Reserving tor a future oi>portunity a criticism of Mr. 
Alarkham's book, we briefly indicate here his views upon this 
sul)Ject. 

There can be no doubt that Linn^iis, in naming the genus, 
sought to connect it with the nanie of the lady who is reputed 
to have first made the healing virtues of the bark known to 
Europe. Whtjther he Wiia well acquainted with the lady's name 
is not so clear. Mr. Markham thinks he was not, but that he 
received his knowledge of the Countess of Chinclion through a 
French source, and was thus misled into calling the genus 
Cinchomt in the Genera Plant a rum of 1742. He further thinks 
that Linujeus showed his uncertainty by the orthograpby 
*' Cinhona " which occurred in the ediiion of 1764, but that he 
diedliefore the error Avas pointed out and corrected. Mr. Mark- 
ham sums up his arguments by stating that all authorities agree 
that " Chinchona " is correct, and that consequently " Cinchona/* 
•^ Cinhona," and other forms are wrong; that the object sought 

1 Norm Qenera m SptJ:ien Plantartim qtia^ in Beg no ChiltTm, Peruman<y^ 
§k,^ It^t .... LipeiiB, ii, 1 838. 

• Genera F!4iniarum, i. 1862-08, index and p, 34. 

' Mon^oQraphu da Menupermctc^en et de4 BfrlKvidmh^^ 1871, p. 36t 



OrthogTRphy, 



Introductory 

notice by 
Dr.aH.PiMih 




jrr. Miirk- 
hflma vievva. 



\ 



398 



CSSKSKXfk VML CHOfCDOHA. 



teT0. of eaomiaiiflfiltiig ibe wawiom of the Ccviui&ess is defeated by 
the iBiitiktko of ber nsne; Ibat in miieh «f ibe most im- 
portant Itteratitie of the iuliject the word is spelt " ChinchoDa,** 
and hsUy Ifaii "the camedL vpeDiiig ebottid be muveisally 
adopted beeaaae it is i%bt* Be also quotes tbe Mkywiog 
botaiiical aittborittes, who have explored the native forests of 
the gemia, as spdHtig the word correctly :— Paron, Raiz, Tafilla, 
MmiSt Zea^ Caldaa, Seemaan, and Spmce. Hnally, wttb a 
chivalric admimtion of tbe ^' illostiions and b^utiful lady. 
Ana de Oaorio,** which ia manifest tliroBghout the book, Mr. 
Markham pleads that the correct spelling may be retained 
aa the only way by which the "memoiy of her who made 
known to the world the inestimable value of quina bark *' may 
be preserved. 

C^fmUr oinn* On the other hand, it has been contended that linnmus 
pnrpo«ely omitted the h for the sake of euphony, and that tbe 
law of priority must obtain ; that botanical names are means, 
not ends, and their use aa means once established it is all but 
impossible to alter them. Further that "Cinchooa" has been 
80 nuiversally adopted that great inconvenience and confusion 
would result from any attempt to substitute " Chinchona " 
for it. 
Iff. ITanbiiry'i Apropos to this discussion, Mr, Hajiljiiry has taken the oppor- 

^^'^*'" tuuity of iuveatigating the introduction by Linnaeus of the 
genus Cinchoim, and has pointed out that the mis-spelling of 
t!ie name of the Countess occurs in several authors much 
earlier than Liuuteue. He also proves that Mr. Markham is far 
from correct in asserting that the Spanish botanists, one and all, 
support the mode of spelling he (Mr. M.) advocates ; but that, 
on the contrary, MuLis, as well as Ruiz and Pavon, follow the 
orthography of Liunagus, Mr. Haubury's strictures are contained 
in the Aihenamm of Jan. 30th, 1875, and are as follows : — 

*' In connection with Mr. Markham *s proposal in his 3ffmoir of 
Ladf/ Ana de Osorio, reviewed in the Atkenmum of the 23rd of 
January, that botanists should abandon Linnceus's wortl Cinchona 
(Rinkona) in favour of Chinchona (Tshin-tshona), and, as T 
pref^ume, that doctors, pharmacists, and chemists should do the 



I 



cmCUONA P'ML CUINCHONA. 



39a 



I 



aaiiie, and that the reform should extend to the words Cinchonine 
C'inchoni(lmi\ and Cinckonimu, as well as to any other deriva- 
tions from the word Cinehoiia, may I be allowed a few remarks 
on the ori^nn of tlie Linntcan name, and on some of the argu- 
ments used by Mr, ^larkham to support his case ? 

'* It may be at oiiee conceded that* Chinchona ' is a w*ord which 
better commemorates the Countess of Chinchon than does 
* Cinchona.* 

** But let us trace the introduction of the genus Cinchmia by 
Linnieus^ and for this purpose let us liave recourse to the actual 
volumes which formed part of the library of the great botanist, 
and which are, many of them, enriclied with his MS. notes. They 
are now in the possession of the Linueau Society of London. 

" In an interleaved copy of the Si/stema JVafUfW, published in 
1740, there occurs in tlie section Fmiaiuiria Monogpiia a memo- 
mnduni in Iiuni^us*s hand, after the genus Gen ipa,^ — Quini^inna 
Cmid, This is the first allusion to the tree discovered by La 
Condamine, and on which Linnaeus founded the genus, 

** In 1742 appeared the second edition (aiida tt cimndafa) of 
the Genera Phintuntm, and on one of the two pages of Adtlenda 
(p. 527) is the followiDg sentence :—* In Pentandria monogynia 
post Genipam, Num. 168-1021, Cinchona. Quinquina Condamin 
Act. Gall 1738/ In the Ordo Gene rum, the name is again 
printed Cinchona, and so likewise in the index. 

*' In the fourth edition of the Systema Nainrer, published at 
Paris in 1744, we read at p. 30,— * Cinchona, Qitinquina, Cond. 
Le Quinquina,* and the same spelling is adopted in the editions 
of 1748 and 1756. Again in the fifth edition of the Ocnera 
PlanUamm, — ' ab mtdorc reforviafa et ^i/r^/// ivhich appeared at 
Stockholm in 1754, the spelling of the controverted word is 
again (p. 79) Cinchona, and so it is in the Species Piantarum, 
of which the first edition was printed in the previous year 
(1753). 

'* From these quotations, it may be fairly assumed that 
Linnaeus fully meant to use the word Cinchona, and that its 
occurrence as Cinhona, in one soUtarj' instance in the sixth 
edition of his 6V?^t^ra, 1764, was a mere typogi-aphical error, and 
not, as ^Ir. Mtirkham seems to think, a proof that he desired to 
spell the word coiTectly. 

" * It was still more unfortunate/ says Jlr, Markham, that 
Linnaeus died before the error was pointed out and corrected. 
This was done by tlie Spanish botanists, Kniz and Pavon who, 
landed in Peru in 1778, the very year of Linnteus's death. They 
explored the forests of Huanuco and Loxa, discovered many new 




1075* 



Point 
admitteJ. 



LiuDCUfl. 



400 



CI5CH01IA VEL CHINCHOKX 



ia76. 



T^fffin of 
Mtittv to 
hlDfiJrtiA. 



gpcdes of CUacbcmK^ «ad sie tmaog the li^best antliarities 
tbe anlgect Tb^ itm^j advmled IIm conett spelling. 
Ilia botuiil Mnttt, vitk Iw disetpks Z^ and CaMns, 
ragiged in the flodj of Ike CJiinchoiMB of New Granada, i 
farmer fending in Simlih Ameiica. dueflj at Bogota, from 1783 
nnta Ua deelli in 180& Tbej also spelt the word oorrecUy. 

** ' nai liimfftts eoidd not baTe been ignorant of tbe 
•pelling at a modi earlier dale than that mentioned seen 
pnibable from the foUowtng eimtmsfcance: — In 1758. J. CK Pj 
retersen read at Uft^la an aouleniie dissertaliotu ^ De Cortic 
Peraviano," Linnaeus presiding. In this product ion, which 
afterwards printed, the name of the Spanish Viceroy appears 
(more than once} as ** Comes del Chinchon/' while the bark ia 
spoken of as '"Chbchona" and never as Cinchona ('*qiiamvii 
nonniilli Chinchonam in scorbuto esse magni jionderis remedium* 

. . . ; p. la 

*'Ab to Mutis, Mr, Markham overk»oks the fact that tha 
botanist was residing at Bogot^j not merely in 1783 but in 1763J 
tinder which latter date he wrote thence to Linnoeus ; and thai 
a correspondence was kept np between them for eighteen yea 
Some of Mutis's letters are fortunately extant, and form part of 
tlie Linnean collections at Barlington House. As they throi) 
some light on the subject, I have made from them a (ev 
extmcts. Translations of the letters may l»e found in Sir J, 
E. Smithes Seledions of (k€ Correspondent of Linn(ni8^ London,' 
1821. 

"24th Sept, 1764— (Mutis to Linnaeus). 'Yemm ne plane 
inept issimse hse literre tibi viderentur, incouem et flores quosdan 
Chinehon^ adjungere duxi. An deseriptioni sum figuram uUac 
addiderit Celubenimus de la Condamioe, vel an plantam siccam 
examinassetiiji liceerit, neciie, cum iiuUam notam in deseriptioni 
Chinchonee editionis Holmiae 54 videamjion plane milii constat^^ 
(The drawings and specimens here alluded to. still exist in the 
Li nnean herbarii] m,) 

" 3 Oct, 17G7. — (The same to the same.) '. . . sane prs&te^ 
ultimas liiieas, in quibus nunciabatiir, te Cinclionam accepisse j 
cjuasque in Civitate Bogotensi, antequam illinc longissima 
peregri nation i paratus decederem, summa jucunditate legiss^ 
coil ti git . .' 

'* 15 May, 1770, — In this letter the name of the plant occni 
four times, and is always written after the fashion of Linna?ua 
with one h. Appended to the letter, Mutis sends a botanic* 
dcfiCTiptinn of a plant which he calls Cinchcna Girmunsis. 

** r> Jime» 1773. — ^Mutis here acknowledges the receipt from 



CINCHONA VEL CHINCHONA. 



401 



I 



Kuix ftiid 



Linnaeus of certain works of tlie latter, and expresses his 1875. 
pleasure at tlie hoDoumble mention of liimself by Linnaeua 
under the head of Cinchona; and he also refers to a small 
present which he transmits by iJon Kuiz-Pavon, who is going 
to Upsala. 

'*8 Feb., 1777. — This letter contains notes on some plants 
sent by Mntis to Linnaeus, one of them being entered as 
Cinchona Bogotenms, 

'* 12 Sept., 1778. — A long letter of condolence from Mutia to 
the yonnger Linnjtns. It contains the following passage :~ 
' Maxime disto a solo natali Cinehonte ofiieinalig a me detectoe, 
cujus viciniis crescit etiam Mutisia.* 

*' In none of these letters is there a hint of disapprobation 
of the name Cinchona, which it mil be noticed that Mutis 
adopts, immediately he finds it used by Linnffius, 

" Mr, I^larkliam asserts that the error w^aa pointed out by 
Bui2 and Pavoo. But eiirely he cannot be conversant with the 
Qiiinologia of Ruiz, published at Madrid in 1792, or with the 
Suj>hme7ifo, which appeared, under the joint anthorship of 
Ruiz and Pa von, nine years later, in neither of which works is 
the name of Linnc^us's genus written otherwise than Cinchona. 
Mr. Markham must be also unaware that in the Flora PernviaTia 
cl Chiieims of Roiz and Pa von, the name in dispute is 
nniformly written Cinchona, and never Chinchona, Pavon, 
indeed, in his later years is stated by Howard to have pleaded 
for the word Chinchona. This was done in his H'u^va Qimwlo^ia, 
a work written between 1821 and 1826, but which never saw 
the hght until 1SG2, when it was edited in an abridged form by 
Mr. Howard 

" But the error in tbe name of the Spanish viceroy originated 
long before the time of Linnteus. Sebastiano Bado, the author wiopted antM 
of Anastnsi^ Cortkis Pcnmim (Genoa, 1663), and one of the ^"^^^^ 
principal authorities for the early history of Penivian bark, 
writes 'Cincliou' for Chinchon. Morton, in his Pyixidogia, 
1692, mentions the Count*s name in the same inaccurate 
manner. So does La Good amine in 1738, and GeoiTroy in 1741. 
By some of these writers LinuEEUs was misled, and was after- 
wards, perhaps, fortified in his error by the lules he had laid 
down about the immutability of generic names. 

" Tliat one of these rules was supposed to apply to the case 
in question, is evident from the remark of Ruiz: — 'Linneo 
parece que debio haber expresado el titulo de los Condes de 
Chinchon en su g(5iiero, dandole el nombre de Chmchojta y no 
el de Cinchona, con el que tanibien le nombix) yo^ atendiendo 

B D 



Cinehon 




402 CINCHONA V£L CHINCHONA. 

1875. al Canon 243, de su Filosoffa Botanica en que dice, Nomen 
genericum dignum alio, licet aptiore, permutare non licet, ^^ 
Authority of "Though the canons of Linnaeus may no longer command 
linnwus. the implicit obedience that they were once thought to deserve, 
it cannot be denied that there is a general reluctance among 
botanists to alter the Linnean names, and this is particularly 
the case in the present instance, where the alteration advocated 
would require to be followed in innumerable writings on 
pharmacy and chemistry. *In our science,' wrote Dr. J. E. 
Smith, in 1807 {IrUrodiu^tion to Botany), * the names established 
throughout the works of Linnaeus are become current coin, nor 
can they be altered without great inconvenience. Perhaps, if 
he had foreseen the future authority and popularity of his 
writings, he might himself have improved upon many which 
he adopted out of deference to his predecessors, and it is in 
some cases to be regretted that he has not sufiSciently done so.' " 

^ '' It seems that Linnsens ought to have indicated the title of the Counts 
of Chinchon, by giving to his genus the name Chinchona, and not Cinchona, 
which latter, however, I adopt, in accordance with Canon 243 of the Fhiloso- 
I^ia Botanica^ which says, Nomen generieum, etc.'' 



ADDRESSES 



AND 



MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 



DD 2 



BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCR 

CONSTITUTION. 

Art. I. — ^This Association shall be called the British Pharma- 
ceutical Conference, and its objects shall be the following : — 

1. To hold an annaal Conference of those engaged in the 
practice, or interested in the advancement, of Pharmacy, -with 
the view of promoting their friendly reunion and increasing 
their facilities for the cultivation of Pharmaceutical science. 

2. To determine what questions in Pharmaceutical science 
require investigation, and, when practicable, to allot them to 
individuals or committees to report thereon. 

3. To maintain uncompromisingly the principle of purity in 
medicine. 

4. To form a bond of xmion amongst the various associations 
established for the advancement of Pharmacy, by receiving from 
them delegates to the annual Conference. 

Art. II. — Membership in the Conference shall not be con- 
sidered as conferring any guarantee of professional compe- 
tency. 



HJ5 



I 



I 



OPENIKG ADDEESS. NOEWICH, 1868. 

(Erdffmmgsi^ede der Pharm. Caufermce zu Nmnvkli.) 

Gektlemen, — In accordance with the arrangement made laaa. 
last year at Dundee, we have assembled to hold at Norwich, "^ 
as usual under the sliadow of tlie British Association, the 
Fifth Anniversary Meeting of the British Pharmaceutical 
Conference. 

Instituted at Newcastle-on-Tyne in the year 1863, and Newcaatle-oii- 
comniencing its labours on a humble and unpretending scale, '^y^*' 
our Society has year by year increased in numbers, w^hile the 
proceedings of its annual meetings, regularly held now 
for five years, have by no means retrograded in interest and 
importance. 

Thus congratulating you on the successful progress and Object of the 
present well-being of our Society, ag evidenced by its list of ^-'onference. 
members, now numbering over 550, as well as by the variety 
of interesting communications presented at our meetings, let 
me remark that we must not relax our eflbrts in promoting that 
spirit of study and research which so highly contribute to 
advance the dignity of the profession of pharmacy. Tlie 
meetings of the British Pharmaceutical Conference are not, 
indeed, to be precisely measured by the importance of the 
papers brought before them ; they have anotlier object besides 
the discussion of scientific subjects, namely, that of binding 
together with a cord of union the pharmacists of this land^ 



406 



BRITISH PHARMACKUTXCAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH. 



1868. 



Anifiiicaa 

Phftmi. 
AflBociatioD. 



of providing ao opportunity for discussing in various parts of 
the eountiy subjects of common interest, and generally of pro- 
moting by personal commnnicatioo that good understanding 
and mutual appreciation which so gi'eatly contribute to render 
our course iJi life happy, useful, and hannonious. 

The advantages of such associations have long been recognised 
on the Continent In Germany, France, and Switzerland, we 
tind that the pharmacists of some large district meet annually 
by mutual accord to discuss subjects bearing on the well-being 
of their profession. In the United States, where the conditions 
under which pharmacy is practised resemble luore closely those 
which prevail in our ow^ country, there exists, as most of us 
well know, a flourishing association for the promotion of science 
in connection with pharmacy, as v?ell as for the discussion of 
subjects bearing on pharmacy as a trade. This is the American 
Fbftrmaceutical Association, the fifteenth annual meeting of 
which was held in New York in the autumn of last year. Let 
us take a glimpse of the proceedings of our brethren on the 
other side of the Athiritic when congregated in the University 
Building, New Vork, on the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th of 
September, 1867. At the opening session, delegates appointed 
by the Colleges of Pharmacy of Massachusetts, New York, 
Philadelphiix, Maryland, Cincinnati, and Chicago, by the Phar- 
maceutical Associations of Maine and of the district of 
Columbia, and by the Alumni Association of the Philadelphia 
College of Pharmacy, presented their credentials, which after 
due examination were reported satisfactory. Then w*e lind a 
resolution passed to this effect — that " the Professors of the 
College of Pliarmacy, and of the medical colleges of this city, 
also the medical profession in general, be in\ited to seats in the 
present meeting." This has stmck me as a pai'ticidarly wise 
and liberal proceeding, showing that it is not narrow trade 
interests that the Association has met to discuss, but subjects 
which, though of special interest to a small section of the 
community, really bear on the welfiuc of all, and wiiich claim 
moreover the serious notice of those who are custodians of the 
public health* 




BEITISn PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH, 



407 



I 
I 



list of new members is next given, and then follow reports 
of the Executive Committee, of the Cooiniittee on the Progress 
of Pharmacy, of that on the Drug ^larket, of those of Scientific 
Queries and on Internal IJevenue Law, concluding with a report 
of the delegates to the International I^hannaceutical Congress, 
held in Paris last August. 

Various Looks and pamphlets were also laid before the 
meeting, the fii-st-mentioned being the proceedings of the 
British Pharmaceutical Conference held at Nottingham. An 
inaugnml address from the President, IkXr. Stearns, was, in his 
absence through ill*health, read by Professor Parrish. The 
reports presented at a previous sitting were next taken up, and 
necessarily occupied a considerable time. That on Seientilic 
Queries brought forward the various papers on scientific subjects 
Tivhich had been offered to the Association, among which the 
following may be mentioned; — 

A paper on the use of Benzoin in Ointments, by Mr, Doliber. 

On the Tartrates of Potash and Tartaric Acid from American 
Tartar; on Quicksilver in North Carolina, and on Mata, a 
leaf used by Mexicans to flavour tobacco ; on American Opium, 
the analysis of t\ Inch showed it to contain over 10 per cent, of 
morphia, all by Mr. E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, 

On the inner coat of the gizzard of the South American 
Ostrich, as a remedy for dyspepsia, (I hope we shall not be 
called upon to provide this new medicine.) 

Mr, William Saunders, of London, Canada West, contributed 
a paper on the relative value of the rhizoma and rootlets 
of Fodophi/ll am piilatum, proving that the rootlets afford 
most resin. 

This will suffice to sIjow the useful and practical character 
of the work done by our transatlantic brethren; now, gentle* 
men, let us take a brief review of some of the contributions 
to pharmaceutical knowleilge made in our country since w^e 
last met. 

The detection and exact recognition of the vegetable alkaloids 
is one of the most important and delicate operations that it can 
fall to the lot of the chemist to attempt, and any addition to 




1868. 

American 
Pharm. 



Detection of 
Alkaloidtii. 



408 



BlimSH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH, 



Alkaloida. 



laes. the teats already in use merits attention. Dr, Guy may, there- 
fore, well deserve our thanks for the exactitude and unwearied 
patience with %vhic'h he lias performed an immense number of 

Sublimation of experiments on the sublimation of the alialuids, a process first 
brought to the attention of the chemists in 1864, by Dr. Helwig, 
of Mayence. Dr (luy has arrived at the conclusion that this 
method of subliming substances in minute quantities on flat 
surfaces of glass, in order to their complete examination by the 
microscope, a method first recommended for arsenious acid and 
corrosive sublimate, may be advantageously extended to the 
alkaloids and analogous active principles — that characteristic 
results are readily atforded, with very minute quantities, such 
as a thousandth of a grain of strychnine, or even less— that the 
results obtained by sublimation in the case of the alk^oids 
and analogous active principles are not more subject to failure 
than those of other tests ; in fact, that several of the reactions 
are remarkable for delicacy, constancy, and characteristic 
appearances. 

Closely connected with this subject is the question of the 
temperature which must be reached in order that any par- 
ticular alkaloid may assume a gaseous form, or, in other words, 
that it may sublime. Dr. Guy, impressed with the unsatis- 
factory statements made in toxicological works, and the some- 
what rough modes of procedure adopted in order to test the 
volatiLity of such bodies, has apphed himself to devise a more 
exact method, to the results of which, commxmicated in the 
Fharmacmitical Journal of Febniary last, I must refer you. 

Anotlier excellent observer, who has also studied this depart- 
ment of cliemistry, is Mr. H. J. Waddington, whose paper on 

MicTO-Sublim- micro-sublimation elicited, when read, some interesting remarks 
from Dr. Guy, Dr. Attfield, and others. In common with Dr, 
Guy, Mr. Waddington had experienced tlie defects of the common 
method of subliming in a glass tube over a naked flame sub- 
stances so easily decomposed as vegetable alkaloids, a method 
which has given rise to such statements as that a body is partly 
sublimed and partly decomposed, which seemed to imply that 
the substance exposed to heat is not homogeneous, but that one 



atioD, 




I 




BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH. 



409 



» 



part of it is volatile without decomposition, while the other is ie«a* 
not. But uo substance, as Mi\ Waddington remarked, can 
sublime and decompose at the same temperature ; partial sab- 
limation and partial decomposition mast be owing to a 
mechanical defect in the arraiigemeiit for heating the substance. 
That the subliming and decomposing points of many substances 
approximate ver)^ closely is most probable^ for when the heat 
has been most carefully applied, it has often happened that 
a sublimate has been contandnated with coloured matter w^hich 
could only have arisen from decomposition, Dn Attiield argued 
that it was almost as impossible to limit the subliming point of 
a solid as the evaporating point of a liquid^ and instanced iodine, 
camphor, naphthaline, mercury, and ice as solids, volatile at all 
temperatures. But are strychnia and morpliia analogous with 
these, and is there any evidence that these latter are at all 
volatile, except at an elevated temperature ? 

I must pass from this interestmg subject, noticing only that 
we have further to thank Mr. Waddington for remarks on Mr. Waddiug- 
the preparation of microscopic crystals, a communication of ***^ 
great interest to any one desirous of pursuing the subject, 
the practical value of w^hich has been illustrated by our 
colleagues Messrs. Stoddart, Deane and Brady. 

The analysis of potable water, more especially with a view Wnter Analy. 
to the determination of the organic matter it contains, continues *^^* 
to attract the attention of chemists both in England and on the 
Continent, and the various methods proposed for arriving at 
results more accurate than those hitherto attained, have been 
vigorously discussed. Dr. Frankhmd's paper on water analysis, 
in the Pharmaeeulicai Jmtrnal for Fcbruaiy last 1858, gives 
some idea of the elaborate pains required for arriving at satis- 
factory results. 

Let me here notice the extremely interesting account of a 
medicinal spring in Jamaica, given by our friend and colleague 
Dr. Attfield. The water of this spring is remarkable, not only 
for the excessive amount of saline matter it contains, but like- 
wise from this saline matter consisting exclusively of the chlorides 
of calciimi, sodium, and ammonium, the first-named being in the 



Attfield'a 

arialysi!^ of i 

medic ill aI 

Bpmig, 




410 



BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENXE, NORWICH. 



186S 




proportion of 1,510 grains m the imperial gallon. Assuming 
the flow of tlie spring to be as stated, about seventy gallons per 
hour (certainly no vast quantity), the amount of chloride of 
calciinn outpoured in the coui^e of tweuty-four hours would be 
equivalent to 363 pounds. No other example is known of 
water so rich in this mineral constitnenL 

A propos to this subject, I must draw your attention for a 
moment to the volume on the table, — an essay on water^ in 
which that ancient element is scnitiniised and considered in 
every possible way. This fine work, a quarto of 400 pages, 
emanates from a Brazilian, a memher by examination of the 
Pharmaceutical »Society of Great Britain, Senhor Antonio Alves 
A, Alvcs Fer- Ferreira, of Rio de Janeiro. 

Experiments on the therapeutic action of drugs, to be of real 
value must be carried on with so many precautions, so much 
patience, and attention to so many collateral circumstances, that 
practitioners of medicine as well as pharmacists may well be 
indebted for information such as that commujiicated by Dr. 
John Haiiey in his Lectures on tlie action and uses of Conium, 
Belladonna, and Hyoscyamus, Un Ilarley's experiments on 
Conium seem to me a model of careful therapeutic research. 
The results are of great interest, proving conclusively that the 
drug is an active medicinal agent, but one of which the pharma- 
ceutical preparations have been so defective and uncertain that 
the efficacy of the medicine had come to be regarded as very 
questionable. The dried leaf of hemlock was found by Dr. 
Harley to be of little if any value ; the tincture whether made 
from leaf or fruit, to be inert (except from its alcohol), and the 
extract to be so weak in conia, that it required to be given in 
doses of thuty to forty gi^ains to produce the least effect The 
only preparation which retains the active principle of the drug, 
in sufficient quantity, is the preserird juke, given in the dose of 
from two to eight drachms, is a safe and valualilo medicine. As 
BJlddoana. to Belludoima, Dr. Harley considers that its medicinal powers are 
wholly resident in atropine, a substance which I, as a druggist, 
may remark is iar more satisfactory to handle than a liquid like 
conia, or a highly deliquescent solid such as hyoscyamine. Dr, 



i 



Dr, Joha 
Harley, 

Coiiium. 



