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London. MacmiUa.n&C°1876

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SCIENCE PAPEES,

CHIEFLY

PHARMACOLOGICAL AND BOTANICAL.

BY

DANIEL HANBUEY, F.E.S.,
/><

FELLOW OF THE LINNEAN, CHEMICAL, AND MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETIES OF LONDON ;

MEMBER AND LATE EXAMINER OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN ;

MEMBER OF THE IMPERIAL LEOPOLDINE-CAROLINE ACADEMY ; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE

8OCIETES DE PHARMACIE OF PARIS, BRUSSELS, ETC.

EDITED, WITH MEMOIR, BY

JOSEPH INGE, F.L.S., F.C.S.

Jt0nbon :
MACMILLAN AND CO.

1876.

[The Right of Translation and Reproduction is Reserved.}

•

THIS VOLUME

IS DEDICATED TO

mmtg

IN WHICH THROUGH LIFE
HANBUEY 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.

Calumba Wood

57

4.

Coccus Sinensia .....

63

5.

Wax-tree and Insect ....

65

6.

Smyrna Scammony ....

.... 88

7.

Large Round China Cardamom

95

8.

„ „ „ Coherent Seeds

96

9.

Small Round China Cardamom

97

10.

Hairy China Cardamom ....

98

11.

Amomuni 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.

Royal Salep

.... 156

18.

Royal Salep bulbs .....

157

19.

Larinus maculatus

161

20.

Trehala ...

161

21.

Larinus mellificus

161

22.

Sclerotium Stipitatum . . . .

. To face page 202

23.

Pachyma Cocos .....

. . „ 203

24.

Map of China . . . . ... ;

,, ,. „ 211

25.

Realgar Medicine Cup

221

26.

Zanthoxylum alatum ....

. . . . ' . 229

27.

Muricia Cochinchinensis ....

... 231

28.

Quisqualis indica

232

29.

236

30.

Hovenia dulcis .....

238

31.

Trapa bicornis .....

. . . 241

x ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAOK

32. Gardenia 241

33. Gardenia florida 242

34. Melia . . ... . 244

35. Daphnidium Cubeba . . . . . ... . 247

36. Ytth-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 Chinensis and Coccus

Pe-la) To face page 273

43. Cordia Boissieri „ 280

44. Rope Bag for pressing Balsam of Peru Rags .... 298

45. Gourds or Tecomates ........ 299

46. Ancient Tributary Balsam Jar ...... 300

47. Peruvian Balsam. Collection at Juisnagua . . To face page 309

48. Cassia Moschata „ 324

49. Garcinia Morella „ 331

50. „ Structure of anther 331

51. Ipomoea siinulans ....... 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

58. Pareira Brava Root (?)... 391

59. Arms of the City of Norwich . . .... . . 405

60. Arms of the City of Exeter 417

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

The Eussian explorer penetrated into the province of Kan-su,
and while there ascertained beyond doubt that the true rhubarb
of commerce was Rheum palmatumj and not Rheum qfficinale,
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.

MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY

H

MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY.1

ONE bright autumn afternoon, whilst the British Phar-
maceutical Conference met at Exeter, a small party of
friends went over the grounds that had belonged to the
late Mr. Veitch. 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 ; Hanbury named them in suc-
cession, and described their habitat to the delighted
owner.

One trying 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 born on September 11, 1825, Early Life.
and entered into rest March 24, 1875. He was, therefore,

1 Founded on the Memoir contributed by the writer to the Chemist
and Druggist.

B 2

MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY.

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

At tlie Bottom °f P^ugh Court, phich 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 ; like Wollaston, 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 are 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
while the chosen correspondent of the learned, he served

EARLY CONTRIBUTIONS. 5

in the Pharmacy, posted the ledgers, and was not
unmindful that physicians' prescriptions should be ac-
curately dispensed.

Report speaks also of his care 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 Guibourt.

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

member of

Laboratory at Bloomsbury Square, and was elected the Phar-
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
Bentley was President, and which was intended to
foster a love of Botany among the juniors and the
students.

The commencement of his business life (1841) is
coincident with the first publication of the Transactions
of the Pharmaceutical meetings, to which he became a
regular contributor. His Papers, many in number and Papers.
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 his decease, so this com-
munication on Turnsole or Tournesol, though short, is
constructed on the same framework as the Pharmaco-
graphia : it contains the same marshalling of facts and
dates, the same 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
although formerly in general demand, turnsole rags appear to

6 MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY.

have fallen into complete disuse everywhere but in Holland, in
which country 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."

Special The secret of the construction of these papers, which
Books, were put together with laborious industry, is disclosed
by the manuscripts he has left behind. In his library
were found not only consecutive note-books, beautifully
written and indexed, but others, each devoted to a
special subject. Such for instance were —

I. Papers relating to Rottlera tinctoria, Roxb., and
Kamala.

II. Notes on Turkish Materia Medica.

III. Papers relating to odoriferous species of Andro-
pogon, chiefly East Indian.

IV. Papers relating to the Pharmacopoeia of India.

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

VI. Notes on Cardamoms and various other Scitami-
neous Fruits and Seeds.

These contained memoranda, personal observations,
letters, price lists, scraps from newspapers, and infor-
mation drawn from commercial men, books ancient and
modern, travellers, men of science, maps, and missionaries.
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.
Sp'il™J.ific Many have made their appearance in various scientific
journals — English, American, and foreign. A reference has
been given to such as have been translated in Buchner's
Neues Repertoriiun fur Fharmacie, Munich — a publi-
cation which Daniel Hanbury held in special esteem,

CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

His first paper (as distinguished from a journal article)
was on the resin of the NORWAY SPRUCE FIR (Abies
excelsci), and was read at an evening meeting, March 1,
1850, Mr. Peter Squire, President, in the chair,

His contributions to the history of CHINESE MATERIA Chinese

/r iiii« 11 - • i Materia

MEDICA were probably his most elaborate venture in the Medica.
path of continuous research ; one series extended over
three years, and was prized highly by competent
authorities. Their scope placed them beyond the range
of ordinary readers, and it is doubtful 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 friend and
correspondent, Dr. Theodor W. C. Martius, into German
in 1863, under the title of Beitrdge zur Materia Medica
Chinas. The work contained the illustrative engravings,
but not the Chinese characters.1 It was the practice of
the chief writers for the Pharmaceutical journal to correct
and arrange their own proofs. The printing-office was at Bh-ties the
the top of Beaufort Buildings, lately destroyed by fire.
There, it is related by a contributor engaged on bis own
manuscript, that the conscientious printer Birtles was
overheard loudly bewailing his fate. When asked the
reason why, he replied that Mr. Hanbury had sent in
some more Chinese, but a block not being properly
marked, he was not sure of the right way of printing.
" Chance it," was suggested. " No/' said the old man ;
" that might do with other people, but Mr. Hanbury is
very particular."

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

1 Sppyer, 1863. Brack von Georg Kranzbiihler.

8 MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY.

storax. STORAX, begun 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
Slyrax officinale, a plant answering exactly to the one
ioscorides. described by Dioscorides. Other authors, specially
Duhamel and the Abbe Mazeas, confirmed this opinion.
Repeatedly, Hanbury failed to obtain personal and ocular
demonstration of the fact. " I am bound (he writes,
1863) to acknowledge that the endeavours I have

solid hitherto 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
I have myself examined many small bushes, I have failed
to find upon their stems any exudation."

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

Liquid With regard to Liquid Storax, continued investi-
gations led him to assign it to Liquidambar orientale,
Mill, not without the matter having been the subject of
much controversy. James Pettiver had given a minute
account of the collection of the liquid variety, stating
that it was obtained from the island Cobross, at the
upper end of the Red Sea. Dr. Landerer, of Athens,
ascribed it to the Styrax officinale, and placed the spot
of its production at Cos and Rhodes. The island

STORAX-CARDAMOMS-PERUVIAN BALSAM. 9

mentioned proved to be non-existent ; while the British
Consul at Ehodes, and Mr. Maltass of Smyrna, declared
that Cos and Rhodes never had produced Storax.

The question was revived by a pamphlet by Professor
Krinos, who maintained that Liquid Storax was known
to the ancient Greeks — that both the solid and liquid
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
undoubted sources, settled Hanbury's doubts — and the
crowning proof of the accuracy of the old Greek author
was a conspicuous object in his Museum Specimens.

SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM, and the Linnean Cardamom
Paper written by Professor Oliver and himself on a NEW
SPECIES OF AMOMUM, will prove how he had caught the
spirit of Pereira, and how fit he was to follow in his
steps. He worked on the Zingiberacece " as though he
loved them ; " amusing were his private comments on
those who without much real learning had ventured on
the intricacies of the theme ; and had longer life been
granted, Han bury would have amplified and extended to
the utmost a line of investigation which possessed for
him a peculiar charm.

The explanatory engravings which illustrate the Peruvian
manufacture 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 Peruvian sketches he was induced
to undertake Spanish, and was able to say in 1864, with
regard to the Description des Indes Occidentales,
traduite de TEspagnol (Amst., 1622): — "I have also

10 . MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBUHY.

consulted the Spanish edition published at Madrid,
1601-15"— a fact that of a surety pleased his mind;
for it not only led him 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.

Gamboge. in fae "Botanical Origin of Gamboge" (1864) the
source of the commercial article was traced to Garcinia
Morella ; that of Savanilla-Rhatanhia (1865) to Kra-
*rcsuks!1 mer^a Ixina, L. var. fi Granatensis Triana. The Lesser
Galangal (by the aid of Dr. Hance) to Alpinia qffici-
narum ; and the account of this, the Radix Galangce 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 " Penghawar
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 Jalap proved to be the root of a new species
growing in the interior of Mexico, the Ipomcea simulans.
In his father's garden at Clapham, this plant and the
common Ipomcea purga could be . seen side by side,
where both their points of difference and similarity might
be observed at leisure.

The Ipomcea simulans and the Liquidambar orientate

CALABRIAN MANNA— OTTO. 11

form the wreath round the marble medallion (an ex-
cellent likeness by Woolner) which now adorns his
brother's house at Mortola, near Mentone.

He is supposed to have attached most importance to
his essay on Calabrian Manna (August 14, 1872), a
previous historical note on the same subject (1870), and
Pareira Brava (1873). Yet, if general opinion be con-
sulted, the warmest praise will be bestowed on a com-
munication read before the Pharmaceutical Society on
Wednesday, March 2, 1859, "On Otto of Bose." Mr.
Morson occupied the chair, and there was not only a
crowded, but a most appreciative audience. If I might
venture to express the conviction of his hearers, it was,
and remains, one of his happiest efforts, and exhibits his
powers in their perfection. The research shown is great,
the arrangement faultless, and the whole thing well done.

In order to prosecute these investigations, Hanbury Knowledge
had to acquire a sufficient knowledge of Turkish, and
some notion of Arabic. To what extent this was carried
I am not competent to judge, but that certain Oriental
languages and Chinese, besides Spanish and modern
Greek, were included in his studies, liter a scripta manet
— his own manuscripts will show.

The point at issue in the PAREIEA PAPER was that its
botanical source was not Cissampelos Pareira, but that
it is the root of Chondodendron tomentosum. The Pareira
question, involving the spelling of the word Chondoden-
dron v. Chondrodendron, gave rise to one of those
exhaustive and rather overwhelming letters which he
began to indite. He contended that a word which was
backed by great weight of authority, that had been long
in use, and had been a faithful servant in botany, might
still satisfy the requirements of the present generation.

12 MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY.

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 Chinchon spelt her
name otherwise, and Mr. Clements R. Markham followed
her example.

Etymoio- These discussions on etymology are not strange to
gicai dis. many of his private circle ; still less his laborious efforts
to arrive at the minutiae of correctness. During the past
twenty years his correspondence was filled with abstruse
notes and queries. He argued out the orthography of
inquire v. enquire, the duplication of t in accented and
non-accented syllables, the meaning of A*a, as in
Diarrhodon (Bia poSo>i>), Diachylum (Sia %tA.o>i/), and
Diacurcuma — 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, Habenda ratio valetudinis,
and the term pharmacist, which at length he determined
to adopt. Now, when it is recollected that his social
position, his connection with pharmacy, his place as a
scientific man, and his delight in travel, brought him
into familiar contact with various classes of society, 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. This
is a specimen how he answered a casual note connected
with Materia Medica : —

" If I were living at Shanghai I would certainly use my best
endeavours to obtain the plants which yield good Chinese
rhubarb, notwithstanding the fact that all persons who have

THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS. 13

hitherto tried to do so have failed. Hankow is the city whence
rhubarb is brought to the coast for shipment to Europe, and it
is a journey of 600 miles from Shanghai ; but it is by no means in
the rhubarb country : no, that drug, or at least the best qualities
of it, are produced in Kansiih, 800 miles from Hankow, and in a
region hitherto unvisited by Europeans." (October 24, 1868.)

Subsequently he verified the plant producing the Rhubarb.
rheum of pharmacy ; grew a specimen in the garden at
Clapham, and introduced its cultivation at Banbury. An
authenticated specimen of rhubarb taken from the very
spot of its production was sent to him for inspection, but
it came too late.

It was with no affectation that he once wrote, " The
fourth page of your note contains such a gross mistake
about myself that I must correct it by assuring you that
it is as hard as iron for me to compose a decent piece of
English — in fact, quite impossible, unless it is written
out two or three times."

For twelve years (from June 1860 to May 1872) he Examiner
was on the Board of Examiners of the Pharmaceutical years.
Society, being, according to his own view, seven years
too long : he considered a five years' tenure of office the
furthest advisable period. During the whole time he
confined his attention to Botany and Materia Medica.
His strictly pharmaceutical work was limited, and it did
not claim his first attention, though he compiled two
volumes of autograph prescriptions. The one retained
in his own possession was not remarkable. At the
evening meetings of the Society he was a constant
attendant, but not a speaker, for his was not the gift of
the impromptu : all the more reason that we should give
one specimen of what he thought about a subject that
has again attracted notice.

14 MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY.

"To most of your remarks on the subject of an Universal
Pharmacopoeia I cordially assent.
Universal " 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 formulae they have
been accustomed to, the Universal Pharmacopoeia must contain
a selection at least of those of all countries, and so become a
very voluminous book. Or it must abandon formulae altogether,
and include only the simpler substances, such as carbonate of
soda, corrosive sublimate, iodide of potassium, castor oil, and
the like. In either case such a book would be practically
useless.

"But there are so many reasons why an Universal Phar-
macopoeia cannot be, that it is difficult to select the most
cogent.

" Pharmacopoeias, as you say, do not happen to exist. They
are formed to meet certain clearly defined requirements, and
must differ according to the habits of the people who are going
to use them, the drugs WHICH A COUNTRY PRODUCES, the climate,
&c. The Indian Pharmacopoeia, for instance, which is now
being drawn up, is designed to afford to Europeans in India and
to the many natives now being educated in the Government
colleges, convenient formulae for prescribing (inter alia) various
drugs commonly found in INDIA.

" How could the idea of an Universal Pharmacopoeia 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 Pharmacopoeia.

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

It has been already stated that at the evening meet-
ings of the Society he would sit a silent and apparently

PUBLIC MATTERS. 15

an unmoved spectator, except when his own special
subjects were introduced. Rarely, perhaps never, did he
give the smallest utterance of opinion in public on poli-
tical matters ; and he shrunk 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- Principle
sons without examination, I have approached (I will not say
arrived at} conclusions different from those entertained by many
of my friends.

"Principle, I think, ought to be placed above expediency.
Now, 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
we not practically break faith ? It seems to me that 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
says, ' 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 much 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
them be content to do without it/

" Now it strikes me that this giving away of the rights of
others ought 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 one afterwards.
But it will be urged, ' Would you miss the opportunity of

l(j MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY.

bringing all these outsiders into the fold ? ' ' Well, no/ I would
say, ' I would admit them willingly if I could, only I cannot
bestow on them that privilege which has been already conceded
exclusively to others/ "

Elected We come in due order to that which was to him
of "to an unfailing pleasure — his election as Fellow of the Lin-
sodety 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 unreserved respect. "The
Linnean Society " (he says in an explanatory letter to
a friend, January 21, 1867) " has been a source of much
interest and pleasure to myself; and I look back with
much satisfaction 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 F.L.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 which have been 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
Burlington House at once more useful and more in-
teresting. He was strongly of opinion that both objects
might be effected.

Herbarium. It is sincerely to be hoped that the Herbarium, to the
arrangement of which he devoted many years, as well as
his Museum specimens, may be allowed to remain intact.

LINNEAN PAPERS-HONOURS. 17

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

To the Transactions of the Linnean Society he con-

J H anbury.

tributed: "Note on Cassia Moschata" (H. B. et K.),
xxiv. 161 ; "On the Species of Garcinia which affords
Gamboge in Siam" (G. Morella), xxiv. 487; and, with
Mr. Currey, "Kernarks on Sclerotium Stipitatum and
Similar Productions/7 xxiii. 93. Numerous other com-
munications 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-
siderable share in drawing up the " Admiralty Manual
of Scientific Inquiry."

I feel no desire to enumerate his various honours, Scientific

distinc-

seeing that they were never alluded to by himself; tions.
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 Koyal Micro-
scopical Society, June 1867; and that the crowning
honour was bestowed also in 1867, when he was elected
a Fellow of the Eoyal Society, and placed on its Council
in 1873. Let him speak for himself: "For some time Elected
I strenuously refused to allow myself to be placed the Royal
among the candidates for admission to the R.S., feeling
that it would be invidious were the honour of member-
ship conferred on a pharmaceutist who had really accom-
plished so little for science, and who had in many ways
smaller merits than several others who could be selected.
But it was urged, ' You must leave that to the judgment
of your friends/ So this I did ; and I do not know who
drew up my certificate, and, with one exception, by
whom it was signed/'

18 .MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY.

In addition to his other better known distinctions, he
could claim an alphabet of scientific titles, and he was
Honorary Member or Correspondent of various learned
societies ; while the University of Munich made him an
Honorary Doctor of Medicine.

Let us turn now to some more personal traits of
character apart from immediate scientific work.
Friends An old and beautiful adage says, " Tell me with whom
•pendents, 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
language, who could 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 fasse que ce qu'il sait
faire."

Chief among his companions was Jonathan 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'Arbalete,
who wrote learned books and had Materia Medica at
his fingers' ends.

Next may be mentioned Senor Joaquim Correa de

FRIENDS IN COUNCIL. 19

Mdllo, of Campinas, Brazil, for whose sake he learned Literary
Spanish, till when he had to trust to John Miers for the
translation of his epistles. Such aid was not necessary
when he received the welcome communications of G.
Thuret, of Antibes ; Gustave Planchon, of Paris ; or Leon
Soubeiran, of Montpellier. Amongst his cosmopolitan
advisers, Moordeen Sheriff, of Madras, with his masterly
" Supplement to the Indian Pharmacopoeia " stands pre-
eminent ; not forgetting Dr. H. F. Hance, to whom he
was largely indebted ; W. G-. Milne, of Old Calabar ;
Dr. Beke, famed for his Sinai expedition, or his widow
who so courageously seconded her husband's difficult
task.

To these might fairly be added as his intimates the Fellows
chief scientific writers in America, and the distinguished Linne/m
members of the Linnean Society, notably its 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,

It would be unjust to his memory to pass over his
friendship with younger men, or that he gladly availed
himself of the help of Mr. Broughton and Mr. C. H.
Wood in quinology ; or that of Mr. Charles Umney in Qujnoio-
laboratory details. Others pharmaceutically connected,
indeed, but as well known in the world of science, were
the objects of his regard. Such were Henry Bowman
Brady, who had attained the same honours, and the two
brothers, Henry Groves, of Florence, and T. B. Groves,
of Wey mouth.

How he was associated with Dr. Hooker and John
Eliot Howard is as little necessary to state, as to
chronicle his uninterrupted intercourse with Professor
Fliickiger, of Bern, L. A. Buchner, of Munich, or Professor

C 2

20 MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY.

Richard Martius. The letters of Richard Spruce, the explorer
and of the Amazon and Rio Negro, as well as those of
Colonel Yule, of Palermo, would each fill a decently
sized volume. The latter writes thus : — " On your own
account I should say, don't be in a hurry to finish your
book [the Pharmacographia]. It is a delightful em-
ployment. Now I miss Marco Polo, and find other work
very difficult." Such was the circle in which he moved,
and which made him appropriate to himself the words,
"Actijucundi labores, jucundior labor."

Hanbury had other friends from whose minds his
memory will not easily fade — these were little children.
For them he had always a smile of welcome and a cheer-
ful word ; and in their society he was as unlike a staid
and grave philosopher as heart could wish. His way of
interesting and amusing them was a sight to see ; he
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 always
seemed black, and the printer was as glad to receive
such copy as the individual reader.

A fac simile of his handwriting is here presented : —

H^t *£<<£ f&t O ->**^HSr' rC. . *s

Sti^fc* ^ ^n<_^^^/^ D« v ,

I

%SO

C*v«^o*J y^x^^'frcxc* \/g^v^£?«~v-

^7~#^f~>

/

NORWICH— EXETER— PARIS. 23

He was a prominent member from the commencement
of the British Pharmaceutical Conference, of which he ceutical
was President, at Norwich in 1868, and at Exeter in

ence.

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 had his botanical researches led him to any practical
experiments with Nicotiana tabacum. Nevertheless,
he managed well, and made a good dinner speech at
Norwich. Both his addresses were models of presidential
discourses.

It was at Exeter that, very early in the morning, with chloral

•ir i- i Hydrate. -

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 vegetable products, and in the latter engaged
on produits agricoles (non aliment air es).

Seated round a social table, the guests were discussing Exposition
the merits of the Exposition Universelle. Hanbury was
amongst 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. Eeturn-
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."

Eeporting the Materia Medica of these Exhibitions Paris work.
overtasked his constitution : he did not husband his
strength, and a voice of warning may be raised against
this unwise strain upon mental and physical powers. At

24 MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY.

the Exposition of 1867, he presented himself at the
hour of opening, and never left until compelled to quit
the building. To the fascinations of the gay city, even
its innocent recreations, he was just as much a stranger
as when botanizing at Naples he let Vesuvius continue
its irruption without for a moment being diverted from
his labours.
Cuitiva- It \vas matter of remark in his home circle how assi-

tion of the . „ . .

French duously he made use of every opportunity of associating
with French people for the sake of conversing in their
language. They were often invited to his father's house,
and he showed special interest in their society. He was
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 Channel. From
this large section of his work, the following note is
selected : —

" LONDRES, U 7 Fevrier, 1863.
Letter " MONSIEUR,

Allemao. " J'ai rec,u il y a trois jours avec beaucoup de plaisir, le

paquet de plantes seches que vous avez Men voulu m'envoyer
par Tintermediaire de M. Garrett, et je vous en rends grace tres
sincerement. Je vous accuse reception aussi de votre honored
du 5me Novembre.

" L'e'chantillon de votre Myrospcrmum Erythroxylum bien
qu'il ne comprend ni fleurs ni fruits, ne m'est point sans valeur.
Si dans le temps il vous soit possible de m'envoyer deux ou
tvoix legumes de la plante, j'en serais tres reconnaissant. On
peut bien les envoyer dans une lettre.

"L'autre Myrospermum repond assez bien au M. tohdfera,
H.B.K.; je suis tres content d'en avoir un e*chantillon avec fruits.
Les deux especes de Myrocarpus ni'ont fait beaucoup de plaisir.

CONTINENTAL TRAVEL— SMYRNA. 25

"Si je puis vous aider d'aucune maniere dans une affaire de
science, surtout dans la botanique ou la pharmacologie, je vous
prie de compter au moins sur ma bonne volonte.

Agreez Monsieur 1'assurance de mes sentiments devoues.

"D. H.

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

He loved to travel on the Continent, and particularly Travels.
in the district of Auvergne and the southern provinces
of France, where he cultivated the society of every
botanist of note ; he spent a pleasant summer vacation
with 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 which
he so well expressed in his first presidential address.

With reference to his tours, it should be mentioned
that as far as possible he made personal observations on
everything connected with his special studies in every
locality he visited. At Smyrna (1854) he gained infor- Smyrna.
mation about the collection of scammony and its trade ;
and owing to the kindness of Sidney H. Maltass, he 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 rubbed with water; and the scanty
amount of a white residue which it leaves on being
treated with ether. Scammony resin is to be distin-
guished from scammony by affording hardly any emulsion
when rubbed and wetted.

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

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

26 MKMOIR OF DANIEL HANBUEY.

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

India. 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 the origin of certain drugs and other
vegetable products.

These travels, almost without exception, were conse-
crated to the sole object of extending pharmacological
research. Having set before him one definite line of
action, he pursued it to the unwavering exclusion 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 had it
been for him to have carried his bow occasionally unbent,
and to have indulged in some degree of relaxation amidst
his severer occupations.

Hooker 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-
perity, wonderfully beautiful and grand. Even in the
Jardin des Plantes there was some improvement, but the
chief sight was the gardening in the squares, bright with
exquisite and rare plants. Palms and cycas growing in
least expected places, in spots as secluded as in Soho
Square ; while in every part of the town the keep of
grass borders, edgings, and shrubberies was perfect.

On September 15, the two friends, with Capt. Wash-
ington and others, left Trieste by the Austrian Lloyd's
steamship Vulcan for Beyrut, vid Smyrna, On board

CORFU— THE ADRIATIC— SYRA. 27

were a troupe of opera singers and dancers, the former Voyage to

r r .the Holy

of whom beguiled the tedium of the voyage. A Chios Land,
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 material improvement was
impossible except under foreign intervention. At Corfu 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 Zante and Cephalonia,
where they are grown extensively. They passed by the
Adriatic to the Ionian Islands, amongst which is the
small island of Paxo, where tradition says the news of p^o, or
the death of the great 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 rugged, and mostly covered with
myrtle, laurel, arbutus, olive, and here and there clumps
of evergreen oaks. Thence they went by the Strophades
to the Arcadian coast ; entered the ^Egean Sea, and
skirted the Island of Delos, the reputed birthplace of
Apollo, and which contained the second oracle of Greece.
Syrti is reached — the great centre of Greek commerce,
and famous for its schools, in which children are taught
Greek, and little girls and boys read Demosthenes in a
pure tongue. Hanbury and Dr. Hooker now exchanged
the Vulcan for a very large iron screw steamer named
the Tfebizond, 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
whole cabin vibrate, and there was an abominable rattling

28 MEMOIR OF DANIEL H ANBURY.

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

Chios, or 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 saw the light, certain it is that
the island is famous for mastich, grapes, and olives. Now

Gulf of the travellers approach the magnificent gulf of Smyrna,
all along the coast of which the sultana raisin 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'Imperatrice for
Bey rut : passed the Ionian and Carian coast to Rhodes,
and on Monday (Sept. 24) anchored off Cyprus, in which

Paphosthe is Paphos, renowned for wine and honey. Next day

modem _ , . iv-ii-i • •

Bafa or Lebanon was in sight as a splendid long ridge rising
high out of the eastern horizon. Beautiful is the situa-
tion of Beyrut, 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 grow in the little gardens.

At the H6tel de Bellevue they held conclave about a
Dragoman, and selected Habeeb Somah, who had accom-
panied the Misses Beaufort. Mounted on most wretched

LEBANON AND THE CEDARS. 29

animals, they left Beyrut, being a party of eight riders,
ten baggage horses and mules, and an escort, following
the mountain route as marked on Van der Velde's map.
They went towards the bay through lanes filled with
Saccharum, Donax, Eose, Asclepias, and Kubus, 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 halted
at Ain el Houran, a cold, naked, desolate place, without Ain el
bush or tree, but tufts of Tragacanth, which yielded the
gum abundantly ; some flowers, and eternal Carduacese.
The upper part of Lebanon they found to consist of red-
bare rounded ridges, forming a great shallow amphi-
theatre : at the bottom of which is a broad flat, with low
undulating hillocks on which the Cedars stand. These The
form one small clump like a black speck in the great
amphitheatre, and there is no other tree or shrub visible
near them. The wood is intensely hard and close
grained. A fine log was sent to Kew. No doubt the
persistence of the trees is due to the peculiar nature of
the well-drained moist light soil of the stony moraine.
Below, they found some nice plants and Rhododendron
ponticum ; also the Tragacanth Astragalus, with the
gum oozing out : specimens of which were secured.

The Cedars, about 400 trees of various ages, stand on
evident old glacial moraines, 6,000 feet in elevation, and
occupy five or six hillocks. They are fifty to eighty feet
high. The distinctive character of moraines consists in
their being blocks of limestone of various composition,
conglomerate, vesicular, and compact. Almost all Cardua-
ceae disappear above the Cedars. Berbery, Tragacanth,
and Acantholinum are the commonest shrubs, with

30 MEMOIR OF DANIEL II ANBURY.

small, pretty Crocus ; some Alsinese and Compositae.
No trees. Hanbury and Mr. G. Washington sketched
and planned the Cedars. "The largest is forty feet in
girth, and three others are also very large ; all the
largest are very 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
much the same character ; are short-leaved, not glaucous,
dark green, and very horizontally branched. Several
trees stand well apart from the group." [Dr. H.]

Two ascents of Lebanon were made, nor were the
travellers slow to admire the superb character of the
Baaibec. 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
Damascus, earthquakes." 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 botanist. The
city forms a winding 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. 3 1

masonry, and proceeded a long way through wretched
lanes, amongst still more wretched bazaars, to the
" street called Straight," wherein was their hotel.

Great alarm prevailed amongst the Christians, who
were all leaving after the massacre, and ruins piled four
feet deep were in every lane ; there were heaps of muti-
lated corpses, bones, and stench ; burnt books and
pictures ; 3,500 to 4,000 troops ; much sickness, dysen-
tery, and diarrhoea. Amid such scenes, they went down
their street, which is called, but is not, straight. Omit-
ting the details of the 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 which will
remain memorable throughout all time. At Nablous,
the ancient Sychar, the bigoted Moslem inhabitants
cursed the travellers, and the boys jeered at them in
the street. They visited the Samaritan synagogue, and
went by a filthy town route, almost on hands and knees,
along dark alleys, to the Chief Rabbi's house. He was
a fine civil old man, who took them into a dingy chamber,
and showed them the Samaritan Pentateuch. It appears, Samaritan
however, that a copy, and never the true, old book, is

shown to strangers. So they were told at least by
Professor Lewisohn, a Russian converted Jew, who had
spent much time in Nablous. He has examined the
original, and finds by the final letters of the columns
that it is of the age of Phineas, son of Eli.

At Nazareth their quiet was disturbed by groups of Nazareth.
women and girls, who crowded round the well by hun-
dreds, waiting to draw water. They camped amongst
the olives near the well outside the town ; all Saturday
the disturbance was continued, nor on Sunday was the

32 MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY. .

harmony less troubled ; from which 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 the baggage direct to Tiberias,
and on October 30, 1860, the five weeks in Syria and
Palestine were at an end. One sight worthy of mention
remains to be described. Mr. Kogers, Vice-Consul (son of
the celebrated deceased wood-carver), met them at Caifa,

Mount 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. They
proceeded along mountain tops, opening up beautiful
views to southward of valleys and the wooded coast.
Plenty of quercus, with red galls, were found south of
Safed, as well as the common oak of the country, but no
valerian on the heights. The daisy was common in the
Druse villages, and the Laurus nobilis, a small tree. At
Esfia there were good houses, and the people were cleaner
than usual ; but enormous manure heaps were left outside
the village, resembling the slag heaps of Swansea, and
they were 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 manure, and the grass was

Dieses. grown f°r 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
inhabitants, who never alter in numbers.

The Place At 1 P.M. (Nov. 2) the pilgrims arrived at the place

ice> of sacrifice, and gained a splendid view — the finest they

had seen in Palestine. Gilgal, Gilboa, Jezreel, Little

MAGNIFICENT PANORAMA. 33

HermoD, Nam, Tabor, and the Lake of Tiberias were view in
displayed before them. The Mountains of Moab, Gilead, Palestine-
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 J°l
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 the 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

34 MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY.

Parlatore, the head of the Natural History Museum ;
another day he did precisely the same thing — that is,
was absorbed in his favourite study, and " how well he
knew how to set about it can be verified by those who
have seen him at work : the methodical, searching ques-
tions which he placed to his informant were almost of
the nature of a cross-examination, so desirous was he of
Order and eliciting the whole history. Nor was his precision con-
fined to study, but in the house the servant remarked the
methodical way he had in disposing his garments, and
could not help exclaiming, in her Piedmontese dialect,
'Giusmaria! questo e un Sior per ben!' He was very
abstemious at meal times, and could never be persuaded
to take more than he thought good for himself under
any circumstances."

Popular 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 Athenaeum ; a paper
(reprinted afterwards) in Ocean Highways, " On the
Botanical Origin of Myrrh ; " a note, 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 " Chemist's Holiday-Jottings in France,"
in which, inter alia, he describes a visit to the Alps of
Dauphiny, and the Monastery of the Grande Chartreuse.
He did not fail, however, to remark the firs, pines, and
turpentine ; nor the larch manna of Brian§on, with its
peculiar sugar called Melezitose.