I 

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BRITISn PHARMACEUTICAL COXFEBENCE, NORWICH. 



411 



â–  
â–  

I 



I 



rley finds that its activity is destroyed by fixed caustic ibbb. 
alkalies — an observation previously made, as you will remember, 
by Dr. Garrod, ^lio also pointed out the impropriety of com- 
billing liyoscyamus with a caustic alkaline solutiou, such as 
LiqiwT potasses. The action of an alkali on atropine is not Henbwie, 
instantaneous, in fact the powrr of the atropine is not apparently 
diminished when freshly mixed. If, as is probable, the same 
observation holds good for hyoscyamus, it allows of that drug 
being administered with potash, provided the two are mixed at 
the moment of taking the dose, or perhaps it would be atill 
better to give them separately* 

The analysis of jalap was the subject of a communication made jal ap. 
at our last meetiug, and it is one which seems stUl deserving 
attention. Messrs/f. aud H, Smitli assert that, in many trials, 
they have never obtained of the resin more than 15 per cent, 
while OUT colleague Mi\ Umney, has recently obtained 2 To per 
cent, from the Vera Cruz drug. Dr. Squibb considers that 
powdered jalap, wlxich does not yield over 12 per cent., of dry 
resin should be rejected as unfit for use, an opinion I cannot 
endorse, for I have found Vera Cruz jalap of undoubted goodness 
which jrielded but 11 per cent, and a simikr result was obtained 
by my friend Mr. Broughton, 

Tlie transition from jalap to rhubarb is natural, at least in Fiiuburb. 
the popular mind; and I notice this hitter drug in order to 
remind you of the interesting account of the cultivation of 
rhubarb in England, recently published by Mr. Usher in the 
Jom^nal of the Sociely of Arts. Although the directions of the 
Pharmacopceia preclude the employ meut in an English pharmacy 
of any other rhubarb than that of Cldna (and most of us are 
practically uuacquaiuted with any other), yet no such limitation 
extends to other countries, and that British rhubarb is appreciated 
someichere is j)roved by the fjict alleged by Mr. Usher, that the 
demand is greater than the supply. The disappearance from 
commerce of the old-fashioned Kussian rhubarb, a drug that 
was of uniform excellence, has been fulloweJ by a remarkable 
alteration in that shipi>ed from China. For the last two or three 
years this latter has been singularly bad in quality, whole chests 




412 



BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFEBEXCE, NORWICH. 



106S. 



Cbchona. 




affording only a few pounds of tlie drug in a sound condition. 
As the price lias also very much advanced, it is not surprising 
that British rhubarb, which is at least well prepared and of 
good appearance, should fiud numerous purchasers. The in* 
creased facilities for traversing .the interior provinces of Chin& 
may soon, I hope afford an opportunity of reaching some of the 
districts in which rhubaib is produced, and of bringing thence 
living plauts of this most valuable drug. 

Dr. Fllicki^er, of Beiiie, one of the most careful and profound 
pharmacologists living, and who I am happy to tell you ia a 
contributor of some papers to our Couference, has lately pointed 
out that a second sort of Kamala, differing essentially from that 
derived from Rottkra tindoria^ Eoxb., has been imported into 
commerce. This new form of the drug appears as a dark 
chocolate-coloured powder, which is seen to consist of grains of 
larger size than those of ordinary kamala, and of very different 
structure. The new drug is aloiost entirely free from sand, 
which has not been the case with most of that hitherto found in 
the market. Yet freedom from earthy admixture ia a condition 
in which it is possible to obUiin kamala, even as a commercial 
article. Some quantity of it recently shipped from India was so 
pure that it afforded upon incineration only 1 '37 per cent of ash. 

The introduction of the Cinchona into India, is an enterprise 
the success of which ought to be gratifying to every Englishman, 
not indeed so much as a source of commercial wealth to our 
country, as because it will, we may hope, perpetuate to the world a 
supply of those precious barks which the improvidence of the 
South Americans has long threatened to annihilate. To the Dutch 
we must concede the honour of having led the way to the good 
results which our plantations promise to afford ; for although 
the culture of the Cinchona was thought of and even feebly 
attempted so far back as the year 1852, it was not until after 
extensive plantations were commenced in Java in 1854, that our 
Government w^as stimulated to take the matter actively in hand ; 
and it is to the experiments, the failures, tlie en'ors of these first 
Dutch cultivators that we are indebted for much of the success 
already attained. 



I 



BBITISH PHARiUCELTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICn, 



413 



I 



The chief plantations in British India are those on the 
Neilgheny Hills, near Madras, the most elevated mountain 
range in India southward of the Himalaya. "The climates of 
the Keilgherry Hills/' observes Markliam, "are the most 
delightful XB the world, and it may be said of this salubrious 
region, with its equable seasons^ what the Persian poet said of 
Kung> * The warmth is not heat, and the coolness is not cold.' " 

By a parliamentary return, it appears that in May, 18C6, the 
number of Cinchona plants in the Govcniment plantations in 
this locality was 1,233,645, of which nearly 3Q0,000 belonged 
to the species yielding red bark, 758,000 to that affording 
pale or crown bark, and 37,000 to CincJwna calimya. Tlxis, it 
must be remembered, by no means indicated the full extent of 
Cinchona culture on the KeDgherritBS, since there were, in 
addition, considerable plantations belonging to private indi- 
viduals. From Mr Broughton*s report published in April of last 
year, which is the latest information to which I have access, 
it appears that the number of plants of the red bark in the 
Government plantations in that locality was at that date 800,000, 
which is an enormous advance on the return from which 1 have 
just quoted. Other plantations have been formed in Wynaad, 
Coorg, on the Pulney Hills, and in Travancore, in British Sikkim, 
in the Kangra valley in the Punjab, and at Mahabaleshwur, 
in the Bombay Presidency. In Ceylon, the success that has 
attended the introduction of the Cinchona has been most marked, 
" Many thousands of plants/' wTites Mr* Thwaites, *' liave been 
distributed from the Hakgalla garden, and I liave received most 
favourable reports of their perfect health and vigorous growth ; 
and not a single report of an opposite character has yet reached 
me ; so that there appears to be every prospect of quinine 
becoming before very long one of the most important products 
of the island/' 

From the Himalaya the account is no less remarkable. At 
Darjeeling, which, as you will remember, is one ^of the health- 
stations fur the Europeans of Calcutta, there are now five 
plantations for the cultivation of Cinchona, with an aggregate 
total in April last of more than 1,558,000 young trees, of which 




CiQcliOTia 
Cultivation. 



DarjeeliDg. 



J 



414 



BRITISH PUARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NOUWICU. 



186B. 



CtnchoRA 
Cu Itivatiou. 



are 

lesH 

ti 



a large proportion belong to the species which furnish what are 
called crown bark and red bark. 

But however rapid and vigorous the gi'owth of the Cinchi 
in India, the culturo of tlie tree would avail but little, imli 
the bark were as rich in alkaloids as that produced in South 
America. 

In fact, at the outset of the enterprise many persons capahl 
of judging hoil considerable misgivings as to the results, 
the young pknts could be induced to grow, would it not 1)6 
needful to wait a generation, at leasts before they would produi 
bark that it would be worth wliile to remove ? Should we n< 
destroy the trees by the operation ? And if we, at last, got ih 
bark, might it not prove deficient in those constituents whii 
render that of South America so valuable ? 

These surmises have happily not been verified ; in fact from 
the numerous analyses of Mr. Howard, Dn De Vry, and Mi*. 
Broughton, it is evident that the percentage of alkaloids in tha] 
bark grown in India may exceed that obtainable from the 
sort of bark grown in its native country. Another point we] 
worthy of notice ia that the proportion which one alkaloid 
to another varies extraordinarily in the same species — sometimefti 
quinine predominating, sometimes the less valuable cinchonine 
or cinchonidine. We are as yet, to a great extent, ignorant of th< 
causes of this variation ; but that they may be discovered am 
controlled seems to be the conviction of those most competeni 
to form an opinion, for we find Mr. Howard speaks of a plant 
being '' emouramd " to produce quinine instead of cinchonidina 
In fact, the process of coating the stems %\dth moss atW the 
removal of the bark as first practised by that most skilful of 
cultivators, Mr. Mclvor, is found not only to favour the rapid 
reproduction of the bark, but even to increase its richness in 
alkaloids ; and it seems we may hope to go a step further, and 
to settle what those alkaloids shall be. 

The success that has attended Cinchona culture naturally led 
Ipecacuanha. ^^ ^-^q Lnqniry whether there are not other medicinal plani 
that may be introduced into our Colonies \^'ith equal hope 
good results ? Though we can certainly point to none at all 




i 



Mosaing. 



OoltiTfttioii of 






di 



BRITISU PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NOItWlCIL 



415 



186a. 



I 



comparable in importance to tliat which affords quinine, there 
yet are a few, tbe cultivation of wliicli is being attempted on an 
experimental scale. Of these, the most important seems to be 
Ipecacuanha, plants of which are now growing at Calcutta and 
Madras, as well as in the West Indian island of Trinidad ; hat 
in none of these localities does the plant prosper vigorously. 
In fact, the experiment looks as little hopeful as the Cinchona 
enterprise did when the first bark trees were sent to India by 
Dr. Eoyle ; and antil we get a supply of good seeds from BrazU, 
I do not anticipate that it will he possible to make a fair trial of 
propagating the ipecacuanha plant in India or elsewhere. 

The experiments made in cultivating the jalap plant (Exo- Cultiration of 
gonium pur^a, Benth.) are much more hopeful, and I have the ^^' 

gratification of presenting to youi" notice the first specimen 
of that drug produced in India, It was grown at Ootacamund 
where live roots carried from England by my friend Mr* 
Broughtou were planted in January, 1867* Tliese roots grew 
w^ith surprising luxuriance, each producing a fine cluster of 
tubers ; some of them were dug up in December of the same 
year, when the largest tuber was found to weigh over a pound 
and a lialf. Tliis jalap of India, you will observe, differs very 
notably in appearance from that we get from Mexico, owing 
chiefly to a different mode of drying ; in fact, to facUitato this 
operation, the tubers have been sliced. It compares, however, 
favouriibly with that of Mexico, as regards percentage of resin, 
and from a few trials made in India, we may judge that its 
medicinal powders are fully maintained. 

Let me now draw your attention to a fine specimen of calumba Calamba root, 
root, the produce of plants cultivated in Mauritius. It is, as you, 
will readily perceive, remarkable for its fresh and brilliant colour 
and, were it in the market, it would, I think, command a far 
better price than the somewhat dingy drug that has lately 
reached us tlirough the ordinary channels of commerce. 

Here are some pieces of calumba root in a living state 
recently brought from Trinidad by my friend Mr. Prestoe, 
superintendent of the bototiical garden in that island* Eemark 
the brilliant yellow hue of the fi*eshly-cut root. 




416 



BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH. 



ie«a. 



clitDAtifiAtiou. 



I 



The calumba pLant seems to be of easy culture, and no reason 
appears why it should not be cultivated for the sake of its 
medicinal root in any country possessing a hot climate and a 
moist, rich soil. 

But though I am thus advocating the culture of certain 
medicinal plants, there is a vastly larger number, the culture of] 
which, with a view to profit, it would, I firmly believe, be a 
delusion to attempt. Drugs already cheap, abundant, good ; 
drugs in small demand ; drugs which are comparatively unes- 
sential, or well represented by others ; those that are only 
procurable from plants or trees wliich arrive but slowly at 
maturity ; those which, like sai'saparilla, are only found in 
regions uninhabitable to civilised man; these, I say, we can 
afford to let remain products of the forest, some of them to 
disappear before the axe of the colonist, a few to hold their 
places in the interstices of cultivation as the companions of 
more impoitaut and useful plants. 

Now, gentlemen, let me conclude, for I cannot but remember 
that there are gentlemen present who have to bring forward the 
results of their original experiments, while I have been ent-ertain- _j 
ing you with only a narration of the labours of othei-s. A duty, ^| 
however, remains, and that is a pleasing one— of tendering my 
cordial thanks, in which all my fellow-visitors will join, to our 
Norwich friends for the excellent aiTangeraents they have made 
for our meeting, and for the kindliness and hospitality with 
which we have been received. 



I 




fi\^ 



OrEJflKG ADDKESS, EXETEE, 1869. 
{Eioffriujigsrtde der Pharm, Cmiference zw Exettr) 

Gentlemen, — The custom which has hitherto prevailed at i8«o. 
the amioal meeting of the British Pharmaceutical Conference 
imposes ou the IVesident for the time being the duty of initiat- 
ing the proceedings by a few preliminary remarks, or as our 
secretaries are pleased to call it— an addiess. Properly to 
perform this duty is to rae no easy task, but it would be still 
less so if I could not commence by congratulating you on the 
growing usefulness and importance of our association. Last 
year wc met in an eastern capital : oiu* sixth anniversary brings 
us to the west of England, to find in the good city of Exeter a 
welcome no less cordial and fiaternal than we have experienced 
on any previous occasion. Had the Pharmaceutical Conference 
no other merits, we might say that at least it gave tlie oppor- 
tunity of some agreeable relaxationj—an excuse for breaking 
away for a week or more from the routine occupations of busi- 
ness, an occasion for visiting a locality which one might other- 
wise have no particular ol>ject for seeing, and of social and 
friendly intercourse, to which often attach the most pleasant 
recollections. But our Conference claims more than tliis ; and 
the report of oar meeting last year at Norwich would i>rove, 
were it necessary, that the advancement of scientific phannacy A^lvauce uf 
is one of the very principal objects with which our association ^^^^^^^^y* 
is concerned. 

On that occasion, it will be remembered, a portion of two 
sittings was occupied in a very animated discussion of the 




418 



BRITISH PHABMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETER. 



laeo. 

Th*? Pbar* 
umcy Act 



Sttle of \*o'h 



Plmmmcy Act, tlien jitst passed, and in HsteniDg to an expl 
tion of the new law, ably given by two members of tlic Confer- 
ence who were particularly conversant with its provisions. It 
would bi:* interesting to know wliat Lave been the experiences 
of our nieuibers as to the working of tlie Act in the practical 
carrying on of business, lias it proved a safeguard and benefit 
to the public ? Have it-^ pixivisions with regard to the sale of 
poisons been easily complied with, or have they l>een found 
irksome, or even impracticable ? To these questions, it is to be 
expected, the answers wi!l be very vaiious, owing to the diverse 
character of the chemists' businesses on which the law will bear. 
Speaking from my own experience, I may say that in the city of 
London there has been very little difliculty in complying with 
the requirements of the Pharmacy Act, and that its tendency 
ha3 Icen advantageous to pul)Iic safety and convenience. On 
the subject of registration and the other important provisions of 
the Act, I will now say nothing ; but 1 must make a passing 
alhisitm to the very great stimulus to improved education which 
such a measure will infallibly prove. Its effects are already 
apparent : in no previous year have the laboratories at Blooms- 
bury Sxiuare been filled with more numerous and intelligent 
students ; and though I know that some exception may be 
taken to one class of our examinations on the ground of their 
lenient character, it is no insignificant fact that 600 persons have 
passed these ortleals in the house of the Pharmaceutical Society 
during the first sLx months of the present year. 

With regaid to the sale of poisons, it is not a little remarkable 
that in this country no law should have been in force to restrain 
or regulate it, until the Arsenic Act was passed in the year 1851, 
Contnist this with the state of things in France, where so far 
back as A.D, 135tj, nearly five hundred years before, a law was 
passed to regulate the profession of apotliecaiy and herbalist 
and to subject the shops of such jjersons to inspection. By tld$i 
law it was enacted, that they should not sell or deliver aoyl 
dangerous poisonous medicine or such as would occasion aboi 
tion, whether simple or compound, to any person out of thi 
pale of the Cliristifxu faith, or to any person to have tlie sarae \\ 



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BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL COXFERENCE, EXETER. 



419 



they did not well know that he was a master, or learned person, iee9. 
or expert in the science of medicine and well known, the which " 

they should judge in their conscience siiflicient, and that it was 
by express command of a physician who had sent for such 
medicines and as above is said ♦ , * 

The necessity of subjecting a buyer to something like a Ancient legal 
theological examination may seem nowadays rather unpractical, ^°*'^*'*™**^- 
but not impossible, if intended, as I tbink it was, to be enforced 
against Jews who in the middle ages were distingnished by their 
dress, and were, as is weU known, the objects of every kind of 
persecution and opprobrious distinction. The same law contains 
other curious provisions, some of which descend to minute 
particulai^, as the foUowing : — 

" * ... and also that the medicinal electuaries, or opiates, 
or other medicines liable to be long kept, made and put into pots 
or other suitable vessels, sball be labelled with the year and 
month when confected, and that tliey shall sell the same at a 
loyal, j\iBt and moderate price and with just regard to variation 
in the currency and also that whenever re- 
quired they shall weigli all their medicines and not deliver 
them by guess.'* 

In the previous reign, that of Piiilippe de Valois, an injunc- The npothe. 
tion conceniing the apothecaries of Paris was addressed by the "^"^^^f ^*"^3* 
king to the provost of the city, reqiiiiing that he should compel 
the apothecaries to sliow their medicines to the Masters of the 
Faculty of Medicine, that the latter might judge of their purity 
and good condition,^ 

1 These laws are tlitia quoted la the Rectieil Otn^al its Andennes Lou 
Fran^aises par BecruBy, Isambert et Jourdan» tome iv. pp. 679*681 and 
p. 424. 

" Ordonnance sur Vexercise de la profess ign d'apothiciuro et dlierbier, et 
qui les souniet k lu vi site. "—Paris, a6ufc, 1353, 

" Jchan, par b grace de Dieu, roy de France, a^voir faisons k tons presens 
et avenir/^ 

" . . . . et qu'il ne vendront^ ne bailJeront aucune medecine venimeoae 
perillense, on qui piiiasent fiiire ahortiit, simples ou coujposLea k nulles gena, 
qui soient horn dt? la foj chrestienne, ni k auciines gens uvoir se il ne con- 
noiftsent bi>n, que il soit maistre ouiiciencier, on expert en la science <3e mede- 
cine, et bien cognu, leqnel il cuideront en lenr conj=4cience souRiflarit, que oe 
Boit par exprds oommandenient de pliysiciejij qui lea cut envoy^ qnerir, et m 
comnte dcssus est dit « . . . . 

E E 2 



420 



BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXEIT-R. 



18419. lu connection ^vith the Plmrmacy Act, it is proper that I 

shoiiM here inform you tliat tlie proposal made at our meeting 
at Norwich \mt year for some public recognitiou of the eminent 
servicen rendered to tlie cause of phannaceutical education and 
the improvement of the status of pharmacy, by Mr. Sandford^ 
was warmly taken up at meetings held at the house of the 
Pharmaceutical Society on the 6tli and Inth of Octoher last, on 
the latter of which occasions a committee was oi^anized for 
canying it into effect. It is unnecessary that I should recount 
to you the subsequent proceedings and numerous meetings of 
this committee; suflice to say that a subscription was raised, 
amounting to about £500, of which £200, invested in the form 
Sainirotfi Trs. of plate, was presented to Mr. Sandiord on the 19th of May 
last, on the evening of which day a complimentary dinner was 
given to him at the Freemasons* Tavern. The balance of the 
subscription is lo be expended on a portrait of Mr. Sandfoi-d, to 
be placed on the walls of that institution for the welfare of 
which he has laboured w^ith so nmch devotion and, I tliink I 
may add, with such eminent success. 

The progress of scientific pharmacy, as evidenced by the 
variuus memoirs, papers and notes that have appeared in this 
and other countries during the year that has elapsed since our 
last meeting, is a subject too wide and too difficult for me to 
attempt to discuss on the i^resent occasion. Yet it may be 



lijuuuiiil. 



n 



Scientific 



" . . , H aU8«i que les niedeciiiea elettniurea on opiates^ ou quelconqoes 
iuedecine« de lon^ue consers'ation, fidtes et misea en pots, on autres vai** 
Bcaux uMUveniibleti par eiix, ils mettrout siir h pot, Van et le mois de k eoufec- 
tioD, et que il vendruiit k loial, jus e et modiriJ pris, et loyal et jitate re^rd 
k hi tnutiition de k nionoie «... et a\issi que il peseront toutes leutt 
medecines, et ne les LHiileront pas en tache, toutefois que requisen seront*" 



** Mandmueat portant que les rem^des des apotliicaires de Paris seroat Tmtii • 
par les uiMecins de la facult<§,'' 

** Philippe par Li grace de Dieu, roy de France : au prevost de PariSi on 
Kon lieuteniint, sEilut.'' 

" . , . . et que tu lea contraijpios k montrer ausdite niiiistres [de la faculty , 
de niedecinel les medeciae^s laxatives, et ies opiates, qui se gnrdent jjut Icmg | 
temp, pour lea viiir, avail t que elles soient confites, et s^avoir <|U elW f«oietit| 
IwitiDi'ij el fmiclies et uon corrompuea et tresall^es . . • " 

^*Donn^ ix Pnn«, le ^:i de Mai 13aa'* 




BHITIfjll PHARMACEUTICAL CONFEHEXCE, EXETEH. 



421 



i 



neither uninstmctive nor nniiiterestiag if I direct yoiir attention i86». 
to a very few of the numerous valuable communications on 
pharmaceutical subjects tltat have been brought forward during 
the last twelve months, though as I have hinted, it is impossible 
for me to offer any fair risiCTrU of them in the few brief moments 
at my disposal. 

First let lae notice the continued labours of Mr. John Eliot 
Howard on the chemistry and physiology of Cinchona, of which Howard's 
good proof is presented in his recently published (juinology of f^^'^/vXto- 
the East India Planiatioiis, a copj of which is on the table. In '*<^"** 
this fine work, the author discusses a variety of subjects con- 
nected with the culture of Cinchona in India, such as the 
acclimatization of the various species, the elevation above the 
sea-level at which the culture proves most successful, the effects 
of protecting witli moss the st^ms from which the bark has teen 
removed, the mode iu whicli the bark is renewed, and the chemi- 
cal constitution of tlie wood and leaves of CinchoniX. The so- 
called momiig process, which simple as it is, seems likely to play 
an important ptirt in Cinchona-culture, consists in covering with 
moss the portion of stem from which a strip of bark has been 
carefully removed.^ The wood thus laid bare exudes a delicate 
cellular tissue, having the aspect of minute gelatinous drops, 
which gradually increasing and hardening, ultimately forms a 
continuous layer of new bark :— and now comes the interesting 
fact that this new bark is richer in alkaloids than that wliich it 
replaced ; and bark of the second renewal is riclier than tliat 
of the first, and of the third tlian that of the second. *' Is this 
state of things/' says Mr. Howard, " to last and become per- 
manent, so that by continually stripping the ti'ees of portions 
of their external covering it should become in tlie same propor- 
tion more rich in the very product that we need ? This aeems 
very improbable, yel it is the conclusion to be arrived at from 
the above experiments." 

The increase of alkaloids, let me observe, is not trifling but 
in extreme cases is almost double. It is also stated that bark 



I The entire rtmovnl of thu baxk from a stem is a destructive practice nercr 
u(l opted ia India. 




mt 



BRITISH PHARilACEUTICAL GX)NFERENCE» EXETER 



I860. the third time renewed is better fitted for the extraction of 
quLQine than normal bark, and yields the alkaloid in a state in 
Brougbton on which its purification is singularly easy. 

ciruhra, ' Mr/Broughton, whose assiduity in this field of research con- 
tinues unabated, made experiments on two trees of Cinchona 
hucciruhra, which showed that when the trunks were deprived of 
light for some months by being covered with tinned plate 
or black cloth, the amount of alkaloids increased 50 per cent. ; 
the proportion of quinine, however, remEiined almost stationary, 
the increase being in the shape of ciochonine and cinchonidine. 
In bark renewed under moss, an iiopTOved proportion of quinine 
is found. 

Midder* The cultivators of madder are in the habit of covering np 
with earth the lower portion of the stems of the plant, finding 
by experience that deprivation of lij;;ht tends to develop the 
peculiar colouring matter for which tlve plant is valued. It has 
been observed by Decaisne in examining microscopically the 
roots and stems of madder, that the cellidar tissue of the former 
contains a yellow liquid, while the latter is filled with green 
colouring matter ; and he has been able to prove by experiment 
that it is possible to change at discretion the production of 
chlorophyll and to cause the elaboration of the coloming matter 
of the root m its place. It happens in this case, observes Mr* 
Howard, that the gi'een portions which when exposed to light> 
absorb the carbonic acid of the air whilst disengaging oxygen, 
absorb, on the contraiy, when depiived of light, the oxygen of 
the atmosphere which surrounds them and replace it with car- 
bonic acid. Does not something analogous take place in the 
red bark tree, the shading of the stem of which is attended 
with such manifest advantage ? 
Madras In Mr. Broughton's Mcpori to the Madras Chvemmsnt, the 

report, following interesting fact is related : — among the Crown-bark 
trees {Cincliona o£idn(dis^ L) raised from seeds collected by Mr. 
Cross, there were observed to be a few having narrow, lanceolate 
leaves and a somewhat different aspect from their companions. 
A comparative analysis of tlie bark of these two f onus of Cinchona 
(growing side by side and raised, as it would seem, from the same 



I 
I 

r 

I 



4 



: 



BlUTISn PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETER. 423 

lot of seeds) afforded tliis interesting result,^— that that of the tree ib©9. 
with lanceolate leaves contained 8 per cent, or nearly 3^ times 
as much alkaloids as that of the neighbouriDg ti*ees of ordinary 
CineJiona officinalis, nine-tenths of these alkaloids being qiiinmo, 
while in the others itM ilian half was quinine. No finer quality 
of Cinchona bark for the quinine manufacturer has pi'obably 
ever been met with. 

M* Lefort has rendered a good service by communicating to 
the Society of Pharniacy of Paris, the result of a comparative 
examination of the ipecacuanha of Brazil and of that imported Ipecacuayha. 
of late years from New Granada. It will be perfectly in the 
recollection of many of you that since about 20 years, the 
price of ipecacuanha has advanced 200 to 400 per cent^ a cir- 
cumstance due partly to the increasing rarity of the plant and 
the necessity of seeking it in regions more and more remote, 
and partly, it is said, to the stock of the drug being in few hands, 
and the trade being thus virtually something of a monopoly. 
Tliis high price of the Brazilian ipecacuanha has naturally 
stimulated a search for the drug in other parts of tropical South 
America and has led to its coMcctiun in New Granada. Yet the 
drug of New Granada is not precisely similar to that of Bmzil 
nor is its botanical origin well established ;^ and questions have 
been raised as to whether it may be legitimately employed, some 
authors supposing it to be ivcaJccr, others drmig^ than the 

* Mr. Broughton*B analysis of these barka may be thus stilted :— 

Biu-k rtf troc wjth Bnrk of nijjointng tpw* 

buic«olate IvMLvea. of Linchona oj^dnalii. 

QuiQiue ,*,*.., . 7*15 2'00 

CinchoDine and Cinchoniiline . 0*85 «2'42 

Total of alkaloida per ceat, 800 . . * • , 4'48 

Sulphate of Quinine obtained crystallized 7 "37 ... .umUUmiined^ 

* The true ipecACoanha-phint is not known to occur in New Graiitula ; for 
although in the deacription of the phmts eollected by Buuiboldt iiud Bnri- 

£liuid» Cq^haclvt iprxaaianha is eiiUJiierated as fr<nn the juoiintains of Siia 
incar in New Granada (Kunth, Synopsis Plantdmnv^ ili* 35), the iudication 
Dtust be reg^irded as doubtful My friend M, Triaua, himself an exjilorer of 
the country, has at my request scmght for the Sao Lucar ikphadu in the 
herbarium of Kuntb iu Paris, but found i\xoX it does not contaia any autheDtic 
specimen of that plaut 



424 



BUITISH PHARMACECTICAL CONFEREXCE, EXETER. 



Herb drying. 



1869. indubitable ipecacuanha of Brazil. To determiue tlie question 
I[»ecaculnlin. ^f strength, M- Tjefort ha« endeavoured to ascertain how the two 
drugs compare in their richness in emetina Pelletier and 
Dumaa haviug shown that emetine produces an almost insohible 
]>veeipitat-e with tannic acid, M. Lefort availed himself of this 
fact to determine the amount of precipitate obtainable by this 
reagent from the soluble matter of a given weight of root 
The mean of his experiments showed Brazilian ipecacuanha to 
yield 14 41> per niille of tannate of emetine and New Granada 
ipecacuanlui 13*4 per mille. Tlie curious fact that a nitrat<i of 
emetine is but very little soluble, though sulphate, hydrochlorate, 
phosyihate and acetate are veiy soluble, afforded a means of 
checking these results, and warrant the conclusion that the 
ipecacuanha of New Granada is rather less active than that of 
BniziL A second paper by M. Lefort on the preparation, 
propeities and composition of emetine is well deserving the 
attention of timse desirous of studying this alkaloid. 

The indigenous plants of which the herbaceous paits are in 
common use in medicine in this country, are few in number, but 
important by reason of their potency as remedies. The English 
druggist, unlike his continental brother, has no large herb-rooin 
to keep in order ; and the drying of herbs which he may have 
to superintend, is generally peiformed on a very small scale, if 
at all Yet when henbaue, belladonna, digitalis or conium are 
required for makiug their respective tinctures, and the leaves 
have to be stripped from the stems and dried, the desirableness 
of such a process must have often seemed questionable. Such 
at least have been my feelings : I have w^ondered whether the 
henbane with its leaves exuding a clammy secretion from every 
hair, and its heavy narcotic odour, can be in nowise deteriorated 
by being subjected for hours to the heat of a drjing stove? 
^Vlietlier conium, the active principle of which is a volatile 
liquid, loses none of its potency by a similar process 1 The 
same questions have occurred long ago to others, and the ex- 
pressed juice of certain medicinal plants, preserved by the addi- 
tion of alcohol was recommended nearly thirty years ago by 
Mr. lulwaixi Bentley and Mr, Squii*e. 



Expressed 
juices. 




I 
i 



BRITISH PHAIlMACErTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETER. 



425 



I 



Tlie Britisli Pliarmacopoi'ia has recognised the value of such laed. 
medicines, and has ^ven formulae for the preserved juices of Preserved 
scoparium and cf conium, both excellent preparations, the juices, B. P. 
latter especially being superior to any tinctiu'e prepared from a 
dry ingredient, whether leaf or frait It has been reserved, how- 
ever, for a Belgian apothecary to investigate the subject in a 
thoroughly scientific manner, and to point out in what way and to 
what extent, tlie dried BKHlicinfil pbnt differs from the freslu Tlie 
late Dr, Schoonbroudt of Liege has done this, and has published 
in the Journal dt MMecifu de BriLxelles ^ the result of his re- 
searches on tweuty*nine different |>lants, concluding his essay with 
some general remarks, of which I may cite the following: — 

That dried plants never completely repi-esent the same plants Dried plmiu. 
when fresh* Nevertheless it is possible for new and useful con- 
stituents to be developed during the process of diying, as in the 
case of valerian, which when fresh contains essential oil but no 
valerianic acid; this, however, is an exceptional instance, the 
reverse being much more frequent. 

That plants suffer by drying two kinds of alteration ; fii'stly, AltpmUon by 
the loss of a portion of their volatile constituents; and 
secondly, an oxidation of their fixed constituents and of the 
remainder of their volatile. This oxidation is, in the author's 
opinion, in great part due to the structure of the dry vegetable 
tissue, which in its porosity resembles spongy jdatinum or 
carbon, and perhaps partakes of some of the gas-condensing 
power of those substances. The result of this action exhibita 
itself very decidedly in the case of valerian : when fresh, it 
contains no valerianic acid but an oxygenated essential oil, 
which by the action of the air and alkalies, is slowly converted 
into valerianic acid. It also contains another volatile hydro- 
carbon, which resinifies very slowly in the air. By the act of 
drying however, this formation of valerianic acid which even in 
the presence of an alkali is so slow, and this very tardy resini- 
fication by exposm^e to the air, are very materially hastened. 

1 Vol, 45 (1867) p. 162 etc, ; vol, 40, (18C8) p. G2. A Gprmaii trauslrttion 
has appeared in the Vurle!jahr€.^iichri/t f, Prakt Phimi. 1SH9, p. 73, and flu 
abstmct by Mr. Maisch in tlxc American Jowii, of rhann, atid Pkarnu 
Journ, and Trans. 



drying. 




426 



BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETER. 



IB69, 



Fresh plsiiits. 



Aconitine. 




There is found in fact, in dried valerian a comparatively large 

araount of ready-fonned valerianic acid, the presence of which 
is evidenced by the strong smell of the drug, while the fresli 
root is devoid of odour and contains no resin. 

The author furtlier observes, that it is always advantageous 
iu the preparation of alkaloids and other active principles to 
employ the fresh plants, and as far as possible to conduct the 
operations thereto belonging at a low temperature. iUkaloida 
are thereliy obtained in a condition more favourable to ciystalli- 
nation ; the loss, often considerable, I'csulting from decolorizing 
by charcoal is avoided, and recourse to chemical reagents for 
their isolation, or rather to free them from the products of their 
own alteration, is dispensed with. 

As to the drying of medicinal herbs, the author remarks that 
the oxidising influence of the air being the principal cause of 
deteriuration, it is desirablt3 that the operation should be per- 
formed as rapidly as possible and that the herb should be com- 
pressed into a compact mass, after the manner pursued by the 
American herb-dryers. 

The P}uirmaa:uiical Journal for last September contained a 
warning regarding the purity of aconitine, which has not 
received all the attention in this country that it seems to 
deserve. It was to this effect,^that English aconitine, or at all 
events a sample received from London as such by Mr. Merck, 
of Darmstadt, was found to possess chemical and physical 
characters verj' different from those recognized as proper to true 
aconitine. It was but slightly soluble in ether, and much less 
soluble in alcohol than pure aconitine, and dissolved with diffi- 
culty in chloroform. In boiling water it did not become soft 
and plastic but remained pulverulent ; from boiling alcohol it 
could be readily crystalliiied. Notices contrasting so-called 
English and German aconitine have appeared in many of the 
Continental journals ; and it seems to be accepted as a settled 
fact that in England aconitine signities something very different 
from what it does abroad. But so far as I have observed, 
this assumption is far too sweeping : at least I have found that 
aconitine in my possession manufactured in London by houses 



I 



BRITISH PIIAKiMACEDTICAL COKFEUENCE, EXETEB. 



427 



I 



of repute (and what I examined had been purcliased long before 
attention had been called to the subject) had precisely those 
properties which are characteristic of the true alkaloid. The 
chemistry of aconite, a most difficult subject, is now occupying 
the attention of some of our best pharmacologists, and their 
labours cannot fail to make plain some points in its history 
hitlierto obscure. 

In the suggestive list of Suhjeds for Papers which our secre- 
taries do not fail annually to bring before us, tliere has been for 
years included a catalogue of vegetable alkaloids each of which 
for one or several I'easonSj requires further investigation* One 
of these, Bttxine^ is the subject of a very interesting memoir by 
our esteemed member Dr, Fllickiger, an abstract of wlucli, with 
some new matter, he has been good enough to prepare for our 
meeting. I shall be glad if some other of our members will 
undertake to reduce this list. 

The adulteration of olive oil is a subject that has often 
claimed the attention of chemists, and the diversity of the tests 
proposed indicates how difficult it is to detect the sophistication 
of this important production. The increase in the manufacture 
of soap in some of the cities of soutliern Europe has led to the 
importation of a variety of oUs and oil-see<l8 wliich have pre- 
sented strong temptations to tamper with the oil shipped aa 
olive oil to foreign countries. For the benefit of any of our 
members who may feel disposed to work on such a subject, I 
may mention tliat a prize of £600 is off'ei'ed by the Chamber of 
Commerce of the Department of the Alpcs Mari times for a 
prompt and easy method, not involving a chemical process, of 
recognizing the mixture of seed-oils with olive-oQ. 

Our indefatigable colleague Dr. Attfield has duiing the past 
year communicated many practical and useful observations on 
pharmaceutical subjects, one of which I will liere brielly recall 
to your memory, 

Peecipitated Sulphur. — Notwithstanding that attention has 
been repeatedly called to the desirableness of supplying this 
drug in a pure fonn, it appears that the calcareous Milk of 
Sulphur^ consisting of about 34 per cent, of suJphur with 66 per 



1869. 




BuxtDe. 



Olive oil. 



BUITISII PnAHiLVCEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETEB, 



laeo. cent of sulphate of lime, is stiU very generally sold. la 
Milk of Sol* justification it is said that the public prefer the iiiipum article aa 
phur. beiug whiter and more easily miscible with water, that it is the 
time lac siilphuris of the I*harmacopoeia, mlphur 2>r€tcipitatum 
being a distinct preparation;^ to which I may add another 
consideratioix (too far fetched, let us hope, to be real), that the 
first is but half the price of the second. It is hani to combat 
popular prejudice, and sometimes impossible for a druggist to 
convince his customer that one article is less adapted to his 
requirements than another. I have heard a person require the 
rankest and most ofTensive cod-liver oil in preference to what 
was sweet and new ; and have even known an ointment that was 
old and rancid habitually preferred to that which was freshly 
made. Yet in proportion to the amount of confidence reposed 
in the knowledge, skill and fidelity of the druggist, so will the 
public accept his judgment in mattei^ pertaining to his own 
art ; and even a druggist's dictum that pure sulphur is better 
than sulphur and plaster of Paris, will come to be admitted aa 
reasonable. 

Our art, gentlemen, is ever progressive. All science is interest- 
ing for us, since almost every scientific discovery may sooner or 
later, directly or indii-ectly, yield some result profitable to 
pharmacy. Let us not therefore neglect our opportunities, bnt 
identifying ourselves with the general advancement of know- 
ledge, let us strive to improve by every means in our power that 
branch of the healing art wliich it is our province to cultivate, 

* It was tme that the sulphur prfrcipitaium of the Phammcapti^ia of 1746 
was ordered to be nuide with solpbur, lime and sulphuric acid ; and the lae 
^dphuris of thiit of 17'21» with sulphur, lime or sail of tartar^ and sulphuric 
ncid* Bill it ia quf^tioniible if the cheniisU of ibnt periofl were aware of the 
essential difference of the products obtained, according to whether a lime or a 
potitsb-aalt were decouipoiied with sulphuric acid, for Pemherton In his 2>t#- 
ptTisatorif 1746 calls the pieparatious ** similuTf^ but says that the one '* wilt 
not look 80 whiU" m the other. 



4 
f 




BOTANIZING ON THE COL DE LAUTADKT. 



429 



riiriOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 
'fSead to the Fhijtological Cluh, lAlh April, 1858.) 

Most persons who have rambled among beavitiful natural 

lery are ahle to recall certain times of special enjoyirient, 
"When a combination of agreeable circumstances has contributed 
to produce an iinpreasiun which increases rather than diminishes 
in the lapse of time. To the botsioist, days of this sort are 
not unfi'equent. Fine weather, agi^ceable conipauions^ interesting 
plants and picturesque scenery furnish him witli sources of 
gratification which are by no means transient. 

What young botanist could forget gathering for the first time 
CypiiHi)e€lium calceolus or Orchis Airawrt ? Who could not btj 
struck with the beauties of Pm{^uimda and the Suudew^s ? 

Tliough I am sensible bow little the enjoyment of such occa- 
sions can be conveyed by description, I have ventured to jot 
down a few memoranda of an occasion which has left a vivid 
impression upon mj own mind, and I will now read to you my 

Eecollections of a Day's Botanizing on the Col de Ijiutaret. 

On the road between the toTftiis of Grenoble and Brian^*on 
and about eighteen miles from the latter, in the Department of 
the Hautes Alpes, and in the Canton of La Grave, lies the little 
alpine vilhige of Villar d'Ar^ne, It is a poor, bhiak, desohite- 
looking place, witli but little traffic through it, and for several 
months in the year buried in snow. It possesses, however, a 
church, and wliat to the botanist is much more essential, a 
huntble village inn. 

Hereon the 2Gtb Jmie 1857, accompanied liy my friend S , 

I had the satisfaction of experiencing the primitive hospitalities 
of the landlady, iladame Clot. 

Eose early the ne>ct morning and after a hearty breakfast 
left Villar d'Arene at a quarter past six with empty botanical 
boxes and other suitable rig for a hard day's botanizing in 
one of the finest localities in all Fi-ance, The weather was 
magnificent, and so I may add was the scenery, especially after 
one had proceedcnl somfi little distance from the village. 



1858. 



Vilkr 
d'Arune. 



430 



BOTANIZING ON THE COL DE LADTARET. 



toret. 



1U8. On the right were the vast precipices crowned by the Glacier 

de la Grave, whose masses of ice and snow shone with dazzling 
lustre in the early morning sun. On the left lay the grand and 
sterile range that separated us from Piedmont, while between 
the two, and constituting a wide undulating valley, which although 
Col de liau- treeles3 was beautifully verdant, was the Col de Lautaret, the 
grand Iwtaiiical locrility we were ambitious to explore. 

Eager for plants my attention was soon attracted by the bright 
yellow flowers of a crucifer which proved to be Sia^mbrium 
AustriarmiK 

A Little further on, growing in a lovely little hollow was a 
perfect nest of treasui-es, — Aiiemane narcisstjlora, A, alpina^ 
TrolUtis Einvpceus, Caltha pahi^lris^ Narcissus podicus and 
PedicKlarLs tncarnata being among the more interesting, besides 
which I must mention as conspicuous for its fine yellow flowers 
and deep green loaves, Orohm Infcm, a plant which it had not 
been my good fortune to meet with before. 

But it is needful to describe a little the nature of the ground 
which was producing so many good plants, for out of Dauphiny 
I njay say I think I never met with a similar locality. 

The Col de lautaret is, as I have said, a wide valley, but it 
is far from being a dead level ; on the contrary, upon leading 
VLllar d*Arene, the road (which is a good one) constantly ascends, 
until it reaches its culminating point in the summit of the Col, 
an elevation of 6,869 feet above the sea-level, or more than twice 
the height of our own Ben Lomond, The surface of the valley 
is mostly made up of pasture, wliich tUffers in a most interesting 
manner in the nature of its vegetation. Here, in a comparatively 
sheltered spot of a few acres, one has to walk knee-deep through 
Narcissjis jmdtcus^ Pantdisia LiliAisinim, Trollim Enropatm^ 
Asphoddiis alius. 

A little further on, where the scanty soil barely conceals th^ 
naked rock, occur Anihyllis vulmraria, Oxytrojns montana^ ft 
camjjcstris, the beautiful yellow-flowered Grtgann viialiana^ 
Astragalus arislattis, the fine Tnfolium alpinum, with great 
pmk flowers so unlike any ordinary clover as at first sight to 
lead one quite off the scent in conjecturing its name. 



I 



BOTAXKINQ ON THE COL DE L.VUTARET. 



431 



la moister places appear Oirhis fflohosa, 0, conspsea and 
0. nlf^ra, the flowers of the last remarkable for their deep 
red colour and vanilla-like odour, and still more so for the 
sinj^ularity of their having the labellum uppermost, a character 
which has caused them to be separated into a distinct genus 
named NigrikUa. Here also we find along with our familiar Geum 
rivak, the much smaller though not less conspicuous G. montanmn 
with golden yellow tlowers, Aspkoddu^ albus, Pht/tcnnm orblcidare^ 
ManuTictiliis Q^rniitifolius, R. adunm^, Gentiana luiea, Polygonum 
vivipamtm, Ajngn pyramidalis, while ainong the herbage, and not 
very easily distinguishable, is Botnjchivm Lnnaria. 

Id certain places a more peaty soil prevails, and with it a 
number of plants stUl diflerent — foremost among them and not 
soon to be forgotten, are the splendid blue gentians, Q. i}ema 
and ff. acaulis abundantly enamelling the short turf. Primula^ 
farinosft, Soldandla alpina, Androsme cardial, A, oUusifolia, Pin- 
gnmda aJpma and Ranitnculus pifrenmus and in places from 
w^hicli the snow had but lately disappeared, a few plants of 
Croats vemus were still in flower. 

Amid such a profusion of interesting plants, the difficulty is to 
collect little mmtgh, for botany boxes are by nomeausof unlimited 
capacity; and the botanist under such trying circumstancea 
finds it necessary (except in the case of plants, really small) 
to relinquish all thoughts of liberality to absent friends and to 
restrict his gatherings to specimens just sufficient for his own 
herbarium* 

Experience has shown me the value, of careful packing in the 
botauy box, occasional sprinkling of its contents and the necessity 
of a well-fitting lid — little precautions which tell materially upon 
the condition of plants gathered dming a long midsummer day. 

But to return to the Lautaret. After rambling about for some 
hours, but still directing our course towards the highest part of 
the Col, we diverged to the right in order to reach some patches 
of snow and rough stony ground, and afterw^ards to climb a 
steep rocky slope, the spur in fact of one of the mountains 
bounding the western side of the valley. Proceeding on our 
way the dull purple flowers of Anemone vmnalis, most of them 



la^a. 



ProfusioQ of 

bfitmical 

Hpecimens. 



432 



BOTANIZING OX TOE COL DE LAUTAUEI 



1858. 



The Hospice 

of the 

Lautari't. 




mther too moch advanced, attracted luy attention — then Daphne 
Mczercuni still in flower, and D, striata, a beautifid alpine si)ecie& I 
with pink flowers altogether much resembling B, CacoTnim — here I 
also was Ekododaidwnfcrruff^mcum, displaying its fine crimson^ 
flowers. 

In a damper spot were the curious Androsace puhescens, forming j 
a sort of compact crust of green dotted with little pink stars, j 
Pi/rdhru7n alj^iniiMj Arabk hcUidifolia, and two or three other] 
crucifers, whose imperfect state prevented our determining. , 
Among some sloping loose rocks grew Empeimm nigrum, 
and mixed with it that rare plant Llmjdia serotina and the rare 
Saxifrdga hiflora and S, rtium, and higher still on the ledges 
of some precipitous rocks which prevented our further ascent 
grew Primula latifolia^ P. viscosa Rud Apidinm €07ichiits. Here, 
or in a similar locality, we also gathered BellidiasiTum Michdii^ 
a plant so like an overgro^^*ti daisy as to make one hesitate to 
take it, but which the presence of pappus pix>ves at once to be 
no Bdlk. 

Descending once more to the lower ground we gathered Gagea 
Liottardi and Gtntiana ptnwtaia, the latter a fine species with 
yellow flowers, and then proceeded to make our way to the 
Hospice, where by a previous agreement we had arranged that 
a vehicle should overtake us and convey us on to Brian^on. The 
Hospice of the Lautaret w^as founded by Humbert IL, Count of 
Dauphiny, but at present it is no longer a religious house. It 
is a low, one-storied, stone building standing on the summit of 
the Col The view from it is very iine : the Montague d'Oiireine 
13,123 feet above the sea-level, rises magnificently on the S.W. ; 
from the glacier at its foot originates the Guisanne, a river flowing 
south, while the Glacier de Tabouchet to the S. is one of tha 
sources of the Eomanche which runs north. 

The hospitality of the Hospice is of rather a humble character* 
The low doorway, which is the common entrance for the inliabit* 
ants and their cattle, conducts by a dark and filthy passage into 
a sort of cow-house or stable on the one side and into the kitchea 
on the other. In the latt^er, a massive stone apartment dimly 
lighted by small windows simk in its thick walls, we found 



A CHEMIST'S HOLIDAY IN FRANCE. 



433 



the operations of the laundry busily goiog on, while over a fire isaa. 
of cow*dung made upon the hearth, some potato cakes were 
heing fried. Nothing in the shape of food being under the 
ciTcumfitances to be despised, we soon communicated our wants 
and accepted what clieer the house could alTord. 

Quitting the Hospice we took a stroll in its immediate vicinity, 
noticing among its out-buildings the rude sledges used in wiut-er- 
time, and also remarking the long poles on each side of the ]*oad, 
erected to indicate its position when buried in snow. 

At three o*clock in the afternoon our vehicle having arrived, we 
continued our journey towards Brian^ou by a steep descent down Brknton* 
the valley of the Guisanne to Monestier. Thence to Brian^on 
the road is along the valley, which is populous and fertile, though 
still bounded by lofty mountains on either side. 

Brian^ou is a fortress of the first class, commanding the 
passage into Italy, wlience it is only an hour or two distant* 
The town stands on an elevation of 4,285 feet above the sea, 
and is said to endure seven months of winter. 

So much for a day's botanizing on the Col de Lautaret 



A CHEMISTS HOLIDAY. JOTTINGS m FILYNCE, 

{Fkarmaceuiisch^ Fericnlagc. Ausflug nach der Dauphin^) 

{Read ai the Bath Mttting of the Bntish Pkanaaceutical 
Conference^ Sept, 1864.) 

Many of us when boys must have read with delight the 
charming little talc called Fi/cs and no Et/m,^ in which the 
narration of a comitry walk is made the occasion of showing 
how an observant mind may derive instruction and pleasure 
from objects which in the non-observant excite no interest. 

As 1 have neither been able to accept one of the subjects 
proposed by the Pharmaceutical Conference for investigation, 
nor to take up any other, and am yet unwilling to appear 
before you empty-handed, I am driven to the expedient of pro- 
ducing my essay from the same kind of materials that afforded 
^ By Dr. Aikiu and ilrs. Barbaidd. 

F F 



lee^^. 



434 



A CHEMISTS HOLIDAY IN FRANCE. 



PAliA, 



the narrative of "Eyes;"' and vnXi therefore read you a few 
memoranda bearing as far as may be on pharmacy, made after 
a month's ramble among the Alps of Dauphiny. 

I.€Aving London, iu the latter part of July, in company with 
a friend, I spent two days in Paris, vidting while there tlie 
licole de Pharmacie, which, I need hardly remind you, is an 
establishment of ancient growth, and is mnch more extensive 
than our own school in Bloonisbury Square. Besides mnseimi^ 
and lalioratories, it possesses a smaU botanical garden, which k 
overlooked by the residence of the veteran pharmacologist. 
Professor Guibourt, Lecturer on the Natural History of Drugs. 
The profesaor*8 private collection is very extensive, and occupies 
seveml small rooms in the upper part of a house in &n 
adjuiniiig street, where we had the pleasure of meeting him, aa 
well as Professor Planchon, of the School of Pbannaey at 
Montpellier. I may remind you that Parii^, Stntsburg, and 
MoDtpellier are the centres of French pharmaceutical education. 
these three cities alone fMDssessing Superior Schools of Phai-macy, 
We next visited the Jardin dea PLintes, which is not distant 
from the £cole de Pharmacie, and spent some time in inspecting 
the zoological and botanical collections in the museums^ In_ 
the garden itself I observed in a sheltered situation against 
wall a fine pistacMo-tree, with nuts of full size, produced, I 
informed, after artificial impreguatiou, the male tree growing 
some distance. Conducted by M. Kaudio, we also examined 
some of the rare Cucurhiiacew, for which the garden is fauifii] 
as well as a series of beds in which curious experiments on tl 
hybridization of plants were being carded om A caU at the 
busy establishment of Dr. MiaUie, pharniacien to the Emper 
and a brief visit to the large and bustling wholesale house 
SL Dorvault concluded all that could be called pharmac 
in my visit to Paris ; and I shall therefore pass at one jump 
Grande Char- the Umnde Chartreuse, that famous monastery near Grenobl 
founded by St. Bruno in the eleventh century, and of which oil 
London Charterkome was origiually a branch. I need not He 
tell of the mjignificent alpine scenery amid which the monaste 
is situated, nor of the austei'e habits of the monks, nor of 



JafiUd dea 
Fkntvs. 



tlX3U«6, 



1 ^ 



A CHEMIST'S HOLIDAY IN FRANCE. 