Life of Mr. Hanbury was the author of the " Sketch of the

Ben. Life of Jacob Bell" which appeared in September 1859.

Both the biographer and the subject of the memoir were

COUNTESS OF CHINCHON— LONDON INSTITUTION. 35

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 the last summons came.

His very latest work is a review of Markham's " Memoir Memoir of
of the Countess of Chinchon," to which allusion has 0fUCMnS-
been already made. His last sentence is as follows :
" It is now several years since Mr. Markham lifted up
his voice against this corruption [the Linnean spelling of
the word CINCHONA], 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
effect. The new spelling has, indeed, been adopted in
the official documents of the Indian Government, 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 the 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 London
direction of the affairs of the London Institution, and tion;U
was at home in its admirable library. The librarian (the
late John Cargill Brough) had a host of pleasant and
most 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 those upper regions will acknowledge the necessity
for the advice.

The books treasured in his library at Clapham were

D 2

36 MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY.

Library at not many, but well selected. There were the whole series
of botanical works, such as might have been expected ill
the library 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 great value ; a few specimens of the art of print-
ing. There were Latin volumes of travel, 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-
urious clothings were bestowed on single, not on collected
tractates. And there stood the well-read and constantly
exhibited work of his friend Colonel Yule, " The Travels
of Marco Polo," which was seldom in his library, and
was described to admiring visitors with warm praise ;
then there were the Latin folios, a fine copy of the
" Medicae artis Principes," Matthiolus, Avicenna, Galen,
Valerius Cordus, and other ancient worthies ; lastly,
School Lexicons and Dictionaries of most elementary
character, a few theological disquisitions, and so the
total is complete.
Mexican An admiring botanical friend, with whom he had long

fungi.

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 large assortment of photographs and sketches
which belonged rather to the portfolio of the traveller
than to the pharmacologist, and maps coloured for special
purposes.

ITALIAN COAST-GUARD-CHARACTER. 37

In 1870, Hanbury went to Mortola for a short time to
superintend the estate of his brother Thomas, during the
temporary absence of the latter in China. Judging from
his letters he became head gardener as well as director-
general. When there, commiserating the condition of
the Italian coast-guard on that part of the shore, he Italian
ordered from Florence a small collection of books for guard.
their amusement and instruction. These were chiefly
translations 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 Private
reveal the 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 his heart — once more especially, when in an earnest
conversation 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
the 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 The
did not take place before he had finished his great work
in association with Professor Fluckiger, called the

38 MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBUKY.

Pharmacographia. This was his most important under-
taking, except his share in the compilation of the "Pharma-
copoeia of India." The title was not accepted hastily,
nor without revision : " Britannica " and " Nova " being at
Opinoins first suggested as additions. Neither did the form of its

respecting °° . .

the 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 luxe had not
been in contemplation. Others thought that the absence
of illustrations of microscopical structure was a defici-
ency, an opinion to which he heartily assented. The
two following memoranda taken from his note book will
be read with interest : —

2P5
" 1873. ~. Left with printer the first portion of MS. of

Pharmacographia.

" 1874. — . On the evening of this day (my 49th birthday)

IX

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

The origin of the Pharmacographia is thus de-
scribed by Professor Fluckiger :—

Fluckiger's "Finally, Hanbury's separate investigations were followed by
intt a comprehensive work in which he displayed his best labours.
His views on Incense had led in 1864 to an acquaintance with
Fluckiger, which from their first meeting in 1867 became the
closest friendship. From that time forward they occupied them-
selves in working out in common the same questions, which
resulted in the thought of arranging their conclusions in a per-
fectly systematic form. To this they were incited by the fact
that English literature could produce no work answering to the
views of the two friends. The task was taken in hand, and
carried out both by writing and by word of mouth.

" All that was possible was done to elucidate those doubtful

THE « PHARMACOttRAPHIA." 39

points of a practical and scientific nature which cropped up in
unlocked for abundance."

It remains an imperishable memorial of his accurate
research, 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 ostentation ;
one to whom might be applied in their full significance
the words —

" Cui Pudor, et Justitise soror,

Incorrupta Fides, nudaqne Yeritas

Quando ullum inveniet parem 1 "

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

Professor Dragendorff, of the University of Dorpat, Hanbmy
and others, unwilling that a life consecrated to science Medal
should pass nncommemorated, 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, who 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 MEMOIR OF DANIEL HANBURY.

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

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

Those who think that easy circumstances and leisure
are favourable to intellectual effort are tremendously
mistaken. Hanbury worked on laboriously in spite of
his pastoral life at Clapham 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 TUENSOLE.

ALTHOUGH the subject of these remarks may by some be
considered more to concern the dyer than the pharmacist, I
trust that, 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 two1 articles
of different origin. The one is the Litmus of English chemists
(Tournesol en pains of the French), a blue substance imported
from Holland, and believed to be derived from some species of
lichen. The property possessed by its solution, of being changed
by acids from blue to red, is its most important character.

The other species of Turnsole, and that on which I propose Turnsole
to offer a few remarks, is called Turnsole Bags (Tournesol en ags'
drapeaux). 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 Croton tinctorium, Linn.
Crozophora tinctoria, Endl., and la Maurelle of the French. It
is indigenous in the south of France, and has been cultivated

1 The " Turnesol in linen " and " in cotton" of Pomet, being manifestly
different preparations, and no longer objects of commerce, are excepted.

44 TURNSOLE— MANUFACTURE AND USES.

i85o. 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 restricted to the neighbourhood of the small
town of Grand Gallargues, in the department of Gard.
Manufnc- According to J. P. Hugues, to whose pamphlet ( Une Excur-
ture- sion dans la Commune de Grand Gallargues dans 1835 :
Nismes, 1835), and a personal 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 height, and whose
seeds are developed though not ripe, are cut in the month of
August, ground to pulp in a mill, and the juice, which amounts
to about half their weight, expressed. This 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 drying completes the process.

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

Turnsole ^ut ^tt*e *S ^nown °* t^e PurP°ses f°r 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 (Histoire des Drogues Simples: Paris, 1836), but
relinquished in a subsequent edition of his works. Dr. Ure
states the name Turnsole 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
(Stirpium Adversaria Nova : Lond., 1570) correctly describe the

NOTE TO PEREIRA ON LITMUS. 45

plant and its locality, and mention its employment both in isso.
medicine and for dyeing. It is also described by Pomet, and
figured in the English translation of his History of Drugs,
printed in London in 1737. Pliny alludes to it under the name
of Heliotropion 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 country 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 Pereira on Dutch Cake Litmus.

LONDON, 7th of 12th mo., 1850.

MY DEAR DR. PEREIRA, — Some months ago I was favoured Samples of
by thee with the sight of a specimen of litmus said to be free Litmus.
from indigo, which thou hadst recently received from Holland,
It was in much larger cakes than the ordinary kind, and of
not nearly so fine and deep a blue colour. This induced me to
examine two samples of litmus received by our house from
Amsterdam in 1846, one of which agreed in its characters with
that above-mentioned, while the other was of the usual sort,
and of excellent quality.

1. The first of these, which I have since called litmus without
indigo, afforded 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 containing indigo, on being
heated in a capsule, afforded the small copper-coloured crystals
so characteristic of indigo. The 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
is, that the value of the litmus in large cakes (No. 1) is so much
greater than that in small cakes (No. 2) that the difference in
favour of the former amounts to more than 50 per cent.

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

46 RESIN OF NORWAY SPRUCE FIR.

185O. equal in intensity to that of the other sort. Almost the only
difference that could be detected in 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 the indigo
in the latter partially obscuring the red colour.

Various Accompanying these samples, which were from one of the
qualities of m0st respectable litmus manufacturers at Amsterdam, our cor-
lus* respondent sent the price current of 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 Dekker, of
Wormerveer, in Holland.]

ON THE RESIN OF THE NORWAY SPRUCE FIR.

(Abies excelsa.)

IN the Materia Medica of the London Pharmacopoeia two
forms of the resin of the Norway Spruce Fir (Abies excelsa)
are enumerated : one, Abielis resina, called Common Thus or
Frankincense ; the other, Fix abietina, or Burgundy pitch. The
latter is stated to be the resin in a prepared state (Resina
prcp.parata) ; the preparation essentially consisting in the removal
of the impurities by straining.

Abietis The first of these substances, viz., Abietis resina, is 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
bark of the tree, and especially from those places where
branches have been broken oft1. When it first issues, it is

BURGUNDY AND BALTIC PITCH. 47

sometimes quite transparent and liquid, but is more commonly iaso.
found opaque, 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 tears are internally white and opaque,
like drop ammoniacum, the broken surface acquiring a pink hue
by exposure to the air. The odour is peculiar, terebinthinate,
cheesy, and rather aromatic ; the taste slightly bitter.

The article now sold as Abietis resina is believed to be AUetis
imported chiefly from America, and in odour and colour much renna-
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 impurities as small chips of wood, sticks, and leaves. The
leaves are evidently not those of the Norway spruce fir.

When genuine Abietis resina is melted in hot water, strained Burgundy
and cooled, we obtain Burgundy 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 considerable loss. It is moist, of a greyish buff colour,
speedily becoming dark on the surface by exposure to the air ;
when strained it acquires a browner hue, and is very adhesive.
It was formerly called Rhine pitch, to distinguish it from
another imported variety now seldom seen, which was desig-
nated Baltic pitch.

Baltic pitch is a brittle resin, externally transparent, and of Baltic
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 prigin.

48 BURGUNDY PITCH.

185O. Artificial Burgundy pitch, apparently intended as an 'imita-

Artificial ^on °^ ^e sort *ast Described (smce ^ strikingly differs from

Burgundy the Hamburg or genuine sort), is manufactured in London and

telL 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 Burgundy pitch are employed
on the Continent, but as they do not occur in English commerce,
it seems unnecessary here to describe them.

In answer to some questions, which were asked in the dis-
cussion which followed the reading of the paper, Mr. H anbury
stated that he believed the resin of the Spruce Fir was not
collected as an article of commerce 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 BURGUNDY PITCH.
Burgunder Harz (von Abies excelsa).

THE authors of the British Pharmacopoeia have defined
Burgundy pitch (Fix Burgundica) as a resinous exudation from
the stem of the Spruce Fir, Abies excelsa DC. (Pinus Abies L., P.
excelsa 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 the Continent the term Pix Burgundica (which is not
'* frequently applied) appears to have a less definite signification
. than with us, being used synonymously with Eesina alba to
designate the resins of various coniferous trees after purification
by being boiled in water and strained. The following descrip-
tion is translated from one of the more recent and esteemed
works on pharmacology, that of the late Dr. Berg.1

1 Pharmazeutische Waarenkunde, Berlin, 1863, p. 566.

BURGUNDY PITCH. 49

White Resin, White Pitch, Yellow Eesin, Yellow Pitch [ Weisses 1867.

ffarz, iveisses Peek, gelbes Harz, gelbes Peek], Resina s. Pix flava s. '

citrina.

It is obtained by melting common resin with the frequent Dr. Berg,
addition of water and subsequently straining. According as
the melting has lasted a longer or shorter time, the resin remains
paler in colour and constitutes White Eesin, or becomes darker
and is called Yellow Resin, 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, arid becomes
gradually yellow. The second, through the formation of a little
colopholic acid by reason of the longer melting, is of a yellow,
dark yellow, or brownish colour, very brittle, here and there
clear, and has a conchoidal glassy fracture. 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 Burgundy Resin or Pitch, Resina s. Pix Bur-
gundica, is the similarly prepared resin of Picea excelsa and Pinus
Pinaster, which is brought into commerce in the form of dull,
dirty-yellow brittle masses of a glassy fracture, softening in the
hand. Ordinary Burgundy Pitch is White Resin which has
been gently melted for a short time without the addition of
water, so that it is in fact freed from a part of its water,
but has not yet acquired the brown colour of colophony.

In France as in England the term Burgundy Pitch (Poix
de Bourgogne) is by the more accurate writers restricted to the
melted and strained resin of the Spruce Fir, of which substance
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, flowing when warm, very ten-
acious, having a peculiar odour, and an aromatic taste without
bitterness ; not completely soluble in alcohol in the cold.
There is frequently substituted for it another product called
white pitch [poix llanche], prepared with galipot1 or a mixture
of yellow resin and Bordeaux turpentine, 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.

1 (Note by translator). — Galipot, dry resin collected in France from the
trunks of Pinus maritima, Lamb.

£

50 BURGUNDY PITCH.

1867. Where then 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 Pharmacopoeia mention it as a
production of Switzerland, where the Spruce Fir is certainly
found in great abundance. But I have it upon excellent autho-
rity, that of my friend Dr. Fliickiger of Bern, that at the
present time no terebinthinous resins are collected in Switzer-
land for commercial purposes. Neither is true Burgundy Pitch
produced in France, as its name would seem to indicate, Pinus
maritima, Lamb., being in fact the only tree the resin of which
is collected in that country as an industrial product.1

Knowing these facts and 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 suite of specimens illustrating this very subject. Baron Linder,
of Svarta, near Helsingfors, is the exhibitor of the resin of the
Spruce Fir in two forms, namely : —

Baron 1. The crude resin as exuded from the trunk of the tree and
louder, dgggribed in the following words : " Barras ou gomme concrete,
adherente aux sapins (Pinus Abies). Produit brut servant a la
fabrication de re'sine, etc. etc. — Prix 12 francs les 100 kilogr."

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 : " RSsine jaune cuite (a vapeur d'eau a chaleur
mode're'e) de barms de sapin (Pinus Abies). Prix 40 francs les
100 kilogr. : production annuelle 35,000 kilogr."

1 The name Burgundy Pitch seems in fact to be a complete misnomer, no
such substance having been ever produced in Burgundy. Pomet, writing
in 16.94, thus speaks of " Poix grasse ou Poix blanche ou Poix de Bour-
gogne " .•— -

" On fait fondre le Galipot avec tant soit peu d'huile de Terebenthine, et
de la Terebenthine commune, et ensuite c'est ce que nous appelons Poix
grapse, ou Poix blanche de Bourgogne, a cause que Ton pretend que la
meilleure et la premiere s'est faite a saint Nicolas en Lorraine : ce qui est
tout le contraire d'aujourdTmi ; car la meilleure Poix grasse vient de Hol^
lande et de Strasbourg, d'oii nous la faisons venir."

PRODUCTS OF THE SPRUCE FIR. 51

Of these two resins, the first is not found in English com- 1867.
merce : — the second constitutes genuine Burgundy Pitch, pre-
cisely such as may be bought in the London market. The
quantity of this purified resin produced annually, it will be
observed, is very considerable, being equivalent to 77,000
pounds, or more than 34 tons weight. Baron Linder is likewise
an exhibitor of the crude resin of Pinus sylvestris, 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 Burgundy Pitch is also J. G. Mill-
produced in Germany. Mr. J. G. Miiller of Locherberg, near ler*
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 of Abies excelsa about four feet long, treated
for the production of resin. This stem has had cut in it longi-
tudinally at equal distances, four even and regular channels, an
inch and a half wide and of the same depth ; from the sides of
the channels, the resin exudes and is scraped off with an iron
instrument made for the purpose.

2. The crude resin (Roh-Harz) as scraped from the stem,
contained in the original triangular bark-basket used in the
country.

3. Wasser Harz. — This has been obtained by boiling in water
and pressing the crude resin. It is grey and opaque, contains
much water, and is identical with an impure but genuine Bur-
gundy Pitch sometimes found in the London market.

4. Gereinigtes Fichtenharz, R6sine purififo. — This is No. 3 in a
purified condition, or, as we should call it, True Burgundy Pitch
in its purest condition.

In addition to these specimens, Mr. Miiller also exhibits
samples of resin prepared for the use of brewers, who, in Ger-
many, employ resin (Brauerpecti) for coating the inside of beer
casks.

E 2

52 BURGUNDY PITCH.

1867. Another exhibitor of genuine Burgundy Pitch is Mr. Theodor

— Milliner of Hinter Briihl, Post Modling near Vienna, who shows

FicJiienharz, or crude resin of the Spruce Fir and Fichtenpech,

which is the same in a purified condition. The latter may be

regarded as a type of good Burgundy Pitch.

These contributions to the Paris Exhibition show that the
resin of the Spruce is collected for trade purposes in Finland
and in Germany, — and in the first-named country upon a
very considerable scale. It does not, however, appear that
it is ever termed Burgundy Pitch in the places where it
is produced.

Although genuine Burgundy Pitch (usually, it must 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 have
described it as dull tawny, bright tawny yellow, bright yellow,
brilliant orange yellow, or bright orange brown. Some samples
have a dull wax-like fracture, others a more or less shining or
conchoidal fracture. Some exhibit, when broken, numerous cells
containing air and water ; others are more compact. All are
more or less opaque, but become transparent on the surface in
the course of time by the loss of water. All the samples have
a weak terebinthinous odour, not one possessing the fra-
grance of true Burgundy Pitch. All are free from bits of stick
and such like impurities which are frequently found in the
genuine drug.

I am not in the secret of the manufacture of this artificial
Burgundy Pitch, for which 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 the mixture to produce
an opaque appearance. In examining the characters of genuine
and spurious Burgundy Pitch, I have noted the following
differences :

BURGUNDY PITCH.

53

ARTIFICIAL BURGUNDY PITCH.
Colour usually more brilliant
than that of the true Burgundy
Pitch.

Odour
aromatic.

weak and hardly

Still less completely soluble
in alcohol of '838.

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

TRUE BURGUNDY PITCH.

Colour dull yellowish brown ;
fracture shining, conchoidal ;
translucent ; some samples con-
tain much water and are opaque
and of a dull grey colour, and
require straining to free them
from impurities. Odour pecu-
liarly aromatic.

Not wholly soluble in alcohol
of *838, but leaves a small
amount of fine 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 flocculent
matter.

The foregoing characters apply to most of the artificial
Burgundy Pitch which I have examined, and may be useful,
so , 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.
Solubility 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

Conclusions.

1. True Burgundy Pitch is the melted and strained resin of
Abies excelsa, DC.

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

3. True Burgundy Pitch is produced 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.

1867.

54 OIL OF THYME.

ON OIL OF THYME, COMMONLY SOLD AS OIL OF
OKIGANUM.

185O. THE vast number of plants included in the botanical order
of Labiatce, 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 similarity of many of these oils, our imperfect means of
distinguishing them 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 importance to medicine ; yet having had
the opportunity of visiting the district where it is obtained, I
have elicited a few facts regarding it which appear sufficiently
interesting to be 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 origani
vulyaris, a statement the converse of which I believe to be far
more usually the case.

Thymv* During a visit to the South of France in the autumn of last
vulgaris. year, i procured from the manufacturer a sample of an essential
oil of thyme, as well as a specimen of the plant from which it
is distilled. ^ This oil, which was submitted ,to Dr. Pereira,
proved to be identical with the oleum origani of English
druggists ; and the plant, -which was kindly examined by Dr.
Lindley and G. Bentham, has been ascertained to be Thymus
vulgaris. The latter gentleman, in a note to me, states that
the plant in question is " the true Thymus vulyaris, so abundant
on the arid wastes of Lower Languedoc as to be much used
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

the 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 Huile rouge de Thym. Redistillation renders
it colourless, and it is then termed Huile blanche de Thym. The
coloured oil, however, is that most commonly sold.

The trade of distilling oils of thyme, lavender, and rosemary,
is chiefly in the hands of small manufacturers at Milhaud,
Auj argues, Souvignargues, 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.

The question naturally arises, — Is all the oleum origani
used in this country thus derived ? I believe it to be so. I
have not been able to discover that any is manufactured here,
nor have I succeeded in procuring a sample so essentially differ-
ing from oil of thyme as to warrant my believing it to be
genuine oil of origanum. The extremely low price at which oil
of thyme can be produced in the South of France, and the
common purposes to which it is applied, seem to preclude all
attempt at competition in other localities. Cheap, however,
as it is, it is yet occasionally the subject of adulteration with
oil of turpentine, whose odour in such case may be readily
detected, especially on comparison with 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
Expository Statement of the Consumption of imported Commo-
dities within the United Kingdom in two years preceding and two
years following the establishment of the New Tariff. Presented to
loth Houses of Parliament ly command of Her Majesty, 1845."

OIL OF THYME.

isso.

True corn-

oil of
Origanum

QUANTITIES RETAINED FOR HOME CONSUMPTION.

Years ending 5th Jauuary.

Years ending 5th July.

1839.

1841.

1843.

1844.

11,938 lb.

8,818 lb.

7,991 lb.

7,553 lb.

56 OIL OF ORIGANUM.

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

ON TfrtJE OIL OF OKIGANUM.

i85i. IN a recent number of the Pharmaceutical Transactions,1
I endeavoured to prove that the article sold in this country
as oil of origanum is, in reality, the oil of thyme (Thymus
vulgaris), under which latter name it is 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.

Authentic As it appeared desirable to have an authentic specimen of
oil of origanum for comparison, a quantity of the oil was pro-
cured and distilled with water in the ordinary way. The plant,
which was chiefly collected in the neighbourhood of Sheerness,
was quite fresh, and very fully in flower when submitted to
distillation. It afforded an exceedingly small amount of
yellow oil, seventy pounds producing scarcely an ounce. This
small produce 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's
Dictionary of Materia Medica, 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."

Distinctive Contrasted with oil of thyme, oil of origanum is distinguished
ers* by the following characters : —

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

2. Colour, which in oil of origanum is bright yellow, while
the ordinary kind of oil of thyme is of a more or less deep red-
dish-brown.

1 Vide vol. x., p. 6.

CALUMBA WOOD. 57

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

ON AN ARTICLE IMPORTED AS CALUMBA WOOD,

SUPPOSED TO BE THE PRODUCE OF A

MENISPERMUM.

(Calumba-Holz aus Sild America.)

SOME months since there was imported into London from Calumba
the island of Ceylon, under the name of Calumba Wood, 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 wholly unknown to druggists, a
small quantity having appeared in the
market some years before.

This wood, which is covered with a
thin, pale, corky 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
divides at its outer extremity into two (Natural

, , . , , . , „ . This cut has been prepared from an

layers, which diverge and form arches impression taken from the wood it-

self

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, shrunken
tissue, very different from the mature wood, with which, however,
it is in immediate contact. There is no appearance of concentric
zones.

This peculiarity of structure rendered it probable that the Cal-
umba wood might be afforded by some plant of one of the three
natural orders, Ptperacece, Aristolochiacece, or Menispermacece.

Transverse Section of Calumba Wood.
il size.)

58 MENISPERMUM FENESTRATUM.

i85i. From the first of these it appears to be separated by the
absence of a jointed structure, volatile acrid matter, and som
other peculiarities characteristic of the pepper tribe, while
from the diagnostic characters of the wood of the two remain-
ing orders given by Decaisne (Comptes Rendus, voL v., p. 392),
an origin among the Menispermacece was inferred.

Upon the supposition that this inference was correct, re-
ference was made to Roxburgh's Flora Indica, from which it
appears (p. 809), as well as from the statement of Colebrooke
(Linnean Trans., vol. xiii, p. 65) and Ainslie (Materia Indica, vol.
ii., p. 461) that the bitter yellow wood of iheMenispermumfenestra-
tum, Gsertn., is employed 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
Roxburgh, which is as follows : —

Eoxburgh. " Menispermum fenestraticm, Gcert. Sem. 1, p. 219, t. 46, f. 5.
* * Trunk and large branches scandent, stout, thick and
ligneous. The wood of a deep lively yellow colour, and of a
pleasant, bitter taste. * * * The above description was
taken from specimens sent to me from Ceylon by General
Macdowall, who, at the same time, gave me the following
account of the plant.

' I have lately been at some trouble to discover 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
opinion. I now forward a specimen of the root, and some of
the leaves and flowers which grow from the stem of the branch.
It is a very strong creeper, and the natives make use of it to
tie their cattle, and for other purposes of husbandry, where
ropes are necessary.

' Should this prove the celebrated Colombo root, I believe a
great quantity of it might be collected and sent to Europe,
where it is in great request, but I can scarcely presume to
think, after all the labour of the learned Thunberg in particular,
who denies its existence here, that I shall be so fortunate as to
discover it. Your opinion shall be decisive with me, and
although it may not be that valuable medicine, I suppose it yet
may possess many excellent qualities, It is called by the

CALUMBA WOOD. 59

Cingalese Venivel-getta or 'Bangwel-getta ; English, the knotted
plant. It is in repute among the inhabitants, who slice it into
pieces, and after having steeped it in water several hours, swal-
low it with the liquid. They recommend it as an excel-
lent stomachic.

' 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 from
the centre of a knot, that you may make an experiment upon
it."

" Note. — This is certainly not the Colombo Root of our Materia
Medica.—R"

The Cingalese name Venivel-getta, so nearly corresponds with
that of Weni-wcela-gceta, applied by Moon (Catalogue of Indi-
genous and Exotic Plants growing in Ceylon, Colombo, 1821,
p. 70) to a plant which he calls Cissampelos convolvulacea, var.
/3, whose root he states to be medicinal, that I have been led to
suspect that Moon's plant may prove identical with the Menis-
permum fenestratum of Eoxburgh.

It is, however, evident that we are without any proof that
Calumba wood is produced by M. fenestratum, and although
from the foregoing statement of Eoxburgh it may appear pro-
bable that such is the case, yet, as many plants of this genus
are employed medicinally in the countries of which they are
natives, I think it must be concluded that there is at present
by no means sufficient evidence to decide to which species it
should be assigned.

Dr. Pereira (to whose valuable assistance on this and on
many other occasions I am greatly indebted) has shown me a
curious old tract, entitled, "Some Observations made upon the
Calumba Wood, otherwise called Calumback, imported from the
Indies : showing its admirable virtues in curing the Gout, and
easing all sorts of Rhumatical Pains. Written ~by a Doctor of
PhysicJc in the Counlrey, to the President of the College of Phy-
sicians in London" London 1694. But as this author gives
no description of the wood, it is not possible to say to what
substance he refers, though it is likely that the Calambac, or
Aloes Wood of the old pharmacologists, may have been intended.

(JO INSECT-WHITE-WAX OF CHINA.

i85i. As the Calumba wood recently imported did not meet with a
ready sale, a quantity of it -was sawed into discs of about a
sixth of an inch in thickness, and in this state offered as
Calumba root! The appearance of these discs is so entirely
different from that of genuine Calumba root, that there seems
but little danger of their being purchased in mistake, at least
in this 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.

less. ON THE INSECT-WHITE-WAX OF CHINA.

( Weisses chinesisches Insectenwachs?)

SYNONYMS. — &^ ) )^ Chung-pih-la, i.e. insect white-
wax ; Pih-la, Pe-la or Pe"-la, i.e. white-wax. In English, the names
White wax of insects, Chinese wax, Chinese insect-wax, Japanese
wax,1 Tree wax, Chinese vegetable wax, Vegetable spermaceti, have
all been used to designate this substance.

The crude wax is called L&-tcha i.e. wax-sediment ; the so-
called cocoons of the insect La-chung wax-seed, or La-tsze wax-
son ; the insects also are called La-chung (Julien),

HISTORY. — According to Siu-kouang-ki, the author of a well-
known Chinese treatise on agriculture called Nong-tching-

1 This name has been applied to a kind of wax supposed to be extracted
from the seeds of lihus succedanea, Linn., as related by Ksempfer (Amcen.
p. 794) and Thunberg (Flor. Jap. p. 122). See Martiny's Encyklopddie der
Medicinisch-pharmaceutischen Naturalien und Rohwaarenkunde, Band i.,
p. 172. A sample has been kindly presented to me by Dr. Theodor Martius,
and I have likewise met with it in the London market, eighty cases having
been offered for sale as Japan Beeswax, by Messrs. T. Merry and Son, May
20, 1852. My specimens consist of a white wax, of somewhat rancid odour,
in circular cakes of from 4 to 4£ inches in diameter, nearly one inch thick,
flat on one side and rounded off on the other as if cast in a small saucer.
They are sparingly covered with a white powder, and, in Mr. Merry's wax,
present here and there traces of a sparkling crystalline efflorescence. The
fusing points of the samples I find to be respectively 125'6° and 131° Fahr.
Dr. Martiny gives it as + 45° C.= 113° Fahr.

INSECT-WHITE-WAX OF CHINA. 61

tsiouen-chou,1 it was not until the middle of the thirteenth issa.
century2 that this remarkable production came into notice in
China, previous to that date the wax of the bee alone having
been employed. It appears, however, to have been by no means
abundant at a period long posterior to this, as the Abbe" Grosier
speaks of it being reserved for the emperor and mandarins of
high rank.3 DM Halde, in his Description Gftfographique, His-
torique, Chronologique de I' Umpire de la Chine, published in 1735,4
gave an excellent account5 of the production and cultivation of
this insect wax, and it has subsequently been noticed with
more or less accuracy by various other authors on China, all,
however, appearing to borrow from the native writers.

The Chung-plh-la of the Chinese has been confounded with
other insect products, as with the secretion of Coccus ceriferus,
Fabr., called White Lac, and with the substance formed by Flata
limbata, F. nigricornis, and other allied insects of the family
Fulgoridce.® The difference between it and these substances I
will endeavour to point out.

Dr. Pearson, who examined the white lac collected at Madras
by Dr. James Anderson,7 has recorded the following as some of
the characters of that substance : — 8

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

1 Quoted by M. Stanislas Julien in his Nouveaux Renseignements sur la
Cire d'Arbres et sur les Insectes qui la produisent. — Comptes Rendus, 13 April,
1840, p, 618.

2 Du Halde says not until the dynasty of Yuen, i.e. A.D. 1280.

3 General Description of China, translated from the French of the Abbe,
Grosier. Lond. 1788, vol. i., p. 441. The Abbe", however, never visited
China. His Description Gentrale de la Chine is an abridgment of the
Memoirs of the Mission to Pekin by the Jesuits. See Dibdin's Bibliographical,
Antiquarian, and Picturesque Tour, vol. ii., p. 321.

4 At Paris, in four volumes, folio. 8 Tome iii., p. 495.

6 See J. 0. Westwood's Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects.
Lond., 1840, vol. ii., p. 429 ; also Reports by the Juries — Exhibition of the
Works of Industry of all Nations, 1851. Lond. 1852, 8vo. p. 624.

7 See Correspondence for the Introduction of Cochineal Insects from
America, the Varnish and Tallow Trees from China, the Discovery and
Culture of White Lac, the Culture of Red Lac, &c., by James Anderson,
M.D. Madras, 1791, 8vo.

8 Observations and Experiments on a wax-like substance resembling the
Pe-la of the Chinese.— Phil Transact., 1794, p. 383.

62 INSECT- WHITE- WAX OF CHINA.

1853. 145° Fah. ; 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 indicate
it to be essentially distinct from the Chinese in sect- white- 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.1

The wax-like substance afforded by Plata limlata 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
Captain honey. " This," says Captain Hutton, " gradually accumulates,
Hutton. an(j> as jt 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 white-washed,
or frosted over with white sugar, like the top of a Twelfth Night
cake. It then cracks and falls in pieces to the ground, where
it soon dissolves from rain and dews and is lost."2 This secre-
tion, Captain Hutton states, was found " to dissolve readily in
water, and when boiled and allowed to cool, a deposit of clear
white crystals was formed in the vessel." Neither this deposit
nor the crude substance could be combined with heated oil ;
" while the attempt to melt it on the fire without water or oil,
proved altogether abortive, the wax merely burning and consum-
ing away till it became converted into a hard and baked sub-
stance. Melted 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 Plata lim-
lata?

1 I have never met with Dr. Anderson's Monographia Cocci ceriferi
(Madras, 1790), where the insect according to Virey (Comptes Rendus, April
20, 1840, p. 666) is described and figured.

* Note on the Flata limbata and the White Wax of China, by Capt.
Thomas Hutton, B.N.I., in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
Calcutta, 1843, vol. xii., p. 898.

8 The insect observed upon a privet near Turon in Cochin-China, and
figured by Sir George Staunton in his Account of Lord Macartney's Embassy
to China (Lond., 1797, 4to. vol. i. p. 353) is evidently an immature Flata.

INSECT-WHITE-WAX OF CHINA.

63

PRODUCTION. — Until almost the present time the species of
insect producing the Chinese wax has been a matter of great
uncertainty. The foregoing accounts appear clearly to prove
that it is not afforded either by the Coccus ceriferus, Fabr^
of India, or by a Flata.

It is to the persevering endeavours of William Lockhart, Esq.
of Shanghai, that we owe the discovery that the -Chinese insect-
wax is produced by a species of Coccus hitherto undescribed.
Within the last three months this gentleman has transmitted to
.England a specimen of the crude 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 encrusted

1853.

Coccus SINENSIS, Westwood.

A B C. Mature female insects adhering to pieces of stick partially encrusted with the wax
(natural size).