435 



Elixir. 



primitive style of bed and board witli which visitors to tlie 
establisliment are entertained* But I wish to relate to you the 
lieneficial efl'ect to the institution of a little pharmaceutical 
knowledge. 

Previous to the French Revolution of 1789, the convent had 
large landed possessions, all of which were confiscated during 
that convulsion, and the monks expelled for a period of over 
twenty years. However, in 1810, the Grande Chartreuse was 
resttired to its owners, but without the restitution of its lands, 
— the only privilege allowed being the right of pasturage and of 
cutting wood in the circumjacent forest But the monks had 
another resource: they made some excellent cordials and an CordiAlaand 
elijcir of wonderful %'iriue,both distilled from tlie aromatic plants 
growing on the alpine pastures. They invented also a tooth- 
tinctnre, and a certain preparation of iron, known under the 
name of Bmile deader; and these have l>ecome sources of 
revenue almost equal in value to the houses and lands lost by 
the Revolution, The liqueurs or cordials, in particular, are in 
univei'sal demand, and bring an income, it is said, of nearly 
£20,000 a year. The composition of these liqueurs, of which 
there are three kinds, the green, the yellow^ and the white, is 
not known, lialm. wonnwood, a small pink, and the buds of a 
fir, are said to be ingredients, but there are probably seveml 
others, — among which I could fancy, judging from the ta.ste of 
the yellow liqueur, there might be Astrantia and Mcuvi, both 
common plants in tlie n^eadows round tlie Cliartreuse. 

The subalpine woods of this part of Dauphiny produce the 
spruce fir {Abies ejxdsa, D.C.), the source of genuine Burgundy 
pitch, which, however, is not collected, though it easily might 
be, as one sees it streaming from the tree-trunks on all sides. 
The silver fir ia also common : it yields, I may remind you, the 
rare and fragrant Strasburg turpentine, once official amongst us, 
under the name of TerehintJiina arqentoj-atcjisis. This turpen- 
tine is obtained by puncturing small swellings in the bark of 
young trees, and. allowing the single drop of clear turpentine 
which exudes from the puncture, to run into some small vessel 
held below to receive it. The Scotch fir is also found in some 

F F 2 



Firs. 



436 



A CHKMISrS nOLlDAV IN FK.^'CE. 



ise4. distrieU, and what is remarkable, the common mistletoe grows 
upon it, in jireference it would almost seem, to the apple-trees 
which are sometimes in near proximity. 
Colchkom. The common colchicum, I noticed in many places throwuag 
up its purple flowers among the green herbage of orchards and 
meadows; and in a few alpine situations, I also gathered 
Colchmtm alpinum, D.C., a species with flower and corm of | 
much smaller size. 

Aeiwa spicata^ 1m, a rare plant in England, is found in the 
mountain woods near Bourg d'Oisaus ; and its root> which I dug 
up and dried, is so like that of the American Actma racemosa, L., 
that I do not think one could distinguish them. 

Our English foxglove was nowhere seen in Dauphiny, but 
the yellow DvjitaliJi g'mndijfora^ All, and tlie small white- 
flowered D. lutm, L, were of fi^quent occurrenca Henbane, I 
often noticed, especially near Brian9on, where it was very fine 
by the roadside. ^i 

Lavender, the genuine plant of our English gai*dena, is very ^H 
abundant in some parts of the country, growing in profusion on 
tlie rocky hillsides, but no use appears to be made of it. Many 

Liibiate^ other beautiful labiates are also seen, of which hyssop, with its ' 
bright blue flowers is one of the more rare. The great yellow 
gentian was nearly past flowering at the time of my visit, but - 
it was stiU conspicuous in many an alpine pasture, as was alsoj 
the white hellebore {Verahnim album, L), a plant affecting] 
similar situations. Arnica vwntana, L, was also nearly out of ' 
flower, but it must be a splendid omanient of the mountain 
meadows in the earlier summer. In many of these meadows, I fl 
may mention that grass seems quite a subordinate constituent, " 
80 thickly is the ground covered with other plants. i 

Bmo^on, Proceeding to Brian^on, tliat little mountain city on tha^| 
confines of Italy, we were struck with the appeamnce of the 
numerous small trees of the Brian^on plum [Pnmm hritjaiitiaca^ ^^ 
Vilh), the branches of which were often thickly clusteied wit}i^| 
fruit, still far from ripe. The tree is indigenous to tliis part of 
France and is not an object of cultivation. Its fniit^, which aroj 
hardly eatable, are gathered in the autumn for the sake of their 



4 

I 




A CnKMISrS HOLIDAY IN FRANCE. 



437 



maima* 



kernels, which yield by expression a fatty oil, coDsidered by the iee4 . 
peasants a useful medicine both for man and beast, I bought 
Bome of it, and found it to have an agi^eeable flavour and a 
shght odour of bitter almonds; further than that it was *'tr^^ 
honne pour la coliquej* I could not gain any very definite idea as 
to its virtues* 

Briant^on. however, has another pliarnmceutiaxl interest, in 
the manna which old writers rekte is, or can be, collected from 
the larches that grow in its vicinity. The larches certainly are 
there, and very interesting it is to see tlieni growing truly wild 
on their own native mountains. 

Doling a visit to Brian9on in June 1857, I made particular 
examination of the larches on the neighbouring hills, and 
obtained so Httle evidence of anything like saccharine exudation 
that I was ready to conclude the form^ation of such a substance 
must be of rare and exceptional occurrence. Subsequently to 
this, however, M, Berthelot, of I'aris, actually made a chemical 
examination of Brian^on manna, and demonstrated it to contain 
a peculiar variety of sugar, which he designated Melcntose, a Melezitose. 
name derived from mdtzt, the French for larch. 

Here again in the country of the larch and in the very Larch Manna, 
classical locality for the manna it was necessary of course to re- 
new the previous fruitless research, *and my travelling companion 
felt equally interested in the inquiry* A day or tw^o before we 
reached Brianeon, we had examined larches at Ijx Grave a few 
mOes distant, but not a trace of saccharine exudation could we 
discover. There was a little wliitc aphis on the leaves of several 
trees, just as one often sees upon the larch in England; and 
upon examining the insect carefidly, one could perceive a minute 
globule attached to one part of it. Was this the manna ? or had it 
anything to do with it 1 Here was a globule of somethings but too 
small to collect, or even to taste per se : — still in our desperation 
we licked the aphis-coloured leaves, and fancied they had a faintly 
saccharine taste. The cones certainly had an exudation, but it 
was turpentine to all intents and purx>oses, — fine clear drops of 
genuine Venice turpentine ; and a botanist of Brian^on assured 
us a day or two after that this was the raanna. As I could not, 




43S 



A CHKiflST'S HOLIDAY IN FRANCE. 



1004. however, believe that M. Bertbelot bad mistaken turpentine for 
MwiDAiH sugar, I commenced making further inquiry and fortuiiatelj 

cii'*t*'*S ^PP^i^^l ^^ ^^* Turin, an intelligent pL^nnacien, who at once 
assured me that Brian^on manna was no myth, but a saccharine, 
substance to be actually found on the foliage of the larcl 
M Turin stated tliat in the height of summer and in the earlj 
part of the day, the larches in the forest (or at least some of 
them — I did not undei-stand the remark to apply to all) were 
really whitened with the manna, as if there had been a sprinkling 
of snow, — a thing, remarked tlie worthy pharmacien, that wasi 
*' \'raimeut belle k voir/' I^L Turin further added that the mannaj 
had nothing in common with turpentine, or with the aphi^ 
we had noticed on the leaves. In reply to my eager inquiry,* 
if there was still a chance of seeing the manna in situ, and 
what locality for it was most accessible, M. Turin directed us to 
the village of Chanteraerle, near which there was a mountain 
abounding in larches, and added that on some of them it wa 
possible we might still tind the manna. Though we had engaged 
to leave Biian^on at an early hour, we determined first to make" 
the expedition suggested by M. Turin, and accordingly drove to 
the village of Cbantemerle, near which we found larches in 
abundance, but manna was not equally obvious. A earefol 
search, however, of the foliage of the trees revealed here and 
there a little tear of white sugary matter, encmsting the needle- 
like leaves. This was all the ocular evidence of manna we could 
obtain ; but on returning to the village, an old peasant whom" 

Collection in we accidentally met, assured us that it wfis useless to search for 

the early ^jj^ manna except in the cool of the morning, and that moreove 
morning. , . 

the season for finding it was almost over. He promised, ho wever| 

to speiik to the sliepberds on tlie mountain, and obtain tbrougl 

them a little of the substance, if any coidd still be found. The 

old man kept bis word, and through him I received at Grenoble 

a fortnight afterwards, a good specimen of the larch manna 

a portion of which I have now the pleasure of exhibiting. 

Seeing my interest about the manna, the old peasant aske 

QinipL me if I knew what he called G4nipi; and on my professl 

ignorance he ran home to get some. It turned out to be 




A CHEMIST'S HOLIDAY IN FRANCE. 



439 



I 
I 



Wild fniiU 
near 



Ipi 



Artemisia, which is collected on the mountains, and held in high ie«^. 
estimation as an aromatic bitter. 

Another production of the same neighbourhood is a sort of 
talc, once official under the name of Craie de Brian(on^ hut now 
chiefly used as *' boot powder," and for taking out greasy stains. 

Near Brian (jon, the common gooseberry occurs very plentifully 
in a wild state. Its fruit, though not larger than a pea, and 
rather hard and bristly, has an excellent flavour, and the plant 
is doubtless the progenitor of the gooseberry of our gardens. 
Tt is rather curious how many other of our fruits may also be 
noticed in this part of Fnmce, either wild or semi-wild. The 
vine, apple, pear, medlar, quince, raspberiy, cherry, and two 
species of currant are all to be seen in greater or less abundance. 
The currants, however, are specLfically distinct from our garden 
Mibes, In the alpine meadows the chive (AlltJim schwnoprasftm, L) 
is very frequent, and in August its pink flowers are ornamental 
among the green grass, lu England it is only known as a potherb, 
which is also the case with savory {Satnreja montafm^ L), which 
I found on the dry hills of the Val de Queyras. In this valley 
I also gathered savine, which I had previously seen nowhere 
else. Here, however, it is very plentiful, .covering the rocks with 
a scrubby vegetation, and diffusing slightly its characteristic 
odour, 

Dauphiny abounds in mineral wealth, including that most Dauphiny. 
precious of all minerals, coal. It also possesses several medicinal 
springs, that of Uriage, six miles from Crrenoble, being the most 
frequented. The water is sulphuretted alkaline, issuing from 
its source slightly warm. It is both drunk, and used for baths. 
There is also at Uriage a ferruginous spring, the waiter of which 
is brought to the kthlc dliStc in decanters and drunk with wine 
by those who require a mild chalybeate tonic. 

These, gentlemen, are the pharmaceutical memoranda of my 
pleasant ramble, which came to a conclusion soon after I left 
riage. I have offered them to you in default of a grave and 
learned paper, and hope they may have afforded, if not amuse- 
ment or instruction, at least a proof of my interest in the 
welfare of the British Pharmaceutical Conference. 




440 



THE BHITISH PnARMACOPCEIA, 



i««a* 



Myrrli in 
lumps. 



Mlit&ni Furi 
eomjpoiitihi 



MEMORANDA ON 80ME FOEMUI^E IN THE BEITISI 
PHAKMACOrCEIA, 

(Vorschn/ten der Brit Phann.) 

In the formula for preparing Mistura Fcrri composiia, a fei 
small alterations suggested by experience appear worthy of_ 
notice, and although attention has already been drawn to on 
of them, the moment seems opportune for again referring 
tlie suliject. 

The first point I would notice is the Myrrh^ which (as often 
stated) shoidd not be in powder, as the long desiccation reqnir 
for reducing it to that atate deprives it of much of its aroma 
A piece of fine lump myrrh answers better ; there is^ moreove 
an advantage by allowing the myrrh to soften by contact wit 
the water during some hours, before the emulsion is completed 
This emulsion is usually kept ready prepared, the sulphate of 
iron being added when the nuxtnrc is required to be sent out. 
As no chemist would probably prepare for stock less than a pit 
of it| I would adapt the forraida to that quantity. Accordin 
to the British Pharmacopoeia, each fluid ounce of the emulsion 
requires 3| gi-ains of sulphate of iron : it would be rather men 
convenient to reduce tins proportion to 3^ grains to tlie oonc 
the mixture of the London Pharmacopoeia being 2^ grains. 

With these changes, the following would be the formula for 

MISTUUA FERUI COMPOSITA. 

li Fen-i sulphafc. grs. 70, 
Potass, carb. gi-s. GO, 
Jlyn^bee, 

Sacch. aa drms. 2 J, 
.Sp. myrist. fl. drma, 2^-, 
Aq. rosa?, q.s 

Triturate the mjTrh and carbonate of potash with the sugar and 
sufficient rose-water to form a thin paste. Set this aside 
twelve hours ; then continue the trituration, gradually addil 
rose-water and the spirit of nutmeg, so as to form 20 fluid oun€ 



THE BRITISn PIIARMACOREIA. 



441 



of a uniform emulsion, wLich preserve. When required for use, lees, 
add the sulphate of iron in the proportion of 3^ grains to each 
fluid ounce. 

The next formula respecting which I would offer a few words, 
is that for Miccilago frag€u:anih4JE. This preparation is rarely MucUago 
wanted, and never, I helieve, kept ready prepared. It is, more- Tragacanth«. 
over, much too thick, and twenty-four hours is a longer time 
than can generally he allowed for its preparation. If a mucilage 
containing tragacanth only is required, which in the presence 
of so convenient preparation as the compound j«wder is very 
questionahle, the following formula will be found to afford a 
good result. 

I^IUCaAGO TRAGACAyTH.f;. 

R Gum. tragacanth. pulv. grs. 60. 
Aq. dest. fluid ounces 10. 

To the water contained in a pint hottle add the tragacanth, 
agitate briskly for a few minutes and again at intervaJa until 
the gum he perfectly diffused, which will occur in about five 
or six hours. 

SOME EEAUEKS ON THE NOMENCLATUEE OF THE 

PHARMACOPGEIA, 

"Phammconim nomiBa, Bicpius licet al^surda, iiancte eervavi, titpote 
complurium se^tilonim auctoritate^ ratione legibusc^ue excmpta." — Lim\jtttu, 



I 

â–  To t 

I 



Some montha ago, there was presented to the Pharmaceutical 
Society hy Professor Eedwood, a very interesting paper " On the 
Construction of a Phamiacopceia/' ^ one of the objects of which 
was to invite suggestions for improvements in a proposed new 
edition of that work. As almost every phannacist must have 
made in the course of his experience some useful observations 
respecting one at least of the 600 drugs and preparations which 
the phannaeopcfia specifies, it is to be hoped that Professor 
Eedwood*3 invitations may receive many replies* For one, I beg 
permission to offer a few remarks on the nomenclature of 

' FlKirm, Jmrti. and Traju. Muy, 1665. 



1805. 

Professor 
Redwood. 




442 



THE NOMENCLATUEE OF A FITARMACOPtEIA. 



of vegetable 



laea. some of the drugs derived fmm the vegetable kingdom. It 
Nomencktare ^^J ^^^tn a rather trivial subject upon which to descant» yet 
cooimonly happens that upon the publication of a j^harmacopcEi 
the first strictures that appear have reference to changes 
nomenclature, which seem the inevitable concomitants of 
new edition. Nor is this unreasonable, for the name of a drug 
is often known and used when nothing ehe is known about it, 
and the convenience and snitableneas of a name are points upon 
which all feel able to give an opinion. 

Professor Redwood has touched on this subject in the followii 
judicious remarks: — ** It appeai-s to me desirable, as far 
possible, to avoid the use of chemical names or symbols that are 
liable from time to time to be altered as new views in chemical 
science prevail. Frequent change in the names applied to medi- 
cines is in itself an eviL Tlie most important objects to he attained 
are, that the names shall be familiar, concise, and explicit, easily 
pronounced and used lx>th in English and Latin, consistent oi 
with another, and not inconsistent in their significatioa wil 
those used for other pui'poses. Names already in use, if Uiey 
fulfil these conditions, are preferable to new names/* 

It happens unfortijinately that many names which are bol 
faniiUar and concise, are not accordant with modem knowl 
and hence has arisen the feeling that altemtiou is necessary, 
teacher who imparts botanical knowledge shudders to hear squill 
spoken of as a *'Iiaclix scdl®,*' or caraways as '*Semina carui/' when 
he is using his utmost endeavours to explain that hidbs are not 
roots, and that the so-called seah of umbelliferous plants are in 
reality fruits. Yet terms such as these arein constant use among 
druggists, and are sanctioned by all the older writers on Afateria 
Medica. The more exact definitions, however, having already 
existed many years in the Pliarmacopo^ia, it would, in most cases, 
be a retrograde movement to discard them in favour of the old^ 
and more popular designations. Let us then accept the hulb% 
squill, the corms of colchicum and the fruiU of umbellifei 
as a token that pharmacists do not ignore botany. 

In many cases, however, the designation of the special part 
the plant which ia to be used is neither customary nor necessai 



on . 

I 



Names in ic- 

cordat]«e 
with Science. 



THE NOMENCLATURE OF A PUARMACOPiEIA. 



443 



EiJjiiborgh 
Pharmaco- 
pubia, 1817* 



while in others it is necessary, in order ta avoid confusion, or to i«e5. 

comply with pharmaceutical usage. In the London Pharma- 
copoeia of 1836 brevity was carried to its utmost limit, the old 
piiarmaceutical name^ employed in previous editions being often 
60 shorn as to render them neither elegant nor explicit. Thus, 
cajeput oil was termed simply VajupiUi ; gum arahic, Acacia ; 
poppy heads, Papaver ; pomegranate peel, Grarmium ; — while 
Quei-cus, wiiich the dictionary tells us signifies an oak, was held 

I to mean oak bark. 

In amusing contrast with this excessive condensation, are the 
terms employed m the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia of 1817, the 
authors of which seem to have been impressed with the necessity 
of each name containing the whole truth, no matter how incon- 
venient it might be to write it. Hence we find cajeput oil 
under the name of Melaleuca; Leucadendri Oleum volatile; oil of 
cloves under that of Eu^enim Caryophijllatm, Oleum volatile; 
mace is called 3lj/risticos Moschatcs Involucj-um nuclei, and 
cascarilla, Crotonis Elmtherim Cortex, 

In the British Pliarmacopo^ia, extremes such as these have to Nomenck- 
a large extent been avoided ; but it is still obvious that some ^^'^fe^reX^'^" 
greater regard to the usage of pharmacists would impart a 
practical character to the work. I would not propose to return 
to the old rule of designating in every case the part of the plant 
of which each drug consists, for tenns such as benzoin, assafoetida, 
or cubebs are in themselves perfectly explicit. But it would be 
preferable to say Bdladmiw folia, instead of simply Bellaifona, 
especially as we have also Bdladonm radix. Arniem radix ia 
more definite than simply Arnica; Jllic vias than Jilix ; 
Qutrcus cortex than Querciis ; Cassim pulpa, than Cassia; 
Ac<iei€B gummi than Acacia ; Coloci/nthydis pulpa, than 
Cohcynthis, &a Some of the names are also open to exception 
in other ways :- — why shoukl Ipecacuan be substituted for the 
more euphonious Ipetacaanha, when the latter is the true 
Brazilian name and is used by the best writers, as well as 
universally in commerce? Can a good reason be given for 
changing Cruaiacum to Giiaiact the old term Matico might 
also be restored, for it forms as good a Latin noun as Bacco, and 




444 



^^OTES ON PRESCRIBING. 



1865. is itj accordance witli its derivation,^ which the feminine '"Mnlirft* 
is liot. But in making these criticisms it must be admitted that I 
in the large majority of cases the names employed in the British 
Pharmacopoeia have been well selected, and are as free from 
objection on the score of ambiguity or inconsistency as any] 
names can ba 

In the selection of names to be used, as well as in the intro-l 
duction of new formnlm, or the omission of old, it appears to | 
me that more regard shonld be had to existing custom and 
practice, Tlaus names that are familiar and in constant use 
fihould not be hastily changed ; medicines that aie hitherto 
unknown should not make their first appearance in a pharma- 
copcuia ; and old medicines which are in daily employment | 
shonld not be suddenly discarded, or have their composition j 
materially altered.^ 



Dr. Taris. 



NOTES ON PEESCRIBINa 

IB«7. ALTnoUGH mote than fifty years have elapsed since the^ 

The PhArma- ^^^^i^^*^ ^^* Paris placed before the medical profession his observa- J 
coinsiaof tions on the theory and art of medical combination, it may! 
safely be asserted that nothing has been since written on the 
same subject more replete with sound and accurate informa^l 
tion. 

Yet every year adds to our experience : not only are new drugsl 
introduced, but new combinations and new forms of administra- 1 
tion are also adopted ; and the prescriptions of the present day 
differ as much in character from those that found their way toj 




* Matim is tlie diminutiTe of Mateo^ the Spanish for Matthew^ tB»tl 
haying been the name of the aoldier to whom tradition ascribes the dIscoverT'l 
of the styptic property of the drug. I 

' Aa illuatmtioTia of these latter propositions may he mentione«i thel 
introduction of oil of elder flowers into the London Phamiiico|>a5ia off 
1836; the oniissioQ of coiiipoond extnict of colocyntk from that of 1851 ;| 
the altenttion in the coin[>OHition of the steel wine and ipeoHcuanha wiDt] 
in the phanuacoiMPia of 1 b24 ; and the angmentation of strength in tbtti 
Liquor Avunonite aceiaik of that of 1864. 



NOTES ON PRESCRIBING. 



445 



I 



» 



presjcribing. 



the druggist's counter Italf a century ago, as do the medicines 1867* 
then in vogue from those which are now in use. 

The art of prescribing, it must be admitted, is not a subject 
coming precisely within the province of the pharmacist, yet the 
pharmacist is necessarily acquainted with the methods of 
prescribing which are prevalent, aud is more capable than any 
other person of judging of the merits of formulte under phamia- 
centical and chemical aspects. 

It has long appeared to me that some of these methods or IToaesirable 
modern phases of prescribing call for notice in the pages of the 
Fharmactutiail Jmirnal, and in the liope that the subject may be 
further handled, I have thrown together the observations here 
presented. Some of the formulae that I shall cjuote will afford 
evidence that the precepts of the author of the Pfmrmamlofjia 
and the rules of chemistry are too little observed, and that the 
duties of the private dispensary performed by many of the 
older physicians while practising as apothecaries, enabled them 
to avoid the errors and eccentricities into which some of their 
successors occasionally fall The result of mixing the ingredients 
ordered in a prescription is sometimes very unexpected, so that 
even the most practised dispenser is often imable to predict 
whether certain given ingredients can be united into a compound 
that shall be suitable fur administration : — and if the pharmacist 
whose time and skill are chiefly devoted to the mixing of drugs 
is t!ms at fault, it is hardly snrprismg that the physician, whose 
mind is mainly directed to other subjects, shouhl sometimes pre- 
scribe ingredients that it is impossible to combine, or that if com- 
bined, cannoi be taken, or are devoid of the required efficacy. 

For convenience I sliall place my remarks UJider different 
heads, and shall notice firstly 

Ukciiemtcal Formul.€. 

As an example let us take the following: — 



Unclieniical 



l\ Barii chloridi gr. iss 
Feni sulphatis gr. ij 
Extracti gentianas q. s, 
Ut fiat pilulo. 




446 NOTES ON PRESCRIBING. 

laer. Tlic writer of this formula was a frequent prescribe? of 

Ikrium chio- chloride of barimn which he generally ordered iu combiDatiou 
^^^ntirt'^^ with sulpliate of quinine or sulphate of iron, or with lioth, 
thereby probably rendering the chloride inert Ko reliance 
could of course be placed on the uniform eflects of barj^ta, pre- 
Bcribed sometimes in a state of activity and sometimes in an ineit 
form. 

As another example of this character, take the following pre- 
scription which was brought to be dispensed a few weeks ago : 

B Potassii iodidi 9i 

PotassflB bicarbonatis 3iss 
Ferri et quinie citratis Qiv 
Tinct. valeriame ammoniatie ^ 
Aquae ad Jiv 
Misce. SuiiiJtt cochleare medium ex aqm\ ter die, 

F«ilt in In preparinj^ this medicine, the iodide and bicarbonate were dis- 

preaonbing. g^ived in a portion of the water, to which tlie tincture was then 
added The citrate was dissolved in the remainer of the water 
and the two solutions were mixed. The result, as might be ex- 
pected, was that a frothy white precipitate of quina was iu- 
fetantly formed which in a few niiuntea collected into a coherent 
mass, sufficiently hard and tougli t^ be rolled into pills* 

It B)ay be observed that in conipounda such as tliis, the quina 
is not subject to the remarkable influence which citi'ic or tartaric 
acid exerts on peroxide of iron, that of allowing it to be combined 
with an alkaline bicarbonate or with ammonia, but that it is 
more or less separated when such alkalies are mixed with it, a 
fact yen- often overlooked, 
Unsuiuble A third instance of extremely unsuitable combination occupb 
to me, which from its frequency a few years ago was impressed 
on my memory, although I have no copy of a prescription in 
which it was ordered. It was the prescribing of glacial phos- 
phoric acid in pilk^ and that in combination with valerianate of 
zincl 

FORMUI^ THAT GiTK UlSE TO UNEXrECTED COMBINATION'S. — 

A very interestijig fact bearing on this point has been stated in 



combiiiatiou. 