D. Vertical section of a piece of the crude wax, showing the position of the young insects
(magnified).

with the wax, and with the insects still in situ. Mr J. 0.
Westwood, who has examined the specimen, has reported upon
it to the Entomological Society, Feb. 7, 1853,1 proposing at the
same time the name of Coccus Sine-mis for the new insect. Coccus
The imperfect condition of the specimens and the want of the Smensis>
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 shining, and of a deep reddish-brown colour. This

1 Athenceum, Feb. 19, 1853, p. 229 ; also Zoologist for March 1853,
p. 3820.

64 INSECT-WHITE-WAX OF CHINA.

1853. mass or shell, which is the full 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 sessile berry. 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
branch a white, soft fibrous, velvety coating of from one to
two-tenths of an inch in thickness. When 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 length. 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 locali-
ties ; I therefore insert the following account of its culture, as
taken chiefly from Chinese authors,1 at the same time making
no attempt to reconcile it with the well known habits of other
species of Coccus*

1 Quoted by Du Halde in his Description de la Chine, ed. 1735, tome iii.,
p. 495 ; by M. Stanislas Julien in the Comptes Rendus, 13 April, 1840
(pp. 518—625) ; also by Dr. D. J. Macgowan, in a paper On the Uses of the
Stiilingia sebifera or Tallow Tree, with a notice of the Pe"-la or insect-wax of
China, contained in the Journal of the Agricultural and Horticultural
Society of India. Calcutta, 1850, vol. vii., part i. p. 164. Through the
kind assistance of Mrs. Lockhart, I have been enabled to compare with these
one of the accounts in the original Chinese contained in the herbal called
Pun-isaou-lcang-muh.

8 It may be interesting to those unacquainted with the habits of Coccus to
read the following lines respecting a well-known species, C. Kermes :

" In their youth, the females resemble little white wood-lice, which would
have but six feet. They run upon the leaves, and afterwards fix upon the
stems and branches of trees and shrubs, where they pass many months in
succession. It is then that they assume the figure of a gall or excrescence."
— CUVIER'S Animal Kingdom. London, 1832, vol. xv., p. 286.

INSECT- WHITE- WAX OF CHINA.

65

In the spring the cocoons containing the eggs of the insect 1853-
are folded up by the cultivators in leaves (sometimes of the
ginger plant) and suspended at various distances on the branches Cultivation.
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

WAX-TRKE AND INSECT.

Fac-siraile of a drawing made from the Puu-tsaou-kang-muh The upper characters on the
left are Chung-la (insect-wax) ; beneath them, lM-chung (wax-seed) ; in the right-hand corner at
bottom, Tung-tsing-shoo (winter-green-tree). The larger characters on the right are Chung-pih-
Id (insect- white-wax).

insects, which are white and of the size of millet seeds, emerge
and attach themselves to the branches of the tree or conceal
themselves beneath its leaves. Some authors state that the
insects have at this period a tendency to descend the tree, at
the base of which, 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.

06 INSECT- WHITE- WAX OF CHINA.

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

Collection of ground under the trees must be kept very clean in order to
Insect Wax. guar(j against ants devouring the insects. Fixing themselves
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. The insect
itself becomes [gradually imbedded? or] as the Chinese authois
say cJianged 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
the wax harvest takes place. At the latter period (August or
September) the waxy matter containing the insects becomes so
firmly attached to the tree that its removal would be attended
with much difficulty, and it is in the wax thus left and at this
period that a sort of case or cocoon ("purplish envelope,"
Macgowan) is formed,1 in which the eggs of the insect are
deposited. This 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 hen's egg (!), suggesting when
attached to the branch the appearance of a fruit.2 The
cocoons, called La-chung or La-tsze, which inclose multitudes
of eggs, are removed, sometimes together with a piece of the
branch on which they are fixed, and reserved for the further
propagation of the insect.

Food. Respecting the tree or trees upon which the wax-insect feeds

(for like the Coccus lacca 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, Ligustrum, or Hibiscus.

1 Probably the inflated body of the mature female insect is here re-
ferred to.

8 In the Pun-tsaou-kang-muh the expression used signifies fowl's-head.
Now it is quite certain that the bodies of the female Cocci received in Mr!
Lockhart's specimen had attained their full development. What, then, can
the Chinese author mean by this monstrous aftergrowth ? Can he have 'con-
fused with it the packets of eggs suspended to the tree for the propagation
of the insect ?

1NSECT-WHITE-WAX OF CHINA.

67

When in China, he obtained from the province of Sze-tchuen,
through some Catholic Missionaries, a living plant which he
was assured was that on which the wax-insect is found.1
This plant, which is now in England, is a deciduous woody-
stemmed shrub of about 1-|- feet high. A very scanty specimen
of it which I possess has imparipinnate, glabrous leaves ; lateral
leaflets 1J to If inches long, including the petiolules, which are
about two lines long, elliptical, very oblique at the base, inequila-
teral, 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 unequal at the base, and
with a petiolule nearly an inch long. As it has not yet flowered>
neither the genus nor even the natural order can with certainty
be determined ; but judging from its leaves, the plant has much
similarity, as suggested by Mr. Fortune, to some species of ash
(Fraxinus). According to M. Julien, the plants upon which the
wax-insect is reputed to feed are four in number :

1853.

Fortune's
Wax-plant.

Species of
Fraxinus.

1. Niu-tching. — This tree, according to M. Adolphe Brongniart

as quoted by M. Julien,2 is Khus succcdanea, Linn. Other M. Julien.
names are applied in China to the Mu-tching (literally pure-
virgin), as Tching-mou (pure-tree), La-chou (wax- tree). It is also
called Tung-tsing in common with the following.

2. Tung-tsing. — This name Mr. Fortune has informed me is
applied to Ligustrum lucidum, Aiton.3 Dr. Macgowan men-
tions L. lucidum as the tree on which the wax-insect is reputed
to feed. Re'musat identifies it (under the name of Toung-tlising)

1 See Gardener's Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, Aug. 21, 1852.

A solitary leaflet found in Mr. Lockhart's specimen of wax so obviously
corresponds with those of Mr. Fortune's plants, that I see little reason to
doubt the fact of its being one of those which support the Coccus sinensis.

2 Julien in Comptes Rendus, April 13, 1840, p. 619.

3 Mr. Fortune adds, however, that although he has seen the tree in great
abundance in districts of Chekiang and Kiangnan, he has never observed
the wax-insect upon it. Indeed, I am myself of opinion that the state-
ment that the wax-insect feeds upon Ligustrum lucidum is altogether
erroneous ; for although this tree is certainly called Tung-tsing, yet Du
Halde's assertion is that the wax-tree has branches and leaves resembling
those of the Tung-tsing, while the fruits of the two trees are different,

I 2

68

INSECT-WHITE-WAX OF CHINA.

Ligtutrum

iucidum.

1853. as Ligustrum glabrum, but cites no authority.1 De Candolle
has alluded to L. glabrum as var. /3 of L. Nepalense, Wall.
(Pi-odrom. viii. p. 294), and Thunberg has a L. glabrum among
the Plantce obscurce of his Flora Japonica?

Tung-tsing, variously spelt Tong-gin, Toung-thsing, &c., is also
called Choui-toug-tsing (water- winter-green) ; it is probably the
Choui-la-chu (aquatic-wax-tree) of Grosier.

Much attention, says Dr. Macgowan, quoting a Chinese
author, and assuming Ligustrum Iucidum to be the wax-tree, is
paid to the cultivation of this plant: extensive districts of
country are covered with it, and it forms an important branch of
agricultural industry. The trees, which are propagated either
by seeds or cuttings, are planted in rows and pruned periodically,
while the ground is well manured and kept free from weeds.

3. Choui-kin (the Kin of moist places), Niu-la-chou (female
wax-tree), is thought by M. Julien to be allied to the Mou-

Hiinscus Kin (arborescent Kin) identified by Ee'musat as Hibiscus
Syriacus.

4. Tcha-la (" appliquer-cire ") Julien, is cultivated chiefly in
the country of Chou, a dependency of the province of Sze-
tchuen. Like the preceding, its botanical name is unknown.

LOCALITIES. — Insect-white-wax is collected in the provinces
of Sze-tchuen,Hou-kouang, Yun-nan and Fo-kien (Julien), also in
Che-kiang and Kiang-nan (Du Halde). Du Halde says that that
collected in the provinces of Sze-tchuen and Yun-nan, and in
the territories of Hen-tcheou and Yung-tcheou is of superior
quality.

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES A.ND COMPOSITION.— The chemical pro-
perties and composition of Chinese insect-wax have been elabo-
NowSirB. C. rately and ably investigated by Mr. B. C. Brodie.3 According
to this chemist, the Chinese wax as it occurs in commerce is a

1 Notices et Extraits des Manuscrits de la Bibliotheque du Itoi, Ac.t Paris
1827, voL xi., p. 274.

8 Page 354, No. xxv.

3 On the Chemical Nature of a Wax from China, by Benjamin Collins
Brodie, Esq., in the Philosophical Transactions for 1848, p. 159.

Brodie.

CHEMISTRY OF CHINESE INSECT-WHITE-WAX. 69

substance nearly in a state of chemical purity. By alcohol 1853-
small portions of a greasy matter may be separated from it, and
on distillation it affords traces of acrolein, which is not a product
of the pure wax. The impurities, however, are unimportant.

The melting point of the commercial wax is 1S1'4° Fahr. j1 Melting point.
that of the perfectly pure wax, 179'6°. Chinese wax is very
slightly 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 82-235

Hydrogen 13*575

Oxygen 4190

10-0000

which numbers agree with the formula C108 H108 04.2 Although Chemical
the wax is scarcely saponified by being boiled in a solution of
caustic potash, it may readily be decomposed by fusion with
the solid alkali becoming, as Mr. Maskelyne has observed,
broken up into substances with the formula C54 H56 02 [cerotin]
+ C54 H54 04 [cerotic acid], two equivalents of water being as-
sumed in the saponification. Mr. Maskelyne, in some experi-
ments performed subsequently to those of Mr. Brodie, has shown
that by the action of lime and potash the cerotin may be oxi-
dized, and the whole converted into cerotic acid.3

I would however refer the reader to the original papers of
these gentlemen for a copious and interesting account of the
chemistry of the wax.

1 I can confirm this ^statement so far as regards three specimens in iny
possession ; a fourth I find to fuse at 180° Fahr., while some prepared by
myself from the crude wax sent by Mr. Lockhart fuses at 182'75° Fahr.
Dr. Ure states its melting point to be 196° (Pharm. Journ., vol. vi, p. 69).
Dr. Macgowan gives it as 100° Fahr., but this latter must surely be a
misprint.

2 Op. cit., p. 170.

3 On the Oxidation of Chinese Wax, by Nevil S. Maskelyne, M.A., in the
Quarterly Journal of the Chemical Society, vol. v., p. 24 (April 1852).

70 INSECT-WIIITE-WAX OF CHINA.

1863. COMMERCE. — Dr. Macgowan estimates the annual produce of
Chinese wax as not far short of 400,000 pounds, valued at up-
wards of 100,000 Spanish dollars. At Ningpo he says the wax
costs from 22 to 35 cents (Is. to Is. 6d.) per pound.1

The only considerable importations of Chinese wax into
England that I am aware of, were in the years 1846 and 1847,
when nearly three tons were imported into London. Some of
this wax sold in April, 1847, fetched Is. 3d. per pound, a price
too low, I believe, to be remunerative, and no further import-
ation that I know of has since taken place.

The insect-wax occurs in commerce in circular cakes of
various dimensions : some of those imported into London had a
diameter of about 13 inches, a thickness of about 31 inches, and
were perforated near the centre with a hole jths of an inch
across. The broken surface generally exhibits the wax as a
beautifully sparkling, highly crystalline substance somewhat
resembling spermaceti but much harder; some cakes are in-
ternally much less crystalline and sparkling than others. The
wax is colourless and inodorous or nearly so, tasteless, brittle
and readily pulverizable at the temperature of 60° Fahr.

USES. — In China, candles are made of the insect-wax per se,
but more commonly of a mixture of it with some softer fatty
substance. To give to these softer candles a hard coating and
to prevent their guttering, they are dipped into melted insect-
wax often coloured red with alkanet root, — sometimes green
with verdigris.

Mr. Lockhart tells me that the edges of books and the edges
of the soles of shoes are 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.2

1 Journal of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India, vol.
vii., part i. p. 164.

1 1 will here acknowledge the kindness with which my friend Mr. Lock-
hart has ably assisted my investigation respecting the substance under notice.
My thanks are also due to Mr. G. F. Wilson, of Vauxhall, for some valuable
information about its commercial history ; to Mr. Hugh Barclay, of Regent
Street, for aiding my inquiries aud for a fine specimen of the wax ; and to
Sir W. J. Hooker and Mr. Kippist for their assistance in endeavouring to
identify Mr. Fortune's wax tree.

INSECT- WHITE-WAX OF CHINA.

71

1853.

The use of the wax in the candle manufacture in this country
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
spermaceti candles. When combined with stearine it has been
found serviceable in what is technically called breaking the grain
(i.e., diminishing the crystalline texture) of the stearine pre-
viously to its being formed into candles.

As a medicine, the insect- wax is used by the Chinese both Medical uses.
externally and internally for a variety of ailments. Du Halde
says " it makes flesh grow, stops bleeding, eases pain, restores
strength, braces the nerves, and joins broken bones together."1
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
in public.2

NOTICE OF A SPECIMEN OF INSECT -WAX FEOM

CHINA.

1856.

(Head before the Linnean Society, April 15th, 1856.)

[Abstract.]

MR. D. HANBURY exhibited a specimen of Chinese Insect- Specimen,
wax in the crude state, attached to the branch on which it had
been formed by the insect, Coccus Pe-la, Westw.3 (G. sinensis,
Westw., Pharm. Journ. xii. 478).

The specimen was obtained by Dr. M'Cartee, of Ningpo, at a
spot about fourteen miles N.E. of that city. The exact locality Locality.
is described as "three miles from Chin-hae, southerly, behind
the first range of hills across the river, — in the direction of
Ling-fung," where the trees supporting the wax-insect occur on
the banks of the canals.

1 Description of the Empire of China, translated from the French of
P. J. B. Du Halde. Lond. 1741, vol. ii., p. 230.

2 General Description of China, 1788, vol. L, p. 442.

3 Gardener's Chronicle, for Aug. 20, 1853, p. 532.

72 NATAL AND CHINESE INSECT-WIIITE-WAX.

1856. j)r M'Cartee procured specimens for Mr. Fortune, which that

gentleman lias taken to India with the view of introducing the
insect into that country. He also sent specimens to William
Lockhart, Esq., of Shanghai, through whose kindness that
exhibited was received.

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

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

NOTE ON INSECTS PEODUCING WAX FROM POET
NATAL AND CHINA.

BY J. 0. WESTWOOD, Esq., F.L.S., &c.
(Read at the same meeting, April 15th, 1856.)

THE wax-insect from Natal, exhibited by Mr. W. W. Saunders,
is the female of a large species of Coccus, analogous to the Coccus
ceriferus; each female being about the size of a pea, and of a dark
chestnut colour, but encased in a solid layer of white waxy
matter nearly a quarter of an inch thick, so as to make the
entire insect as large as a boy's marble ; the under side being
flattened, or rather concave, so as to fit the convex surface of
the branch on which they 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 exhibited by Mr. Daniel Hanbury, differs from

"WURRUS" DYE FROM "ROTTLERA TINCTORIA." 73

the latter by the waxy matter being deposited over the surface 1856-
of the branch, and not confined to a coating of the insect. The
specimens submitted to my examination are probably of con-
siderable 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 moth, of which I found
portions of many chrysalides ; the larvae of which, I do not
doubt, had devoured the animal matter of the Cocci, as well as
burrowed into the wax. There were also some fragments of a
Curculio ( Otiorhynchus .?), but these, I suppose, must have been
taken accidentally on the trees in collecting the Cocci.

ON WURRUS, A DYE PKODUCED BY ROTTLERA
TINCTORIA.

( Wurrus-Farbstoff, von Rottlera tinctoria.)

AMONG the drugs forwarded to England by James Vaughau,
Esq., late port-surgeon at Aden, and described in recent num-
bers of the Pharmaceutical Journal, was a substance sent under
the name of Wurrus or Waras.1 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, translucent grains of a ruby red colour, much resembling
(except in colour) the grains of lupuline.

Upon showing some of the Wurrus to Mr. Alexander Gibson,
of Bombay, when he was in London, he immediately suggested
that it was the red powder rubbed from the capsules of Rottlera

_, , , , . r ., .,, tinctoria.

tinctoma. Koxb. ; and upon a subsequent comparison ot it with
specimens in the herbarium of the Linnean Society, I soon
convinced myself of the correctness of his opinion. Mr. Gibson
informed me that the tree is abundant in the Bombay Presi-
dency, where it attains 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.

1 See Pharm. Journ., vol. xii.,p. 386.

74 "WURRUS" DYE FROM " ROTTLERA TINCTORIA."

1853. Dr. Roxburgh, in his Plants of the Coast of Coromandcl, has

published a beautiful figure of Rottlera tinctoria, accompanied
by the following description of the fruit (vol. ii., p. 36, fig. 168) :
"Capsule roundish, three-furrowed, three-celled, three- valved,
size of a small cherry, covered with much red powder. Seed
solitary, 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 :—

Dr. Rox- " The red powder which covers the capsules is a noted dyeing
burgh. 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
Hydrabad and other interior parts of the peninsula. When
the capsules are ripe or full-grown, in February and March, they
are gathered, the red powder is carefully brushed off and col-
lected for sale, no sort of preparation being necessary to pre-
serve it

" This red powder dyes silk a deep, bright, durable, orange or
flame-colour of very great beauty. The Hindoo silk dyers use
the following method : —

. " Four parts of Wassunta-gunda [the Telinga name of ftottlera
tinctoria], one of powdered alum, two of salt of soda (native
Barilla) which is sold in the bazaars, are rubbed well together
with 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 the colour
uniform." ,

Dr. F. Dr. Francis Buchanan met with Eottlera tinctoria in the Ani-
an* malaya forest in Coimbatore, near the frontier of Malabar.1 He
states that the tree is called in the Tamil language Corunga
Munji Maram, which signifies Monkey' s-f ace-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 knowledge of the dyeing quality possessed by the red
powder that covers the fruit ; but at different places in Mysore,

1 A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara, and
Malabar. Loud., 1807. 4to. Vol. ii., p. 339.

"ROTTLERA TINCTORIA." 75

I was told that the dye was imported from this part of the 1853
country." 1

Dr. Buchanan, speaking of the articles of trade at Bangalore,2
states that most of the Capili-podi dye, or powder obtained
from the fruit of Rottlera tinctoria, is brought there from Chin'-
raya-pattana, but that a little is also procured from Rama-giri ;
both places are in Mysore.

Dr. Whitelaw Ainslie, in his Materia Medico, of Hindostan
(Madras, 1813, in 4to), page 146, has likewise noticed the
" Capilapodie " dye afforded by Eottlera tinctoria.

ON EOTTLERA TINCTORIA, ROXB., AND ITS MEDI-
CINAL PROPERTIES.

THE peculiar red powder which is obtained from the capsules isss.
of Rottlera tinctoria, Roxb., a tree of the Natural Order Euplwr-
biacece, has long been used in India on account of its valuable
properties as a dye for silk.

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

The genus Rottlera, so named in honour of the Rev. Dr. Kev. Dr.
Bottler, an eminent Danish missionary and naturalist, was, as at
present restricted, founded by Roxburgh in 1798.

Rottlera tinctoria, 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 5,000 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.

1 A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara, and
Malabar. Loncl, 1807. 4to. Vol. ii., p. 343. 3 Ibid. vol. i., p. 204.

names.

76 " ROTTLERA TINCTORIA."

1858. The fruit of the tree is tricoccous and of the size of a pea, covered

Fruit of on the outer surface with minute, sessile, roundish, semi-trans-

liottlcra. parent gianc[8 Of a bright red colour. According to Roxburgh

the fruit ripens in February and March, at which period it is

gathered, and the red, glandular powder is carefully brushed off

and preserved for use.

Before further describing this substance, I may properly
advert to the names by which it and the tree 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. H. Wilson, of Oxford.

Indian The Sanskrit name of Rottlcra tinctoria is tf^TT Punnaga, a
word having several synonyms, among which are WJT Tunga and
9jflffft Kesora ; — hence in Bengali we have Punndg, Kesor and
Tung, and in Hindustani Punndg.

The red powder from the capsules is called in Bengali
Kdmald, abbreviated to Kdmal. The Sanskrit word
Kapila, signifying tawny or dusky red, would appear to be also
applied to it. In the Tamil language the substance in question
is termed Kapilapodi, a name compounded of the Sanskrit
Kapila and the Tamil (SuiTU^. Podi, the latter word meaning
the pollen of a flower, or dust in general.

Vasantagandha, a Sanskrit word meaning spring-fragrance,
is, according to Roxburgh, a designation in the Teliuga or Telugu
language of the same red powder. In the bazaar at Aden, it
is known as an article of trade under the name of _ . Waras,
a word properly signifying saffron. It is probable, however,
that this term has been given by the Indian Mohammedans,
and is not used as a designation of the powder elsewhere.

The Hindustani name Kdmald has, with slight variations in
spelling, been adopted by the Europeans in India, and I shall
therefore employ it (omitting the accents indicating the long
quantity of the vowels) as the most convenient term by which
to designate the red powder derived from the capsules of Eottlcra
tinctoria.

KAMALA-ROTTLERINE. 77

Kamala, as found in the Indian bazaars, has the aspect of a 1858>
brick-red powder, possessing from its structure that peculiar Kamala.
mobile character which we notice in Lycopodium and Lupuline.
It also agrees with Lycopodium in the difficulty 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 with the compound microscope,
it is seen to consist of garnet-red, semi-transparent, roundish
granules, of from -^^ to ^-^ of an inch in diameter, more or
less mixed with minute 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 Chemistry of
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, Kamala affords a large pro-
portion of soluble matter and a solution of a beautiful deep-red
colour. 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-whitish substance
being the only residuum.

Dr. Thomas Anderson, Kegius Professor of Chemistry in the Rottlerine.
University of Glasgow, who has made Kamala the subject of
special investigation,1 finds that if a concentrated ethereal
solution of Kamala be allowed to stand for a couple of days, it
solidifies into a mass of granular crystals. If these be drained,
pressed in bibulous paper, and purified from adhering resin by
repeated solution and crystallization in ether, the crystalline
substance is obtained in a state of purity. It then consists of
yellow crystals having the form of minute plates and a fine

" On the Colouring Matter of Eottlera tin ctoria" Edinburgh New Philo-
sophical Journal, Jan. — April, 1855, p. 296.

78 CHEMISTRY OF ROTTLERINE.

1858. satiny lustre. This substance has been named by Dr. Anderson
Rottlerine.

Characters. Dr. Anderson states that Rottlerine is insoluble in water,

of Rottlermc. Sparjngiy soluble in cold alcohol, more so in boiling. In ether,

it is readily soluble. It dissolves in an alkaline solution with

a dark-red colour. Its alcoholic solution is not precipitated by

acetate of lead.

Bromine instantly decolorizes it, with formation of a sub-
stitution-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.
Nitric acid oxidizes Eottlerine, forming at first a yellow 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 fuses into a yellow fluid,
which decomposes at a higher temperature, giving off pungent
fumes and leaving a bulky charcoal.

Analyses of The mean result of four analyses gave the composition of

Kottierine. as —

Calculation.

Carbon . . . 69112 6947 C22 132
Hydrogen . . 5'550 5-26 H^ 10

Oxygen . . . 25.333 25-27 O6 48

99-995 100-00 190

The attempts made to confirm this formula have not led to
any definite result, Rottlerine forming no compound with the
metallic oxides, and that with bromine not having been obtained
sufficiently definite.

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

CHEMISTRY OF KAMALA. 79

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

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

Eesinous colouring matters (including Eottlerine) . . 7819

Albuminous matters 7*34

Cellulose, &c 714

Water 3'49

Ash 3-84

Volatile oil trace

Volatile colouring matter ?

100-00

Kamala is used throughout India as a dye for silk, its colour
being extracted by boiling it in a solution of carbonate of soda.
I have a specimen of silk dyed with it, which is of a rich
orange-brown. The root of the tree is said to be also used in
dyeiug. In Indian medicine, Kamala is considered as " of a
warm nature," and is given as an anthelmintic in very small
doses.1 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 Uses,
freckles and pustules.2 Dr. William Moore, of Dublin,3 Physician
to the Institution for the Diseases of Children of that city, has
made some trials of it in Herpes circinatus, by rubbing the
powder over the eruption with a piece of moistened lint. Dr.
Moore states that two or three applications, accompanied with
the internal administration of alterative doses of rhubarb and
grey powder, sufficed for the removal of the disease.

1 Irvine, Materia Medico, of Patna, Calcutta, 1848, p. 48.

2 Vaughan in Pharm. Journ. and Trans. Vol. xii. p. 386.

3 On the Value of the Kottlera tinctoria (Kameela) as a Local Application to
Herpes Circinatus, by Wm. Moore, M.B., &c. Dublin Hospital Gazette,
Nov. 15, 1857, p. 345.

80 KAMALA AS AN ANTHELMINTIC.

1858. ft jS) however, in its character of an anthelmintic that Kamala

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

Referring to the reports that have been published, we find
that the anthelmintic powers of Kamala have been investigated
in India by Drs. Mackinnon, Anderson, Corbyn, 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,1 since which he in-
forms me he has had four others also successful.

Dr. C. Mackinnon,2 Superintending Surgeon, Bengal Medical
Establishment, in introducing to notice the new remedy, states : —

Anthelmintic " My attention was first called to it by a gunner of the
f brigade, affected with tapeworm, in whom both turpentine and
kousso had failed to expel the worm. He stated that a com-
panion of his affected with tapeworm had taken the remedy
with success. I immediately sent for some, and, without any
previous preparation of the patient, gave him three drachms. He
was a large, powerful man, and this producing no effect, in four
hours afterwards the same dose was repeated. It now operated
very freely and frequently, and with the fourth stool a large
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 I
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 five
to seven times, and the worm is usually expelled dead in the
fourth or fifth stool.

" In two 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 three subsequent cases I reduced the
dose to 1% drachms, and no action on the bowels succeeding it,
I gave in six hours afterwards half an ounce of castor-oil.

1 Medical Times and Gazette, Dec. 19, 1857, p. 628.

a Indian Annah of Medical Science. Ed. 2, No. 1, p. 284. Calcutta
1854.

KAMALA AS AN ANTHELMINTIC. 81

This acted four or five times, and in each case the worm was 1858-

passed dead.

*****

" In almost every case the long slender neck of the worm ap-
peared 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 dm 2 usually
purges speedily. In about half the cases, some degree of
nausea and slight griping were experienced ; in the remaining
half, no inconvenience whatever was sustained, some of the
patients declaring it to be the easiest purge they had ever taken
in their lives.* * * * "

Dr. Mackinnon gives the following summary as the result of Dr. Mackin-

i • non's experi-

his experience : encef

1. That Kamala is a safe and efficient remedy for tapeworm,
and more certain than either turpentine or kousso.

2. That to a strong European 3 drachms may be safely given
as a dose.

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

Since the paper from which the foregoing are extracts was
published, Dr. Mackinnon has stated1 that in subsequent more
extensive trials of Kamala, during which he has administered it
to nearly 50 patients, in two instances only was no worm ex-
pelled.

Dr. Anderson, Assistant-Surgeon, 43rd Eegt. Light Infantry, 2 Dr- Anderson,
states that the occurrence of tapeworm is very common among
the Europeans serving in the Punjab, and that it is also preva-
lent among the Mussulman population of that province.

" The vermifuge properties of Karnala," writes Dr. Anderson,
" are as well marked as those of any of the best reputed an-
thelmintics, not excepting the Abysinnian remedy Kousso. The
only objection to it is, that when the powder is used, consider-
able nausea occasionally follows, but certainly not more than
what is produced by the sickening preparation of pomegranate
root and other anthelmintics.

1 Indian Annals of Medical Science, vol. iii. (1856), p. 86.

2 On Eottlera tinctoria, as an article of the Materia Medica. Indian
Annals of Medical Science, vol. iii. (1856), p. 82.

G

82 KAMALA AS AN ANTHELMINTIC.

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

Dr. Anderson, the worm is usually expelled in the third or fourth 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 the head.
In only two cases do I know of the worm being passed 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 three cases, only
two or three stools followed the dose usually given, and the
worm was expelled in the second stool ; in 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 were 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 tapeworm is common : those, on the other hand,
whose animal diet is less copious are less liable to taenia, while
among several native regiments, Hindu Sepoys and servants,
says Dr. Anderson, whose food is entirely vegetable, the parasite
is unknown.

Dr. c. A. Dr. C. A. Gordon's experience of the efficacy of Kamala
corresponds entirely with that of Drs. Mackinnon and Anderson.

He observes,1 " With Kamala there is no unpleasant effect.
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 dose of ordinary purging medicine."

The observations of Dr. Gordon relative to the occurrence of
taenia are confirmatory of those of Dr. Anderson, and are to
the effect that the free use of animal food of very indifferent
quality among the British troops in the N. W. Provinces must
be regarded as the cause of the prevalence of the malady. In
1 Medical Times and Gazette, May 2, 1857, p. 429.

KAMALA AS AN ANTHELMINTIC.

83

the case of soldiers stationed at Peshawur, tapeworm is so
common, that it is believed that every third 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 having had to
pass some years in India, can form no idea of the vast herds of
lean, half-starved pigs that roam over the fields and waste
grounds in the \icinity of villages ; neither can they have any
conception of the nature of the food on which these pigs sub-
sist."

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 sheep, that are so particular
in their food in Britain, acquire degenerate tastes in India ; and
it is needless to enter into similar particulars regarding ducks,
fowls, turkeys, and pigeons, all of which are more or less used
as food by our countrymen there."

The dose of Kamala may be stated as from a | drachm to 3
drachms suspended in water : a single dose is frequently found
sufficient, and in general it is not necessary to give any other
medicine before or after. In some cases, however, where but a
small dose of Kamala has been administered, castor-oil has been
afterwards given with good effect. Dr. Gordon has prescribed
Kamala in the dose of 1 drachm, repeated at intervals of three
hours.

Karnala may also be given in the form of Tincture ; the for-
mula for which, recommended by Dr. Anderson, is as follows : —

1£ Kamalae, svj.

Spiritus rectificati, f^xvj.
Macera per biduum et cola.

An ethereal tincture may be prepared of the same strength,
but it is said to offer no particular advantage over the alcoholic.

The dose of Tinctura Kamalce is from 3j to 3iv, diluted wkh
some aromatic water. [N. Kepert. f. Pharm. vii. 145.]

1858.

Habits of

swine and

cattle in

India.

Dose.

Tincture
of Kamala.

84 SUMATRAN COFFEE LEAVES.

1853.

ON THE USE OF COFFEE-LEAVES IN SUMATRA.

(Benutzung der Caffeebldtter in Sumatra)

THE existence of caffeine in the leaves as well as in the
berries of the coffee-plant has attracted some attention, and a
project for substituting them for those of the tea plant has been
Dr. Gardner's actually devised by Dr. John Gardner, of London. According
coffb^feaves. to this gentleman the leaves require to be subjected to a certain
process of preparation before they are used. What this process
is I am unable to state ; but specimens of the prepared coffee-
leaves were placed by Dr. Gardner in the Great Exhibition of
1851, together with the caffeine extracted from them, since
which time advertisements have appeared in the Ceylon papers
soliciting tenders for the supply of coffee-leaves by the ton.

Whether these advertisements have met with a response
I know not, but in March last my attention was drawn
to a letter signed " An Old Sumatran" published in the Over-
land Singapore Free Press for Jan. 3, 1853. This letter, which
was reprinted in the Pharmaceutical Journal for March (vol.
xii., p. 443), states, that on the western side of the island
of Sumatra an infusion of terrified 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.1

N. M. Ward. Upon applying to the writer of this letter, who proved to be
N. M. Ward, Esq., of Padang, I speedily received the following
more detailed communication, since which a box of prepared
Sumatran coffee -leaves, kindly forwarded by him, has reached
my hands :—

"PADANG, 15th May, 1853.

"DEAR SIR, — It is not without satisfaction that I learn
that the notice inserted in the Singapore Free Press on the use
of the Coffee-leaf in Sumatra has attracted attention, and
obtained increased publicity through the medium of the Phar-
maceutical Journal. Although long aware of its value as an

1 This employment of coffee-leaves was not previously unnoticed. Brande,
in his Manual of Chemistry (Lond. 1848, vol. ii., p. 1616), briefly states that
the leaves of the coffee-plant are used in Java and Sumatra as a substitute
for tea, and that it is probable they contain theine.

SUMAT11AN COFFEE LEAVES. 85

1853.

article of diet among the natives here, it never occurred to me that

it might be introduced successfully as such at home, until I learnt jjr. Gardner's

from the Free Press that a patent had been taken out by Dr. patent.