NOTES ON PRESCHIBING, 



447 



aTCeetit mnoljer of tlie Journal dc Phainrmcie d de Chimie} M. iser- 
Melsens has proved by experiment that pure potassium iodide Untjxpectcd 
may be administered to dogs in considemble doses without oo (iccompoai. 
casioning any ill effects ; and tliat potassium chlorate in some- 
what strong doses i3 also tolerated when adnunistered continuously 
for at least a month. Treated with potassium iodate, however, 
dogs die rapidly. If potassium iodide and potassium chlorate in 
equivalent proportions aie given to dogs, such mixture speedily 
proves fatal ; and yet, as is well known, these salts do not 
luider ordinary circumstances decompose one another. These ex- 
perimeuU have an important pmctical bearing on the art of pre- 
scribing, showing that medicines, harmless when administered 
separately, may become highly deleterious when given ia com- 
bination* 

The following case of unexpected change in the composition Rochelle silt 
of a medicine was of actual occurrence, A prescription was ^ j^^^j^^jg^^ 
written for a mixture of wiiich the more essential ingredients 
were rochelle salt and calcined magnesia, the one dissolved, 
the other diffused in peppermint water, The mixture was pre- 
scribed and taken without particular remark, until upon one 
ticcasion, recourse was had to a bottle whicli had been prepared 
some weeks before. The dose was found extremely different 
from any that had been taken previously ; in fact it had so 
caustic a taste as to excite the ahum of the patient who sus- 
pected a serioiLs en*or on the pai*t of the druggist. The ph3'sician 
was consulted, and finally an analytical cliemist was requested 
to examine and rejKjrt on tlie medicine. This resulted in an ex- 
planation : — the calcined magnesia, by prolonged contact with 
the alkaline tartmtes, had gradually abstracted their tartaric acid 
leaving tlieir alkalies in a free and caustic state. 

The dispenser of prescriptions is sometimes puzzled to know 
what colour to make the medicine, the colour being dependent an 
^^tT orJfir in which tlie ingredients are mixed. For instance, a 
lotion was prescribed composed of calomel, lime water, and 
chloride of zinc. If tlie calomel were decoiMposed tirst, the 
lotion was black : if the chloride of zinc first, it was white. 

' November, 1866, page 338* 



ChftDge of 



448 NOTES ON PRESCRIBING, 

I8e7« Lotions in which both chloride and bichloride of mercury 

Change of ^^e ordered with lime-water, are easily made to vary from 
colour, yellow to brown or black, according to the order in which the 
two mercurials are decomposed. A lotion made according to the 
following formula is either transparent and colourless, or opaque 
and of a brick red, according to the order in which the ingre- 
dients are mixed. 

E Potasses chloratis 
Boracis aa 3ss 
Hydrargyri bichloridi gr. iv 
Glycerinae 5s8 
Aquae ad Jviij 
Misce. 

Ill-contrived Although hardly coming under tliis section, and rather 
formula, deserving to be ranged under the head of ill-conirived formxilm^ 
tCiSi'^ be instanced the following : — 

R Unguenti hydrarg, nitratis 3iij 

— « cetacei Jj 

Liquoris potassse 3ij 
Linimenti saponis ad gvi 
Misce. Sit linimentum capiti omni nocte infricandum. 
B Confectionis opii 3ij 
Olei terebinthinae 5iss 
Sp. ammoniac aromat* 3iij 
— camphorae giij 
Fiat linimentum, 

B Potassii iodidi 5i 
Morphiae acetatis gr. x 
Aceti colchici 3iv 
Olei sulphurati Ji 
Misce, Fiat linimentum. 

The next subject on which I must beg leave to offer a few 
remarks is the 

Undue Concentration of Medicines. — There is no practice 
in the modem method of prescribing more fraught with incou- 



NOTES ON PBESCRIBINU. 



449 



than that of 



venieiice t^ the pharmacist atid risk to tlie patient, 
ordering medicines in an excessively crincentrated form. Tlie 
object for doing so is in most cases that the patient may obtain 
a lai-ge snpply of medicine at a small outlay; — in others, because 
medicine in a concentrated form is more convenient for being 
carried from place to place. That the prescriber should have a 
due regard fur the pueket of his patient and wish to diminish 
aa much a3 possible the expenses attendant on sickness, is 
doubtless commendable. Ihit when this is done at the expense 
of safety and of efficacy » it becomes an abuse which demands 
rectiii cation. 

^ All druggists know that forty or fifty yeai*s ago, liquid 
medicines for internal use were very commonly prescribed in 
the form of dntKyhls, or doses each contained in a single bottle ; 

I — that these have gradually been superseded by mixlurcs, con- 
taining usually 6, 8, or 12 doses, and that these last are now 
often replaced by highly concentrated and smaller mixtures 
technically called drops, each bottle of which contains a large 
number of dosea. Most will admit that the dispensing of 
medicines in the form of dranffhts except in rare cases, involves 
more labour and expense than are necessary lor any purposes 
of accuracy or convenience. But in resorting to the compounds 
which are now prescribed ai? drops, we are going to the other 
extreme. It is a practice of recent introduction and finds no 
place in the Phamiacal^ia of Dr Paris, who floes not give a 
single specimen of ?uch a manner of prescribing. 

As evidence of the objectionable character of prescribing 
medicine in a very concentrated shape, I shall quote a few 
prescriptions, all of which 1 have myself lately observed. 



IBB7, 

Concentrated 
formuls. 



Dropi. 



li Liquoris strychnife 3ij 
Tinctune Valerianae Jiij 
Spiritfls chloroformi 5] 

camphoraa 5iij 

Jlagnesiae sulphatis Jj 
MisturiB camphor*Te ad ^viij 
Misce. Sumat cochleare unum raagnum pro dosi. 

G O 



450 NOTES ON PRESCRIBING. 

1867. This mixture is too alcoholic to retain in solution the sulphate 

Concentrated of magnesia, which, although first dissolved in the camphor 
formula, julep, subsequently concretes into a crystalline mass. 

K Liquoris Donovani 3viss 
Potassse bicarbonatis 3v 
Tincturse calumbae ad Jiij 
Misce. Signa — Forty minims (by measure) in water 
twice a day after meals. 

Here again the liquids are insufficient to dissolve the alkaline 
salt, which remains at the bottom of the bottle as a dense 
white powder, not to be shaken up and poured into a minim 
measure. 

R Chlorodyne 3iss 
SodsB biboratis 3j 
Sp. camphorBB 

— ammonisB comp. 

— 8Btheris sulph. aa Jss 

Misce. Take a small teaspoonful in a wineglass of 
water when required, and repeat the dose every two 
hours until the pain is relieved. 

The addition of the borax to the other ingredients occasions 
the separation of a sticky mass which adheres to the sides and 
bottom of the bottle in such a manner that the intended dose 
cannot possibly be administered; a difficulty wliich would be 
entirely obviated had the mixture been ordered in a diluted 
form. 

R Hydrargyri bichloridi gr. vj 
Liquoris arsenicalis 5ijss 
Tinct. cardamomi comp. 3iij 
Aquae gvj 
Misce. Sumat cochleare unum minimum bis die, 

R Quinse disulphatis 3ss 
Acidi phosphorici diluti 3x 
Liquoris arsenici chloridi g 
Tincturae ferri muriatis 3xj 



NOTES ON PRESCRIBING. 451 

Tincturttj aconiti 3iij 1867. 
calumbte Jiss Concentrated 

Glyceriixfie ad gvj formute. 

Sumat cochleare unum minimum pro dosi. 

Medicines prescribed according to such formulae as this and 
the preceding, are dangerous from their extreme concentration, 
and from the large quantity ordered rendering them liable to 
be mistaken for comparatively dilute mixtures taken in the 
dose of two or three tablespoonfuls. 

R Tinct. aconiti (Flemming) 3ij 
Sumat gutt. j tertiis horis ex aquse 3ij 

R StrychnisB gr. j 

Acidi phosphorici diluti Jj 
Sumat n\^ V ex aquae cyatho vinario ter die 

R Strychniae gr. ij 
Aquae destillatae 3v 
Solve ope 

Acidi hydrochlorici diluti n\^iv 
et adde 

Vini ferri ad 3x 
Misce. Signa — Take ten minims by measure in water 
every morning before breakfast, and increase the 
dose every other morning by one minim up to 18 
or 20 minims. 

R Ext. cinchonae liquidi 

Liquoris calcii chloridi aa Jss 
Fiant guttse. 

R Acidi arseniosi gr. ij 
Syrupi zingiberis Jij 
Fiat mistura. 

In the five formulae above-quoted, the medicines are ordered Dangeronf 
to be furnished to the patient in (as it seems to me) a form far ^^<5«"*™»ion- 
too concentrated. By the first of them a bottle containing 

G o 2 



452 



NOTKS ON PRESCRIBING. 



1807. about 150 doses of the strongest tincture of aconite is snppl 

ConcMitTtttiHl with directions that a dose is to be taken every three hoi 

^<'^â„¢^^'^* In the second nearly a hiintHred doses of strychnine are ordei 

to be placed at once in the Imnrls of the patient The third 
prescribes five weeks' supply of stryclmine in a ten-drachm 
im:xtiire, and is also deserving notice for the complicated direc- 
tions to the patient for calculating his dose. The fourth In 
objectionable from the iact that the ingredients are decomposed 
for want of a suitable excipient, the resin of tbe bark being 
precipitated on the bottom and sides of the bottle, so that itj 
impossible for the patient to obtain the intended dose. 
such difficulty would arise if each ingredient were reasonal 
diluted pre^us to mbcing, and the dose apportioned accordingly 
The fifth formula is dangemus from ordering the arsenic to be 
treacherously disguised in the form of a very palatable syrup, 
which might in ignorance be taken far too freely. 

The experience of any disi>ensing pharmacist will reat 
testify that prescriptioui: such as those here quoted are now*a- 
days by no moans uofrequent. That they are liighly object] 
able all will allow, inasmuch as in many cases they do just 
neither to the patient, the physician, nor the pharmacist Those 
of the last category are reprehensible for the sake of the pal 
Dangers of who IS furnished with a large supply of potent, or it may 
ertrtDiu eon- ^^^^^ daugerous medicine, which is to be taken for a lengthened 
period, ahnost according to his own pleasure ami judgment; 
for the sake of the physician who by such prescriptions must 
often deprive himself of the ojiportunity of watching the effect 
of the remedies he orders; and, lastly, for the sake of the 
pharmacist, on whom is tlirown a heavy risk of error and ' 
accident, counterbalanced by no proportionate increase of profit, 
lait actually accompanied by a much dinnnished scale of 
remuneration. 



centra tion* 



THE PRICE OF JiiEDICINEa 



453 



1870, 



THE PKICE OF MEDICINES. 



True Stftutl- 



(Chemist and Dru^gisCs Almanac, 1870,) 

To discuss the vaiious consideratious that control the money- Cost of Medi- 
value of medicines, compounded according to prescription, is to ^'"^'** 
enter ou a delicate question, respecting which it is diihcalt to 
take an tinbitvsed view. The compouuder, it will be said, is 
himself an interested party, wishing both to magnify the 
responsihility and difficulties of his occupation, and to show 
reason why he should claim a high rate of remnneration. Yet 
when we are told that remedies prescribed by a physician may 
now be prepared in a eo-operative store, and sold at prices far 
lower than would be charged in an ordinary pharmacy, it is 
not inopportune to review the circumstances which govern their 
coat, or to consider the reasons, if any, that require for com- 
pounded medicines a rate of profit widely different from that 
which would be remunerative in the case of other commodities. 

It is a fact not generally understood, tlmt the chief cost of 
many medicines lies in the time, skill or care required for their 
preparation, and not in the mere value of the ingredients. The 
latter are often of snuill intrinsic vaUie, yet the duty of com- 
pounding them should be intrusted to none but a well*iiiformed 
and careful pharmacist, familiar with the properties of the 
substances prescribed, competent to identify and ascertain their 
purity ; acquainted also with the best method of combining and 
presenting them to the patient in a safe and convenient form. 
These qualifications are pcrsmml ; they are to lie acquired only 
by the expenditure of time and money ; and, inasmuch as they 
are valuable, so they should command adequate i^muneratiou. 

The small consumption of drugs is a circumstance enhancing 
cost ; their use is exceptional, for none will voluntarily take 
medicine, Still the pharmacist must keep a stock, which, if his 
business be a good one, may include from 1 500 to 2,000 articles, 
exclusive of patent medicines, nostrums, perfumes, and cosmetics. 
Of this number, a krge proportion is but in rare demand. A 
stock which consists of a vast variety of small items, some 



Sin a II con* 




454 



TOE PUICH: of MEDICINEa 



A JUbomtory 
aeoesfiftry to 
the Phumm' 



is7a. liable to become deteriorated by keeping, requires constant 
to preserve in order and etiiciency. 

Another item of cost to be considered in relation to thii 
question is that involved in house-rent ; for the premises of a 
good pharmacy ought to be light, airy, and commodious, and in 
all cases to include some aparf ment fitted up as a laboratory. 

To insure the quality of prepanitions, and, in some instances, 
to secure pecuniary advantage, a laboratory, though on ever so 
small a scale, should be regarded as an integral part of the 
establishment of the pharmacist Not that I advocate the 
manufacture of everything for whicli a formula may 1»e foun< 
in the British Pharmacopoeia ; however advantageous in theoty. 
such a plan of procedure, virtually it is neither practicable hot 
desirable. Many medicines can be better prepared in lais^^ 
batches than in small ; but there are others for which, it 
satisfactory to think, manufacture on a small scale ofiens no 
disadvantage, so far as quality is concerned. The pbarmadst 
who can say, ** These preparatiom were made in my own lahontl<yry" 
has stronger ground for claiming remunerative prices than he 
who supplies his shop with ready-made articles from the w 
wholesale druggist. 
Kcmxineration ^ the remuneration of his employh, the pharmacist has 
toaasiatanu. encounter higher rates of payment than those which prevail 

other businesses ; nor is this surprising, when we reHect on the- 
importance of the service of a well-trained, intelligent assistant 
In fact, the growing desii^ for improved acquirements ia tending 
to insure for our young pharmacists a more liberal scale of 
payment than that which their fathers were able to command. 

The price of a medicine by no means whoUy depends on 
value of the ingredients; in fact, there are certain cases 
which the sum demanded by the compounder can only be 
regarded as a professional fee. Take, for instance, a lx)ttle of 
atropine drops for application to the eye. What is easier than 
to dissolve a twentieth of a grain of atropine in an ounce dT 
water, and how small the cost ; yet what medicine is it mofo 
important to prepare with accuracy and intelligence ? And 
would grudge tlie modest remunemtiou asked for in return 




! of J 





THE PRICE OF MEDICLNES. 



455 



Tlie rate of 
pricefl. 



Tlie incoasistency of druggists' prices has often been matter ipyo . 
irf complaint; but with tlie system of appraising medicines inconsistent 
which prevails in this country, it is an evil not easily cured, P"^^ 
Medicines are cheap or dear; or, from the trade point of view, 
unprofitable or profitable, according to no very definite rule. 
Here is the formula for a box of pills : — 

R Calomel, gr. x. 
Ext. iUoes. 
— Colchici, aa. gr, iv. 
Opii Pulv. gr. j. 
M. Fiant pilula? iv., quarum sumat unam horS somni, p. r, n. 

I need hardly say that the price that would be chained in 
most shops for these four pills would be quite unremnnerative : 
and yet the majority of phai'macists would feel tfiemselves 
precluded bt/ eusfom from asking the sum {still very small) wlxich 
might fairly be expected for four doses of a powerful medicine. 

A preparation again, made according to the folIo%ring formula, 
would in many houses be supplied at a price which would 
scarcely cover the inevitable risk of accident which attends the 

f dispensing of dangerous poisons : — 
R Atropine Sulphat, gr. j. 
Sp. ^vth. Nitr., 3iss. 
B Aq. Dest., 3viss. 

M. fiant guttte. Signa — Three drops three times a day. 
As medicines are composed of ingreibents varying in cost 
and number, and in the facility with which they may be com- 
bined, it is inevitable, under our present system, that there 
â–  should be discrepant relations between cost and price ; and the 
experience of the pharniacist will only be that of every trader, 
that some transactions are more profitable than othei^. 

â–  But while it is not easy to point out a remedy for the Fair charges, 
inconsistencies that occur in the price of medicines, it will, I 
hope, be admitted that neither the safety of the public nor the 
well-being of pharmacy can be advanced by such a reduction of 
the price of medicines as the co-operative system would tend to 
introduce. The responsibilities of the British pharmacist are 




TUK I 'KICK OF MED1C1NK8 

at present moi-e than ever weighty. Tlitmgh a dealer in dnigs, 
his position is nu longer that of a mere timlesman; onorons 
duties are imposed, and aiaple fiuulificatiuiis are exacted. Under 
these circumstances, it wyiihl be unfair to cui-tail the moderate 
remuneration he claims ; nor do I believe any such abatement 
is demanded by either the medical profession or the public. 



LETTER T*) T N. R MORSON, Esq. 
(Laic Praiulrnt of thf rhiirmacenfkal Society of Great Britain^ 

Uh April, 186U. 
loeo. The improvement of the Library of the Pharmaceutical 

Society is an object in which all our Loudon membera shoiUd 
feel 80 much interest that 1 am sure you will allow me to make 
Bome remarks respecting a class of works in which the collection 
appears to be still %^ery deficient. The class I allude to is that 
of foreign pharmaceutical journals. 

In London it is, according to my experience, no easy matter 
to refer to some of these works — ^the Libmries of our Colleges 
and Scientific Societies not usually comprising them. Such 
being the case, it is more than ordinarily important that the 
Pharmaceutical Society should po.^sess complete series, and that 
such series should be strictly and carefully kept up. It must 
be remembered that no stock is usually kept of the back- 
numbers of foreign scientific journals, so that deficiencies are 
not easily made good : — hence the importance of rigidly 
enforcing those rules designed to prevent the loss of volumes, 
although it is, in my opinion, highly desirable that the Library 
of the Society should be rich in the periodical pharmaceutical 
Hteratm^e of all countries, yet it is pre-eminently so with regard 
to the journals published in Germany, of the more important 
of which I annex a list. 



I 



(List Follows), 



JACOB BKLI. 



457 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF JACOB BELL 

{Late PnmUnt of the Pharmuceulical Society of Great Britain.) 

In the liistory of Iliavmacy in Great Britain the name of isaa. 
Jacob Bell will always ocf^upy a conspicuous and honourable ' 
position. With the earliest efforts to found a PharmaceuticJil 
Society in this countiy, and their ultiniate success, with the 
difficulties that the new Society encountered ])y the defection of 
maay of its early supporters, with the dangers that arose trom 
internal dissensions and from legislative interference, Lis name 
will always be intimately associated. 

Tlie removal by death of one to whom more than to any 
other the pharmacists of this country stand indebted, and by 
whom ill a pre-eminent degree the progiess of Pharmacy in 
Great Britain has beeu advanced, is an epoch in the history 
uf the liiarmaceutical Society; mid the desire will naturally 
arise in the minds of its members to become acquainted 
with some of the incidents in the life of one who has been 
so closely connected with it from its formation to the present 
time. 

Jacob Bell was tlie eldest surviving son of John Bell, and 
was born in Oxford Street, in the parish of St, James's, West- 
minster, on tlie 5th March, 1810. 

The elder Mr. Bell, who was a man of the utmost integrity Sohu Ball, 
and benevolence, was a member of the Society of Friends, and 
most conscientiously desirous of bringing up his cliildren in 
conformity with the ^dews held by that section of the Christian 
Church. In the year 1798 he commenced business in Oxford 
Street, and by his diligent application and unswei-ving upright- 
ness laid the foundation of the important pharmaceutical 
establishment with which his name is still associated. After 
his dcfith, which took place in the year 1849. a shoit but 




458 



JACOB BELL. 



*^^* most instructive sketch of his early career, from the pen 
of Lis son, appeared in the pages of the Pkarmaceuiical 
Journal} 

When between twelve and tliirteen years of age, Jacob Bell 
was sent to the school of his uncle, ^Ir. Frederick Smith, at 
Darlington, wliere he remained for about four years. The 
establishment of this gentleman had deservedly a high reputa- 
tion in the Society of Friends, and under the tuition whichrhe 
there received, aided by his own diligent application, he soon 
made r^ipid progress. 

Most boys have a horror of themes, but this was not his case; 
in fact, composition, whether in prose or verse, was his/orie^ even 

SchtioJ'djiys, yi sL'hool-days. Among several early litemry productions still 
preserved is an essay on War, which was \nitten for and gained 
a prize. This essay, which was composed at the age of sixteeiti 
and extends over 140 pages, is far beyond the average of school- 
boy productions, and it is remarkable tliat the views w^hich the 
young author upholds in it condemnatory of war, were 
strongly retamed by him through life* An essay on Slavciy, 
of above 100 pages, written about the same time, is of con- 
siderable merit, and further attests his diligence and his apt- 
ness at writing. Another piece of authorship, undertakeu in 
conjunction wn'th his schoolfellow, Lawson Ford, was a MS. 
periodical, under the whimsical but characteristic title of BtU* 
ford [Bell-Ford] Gazette. It was devoted to school news 
and chit-chat, and was caiTied on with much humour for 
some months. 

liusioess life. Upou leaving school, Jacob Bell was apprenticed to hia 
father^s firm, and came to reside at the house of business in 
Oxford Street. Here his position Nvas like that of the other 
apprentices and assistants, and he bad to take duty with them, 
even to the Sunday serving and attendance in the shop after the 
usual hours of business. 
A student But although the pursuit of business was thus insisted upon, 
he w^as not idle in the matter of self- improvement. At Uio 
lectures on Chemistry at the Koyal Institution, and on 

* Vol. viii., p. 589. 



i 



JACOB BELL. 



459 



I 
I 

I 



pmctice of pliysic at King^s College, he proved himself a i859. 
diligent student. At a later period he worked at practical 
chemistry in the house of business in Oxfoitl Street, converting 
bis l)edroora into a laboratory, and fitting it with a furoace and 
other apparatus. 

About this time he also ainnsed himself in leisure houi"a 
by the study of comparative anatomy, and especially by the 
preparation of skeletons of animals, in which, being a nice 
manipulator, he was very successfnK These specimens w^ere 
mustiy prepared on his father's premises at Wands wurtb» where 
bittt-r denunciations sometimes arose wlien the odious eflluvium 
of some dead monkey* rat, or porcupine, undergoing its term of 
roacerntion, penetrated unbidden the qimrtci*s of the family, 

liut his predilection for aniinals extended to the living also, AmusemfnU, 
and the Zoological Society was thei'efore an object of much 
interest with him. It was, however, in horses and dogs that he 
specially delighted. He was himself an admirable horseman, 
and as his father's country house was some few miles out of towm, 
he could imhdge in the pleasures of riding without interferiBg 
with business. At one time hunting w^as a favourite pastime, 
but the uj'gent entreaties of his father, wlio highly disappi-oved 
of such an amusement, induced him to relinquish it. The 
gaieties of London life bad, however, strong attractions, and, as 
with everything else that he undertook, he entered into them 
with great spirit. 

At school, drawing hod been a favourite pursuit, and in order Drawing, 
to continue it wlien settled in London, Mn Bell used to attend 
the morning class at Sass*s drawing school, and he also received 
lessons in oil-painting from his friend, Illr, LL P. Briggs, 1\,A. 
His taste in this direction was natural ; and liad he been able to 
pursue painting as a profession, success woidd in all probability 
have attended his efforts As it was, he saw he cnuld attain 
only mediocrity. The progress of his fellow-students, who 
could count their days of study while he could reckon only upon 
hours, discouraged him, and ultimately caused him to abandon 
the practice of art. In humorous sketching, however, he was 
very clever, and many a page of a journal kept in his early days 




4 GO 



JACOB BELL. 



P 



iaA0, at Oxfoi-d Street, contains illustration?^ tluit would do credit to 
Punch. In fact, his keen sense of the ritlicnlous was innate. 
and, CDUpleil with an originality of expression, it characterized 
what he ^vrote from chiUihood upwards, 

But although drawing was no longer ptti*8neJ by Mr. Bell as 
a study, liis associations with art were not dbcanled. Though 
he could not aspire to be an artist, he Ifxiked with admiratioa 
upon those whom he felt were more favoured than himselt 
With such tastes he natumlly soon formed the nucleus of a 
collection, which in after years, w^hen in the possession of more 

Collection of ample mnans, lie enriched by the acquisition of some of the 
«"i nga. finest productions of the modern school Of the celel»rated 
works in his collection we may enumemte the Sleeping Blood- 
hound, the Shoeing, Alexander and Diogenes, Dignity and 
Impudence, the Defeat of Comus, the Maid and the Magpie, by 
Sir Edwin Landseer ; the Horse Fair, by Eosa Bonheur; the 
Derby Day, by Frith; James 11. receiving the News of the 
Landing of the Prince of Orange, by Ward ; and some delight- 
fid cattle pieces, Viy Lee and Cooper, These, together with 
some other paintings, in all about twenty, were found, after 
Mr. Bell's death, to have been bequeathed by him to the nationi*! 
collection. The value of tlie legacy has been stated, we believe 
with correctness, at from £18,000 to £20,000. 

Artcopyright. But it would be wrong to suppose tliat it was only as a 
liheral purchaser that Mr. Bell showed his sympathy for art 
His service was perhaps equally important in another way, and 
that was in placing artists in their proper position with regard 
to copyright. Regarding the subject from a business point of 
\new, he perceived the full value of the privilege ; and, by the 
advice and assistance which be gave, he enabled artists to claim 
advantages which they bad previously but very partially appre- 
ciated. 

In the year 1840, Mr. Bell accompanied his friend Mr. (the 
late Sir) Edwin Landseer, then in poor health, upon a journey 
on the Continent. Belgium, the Rhine, and Switzerland, were 
visited ; but arrived at Geneva, Mr. Bel! was taken iU, and the 
travellers liad to change their respective positions of patient and 



I 



JACOB BKLL. 



401 



nurse. Tlve inakJj was a severe attack uf quinsy, producing 
symptoTus very similar to those from which he suffered many 
years afterwards, when labouring under an affection of the 
larynx,^ and it proved so serious tliat he and Laudseer were 
detained in Geneva six weeks. Under the cai'e of Dr. Coiudet, 
Mr. BelVs health was so far restored, that he was able with his 
companion to cross tlie Jura in the snows i\f December, and, 
reaching Paris, to witness the soleninities that celebnited the 
arrival in that city of the remains of the first Napoleon. From 
Paris they returned to London, arriving there on the 31st 
December, after an absence of about foui- months. 

On the 15th February, 1841, a public meeting was held in 
Lomlon in order to organize an opposition to a bill introduced 
into Parliament by Mr. Hawes, for the purpose of Amending the 
Laws rduiing to the Med leal Profession in Great Britain avd 
Ireland, inasmuch an the bill in question contained clauses 
vitally affecting the interests of chemists and druggists. At 
this meeting a committee was appointed, of which Mn Bell was 
a member, and the opposition was carried on so vigorously that 

1 In a iBOst aiiuising nccoimt which Mr. Bell hiis left of this joumey, he has 
described in his own |)eculiar facetious wtiy the sulftTin^^'a he experienced 
during thb attack ; and they ur-conl so precisely with those which occurred 
in his last illneas^ that we have obtfUDed perniisson to quote the passage. 

(Enter tht strmtnt t^ lay tht ehth for dinner ) 
B. ** ^VTiat aa unfortunate victim I am ! I am doomed to endure Ben- 
jamin's appetite andSancho Pftnza's mortific4Jttion I " 
L, ** V^ fiMt do you mean by Benjamin 's appetite I" 

B. ** We are told that when Joseph in E^ypt fed bis eleven brethren with 
bread and milk, Benjamin'a me-^s was five timea iis hirge as any of the others, 
and as w© are not informed that he left any of it, we may conchide that his 
appetite vfus in the same ratio. Those who have seen Leslie^ little picture of 
Sancho FiniZA at the conclusion of his untaated repaat, can imagine what he 
felt by the expressiijn of his countenance, i can imagine it by 'eeling the 
Kumo torture myself, and a few inflammatory twitches into the barguiji." 
L* *' Her© comes the soup I Ti;y and swiiJlow a little bread sopped in it," 

B, " riJ make the atteiiipt, ^ Every riioulbful of nonp h like a 

dagger ; a little runs heavily down, and the rest becomes glut inoun, and stops 
the passage until I apit it out, I can take no more ; though I would gladly 
devour those cutlets, the foxvl, and crusty bread in proportion. In fact^ I am 
inclined to be anjpy with the gfarfon wheo he takes away the bread which I 
have not dared to attack ; as an old sportsmen would fain keep his gnus, 
whipd, nud dogB in his sight, ulthottgh his sinews have become stiff and puwer- 
lessi and bis activity hafi fled foi ever." 



laso. 




Mr. Hawe<!'« 
Rill. 



462 



JACOB BELL. 



iB^9, the proposed measure was abandoned. It became evident, how- 
ever» to many of those who took part in these proceedings, that ! 
the *:spjni dc corps which had been raised in the hour of danger * 
might be taken advantage of for the formation of a permanent 
society, and that sucli a society might interpose a most eftectual 
safeguard for the protection of the interests of the trade, as well 
as fur gradually raising it to the status which it occupied in 
other countries. 

Foundaticin of The result was that at another public meeting held on the) 
crutk^K^*.* 15th April, the formation of the Pharmaceutical Society of] 
ciciy. Great Britain was decided upon. 

Although this step may be said to have laid the foundation of j 
the society, yet, as is well known to all those who have ha^l 
experience in such matters, a vast amount of hard work had to 
be accomphshed before the society could be reduced to anything | 
like working order. Rules had to be framed, otticers appointed, j 
and even the members, most of them but slightly knowTi to 
each other, or perhaps almost antagonistic, had to be coaxed into 
cordial co-operation. 

Here the tact and enei^y of Jacob Bell, who had throughout 
been %varmly interested in the proceedings, became of signal 
ser\4ce. In order to keep alive and extend the interest wliicb 
had been excited, and to promote friendly interc4:)ur3e among tlie 
members of the trade, and those who were disposed to favour 
the formation of a Pharmaceutical Society, seveml evening 
meetings of a social, rather than formal character, were held by 
invitation at his house in Oxford Street. On tliese occasions 
the constitution of the new society was discussed, explanations 
were given, objections replied to, and a general opportunity was 
afforded for the interchange of sentiuieuts on various siibjecU 
of interest to the pharmaceutical body. To convey tci those, 
who from distance or other causes were unable to attend thesct 
meetings, some information of what was taking place, and ulda 
to afford a general answer to the numerous inquiries daily 
Jfifob BclJ*s received, Mr. Bell published a parapldet entitled 0?*.5€^*i»a/tdfii 
Pamphlet, ttddtrmid to tJu Ohcmi^t^ and DntggUt^ of Great Bntain on th$ j 
Phnrmaceutiml SQcieig^ which was largely circulated. 



JACOB BELL. 



k;3 






Visits the 
Pravinces, 



I 
I 



These zealuus efforts were attended with success, antl the new i85«. 
euciety increased rapidly both in numbers and importance. It Rise of the 
is, however, unnecessary to trace the whole history of the ^^*i?^'^^'*?V*^* 
Pharmaceutical Society in oi-der to show how large an amoimt 
of its prosperity Ls due t^D the laboiirs of Mr* Bell Let us 
recollect that he was a member of the council from the com- 
mencemeiit of the society to the day of his death* and that 
hardly any engagement was ever allowed to interfere with his 
attendance at its meetings. As a member of committees, and 
of tlie board of examiners, and as an attender of the evening 
meetings, his diligence was equally unfailing. 

The formation and healthy active existence of provincial 
branches of the I-harmacentical Society was also an object of 
much solicitude with Mr. Bel! ; and many a rapid journey did 
he take w^hen he thought that his presence and advocacy might 
assist in promoting the objects in view* The kindly and dis- 
interested feeling, and conciliatory spirit he displayed on these 
occasions, wiU long be remembered. 

Many little examples of his disinterestedness, which was 
often exhibited in an eccentric way, miglit be mentioned. One, 
very characteristic of himself occurred in reference to the copy 
of Nees von Esenbeck's Planim Medidnales, which is in the 
library of the Pharaiaceutical Society, The fly-leaf of this 
valuable work has in it the following memorandum^ in Mr, BeU'a 
hand : — 

" A member of the council liaviiig an offer of this book at 
about half price, proposed it to the council, and it was resolved 
unanimously that it was desirable to secure it for the Pharma- 
ceutical Society* It was, therefore, referred to the Library 
Committee; but in the meantime it was necessary to give an 
answer, which the meniber above mentioned did, taking the book 
and waiting the final decision of the committee. 

"AVhen the committee met, the book was rejected; con- 
sequently the member of council who was saddled with it, now 
has the pleasure of presenting it to the Pharmaceutical Society. 
April, 1850." 

â– Another instance in point was the case of his subscription to 
the Pharmaceutical Society, which he was in the habit of giving 



Libemlity. 




Ull 



JACOB BKLL 



linl 



IU0. aimiially, liaving objected to compound for it. A few weeks] 
riiarm. Jour- before hiH fleatli, however, he sent and paid his life sabscription'. 

One of the most useful agents in promoting the advancement J 
of pharmacy in this country, h£is been the PhaTni€tc€Miicnl\ 
JouniaL The fii'st number appeared in July, 1841 » an*!, with 
tho five succeediug numbers, was intended by Mr. Bell as nn\ 
experiment, t^> teat the necessity for such a journaL At the I 
terminatiuii uf this period **the influx of scientific papers/* to' 
quote hia own words, " and various communications from cor- 
respondents on subjects relating to the society, had increased 
to such an extent, that it was found difficult to restrict the] 
tlimensious of each number within the prescribed limita Tliej 
advantjige resulting from a periodical interchange of ideas j 
among tlie members of the society, became so obvious, that all 
doubt as to the practicability of maintaining a journal of pharoiacy 
was at an end. The Phnrmwcutical Jonrtial and Traruiaetia/iM 
was» therefore, continued with regularity, remaining under the 
superintendence of Mn Bell until the completion of the 
eighteenth and last volume. The disinterestedness with which 
he pursued this labour for eighteen yeiirs is very remarkable 
Vnnn the low price at which the journal was supplied to the 
flodBty it was never, notwnthstunding its large cLrculiLtion, a 
source of income ; on the contrary, until the last tliree jeu9^ 
when through advertisements and increased sale it about pakl 
ita expensed, the deficit which he had to make op varied ftnm 
£30 to £60 per annum. 

For tlie oflice of eilitor his literary tastes, geoeml acquaitilasioe 
witlt seiencei and ever-ready pen, proved important qn^ficatiotia^ 
Xor should we omit to add the hi^py wit and coficiliatoty lone 
that pervaded his editorial artielea As editor, ilr. BeU oam-Ji 
fltantly contributed the leading articles, which appeared, mti i^H 



Life. 



eilfllomary> without their authors name. Many papers^ how- 
aiW; upon purely practical subjecls^ were furnished by his p^i« 
and boie lib name ; and his liit oomnnuttealKHi, whick v«s noi 
published until after lits death, was a paper on Oonceiitzalfd 
Infitsioaa and Decodionfi. 




JACOB BELL. 



4G5 



find hiui an occasional contributor to the LanccL A letter, 
signed Pertinax, published in tLat jounml lltli Feb., 1837, 
containing some capital practical criticisms on the capricious 
changes of nouieiiclatnre introduced into the Pharmacopoeia of 
1836, was from the pen of Jacob Bell A second letter, on The 
New Lortdon P/mrma^copmia unsuUahle /or its proper purposes^ 
appeared in the same journal Aug. 17, 1839, 

These professional labours were not unappreciated by the 
pharmacists of other coiintrias, and ^Ir, Bell was an honorary 
member of various foreign scientific societies, of which we may 
enumerate the Phihidelphia College of Pharmacy, the Society de 
Pbarmacie de Bruxelles, the Soci^te de Pharmacie d* An vers, the 
SocitSt^ d'Emuktion et de Prevoyance des Pluirmaciens de I'Est, 
le Cercle Medico-Chimique et Pharmaceutique de Liege, the 
MedicO'Pliysical Society of Erlangen,and the Sociedade Pharma- 
eeutica of Lisbon ; he was also a Fellow of the Chemical, 
Liunean, and Zoological Societies of London, and of the Society 
of Arts. 

The incorporation of the Pharmaceutical Society by Royal 
Charter, which took place in tlie year 1843, though an acknow- 
ledgment of the importance of the interests of pharmacy, did 
not convey those powers and privileges which might enable the 
Society to exercise its proper intlnence in restricting the practice 
of pharmacy to persons duly qnalified. Nothing short of an 
Act of Parliament could do this ; and to obtain such an act, the 
strenuous exertions of the Society were directed. 

In December, 1845, we find Mr. Bell thus defining the leading 
objects of such a measure : — 



1859. 



llullOUTS, 



Pharmacy 
Act. 



" 1. Tlie registration of all persons carrying on business as 
chemists and druggists. 

"2, The introduction of a reguhir and uniform education for 
our body throughout the country. 

*' 3. The examination of all persons who may hereafter enter 
the business. 

" 4. The protection of the public against tlie proceedings of 
ignorant persons assuming the title and office of pharmaceutical 
chemists, 

H H 



4(16 



JACOB BELL, 



i ^^9 * ** 5, The separation of the trade ia medicines from the practice 

Attinnpt to ^^ physlc and surgery, as far as this ia practicable. 
g!un a " 6. The recoguitiou of the Pharmaceutical Society as the 

Govern lueut governing body in our department, repre-sented by a council 
annually elected from aniou^^ the members at large; IiaWng 
power to superintend the education, examination, and registra- 
tion, and to make such regulations as may be requisite from time 
to time respecthig other matters relating to pharmacy, in which 
the interests of our body and the welfare of the public are con- 
cerned.*^* 

Duiing the year 1846 the subject of pharmaceutical legisla- 
tion wa& much discussed, and numerous petitions to Parliament 
in favour of some measur e to promote education among tlie dis- 
pensers of medicine were presented. In July of the following 
year it became e\iilent that, owing to the pressure of other 
business and the position of the Government in reference to a 
dissolution of Parliament, the hopes that were entertained of a 
Pharmaceutical Bill being passed during the current session, 
would not bo realized. 
Obitaoles to A deputation of the society to the Secretary of State in the 
ceutWU^cis- following November again urged the subject upon the Goveni- 
ktion. nient, which, aUbough admitting its importance as a branch of 
medical reform, declined to take it up as a separate question. 

Obstacles coutiimed to impede the progress of pharmaceutical 
legislation. Mr. Warburtuu, who had undertaken to bring for- 
wiurd the subject in the House of Comnuins, left Parliament^ and 
no member having similar experience in medical affairs appeared 
to succeed him. The difficulty was to get the subject brought 
before Parliament by some one perfectly familiar with all its 
details, and at the same time possessing zeal, industry, and de- 
termination sufficient to neutralize the apathy and distaste with 
which it was regarded by many uiombers of the legislature. 

The accomplisljmonfc of this object had long occupied the 

attention nf Mr. Boll, aiifl as a solution of the difficulty, he at 

' length resolved to offer Idmaelf as a candidate for a seat in 

rarliameut, and so acquire as aright the opportunity of advocat- 



i 

4 



* Pharmaciutieal J&urtialf vol. v. [x 246. 



JACOIJ BELL. 



4G7 



ing ill the Huuse of Commons the subject he had so much at iB&9, 
heart But he had as yet never been much interested iu politics^ 

I and, stiuiige as it may appear, he was so Little versed iri political 
affoirSi that he actually did not know with which party his 
principles would lead him to associate. However^ upon the 
death of !Mr. Raphael in November, 1850, and the consequent 
vacancy in the representation of St Albans, Mr. Bell decided 
upon offerijig himself as a Liberal candidate for tliat borougli. 

I But the " free and independent electors ** of St Albans were St Albani. 
by no means difiposed to accept the first candidate tliat offered, 
andtlxus forego so interesting an occasion as a contested election, 
A rival candidate in the Conservative interest was therefore 
brought forward ; and although npon the election that took 
place on tlie 24th December, 1850, "Mr. Bell was returned l^y a 
considerable majority, the unscnipulousness of the means em- 
ployed by his a^cjents upon that occasion was such that a petition 
was presented which led to the ultimate disfranchisement of tlie 
borough. These proceediugs were ever after a source of regret 
to Mr, Bell, and were the occasion at the time of many nii- 
pleasant reflections being cast upon him. But in the opinion 
of those most fully acquainted with the circumstances he was 
more sinned against than sinning. That h« showed a laxity in 
placing himself so fully as he did in the hands of his parlia- 
mentar}" agent, we cannot deny. But we are convinced tliat his 
doing so was a consequence of his ignorance of electioneering 
practices, and that had he been any other than a novice at 
pfditical life he would have exercised to a much greater extent 
that prudence which he was wont to display under other circum- 
stances. 

The great object with which ^Ir. Bell had entered Parliament m.P, 
was to secure an act for the regulation of pharmacy ; and in 
June, 1851, we find him moving for leave to bring in a Bill 
to RegiilMt the Qualtjimtiom of PharmaccuHeai Chemists, and 
for other purposes hi connection with (he PraHict of Phannacy. 
This was granted ; the Phannacy Bill was introduced and read a 
first time. But the able and zealous advocacy of Mr. Ikdl was 
not sufllicient to convince the House yj^ Commons of the necessity 

H H 2 



4G8 



JACOB BELL. 



1859. 



PoliUcAl Uf«. 



Tho Select 
Committee. 



iif th*.^ yieasure, and although the bill was read a second time 
Ihia waa done only upon condition that it should not be pressed 
forward during tlie then present session, 

NfJtliing daunted with his want of success, Mr. Bell, early in 
the session of 1852, again moved for permission to bring in a 
^(7/ to Re4jnlate tkr Qualifications of Pharmacsuiical Ck^misU. 
Although opposed by the !aie Mr. Hume, permission was ob- 
tained, and tlie Pharmacy Bill of the fonuer session, in a some- 
what altered form, was rearl for a first time. Upon the occasion 
of the second reading, which took place 17tli March, Mr. Bell 
in presenting a number of petitions in favour of the bill, 
explained in a speech of some length the objects and provisions 
with %vhich it had been framed, and at the same time refuted th< 
enoneous impression that the measure in view wils designed ti 
create a trade monopoly. In conclusion, he moved for a Sell 
Committee to which the bill mij^ht be referred, To this p: 
position the House acceded not unwillingly. It was a favoui 
able opportunity for delaying a measure that was regarded vni 
some suspicion ; it afforded the means of acq[niriiig additio; 
information ; and last, but not least, it gave opportunity for \h 
iotroduction of innumerable alterations, technically, though often' 
incorrectly, called amendmefits. The Select Committee held 
se%^eral sittings, and received evidence from physicians, surgeom 
general practitioners, and pliarmacists, the resxilt of whicl 
showed that pharmacy in Great Britain was in a state con 
ing very unfavourably with that in which it was existing i! 
other European countries. But though all seemed to point 
the necessity of some legislative interference, the contrary vie' 
was taken, and the bill, instead of being rendered more effectiv 
was depriveJ, to a great extent, of those provisions which w< 
calculated to render it a practice and important measure. 

Mr. Bell was deeply disappointed. The bill was no Ion; 
that which he had introduced, but it was all that the Governm< 
would assent to; and the question was between it its *' amend 
by the Committee, and — none. The former alternative 
preferable. The bill fell far short of what it was hoped mi 
be obtained, but it was a legislative measure in the right 



i 




tioii, and perhaps a prelude to one tliat promised greater les©. 
efficiency* 

Such were the arguments that llr. Bell useJ at the eleventh 
annual meeting of the Pharniaceuticiil Society. The memhers 
present concurred with them, and it was the unanimous opinion 
that every exertion should be userl to pass the hill. The result 
is well known: the Ad Jqi" Reguhtting the Qnalijications f{/ Tho I'll arm A*^y 
Pkarmaceutical Chrmists passed both Houses of Parliament, ^''^»jg^"** ^*'' 
and finally received the royal assent, 30th June, 1852. 

Tpon the dissolution of Ptuliament, and the General Election 
in the summer of 1852, ilr* Bell otVered himself for the re- 
presentation of Great Mario w, but waa not successful. In 
1854, u|>on the deatli of Lord Dudley Stuart^ he contested tlie 
borough of Mfarylebjne with Viscount Ebrlngton^ hut also with- 
out success ; although upon tliis occasion he polled more votes 
than the successful candidate had polled at the previous election. 
When in the present year he was solicited to offer himself for 
the sanje borough, and with every prospect of being returneil 
without opposition, his health was ^ich that he was compelled 
reluctantly to decline the houour. 

But though a Parliamentary career did not open to Mr, Bell, 
his interest in public matters allowed hijii to lead no useless or 
idle life. With the exception of a short visit to Paris in the 
year 1855, and Ihe tour of a few weeks on the Continent in 
1856, he scarcely ever left Loudon for more than two or three 
days at once. To this unceasing occupatioUj and utter forget- 
fulness of his own hodily powers, must be attrihuted the long and 
gradual decline in his heidrh, which was unhappily terminated 
by death in June last. The commencement of the malady wljich 
pruved «o serious, may be traced back as far hs the year 1854, 
when having to address several public meetings on the occasion 
of the Marylebone election, he contracted an ulceration of tlie 
larynx, from which he never thor*>nghly recovered. 

The latter part of last year found Mr. Bell in an exceedingly 
precarious state of health ; and although he always steadily re- 
fused to try the effect of wintering abroad, he acceded to the 
wishes of his physicians so far as to spend several weeks at 



Failing 



470 



JACOB BELL. 



1859. 

T^atest exer- 
tions. 



Death. 



Character. 



Hastings. His complaint, however, had too strong a hold ; not 
only were the old symptoms unimproved, but debility and 
emaciation -were added to them. He continued, however, to be 
actively occupied ; the proceedings in Parliament with reference 
to the sale of poisons bill he watched with the utmost vigilsmce ; 
the meetings of the council of the Pharmaceutical Society he 
still attended with regularity, though unable to speak louder than 
in a whisper ; an exhibition of his pictures for the benefit of the 
Marylebone Literary and Scientific Institution, of which he was 
President, was organized during his sojourn at Hastings. In 
May he removed to Tunbridge Wells, where he had the pleasure 
of unexpectedly renewing a friendship of childhood, in fre- 
quently meeting the estimable incumbent of Trinity Church, the 
Rev. Edward Hoare. On the 18th May he presided at the 
anniversary meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society, for which 
occasion, being unable to speak, he had prepared an admirable 
written address. At the meeting of the council held on the Ist 
of June he again presided, but it w^as for the last time. Ha- 
rassed with cough and debilitated by want of nourishment, which 
the diseased state of his throat prevented him from taking, his 
feebleness increased day by day. His mental activity, however, 
reiuained unimpaired, and so little did he regard his weakness, 
that up to the last he did not keep his bed or desist from 
writing and conversation. But the vital powers were fast 
ebbing, and upon the evening of Sunday, the 12th of June, he 
expired. His remains were intended in the cemetery of Tunbridge 
Wells, in a spot which he himself selected, adjoining the grave 
of the late Dr. Golding Bird. 

On reviewing the life of Jacob Bell, cut short, alas ! at the 
early age of forty-nine years, there are many points of interest that 
present themselves to our consideration. Blessed with more than 
average natural abilities, these innate advantages were developed 
by a good education. His natural taste for the fine arts was 
carefully cultivated, and when he had the means of gratifying it, 
he did so with intelligence and judgment. An early training 
in business gave him practical experience in the affairs of life, 
and also strengthened his habits of industry and perseverance. 



JACOB BELL. 



471 



Prirate I-c- 
nevoleiue. 



Energy was natural to him, and whatever he undertook, even 1039, 
from childhood, he pursued with spirit. Another feature of liis 
character, though but little known, was exhibited in his numerous 
acts of private benevolence, and few who have experienced his 
benefactions will forget the sympathy and delicacy with which 
they were administered. But in these, as in other cases, he 
would take no credit to himself, or care to place himself to the 
best advantage ; hence his motives sometimes failed to be fully 
appreciated. Those who knew him best, however, ain testify 
to the uncommon disinterestedness that marked bis conduct 
npon all occasions, and which was remarkably exhibited in tlie 
happy tact and conciliatory manner with which he treated those 
questions that occasioned a difference of opinion. 

Mr, Bell's genial good-nature, ready wit, and happy conversa- I'ersonnl loss 
tional powers, his taste for literature and science, and extensive ^ armauy. 
patronage of art, had gained for him friends from a!l circles of 
society. But though all deplore his loss, it is by his pharma- 
ceutical brethren that it will be most deeply and practically felt. 
For them be laboured assiduously and disinterestedly, and that 
for a period of eighteen years ; and it is to his energy, wisdom, 
and perseverance that the advance which pharmacy in this 
country has happily undergone, is largely attributable. 

But little as we are disposed to underestimate the loss which 
the Pliarmaceutical Society has sustained in the death of one 
who has devoted the best energies of a life to its service, we yet 
reflect that at no other period of its existence could such an 
event have occurred when its effects would have been less serious, 
Tlianks to the imreraitting labours of its late President, the 
necessity for pharmaceutical education, and the true position of 
those engaged in the practice of pharmacy, are now recognized 
by all, and whatever changes the Society may have to undergo, 
the utility and impoiiance of its objects are such as insure for it 
the position of a necessary institution of the country. 



472 



PKOFESSijR GUIUOUBT. 



THE LATE PROFESSOR GUIBOITBT. 

>«r. TLe PliLirmaeeutical Society of Great Britain has 1< 

its mom eminent members in the pei-son of Nicolas Jesu 
Baptiste Gaston Guibourt, the venerable professor of the Sdiod 
of Pharmacy of Paris, who died on the 22 ad of Augtist at tbc 
advanced age of seventy -seven. 
Lif6 ftiid Commencing hia pharmaceutical studies at Uie age of fifteen, 

occiipationa, jj Guibourt wjis awarded five years later tbe first priz*?s «^two 
gold medals) for cljcniistry and pharmacy offered by the School <rf 
Pharmacy, and about the same time was named Hive tfUeme at 
the Pbannacie Centrale des HSpitaux Civils, from wliioh post he 
was gradually advanced to those of Assistant Director and Chef 
des M^asina. After more than ten years* connection with the 
administration of the civil bospitals of Paris. M. Guibourt was 
received us p/utrmacien, and forthwith established himself in 
business in tlie Hue Richelieu, then called the Rue Feydeau, In 
1832 he was named Titular Professor of the Natural History rf 
Drugs of tbe School of Pharmacy of Paris, and in 1854 liecanie 
secretary to the same e^itablislnnent^ tbe onerous duties of which 
post he performed with assiduity for more than twenty years.i 
Having abandoned the practice of pilianuacy at the time he 
accepted this oflice, if. Guibourt came to reside at the School ofj 
Pharmacy, which continued to be his abode untO last year, whea 
the infirmities of age induced him to retire. 

Last Ul less. M. Guibourt's last illness was mpid. On the evening of the 
20th of August he was present at the sitting of tlie Pharma- 
ceutical Congress, which he addressed in an animated maan^j 
and it was expected be would be able to take part in the 
discussions of tlie larger international assembly that wai 
about to meet on the following day. But svinptoms of indi^* 
position had set in whicli increased in intensity the following 
day, proving fatal to the venerable patient, who expired oo 
tlie morning of the 22nd without pain and in full consciousness 
to the last. 

The death of 11 Guibourt, as may be easUy supposed, thre' 
the decpe.st gloom over tlie assembly of pharmacists tliei 



I 




I'HOFESSOR GUIBOUBT. 



473 



Work, and 
wtitiugs. 



sitting ill Paris, who to the number of 140 teatitied their respijct lee?. 
for bis memory by acconipaiiyin*^ his remains to tlie churcli in 
which the funeral service was performed. 