Gardner. 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 fact of its general

use here might be of service, by giving that confidence in it

which must necessarily be wanting to a new and untried article.

The fact of its being the only beverage of a whole population,

and of its having from its nutritive qualities become an important

necessary of life, will be a sufficient guarantee of its safety as

an article of diet, and of its freedom from deleterious effects.

" The natives have a prejudice against the use of water as a
beverage, asserting that it does not quench thirst or afford the
strength and support the coffee-leaf does. With a little boiled
rice and infusion of the coffee-leaf, a man will support the
labours of the field in rice-planting for days and weeks suc-
cessively, up to the knees in mud, under a burning sun or
drenching rains, which he could not do by the use of simple
water, or by the aid of spirituous or fermented liquors. I have Advantages.
had opportunity of observing for twenty years the comparative
use of the coffee-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 I find
that while the former expose themselves with impunity for
any period to every degree of heat, cold, and wet, the latter
can endure neither wet nor cold for even a short period without
danger to their health.

"Engaged myself in agriculture, and being in consequence Personal
much exposed to the weather, I was induced several years ago, testimony.
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
cups of strong infusion with milk in the evening as a restora-
tive after the business of the day. I find from it immediate
relief from hunger and fatigue, the bodily strength increased
and the mind left for the evening clear and in full possession of
all its faculties. On its first use, and when the leaf has not
been sufficiently roasted, it is said to produce vigilance, but I
am inclined to think that where this is the case, it is rather by
adding strength and activity to the mental faculties, than by
inducing nervous excitement. I do not recollect this effect on
myself except once, and that was when the leaf was insufficiently
roasted.

8(5

SUMATRAN COFFEE LEAVES.

1853.

Native use.

Rousting.

Culture.

" As a beverage the natives universally prefer the leaf to the
berry, giving as a reason that it contains more of the bitter
principle and is more nutritious. They are not unacquainted
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. The roasted leaf used to form an article of trade
betwixt the coffee districts of the interior and the lowlands of
the coast, but since the government monopolized the produce,
this trade has in a great measure ceased, the natives believing the
sale of the leaf as well as that of the berry forbidden. In the
lowlands, coffee 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 however to the extent of the demand,
so that in the settlement of Padang they are obliged to have
recourse to the berry mixed with a portion of burnt rice,
without which the beverage would be too dear for them. It is
an undoubted fact, however, that everywhere they prefer the leaf
to the berry.

" The sample I have the pleasure to send, is the produce of
my own ground, properly prepared by a native well acquainted
with the process. The best mode of roasting, he says, is by
holding the leaves over the clear flame of a fire made of dry
bamboo. The fireplace should be circular, of brick or other
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
introducing the fuel. The reason for using bamboo as fuel is,
that it produces but little smoke, and that little containing no
creosote, does not adhere to the leaf. When sufficiently roasted,
as described in the Singapore Free Press, the leaves have a
brownish buff colour, and are then separated from the stalks,
which are arranged 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 them with the leaf for sale ; but as
the bark only contains extract, it is better to rub off this be-
twixt the hands and to reject the wood.

*****

" I have already remarked that whilst the culture of the
coffee-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 fertile. 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 affording caffeine for general

PARAGUAY TEA— GUAR AN A— CAFFEINE. 87

consumption ; and if it should turn out that the article can be issa.
sent to distant countries without deterioration, I shall have
every confidence in its ultimate adoption for general use.

" The price here of the leaves prepared for use, is generally
about 1|«. a pound ; and I suppose it may be prepared and packed
for the European market of good quality for 2d.t affording suf- :,
ficient profit to the planter and bringing it within reach of the
poorest classes of Europe."

Such is Mr. Ward's communication. The sample which he has Infusion of
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, brown infusion is obtained, which when made
sufficently strong, forms, with the addition of sugar and milk,
a beverage by no means unpalatable.

Caffeine, as is well known, is a crystallizable nitrogenized Caffeine.
vegetable principle,1 existing in the berries of the coffee shrub,
in the leaves of the tea-plant of China, in the Yerba de Mate, or
Paraguay Tea, of South America, and, as MM. Berthemot, and
Dechastelus have proved,2 in Guarana, the basis of a favourite
beverage in some parts of Brazil. The plants affording these
productions occupy very different positions in the vegetable
kingdom ; the coffee-plant belongs to the natural order Eiibiacece,
the tea-plant to Camelliece, the Paraguay tea (Ilex Paraguariensis,
St. Hil.) to the Ilicinece, and the Guarana-plant (Paullinia sorbilis,
Mart.) to Sapindacece.

It is not a little remarkable that Caffeine has hitherto been Pemarkablc
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 should have been independently selected
as articles of diet by semi-barbarous nations inhabiting widely-
separated portions of the globe.

1 Its composition is expressed by the formula C8 H- N2 02. Theine and
Guaranine are identical with Caffeine.

2 Journ. de Pharm. (Aug. 1840). tome xxvi., p. 518.

SMYRNA SCAMMONY.

' NOTES UPON SOME SPECIMENS OF SCAMMONY.

HAVING through the kindness 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.

Samples of I will premise it by stating that Mr. Maltass has resided at

SfromnM?y Smyrna for the last eighteen years, where, as a matter of

Maltass. business he has had constant opportunity for becoming

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 hands in order to become the more practi-

cally acquainted with it.

To Mr. Maltass I am indebted for specimens of the following,
viz. : —
1. Pure Scammony in shells, collected near Symrna.

riinjma Scammt>iiy in Shells.

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

This scammony affords 91/1 per cent, of resin soluble in
ether.1

2. Pure Scammony from the neighbourhood of Smyrna : 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 scammony until it ceases to lose weight, a precaution which must of
course be observed in weighing the residue also.

PURE AND ADULTERATED SCAMMONY. 89

in the mass deep brown, in small fragments pale golden- 1853-
brown, translucent ; although compact, readily broken, fracture
glossy, showing not very numerous 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 contamination. It affords 88*2 per cent, of resin
soluble in ether.

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

3. Pure Scammony from the neighbourhood of Angora in a Pure Angora
somewhat irregular mass, probably part of a cake about 1^

inches thick. It is very pale in colour, 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 emul-
sion when rubbed with the moistened finger.

This is a very pure scammony, containing 894 per cent, of
resin soluble in ether. The matter insoluble in ether is nearly
colourless, which is also the case with that of Nos. 1 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 Scammony as collected in shady places. My Pure black
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 thin splinters, however, show it of a greyish
hue. It is compact yet very brittle ; its fracture glossy ; it
possesses the usual scammony-odour, and affords a dingy emul-
sion when wetted and rubbed. My experiments prove it to
contain 87'9 per cent, of resin soluble in ether.

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

5. Smyrna Scammony " adulterated" says Mr. Maltass, " with Adulterated
magnesian earth J and vegetable matter to the extent of 20 or 30

per cent. ; such is sold in London as Lachryma scammony!'
1 Or rather carbonate of lime.

90

HESIN OF SCAMMONY.

1853.

Resin of
Scammony.

characters
Searmnony.

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

6. Angora Scammony adulterated with calcareous earth and
starch to the extent of 65 to 68 per cent. This scammony is
heavy and greyish with a dull clayey fracture. It is evidently
very impure, affording only 33-4 per cent, of matter soluble in
ether.

7. Imitation Scammony, " prepared," says Mr. 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
10s. per pound in the London market.

8. Pure Eesin of Scammony, 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 surface brilliant. A very scanty emul-
sion is produced when the surface is moistened and rubbed.

9. Eesin of Scammony, rather less pure than No. 8.

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

In conclusion I may remark that the striking characters of
pure natural scammony, I mean the unmixed inspissated juice,
are its pale, yellowish-brown hue, its transparency, its great brittle-
ness, its property of readily affording a white emulsion when
rubbed with water, and the scanty amount of a white, residue
which it leaves upon being treated 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 EUROP^EA," L.

91

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

Scammony-?'esm is distinguishable from scammony by afford-
ing hardly any emulsion when wetted and rubbed.

1853.

ON THE FEBKIFUGE PROPERTIES OF THE OLIVE
(OLEA EUROP^A, L).

(Olea Eurcpcea ah Fiebermittel.)

IN a letter which I have recently received from my friend
Mr. Sidney H. Maltass, of Smyrna, he draws attention to the
value of the leaves of the olive (Olea Europcea, L.) as a febrifuge.
The passage is so interesting that I shall make no apology for
quoting it at length :

"... I may here tell you of a discovery I made in 1843,
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 ; — in fact, it was so bad that death ensued
frequently 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 which might prove
effectual. Many were poisonous, and I rejected them, then
thought of olive 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 had
reduced it to a pint. This I gave in doses of a wine-glassful
every three or four hours. Obstinate cases of fever gave way
before it ; and for many years I have found it more effectual
than quinine.

" I have recommended it to our medical meii, and although at
first they ridiculed the idea, they all use it now. It is a most
valuable remedy for the poor in an olive-growing 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 leaves

from Mr.

Maltass.

92 OLIVE LEAVES— VAUQUELINE.

1854. s0 early as in the year 1811, M. Cazals, of Agde, pointed oat

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

>ns' of olive leaves in cases of intermittent fever,1 and a chemical

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

afterward made by M. Ferrat.2

Favourable results also attended some similar trials made in
France by Dr. Bidot, and in Spain by Drs. Be"guin and Faure.
Investigations jn 1828 a more elaborate investigation- of the subject was

by Dr. Pallas.

published by Dr. E. Pallas.3 He states that olive leaves are
sometimes employed as a febrifuge by the physicians of Spain,
that during the war in that country in 1808 to 1813, the French
Officiers de Sante frequently prescribed them as a substitute for
cinchona bark. In several cases of intermittent fever in the
military hospital at Pampeluna, Dr. Pallas observed marked
beneficial effects from the use of the lark of the olive admi-
nistered in the form of an alcoholic extract.

Vau<iueline. Dr. Pallas analyzed4 the leaves as well as the young bark, and
found them to contain, among other less important constituents,
a crystallizable substance designated by him Vauqueline, 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 the old bark, he concluded
that it was the preferable part for medicinal use.

Vauqueline, according to this author, is a colourless, inodorous
solid, having a slightly sweet taste. It crystallizes in micaceous
plates, or sometimes in stellate prismatic crystals, which are
very soluble in water 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 afforded
Dr. Pallas nearly 2 per cent, of Vauqueline.5

1 Bulletin de Pharmacie, tome iii., p. 83.
1 Ibid., tome iii., p. 433.

3 Journal Universel des Sciences Medicales, tome xlix., p. 257. Eecueil de
Memoires de Me'decine, de Chirurgie, et de Pharmacie Militaires, vol. xxiii.
(1827), p. 152 ; vol. xxvi. (1829), p. 159.

4 Recueil, vol. xxiii., p. 152.

5 Vauqueline would appear to be identical with the substance designated

SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 93

Of the pharmaceutical preparations of olive bark, the more
useful appear to be a tincture and an alcoholic extract. The Therapeutic
tincture is recommended to be made by digesting one part of oH^barl
the young bark in eight parts of spirit of wine of sp. gr. -867. and leaves-
It may be administered as Tinctura cinchonce. The dose of the
extract is half a drachm diffused through a little water.1

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 as to its medicinal and its
chemical properties. The Vauqueline of Pallas should be re-
examined, and its connexion with the crystallizable 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 (Syringa vulgaris, L.) and the ash (Fraxinus excelsior, L.),
plants of the same natural order, are reputed to possess febrifuge
properties, and employed on that account in some parts of the
Continent.

ON SOME KAKE KINDS OF CARDAMOM.

(Seltene Cardamomen.)

" Nulla res est fortasse in re Pharmaceutica magis litigiata quam Cardamomi
notitia."— GEOFFROY, Tractatus de Materid Medicd, t. ii., p. 364.

THE natural history of the various fruits of the order Zinyi-
leracece, grouped together under the 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 specimens of these plants have been preserved (occasioned
principally by the succulent nature of their flowers and fruits),
and a second may be due to the fact that comparatively but few
botanists have been able to labour for a sufficient length of time

by Landerer Olivine (Turner's Chemistry, 7th ed., 1842, p. 1125). The
latter name is however objectionable, it having been applied to two other
bodies, namely, to the olive-green crystalline substance obtained by the
action of sulphuric acid on Salicine, and to a variety of the mineral
Chrysolite.
1 (Jhereau, in Journal de Chimie Medicale, tome iv. (1828), pp. 543-546.

94 SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM.

less. fn the hot and humid regions in which Amomum and allied
genera chiefly abound.

Among the pharmacologists to whom we are indebted for re-

Dr. Pereira. searches on this difficult subject is the late illustrious Dr.
Pereira, who, with the energy which so signally marked his
character, was enabled to throw much light on the pharmaco-
logical history of various species of Amomum occurring on the
West Coast of Africa, and affording the different varieties of
Grains of Paradise or Melliguetta Pepper.

Important botanical observations have more recently been

Dr. Hooker, made by Dr. Joseph Dalton Hooker,1 who had had the advan-
tage of an interesting series of specimens of Amomum collected
with much labour by Dr. W. F. Daniell on various parts of the
West Coast of Africa.

Guibourt. Professor Guibourt, of Paris, has contributed many accurate
observations on the same subject, and especially some notices
and figures of certain species of Cardamom which, although
rarely met with 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 the
information we possess in a collected form, and to point out the
desirableness of further 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 stimulated to some exertion to discover the botanical
origin, and obtain further accounts regarding the culture, the
collection, and the uses of these productions, which, apart from
their interest to the pharmacologist, are derived from plants,
many of which, remarkable for a splendid inflorescence, would
become valuable additions to the horticultural collections of this
country.

1 Hooker's Journal of Botany, vol. iv., p. 129 ; vol. vi., p. 289.

SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM.

95

LARGE ROUND CHINA CARDAMOM. (FIG. 1.)

Large round China Cardamom. — Pereira, Elements of Materia
Medica, part ii. (1840), p. 699, fig. 133.

Large round China Cardamom. — Pereira, Elem. of Mat. Med.}
ed. 2, vol. ii. (1842), p. 1035, fig. 203.

Autre Cardamome rond de la Chine. — Guibourt, Histoire des
Drogues, ed. 4, tome ii. (1849), p. 215, fig. 115.

Round Cardamom. — Pereira, Mem. of Mat. Med.} ed. 3, vol. ii.
(1850), p. 1139, fig. 255, 256.

Groszes rundes Chinesische Kardamom. — Martin y, Encyk-
lopddie der Medicinisch - pharmaceutischen Natur alien und
Rohwaarerikunde, Bd. ii. (1854), p. 776.

^S ;;£ Tsaou-kow.

„ I xtfik.

Fine specimens of tins fruit were procured by my brother,
Mr. Thomas Hanbury, at Singapore in the drug shops of which
place, he tells me, it appears by no means plentiful. Deprived
of the husk (fig. 2), I have also received it from Canton and

1855.

» • V*

FIG. 1.— Large round China Cardamom (fruits and seeds).

Shanghai, from the latter place under the above-mentioned
character, Tsaou-Jcow, the same name, I presume as that given
by Loureiro, as applied to his Amomum globosum.1 In the
Sloanian collection in the British Museum, there is a small
specimen of this fruit.

1 Flora Cochinchinensis. Berolini, 1793, t. i., p. 6.

96 SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM.

1855. The Large Round China Cardamom varies considerably in

Large round size, my specimens being from 1^ inches to ^ of an inch in
length- The capsules are somewhat oval or globular, pointed
at either extremity, obscurely three-sided (except at the base
where the triangular 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 interrupted longitudinal ridges; it is hardly
aromatic. The seeds are coherent into a three-
FIQ 2 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 (Thymus vulgaris), though much weaker.

This Cardamom is a native of the South of China, and of
Cochin-Chin a, whence it is exported. It appears to be much
employed in Chinese medicine as a stomachic.

SMALL ROUND CHINA CARDAMOM. (FIG. 3.)

Small round Cardamome rond de la Chine. — Guibourt, Hist, des Drogues,
Cardamom. e*d. 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.

Dr. Pereira seems to have confounded it with his " Round
Cardamom, fig. 255," which is a representation of M. Guibourt's
" Autre Cardamome rond de la Chine" as a comparison of the
woodcuts will plainly show.

Specimens of the Small round China Cardamom are pre-
served in the Muse*e d'Histoire Naturelle at Paris. M. Guibourt
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.

97

Capsules pedicelled nearly spherical, from seven to eight 1855-
lines in diameter, slightly striated longitudinally, and much Guibourt.
wrinkled in all directions by drying ; it is probable, however,
that the fruit was smooth when fresh. The capsule is thin,
light, easily torn, yellowish externally, white within.
The seeds form a globular coherent mass. They are
rather large and few in number, somewhat wedge-
shaped, of an ashy-grey, a little granular on the
surface, and present on the outer face a bifurcate
furrow shaped like a Y. They possess a strongly
aromatic odour and taste.

Cardamom.

To this description I may add that, compared with
the Large round China Cardamom the capsules 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 flat, or even
depressed like an apple. Their colour, 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
name as the foregoing, is attributed by M. Guibourt to the
Amomum glolosum of Loureiro.

HAIRY CHINA CARDAMOM. (FIGS. 4, 5.)

Small round China Cardamom. — Pereira, Mem. of Mat. Med. Hairy China
Part ii. (1840), p. 699. Cardamom.

Small round China Cardamom. — Pereira, Mem. of Mat. Med.
ed. 2, vol. ii. (1842), p. 1035, fig. 204.

Cardamome poilu de la Chine. — Guibourt, Hist, des Drogues,
e*d. 4, tome ii. (1849), p. 214, fig. 112.

Hairy China Cardamom. Hairy' round China Cardamom. —
Pereira, Mem. of Mat. Med., ed. 3, vol. ii. (1850), p. 1140, fig.
257, 258.

Cardamoma Chinensia muricata ; Weichstachelige Kardamo-
men. — Martiny, Encyklopddie der Med. Pharm. Naturalien und
Rohwaarenkunde, Bd.-ii. (1854), p. 776.

Yang-chun-sha.

Amomum

II

98 SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM.

«

less. Professor Guibourt has suggested that this fruit may be the

Atnmnum produce of the Amomum villosum of Loareiro, an opinion in
wnich the late Dr. Pereira concurred. Loureiro's description is,
however, quite insufficient for determining this from the fruit
alone ; and as there is, unfortunately, no specimen of Amomum
villosum either in the British Museum or in the Muse'e d'Histoire
Naturelle of Paris, in each of which 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.1 According to Loureiro, his A. villosum is

called in Chinese So Xa m'i2 3 -K — a name under

which I have never received the Hairy China Cardamom.
Specimens of this cardamom are preserved in the Sloanian
collection in the British Museum.

Hairy China Cardamom.
Fio. 4— Fruit. FIG. 5— Seeds.

Samples from From my brother, Mr. Thomas Hanbury, I have received some
Singapore. verv gne sampies purchased by him at Singapore. I am also

1 M. Lase"gue has stated in his Musee Botanique de M. B. Dcllessert
(p. 348), that the Academy of Lisbon possesses the greater part of Loureiro's
herbarium. I regret to find this does not appear to be the case. M. Fran-
cisco Antonio Pereira Da Costa of Lisbon has informed me, that, so far as he
can ascertain, the herbarium in question never existed at the Academy ; it
was supposed to have formerly belonged to the Museu da Ajuda ; but upon
the removal of that establishment to the Academy, no trace of it could be
discovered.

2 Now usually spelt Suh-sha-meth. The Chinese characters are taken from
the Pun-tsaou, where there is a coarse woodcut of the plant.

SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM.

99

Botanical

a
Cardamom.

indebted to Mr. Lockhart, of Shanghai, and to Mr. Lobscheid, of
Hong Kong, for' specimens procured in the drug shops of China.

The Hairy China Cardamom is 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-
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 three-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 strive and covered with asperities,
which, after soaking in water proved to be short, thick, fleshy,
closely-crowded spines. It has when bruised an aromatic and
tar-like odour, the seeds have a similar tar-like odour and taste
not unmixed with the aromatic warmth of the Malabar Car-
damom ; they are angular, and upon the removal of the pericarp
remain united in a tbree-lobed mass.

The scape is densely villous, especially at its upper extremity,
but I can detect no hairs upon the pericarp. If Loureiro's
Amomum milosum be identical with this species its specific name
was probably taken from the short spine-like processes with
which the pericarp is beset, and which pericarp Loureiro de-
scribed as " exterius obsessum mills multis, crassis" — a character,
however, more applicable to another species than to this.

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

Loureiro states of his Amomum villosum, whose Cochin-
Chinese name is Sanhon, 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.

H 2

100 SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM.

1855.

XANTHIOID CARDAMOM. (FIG. 6, 7.)

Xanthioid Amomum with small round, brown-coloured fruits in clusters,
Cardamom. No. 101 in W. Gomez's Tavoy Catalogue, 1827. MS. in the
possession of the Linnean Society of London.

Amomum xanthioides, — No. 1956. — Wallich, Catalogus Plan-
tarum quas in itinere Burmanico a mense Augusti, 1826, ad
finem Maii 1827, observavit N. W. MS. in the possession of the
Linnean Society.

Amomum ? xanthioides. — Wall., Catal. of the East Indian
Herbarium, No. 6557.

Among some specimens of drugs received from China through
the kindness of my friend Mr. Lockhart, was a quantity of the
capsules of a fruit resembling the Hairy China Cardamom, but
differing from it in the much more spiny character of the pericarp.

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 with small round brown-coloured fruits in clusters."
Dr. Wallich. In Dr. Wallich' s 'MS. Catalogue of Burmese Plants (entitled
as above) occurs the following, in the doctor's own hand : —

" 1956. Amomum xanthioides, Wall. — Very like A. aculeatumt
Roxb., but differing seemingly in the linear-lanceolate not
cordate leaves, and the fruit which consists in short rounded
clusters from the repent root ; it is of an oblong obtuse form,
thickly covered with prickles. Seems a tall species. Tavoy.
V27.w

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

" 6557. Amomum ? xanthioides, Wall. (A. aculeate Roxb.proxA
Tavoy W.G."

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

SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 101

The specimens of Amomum xanthioides collected by Gomez 185a-
and now in the collection of the Linnean Society are without Specimens
flowers, but well furnished with fruits, one bunch of which is
represented in Fig. 6. I have carefully compared this species
with its near ally A. aculeatum as figured by Boxburgh,1 and
also with the specimen preserved in the herbarium of the
British Museum. In addition to the observation of Dr. Wallich,

FIG. 6.— Fruit of Amomum mnthioides, Wallich, from a specimen in the herbarium of
the Linnean Society.

that in A. xanthioides the leaves are linear-lanceolate, while in
A. aculeatum they are cordate [-lanceolate], I may remark that
A. aculeatum appears to be a muck more robust species, with
larger fruit ; it has besides the spines upon the pericarp not
simple, but flattened and partially united two or three together,
a character very evident in the dried specimen, though not well
represented in Eoxburgh's figure.

1 Asiatick Researches, vol. xi., p. 344, pi. vi. Fide also Flora Indica
(ed. Carey), vol. i., p. 40.

102 SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM.

isss. The capsules of Amomum xanthioides, received by me under

the name / 'fzi. ffi^Sha-jin-ko,1 had been deprived of seeds ;
indeed, the terminal syllable in the Chinese name signifies husk
or shell. Yet from a few capsules which had escaped the shelling
process, I had an opportunity of examining the seeds which, I
suspected, were not unknown in the English market. I believed
them to constitute the Cardamom Seeds 2 occasionally offered at
the London drug sales, and which I had traced to Moulmein
and Penang.
Bastard This opinion has been unexpectedly confirmed. While this

Cardamoms. notice was in the hands of the printer, I received through the
kindness of E. Padday, Esq., of Singapore, three samples of
" Bastard Cardamoms " obtained from Bangkok in Siam. These
Bastard Cardamoms have mostly been deprived of the husks,
the seeds are either detached, or united with the partitions into
three -lobed masses. But the fruits retaining the husk are so
evidently those of Amomum xanthioides that I have no hesita-
tion in referring the Bastard Cardamoms to that species. I
also identify them with the Cardamom Seeds of the London
market.

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

Capsules of The empty capsules received from China are mostly attached
to a commou stalk> which, when perfect, is about five inches
long, and beset with the remains of sheathing bracts. The
superior portion, which is much stouter than the rest, bears the
fruits closely crowded together on short, bracted pedicels. No
bunch in my possession bears more than twelve fruits, but
from the number of pedicels on some specimens it would appear
that the flowers 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

1 I do not attach much value to this Chinese name, which, I think, is some-
times applied to the Hairy China Cardamom.

2 I mean the seeds per se. Malabar Cardamoms deprived of pericarp are
I believe, never imported.

SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM.

103

proper volume (Fig. 7), becoming nearly spherical and about
three-quarters of an inch in diameter. The pericarp is covered
with long, acute, recurved spines, which are longest near the base.

I have received no information regarding the uses of these
Cardamom husks, which, it would appear, are exported to China
and there consumed.

By a letter from Kobert Hunter, Esq., of Bangkok, addressed
to Mr. Padday, I learn that the so-called Bastard Cardamoms
are the produce of the Laos Country and of Cambodia, where

1855.

FIG. 7. — Amomum xanthioides, Wallich.

they grow wild in the more elevated regions of the mountain
forests. Their commercial value is small, those of the first
quality being worth in Siam about 3M sterling per pound.

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

BITTER-SEEDED CARDAMOM. (FIG. 8.)

Cardamome noir de Gaertner. — Guibourt, Hist, des Drogues, ed.
3, tome ii. (1836), p. 287.

Black Cardamom — Gaertner.— Pereira, Mem. of Mat. Med.,
Part ii. (1840), p. 699.— Elem. of Mai. Med.,Q± 2, vol.ii. (1842),
p. 1036, fig. 205.

Robert
Hunter.

104

SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM.

Cardamom.

1853. Cardamome noir de Gaertner. — Gnibourt, Hist, des Drogues ,&&

Bitter-lceded 4, tome ii. (1849), p. 214.

Black Cardamom. — Pereira, Elem. of Mat. Med., ed. 3, vol. ii.
(1850), p. 1140, fig. 259.

Cardamoma nigra ; Schwarze Kardamomen. — Martiny, En-
cycklopadie der Med. Pharm. Naturalien und Rohwaarerikunde,
Bd. ii. (1854), p. 775.

Cardamome d Semences ambres. — Guibourt MS.

Yih-che-tsze.

Very little is known of the origin of this Cardamom. By
Professor Guibourt, who first described it, it was doubtfully
referred to the Zingiber nigrum of Gaertner, a plant identical
with Alpinia Allughas of Koscoe, but as Dr. Pereira has

Figured
in the
Chinese
Herbal

M.I

t

Fio. 8.— Bitter-$eeded Cardamom (fruits and seeds).

pointed out1 (and I can confirm his statement), it is totally
different from the fruit of that species. In the Pun-tsaou-Tcang-
muh, a celebrated Chinese herbal, there is a rude figure of the
plant, which is stated to be indigenous to the island of Hai-
nan. The MS. catalogue of the collection of Chinese drugs at
the Koyal 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 Elem. oj Mat. Med., ed. 3, vol. ii., p. 1140.

SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 105

Mr. Lockhart. The capsules are mostly oval, some ovate-oblong, 1855t
and a few nearly spherical, pointed at the extremities, 6 to 10 Bitter-seeded
lines long. The pericarp is of a deep dusky-brown, coriaceous, ('ar amom<
devoid of hairs, beset longitudinally with interrupted ridges
usually about 18 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, litter, myrrJi-
like taste.

There is a fine specimen of this Cardamom in the Muse*e
d'Histoire Naturelle at Paris.

OVOID CHINA CARDAMOM. (FIG. 9.)

Amomum medium. — Loureiro, Flora Cochinchinensis, ed. Willd. Ovoid China

(1793), tome i., p. 5. Cardamom.

Cardamome ovoide de la Chine. — Guibourt, Hist, des Drogues,
ed. 3, tome ii. (1836), p. 287.

Ovoid China Cardamom. — Pereira, Mem. of Mat. Med., Part
ii. (1840), p. 698, fig. 132 ; Mem. of Mat. Med., ed. 2, vol. ii.,
(1842), p. 1035, fig. 202.

Cardamome ovoide de la Chine. — Guibourt, Hist, des Drogues,
e"d. 4, tome ii. (1849), p. 215, fig. 116.

Ovoid China Cardamom (Alpinia alba, Koscoe). — Pereira,
Mem. of Mat. Med., ed. 3, vol. ii. (1850), p. 1141, fig. 260.

Cardamoma Chinensia oviformia ; Eiformige Chinesische
Kardamomen. — Martiny, EncyHopddie der Med. Pharm. Natur-
alien und RohwaarenJcunde, Bd. ii. (1854), p. 775.

rtt

JP Tsaou-kwo.

Professors Guibourt and Pereira have referred the Ovoid China
Cardamom to Amomum medium, Loureiro ; and, as I think,
with good reason ; but of the identity of this plant with Alpinia
alia, Eoscoe, the evidence, although generally admitted, is far
from conclusive. Loureiro's description is incomplete ; he did
not see fresh flowers of his Amomum medium, no specimen of
it exists in his herbarium, nor has a drawing of it been preserved.

106 SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM.

less. Moreover, Roscoe, in enumerating the synonyms of his Alpinia
alba, has taken no notice of Loureiro's Amomum.1

But Alpinia alba is itself a plant known only by description ;
no figure of it is to be found, still less a specimen. I am
assured by Sir W. J. Hooker it is noticed in none of the Indian
Flora, and that it does not occur in any of the catalogues of
plants cultivated in India.

Ovoid China The Ovoid China Cardamom is a product of Southern China,
Cardamom. an(j a|3un(5ant fn the drug shops of Singapore, as well as in

FIG. 9. — Ovoid China Cardamom (entire fruits, fruit deprived of pericarp, and seeds).

those of China. It is an oval or oblong, three-celled, three-
valved and obscurely three-sided fruit, of from 1 to If inches
in . length. The pericarp is of a dusky-greyish brown deep
striated longitudinally, thick 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 angular and striated, having a powerful
and peculiar aromatic smell and taste.

This Cardamom is remarkable for its large, hard, angular seeds,

1 Linn. Trans., vol. viiu, p. 346.

SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 107

which alone seein sufficient to prove its distinctness from the IBS 5.
Languas vulgare of Koenig, whose seeds are described in the
Observations Botanicce of Ketzius (Fasc. iii., pp. 64, 65) as " Carda-
momo minori simillima"

The seeds of the Ovoid China Cardamom are used by the Ovoid China

r^ i

Chinese for a variety of disorders, and, according to Loureiro,
are also employed as a condiment.

There are examples of the Ovoid China Cardamom in Dr.
Burges's collection at the Ebyal College of Physicians, under
the erroneous designation " Grana Paradisi in capsulis"

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

GALANGA CARDAMOM. (FIGS. 10, 11.)

r^ YV ~W ~" T -Kaou~leany-keang-i

I ~J \r^^ >^~*^*

^ Hung-tow-kow.

I have applied the term Galanga Cardamom to a small me-
dicinal fruit received under the above Chinese names from my
friend Mr. Lockhart, of Shanghai.

The specimen consists of capsules about half an inch in length Galanga
and three lines in breadth, of an oblong form, somewhat con-
stricted in the middle, or occasionally pear-shaped; some are
obscurely three-sided. Each fruit is prominently crowned with
the remains of the calyx ; in a few, the m

louver extremity is still attached to a
slender pedicel. Most of the capsules
are much shrivelled on the outside, ap- .'
parently from having been gathered
while immature -(Fig. 11) ; a few, how-
ever, retain a plump and smooth ap-
pearance (Fig. 10). The pericarp varies
externally in colour (according to its

maturity?), from a pale tO a deep red- GaZan0acWamom(fruitsGand seeds).

dish-brown ; internally it is whitish.

It is glabrous in the mature fruits, thin and brittle, not splitting

108 SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM.

1855. into valves ; in the shrivelled fruits it appears stronger, from its
Galanga close adherence to the mass of seeds. Upon removal of the
Cardamom. perjcarp the seeds are seen united in a three-lobed mass, com-
pletely invested in a whitish 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 hilum
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 the Jiilum
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 have not data for determining with certainty from
what plant the Galanga Cardamom is derived, I am induced,
after a careful examination, to refer it to the Great Galangal,
Alpinia Galanga, Willd. (Amomum Galanga, Loureiro ; Lanc-
quas, Kumphius.) I do so, because — 1. The name Kaou-leang-
keang1 (Cdo Ledm Kiam of Loureiro) or Leang-keang is the
Chinese name of Alpinia Galanga. 2. The fruit in question
substantially agrees with the descriptions of Kumphius,2 Lou-
reiro,3 and especially of Koxburgh.*

I have examined several specimens of Alpinia Galanga in
the herbarium of Sir W. J. Hooker ; none, however, in fruit. The
figures of the plant, also, with the exception of a very poor

Referred to
the Great
Galangal.

1 The syllable tsze merely signifies seed or fruit.

- Herbarium Amboinense, lib. 8, c. 9, p. 144.

8 Flora Cochinchinensis (ed. Willd.), t. i., p. 7. I am aware that Loureiro
here describes the fruit as trivalvis, but in an earlier description of Amomum
Galanga, communicated by Loureiro himself to Sir Joseph Banks, this word
is omitted. It was with much interest that I discovered this description of
A. Galanga in a little MS. volume in the handwriting of Loureiro, preserved
in the British Museum. The volume, which is the MS. No. 93, Catal.
Biblioth., tome iiL, p. 35, is thus entitled :—Nova Genera Plantarum in
Cochinchind sponte nascentia descripta juxta methodum clar Linncei;
simulgue cum veris plantis missa in Angliam a Botanophilo Joanne de
Loureyro. An. 1773. The specimen of A. Galanga is unfortunately not
now to be found.

4 Asiatick Researches, vol. xi. (1810), p. 318. Flora Indica (ed. Carey)
vol. i., p. 69, 61.

SOME EARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM.

109

one in the Herbarium Amboinense> do not represent the 1855-
fruit.1

It is from A. Galanga that the Greater or Java Galangal root
is derived. It still remains to be ascertained to what plant we
owe the Smaller or Chinese Galangal, the ordinary Radix
Galangce of European druggists.2 \_Alpinia officinarum, Hance.]

According to Loureiro, the seeds of Amomum Galanga are
calefacient, alterative, stomachic, sternutatory, beneficial in
pituitous colic, diarrhoea, 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

cluster
Cardamom.

There is yet another species of Cardamom abundant in the
markets of the East, which though now seldom seen in Europe,
except in cabinets of Materia Medica, is described by all the
older, and by many of the modern, writers on pharmacology.
I mean the Round or Cluster Cardamom, the fruit of Amomum
Cardamomum. of Linnaeus, a plant occurring in Sumatra and
other parts of the Archipelago as well as on the adjacent con-
tinent. Of this drug, Mr. Padday has kindly sent me three
samples obtained at Bangkok by Mr. Hunter. The finest sample,
marked No 1, is the produce of Cambodia, and worth in Siam
about 5s. sterling per Ib. Samples No 2 and 3 are from Chanti- Cambodia and
bon (Siam), and marked respectively 4s. Qd. and 2s. 3d. per Ib. Chantibon.
Mr. Hunter states that this Cardamom grows without cultivation
on the lower slopes of the mountains.

The Round or Cluster Cardamom is in common use in China,
whence I have repeatedly received it under various designations,
as Hang-lcow, Seaon-kow, Po-tow-Jcow ; for the last name, which
is perhaps the same as that quoted by Loureiro, the characters

are

Specimens
from

1 Nees v. Esenbeck. Plant. Med., pi. 67, 68. There is also a beautiful
coloured drawing, marked Amomum (xcdanga, No. 1302 (unfortunately not
representing the fruit), among the unpublished drawings of Dr. Roxburgh, in
the possession of the Hon. E. I. Company.

2 Consult Hanbury's subsequent paper on Galanga, Pharm. Journ. vol. ii.
(1871), p. 248.

HO WEST AFRICAN SPECIES OF AMOMUM.

1863.

ON SOME NEW SPECIES OF AMOMUM FEOM WEST

AFEIOA.

BY Professor OLIVER and DANIEL H ANBURY.
(Read before the Linnean Society, April 16, 1863.)

WE have in preparation a monograph of the West African species
of Amomum ; but as 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 Linnean Society. It appears, however, to be desirable that
brief diagnoses of the new species should at once be laid before
the Society, and we have accordingly prepared the following.

Specimens of all the plants described have been received, both

in the dried state and preserved in fluid, accompanied in most

Mr. Gustav cases by coloured sketches, from Mr. Gustav Mann, the able and

Maun. persevering botanical collector to the Eoyal Gardens, Kew. In

the Museum and Herbarium of this establishment the authentic

specimens are deposited.

AMOMUM, L.
* Scapi uniflori. Semina ellipsoidea, nitida.

1. A. Arundinaceum, sp. nov. Foliis lineari-lanceolatis,
is, subsessilibus, scapis gracilibus 2-3 unc. longis, bracteis

brevissime apiculatis, labello erecto rotundato-obovato, fructu-
late ovoideo nudo vel subnudo.

Hal. Corisco Bay, 1862, G. Mann.
** Mores 2-10 congesti, in scapis simplicibus aut distiche ramosis.

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

•f- Scapi 1-2-pedalis, distiche ramosi.

2. A. Giganteum, sp. nov. Foliis amplis, elongatis, lanceolato-
oblongis oblanceolatisve petiolatis, scapi ramulis ssepius bifloris

WEST AFRICAN SPECIES OF AMOMUM. Ill

antlierse crista lobo central! producto quadrato-oblongo bifido v. 1863>
subintegro, fructu ovali-lanceolato, seminibus ellipsoideis nitidis. Amoma
Hal. Gaboon Kiver, 1861, G. Mann.

•J-f* Scapi simplices, aut breves basi ramosi.

3. A. Sceptrum, sp. nov. Foliis auguste oblongo-lanceolatis,
petiolatis, ligula scariosa, scapis simplicibus apice clavato-tur-
gidis circa 10-floris, bracteis superioribus dorso apiculatis, tern-
pore florifero transverse plicatis, fructu ovoideo-compresso v.
subtrigono glabro, pericarpio crasso, seminibus angulatis.

Hob. Gaboon Kiver, 1861, G. Mann.

4 A. Mannii, sp nov. Foliis oblanceolatis ellipticisve abrupte
acuminatis, petiolatis, scapis 2-3 unc., 3-2-floris, bracteis brevis-
sime apiculatis v. muticis, labello late obovato-rotundato.

Hob. Corisco Bay, 1862, G. Mann.

b. Labellum erectum, amplum, roseum v. purpureum. Foliis
subtus minute pubescentia v. margine breviter pilosa. Starni-
nodia libera.

5. A. Subsericeum, sp. nov. Foliis lanceolatis acuminatis,
brevi-petiolatis, subtus pubescentia venulis transverse intertexta
•subsericeis, scapis brevibus saspius bifioris, fructu ovato-lanceo-
lato v. ovoideo, seminibus ellipsoideis nitidis.

Hob. Gaboon Eiver and Corisco Bay, 1862, G. Mann.

6. A. Limbatum, sp. nov. Foliis oblongo-lanceolatis, acumine
tenuiter caudatis, brevissime petiolatis v. sessilibus, subtus nervo
inedio atque margine brevissime ferrugineo pilosis, scapis brevi-
bus 3-floris, fructu ovoideo seminibus ellipsoideis nitidis.

Hal. Fernando Po, 1859 and 1861, G. Mann.

c. Flores parvi, lutei. Folia pilosa. Staminodia coadunata.

7. A. Pilosum sp. nov. Foliis elongato-lanceolatis acuminatis,
breviter petiolatis, sparse pilosis, scapis brevibus bifioris, labello
limbo transverse elliptico subcordato v. fere integro, fructu
parvo obovoideo in tubo persistente perianthii repente contracto
seminibus perparvis transverse rugulosis.

Hab. Fernando Po, 1862, G. Mann.

112

AMOMUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM, SONNERAT.

1863.

*** Scapi 'breves, obconici, capitati, 10-15-^m. Folia glalra.

8. A. Citratum, Pereira, Pharm. Journ. and Trans, ix. 313.1
Foliis elongatis, oblongo- v. obovato-lanceolatis, breviter acum-
inatis, petiolatis, scapis crassis, bracteis superioribus margine
crispatis, labello amplo erecto, fructu obovoideo limbo lato perian-
thii persistente continue coronato, seminibus obscure angulatis
tuberculatisque, apice breviter conico productis.

Hob. Gaboon River.

1872.

Fruits.

Sonnerat.

Jxmgouze.

NOTE ON AMOMUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM, SONNERAT.

(Read before the Linnean Society, December 7, 1871.)

THE fruits which I now lay before the Society are those of
Amomum angustifolium, Sonnerat, ripened in my hot-house at
Clapham during the past autumn.

This species of Amomum was collected by Sonnerat in Mada-
gascar, and described and figured in his Voyage aux Indes Orien-
tales et 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 Mauritius in 1802. An excel-
lent coloured drawing is in the Roxburgh Collection now at Kew,

Bojer, in his Hortus Mauritianus published in 183 7, mentions,
as occurring in Mauritius, a plant which he calls Amomum nemo-
rosum or Longouze. That this is the same species as the A.
angustifolium 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 Medicinal Plants of Mauritius (1857), assigns
to the Longouze its correct name of Amomum angustifolium,
Sonnerat. He asserts that it was 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 the

1 As no description of this species has yet been published, we include its
diagnosis in the present paper.

LONGOUZE. 113

Paris Exhibition of 1867. When it flowered, in June last, I was 1872-
instantly struck with its perfect resemblance to the West- Resemblance
African A. Danielli, Hook, f.; and a careful comparison con- to A-
vinced me of the identity of the two species.

Of the West- African plant I have specimens from Sierra
Leone, Monrovia, Grand Bassa, Cape Palmas, Akassa, Old
Calabar, the islands of Fernando Po and St Thomas, and the
river Gaboon. It varies in the colour of the flower, which is
sometimes of a uniform chrome-yellow, sometimes crimson, with
the labellum of a yellow more or less pale, and sometimes, again,
entirely crimson ; but the shape of the flower, which is highly African plant,
characteristic, presents but little variation. The scape is either
short or long (that is, from three to eight inches, or more), and
varies greatly in the number of fruits which it bears. The fruits
are moderately uniform in shape and size ; they are filled with
an acidulous pulp, in which are lodged numerous oblong polished
brown seeds. Neither the fruit, nor foliage, nor the two com-
bined afford positive characters for recognition of the species :

The synonymy of the plant may be given thus : — Synonyms.

Amomum angustifolium, Sonnerat, Voyage aux Indes Orient-
ales et a la Chine, ii. 242, tab. 137 ; Roxburgh, Flora Ind., ed.
Carey, i. 39.

A. nemorosum, Bojer, Hort. Mauritianus (1837), p. 327.

A. Danielli, Hook, f., Hooker's Journ. of Bot. iv. (1852) 129,
tab. 5 (sub. nom. A. Afzelii) ; Bot. Mag. tab. 4764.

A. Clusii (? Smith in Rees Cyclopaedia (Addenda), xxxix.); Bot.
Mag. tab. 5250.

THE MADAGASCAR CARDAMOM, OR LONGOUZE.1

(Longouze, Madagascar-Cardamomen, von Amomum
angustifolium, Sonnerat.)

IN several works on Materia Medica published within the
last fifty years,2 mention is made of a Madagascar Cardamom

1 Read at the Evening Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great
Britain, February 7, 1872.

8 Fee, Cours d'Hist. Nat. Pharmaceutique, I. (1828) 361 ; Guibourt, Hist,
des Drog. II. (1849) 216 ; Martin?, Encyldopcidie d. Med. u. pharm.

114 " AMOMUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM," SONNERAT.

1872. the fruit of a zingiberaceous plant called Amomum angustifolium.

Names. Sonnerat, the author of this botanical name, was a French
traveller who visited Madagascar in the second half of the last
century. Among the plants of that island which he described1
was the species in question, which he thought he identified with
the Great Cardamom of ancient writers, a drug we now know
to have a very different origin. The name Grand Cardamome
had, however, been given to it more than a century before by
Flacourt,2 another explorer of Madagascar. Both Flacourt and
Longouz?. Sonnerat state that the plant is known as Longouze, and the
latter adds that it has been introduced into the 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 Longouze which is now apparently wild in that island.
They were labelled, in accordance with Bojer's Hortus Mauri-
tianus? Amomum nemorosum, under which name they were not
recognised as Sonnerat's plant. It appears, however, that this
A. nemorosum Bojer is but a synonym of A. angustifolium, Sonn.,
with which in fact the specimens communicated by Mr. Fleurot
entirely agree. The plant is still claimed in Mauritius to be the
Grand Cardamome de Madagascar*

Drugs from A collection of Mauritius drugs sent to the Paris Exhibition
of 18G7 included fruits of Amomum angustifolium, from which
I obtained a few seeds that germinated. During the past
summer (1871) one of the plants thus raised produced flowers,

Rohwaarcnlcundc, II. (1854) 771 ; Berg, Pharm. Waarenkunde, 1863, 425 ;
Wiggere, Uandbuch d. Pharmacognosie, 1864, 176 ; Heukel, llandbuch d.
Pharmacognosie, 1862, 382.

1 Voyage aux Indes Orientaleset d la Chine, II. (1782) 242. pi. 137.

2 Hist, de la grande Isle de Madagascar, Paris 1658, 12C.
* Maurice, 1837, p. 327.

4 Bouton, Medicinal Plants growing * * in Mauritius, 1857, p. 152.

" AMOMUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM," SONNEHAT. 1 ] 5

which having been fertilized artificially, were succeeded *by ripe 1872>
fruits.

Now a most interesting point about this plant is its complete
identity with a species of Amomum growing in Tropical western
Africa. 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 that the Amomum
Danielli of Hooker could in no way be distinguished from the Identity of A.
A. angustifolium of Sonnerat. A. Danielli, Hook, f., has been with A. Dani-
figured three times in the last twenty years,1 yet its similarity eUl-
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
herbarium of the Royal Gardens, Kew.

The West African area of the plant extends along the coast "W. Africa,
line from Sierra Leone to Gaboon, and perhaps still further
south. Growing over this wide district and under 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 the
number of fruits 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 highly polished.. The
negroes of West Africa eat the pleasantly acidulous pulp of the
fruit, and apparently do not use the seeds, but in Mauritius
according to Bouton, the latter are chewed to sweeten the
breath.

I have no reason for believing that the fruits of Amomum
angustifolium, Sonn., have ever been even an occasional article
of export, either from Eastern or Western Africa, and feel quite
certain that they never formed a regular object of commerce
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 Malabar or Ceylon. — [N. Keperfc. f.
Pharm. xxi. 228.]

i Hooker's Journ. of Bot. IV. (1852) pi. V. sub nom. Amomum Afzelii.
Lot. May. tabb. 4764, 5250.

I 2

116 TRAGACANTH.

1855.

TRAGACANTH AND ITS ADULTEEATIONS.

(Note on a Paper ly Mr. Sidney H. Maltass.)

THE author having had the kindness to forward a series of
samples illustrative of the above notice, it may not be unin-
teresting here to enumerate them : —

Superior Qualities.

illustrative 1. White picked Yalavatz gum tragacanth.
2' Caissar gum tragacanth.

3. French assorted leaf — sample of seven cases.

4. Broken leaf picked by women, mixed with fine leaf.

5. Broken leaf of Caissar gum, mixed with fine leaf.

6. Vermicelli as picked out before mixing with Sesame.

7. Vermicelli — sample of one case.

8. Very small leaf, termed Sesame, mixed with Vermicelli.

Inferior Qualities.

9. Common leaf mixed with English assortment.

10. English assorted leaf— sample of four cases.

11. Common or sorts — sample of two cases.

12. Small refuse, thrown out — almost worthless.

13. Large refuse gum — almost worthless.

Gums used for the Adulteration of Tragacanth.

14. Moussul gum.

15. Caramania gum, first quality, worth £2 Ws. per cwt., to
be mixed when broken up and whitened, with fine leaf and
Vermicelli.

16. Caramania gum, second quality, worth £t 10s. per cwt. to
be mixed when broken up and whitened, with sorts gum.

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

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

TRAGACANTH— WOOD OIL. 117

19. Caramania gum, whitened with white lead, for mixture I855-
with sorts and common gum, in the proportion of 100 per cent.
The substances designated Moussul Gum and Caramania Gum
belong to the somewhat ill-defined group described by pharma-
cologists as Bassora Gum, Kutera Gum, and False Tragacanth.

In a small but interesting collection of gums and gum-resins Persian gums
formed in Persia by W. K. Loftus, Esq., and deposited partly arreifn1™"
in the British Museum, and partly in the Museum of the Eoyal
Gardens at Kew, is a specimen of our Moussul Gum, stated to be
the " common Ketira of the Arabs, exuded from the Gawan or
Gallan of Persia." Is this plant the Cochlospermum Gossy-
pium, De C.?

The Caramania Gum appears identical with the Gomme
pseudo-adragante of M. Guibourt, regarded by that author as the
produce of Astragalus gummifer, Labill.

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

The practice of whitening gum with carbonate of lead is Lead
deserving of attention. Mr. Maltass was informed upon his adulterant.11
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 the existence of carbonate of lead in the
samples No. 17, 18, and 19 ; and can also state that I have
readily detected lead in the adulterated Small Tragacanth im-
ported into the London market.

The gum used in adulterating tragacanth can readily be recog-
nized upon careful inspection.

ON WOOD OIL, A SUBSTITUTE FOE COPAIBA.

(Gurjun- Balsam, N. Repert. f. Pharm. v. 95.)

AMONG the drugs that have recently appeared in the London lose.
market, I have observed one article to which I am desirous of
drawing attention. It is a liquid imported in considerable
quantity from Moulmein in Burmah, and offered for sale under

118 WOOD OIL-GURJUN BALSAM.

1856. the name of Balsam Capivi, but known in India as Wood Oil, or
Gurjan Balsam.

To Balsam of Copaiba, however, it presents so remarkable a
resemblance, that, but for the locality from which it was imported,
it would hardly have been noticed as anything else than Copaiba
of rather unusually dark colour.

In the Paris Universal Exhibition there are two samples of a
Wood Oil, similar liquid, labelled Wood Oil, one of them being sent among
the Materia Medica of Canara, the other from the Tenasserim
provinces. Through the kindness of Dr. Royle, specimens of
each have been placed at my disposal. Though comparatively a
new drug in English trade, Wood Oil is an article of common
occurrence in the bazaars of India.

From its similarity to Copaiba, it might be supposed to have
its origin in some plant nearly allied to Copaifera : such, however,
is not the case, it being the produce of the natural order Diptero-
carpece.

Mode of ob- The following is Boxburgh's account of the manner of obtain-
6 ino & from Dipterocarpus turbinatus, an immense tree, native of
Chittagong, Tipperah, Pegu, and other places to the eastward
of Benal.1

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

" To procure the balsam, a large notch is cut into the trunk
of the tree, near the earth (say about 30 inches from the ground),
where a fire is kept up until the wood is charred, soon after which
the liquid begins to ooze out. A small gutter is cut in the wood
to conduct the liquid into a vessel placed to receive it. The
average produce of the best trees during the season, is said to
be sometimes 40 gallons. It is found necessary, every 3 or 4
weeks, to cut off the old charred surfaces and burn it afresh ; in
large healthy trees abounding in balsam, they even cut a second
notch in some other part 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 of the

1 Flora Indica (ed. Carey), vol. ii. p. 613.

WOOD OIL— GURJUN BALSAM. 119

trees appear sickly the following season, one or more years' re- 1356>
spite is given them."

The same author also states that Wood Oil is afforded by D.
costatus (D. angustifolius, W. et A.), D. alatus, Koxb., and D.
incanus, Koxb., the last mentioned being reputed to furnish the
largest proportion of the best sort.

Closely allied to the Wood Oil of Dipterocarpus is the oleo-
resin termed Camphor Oil, produced by Dryolalanops Camphora, Camphor Oil.
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. Junghuhn, I am indebted to
the courtesy of Dr. J. E. De Vrij, of Eotterdam.

Wood Oil, as imported from Moulmein, is, after filtration, a Characteria-
transparent, dark-brown liquid, of somewhat greater consistence t] !S °oii °
than Olive Oil, a sp. gr. of '964, and an odour and taste like
copaiba, though perhaps hardly so strong. One part of it
treated with two parts of alcohol, sp. gr. *796, is dissolved with
the exception of a minute quantity of darkish flocculent matter,
which subsides upon repose.

But its most curious property (as noticed by Mr. Charles Lowe
with reference to a liquid which I suppose to have been Wood
Oil1) is that exhibited when it is heated in a corked vial to about
266° F. (130° C.). Thus treated it becomes slightly turbid, and so
gelatinous that the vial may be inverted, even while hot, without
its contents being displaced ; and on cooling, the solidification Solidification.
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 to 2660.2 Copaiba displays no such
phenomenon.

According to Dr. O'Shaughnessy, when Wood Oil is heated
in a retort, a yellowish white, crystallizaUe, 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

1 On a new variety of Balsam of Copaiba, Pharmaceutical Journal, vol.
xiy. pp. 65, 66.

2 Mr. Lowe says 230° F., but a much more striking effect is produced on
the Wood Oil by the temperature I have named.

120

PENGHAWAR DJAMBI.

the Wood Oil takeu. In 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 arise 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 calcium.
Medical Use. With regard to its medicinal properties, there appears to be
no doubt from an extensive set of experiments instituted by Dr.
O'Shaughnessy, confirmed 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.1 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 drops.

From the close similarity 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.

ON PENGHA WAR DJAMBI, A NEW STYPTIC.

isse. A SMALL package of the curious drug known by the name

Penghawar Djambi, or by the not less barbarous designation
Pakoe Kidang, was lately offered at one of the public drug sales
in the City.

Description. The drug consists of the lower part of the stalk or stipes 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 their drying. Tljeir 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.

Penghawar Djambi, though new to the English drug-market,

1 Bengal Dispensatory (1842), pp. 222—224.

PENGHAWAR DJAMBI. 121

has for some years past been in the hands of the pharmacists 1856-
of Holland and Germany, and now has even a place in the
Dutch pharmacopoeia.1

The plant which affords it is without doubt of the genus Plant yielding
Cibotium. Dr. Oudemans, in his Commentaries on the PJiarma-
copoea Neerlandica,2 refers it to C. Cumingii Kunze, a fern of
the Philippine Islands, regarded by one of our best filicologists
as not specifically distinct from the C. Barometz of J. Smith. On
this point Mr. John Smith has been kind enough to reply to
some inquiries I recently addressed to him, in a communication
from which I extract the following : —

" I may safely say that the hairy stipes called Penghawar Mr. John
Jambi are produced by a species of Cibotium. Of this genus, Smith,
six species are described in Sir W. Hooker's Species Filicum,3
viz., G. glaucescens, Kze. (Polypodium Barometz, L., Cibotium
Barometz, J. Sm.) and C. Assamicum, Hook., from the Eastern
hemisphere ; C. Scliiedei, Schlecht. et Cham., from Mexico ; and
C. glaucum (Dicksonia glauca, Smith in Eee's Cyclop.), C.
Cliamissoi, Kaulf. and C. Menziesii, Hook., from the 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 artful manipulation into the fabulous Vegetable
Lamb or Barometz. The plant which affords its production was
referred by Linnseus, from Loureiro's description,4 to the genus
Polypodium, and called P. Barometz. Nothing further was
known of it till about thirty years ago, when the late John
Eeeves, Esq., sent a living plant from China to the nursery of
Messrs. Loddiges at Hackney, as the true Barometz. This plant
increased and in time became an inhabitant of other gardens ; it
was not, however, till 1840 that it produced fructification, which
it did in the Birmingham Botanic Garden, a notice of which is
recorded in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society for February
1840. I then identified it as belonging to the genus Cibotium

1 Pharmacopoei Neerlandica, 1851, p. 53.

3 Aanteekeningen op het Botanische, Zoologische en Pharmacognostische
Gedeelte der Pharmacopoea Neerlandica. Door C. A. J. A. Oudemans M D.,
Rotterdam, 1854, 1. An. p. 17.

3 Page 82.

4 Flora Cochinchinensis. Ed. Willd., p. 829.

122 PENGHAWAR DJAMBI.

isse. Of Kaulfuss, and in my Genera Filicum, published in 1841,
I recorded it under the name of Cibotium Barometz.

" In the Berlin Garden it received the name of G. glaucophyl-
lum, afterwards changed to G. glaucescens by Kunze, who figured
it in Schukhr's Supplement, p. 63, t. 31. Since then (1846)
dried specimens collected both by Fortune and by Seemann,
and corresponding with the living plant, have been received from
China.

"Now for the name Cibotium Oumingii. In 1840, Cuming
brought specimens of a Cibotium from the Philippines, which in
my enumeration of the ferns of those islands I named Cibotium
glaucum? then believing it to be the Dicksonia glauca of Dr. J.
E. Smith (Kee's Cyclop., vol. xi.). Kunze, however, considered it
a distinct species and named it C. Cumingii.

Cibotium " After much examination of well- authenticated specimens I
Barometz. have come to ^Q conclusion that C. Barometz, J. Sm., G.
glaucescens, Kunze, G. Cumingii, Kunze, and G. Assamicum, Hook.,
constitute one species only. I therefore retain the original
historical name of C. Barometz for the eastern type of the
genus.

" It appears that the stipes called Pengliawar Djambi comes
from Sumatra. Although I have npt seen any fronds of
Cibotium from that locality, still, judging from the stipes in
question, I see no reason to doubt the correctness of referring
it to Cibotium Cumingii, which, as above stated, I regard as not
different from C. Barometz"

Agnus The authors of the Pharmacopoea Neerlandica quote Agnus
Scytiucm. ^Cy^l{cus as synonymous with the Sumatran Penghawar Djambi,
in which it is 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 nondum satis
cognita."

Professor Miquel, on the other hand, while referring Penglia-
war to C. Cumingii, Kunze, questions its identity with Agnus
Scythicus in these words : — " Agnus Scythicus seu Barometz
pJiarm., filicis etiam caudcx est sed ab eo Cibotiorum
diversus." 2

1 Journ. of Bot., vol. ill (1841), p. 418.
3 Analecta Botanica Indica, ii., 36.

PENGIIAWAR DJAMBI.

123

Scythian
Lamb.

Having examined an ancient specimen of the so-called isse.
Scythian Lamb preserved in the British Museum,1 as well as a
living plant of Cibotium Barometz, J. Sin., I must confess I find
them far more to resemble each other than they do the Suma-
tran Penghawar. It must, however, 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 soil, 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 same
plant.

As I have alluded to the fatle of the Scythian Lamb, and it Fable of the
may not be familiar to all readers, I may be allowed briefly to
recall it, although to cite one half of the old authors of the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, who have delighted to
tell of its wonders, would be neither an easy nor a very
profitable task.

Suffice it, then, to say that Agnus Scythicus, Frutex Tartareus,
or Vegetable Laml was regarded as a sort of plant-animal, re-
sembling in figure a lamb, whence its Russian name larometz. Barometz.
It was said to spring from a seed like a plant, and to be attached
to the earth by a root, while in its animal nature it rejoiced
in a sort of flesh 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 case in the beginning of the
seventeenth century ; and the author who could write an ode
on Tacamahaca, Tamarinds, or Cochineal, could have no
difficulty in producing a sonnet on so much more poetic a
theme as the Scythian lamb.

Guillaume Saluste, Sieur du Bartas, represents the astonish- The vegetable
ment of our first parents at discovering in the garden of Eden

lamb.

1 Probably the same specimen as is excellently figured in Kymsdyk's
Mustum Britannicum, Loud., 1791, foL Tab. xv., Jig. 2.

124 PENGHAWAR DJAMBI.

isse. so remarkable a production as a vegetable lamb, and then ex-
Guillanme claims with Pious credulity :—

de Bartas. " 0 merveilleux effect de la dextre divine,

La plante a chair et sang, 1'animal a racine,

La plante comme en rond, de soy mesmes se meust,

L'animal a des pieds, et si marcher ne peut,

La plante est sans rameaux, sans fruict et sans feuillage,

La plante a belles dents, paist son ventre affame

Du fourrage voysin, 1'animal est seme"."1

The fable is revived in the following more elegant lines from
the pen of a modern author, but they are not very happy as
applied to a Sumatran plant : —

" Cradled in snow and fann'd by arctic air,
Shines, gentle Barometz ! thy golden hair ;
Eooted 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 Vegetable Lamb." 2

Uses, surgical Before dismissing Penghawar Djambi, 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 Bemmelen, who has elaborately investigated the chem-
istry of the drug,3 the styptic action of these hairs is solely
mechanical. Practitioners, however, have tried the effect of
an aqueous decoction of the hairs or of the stem, as a remedy
for internal hemorrhage,4 and some have reported favourably

1 See the French translation of Clusius's Latin version of Monardes, by
Anthoine Colin, Maistre Apoticaire, jure" de la ville de Lyon ; Ed. 2. Lyon,
1619, 8vo., where are preserved some other of these effusions "a la louange
de quelques drogues." 2 The Botanic Garden, ed. 3, pt. II., p. 30.

* Chemische Lfntersuchung des Penghawar Vjambi in Vierteljahresschrift
fiirprakt. Pharmacie, V. bd., 3 heft (1856).

4 Since the above was in type, I have heard from my friend, Dr. J. E. De
Vry, of Rotterdam, that the late Dr. Molkenboer, a talented Dutch physician,
was firmly of the opinion that a decoction of Penghawar Djambi was bene-
ficial in internal hemorrhage.

A GREEN DYE FROM CHINA. 125

of it. The experiments of Dr. Van Bemmelen leave little 1856-
ground for placing any reliance on the reputed good effects of
the drug so applied ; and I fully concur in that writer's con-
clusions as expressed in terms which I translate thus : —

" I therefore believe myself justified in the opinion that it is
highly improbable that that which water extracts from this plant
is an active remedy for internal hemorrhages. There appears to
me no ground whatever, eith'er from a chemical or physiological
point of view, for presuming that we may expect any good re-
sult in practice from the employment of such a preparation."

NOTE UPON A GREEN DYE FROM CHINA.

(Gfiiiner Farbstoff aus China.)

SOME weeks since a merchant showed me a small sample of a isse.
new dye, said to have been imported into Marseilles from China,
and to be recommended for dyeing silk. From its dark blue
colour I conjectured it might be a sort of indigo, such as the
Chinese are stated to prepare from Isatis tinctoria, L., and from
Polygonum tinctorium, Lour., but I had no opportunity of deter-
mining whether it was indigo, by any chemical examination.

Very recently, however, a larger sample of the same dye and
a piece of cotton cloth dyed green with it, have been sent to
me by my friend William Lockhart, Esq., of Shanghai. They
were accompanied by a communication as to the manufacture
of the dye upon the authority of the Eev. 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 Luh-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 Ltih-kaou, The Dye
consists of a dry paste, in small irregular fragments scarcely M " aou'
thicker than stout paper. Its colour is an intense blue-black,
with a little of the coppery lustre seen upon indigo. Rubbed
upon paper with a moistened ivory knife, it develops a greenish-

126

A GREEN DYE FROM CHINA.

1856.

Chemical
Characters.

Rov. J.
Edkins.

Process of
•extraction.

blue of considerable brilliancy. It is insoluble in water, rectified
spirit, or ether, whether cold or hot. With fixed alkalis, however,
a solution of an intense green colour is obtained. A solution
prepared by boiling ten parts of the dye with three parts of
carbonate of potash (KO, C02) has a brilliant bluish-green, and
possesses the following characters. The addition of an acid
occasions no precipitate. Solution of hypochlorite of soda
(Liquor sodce chlorinatce, 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 alters 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 Eev. J. Edkins.

The bark of two kinds of the tree called

Luh-chae, literally Green-shrub, one kind growing wild, which is
known as the white, and another, which is cultivated, and called
the yellow, are used to obtain the dye. The white, or wild LtiJi-
chae, grows abundantly in the neighbourhood of Kea-hing and
Ningpo. The yellow is produced at Tsoh-kow-pang, where
about thirty men are employed in the 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. After five or six immersions, the
colouring matter is washed from the cloth with water, and

STORAX BARK.

placed in iron pans to be again boiled. The colouring matter 1856-
is taken up on cotton yarn [by dipping] several 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-kaou. In dying cotton cloth with it, ten parts are mixed
with three parts of subcarbonate 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 the colour readily.
The dye does not fade with washing, which gives it a superiority
over other greens. It has long been used by painters in water- An unfading
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.

ON STOKAX BAPiK.