Professor Guiboiii-t was named a Knight of the Legion of 
Honour in 1846, and iu 1863 was promoted to the grade of 
Officer; he was also a member of the Imperial Academy of 
iledicine, and of many learned societies of the Continent. 
But honourable as were these titles, still more so w^as the 
reputation he derived from its numerous and valuable writings. 
In 1820 he published in two octavo vulumes his Ilkioire 
AhHg^e das Drogues Simples, a work which passed through 
three editions, le-appeariTig a fourth tim<3 in 1849 51 in an 
enlarged form, under the altered title of Hutoire KatunUe des 
Brogues Simples. Professor Guibourt was also author of a 
Pharmaeop^e, Raisonn^e^ the lirst edition of wluch was published 
in 1828 in conjnnction with the late M, Henry. Two subsequent 
editions, datud respectively 1834 and 1841, were from tliepen of 
M. Guibourt alone. Nor was he less industrious as a contributor 
to the pel iodical literature of pharmacy, for we find that lx;tween 
1814 and 18f»7, tliere are but three years in which his busy pen 
failed to present the result of some observations to the pharma- 
ceutical public. But if the year 18G1, which was one of tiiese 
three, supidicd no comnjuuication from M. Guibourt, his elaborate Estiroation of 
memoir on tlie estimation of morphia in opium, published in B't>rv^itt m 
the beginning of 1862, abundantly explained why his .silence 
had been longer than usual This memoir, which extends over 
70 pages, has been printed as a separate pamphlet, and is 
one of the most interesting and valuable records of its author's 
labours on a single subject. Numerous samples of the opium of 
Turkey, Egypt, Persia, India and Europe were submitted to ex- 
amination with results that served to prove that morphia is a 
mucli larger constitutent of that drug than had l>ecn commonly 
stated or than is even at the present time admitted Of twelve 
specimens of commercial Anatolian opium analysed by M. 
Guibourt, none affoitled less than OijO per cent, of niorj^hia or 
1170 from the same opium when dried; while the viehest 



opium* 



474 



PROFESSOR GUIBOURT. 



1867. 



Laboura. 



liongings 
after leisure. 



sample jdelded 18*24 per cent, from soft, or 21*46 frpm the opium 
when dried. The mean of the analyses showed a percentage in 
morphia of 12-37 from soft opium or 1472 from dried. The 
most productive opium examined was some collected at Puche- 
villers in the department of the Somme, which when deprived 
of moisture, afforded no less than 22 88 per cent, of morphia. 
M. Guibourt's essay concludes with the recommendation that 
opium for use in medicine should contain from a minimum per- 
centage of 10'20 to a maximum of 12*75 of morphia, or when 
dried from 12 to 15 per cent^ 

But earnest and constant as were M. Guibourt's labours for 
the advancement of scientific pharmacy, he was by no means 
satisfied with the amount of time he could devote to his 
favourite pursuits, as may be gathered from the following lines, 
part of a letter written in 1860 to a friend in London :".... 
Pour moi, je n'ai plus le tems de rien faire; je rencontre k 
chaque instant des sujets d'etude qui m^riteraient un long 
examen ; j'y jette un regard curieux et je les abandonne faute 
de pouvoir continuer. J'aspire au moment oil je pourrai 
me lib^rer des occupations qui me sont impos^es par TEcole 
de Pharmacie ; mais quand ce moment arrivera, me restera-t-il 
assez d'activit^ et d'aptitude pour me remettre aux Etudes 
commencees ? " 

A careful, judicious, elaborate style of research, embracing a 
subject under all its aspects, and a style of writing remarkable 
for precision, gravity and elegance characterized M. Guibourt's 
labours, and will render his works of permanent value. 

^ The new French Codex requires that soft Smyrna opium should contain 
at least 10 per cent, of moq>hia. 



LADY ANA DE OSORIU 



475 



mm^ of a Mcrtwir of the Lady Atm de OsoriOf Countess of 
Chinckon and Vicc-Quan of Peru (a,d. 1629-oy), with a PUa 
for iht Correct Spellmg of the Chinch mia Genus, By Clements 
R. Maikham, C.B. F.IIS., 

The mtroduction icto India, and the successful cultivation upon lezs* 
a large scale ia that country, of the naoat valuable niediciual ^*~ThG 
tree produced on the Continent of South America, is one of ^^^^f^v^'l 
those triumphs of euteqirise of which the second half of the 
present century may well feel proud. To place within reach of 
niilliuns of the inhabitants of that vast country a remedy of 
unfailing value, and thus to sow broadcast the seeds of life over 
districts invaded by fever, is a project the realisation of which 
will foim one of the pleasantest episodes in the history of 
British rule in India, Considerations snch as these confer on 
the tree whose bark is the raw material of quinine an interest 
of far deeper significance than attaches to any other medicinal 
plant ; and contributions to its history, whether fi^om a literary 
ur scientific point of view, must he cordially welcome. 

Of all those entitled to write on such a subject, no one has 
a bi'tter claim to attention thau Jlr. Clements R Markham, for 
it is to his sound judgment and untiring energy for tifteen 
years that the widespread and prosperous culture of the tree in 
India is mainly due. 

The personage on whose behalJ' ^Ir. Markliani now takes the 
pen is a lady of the seventeenth century, Dona Ana, Countess 
uf Chinchon, a member of a noble Spanish family, tmcing back 
a princely lineage of well nigh a thousand years. Dona Ana 
was the younger daughter of Pedro Alvarez Osorio, eighth 
Maiquis of Astorga, and was born at Astorga in 159D. In 
1615 she became the w^ife of Don LuiB de Velasco, Marquis of 
Salinas, and went to reside at Seville. But the happiness of 
her marriage was of short duration, for her husband died in 
the prime of Life in 1619. The young widow, who is said to 
have been remarkably beautiful, removed to Madrid, where she 
resided until 1621, in which ye^ir she bestowed her hand on 
Don Luis Gcmninifj Fernandez de Cabrera y Bobadilla, fourth 



Doua Ana, 
Countess of 
Chinchon, 




476 ' LADY ANA DE OSORIO. 

1875. Count of Chinchon. Mr. Markham leads one to infer (p. 23) 
that the widowed countess during her abode in Madrid was 
attached to the Court of Margaret, Queen of Philip III.; but 
this must be an error, as the Queen died in 1611. 
TheCounteof The Counts of Chinchon, who were descended from au 
Chmchon. Q^i^^jj^nt family of Catalonia, derived their title from a small 
town in the province of Madrid, about twenty-four miles south- 
east of the capital. Mr. Markham, who visited Chinchon in 
October, 1866, discourses pleasantly of his trip thither by 
omuibus from Madrid across a high table-land, intersected by 
deep valleys of fertile cultivated ground. These valleys, known 
in Spanish by the name of vega, possess a rich alluvial soil, 
but are by no means healthy, being infected by the germs of 
ague and intermittent fever. Chinchon itself occupies a hollow 
in the plateau lying between the vegas of Tajuna and Jarama, 
and is estimated to have a population of 6,000 soula On the 
southern side of the town is the old castle of the Counts of 
Chinchon, once a noble residence, but now a complete ruin, 
having been dismantled, together with the church, by the 
French during the Peninsular War. 
The Story of But to retum to the history of Lady Ana. In 1628, that is 
Lttdy Ana. ^^ ^^^^ seven years after her second marriage, her husband, the 
Count of Chinchon, was nominated Viceroy of Peru; and in 
consequence of this appointment he proceeded in company with 
his consort to South America, arriving at Lima on January 
14th of the following year. The chief events of the Count's 
viceroyalty were the rebellion in the Callao, the navigation of 
the Amazon, and the discovery of Peruvian bark. The last 
named is desciibed by Mr. Markham in the following terms : — 

" But the most notable historical event in this Viceroy's time 
was tlie cure of his Countess, in the year 1638, of a tertian 
fever, by the use of Peruvian bark. The news of her illness at 
Lima reached Don Francisco Lopez de Canizares,^ who was then 
Corregidor of Ix)xa, and who had become acquainted with the 
febrifuge virtues of the bark. ... A Jesuit is said to have been 
cured of fever at Malacotas, near Loxa, by taking the bark 

» In Mr. Markham's Travels in, Peru anl India (1862), p. 6, this person is 
called Don Juan Lopez de Canizares. 



LADY ANA DE OSUKIO. 



477 



PufviM 



given to liiui by the Indiana^ as long ugo as 1600 ; and in about i87ii. 
163G, an Indian of Malacotas revealed tlie secret virtnes of tbe 
quinquina bark to the CoiTegidor Canizares. In 1638, therefore, 
be sent a parcel of it to the Vice-Queen, and the new remedy, 
administered by her physician, I)r, Don Juan de Vega, effected 
a rapid and complete cure.** 

The Countess with her husband returned to Spain in 1 640 — 
*' bringing with her'* (to quote Mr. Markham), '* a supply of 
that precious quiiia bark which bad worked so wonderful a cure 
upon herself, and the healing virtues of which she intended to 
distribute among the sick on her lord*s estates, and to make 
known generally in Europe." 

These projects, it may be assumed, she carried out, for it is 
ceitain that the powdered bark became known in Europe as 
Pitlvis Comiiissat' (the Countess's powder) ; whde the local 
tmditions of Chiuchon and the adjacent town of Colmenar still 
preserve, even to the present day, as ^Ir. ilarkham assures us, 
the niemor)" of the good deeds of the Countess in ministering 
to the sufferers from tertian ague in tlie fruitful but unhealthy 
re§as of tlie Tagns. Jarauia, and Tajnna. 

There can he no doubt that the cure of a dangerous fever in ititrcnltictbti 
the person of a patient of such high distinction as the Vice* ^^ the BBtk. 
Queen of Peru had the effect of drawing great attention to the 
new remedy, and that the employment of tlit; drug in Europe 
dates from this event. But Mr, Markham might well have 
added that the use of the bark was largely diifused by the 
Jesuits, at the instigation in the fii'st instance of the Countess 
hei-self— such being the statement of Jx. Condamine/ who, after 
describing the distribution of the medicine by the lady, adds, 
'' Qnclque^H mois ain'^s die sc dSarnusa de ce soitiy tn rem et taut ce 
qui lui en resioit aux MR. PP, Jisuitej^, qui coniiimertnt a h 
dSikr (fmti^!* Among the ecclesiastical pj^trons of the new 
febrifuge, the most zealous; was the Sfianisli Cardin«il du Lugo, 
whose pleasure it was to distribute the febrifuge gratuitously 
among the poor of Rome. 

The first four sections of Mr Markham s work having been 

* Mim, de VAcadinm lioijtdt <hs Sciences pour ^Ann^k 1738, p. 234. 




( 



478 MEDIAEVAL SPICES, GROCERIES AND WAX. 

1875. devoted to the family history of the Count aiid Countess of 
The Chin- Chinchon, and the fifth to a description of the town of Chinchon 
chona genua, ^nd its surroundings, the author in the concluding section sets 
forth his " Plea for the Correct Spelling of the Chinchona Grenus." 
"It was not," writes Mr. Markham, "until the French 
expedition of Condamine and Jussieu to America in 1735, 
that the forests of Loxa were visited by scientific men, and 
a few years afterwards Condamine sent specimens of the 
quinquina plant to the great Swedish botanist Linnaeus, who 
was the first to describe it. The name of a new and most 
important genus was then to be given by linnaeus, and he 
chose for it the most appropriate that could possibly have 
been selected, namely, that of the noble lady who had first 
made its healing virtues known. . . . But most unfortunately, 
Linnaeus was misinformed as to the name of her whom he 
desired to honour;'* — and instead of calling his new gei\us 
Chinchona, he termed it Cinchona, which name has been 
generally accepted by botanists, from whose diction it has 
passed into the domain of medicine and chemistry. 

It is now several years since Mr. Markham lifted up his 
voice against this corruption, or, as he terms it in the present 
work, this " ill-omened mutilation of the Countess's name ; " 
but hitherto, it must be confessed, with but small efTect The 
new spelling has, indeed, been adopted in the official documents 
of the Indian Grovemment, but it scarcely finds acceptance in 
a single scientific work on botany or chemistry. 

THE SPICES, GROCERIES, AND WAX OF A 

MEDIEVAL HOUSEHOLD, ad. 1303-10. 

(Posthumous Paper from the Author's Manuscript read before the 

Pharmaceutical Society, December Ath, 1875.) 

A VOLUME^ which has just been printed for the Camden 

Society, is devoted to an Account of the Executors of Richard, 

Bishop of London, A.D. 1303, and Thomas, Bishop of Exeter, 

A.D. 1310, edited from the original MSS. in the possession of the 

' By the late Ven. Archdeacon W. H. Hale, M.A., nnd the Rev. H. T. 
Ellaconibe, M.A., F.S.A. Printed for the Camden Society, 1874. 



MEDLEVAL SPICES, GROCERIES AND WAX. 479 

I and Chapter of St Paul's aud from the Arcliivea of the ia7a. 

city of Exeter. M^^val 

K The accounts mentioned are replete with interesting particolars records, 
^^tkrowing light on the style of life of wealthy ecclesiastics at the 
^Bglose of the thirteenth and eommencetuent of the fonrteetith 
" century ; and that relating to the Bishop of Exeter, includes some 
_^ curious information relative to the consumption of spices^groceries, 
J and wax in a mediseval household. At the period in question, the 

duty of executor under the will of a defunct person, compriaed not 

I only a valuation of his property, hut in addition, the production of 
an account of the money that the property had actually realized. 
Thomas Button, Bishop of Exeter, died in the year 1307, and The Gard^- 
the account filed by his executors in 1310, specifies the items wardrobe, 
contained in the Gankroha or wardrohe of the deceased prelate. 
I will give it in the first place as it stands in the original and 
afterwards offer some remarks in explanation of the several 
entries. The term wardrcibc, it may he well to state, had a wider 
significance in the middle ages than at present ; it was the name 
of the apartment in which was laid up, not oaly apparel but 
valuables of almost every kind. That of Richard, tlie Bishop of 
London, contained a considerable collection of books, while that of 

â–  Thomas, of Exeter, was filled by a profusion of spices and j^cery. 
[The following shows what was in the Garderoha, and how 
much money tbe several articles fetched when sold ; — ] 

£ s d, 

1 229 lb. Cere , 7 13 3 

423 1k „ liberatis ad expens. funera * , 14 G 5 

58 lb. „ operate 19 1 

3 J lb. „ liberatis ad expensas faniilie com- 

moraotis post obituni Domini .... 0110 

2 Dj quarteriis et 20 lb. Amniigdalarum venditis . 4 17 G 

3 74 1b. Bis ..... 13 8 

4 771b. Sncare 3 17 2 

6 3J lb. Zinsiberis electi 066 

20 lb. „ Columlie. 13 2 

291b. „ communis 1 17 11 

291b. Canele 17 7 



480 MEDIAEVAL SPICES, GROCERIES AND WAX. 

1875. £ 8. d. 

7 2 lb. Galonge 10 

8 21i lb. Nigri Piperis 13 3 

9 17 lb. Grani Paradisi 1 16 6 

10 38i lb. Croci 599 

11 6i lb. Gariofoli 123 

12 IJ lb. Quibibus 080 

13 2| lb. Macis 16 

14 6 lb. FenicuU » 

15 6 1b. Anisi J 029 

16 15 lb. Liquiiicie 013 

17 20 lb. Cotun file 14 4 

18 4 lb. Orpiment 018 

19 27 lb. Cymini 2 3 

20 3 lb. Pyon 006 

21 ij gordes de Gyngebrad 16 

22 iij pixidibus de (Jengebrad et Pyouad ... 080 

23 ij pixidibus consimilibus liberatis ad expensas 

executorum 054 

24 De j libra dimidia Nucis muscate vendita . . 16 

25 1 lb de Zedewand 10 

26 23 lb. Lichinorum 040 

27 De iiij Stateris venditis 5 4 

28 814 lb. Candelarum Parisie 1 12 8 

29 j vase pro candelis Parisie facta cum appendiciis 

vendito 008 

30 De j statera de ferro vendita 19 

Remarks on the foi*egoing A cement. 
C#r« Wax 1. Cere [Cc7*a], wax. The total quantity in store at the time 

of the bishop's death was 714 lbs., of which 423 lbs. were con- 
sumed at his funend. At the obsequies of the Bishop of London, 
in 1303, the expenditure of wax was no less than 1200 lb. Tlie 
Cera operata, of which the account mentions 58 lb., as well as 3f 
lbs. consumed by the family after the death of the bishop, may 
have been a mixture of wax with tallow, prepared for candles. 
John de Garlande,^ who lived in the 13th century, alludes to 
* Wright, Volume of Vocabularies, 1857, 129. 



MEDLEVAL SPICES, GROCERIES AND WAX. 



481 



sometluDg of the kind when, in speaking of the fraudulent doing 
I of the apothecaries, he says : — " Apotecarii, causa lueri, con- 

cumulant con fee tio lies et electuaria, radices cum erbis, zedoarium 
fCXim zinzibero, piper cum ciiiiino, gariofilos cum cinamomo, 
tifium cum maratro, ceram cum cereis ecdesiasticis., zucurnm 

cum licuricia." 

2. Ammigdalm {amygdalcE), Almonds. 

[l^bilippe le Bel, date Paris, 1st Feb., 1304, forbade the 
exportation of various articles of merchandise without per- 
mission of his Government under pain of confiscation. But 
he makes an exception in favour of edible spices and aromatics, 
the exportation of which is permitted to friendly states. Not 
to be exported were wine, honey, pepper, ginger, cinnamon, 
sugar, galangal, Aimomis, animals' hides, and metals. 

In the Liber Albus, probable date of list about A.D. 1266, 
ahuonds are included as liable to Scavage. 

Almonds might be substituted for Fignons (nuclei pinei), in 
preparing the Pignolal] 

3. Ills, in mediieval Latin, rlM, rice, 

4- Siicure, sugar. — This commodity at the period under notice 
used to be imported by way of Italy, from Egypt, Cyprus, and 
Sicily. 

5. Zinsther (zingiber vel zinziber), ginger, is mentioned in 
the account as of three kinds, namely, eUctum, comTmine, and 
Columhe. Tlie last, which seems to have been of the lowest 
quality, derived its name ColomMnum, from Kulam or Quilon, 
a port in Travancore, whence it used to be shipped, 

6. Caneie. — By this terra we must understand Cassia hark, 
either of Malabar, or China, rather than cinnamon, which was 
only beginning to be exported from Ceylon, and was probably 
much more rare and costl}^. 

7. GalongE, galangal,— The value received for 21b. of this spice 
is exactly the price of an ox, as reckoned in the account, which 
states that fifteen oxen were consumed at the bishop's funeral feast. 

8. Nigrum Fiper^ black pepper, 

9. Oranum Faradisit grain of paradiae, often termed simply 
^grains. — The produce of Tropical Western Africa, whence it 

I I 



1075. 



Almonds. 



Oing*r. 



GakngaL 



482 



MEDIAEVAL SPICES, GROCERIES AND WAX. 



Cubeha. 



1B75. was conveyed by a long land journey to the Mediterranean ports 
of the Barbary states, and shipped for Italy. It was used in 
Europe as a culinary spice, of the nature of pepper. 

Saffron. 10. Crociis^ saffi'on. — There is probably some over-statement 

in the quantity, which is enormous. The value is represented as 
equivalent to only 2^. lOrf. a pound; while according to Pro- 
fessor Thorold Eogers, the average price of saffron in England 
from 1259 to 1350, was about 85. 6rf., and from 1351 to 1400, 
14s. 2d, per lb. 

11. Gariofoli (Caryophylli), cloves. 

12. Quihibus, cubebs. — The spice was sold, it will be observed, 
at a very high rate. In the description of a grand feast, written 
towards the close of the thirteenth century, by Walter de Bibles- 
worth,^ we find the following : — 

Au tercez cours avient conyns en grav^, 
E viaunde de Cypre enfundre, 
De maces, e quibibes, e clous de orr^, 
Vyn blanc.e vermayl k graunt plenty. 

13. Mads, mace. 

14. Feniculum, fennel seeds. 

15. Anisum, aniseed. 

16. Ziquiricia, liquorice, at only Id. per lb. Can it have 
been the extract, or was it ODly the dried root ? 

17. Co^t^n ^/e, cotton thread, imported from Italy, and used, 
according to Professor Thorold EcJgers, for the wicks of the better 
kinds of candles. It is often mentioned in mediaeval lists of gro- 
ceries, as, for instance, in the Tarif des Peages of the Counts of 
Provence, in the thirteenth century, where it appears as Cotonfilat, 

Orpiraent. 18. Orpiment, Axuripigmentum, native yellow sulphide of 
arsenic. — It was used as a pigment in the illumination of manu- 
scripts.* In the diploma granted by Chilperic II., King of the 
Franks, to the monastery of Corbie, A.D. 716, mention is made 
of a supply of 10 lb. of Awncm pigmerUum? In another list of 

* Wright, Volume of VocahularieSy 1857, 174. 

* Theophilus, De Diversis Artibus, translated by Hendrie, LoncL, 1847, 63, 
419. 

* Pardessus, Diploma fa^ Chartce. Epiftolm^ Ac, Lutet., Paris., IL (1849), 309. 



MKDLKVAL SP1CE!=;, GROCERIES AND WAX. 



483 



"commodities^ required for tlie same religious establishuient at isys. 
a much later period (a.d» 1332 ?) llie following pigments are 
ennmemted — SulpkiiSf lb. 10, Atiripigmentufn^ lb. 3, Sati^is 

iDraeonis, lb. 3, Indium (indigo) lb. 3. 

} Pliny describes the best quality as resembling in colour the Pliny'i de- 
finest gold, dry, pure, splitting into tliin layers, — a description "cfrplment 

[according exactly with a specimen in my possession, 

19. Ci/mimi7)i, cumin seeJ, much used in the middle ages as 
|a cheap and common spice. 

20. Pf/oyi, in Low Latin, pifjuohis, in French, pignon, the 
kernels of the stone inne, Flnm pineu.h. In the Liber Alhus 

tie same article under the name of pyoine, and in the Lihtr 
Tom m pyoingne, appears as liable to the king's impost called 

21. Gyngehrad^ otherwise written G-ingihreium or Zvizih'attim, 
psigniiies preserved or candied ginger, a favourite mediaeval 
[•delicacy imported from India. The exact meaning of the term 

^0Td€ or gnrda, applied to this article, is doubtful.^ 

22. Tliree boxes (pyjddeA) of the preserved ginger and, 

' Pyonad ;" the latter is the French Pignoiat, a confection of Pyonad. 
fine kernels (see No. 20), with whita of egg and sugar. Its 
modern representative is the sweetmeat called nmigal^Biill made 
in the south of France, especially at the to^vn of Montelimart 
Minute directions—" Four faire h Pigrioiat "—are given by 
^Michel de Nostredame (or Nostradamus), the famous astrologer, 
in his Excdlent fi Moult Utile Opuscule a touts nec^^sBaire, gut 
iesirent avoir Cognoissa?ic€ de Phtsieurs Exj^uises Meceptcs, Paris, 
11556. An Ordonnance of PhiUppe*le-Bel, — '* touckant les Epi- Ordmvance of 
letrits et les Denries, gut se vendent au poids" issued in the year j^^^" *" 
{1312, contains the following paragraph designed to protect the 
I purchaser of preserved ginger and pignoiat : — 

' PolA/tiqve de VAhH Irminon^ ii. 336. 

" [Note t>n the Trade of MontpeUier, from Dipping {G.R) F«*, ds Com- 

leree etitrt le Lennint d VEuropa^ Paris, ISiJO, tome L, 3*14. " Encore line 

riiote de la iDaison dn mi d'AQgleterre^ Henri III., k Bordeaux, qui en 1232 

commatida a Montpelller, non sen le meat viD|Ft pieces d'^toffet de soie, et 

quatre de drap ^carlate, mais encore, trois gourdt^ de Gingtn^t tonM*" The 

' inmmct vtrha are ** tres curdss do gyngibraco." R6}n Fran^aii at la Tour 

t Londrct, extraita par Bri^quigDy. 

T I 2 



4B4 




MEDLEVAL SPCCES^ Gli<X'ERlES AXD WAX. 



ia7ft. litm. Que nuLs ue vende, iie achate pour revendre, Gingemr 

Oniirnnan^ of ^^f^^ n^ Pigmlat emboxichi^, et qu'il iie soil autel desous, comma 



rittlt|>pi 

Bel. 



•B'le 



Zedoify. 



t^rmt tie Hiv* 



dessuB, et sacs eneliapleiuea [qui ne soint de m6me le cucre, et 
la confiture sans yriuges. Et que uul uele reface en tnamere qiw 
il inelle viel avecques It* nouvcl, et que il ne le die a lachet^tu; 
Et que nids ne face a confiture nulle converiure de cucre, qu'elle 
ne soit dautel dessous comme Jessus. Et cil qui sera trouti 
faitiant cuiitre ceste Oidouauce peidra toute la cmifiiure^ et sera 
en tamemhk Et ladite contiture par le commrmdement de la 
justice du lieu sera jugic't.^ par le mestre du mestier du lieu, ^e 
inestre y avait, et ae uiestre n*i avoit, par cette mesme justice, et 
les dites gens et Texeciition sera fait sur ce oomniQ fait le requena 
par ladicte Justice.] 

2;>, Two boxes of the dame, placed to the account of \\a 
executors. 
Ni 24, Nux muacaia, mittnejjg ; the quantity is half a poujid, 

25. Zedevnnd^ zedoary. the dried rhizome of oue or mon* 
Indian species of Curcuma, During the middle ages, it was 
used as a spice of the same class as ginger. Its importance is 
indicated by its being mentioned in several tariffs as an articbjfl 
of commerce. Thus Jacque de Vitri, who was bishop of Aeif^l 
in ralestiue early intlie thirteenth century, names it as Ztdoar^^ 
vulj*o Cttouart, and says that it is imported into the Holy \Mm\ 
from India. 

In the list of Droits dt Rivage levied by the Pedestal 
Council of Marseilles, A.D. 1228, occurs the following: — ** Gi 
cabiis de Poivre, ou de Gingembre, ou de Citoiml, ou de Laqu 
ou d'autres marchamlises de menie valeur que cellee^ la paie i 
deniers j. obole/' ^ A charter of Henry, King of iiavarre, 
lating the riglits of that sovereign in respect to the town 
Frovins, a.d. 1273, contains the following regulation : — 

** Item jiaiemdechascuue charge de Greinue,de Cire, de Piv 
de Bresil» de Gingetubre, de GueneUe [cancUe]^ de Cil 
[citoual], ct de G^roffle II. s., et de ehascune charge d'J 
d" AniB, dAmendies, de Connin [comhi], chascuns qui vendia," elt" 

* M^ry et (Jumdon, Huhin Hrs AeU* tUla Municipatit^ dt Ut^- 

HiiU, 1841, I, 372 ; EourqneJot, Hutoirc (U /VmrM, 1839 .H\ u 42^^ 



I 



MEDI/EVAL SPICES, GROCERIES AND WAX. 