(StoraxrindeJ)

AMONG the drugs formerly imported from the Levant is one 1854.
now of rare occurrence, known in works on Materia Medica as
Cortex Thymiamatis, Cortex Thuris, Thus Judworum or Nas-
caphtum, and also by the names Styrax rulra or Storax Bark.
Nothing satisfactory as to its origin has yet been ascertained : Botanical
by some authors it is supposed to be the produce of Styrax °rigin-
officinale, Linn., after the expression of the resin, as related by
Landerer,1 and when ground, to constitute the Sty rax calamita
of the shops. By other authors it has been referred to Liqui-
damlar orientale, Mill., or even to the American L. styraciflua,
Linn.2

Be this as it may, the bark of Styrax officinale, as grown in
France, is entirely dissimilar to the Cortex Thymiamatis of the

1 Pereira, Ehm. of Nat. Med., ed. 3, vol. ii., p. 1515.

2 P. L. Geiger, Pharmacop. Vnivers. Heidelberg, 1 335, 8vo., p. 52.

128 STORAX BARK.

Levant. When at Toulon in the month of May last, I had the
pleasure of visiting in company with M. Chambeiron, an intel-
ligent pJiarmacien and botanist of that town, one of the few locali-
ties in France where this beautiful plant is indigenous. In the
Styrax tree, mountainous woods on the east side of Toulon, in the direction
of Cuers, the Styrax abounds. As it is cut periodically for fuel
in common with the other trees growing near it, it can seldom
attain any very considerable size ; I observed no tree, I should
say, exceeding eight or nine feet in height. At the moment of
my visit (17th May 1854) the Styrax trees were in full per-
fection, presenting with their abundance of orange-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 possess the least odour of storax. Of the bark,
however, as the opportunity offered, I collected with the
assistance of M. Chambeiron an abundant sample, taking it
both from young and old wood. After it had been carefully
dried by exposure to the air, it had assumed the form of tightly
rolled quills ; in this state it is externally smooth and of a dark
greyish-brown, on its inner surface greenish ; it is brittle, devoid
of odour, and has a slightly bitter, non-aromatic, taste. No odour
of storax could be perceived upon heating the bark over a
lamp.

Bark of The bark of Styrax qfficinale grown in France, is therefore a
verv different thing from the so-called Storax Bark of the
Levant. Whether the latter be really the produce of Styrax
ojficinale, and the difference in the two be occasioned merely by
climate, age of the trees, or other causes, further researches will,
I trust, soon show. Landerer has asserted * that the Styrax tree,
inodorous in Greece, becomes fragrant at Cos and Rhodes,
affording in these islands the resin Storax which is thence
exported. But at Rhodes, at least, the trade in it must be
very small indeed, as Mr. Niven Kerr, for many years H.B.M.
Consul in that island, recently assured me he was wholly igno-
rant of it.

1 Pereira. op. cit.

STOBAX. 129

ON STORAX. 1857.

" Verum ad accuratam ac diligentem Materise Medicse tractationem instituen-
dam, reraedii cujusque historian! et virtutes a medicis recensitas exponere non
sufficit ; sedetiam multa insuperconsiderandasuntacperpendenda." — GEOFFROY,
Tract, de Mat. Med.

WRITERS on Ma,teria Medica, ancient as well as modern, have Liquid and
generally concurred in applying the name Storax or Styrax
to two distinct substances, namely Liquid and Solid Storax. I
might almost say to two groups of substances, since each compre-
hends two or more varieties.1

The plant to which Storax, at least the solid kind, is com-
monly referred, is Styrax officinale, Linn., a small tree of the Nat.
Ord. jStyracece, occurring in Provence, Italy and the Levant. It
is this tree, to which all authors admit, the account of Storax
given by Dioscorides in the first century refers.2 In fact, it is
not unreasonable to suppose that a tree so nearly allied to that
producing Benzoin, should be capable of affording an analogous
product.

That it may under certain favourable circumstances exude a
fragrant resin, even in France and Italy, we know from the
positive testimony of two authors, the first of whom, Duhamel, Duhamel.
has written in these words :

" J'ai trouve en Provence, pres de la Chartreuse de Montrieu,
sur de gros Aliboufiers, des ecoulements assez considerables d'un
baume tres-odorant. II n'est pas douteux, ce me semble, que
ces Aliboufiers ne fournissent du Storax." 3

1 A conventional distinction of confining the name Storax to the solid
drug and Styrax to the liquid, is adopted by some modern authors. But as
such a use of terms leads to some inconsistency, I have not adopted it, but
employ the word Storax as the English equivalent of the original Greek
word 2rupa£.

2 Perhaps I ought to except Professor Orphanides of Athens, who has
hinted that the text of Dioscorides on the subject of Storax, requires
correction. Bulletin de la Societe Botanique de France. T. iij. p. 147.

3 Traite des Arbres. Paris, 1755. 4to, t. ij. p. 289. Montrieu or Mon-
tr ieux is a little place about 10 miles to the north of Toulon, in the
department of the Var. In this neighbourhood the Styrax grows wild.

In order to endeavour to obtain an authentic specimen of the exudation of
Styrax officinale, I wrote to my friend Dr. Planchon of Montpellier, who at
my suggestion kindly caused incisions to be made during the hottest part of
last summer, in the trunk and branches of a large and fine Styrax growing in

STORAX.

1857. The second author is the Abbe* Mazeas, who, in a communi-

Styraxcn cation under date 18 Jan. 1769 addressed to the Journal des
tonnes. ggavans,1 states that on a plain in the neighbourhood of Tivoli,
near Home, sheltered on the K and N.E. by a chain of moun-
tains contiguous to Monte Genarro, Eocca Giovane, S. Polo &c.
which form a semi-circle open to the south, — in fact, in a very
warm situation, the Styrax shrub yields by incisions in its bark,
the valued exudation known as Styrax en larmes.

As the account of Storax left us by Dioscorides who was a
native of Cilicia, one of the countries affording the drug, is
important, I will here give its literal translation, subjoining
in a note the Latin text of Sprengel,2 the latest commentator
upon that author.

Account by Storax is the exudation of a certain tree resembling a quiuce-

Dioscorides faQQ^ jj. jg preferred yellow and shining, resinous, having whitish

[translation]. iuinps, retaining for a long period a very grateful odour ; when

softened, it emits a certain honey-like humidity. Such is the

Gabalite, the Pisidian and the Cilician [Storax]. That of bad

quality is black, friable and branny. There is also found an

exudation resembling gum, transparent, myrrh-] ike ; but this is

produced rarely. Storax is adulterated with the powder of the

tree itself, made by the erosion of little worms, honey and the

dregs of iris 3 and some other things, being added. There are

the Botanic Garden there. The experiment was quite unsuccessful : neither
aqueous sap nor resinous juice flowed from the incisions.

i Vol. for 1769, p. 105.

* " Styrax lacrima est arboris cuiusdam cydonise similis. Prsefertur flavus
ac pinguis, resinosus, grumos habens albicantes, quam diutissime in odoris
gratia pennanens, quique dum mollitur, nielleam quanidam humiditatem ex
se remittit. Talis est gabalites, pisidius ac cilicius. Deterior niger, friabilis
ac furfurosus. Invenitur et lacrima gummi similis, transparens, myrrhse
ji'iuula ; verum heec raro nascitur. Adulterant autem arboris ipsius scobe,
vermiculorum erosione facta, admisto melle et iridis crassamento aliisque
nonnullis. Non desunt, qui et cerani aut sebum aromatis imbutum ad
solem acerrimum cum styrace subigant et per colum latis foramiinbus
pervium in aquam frigidam, quasi vermiculos eftingentes, exprimant et
venumdent, quern styracein ideo vermiculatum appellant. Imperiti euni
tanquam sincerum admittunt, non attenti ad odoris insignem veheinentiam.
Est enim admodum acris, qui fraudis expers est. * * * n
Pedanii Dioscoridis Anazarbei de Mat. Med., libri v., ed. Curt. Sprengel.
Lips. 1829, 30. T. i. p. 82 (lib. i. cap. Ixxix.).

3 Possibly some residue obtained in making the preparation called Irini
spissamentum described lib. i. cap. Ixvi.

STORAX AS DESCRIBED BY PLINY. 131

those who pound with storax in very hot weather, either wax or issr.
tallow imbued with aromatics, and press it through a strainer
having wide openings, into cold water, forming as it were, little
worms : they sell this, which they call vermiform Storax. Inex-
perienced persons admit it as genuine, not regarding its remark-
ably powerful odour : for that which is not fraudulent is 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 : —

" That part of Syria joining up to Judaea, and lying above Account by
Phoenicia, produces Storax, which is found in the vicinity of
Gabala and Marathus, 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 harsh taste, with a pleasant smell ;
in the interior it has all the appearance of a reed, and is filled
with a liquid juice. About the rising of the Dog-Star, certain
small winged worms 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 that
already mentioned, comes from Pisidia, Sidon, Cyprus and Cilicia;
that of Crete being considered the very worst of all. That
which comes from Mount Amanus, in Syria is highly esteemed
for medicinal purposes, and even more so by the perfumers.
From whatever country it comes, that which is of a red colour
is preferred, and it should be both unctuous as well as viscous to
the touch ; the worst kind is that which crumbles like bran, and
is covered all over with a whitish mould. This substance is
adulterated with the resin of cedar or with gum, and sometimes
with honey or bitter almonds ; all which sophistications may,
however, be detected by the taste. The price of Storax of the
best quality is seventeen denarii per pound.1 It comes also
from Pamphylia, but this last is more arid and not so full of
juice." 2

The localities here mentioned include those cited by Dios-
corides: and most of them can be identified. Gabala is the

1 Equal to 16s. per Ib. avoirdupois.

2 Pliny's Natural History, Bostock and Riley's translation, book xij.
chap. 55.

K 2

132 STORAX.

1857. modern village of Djebeleh, a few miles to the south of Latakia.
The ruins of Marathus still exist. Casius and Amanus are
mountains near the Gulf of Iskenderun, stilHo be traced under
Turkish names. The position of the ancient countries of
Pisidia, Pamphylia 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, Styrax officinale
is at the present day a common wild shrub.
Storax of the The drug thus described by these ancient authors is that

ancients. which J conceive to be the 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 trunk of the Styrax officinale of
Linnaeus. That such a drug in a state of greater or less purity,
was in former, and even in comparatively recent times, an
article of commerce, appears certain from the specimens still
existing in a few old collections of Materia Medica as well as
from the descriptions of the best Storax given by the pharma-
cologists of the last century agreeing very fairly with the
account left by Dioscorides.1

This fine kind of Storax, always extremely scarce, was called
amygdaloid from the small, white, almond-like tears of which it
partially consisted. It also bore the name Styrax calamitcs, a
term derived from the ancient method of packing it in reeds
(calami}.2 It has, however, wholly disappeared from commerce,
Slyrax its name alone Styrax calamites or calamita being retained in

caiamUes. favour of ft^ odoriferous, sawdust-like compound which we are
accustomed to find in the shops. In France, it is applied to a
black, extractiform, odoriferous substance which I shall more
particularly describe in a future paper.

1 See especially Kirsten, Exercitatio de Styrace, Altorf, 1736. 4to.

a According to Matthiolus, the allusion to Calami in ^connexion with
Storax first occurs in Galen. I find the passage to be as follows :

" Manifestum insuper est Styracem qui in calamis e Parnphilia apportatur,
Andromachum praecipere. Paucissiraus autem illic styrax nascitur : tan-
tumque ah hoc vulgari distat, quantum a vino quod in tahernis venditur
Falernum." (Galen. De Antidotis, lib. i. cap. 14.)

The term Calamites has been supposed to be derived frem KaTaftaXiTTjs, a

LIQUID STORAX. 133

Although we possess no modern account of the collection of is&7.
solid Storax, confirmatory of that given by Dioscorides, other Collection
than those I have quoted (which do not, however, relate to of 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 unprofitable to examine with some
attention. I ought, however, first to state that it is questionable
whether the Greeks were acquainted with Liquid Storax : Arab
writers, on the other hand, distinctly mention it, though their
accounts are far from satisfactory and clear.1

The first of these two statements is that of James Petiver,
an apothecary of London, who was noted as the possessor of
a considerable collection of objects of natural history.
. In the year 1708, that is ten years before his death, Petiver Accoimt by
presented to the Eoyal Society of London a communication
which, verbatim et literatim, is as follows : —

" The Manner of making Styrax liquida, alias Eosa Mallas.

Communicated ly Mr. James Petiver, F.E.S.

Rosa Mallas grows upon the Island Colross, at the upper end Rosa Mallas.
of the Red Sea near Cadess, which is 3 days Journey from Suez':
It is the Bark off a Tree (taken off every Year, and grows 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 Mocha in June and July, where it sells from 60 to 120
Dollars per Barrel, according to its Goodness : the best is what
is freest from Clay 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 Turks call it Cotter Mija.

KB. A Barrel is 420 1." 2

A statement so precise and circumstantial was received with
more or less credit, and we find it quoted by Geoffroy,3 Hill,4

vulgar reading for -ya/SoXir^s, as explained at length by Matthiolus (Comm.
in lib< i. Dioscorid. cap. Ixviii.)

1 Avicennse Liber Canonis, lib. ii. tract. 2. cap. 431. 600. 623. (ed. Venet.
1564.)

2 Philosophical Transactions, 1708-1709. Vol. xxvi. p. 44.

3 Tract, de Mat. Med. (1741), t. ii. p. 493.

4 History of the Materia Medica (1751), p. 713.

134

STORAX.

Island of
Cobross.

1857. Alston,1 Me" rat and De Lens,2 Martiny,3 Guibourt,4 Pereira,5
Eoyle,6 &c.

Hill, indeed, quaintly remarks, " It is a little unlucky that
nobody has given us any description of this Rosa Afallas" —
But is this the only ambiguity ? Let us first ask, — Does there
exist any island of Cobross at the upper end of the Eed Sea ?

Thanks to the excellent chart of the Ked Sea made from the
surveys of Messrs. Moresby and Carless in 1830-33, and to the
minute Sailing Directions for the Eed Sea, both published by
the Hon. East India Company, we have a mass of very exact
and positive information relating to its coasts, and to its islands
from the largest, down to the very rocks and shoals. Now
Petiver makes his island of Cobross to be " near Cadess, which is
3 days journey from Suez" 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 Red
Sea nearer to Suez than about 160 miles. Neither this island,
nor any other in the Red Sea, bears the name of Cobross, or any
other name which can be supposed to represent it, — that is, so
far as my researches have gone, and I have taken much pains in
investigating the subject.

Again, — are there any islands in the Red Sea extensively
wooded, as Petiver's account would lead us to suppose? On
this point, the minute information in the Sailing Directions, is
entirely of a negative character.

Distrusting my own judgment in such a question, I applied
to John Walker, Esq., Geographer to the Hon. East India
Company, and to the Rev. Charles Forster, author of the His-
torical 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.

1 Lectures on the Materia Medico, (1770), vol. ii. p. 418.
a Dictionnaire de Matiere Medicate, t. iv. (1832), p. 128.

3 Encyklop. d. med.-pharm. Nat. u. Rohwaarenk. bd. L (1843) p. 94.

4 Histoire des Drogues Simples, t. ii. (1849), p. 294.
8 Elem. of Mat. Med. vol. ii. (1850) p. 1216.

6 Manwl of Mat. Med. (1853) p. 639.

Doubts on
the subject.

PETIVER AND LANDERER.

135

1857.

Cobross,

of

Although I am unable to find a Cdbross in the Ked Sea, I
must state that D'Herbelot in his BiblioMqiie Orientale gives
Cdbros, as a synonym of Cyprus : and also, that Pliny mentions
an island of Coboris or Covoris, which has been identified as one
of the Sohar Isles, near Burka, a town situated on the East
coast of Arabia, near the entrance to the Persian Gulf.1 The
position of either of these islands is, of course, perfectly irre-
concilable with that of Petiver's Cobross.

It is somewhat surprising that of the many authors who have
quoted Petiver's account of Liquid Storax, 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 " brought to
Judda and so to Mocha" — that is to say, it is carried to a spot
some 1300 miles south of Suez.

So much for the fallacies in Petiver's account of "The
manner of making Styrax Liyuida." In a future part of this
notice, I will endeavour to show what traces of truth it
contains.

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 Buchner's Repertorium for 1839.2

This communication, I translate thus : —

The Storax plant, Styrax officinale is found in various parts of Account by
continental Greece, as well as in some of the islands of the
Archipelago. There, however, it forms but a small shrub and
does not possess the agreeable odour ascribed to it by botanists.
The bark of the plant occurring in 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
cultivated 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 Forster's Historical Geography of Arabia, Lond. 1844. Vol. ij. p. 230.

2 Einige Worte, uber die Gewinnung des Storax liquidus vom Prof, und
Leibapotheker X. Landerer in Athen, Buchner's Rep.fiir d. Pharm. Bd. 18.
s. 359-362.

Dr- x-

136

STORAX.

1857.

Account by

Dr. X.
Landerer.

Erroneous
information.

The Storax plant is called in Cos and Ehodes
(bucJi'A'n). At its flowering season, it fills the air with the most
agreeable vanilla-like perfume. At the period for the collec-
tion of the bark and younger twigs, which are employed for the
preparation of Buchuri-jag, i.e. Styrax-oil (oil being called in
Turkish, jag}, permission is obtained from the Pasha residing
at Rhodes, a small sum 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 [backen
sie leicht zusammen] ; from them are formed masses of one oJce
weight (= 21bs.), which are reserved for the preparation of jag,
or aro immediately purchased by Ehodian merchants and sent to
Ehodes.

The preparation of Buchuri-jag is effected by merely pressing
the before-mentioned masses in presses somewhat warmed,
called Styralda, and not by boiling. The jag obtained by gentle
pressure is of an unctuous consistence, a light grey colour, and
diffuses a very agreeable vanilla-like odour. This is the only
sort that is exported ; but in Cos and Ehodes, it is also used in
the preparation of a very odoriferous mass made by the addition
of finely-powdered Olibanum and formed into cakes of the size
of a fist, which are called StyraJcia. 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
Buchuri-jag is obtained, which is used by the inhabitants them-
selves for the most healing ointments 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
Styrax-balsam with turpentine, the Ehodian merchant assured
me that they would not know how to go about it ; and that 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 Olive-trees.

That Dr. Landerer has been greatly deceived by his informant
will, I think, be very evident from the subjoined testimonies : —

VARIOUS OPINIONS ENTERTAINED. 137

1. Niven Ker, Esq., who was for several years British Consul 1857.
at Rhodes, informed me that he was quite ignorant of the carry- Testimonies
ing on in that island of the manufacture described by Dr. cited<
Landerer.

2. Sidney H. Maltass, Esq., of Smyrna,- in a letter to me
under date 7 October, 1853, speaking of Liquid Storax, says
" Cos and Rhodes produce none."

3. Lieutenant Robert Campbell, R.N., H.B.M. Consul at
Rhodes, writes from Rhodes under date 16 December, 1855,
that Dr. Landerer, in attributing to the islands Cos and Rhodes
the production of Storax, has committed an egregious error, as
they have never produced it.

Moreover, the evidence of Mr. Maltass proves, as I shall
shortly show, that Styrax qfficinale is not the tree yielding
Liquid Storax.

There are other exceptional 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 will 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
an artificial compound; Dale, in particular, asserts that what

was found in the London shops in his time (1693) was alto-
gether factitious.1

2. Those writers who adopt Dr. Landerer's statement, regard
Liquid Storax as the produce of Styrax officinale, Linn.

3. By many authors, Liquid Storax is referred to Liquidam-
bar styraciflua, Linn., a tree found in the southern part of the

1 " Verum quod in officinis nostris pro Styrace liquido venditur omnino
factitia res est, ut certior factus sura a pharmacopolis variis Londinensibus."
—Pharmacologia, Lond. 1,093, p. 427.

138 STORAX.

1857. United States, in Mexico, and in other parts of Central

America.

Liquid storax However capable that tree may be of producing an analogous
"the Levant!" resin> ^ is well ascertained that the Liquid 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 is certainly not the produce of
America. I therefore dismiss the supposition that the Liquid
Storax of commerce is of transatlantic origin.

4. By some authors, Liquid Storax has been conjectured to be
the produce of Liquidamlar altingiana, Blume.

This tree is a native of the islands of the Indian Archipelago
and of Burmah, where the inhabitants occasionally extract from
it an odoriferous semi-fluid resin ; but the product is not abund-
ant, nor does it resemble the Liquid Storax 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 this tree
is at the present day known to the Malays, is Rasamdla, a word
very close to Petiver's Rosa Mallas. To this I shall revert in a
future page.

5. Liquidanibar orientate, Miller, is regarded by Guibourt,
Lindley, the authors of the French Codex, and some others, as
the source of Liquid Storax, an opinion which I shall be able to
show to be correct.

Having brought under review the various opinions current as

to the origin of Liquid Storax, and stated the points on which

I consider them erroneous, I will now proceed to communicate

the information which I have myself received regarding the

Personal drug from three valued correspondents in the Levant, namely,

Information Sidney H Maltass, Esq. of Smyrna, Lieut. Kobert Campbell,

RK, H.B.M. Consul in the island of Rhodes, and Dr. James

McCraith, of Smyrna.

The information is still not quite perfect, but in all essential
particulars I believe the following is a correct account of the

LIQUID STORAX. 139

PREPARATION OF LIQUID STORAX. 1857.

BOTANICAL ORIGIN. — The tree from which Liquid Storax is
obtained, is Liquidambar orientale, Miller (L. imberbe Aiton),
as is proved by specimens of the leaves and fruits procured at
my request by Mr. Maltass (see wood-cut).

LOCALITIES. — South-west of Asia Minor. — Forests in the dis-
trict of Sighala near Melasso ; forests near Moughla, and near
Giova and Ulla in the Gulf of Giova ; also near Marmorizza
and Isgengak opposite Rhodes.

Mr. Maltass passed through a dense forest of Liquidambar Account by
between the village of Caponisi and the town of Moughla on a tass'

the 7th or 8th of May, 1851. He describes it as consisting of
trees resembling the plane, but evidently of a different species,
the leaf being smaller, arid each tree far denser in foliage 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 off. I gathered some of the fruit
and leaves, and proceeded on my journey towards Moughla, my
road lying for upwards of an hour through this beautiful forest.
I observed that the trees were from twenty to thirty 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 me
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."

EXTRACTION OF THE LIQUID STORAX. — In June and July, the Extraction of
outer bark is stripped off on one side of the tree and (according to Li(luid Storax'
Lieut. Campbell) made into bundles and reserved for the purpose
of fumigation. The inner bark is then scraped off with a semi-
circular or sickle-shaped knife and thrown into pits until a

Liijuidanibar orientulc, Mill.

Lujuiaamnar orieutuie, Mill.
From a sppeinion obtained by S. II. Maltass, Esq., from the toast of Asia Minor, opposite Rhodes.

iFitdi. '!••!.]

LIQUID STORAX. Ul

sufficient quantity has been collected. Mr. Maltass states 1857.
that it is then packed into strong horse-hair bags and subjected
to pressure in a wooden lever press. Upon removal from the
press, hot water is thrown over the bags and they are pressed
a second time, after which the greater portion of the resin will
have been extracted.

Lieutw Campbell's account is a little different : he says the
inner bark is boiled in water over a brisk fire, upon which the
resinous part comes to the surface and is skimmed off. The
boiled bark is next put into hair sacks and pressed, boiling
water being added to assist in the extraction of the resin, or,
as it is termed, yagh (i.e. oil).

Dr. McCraith says that the Storax collectors, who are chiefly
a tribe of wandering Turcomans called Yuruks, are armed with
a triangular iron scraper with which they scrape off, together
with the juice of the tree, a certain quantity of bark, which
they collect in leathern pouches suspended to their 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- cloth and pressed in a rude
press, the extracted resin being added to the general mass.

The product obtained 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 extracted, is Storax Bark,
emptied out of the bags and exposed in the sun to dry, after
which it is shipped to the 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 Bark, 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 admixture of sand and
ashes.

COMMERCE. — Lieut. Campbell states that the quantity of

names.

142 STOBAX.

1857. Liquid Storax annually extracted amounts to about 20,000 okes
Exportation of (500 cwt,) from the districts of Giova and Ulla and 13,000 okes
Liquid Storax. ^325 cwt.) from those of Marmorizza and Isgengak.1

9 It is exported in casks to Constantinople, 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 bark, was bought by the
merchants of the island of Rhodes, but at what period and
under what circumstances this occurred, I have not been able
to learn.2

Eastern 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 which remains
after its extraction.3

Liquid Storax is known to the Turks by the name^U *£&£ *j*
Kara gTiyunluk yaghy, i.e., Black Frankincense Oil* It is also
called ^b »j=:« Bukhur yaghy, i.e. Incense Oil and sometimes

(according to Mr. Maltass) ^l> <x)U»w Sigliala yagliy, i.e. Sighala
Oil, from the district between Melasso and Macri, where much
of it is collected.

The Greeks designate it Srupaf vypa, but often use the
Turkish name Bulchur yagliy.

1 In English commerce, forty okes are reckoned as equal to one hundred-
weight.

2 Dr. Landerer's account appears to have reference to this period ; and
even his statement of the cultivation of the Storax plant (whatever plant is
intended) has some support from the following passage in Duhamel's Traite
des Arbres, t. ij. p. 288.

" Au Levant on cultive anx environs de Stanchir [Cos], les arbres qui
donnent le Storax, et on les multiplie par marcottes." Dr. Landerer's
/Sot/XoCpi, it will also be observed, is traceable in the Turkish name bukhur.

13 I will here acknowledge the assistance kindly afforded me by Dr. Green-
hill, the translator of Rhazes, on the subject of Arabic names ; and also that
of J. W. Redhouse, Esq. with regard to Turkish names.

4 Olibanum is called in Turkish ci^ ghyunluk.

LIQUID STORAX. 143

In a Report of the External Commerce of Bombay to which IBS?.
my attention was directed by my friend Dr. Koyle, the term
Hose Malloes is applied to a drug enumerated under the Rose Malloes.
category of Import ly Sea into the Port of Bombay}-

The recurrence of this strange name, which Petiver'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 called.
This was kindly procured for me at the Bombay Custom House
by Dr. Carter, and proved to be our ordinary 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 Ehodes. Here then is the explanation of Petiver's state-
ment of the drug being carried southward from Suez — it being
in fact, on its way to India.

His term Cotter Mija is the Arabic 2*ju JoS Katr may a, 2*x« Eastern
may'a being one of the Avicennian terms for Storax, and Li*
katr (literally a drop), a prefix indicating its liquid nature.2

The only other author with whom I am acquainted that
alludes to Rosa Mallas is Garcia,3 who, when describing the
various sorts of Benzoin, mentions "Roga-malha" which he
asserts is the name applied by the Chinese to Liquid Storax.

Whether it is the resin of the Rasamdla (Liquidamlar

1 The following is an extract from the Report referred to : —

" Rose Malloes." cwt. qr. Ib.

"From Aden 5 0 0 value 186 rupees

„ Arabian Gulf . . 41 0 0 „ 1574 „

„ Persian Gulf. . . 12 0 0 480

Total . . 58 0 0 2240 rupees."

2 Lib. ii. cap. 623. (ed. Venet. 1564).— It can scarcely be doubted, that in
this chapter on " Miha vel Meha " which the translators have rendered
Storax, Avicenna refers to the modern Liquid Storax. The passage is as
follows :

" * * Storax humida alia est, quse extrahitur per se ipsam gumina : et
alia est quse extrahitur cum decoctione : per se autem extracta, est citrina,
et quando antiquatur, declinat ad aureum colorem, et est [preciosa et grata] :
sed quse extrahitur ex cortice est nigra : et illud ideo quoniam extrahitur
cum decoctione corticis illius arboris, et quod extrahitur, est storax humida :
et quod remanet sicut fsex et viuacia, est sicca."

3 Aromatum et simplicium aliquot medicamentorum apud Indos nascentium
Historia. Antv. 1574.

names.

144 STORAX.

1857. ultingiana Bl.) that is here intended, and whether the Rosa
Mallas of Petiver and the Eose Malloes of the Bombay List are
but corruptions of the same term applied to 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 Thymiamatis, Cortex
Thuris, Tims Judceorum, Narcaplithum, Storax Bark or Red
Storax?- and is called in Turkish ^LjJ> cjl>^ xj Kara gliyunluk
yaprak or more correctly .e^W eld^ y Kara gluyunluk
yapraghi, literally Black Frankincense Leaf.

In modern Greek it is known by the simple name of Srupaf.

The name Qvpiapa (Incense) does not appear to have any
special application to Liquidambar Bark.

Belon has asserted that this bark is called Maurocapno* and
Greek names, authors have quoted the name on his authority. I cannot but
think this an error; Maupb KCLTTVO signifies literally Black
Smoke, and in modern Greek it is used by metonymy for Black
Tobacco. It does not appear to be now applied to the Liquid-
ambar bark.

The name NaWa<£0ov or NapfcacfrOov used by Dioscorides to
designate a certain odoriferous bark from India,3 has 'been
thought by many authors to have reference to the modern
Cortex Thymiamatis. 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 Nda/ca^oy nor NdpKacfrQov (nor KaK.a$Qov used by
Paul us ^Egineta4 perhaps for the same substance) are known in
modern Greek. I confess therefore I do not see evidence for

1 Amygdaloid Storax is also sometimes called Red Storax.

2 " Je vei aussi descharger vn brigantin dessus la riue du port [de Rhodes],
plein d'vne drogue propre en medecine, appellee Storax rouge. Les Grecs la
nomment maintenant Maurocapno. Et m'a Ion dit qu'il croist en 1'isle." — •
Belon, Observations de plvsievrs Singvlaritez &c. (1554) liv. 2. chap. 14.

3 Nao-Ka^^oi/, ot Se vdpKa(f)6ov, Kal TOVTO e'/e TTJS 'ivftiKrjs KO/uffrac can &e
(f)\oiwdfs} (rvKapivov \f frier p-atriv eoiKoy, &ufj.id)p.evov dta TTJV
p.iyv\ip.fvov rois (TKCvaaTiKois QvpidncKri, w(j)(\ovv Koi ^rpav
\nro6vfjnaa6tv. Diosc. de Mat. Med. ed. Sprengel, lib. i. c. 22.

4 Lib. 7. c. 22.

STORAX.

145

respecting
Storax.

identifying the Dioscoridean drug with the product of Liquid- 1357.
ambar.

The conclusions to which this long investigation leads, may Conclusions
be thus briefly summed up : —

1. That the original and classical Storax was produced by
Styrax officinale, Linn.

2. That, always scarce and valuable, it has in modern times
wholly disappeared from commerce.

3. That the accounts of the collection of Liquid Storax
given by Petiver and Landerer are in many important par-
ticulars grossly erroneous.

4. That Liquid Storax is the produce of Liquidambar orientale,
Miller, and that it is collected in the south-west of Asia
Minor.

5. That the bark of Liquidambar orientale, Miller, after Liquid
Storax has been expressed from it, constitutes the Cortex thy-
miamatis of Europe.

6. That there is no evidence of the N<zWa$#oi> of Dioscorides
being the bark of Liquidambar orientale.

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS ON STOEAX.

(Storax, nacJitrdgliclie Bemerkungen.}

WHEN I had the honour of laying before the Pharmaceutical
Society some observations on Storax,1 I hoped to be able to com-
municate at no distant interval such additional information as
would complete the history of that drug. During the six years
that have since elapsed, I 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 which my former paper was intended to
establish, and which are the following : —

tl. That the Storax of ancient times was produced by Styrax
officinale, L.
2. That this substance has disappeared from the commerce of
modern days.
1 Pharm. Journ. vol. xvi. p. 417.
'

1863.

146

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS ON STORAX.

1863.

Professor
Krinos of
Athens.

Ancient

History

of Storax.

3. That the resin called Liquid Storax is produced by Liquid-
ambar orientale, 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 Krinos, whose pamphlet, entitled Ilept 2,Tvpateo<;
SiaTpt,(3r] <j)ap pa/coy pa<f> i /crj (A PJiarmacographical Essay on
Storax),1 is in modern Greek,2 commences by stating that he
will endeavour to show :—

1. That Liquid Storax was known to the ancient Greek
physicians.

2. The reasons 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 modern
Greek Zvy/o, and by botanists Liquidainbar orientale, 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 ^Egineta, he ob-
serves, we first find mentioned, besides Solid Storax, a second
kind, Liquid Storax, and also the resin of the tree, Zuyia, 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

p, 1862, 8 vo, p. 27.

9 I am indebted to the kindness of D. P. Scaramanga, Esq., for translat-
ing the pamphlet.

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS ON STORAX. 147

resin of £vyia explains that it is synonymous with Liquid Storax.
The Arab authors are then reviewed, and subsequently the
pharmacologists of the last and present century. The learned
author then points out that the word %wyla, properly signifying &yia, the
maple, is now applied in the south-west of Asia Minor to
Liquidambar orientale, a tree which resembles a maple or a
plane. He also states that about the year 1841, he proved that
Liquid Storax was obtained from this tree, and that an account
of this fact was published at the time in the Melissa, an Athens
newspaper.

The second proposition of Professor Krinos is that the text Proposal to
of Dioscorides is incorrect. Dioscorides states that the Storax- caf DiOScoridep.
tree- resembles the quince, which is certainly the case if Styrax
officinale is intended, but by no means so if Liquidambar orien-
tale.1 But Professor Krinos holds that the Storax (solid and
liquid) of ancient authors is not the produce of Styrax at all :
hence the difficulty of admitting the statement of Dioscorides,
and the extraordinary proposal of altering the text so as to cause
that 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, unless 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 Liquidambar and not from Styrax, is one from
which I entirely dissent ; still, 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 resin pro-
duced by Styrax officinale now finds its way into commerce, it
is impossible to believe that that tree ever really yielded any.
In this I do not concur : I have already shown that two respect-
able authors of the last century, Duhamel and the Abbe Mazeas,
actually collected Storax from this tree, the one in Provence,

1 In modern Greek, the Storax-trce is called 'Aypia KvSwrja, i.e. Wild
Quince.

L 2

148 ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS ON STORAX.