485 



There is a similar enactment in wLicli '* Cytoal *' is mentioBeJ, 1875, 
I in a tariff of the merchandise sold in Paris at the close of tlie 
thirteenth century.^ In the list coutaiDed in the Zikr Alhm^i 
the city of London, before referred to, the spice in question 
I appears as Cttexvah? under which name it is mentioned by the 
' poet Chaucer, and by many writers on drugs. 
2^, Lichini, wicks for candles or lamps, 

28. Paris Candles, — Professor Thorold Rogers remarks that Paris ctwidlej*. 
candles, called either WJdte Candles or Candles of Paris, not 
un frequently mentioneii in mediaeval domestic accounts, were 
imported into England.^ 

29, Vaspra Candelis Parisia:, with appendages, would appear 
[â–ºto be some special kind of candlestick used for a Paris candle. 

27. ** iiij, Staleri^, and No, 30 "/ Slatera Jc Fcrro:' The 
second of these entries seems to me to relate to steelyard. 

t» Rtv\u Arck€nhygiiim, ix. (18S2), 213. 
3 (** There Wiia ike wexing matiy a spico 
Ah do we, gilofre, and licorice, 
Gui^ber^ imd grein de Paris 
Cnneil at ctkmile of pris. 
And muny a i<|>ice delitable 
To eten whtm men rise fro table." 
CuAUCKR, p. 224, col 2.] 
^ [The ('h2\iidelierii formed in Paris a separate guild from the Ciriers. The 
|fir«t nuwle tallow candles, the second, oaly wax uaruUea. In the Boht of 
Vurtmyty date circa A.D. I46n, we read — 
"In chambiirno Ijght thershidle be brent 
I Bot of waxr therto yf ye take tent ; 

' In hall lit aoper sehalle can dels brenne 

Of Paiys, theriii that aOe luen kenne." 
From which it might be infern^d that Paris candles were inferior to wax 
candles. The following is quoted from the Wanhohe AcamnU nf Edimrd 
IV,^ anno 1480, edited by Sir Harri* Nicholas : — '*^ William Whyte, tallough 
cliaundeller, for iij dusen and ix. lb. of p'is c^ndeir for to light when the 
king's highness and goode grace on a nyght coine unto bin siiid grete ward- 
rob*', and at other divers tymea," 

La Bibh Quwt ih Provifw is a violent eatire on tbe thirteenth centnry. 
In it complaint is made of the exce^^^ive dearnesa of s^pices und electuaries. 

**S'il8 reviennent de Montpellier 
Lor lectuarieu i*ont moult chier ; 
Lore dient ils, ce m'est avb 
iirnVn ont j^ij^^imbraiz et pliris, 
Kf. dladni^m et rosat 

El peiiidoiu el violitl."] 
[iJiadrairant, penidiuin] 



CeUwak. 



The Qui la of 

th« Chan- 

delierti. 



APPENDIX. 

I. Chronological List of Daniel Hanbury's Papers. 
II. Eeview of PflARMACOGRAPniA, BY H. B. Brady, F.R.S. 

III. Letter of L. A. Buchner, Munich, Editor of the 

Neues Repertorium fur Pharmacie. 

IV. Selections from the Nekrolog of Professor FlOckiqer ; 

translated from the German by Katharine A. Hanbury. 



CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF DANIEL HANBURY'S 

PAPERS. 



1 I 



a ! 



7 

8 

9 

10 



11 
12 

13 
14 

15 

ir» 



18 
19 

'JO 



(Verzeichniss von Daniel IIanhurtf» Arbeifen.) 



Turnsole, with Note to 

Pereira on Dutch Cake 

Litmus. 
Eesin of Nonvay Spnice 

Fir (A hies excelsa). 
Oil of ThjTne [comnionlv 

sold as Oil of Origanum.^ 
Cahimba Woo<l (an article 

imported as) supposed to 

be the produce of a Meni- 

spermum. 
True Oil of Origanum ... 
Insect White- wax of China 
Wurrns, a dye produced 

by Rottlera Finrloria, 
Use of Coffee-leave« in 

Sumatra. 
Scammony, Noten upon 

some Specimens of. 
Febrifuge, Properties of 

tlie Olive {Olea Euro- 

pa*a, L.). 

Storax Bark 

Some Rare Kinds of Car- 
damom. 
Tragacanth (note (ni) ... 
Wood-Oil, a Substitute for 

Copaiba. 

A Green Dye from China 
Penghawar Djambi, n now 

Styptic. 
Notice of a Specimen of 

Insect-wax from China. 

Storax 

Manufactures of OraHse 

and Cannes. 
Recollectioiifi «»f a Day's 

Bntanizing on tho C<»1 de 

liSiifHret. 



Pharrmiceiiticai Journal i^^^^^^^ 

Ibid., ix. (1850) 400. 
Ibid., X. (1850) 6. 
IbifL.x. (1851)321. 

Ibid., X. (1851) 324. 
Ibid., xii. (1853) 476. 
Ibid., xii. (1853) 589. 

Ibid., xiii. (1853) 207. 

Ibid., xiii. (1853) 268. 

Ibid., xiii. (1854) 353. 



Ihid.,x\v. (1854) 11. 
Ibid., xiv. (1S55)352— 41«». 

Ibid., XV. (1855) 20. 
Ibid, XV. (1856)321. 

Ibid., xvi. (1856) 213. 
I hid., xvi. (1«56) 278. 

Journal of the, Linnenn Soa'eit/, 

Zonhfft/^ i. (1856) lu:i. 
Pharm. Jourru, xvi. ( 1 8.'i7 ) 4 1 7—461 
Ibid., xvii. (18.57) 161. 

Alanuscript, April 14, 1«58. 



490 
21 



22 
23 

24 



25 
26 
27 



28 
29 
30 



31 



32 
33 



34 
35 

3G 

37 
38 

39 
40 
41 

42 

43 
44 



CHRONOLOGICAL LIST (Continued). 



RottUra Tinctorial Roxb., 
and its Medicinal Pro- 
perties. 

A Drug called Royal Salep. 

Two Insect-prodiicte from 
Persia. 

IiiBcct-prodiicts from Per- 
sia, Larinus niaculatus, 
and L. mellificus. 

Otto of Rose 

Jacob BelL Biography. 

Botanical and Pharmaco- 
logical Inquiries and De- 
siderata, Sir William J. 
Hooker and Daniel Han- 
bury. 

Malambo Bark 

Frangipaiii 

Sclerotium stipitatumy 
Pachyma Owos^ cfr., in 
common with F. Currey. 

Note on a manufactureii 
product of Sea- weed called 
Japanese Isinglass. 

Chinese Materia Medica 

Anacahuite Wood (note 
on) a reputed Remedy for 
Consumption. 

Use of Balsam of Peru 
(note on) in the Roman 
Catholic Cliurch. 

Chemical and Pharma- 
ceutical Products of the 
proposed International 
Kxhibition of 18()2. 

Chinese Materia Medica,., 

Cortex Wintcranus 

Minor Notes on ihaMateria 
Medica of the Inter- 
national Exhibition. 

Anacahuite Wood, Origin 
of. 

Storax, Additional Obser- 
vations on. 

Ordeal Bean of Calabar 
(note on) Phyaostijma 
VenenoHum. Balf. 

The best Methods of apply- 
ing the Calabar Bean in 
Ophthalmic Medicine. 

Now Species of Amomum 
Oliver and Hanbury. 

Zitnthoxyhun alaium^ Roxb. 



FharmaceuticcU Journal xvii. (1858) 

405. 

Ibid,, xvii. (1858) 499. 

Journal of the Linnean Society. 

Z(K>logy, iii. (1859) 178. 
Pharm. Joum. xviii. (1859) 402. 



Ihid,, xviii. (1859) 604. 
Ibid,, i. (1859) 153. 
/6iU,i. (1859)217. 



/W</.,i (1859) 321. 

Notes and Queries, Dec. 24, 1859. 

^transactions of the Linnean Society, 

xxiii. (1860) 93. Part I. [Read 

May 3, I860.] 
Pharm, Journ, i. (1860) 508. 



Ibid,, ii. (1860-1861) 15, 109, 553. 
Ibid,, ii. (1861) 407. 



/6iV/.,ii. (1861) 446. 



Ibid., Vol. ii. (1861) 484. Journal 
of Society of Arts, January 14, 
1861. 

Ibid., iii. (18G1-18G2) 6, 204, 260, 
315, 420. 
N, Repert.f, Pharm, xi. (1862) 241. 
Plmrm. Journ, iv. (1862) 107. 



Ibid.,iy. (1802)271. 
Ibid., iv. (1863) 436. 
Ibid,\y. (1863)559. 

Ibid., V. (1803) 25. 



Journal of the Linnean Soviet i/, vii 

(1863) 109. 
Ibid., vii. (1861) 171. 



â–  


^^f CHRONOLOGICAL LIST {Continutd), 491 


â–  


45 


Maiiufocture of BnUam of 


Pharm. Journ. v, (1863-1804) 241, 


^H 




Teru vv-ithinltiitittniil Note. 


315. 


^^^H 


4a 


et. K. 


/irwi., V. (1864) 348. 


^^H 


47 


Note on Casua matchata. 


Tranmirdi^nn of the Linf^mn SocUtjff 
xxiv. (1863) 1*>L Part IL 


^^1 


4a 


A CIiemist*s IIwlidAy. Jot- 
tings LM France. 


Pharm. Journ, vi, (1864) 245] 


^1 


49 


Butjjiical r)ri^n of Gam- 
boge. 


/6hA, vi, (IHtU) M'J, 


^1 


50 


Gureinirt^apecfea affoitlmg 


Trai^jfactions of the Linnean Socitty^ 


^^^H 




fJariiho^'-e in Hiain. 


xxiv. (18*54) 487. Part III, 


^^^M 


51 


BolaniL'rtl Hri^n ofSavun- 
illa Uliatany, 


Pharm. Jounu vi, (18()5) 461). 


^M 


52 


lliinca? Sal Annunniac 
(Xute on). 


fbUl, vi. (18<;5)514. 


^M 


55 


Memoranda on t*oinn Fqy- 
nnilw in Vlje British 
T'haminoopM'in. 


IbUl., \\l (1865) 5L 


â–  


54 


Btnue ItcuiarUii on the 
Xomcnchiturc af the 
Plianiiacopttiti, 


/6iV/., vii. (1805)96. 


I 




Plianmifenlical llorbaria 


Ilnd,, vii. (1866) 542. 


^^^H 


^^^^^Hto 


NoteB on IVpuciibin^f 


Ibul. viii. (1807)551 


^^^1 


^^^7 


R<niKirks on the Ni.eeftsitj 
fur a J'urther Cultivation 
of Muih'cinal l*knt«. 


Ibiil, viii. {\mi) bib. 


â–  


58 


Tiie Ciiltivatiun of Jalap 


IbUl.vill (1867)651, 


^^H 


50 


Bnr^undy Pitclj .., 


Ibiti,/iK. (1867) 102. 


^^H 


60 


Professor Gnibourt Obit- 
nary. 


IbUi., ix. (1807) 205. 


^H 


ei 


0|ieuini!: A(blre(*s. BriHsh 
Pliarnuo'emiciil Cutifer- 
cncf, Xorwich, 


Ibiil., X. (1808) 132* 


â–  


62 


Opening AddresH. BnliBh 
P 1 i arrn ace u 1 i ea 1 Coi i f e r- 


IbuL, xi. (180U) lia 


^^H 






^^^H 




ence^ Exeter. 




^^^H 


63 


Note on CI ilo ml 


IbifL, xl (Iflti'J) 198. 


^^^1 


64 


Rare Essential Oib 


Ibkl, xi. (IHOO) 209. 


^^^1 


65 


Ilistorieal Notes on Manna 


iKi'.xi. (1809)326. 


^^^H 


66 


The Price of Medicines 


Cfietnitifa and DrufjtjUCn Altnufme, 
(1870). 
Pharm. Journ,, I (1870) 241. 


^H 


67 


The Adulleration of fiaf- 
fron. 
A species of Ipomoea 


^1 


68 


Jaumtd ftf the Linnean Soviet t/, xi. 


^^1 




affonling Tamplco Jatap, 


(1870) 2t9. 


^^H 




( fpoJTuta mhnuUtns.] i 




^^^H 


613 


Itiqniries relftting to Phar- , 
niacology iind Econ<^nu"c 
Botany. ' Oliver and Han- 
bury, 1 


Pharm, Joarml il (1871) 204, 243. 


â–  


70 


Historical Notes of the 


Journal of the Linnean Society y xiiL 


^^^1 


^^^^ 


Radix Gttlnngjp of Phar- 


(1871)20. 


^^^H 


B 


macy. 1 


PhartiK JiMni., ii* (1871) 248, 


â–  


|_ 


â– bsiK- - -tiSfeaifc-' - -, â– ^â– t^sf:. 




m 






â–  1 



492 

71 

72 

73 
74 
75 

76 

78 
79 
80 I 



81 



82 



CHRONOLOGICAL LIST (Continued). 



Amomnm an^$Hfolittm, ' 

Sonnenit. 
Hie Madagascar Cardamom 

or L«»nguiize. 

Calabrian Manna 

African Ammoniacmn ... 
Botanical Origin and 

Country of M\rrh ... i 

Pareira brava i 

A Peculiar Camphor from I 

Oiina. [Ngai Camphor] 
Chondodendron or Chond- â–  

rodendron. ' 

Cinchona or CAinchona ... [ 

Review of Markham's 
Memoir of the Countess i 
of Chinchon. 

The Spicea, Groceries and 
Wax of a Mediaeval 
Household, a.d. 1303-10 
(Poethnmous Paper). 

The Pharmacographia ... 



Journal of the Linnean Sffcietif^ xiii. 

(1872) 154. 
Phann. Joum, ii. (1872) 642. 

Ibid,, iii. (1872) 421. 

Ibid,, iii. (1873) 741. 

/W^., iii. (1873) 821. 

Ocean Highways, April 1873. 

Pkarm, Joum,, iv. (1873) 81, 102. 

Ibid,, iv. (1874) 709. 

Ibid., V. (1874) 421. 

Ibid., V. (1875) 646. 
Athenceum, January 30, 1875. 
Academy y April 3, 1875. 



Pharm. Joum. vi. (1875) 443. 



Fliickigerand Hanbnry, October, 1874. 



PUABMACOGRAFHLA. 



493 



I 

I 



BE VIEW OF FLIWKIGER AND EAXBURY'8 
" PHARMACOGRAPHIAr 

_^ ?haTtnaeof/Taphm : a Hiitory of the Pritmpal Drugs of Veg€tabh Griffin 

^id with in Great Britain tmd BrkiiJi. India. Bf Friedrich A, Flurkitr^, 

Ph. IK^ Professor in the TJniversiity of Stmsburj? ; ami Daniel Hanbury, 

F.R.S,, Fellow of the Lmjiean and: Chemical Societiea of London. (Macmil- 

Ian and Co., 1874.) 

Bv H. B. Brady, F.RS. 

There wbb a stir of anticipation and inquiry amongst phanna- laz^* 
eologistH wLen it first became known that Prof. Fliicki^rer and **/^^rf/' 
M\\ Hanbuiy were engaged upon a work of joint authorship. Nov. is, I87i. 
Speculation was busy as to what was to be the nature of the 
book, to what particular objects it would be directed, what 
extent of ground it would cover and so forth. Upon a single 
point all were agreed, namely, that it would not be one of those 
composite treatises on drugs — organic and inorganic — therapeu- 
tics, pharniacy, and toxicolog)^ enlivened by traditional botany 
and old-fashioned chemistry, which have passed current amongst 
us as " Manuals of Materia Medica." 

One generation after another of compilers has produced 
volumes supposed to be suited to the wants of the time, in 
which the same sort of information has been given, the same 
errors perpetuated often in almost identical words, until the 
very term " Materia Aledica '' has come to be looked upon with 
suspicion by scientific men. Perhaps the origin of the ehort- 
coraings of the general run of such \vorks may l>e traced to 
the fact that they have often been written l^y practising physi- 
cians who were lecturers in medical schcK)ls, and have been 
designed primarily as handbooks for medicol students. Nor 
need it be a matter of wonder that, with no special facilities 
for acquiring original information as to the lii^torj^ of drugs, 
and with few opportunities for verifying the statements of 
others, authors so situated w^ere content to transcribe without 




494 



FHARMACOGHAPIIIX 



i«y^. examination what had been already recorded ns fact, and to 
H, B. Bredj. devote their better enei^ies to the more puiely medical rrlattons 
of the subject— the aspect of chief interest both to ilieinselv^s 
and those for whom they wrote. 

The question has often been raised, and onco iit least on very 
high aaUiority, why tlie overcharged curriculum of uiedical 
study should still be encumbered with Materia Medica ; why, in 
view of the separation which is gradually taking place between 
the pnictice of medicine and that of phannacy and of the scientific 
education now receivetl by the pharmacist, such maitem as tlie 
physical cliaracters, sources, and cliemistrj^ of drugs should not 
be referred to those whom they primarily affect 

This, perhaps, is scarcely the i»lace to discuss such questions 
in detail, but they inevitably present themselves on a compari- 
son of the present book with any of those to which allusion liaj 
just l>een made. 

It is generally no very difficult thing to give an intelligible 
account of a work embodying the results of scientific research. 
It is not requisite that the knowledge of the reviewer should be 
co-extensive with that of the author to enable him to form a 
just estimate of its strong and w^eak points, or even to exercise 
the critical faculty where opiniiios rather than facts are advanced. 
But the task of introducing suitably a closely-printed volume 
of 700 pages, containing scarcely anything but facts — an un- 
usual proportion of which are stated for the first time, and 
those w^hich are old assuming a new importance from their fresh 
verification, the whole given with a condensation of style that 
refuses page-room to a superHuous word — ^is not one that can 
be performed by the ordinary method of summarising results. 

The scope of the *' Pharmacographia '* and the intention of 
its authors can hardly be better told than by a few extmcta 
from the preface. After defining the word phawnacographia as 
" a writing about drugs/ the authors state that *' it was their 
desire not only to write upon the general subject and to utilise 
the thoughts of others, but that the book which they had 
decided to produce together should contain observations thai 
no one else has written down. It is in fact a record of person* 



I 




PHARMACOGBAPUIA. 



495 



I 
I 



researches on the principal dings derived from the vegetable i»74* 
kingdom, together with such results of an important character h. B, Brady. 
as have been obtained by the numerous workers on Materia 
Me die a in Europe tind America.** 

Restricting the field of their inquiry by the exclusion of 
pharmacy and thei-apeutics, *' the authors have been enabled to 
discuss with fuller detail many points of interest which are 
enibjaced in the special studies of the phaiTaacist/* 

**Tlie drugs included in the work are chietly those which are 
conmionly kept in store by pharmacists, or are known iu the 
drug and spice market of Loudon. The work likewise contains 
a comparatively small number which belong to the Pharmaco- 
jxeia of India : the appearance of this volume seemed to present 
a favourable opportunity for giving some more copious notice 
of the latter than has hitherto been attempted." 

Now as to the manner of treatment. A unitorm subdivision 
into sections has been adopted throughout the work. In the 
first place, " Each drug is headed by the Latin name, followed 
by such few synonyms as may suffice for perfect identification, 
together in most cases with the English, French, and German 
designation- 

" In the next section, the botanical origiji of the substance 
is discussed, aJid tlie area of its growth or locality of its 
production is stated/* 

'* Under the head of histoi^j, the autliors have endeavoured to 
trace the introduction of each substance into medicine, and to 
bring forward other points in connection therewith, which have 
not hitherto been much noticed iu any previous work." 

" In some instances the fornnation, sccrdion, or meth/jd of 
collection of a drug has been next detailed : in others, the 
section history has been immediately followed by the descrip- 
tion, succeeded by one in which the more salient features of 
microscopic structure have been set forth/* 

ITie next division includes the important subject of chemical 
composition ; then follows a section devoted to production and 
commerce; and lastly, observations, chiefly dictated by actual 
experience, on adulteration and on the suhstittdes which in the 




496 



PHARMAOOGRAPniA. 



» 



l«74. case of certain drugs are oceasiODally found in comi 
H, B. hmdy. though scarcely to be regarded in the light of aduUemnta 

" The medicinal uses of each particular drug are only sligbtly^J 
mentioned, it being felt that the science of therapeutics Uetf^B 
within the province of the physician^ and may be wisely 
relinquished to his care." 

The reader must not judge the preface by the disconnecte 
sentences whicli have been quoted to serve a particular purpose. 1 
Only sufficient has been copied to explain briefly, and as far : 
possible in the author s own terms, the geneiul scheme of the 
work. 

The plun, as will be seen, is one of great coraprehensiveties^l 
and the execution throughout ia of cliaracteristic thorougUnesa.i 
A single article taken at random from the book would be betterJ 
evidence than any criticism, of the exhaustive character of the 
treatment; but unfortunately considerations of space preclude, 
any tiling more than a few general remarks suggested by a 
perusal 

The investigatiuii of the botanical origin of drugs is 
which Mr, Ilanbury has made his owb, and few writers have 
set at rest so many debated questions in this division of thed 
subject Completeness and accuracy of the information now! 
collected is exactly wliat might have been expected The stu- 
dent who knows only the British Pharmacopoeia will find much 
to learn, and something to unlearn, concerning the origin of, 
many common medicinal substiinces. In some cases the coiTeo- 
tions necessary arise merely out of questions of priority in 
botanical nomenclature, but in others the errors are founded onj 
the wrong identification of the plants. For instance, Jateorhiz 
pahfiata, Miers, is the name accepted, for reasons given in 
text, for the plant yielding cahimba root, rather than the alter-] 
native specific terras of the rharmacopoeias. Oil of cajuput is 
assigned to Melaleuca leucadcit^ron, L, whilst in the British ^ 
Fhai^macopceia and the I'aiis Codex it is referred to M. minor^ 
D.C., and in that of the United States to M, cajuputi, Roxh, 
Sumbul root, the botanical history of which in our Pharma- 
copceia is stated to be unknown, appears as the product 



me 
oneâ„¢ 



PHARMACOGBAPUIA. 



497 



^ 
^ 



EuTijmujiwm Sumbul, KauEfmaD, a plant of the natural order i«74. 
Umbellileite. On the other hand, in speaking of the botanical il b. Bra^ly. 
origin ofmyrrli, whicli the Pharraacopteia, without showof donht, 
assigns to J^alsamodiiulron viyirha, Ehrenh*, it is stated that 
*' the botany of the myrrh treea ia stiU encompassed with uncer- 
tainty, which will not be removed until the very localities in 
which the drug is collected shall have been well explored by a 
competent observer/* It would be easy to multiply examples, 
but beyond a passing allusion to Pareira Brava as the root of 
Chondoikndron tomcntosum, Ruiz et Pav., a fact determined by 
Mr. Haiibury*s researches, this portion of the subject need not be 
dwelt upon. 

The information given under the head of ** history" has a 
general as well as a technical value. All sorts of writers, 
ancient and modern, have been laid under tribute; and the 
glimpses one obtains, not only of the medical but of the 
domestic employment of drugs in past times, are full of interest. 

This running commentary need not be extended to all the 
headings under which the treatment of each substance is 
arranged. The term " substitute " as distinct from "' adulteration," 
perhaps needs a word of explanation. It is employed to com- 
prise substances occasionally met with in commerce, the product 
of plants more or less closely allied to the oftlcial one; for 
instance, the wood of Quassia amara instead of that of Picrmna 
escctha, the occurrence of the root of Arisiolochia reticulata in 
place of A. serjyeniaria, or of the dried plant of Pi})er culuncum 
in lieu of the true Matico. 

The notices of Indian official drugs have the interest of 
novelty to European students, but beyond this leave little room 
for present remaik. In course of time some of them may be 
introduced at home, and in any case, with the amount of com- 
munic4itiou wdiich exists between England and her Eastern 
possessions, nothing which concerns the one can be unimportant 
to the other, Indian medical men are largely drawn from this 
country, and by them, at least, they will be gratefully received. 

The only department of the book which does not yield 
imalloyed satisfaction is that which refers to "microscopical 

K K 



498 PHARMACOGRAPHIA. 

I B7A . Structure." The descriptive paragraphs are no doubt as good as 
H. B. Brady, words Can make them, but mere words are insufficient for the 
purpose. If any one doubts this, let him tiy to construct a 
drawing of microscopic structure from a description, and then 
compare it with the rBality ; or, on the other hand, let him en- 
deavour to identify one vegetable pix)duction out of a number 
closely allied, by means of a mere verbal definition of charac- 
ters. Either task is difficult at best, sometimes impossible. It 
is not to our credit that there should be no British work of 
reference containing a complete series of illustratioiis of the 
anatomy of drugs. What is wanted is not so much an elaborate 
atlas, like that of Dr. Berg, with large, ideal, diagrammatic 
drawings, suggested by the microscopic appearance of the 
various vegetable products used in medicine, as a set of figures 
of characteristic portions of structure presented in a form in 
which the working student may recognise them. How welcome 
such an addition to the book would have been from Prof. 
Miickiger's skilful hand! It is only just to the authors to 
state that they make no claim for completeness in this 
division of the work ; indeed, they are so fully aware of what is 
needed, that one might almost indulge in the hope of seeing 
a second edition with a supplementary volume of plates. 

In a brief and imperfect notice like the present but scanty 
justice can be done to a book like the Pharmdcographia, a 
work which, from the amount o^ its original matter, the laborious 
verification of its facts, the accuracy of its references, and the 
extent of general erudition it reveals, will be received with no 
grudging welcome, and will be recognised at once and without 
misgiving as the standard of authority on the subjects of which 
it treats. * 



MYRim— PABEIHA BRAVA. 



499 



LETTER FROM THE EDITOR OF THE NEUES 
REPERTORIUM FUR PHARMACIE, 

** Munich, 3rd January^ 1875. 

"My Dear Sik. 

" I desire now at tlie beginning of the new year, i bjb , 
not only to express to you my best wishes