1863. the other in the neighbourhood of Rome. I have also ascer-
tained within the last few weeks from Dr. Kotschy, of Vienna,
that in the neighbourhood of Alexandretta, the Styrax, which
Solid Storax. there grows to a tree, still yields its odorous resin. On the other
hand, I am bound to acknowledge that the endeavours I have
hitherto used to obtain the resin from trees in the south of
France, Asia Minor and Syria have not been successful. 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 though 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,
better results will be obtained and the correctness of the ancient
accounts will be fully vindicated. Not only does the statement
of Dioscorides that the Storax-tree resembles a quince indicate
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 where Styrax trees, but not Liquidambar,
are still found, lends some weight to the argument. The geogra-
phical distribution of Liquidambar orientate is very restricted,
in which respect it differs from Styrax. In the extreme south-
west of Asia Minor it is gregarious, forming forests of from 20
statement by to 60 feet in height. Dr. Kotschy informs me that he has
^f Hernia y reason to believe it occurs at Narkislik, a village near Alex-
andretta and also on the Orontes. He also tells me that
six fine old trees, certainly planted, exist at the convent of
Antiphoniti on the north coast of Cyprus, but that there are no
other in the vicinity: that the tree is there called f v\ov TOV
'E061/T77 (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 the convent of Neophiti near Papho, but
no others on the island. Professor Krinos states that the
Liquidambar is common in Syria, a fact which is not borne
out by the researches of botanists who have visited that
country,1 not one of whom has noticed its occurrence.

1 As Boissier, Gaillardot, Blanche, Roth, Bove, Michon, De Saulcy, Lynch,
Erdel, Ehrenberg, Hooker, &c.

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS ON STORAX. 149

For these reasons, I am not prepared to renounce the opinion
that the Storax-tree of Dioscorides and other ancient writers
was the Styrox officinale of modern botanists, nor can I abandon
the idea that, like its congener S. Benzoin, it is capable of
yielding an aromatic resin, which was once obtained in suffi-
cient abundance to form an article of trade.

Before quitting the subject of Storax, I think 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 styrax caia-
Styrax calamita. mita'

This drug, as found in English commerce, is so singularly
variable that it would be difficult to suppose it a natural pro-
duct. At Trieste, where certainly some of it is manufactured,
it is prepared (as I have ascertained on the spot) by mixing
the residual liquidambar bark called Cortex Thymiamatis,
reduced to coarse powder, with Liquid Storax. Such a mix-
ture I have prepared myself, and can assert that it constitutes
excellent "Styrax calamita." 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 weeks develops an infinity of
minute silky crystals, giving the whole an appearance of
mouldiness. If the bark is scarce, common sawdust, I am
informed, is substituted for it ; and olibanum, red earth, and
honey are also employed in producing Styrax calamita 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 ^evBofioo-^o\L/3ai>ov or arovpa/cL It is a com-
pound of this sort that, in, my opinion, constitutes the Black Black Storax.
Storax described by Guibourt, Pereira and others, and not
unfrequently found in continental drug warehouses. In fact
I have more than once prepared such a mixture, which is
remarkably fragrant and quite devoid of the coal-tar-like odour
of Liquid Storax ; an efflorescence of cinnamic acid generally
develops itself on the surface of the mass. It is also this

150 MANUFACTURES OF GRASSE AND CANNES.

1863. substance which appears to constitute the precious incense
used at Easter in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jeru-
salem, and of which small pieces are sold to the pilgrims at an
enormous price, — not indeed for burning, but chiefly to be
carried as a charm.

In 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
Sty row officinale with a view to discover any adherent resin, — still
more that he would perforate the trunk of that tree and observe
after the lapse of some time whether such perforation is fol-
lowed by an exudation of resin. [N. Eepert. f. Pharm. xii. 241.]

SOME NOTES ON THE MANUFACTURES OF GRASSE

AND CANNES.

(Manufacturen von Grasse and Cannes — dtherische Ode.)

1857. 'THAT portion of the South of France which borders the
Mediterranean between Toulon and Nice is noted for its mild,
salubrious climate, and also for the growth and manufacture of
several productions of interest to the druggist and the
perfumer.

A recent visit to the district in question, and especially to
the towns of Grasse and Cannes, having given me the oppor-
tunity of seeing something of the manufactures there carried on,
1 have thought that a few lines on the subject might prove
acceptable to English readers. Let it. be remembered they are
but the notes of a passing stranger, and as such not to be
taken for more than they are worth.

Grasse. Grasse is a town of some 13,000 inhabitants, lying at the
foot of a range of mountains, and open to the Mediterranean
from which it is distant about eight or nine miles. The olive is
cultivated in great abundance in all the adjacent country, and
grows far 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 here and there a
date-palm, form a striking ornament of the little town gardens

GRASSE AND CANNES.

151

of Grasse. The other plants that are cultivated are the rose, ies7.
the jessamine (Jasminum grandiflorum, L.), mignonette (Reseda
odorata, L.), and tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa, L.).

Cannes, a small town situated on the shore of the Mediter- Cannes,
ranean, about ten miles from Grasse, enjoys a climate still more
favoured. The orange is cultivated more extensively ; the rose,
jessamine, and other plants under culture at Grasse are like-
wise grown on a large scale at Cannes ; and in addition we
find the geranium (Pelargonium Radula, Ait., var. ft roseum) and
Cassie (Acacia Farnesiana, Willd.), the latter in considerable
abundance.

Two species of orange are cultivated about Grasse and
Cannes, one known as the litter orange or bigaradier, the more
esteemed and more extensively grown, the other as the sweet
or Portugal orange.

Orange-trees are grown in all the country in the neigh- Orange trees.
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 Commissionaires, who bring
them from the growers to the distillers, their remuneration
being the small commission of one sou per kilogramme, or
about \d per Ib.

The finest Neroli and finest orange flower water are dis-
tilled from the flowers of the bigaradier. Inferior Neroli, not
worth more than half the price of the finest, is yielded by the
flowers of the sweet or Portugal orange. The essential oil Distillates.
called Essence de Petit 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.

'Eoses are cultivated close to the town of Grasse, as well as
in all the country adjacent, often on a very small scale and in
situations apparently very arid. In the month of May the
flowers are collected daily, and brought by the growers to the
manufactories for sale. Provence

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 from the Turkish, even from the purest

152

MANUFACTURES OF GRASSE AND CANNES.

1857. specimens, in remaining congealed at a much higher tempera-
ture. In the market it commands a far higher price than the
Turkish otto, being worth from 1800 to 2000 francs the
kilogramme.1 It is but little in demand, and the supply is
comparatively small.

Jessamine. The jessamine, which is cultivated upon an extensive scale,
is Jasminum grandiflorum, L, a species with large white, ex-
ceedingly fragrant flowers. The plants are all grafted upon
stocks of Jasminum officinale, L. : they are planted close together
in rows, and are not allowed to attain 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.

Cassie. The Cassie, Acacia farnesiana, Willd., is cultivated chiefly
about Cannes, where it is to be seen forming a bush or small
tree. Its flowers, which are very fragrant, are used in perfuming
oil and pomade : they are produced in September, and are worth
five to six francs the kilogramme.

Geranium. The geranium is cultivated for the purpose of obtaining its
essential oil. The tuberose is grown at Cannes as well as at
Grasse, its deliciously fragrant flowers being used, like those of
the cassie, for scenting oil and pomade.

Distillation. 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 the 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 charge

Equal to (say) 41s. to 45s. per oz.

INFUSION— ENFLEURAGE. 153

of the still with leaves of the bigarade orange was about 1857.
80 Ibs.

In addition to the manufacture of essential oils, an important
branch of industry consists in the preparation of- scented fatty
oils and pomades. These are prepared by one of two processes,
called respectively Infusion and Enfleurage.

Infusion consists, as the name implies, in infusing the sub- infusion.
stance 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 strained off and the residue pressed. The pomade
is preserved in large metal vessels, some of which have a
capacity of 300 kilogrammes.

The process of Enfleurage is resorted to in extracting the odour
of the flowers of tuberose, jessamine, and mignonette. The 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 chassis : those just described are called
chassis aux vitres, or chassis aux pommadest to distinguish
them from a different form, which is used where oil has to be
submitted to the process of Enfleurage. The process in the case
of pomade is thus conducted: the unscented fat (which has
about the consistence of spermaceti ointment) is weighed into
portions, each sufficient for one side of the sheet of glass of a
chassis. 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

MANUFACTURES OF GRASSE AND CANNES.

1857.

EnJUurage.

Extracts.

flowers. These are now thinly sprinkled, rather laid one by
one, upon the surface of the fat, where they are allowed to
remain until the next day or day after, when they are removed
and fresh flowers supplied. The chassis, charged with fat and
flowers, are stacked one upon the other, forming 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 flowers, 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 similarly treated.
In this arrangement the flowers do not, of course, come in con-
tact with the fat, but 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 sufficiently impregnated 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 with the odour of flowers, a
chassis is used which 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 spread upon it, and renewed daily until the
requisite odour has been obtained. The oil is then pressed from
the cloth and filtered : each cloth imbibes about 2 Ibs. of oil.

The preparations called by the perfumers Extracts are made by
treating the highly-scented oil or pomade with spirit of wine, so
as to dissolve out the essential oil which either 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 manufacturer of Grasse or Cannes, the busi-
ness of the latter being more particularly with what he terms
the matures premieres. The pomade or oil, after having yielded
to spirit the greater portion of its odour, is yet valuable for
other purposes to which it can readily be applied by the manu-
facturing perfumer.

ROYAL SALEP. 155

1858.

NOTE ON A DBUG CALLED EOYAL SALEP.

(Konigs-Salep^)

AMONG some specimens of Materia Medica from Bombay, for
which I am indebted to the kindness of the late Dr. J. E.
Stocks, is one which was received under the designation of Bad-
shah Saleb or King Salep. The specimen being a solitary one,
and no information respecting it, beyond that conveyed by its
name, having reached me, it remained almost unnoticed until
within the last few months, when an original package, contain-
ing about 100 Ibs. 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 Badshali Salel) ;
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 investiation I will now detail.

In the first place the name Badsliah Salel c^iso^Jlj is Name.
partly Persian and partly Arabic,— Badshah being the Persian Saleb!]
for King, and Saleb the Arabic original of our word Salep. The
term may therefore be rendered King Salep or Royal Salep ; and
it has doubtless been applied on account of the drug being re-
garded as Salep of pre-eminently large size. That it is in reality
very distinct from true Salep — in fact, that it is not a tuber, but
a 'bulb — was pointed out to me by my friend Dr. Lindley, who
has further suggested its botanical origin. I will, however, first
describe the drug as met with in commerce.

Eoyal Salep consists of dried bulbs (Fig. 1, 2), whose dimen-
sions from base to apex vary from 1 J 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 cicatrix, or frequently a
large, white, elevated, scar-like mark. Their surface is striated

156 ROYAL SALEP.

less. longitudinally, besides which there is mostly one broad and deep
furrow running in the same direction. They are usually trans-
lucent, transmitted light showing them to be of an orange-
brown ; by reflected light they are seen to vary from a yellowish
brown to a deep purplish hue — sometimes shaded at the base
into an opaque yellowish white.

Salep Bulbs. 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 greatly in volume, regaining in fact
their natural size and form (see Fig. 3). If in this state a bulb

FIG. 1. FIG. 2.

Royal Salep,— natural size.

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 thickness whose edges overlap
each other ; this scale surrounding an elongated, flattened bud

(Kg- 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.
Botanical Of the plant affording Royal Salep, and of its place of growth,
0"1]? of nothing appears to be known. I have not been able to discover
any notice of the drug in the works of Ksempfer, Forskal, Ainslie,

ROYAL SALEP.

157

Roxburgh, Royle, or O'Shaughnessy. Honigberger, in speak- iesa.
ing of the sorts of Salep used at Lahore mentions one re-
sembling a dried fig, which I suppose may be the drug under
notice, but he gives no account of it. Dr. Lindley's examination Dr. Lindley's
of the bulb leads him to the opinion that it is possibly that of view
some species of Tulip, of which there are four known to occur
in Affghanistan. Tulipa Oculus-solis (St. Amans), and some
other species, when grown 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 enormous thickness

FIG. 4.

Fio. 3.

Royal Salep— FIG. 3, the bulb, FIG. 1, after maceration in water. FIG. 4, longitudinal section
of a bulb after maceration.

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 Saleb, 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 as a substitute for Salep in this country.
The decoction of Badshah Saleb is far less mucilaginous than
that of true Salep : it is not rendered blue by the addition of a
solution of iodine. [N. Eepert. f. PJiarm. vii. 271.]

Uses of

Badshah

Saleb.

158

1859.

Larinus

maculatus.

'Trtliala.

TWO INSECT-PRODUCTS FROM PERSIA.

TEEHALA.

(Zivei persisclie Insectenproducte von Larinus maculatus and
L. mellificus.')

AT the Evening Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society,
January 5, 1859, Mr. Daniel Hanbury, in presenting to the
Society a specimen of Larinus maculatus a.nd its cocoon, begged to
offer a few remarks upon the insect, and to explain upon what
grounds it deserved a place in a collection of pharmaceutical sub-
stances. Mr. H. stated that among the drugs sent from Constanti-
nople to the Paris Exhibition of 1855, were certain insect-cocoons,
called Trehala, 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,1 M. Guibourt has pointed out
that under the Persian name of Schakar tigal, these cocoons
were described by Father Ange, in his Pharmacopoeia Persica, so
far back as the year 1681, but that until attention was drawn to
them in 1855, they were practically unknown to pharmacologists.

Mr. H. added that from specimens collected by Mr. Loftus at
Kirrind, in Persia, in the year 1851, and now in the British
Museum, it had been ascertained that the insect which produces
Trehala is Larinus maculatus of Faldermann. This insect,
which is a beetle about half an inch in length, belonging to the
family Curculionidce, forms its cocoons upon a species of
Echinops, probably the E. persicus 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 Trflialose has been given by M. Bertelot. 2

1 Comptes Rendus, 21 Juin, 1858,

2 Ibid,, 28 Juin, 1858, p. 1276.

p. 1213.

TREHALA OR TRICALA. 159

1859.

NOTE ON TWO INSECT-PEODUCTS FKOM PERSIA.

(Read before the Linnean Society, December 16th, 1858.)

IN the month of June last, my friend Professor Guibourt, of
Paris, laid before the Academic des Sciences1 some account of a
remarkable substance called Treliala, the cocoon of a Curcu- Trehala.
lionidous insect found in Persia, where, as well as in other parts
of the East, it enjoys some celebrity as the basis of a mucilagin-
ous drink administered to the sick.

Specimens of this substance, as well as of another insect-pro-
duct of Persia, together with the insects themselves, were pre-
sented a few years ago to the British Museum by W. K. Loftus, W. K. Loftus.
Esq., who obtained them while engaged by the British Govern-
ment on the question of the Turco-Persian boundaries.

The precise determination of the species of these insects being
a matter of doubt, they have at my request been lately examined
by M. Jekel, of Paris, an entomologist with -whom the family of M. Jewel's
Curculionidce has long been an especial study. One of these ldentlficatlon-
insects M. Jekel has identified with a species of wide distribu-
tion ; the other proving 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
observations upon the productions to which I have alluded.

The first of these is Trehala or Tricala, under which name it Trehala, or
formed part of the collection of Materia Medica sent by M. Tricala.
Delia Sudda, of Constantinople, to the Paris Exhibition of
1855, and since deposited in the Ecole de Pharmacie in Paris.

Trehala (Fig. 2) consists of cocoons of an ovoid or globular
form, about £ 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 stalk of the plant upon which they
were formed ; others have portions of a tomentose spiny leaf

1 Comptes Rendus, 21 Juin, 1858, p. 1213.

160

TWO INSECT-PRODUCTS FROM PERSIA.

1859.

Description.

Lannus

tnaculatiis.

Habitat.

built into them; and, more rarely, one finds portions of the
flowering heads of the plant, a species of EcMnops, similarly
inclosed. Many 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. Wilson Saunders, who pronounced them to be Larinus
maculatus 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:—

" LARINUS MACULATUS, Faldermann, Faun. Transcauc. ii. p. 228,
449, tab. 6. f, 10, et iii. p. 198.— Schonh. Gen. et Sp. Curcul. iii.
p. 112 et vii. 2. p. 7.— Hochhuth, Bull Moscow, 1847 No. 2.
p. 538 (var. 7).

"Var. 7. Larin. Onopordinis, Sch. loc. cit. iii. p. Ill (excl.
synon.).

" Of this species, Mr. Loftus captured several specimens, all
of small size : from some of them the pollinosity had been rub-
bed off, as is represented in the figure by Mr. Ford (vide Fig. 1),
which shows only a part of the inferior layer of tomentum and
the greyish ground of the dorsal and lateral maculae ; the latter,
being the most densely coloured in fresh specimens, are always
the most persistent. These belong to Schonherr's var. 7, which
that author formerly regarded as the Larinus Onopordinis, Fabr.
Others of Mr. Loftus's specimens, which are very fresh, belong to
Var. /3 ; 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 (Frivaldski), Beyrouth, Caucasus, Persia
(Dupont), &c. &c. ; and it is recorded by Schonherr 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 Tre"hala a place among drugs and dietetic substances.

The first author who gives any account of the substance is

TWO INSECT-PRODUCTS FROM PERSIA.

1G1

Father Ange, who, in his Pharmacopcea Persica, l describes it 1859
in the following terms : — " Est autem istud medicamentum ve- Father
luti tragea ex nucleo pistacii integro confecta ; nam revera sac-

FlG. 1.

Lurinus maculatus, FaMerm.
FIG. 2.

The cocoons of Larinvs maculatus, called in Turkish Trehala.
FIG 3.

Larinus mellifciit, Jekel.

charum istud exterius corrugatum et agglomeratum adhaeret
cuidam nucleo, in quo non fructus, sed vermiculus quidam
nigricans Persice C-hezoukek bombycis instar reconditur et
moritur."

1 Pharmacopeia Persica ex idiomate Persico in Latinnm conversa. Lutet.
Paris, 1681, p. 361.

M

162 TWO INSECT-PRODUCTS FROM PERSIA.

1859. Father Ange also states that the substance is called in Persian

Schakar tigal ( JUx> X£) literally Sugar of nests ; but his Arabic
names, Schakar el ma-ascher Li,^Jl .££) and Saccar el aschaar,
apply to an entirely different substance, namely, to a saccha-
rine matter exuded, after the puncture of an insect, from the
stems of Calotropis procera, E. Br.1 of which plant he gives a
quaint but tolerably characteristic description.

Mr. Loftus. Mr. Loftus, who obtained the specimens which he presented to
the British Museum, at Kirrind in Persia, in September, 1851,
gives as the Persian name of the cocoons Shek roukeh — a term,
probably, the same as the " C-hezoukek " (a misprint ?) of Father
Ange, but the signification of which I have not been able to
discover.

Another notice of the same substance, with a figure, is briefly

Dr. Honig- given in Dr. Honigberger's Thirty-five Years in the East
berger. (Lon<i. 1852f vo]. ii. pp. 305-6), where we read that Manna
teeghul, or Shukure teeghal, 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. Bourlier. M. Bourlier published in 1857 an interesting note on the
same substance,2 which has been followed by M. Guibourt's
communication to the Academic des Sciences, and still later by
a memoir on the chemical history of Trdhala by M. Marcellin
Berthelot, also presented to the Academy.3

M. Guibourt. From the investigations of M. Guibourt, it appears that the
cocoons are composed of a large proportion of starch (identical
with that found in the stem of the Echinops, upon which the
insect forms its nest), of gum, a peculiar saccharine matter, a
bitter principle, besides earthy and alkaline salts.

* This saccharine substance is noticed by Avicenna as Zuccarum alhusar
(Lib. ii. Tract, ii. cap. 756, ed. Valgr. Venet. 1564), and also by Matthiolus
(Comm. in Lib. ii. Diosc. cap. 75). It is likewise referred to by Endlicher
(Enchiridion Botanicum, p. 300), Royle (Illustr. of the Bot. of the Himalayan
Mountains, vol. i. p 275), Herat and De Lens (Diet, de Mature Medicale,
t. i. p. 467), &c.

3 Revue Pharmaceutique de 1856, par Dorvault, p. 37.

8 Comptes Rendus, 28 Juin 1858, p. 1276.

TWO INSECT-PRODUCTS FROM PERSIA. 163

The saccharine principle, which has been especially examined 1859.
by M. Berthelot, and named by him Trehalose, is a body analo- M. Berthelot.
gous to cane-sugar, but possessing distinctive properties, which
separate it from that and all other varieties of sugar.

M. Bourlier states that Trdhala, which is abundant in the Trihaia
shops of the Jew drug-dealers of Constantinople, is frequently c<mstauti-n
used by the Arab and Turkish physicians in the form of a nople.
decoction, which is regarded by them as of peculiar efficacy in
diseases of the respiratory organs.

The second insect-product to which I would draw attention, n. Product.
is a saccharine substance resembling dark honey. Mr. Loftus,
who obtained it near Kirrind, 13th July, 1851, and whose
specimen is in the British Museum, states that it is exuded from
a species of thistle when pierced by a Ehynchophorous 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 Echimps persicus, Fisch., and the latter a new Echinops per-
species of Larinus, to which M. Jekel has applied the name*^w^^"
Larinus mellificus, and of which he has drawn up the following ficus.
description : —

"LAKINUS MELLIFICUS, Jekel (Fig. 3). Breviter ovatus,
convexus, niger, nitidus ; infra subtiliter, lateribus thoracis
margineque elytrorum intus medio versus angulariter ampliata,
apicem occupante griseo-cinerascenti tomentosis; rostro leviter
punctate, basi utrinque bicanaliculato cum elevatione media
lata subcariniformi ; thorace subconico antice tubulato, supra
confertim sat rude punctato, lateribus subrugoso ; elytris striato-
punctatis, interstitiis latis, planis, transversim subtilissime
rugulosis, cum abdomine tenuissime alutaceis, punctis majoribus
reinotioribus impressis ; pectore, lateribus, pedibusque rugoso-
punctatis, femoribus infra fortiter oblique costato-rugosis ; tibiis
intus, anticis fortius crenulatis. Long, (rostr. excl.) 16-18, lat.
elytr. 8-9 mill.

" Patria — Persia, prope Kirrind, ubi Echinopsidis speciem
frequentat, cujus plantse caules ab hoc insecto puncti materiam
quamdam saccharinam sudant." W. K Loftus, Mus. Brit.

M 2

164 OTTO O

1859. Very similar to L. Onopordinis, but proportionally more

elongate and less convex ; rostrum and thorax longer ; pilosity
of the body underneath 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 rubbed specimens of Larinus
Onopordinis. The freshest specimens have the griseous margin
of the elytra, which parts 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 submarginal fronting the tip of the notch,
the other larger, discoidal, behind the foot of the notch, much
above the tip. [N. Repert. f. Pharm. viii. 535.]

ON OTTO OF ROSE.

(Rosenol)

1859. THE importance of authentic specimens is well understood by

naturalists. The botanist, who has had the opportunity of

verifying the Linnean name of a plant by comparing it with

Importance Linnseus's own specimen, is sensible that no more satisfactory

of authentic „ . ,. mi i • , i -, .

specimens, proof is wanting. The entomologist who can appeal to the
specimens 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 would be to point to a specimen of Sarsaparilla as indubi-
tably the root of one particular species of Smilax, or to find
in our museums a specimen of myrrh or olibanum, or gam-
boge, with indisputable data as to its botanical origin and place
of production.

PRODUCTION OF OTTO. 165

These observations have been suggested by the difficulty 1859.
which occurs to the druggist in the purchase of Otto of Eose- price~oTotto.
The wholesale price of the article varies from 14s. to 2Gs. per
ounce, a fact indicative of a wide range of qualities. But as-
suming that the most expensive article is the purest, it will be
found to differ materially from the Otto described by our best
authors. Pereira states1 that at temperatures below 80° F., Attar
of Eoses is a crystalline solid ; and the same assertion is made
by Dr. Royle.2 Brande states3 that it melts at 84° ; Eedwood,
that it fuses between 84° and 86°.4 Martiny gives 86° as its
fusing point.5 Chevallier, Eichard, and Guillemin say that it is
concrete below 84° to 86°.6 Dr. Jackson states, of the Otto
made at Ghazeepore, that it melts at 84°.7

Yet the Otto of the London market, as all druggists know, is
never found with so high a fusing-point, and, in fact, there is but Fusing point,
a portion of that which arrives, of which one could say that it
is solid above 60° F.

These discrepant facts have long engaged my attention, and
believing that the general subject of Otto of Eose 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, Adulteration, and Chemical
Characters. First, then, the

PRODUCTION OF OTTO OF EOSE.

The Otto of Eose with which at the present day the English Production,
market is supplied, is produced in Turkey, on the plains lying
south of the Balkan mountains.

1 Elements of Mat. Med. Ed. 3, vol. ii., p. 1812.
* Manual of Mat. Med. Ed. 2, p. 432.

3 Manual of Chemistry. Ed. 6, p. 1551.

4 Supplement to the Pharm. Ed. 3, p. 881.

5 EncyTdop. d. Med.-Pharm. Nat.-und Rohwaareiik. Bd. ii., p. 389.

6 Diet, des Drog. T. iii., p. 158.

7 O'Shaughnessy's Bengal Dispensatory (p. 328), in which work Dr. Jack-
son's interesting account is given at length.

16(5 OTTO OF ROSE.

1839. Otto of Rose is also collected in Provence, in the South of France,

by the distillers of rose water, and this Otto, the production of
which is very limited, realizes a large price. In the state of
Tunis, in Persia, and in the northern parts of India,1 Otto of
Rose is also manufactured, but none from these countries finds
its way into the London market

Turkish Otto. With regard to Turkey, the chief localities in which the rose
is cultivated for the production of Otto, are Kizanlik, a large
town lying on the southern side of the Balkans, about seventy
miles to the north of Adrianople. At Eski-Zaghra, in the
valley of the Tunja, to the south-east of Kizanlik, the rose
is also cultivated an a large scale, and at Carlo va;2 also on the
southern side of the Balkans, and about 100 miles from
Adrianople much Otto is said to be produced.

The flowering season commences in May and the roses are
usually collected before sunrise every morning. When the
weather is dry and hot, 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
with water in copper stills of no very considerable dimensions,
Collection of and collecting the Otto from the distilled product.

In very favourable seasons, the three districts above men-
tioned can produce from 300,000 to 360,000 meticals, which, at
six meticals 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
250,000 meticals, equal to 41,666, ounces; in the year 1855 it

1 Ghazeepore on the Ganges is famous for its manufacture of Rose Water
and Otto of Rose. The latter I would willingly have examined, but have
been unable to obtain a specimen, or, in fact, of any Indian Otto of Rose in
a state of purity.

Tunisian Otto of Rose, valued at an enormous price, was sent to the Great
Exhibition of 1851, but I had no opportunity of obtaining a sample.

a Sometimes spelt Carloya, but I cannot find it under either name, even
upon the best maps.

ADULTERATION OF OTTO. 167

was estimated at 30,000 ounces ; while in 1856 it did not much 1859.
exceed 13,000 ounces.

The Otto of Eose is transported from the producing districts
in large, 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 otto in tin
with some reason) that the Otto they contain has escaped being bottles.
tampered with at Constantinople.

According to the official returns prepared for the Board of Trade
the quantities of Otto of Eose imported into the United Kingdom
upon which duty was paid, were, during four years, as under: —

1854 ... 1251 Ibs., equal to 20,016 ounces.

1855 . . . 1012 „ „ 16,192

1856 . . . 1522 „ „ 24,352 „

1857 . . . 1591 „ „ 25,456 „

The duty is one shilling per pound.

ADULTERATION OF OTTO OF EOSE.

Although in Turkey the adulteration of Otto of Eose is Adulteration
sometimes practised by the producers, and especially of late g e^he {
years, since the repeal of a law in 1840 or 1841, prohibiting
such adulteration under pain of death,1 it is chiefly at Constan-
tinople that this fraudulent practice takes place.

Among the substances which have been used for the adultera-
tion of Otto of Eose, I may mention two as specially deserving
attention. The first is spermaceti, which, in Turkey, is, I am
assured, frequently mixed with the cheaper qualities of Otto ;
the second, which is far more systematically and extensively
employed, as well as more difficult of detection, is an essential
oil, called in Turkish, Idris Yaghi.2 It is not unfrequently

1 I give this upon the authority of Mr. Edward Schnell, of Adrianople, to
whom, through my friend Mr. Maltass, I am indebted for other particulars
respecting the production of Otto of Rose in the Balkan.

- I have taken some pains to discover the signification of this name, but
without much success. My friend Mr. Kedhouse, thinks it is

168

OTTO OF ROSE.

i860. imported into London from Turkey, and is then known in the

London drug trade as Turkish Essence of Geranium.

Origin of Idris Let us consider what 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 ficole de Pharmacie of Paris, has likewise this origin as-
signed to it,1 1 am, moreover, informed by my friend Mr. Maltass,
that the Idris oil found at Smyrna is all brought by the pilgrims
arriving from Mecca. M. Guibourt has stated to me upon the
authority of a gentleman at Constantinople, that the dealers there
affirm that the oil in question comes from India by way of
Egypt.

Although it is thus tolerably evident that the essential oil
called Idris Yaghi is imported from Mecca, or perhaps from
Jeddah, the port of Mecca, all that we 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 the climate utterly forbid the idea of a
green herb being produced in quantity for distillation.

Jeddah is also without manufactures, but it has a large trade
with various ports on the Ked Sea, as well as with India.
Burckhardt, who visited it in 1814, has left a minute description
of the various trades carried on, and even the number of persons
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.2

From Bombay, on the other hand, an essential oil is ex-
ported, which is undistinguishaUe from the Turkish Essence of

Idris yaghi, which may signify marsh-mallow oil : and as there is a word in
Turkish ( -sc*^ *j! Ebe-gumeji) which is used to denote both the marsh-
inallow and one of the common garden geraniums, so it is possible that the
Arabic ^j^.^c. idris may have the saiAe double signification : — though the
application of any term signifying geranium to the essential oil in question,
is, as I shall show, only correct in so far as that there is a similarity of
odour.

1 Journal de Pharm. et de Chimie. Tome xxix., p. 310.

8 Travels in, Arabia, Lond. 1829, 4to, p. 41, &c.

Jeddah a
trading not
a manufac-
turing place.

TRADE OIL OF GERANIUM. 169

Geranium.1 This liquid is known in India as Roshe or Host 1859.
Oil,2 and in the London market as Oil of Ginyer-Grass or of Roshe Oil
Geranium. It is the* produce of the more northern parts of ^'om Bombay.
India, where it is obtained by the distillation of certain grasses
of the genus Andropogon, but the precise species of which I
am at present unable from personal knowledge to name.

From the Report cf the External Commerce of Bombay for
the year 1856-7, a valuable mass of statistics, compiled by
R Spooner, Esq., Keporter-General, and published by authority
of Government, I find that Roslie (or Rosia) Oil was exported
from Bombay during the year in question to the extent of
1922 gallons. Of this enormous quantity, 541 gallons were
shipped to England, and the remaining 1381 gallons to the
Arabian Gulf. The Report does not state to what ports in the •
Arabian Gulf this quantity of Roshe Oil is shipped ; but as
none is reported as shipped to Aden or Suez (for which 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 trade
Gulf, it is Jeddah, the port of Mecca, that stands foremost in ofjeddah-
importance. To quote a competent authority :3 " From its
position, it is the entrep6t of all goods coming from India and
Egypt. The merchants of Cosseir, Yambo, Hodeyda and
Massowah draw their supply from it." According to Burton,
the value of the import trade of Jeddah with India amounts
to about 25 lacs of rupees (£250,000) annually.4

Coupling these facts with the testimony of the Turks, that
the volatile oil called Idris Yaghi is imported from Mecca, and
still more with M. Guibourt's information that it is brought
from India, I think there is good circumstantial evidence for

1 I must, however, admit that in English trade-lists the two are separately
enumerated, the Turkish fetching a higher price.

2 This orthography, Professor H. H. Wilson informs me, is the most
correct, the word being Marathi, and written ^J[. (Vide Molesworth'a
Marathi and English Dictionary, 2nd. ed., Bombay, 1857). It is, however,
often spelt Rosa, Rosia, Rowsah or Reosa.

3 R. Innes, Esq., of Cairo, quoted in Parkyn's Life in Abyssinia, vol. i.
p. 402.

4 Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah, vol. iii. p. 379.

170 OTTO OF ROSE.

1859. identifying it with the Eoske Oil 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 Egypt
and Turkey is easily explained.

Although I have thus demonstrated (as I think) the identity

of the Turkish Idris Yaghi with the EoshA Oil of Bombay,

arid therefore proved them the produce of one or more species

of Andropogon, growing in India, it may be proper that I should

Idris Oil not briefly state other reasons for considering that this volatile oil

lOil of^Jera*1 ^as no c^m *° ^e Dame often given to it of Essence of Geranium.

nium. I may say, then, that it differs from true essential Oil of Geranium,

such as is distilled from a variety of Pelargonium Radula, Ait.,

in the South of France.

1. In odour.

2. In optical properties, in having (according to the observa-
tions of my friend Dr. De Vry) no rotatory power when
examined by polarised light, whereas, French Oil of Geranium
possesses the power of right-handed rotation.1

3. In chemical properties, inasmuch as when exposed to the
vapour of iodine, it does not acquire the intense coloration that
occurs when Oil of Geranium is so treated.

4. In commercial value, true Oil of Geranium being worth
six times the price of Idris Yaghi, and ten times that of the
Bombay Hoshe* 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 CHARACTERS OF OTTO OF ROSE.
As I have already observed, there exists regarding the tem-
perature at which Otto of Rose liquefies, great discrepancy
between the statements of authors and the result of observations
made upon the Otto of commerce.

1 But, as some essence of geranium from Algiers, examined by the same
observer, was found to have the power of left-handed rotation to an almost
equal extent, it is obviously possible that by mixing the two, an essence
having no rotatory power might be produced — an improbable explanation,

CHEMICAL CHARACTERS OF OTTO. 171

Otto of Kose, it is well known, consists of two bodies, a 1859.
liquid essential oil or elseoptene (upon which I have made no

experiments) and a stearoptene. The stearoptene I find to be, and

, , ,,. , , Stearoptene.

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 elseoptene of Otto of Eose, 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 elseoptene and stearoptene, exist,
according to my observations, in the Otto of different districts
in very different proportions, and to their relative amounts I
attribute much of the variation which I find in the specimens
examined. The amount of stearoptene was determined in a Determina-
series of parallel experiments, conducted simultaneously by ~, tion °f
treating a given weight of Otto with alcohol (sp. gr. '838),
throwing the precipitated stearoptene upon a filter and
thoroughly washing it with fresh alcohol; the same amount
of alcohol being employed in each case. The stearoptene was
then pressed for some days between paper, and after exposure
to the air and drying over oil of vitriol, was weighed.1 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 I
received it, have an establishment.

certainly, of the absence of rotatory power in the Idris Yaghi, but one
which it is fair to mention.

1 I am quite aware that this method of determining the amount of
stearoptene is not free from objection, since, the more abundant the
elseoptene, the less will the stearoptene (in which it is soluble) be precipitated
when the Otto is first treated with alcohol.

172

1859.

Variation of
taring-point.

OTTO OF ROSE.

The results I have tabulated as under : —

TABLE SHOWING THE RESULTS OF A COMPARATIVE EXAMINATION
OF TWELVE SAMPLES OF OTTO OF ROSE.

No.

1

Place of Manufacture,
and
Manufacturer's Name.

Fusing
Point.

Percentage
of
Stearoptene.

Other Characters.

ENGLISH.
London— Messrs. Allen
and Hanbury's.

91° F.

08-1

Of a pale straw colour, crystalline, odour
weak and not remarkably fragraut.

2

London — Mr. Whipple,
at Messrs. Barron
and Go's.

87° F.

50-6

Resembles No. 1.

3

FRENCH.
Paris— M. Chardiu Ha-
dancourt.

85 -5" F.

60-8

A crystalline mass, of a pale green colour;
odour weak but agreeable.

4

Grasse — M. Antoine
Chiris.

74' F.

37-2

Of a straw colour ; when congealed, form-
ing a highly crystalline mass ; odour
very fragrant.

5

Grasse— M. Mero.

71° F.

41-9

Of a brownish yellow; forming, when
congealed, a transparent mass of platy
crystals.

6

Cannes — MM. Herman
Freres.

70° F.

35 0

Resembles No. 4.

7

TURKISH.
Kizanlik.

65° F.

67

Colour very pale yellow ; when congealed,
it constitutes a confused mass of platy
crystals ; odour exceedingly fragrant.

8

? seal G. 8. & Co.

63° F.

7'3

Co'our very pale yellow ; a mass of plat y
crystals when congealed.

9

?

62" F.

6-4

Resembles No. 8.

10

?

62' F.

66

The finest Otto of the London market.
In its characters it resembles No. 8.

11

»

61CF.

4-6

Resembles No. 8.

12

? second quality.

56° F.

4-25

Wholesale price in London, in large
quantities, 14s. per ounce.

This table shows that the fusing-point of Otto of Rose, and
the proportion of stearoptene varies greatly in different samples.
But it will also be observed that there is a similarity in the
Otto produced in each locality. Thus, that of the South of
England 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 68) of stearoptene. The Otto of the South
of France fuses betwen 70° and 74°, and affords from 35 to 41
per cent, of stearoptene. That of Turkey, if we may consider

BOTANICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL INQUIRIES. 173

samples Nos. 8, 9, and 10 as equally genuine with No. 7 (Messrs. 1859.
Herman's), fuses at from 65° to 62°, and affords from 7'3 to 6'4
per cent, of stearoptene.1 Sample No. 11 may be regarded 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 be traced to a difference in the species of
rose are questions for determining which I have at present no
sufficient data. [N. Eepert. f. Pharm. viii. 365.]

BOTANICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL INQUIRIES
AND DESIDERATA.2

(Botanisch-pharmacognostisclie Aufgaben.)

BY SIR WILLIAM J. HOOKER, assisted by DANIEL HANBURY.

AFRICA — WEST COAST, ALSO EAST COAST, INCLUDING THE RED
SEA AND ARABIA.

COPAL. — Information is much desired respecting the varieties 1859.
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 Leone copal, and is produced by
Guibourtia copallifera, Bennett — Kobo 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 Melegueta, Roscoe,
the plant which yields this drug, is now well known, there are
some other interesting species nearly allied, with which botanists

1 The test used in Turkey by the persons who purchase Otto from the pro-
ducers, is to plunge a small vial of it into water at 10° Reaumur (= 55° F.).
If, in the space of five minutes the Otto congeals, it is regarded as genuine.

2 Extracted from the Admiralty Manual of Scientific Inquiry. Third
edition, 1859.

174 BOTANICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL INQUIRIES.

1859. are very imperfectly acquainted. It is, therefore, desirable
to procure specimens of such plants from various parts of the
West Coast of Africa. These specimens should comprise the
flowers and fruits, as well as the foliage. As the flowers are
very delicate, it is necessary to preserve some specimens in
spirit of wine or in dilute acetic acid. Some specimens of the
fruits should also be 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.

KOKARIMA CARDAMOM is the name under which the late Dr.
Pereira has described an Abyssinian cardamom, having the shape
and size of a small fig, which is exported from Mussowah, a port
at the southern end of the Eed Sea. This drug, which has
long been known in medicine, is perforated at the smaller end,
and when strung upon a cord, is commonly used by the Arabs
and Abyssinians as beads for their mesbelias or rosaries. It is
said to be brought to the market of Baso in Southern Abyssinia
from Tunine*, a country situated in about 9° N. lat. and 35° E.
Ion. The plant for which the name Amomum Korarima has
been proposed is entirely unknown.

OLIBANUM. — The Olibanum found in European commerce is
believed to be produced partly on the African coast near Cape
Gardafui, and partly on the southern coast of Arabia, whence it
is shipped to Bombay.

Olibanum is also produced in India by certain species of Bos-
wellia called Salai or Saleh, one of which is B. glabra, Eoxb.,
another B. thurifera, Colebr. It is extremely doubtful if the
Olibanum afforded in India by these trees finds its way to
Europe, but information on this point is desired.

African Olibanum is yielded by a tree called Plossleafloribunda,
Endl. (Boswellia, Koyle) ; but as the drug varies considerably in
appearance, it is highly probable that it is obtained from more
than one species. The variety called Lubdn Mattee, from its
being shipped at Bunder Mattee, is, for instance, a very different
drug from ordinary Olibanum. A resident at Aden may be able

MYERH-GUM TRAGACANTH-STORAX. 175

to gather some information upon this subject, as well as upon IBS 9.
the next.

MYEKH. — This celebrated drug is collected in great quantities
by the Somali tribes on the African coast, near the southern
extremity of the Eed Sea, whence it is brought to Aden for
shipment to Bombay. A variety of myrrh, which is probably
yielded by another species, is also produced (according to
Vaughan) in a district lying forty miles to the east of Aden, to
which place it is brought for sale. A third variety, distinguished
by the Arabs as Bissa Bol, is also collected by the Somali tribes,
and sent by way of Aden to India. It is a point of much
interest to determine with accuracy the plants which afford these
several sorts of myrrh, 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 MINOR, PERSIA, CENTRAL ASIA.

GUM TRAGACANTH is produced in Asia Minor by several
species of Astragalus, which it is desirable further to identify.
Travellers 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 stern, or whether
exuded spontaneously. Fine gum tragacanth is produced at
Caissar (or Kaisarieh) and Yalavatz, in Asia Minor, at which
places the practice of making longitudinal incisions in the stem
of the shrub is adopted ; the gum is also collected at Isbarta,
Bourda, Angora, &c.

Gum tragacanth is frequently adulterated with another gum,
which has been called False Tragacanth, Hog Gum, Bassbra Gum,
or Gum Kutera. At Smyrna it appears to be known as Cara-
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

176 BOTANICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL INQUIRIES.

1859. this tree is capable, under favourable circumstances, of yielding
a highly fragrant resin which was once much valued. Authen-
tic specimens of this resin, which is the original and legitimate
Storax, are much desired. It was formerly produced in the
south of Asia Minor, where the tree is still found in great
abundance.

SALEP. — Obtain specimens of the different plants which yield
salep in Asia Minor, Persia, and Cashmere, and especially of
those that afford the best kinds. What is the plant which affords
the drug called Badshah Saleb, or Eoyal Salep ? Where is it pro-
duced, and for what purpose is it valued ? It has been exported
to England from Bombay.

SUMBUL ROOT. — Nothing definite is known respecting the
botanical origin of this remarkable root, which is said to come
into Europe by way of Russia. It is probably produced some-
. where in Central Asia.

ASSAFCETIDA. — Although the ordinary assafcetida of commerce
is doubtless the produce of Narthex Assafcetida, Falc., there are
some varieties of the drug which, it is reasonable to conclude,
are derived from other species. One of those sent from India to
the Great Exhibition of 1851 was a brown pellucid gum resin,
containing pieces of the stalk of the plant, and differing con-
siderably from ordinary assafcetida.

Another variety, which has long been known, has been called
Stony Assafcetida, from its containing about 50 per cent, of
gypsum, an addition which, in the case of so cheap a drug, it is
difficult to understand. Assafcetida is produced in Persia, and
reaches Europe by way of Bombay.

SAGAPENUM, a gum-resin resembling assafcetida, but not ac-
quiring a pink colour 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 analogy, however, we may infer that it is the
produce of some large plant of the Nat. order Umbellifera;.

GALBANUM— RHUBARB— CATECHU— GRASS OILS. 177

Compared with assafcetida and galbanum, sagapenum is a rare 1059.
and costly drug.

GALBANUM. — The remarks we have made upon sagapenum
apply to a great extent to the gum-resin known as Galbanum.
Galbanum is, however, a far more abundant substance than
sagapenum. It occurs in trade in two varieties, which are so
distinct as to lead to the inference that they are yielded by
distinct plants. Galbanum is said to be imported into Eussia
in large quantities by way of Astrachan, but that which reaches
England comes principally from Bombay.

OPOPANAX, another foetid gum-resin, the produce, according
to most authorities, of Opopanax Chironium, Koch, a large
umbelliferous plant, native of the south of Europe, and of Asia
Minor. There is no modern account of the collection of this
drug, nor is its place of production ascertained.

EHUBAKB. — Determine the true source of the various sorts of
medicinal rhubarb, especially of the Chinese rhubarb sold at
Kiachta to the Eussians, and of that exported from Canton.
Strange to say, we are still in the dark respecting the real origin
of this most valuable drug ! In this and all such cases the drug
should be 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 accompany it.

INDIA, SIAM, INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO, CHINA, &c.

CATECHU. — Observe the processes by which the various kinds
of Catechu, Cutcli, Terra Japonica, and Gambir are obtained ;
and if from trees, whether from others besides Acacia Catechu,
Areca Catechu, and Uncaria Gambir. We wish to identify the
trees with the respective extracts.

GRASS OILS. — The grasses used in India for affording the
fragrant essential oils known as Lemon-grass Oil or Essence of
Verbena, Ginger-grass Oil, Citronelle, &c., require investigation.
What, for instance, is the source of the essential oil imported
from Ceylon as Oil of Lemon-grass ? It is considered quite
distinct from Citronelle, which is also a production of the island.

N

178 BOTANICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL INQUIRIES.

1859. BENZOIN or GUM BENJAMIN. — Obtain complete specimens of
the tree which affords this drug in Siam.

CARDAMOMS. — The so-called Wild or Bastard Cardamom of
Siarn is produced by Amomum xanthioides, Wallich, a plant of
which complete and w ell-preserved specimens are requested, in
order that it may be described and figured. The seeds per se
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 ?

What is the origin of the cardamom called by the Chinese
Yang-chun-sha, the Hairy China Cardamom of pharmacologists ?
It is said to be produced in the 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 Round China Cardamom has been given,
and which is known to the Chinese as Tsaou-Jcow. The same
remark applies to the Bitter-seeded Cardamom, Y%h-che-tsze,
and Ovoid China Cardamom, Tsaou-Kwo or Qud-leu ; it is pro-
bable that all of them are productions of the south of China, or
of Cochin- China.

CASSIA BARK. — Specimens are much desired of the tree which
affords 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-
momum, native of Cochin -China, specimens of which are
requested.

An inferior kind of Cassia Buds, known as Lovengoopoo, is
found at Madras. What is the species that affords it ?

Aromatic Barks of other Laurinece, as Gulitlawang, Massoy,
Sintoc, are objects of commerce in the Indian Archipelago, and
are but imperfectly known in Europe. The traveller should
embrace the opportunity, when it occurs, of seeing the bark
collected, and of obtaining authentic specimens of it, and of

GALANGAL— ELEMI— SARSAPAR1LLA— RHATANY. 1 79

the tree yielding it. Massoy Bark is produced on the west 1859.
coast of New Guinea.

GALANGAL KOOT. — Endeavour to procure the plant affording
this drug, which is imported from the south of China.

ELEMI. — This resin is abundantly produced in the forests of
the Philippines, where it often assists in giving a cheerful blaze
to the fire of the traveller. It is also exported 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 ascertain
the species with exactness. Elemi is also produced in Mexico,
where it is known as Copal. It occurs in commerce in scraped
pieces, which are semi-cylindrical, yellowish, semi-opaque, and
having the usual strong and fragrant odour of Elemi. This
drug is the produce of Elaplirium elemiferum, Royle, a tree
occurring near Oaxaca, of which specimens are requested in
order that it may be further examined and described. There
are other resins, of whose origin little is known, which have
been imported from Mexico, Brazil, and other parts of tropical
America as Elemi.

CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA.

SARSAPARILLA. — 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 preserved, and transmitted to
England for determination. The so-called Jamaica Sarsaparilla
grows near the Chiriqui Lagoon, in the state of Costa Rica, and
a species very similar, if not identical with it, at Bajorque, on
the Rio Magdalena, New Granada. Other sorts of sarsaparilla
are produced in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil, &c.
That of Guatemala grows in the department of Sacatepeques in
that state.

RHATANY ROOT. — A variety of this drug has been exported
of late years from Savanilla, in New Granada. Obtain
specimens of the plant from which it is derived.

N 2

180 BOTANICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL INQUIRIES.

1859. MALAMBO BARK, a highly aromatic bark, produced in New

Granada. Of its origin nothing certain is known.

BALSAM OF COPAIVA is imported from several parts of Brazil ;
it varies somewhat in properties, and is the produce of several
species of the genus Copaifera. It is desirable to obtain the
balsam of each species, with a specimen in flower and leaf, and,
if possible, in fruit, of the tree affording it, and the name of the
district where the tree grows, and its native appellation there.

LIGNALOE. — The name of a remarkably aromatic wood sent to
the Paris Exhibition of 1855, from the department of Vera
Cruz in Mexico. By what tree is it afforded ?

LTGNUM NEPHRITICUM. — This rare wood was sent -to the Paris
Exhibition of 1855 from Mexico. To what tree is it to be
referred ?

CINCHONA BARK, or PERUVIAN BARK. — This valuable drug, the
only source of quinine, is derived from various species of
Cinchona growing along the whole chain of the Andes, from
New Granada to Bolivia. Of these trees it may be said that
good, pressed, botanical specimens of any species are interesting
and desirable. Such specimens ought to include the flowers
and fruits, and in every case to be accompanied by several
pieces of the bark, young and old, stripped from the very tree
from which the botanical specimens were gathered : all being
most carefully and clearly labelled upon the spot with every
particular worthy of note.

A point of considerable interest, still to be determined, is the
proportion of alkaloids contained in the young and old bark.
For this determination two or three pounds of each sort of
bark are requisite ; and for a perfectly fair experiment they
ought to be collected from the same individual tree.

The attention of Englishmen residing in the countries indi-
cated is especially requested to this by no means unimportant
question.

BALSAM OF PERU. — The drug known under this designation
is produced, not in Peru, but in Central America, in a district

BALSAM OF PERU— BALSAM OF TOLU. 181

lying between Acajutla and Port Libertad, in the western part 1859.
of the state of San Salvador, known as the Balsam Coast. The
tree which affords it may also be found at Ispanguasate (where
it has been planted), and near Chiquimulilla, and on the coast
of Suchultepeques. Of this tree, which is the Myrospermum
Pereirce of Eoyle, good flowering specimens are much desired,
as are also fresh seeds, in order that the plant may be raised in
our hot-houses. The seeds should be transmitted by post, as
their vitality is not long retained. The balsam, which is called
Balsamo negro, is brought for sale to Sonsonate, previously to
shipment at Acajutla.

Although the plant above mentioned is undoubtedly that
which affords the balsam of Peru of commerce, yet there is
reason to think that a balsam of similar character was formerly
extracted from other species. Monardes (1565) states that
balsam, of Peru is lighter than water, but the balsam of modern
times is heavier. Inquire into this. Is not balsam prepared at
Chongon, near Guayaquil ? Is any produced in Mexico ? We
have received the seeds of a Myrospermum from that country.

BALSAM OF TOLU. — Myrnxylon Toluifera, H. B. K, the tree
which affords this substance, is very imperfectly known. It
grows in New Granada, in the neighbourhood of Turbaco, and
especially in the high savannas near Tolu, Corozol, and the
town of Tacasuan. It is also found at the mouth of the river
Sinu, near El Zapote, and here and there on the banks of the
Eio 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 specimens, of this famous tree, and
some account of the extraction of, and trade in, the balsam it
affords ?

ON PRESERVING PLANTS FOR THE HERBARIUM.

This is by no means the difficult process which many have
imagined. The object is to prepare the specimens in such a
manner that their moisture may be quickly absorbed, the colours,

182 BOTANICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL INQUIRIES.

1859. so far as possible, preserved, and such a degree of pressure
imparted that they may not shrivel in drying.

For these purposes, provide a quantity of paper of moderate
folio size and rather absorbent 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 BentalVs
botanical paper, 16 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, brown paper may
be employed with advantage. Two boards 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
millboard placed between the specimens, if these are numerous
or particularly thick and woody, are very useful. For pressure
nothing is better than a heavy weight on the topmost board, or,
while travelling, 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, take off portions of the branches, 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 grasses, sedges, and many /mis, 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
same sheet of paper, taking care that one part of the bundle be
not materially thicker than the other ; and lay 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 bo deposited in a tin box, which indeed is essential

PRESERVING HERBARIUM PLANTS. 183

to the botanist when travelling ; there they will remain unin- 1359.
jured for a day and night, supposing the box to be well rilled 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 dry 'the specimens should be put into dry
papers, one sheet or folio between each ; except they are
unusually woody (which 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 thus a great
many may be safely stowed 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 hand to form neat specimens. Seaweeds require a slight
washing in fresh water, and common blotting-paper is the best
for 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
soon destroyed by the depredations of insects.

184 ECONOMIC BOTANY.

i87i. INQUIRIES RELATING TO PHARMACOLOGY AND

ECONOMIC BOTANY.

(Botanische Fragen und Desiderata.}

BY PROFESSOR OLIVER, AND DANIEL HANBURY.

Extracts from the Admiralty Manual of Scientific Inquiry.

ASIA MINOR, ARMENIA, 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 Russia, where it grows on the steins of
Larir, sibirica, Ledeb. During the middle ages it was exported
from Asia Minor ; and in the Paris Exhibition specimens from
this region, that is to say, from the Gulf of Adalia, were ex-
hibited. What is the tree from which this Asiatic Agaric is
obtained ?

ASSAFCETIDA, vide 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 Canna speciosa,
Rose., but further investigation is desirable. Living roots might
easily be procured at Sierra Leone, and sent to England for cul-
tivation.

AFRICAN MA.MMEE (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.

BITTER KOLA— BITTER WOOD— DRAGON'S BLOOD. 185

BITTER KOLA of Fernando Po. — The common Bitter Kola (Cola 1871.
Nuts), largely used by the natives of West Tropical Africa, is
known to be the produce of a wide-spread tree Cola acumin-
ata, Br., but the 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 Xanthochymus), so it must be sought on a tree
with strictly opposite leaves ; the seeds probably contained in a .
pulpy fruit.

BALSAM OF ST. THOMAS 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, if it afford such, with inform-
ation as to the mode of procuring it, would be acceptable. It is
probably a species of Sorindeia.

BITTER WOOD. — A species of Quassia (Q. Africana, Baill.) is
found in the Gaboon and Camaroons rivers. Specimens of the
wood are required to show whether it may serve as a substitute
for the Tropical American species (Q. amara).

What is the Kpokpoka tree of West Tropical Africa, from the
fibre of which the " dodo " cloth is prepared ? Specimens in
flower are wanted.

Specimens in flower or fruit of any shrubs or trees of Upper
Guinea, affording elastic gums, india-rubber or gutta-percha, with
accompanying gum and mode of its collection, are particularly
requested.

AFRICA — EAST COAST, INCLUDING THE EED SEA, ARABIA,
AND MADAGASCAR.

MYRRH, vide page 175.
OLIBANUM, vide page 174.
KORARIMA CARDAMOM, vide page 174.

DRAGON'S BLOOD, of the Island of Socotra— By what plant is
it afforded ?

CATHA EDULIS, called in Arabic Kdt. A large supply of the
dried leaves of this shrub, say one hundred pounds, should be
procured for chemical examination. The plant grows in Southern
Arabia and in Abyssinia.

186 ECONOMIC BOTANY.

1871. KAMALA. — A peculiar sort of Kamala, evidently not derived
from Eottlera tinctoria, Roxb., has been imported from Aden.
Nothing is known of its place of growth or of the plant by
which it is afforded. (PHARM. JOURN. ix. (1868), p. 179.)

Kousso. — Fresh seeds of the Kousso tree, Bray era anth.dmin-
tica, Kunth, should be procured for cultivation.

GUM ARABIC. — Acacia Verek, Guill. et Perrott., a tree growing
all over the northern part of Central Africa, from Senegambia
to Abyssinia, is said to produce the best sort of gum arabic. Frag-
ments of the stem, with the gum exuding, from Western as well
as from Eastern Africa, are requested, in order to ascertain the
identity or diversity of the gum produced by one and the same
plant in different localities.

CALUMBA ROOT. — Whether this drug is furnished wholly by"
Jateorhiza Columba, Miers, or in part by /. Miersii, Oliv., both
of them plants of Mozambique (but the latter found also in
Madagascar), 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 (TangJiinia venenifera, Poir.). — A
specimen is requested of the poisonous milky juice. A portion
should be partially dried with a gentle heat ; another portion
should be mixed with spirit of wine and sent in a fluid state.

CAOUTCHOUC, or INDIA-RUBBER. — In Madagascar, as well as in
Mozambique, there are several trees said to yield this substance.
Good specimens and definite information should be collected.

INDIA, SIAM, AND THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.
CATECHU, vide page 177.

BENZOIN, or GUM BENJAMIN. — It would be interesting to ob-
tain good specimens of the tree which affords this drug in Siam
in order to compare them with Styrax Benzoin, Dryand., which
produces the Benzoin of Sumatra.

ACONITE ROOT— SALEP— MANNA— HEMP. 187

CAMPHOR OF BLUMEA GRANDIS, D.C. — Some pounds of it are i87i.
desirable, in order that its nature may be investigated. (See
' Pharmacopoeia of India/ p. 128.)

MISHMI BITTER, or MISHMI TITA. — The small yellow rhizome
of Coptis Teeta, Wall., a drug known in medicine since a remote
period, is produced in the Mishmi. mountains to the east of
Assam, and probably also somewhere on the confines of China
further north. The plant which 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
of Aconitum ?

AROMATIC BARKS, known as CULITLAWANG, MASOY, and
SINTOC, derived from trees of the order Laurinece, are objects
of considerable trade in the Indian Archipelago. The traveller
should embrace the opportunity, when it occurs, of seeing the
bark collected, 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 Orchis and Eulophia
are collected and sold in India under the name of Salep. It is
desirable to ascertain what species of Orchidaceous plants
furnish this substance, especially in the Himalayas and in
Cashmere.

MANNA. — 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 whether any oriental Tamarisk yields
a saccharine substance of the nature of manna, and whether it
is collected, and where.

HEMP. — A very rough but tenacious hemp is produced in
Northern India, at Kangra, and elsewhere, and bears the name
of "Kangra hemp" or " Himalayan hemp." Is this the produce
of Cannabic Sativa, of which there is some doubt?

188 ECONOMIC BOTANY.

1871. TANYIN — What is the source of the " Tanyin fruit " of the

Burmese trade lists, and what its uses ?

MOCHAKAS. — This brown astringent substance, which is found
in the bazaars of India, is said to be partly derived from
Salmalia Malabarica, part is said to be an exudation from the
trunk of the Areca palm (Areca 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 Mocharas should be determined.

EAJAH- CANES, exported from Borneo. The species of palm
yielding these is unknown.

What tree affords the so-called Amboyna or Kyabocca wood ?

GUTTA-PERCHA is, even up to the present day, little known.
It is said to be yielded by several plants, such as species of
Isonandra, Chrysophyllum, Sideroxylon and others. Attention
should be paid to the vernacular names, such as Gutta-percha*
Ugiatoputih,Kotian, Tubanoi Taban, etc. Abundant and care-
fully preserved 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 needed.

CAOUTCHOUC, or INDIA-RUBBER. — In the Malayan Archipelago
there are many trees which yield caoutchouc. Urceola elastica
is the source of the Borneo india-rubber.

What trees produce the so-called Singapore rubber, and the
Java, Sumatra, and Siam kinds ? Are they species of Ficus ?

In Assam Ficus elastica is the chief, if not the only source
of india-rubber. But Ficus laccifera may also yield it. Is any
india-rubber collected from the latter, and is it kept separate or
mixed with that of F. elastica ? Specimens of each, accompanied
by good dried specimens, would be valuable. Are there no other
trees capable of yielding india-rubber in quantity ? Willuglibeia
edulis, the "Luti-am" of Chittagong and Silhet, is said by Eoxburgh
to yield good india-rubber. Specimens of the india-rubber, and
also carefully-prepared and abundant specimens of the leaves,
flowers, and fruit, both dried and in spirit, are much needed.

RHUBARB— CAMPHOR— CHINA ROOT. 189

1871.

CHINA, COCHIN-CHINA, AND THE PHILIPPINES.

RHUBARB. — The true source of the rhubarb produced in the
western provinces of China and the adjacent regions is still un-
ascertained. It is desirable to obtain living roots or seeds of
the plants, as well as a full account of the collecting and dry-
ing of this well-known drug.

CAMPHOR. — That of commerce is obtained from Formosa and
Japan. Is any produced in China, and where ? The Camphor
Laurel (Cinnamomum Camphora, ISTees) is well known to
nourish in many localities of the central provinces.

"What is the camphor said to be obtained from a species of
Artemisia (wormwood) called Ngai? A few pounds of it are
desired.

CHINA ROOT is exported to Europe from Canton. The plant
is said to grow in the provinces of Honan, Kwangtung, and
Kwangsi. Good specimens of it are desired.

Root called Green Putchuk Pa-Mh, of -which large quantities
are exported from Ningpo. The plant is an Aristolochia : to
determine the species, pressed and dried specimens with roots
would be acceptable.

CASSIA BARK, vide page 178.
CASSIA BUDS, vide page 178.

BAMBO.O — Specimens in flower of a bamboo, affording the
broad leaves which are pinned together by the Chinese to line
tea-chests, are required to determine, the species.

STAR ANISE. — Information should be collected by an eye-
witness as to the production in Southern China of this spice.
It is said to be brought to the Canton market by the Fokien
junks. Botanical specimens of the tree, and full particulars
regarding the collection of the fruits, are desirable.

CHINESE OIL OF PEPPERMINT (so-called) is said to be distilled
at Canton. Pressed and dried botanical specimens of the plant
seen to be used should be sent to England for the determination
of the name.

190 ECONOMIC BOTANY.

1871 CARDAMOMS, vide page 178.

ST. IGNATIUS'S BEANS, called in the Philippines Coyacoy, or
Pepita de Catbalogan. The plant, said to be a climbing shrub, to
which the name Ignatia amara was given by the younger Lin-
naeus, is a species of Strychnos, probably unknown to modern
botanists. It is believed to grow in Bohol and Qebu, islands of
the Bisaya group of the Philippines. As it is one of great
interest, no opportunity 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 the stem
with the bark attached.

ELEMI, vide page 179.

MEXICO, THE WEST INDIES, CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA.

MEXICAN ELEMI, known in Mexico as Copal, is yielded by
Elaphrium elemiferum, Eoyle, a tree growing near Oaxaca, good
botanical specimens of which are much desired.

SARSAPARILLA, vide page 179.

CINNAMON OF ECUADOR. — 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 calyx
of the fruit is used as a spice, under the name of Islipingo.

BALSAM OF COPAIVA, vide page 180.

WOODS. — LIGNUM NEPHRITICUM. — This rare wood, noticed by
some of the earliest 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 flower 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 affording the lancewoods of commerce in the
West Indies or Central America are needed for the determination
of the species.

PAREIRA BRAV A— CINCHONA BARK. 191

KING-WOOD, MARACAYBO-WOOD and MUSTAIBA-WOOD, all im- 1871.
ported from Brazil, and NICARAGUA-WOOD from Central America,
are of unknown botanical origin.

THE ROSE-WOODS OF BRAZIL. — There is still some doubt as to
the trees which yield the different varieties of this timber.

IPECACUANHA. — What is the plant which furnishes the large
Ipecacuanha root of New Granada?

PAREIRA BRAVA. — The plant affording the inert woody stems
which constitute the Pareira Brava of commerce, and which are
exported to Europe from Eio de Janeiro, has not been ascer-
tained, neither is the locality in which it grows accurately
known. The subject is deserving of investigation.

CINCHONA BARK. — In addition to the bark of Cinchona Tucu-
jensis, shipped at Puerto Cabello in Venezuela, there are others
less known botanically which are brought from the same port.
Some of these barks appear to be derived from varieties of Cin-
chona cordifolia, while others seem to belong to what is called
Quinquina rose d'Ocana. It would be interesting to have
authentic specimens of the flowering and fruit-bearing branches
of the trees, together with sections of the branches and trunk
(the bark being in situ), for comparison with the species described
by Karsten.

The so-called False Cinchonas may be distinguished, according
to Dr. Weddell, 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
Laderibergia) in order to ascertain whether they contain alkaloids
or not. The barks ought to be accompanied by flowering
specimens. Some pounds of each bark would be required for
chemical examination.

PARA RHATANY. — This root, imported from Para in Brazil, is
described in Pharmaceutical Journal, i. (1870) 84. The plant
yielding it should be ascertained, for which purpose good speci-
mens, including entire roots, are requisite.

192 ECONOMIC BOTANY.

i87i. MILK OR Cow TREE OF PARA. — Specimens in flower and fruit
of this tree, which is called Massaranduba, are required for the
accurate determination of the species.

CAOUTCHOUC, OR INDIA-RUBBER. — All the Central American
caoutchouc is presumed to be obtained from Castilloa elastica,
the " Ulc-ule" tree. Are there any other species of this genus,
or trees likely to be mistaken for Castilloa elastica sources of
supply ? In New Granada there is said to be a pinnate-leaved
tree yielding caoutchouc — what is it ?

HEVEA (SIPHONIA) BRAZILIENSIS is the chief source of Para
india-rubber, but other species yield it, as If. lutea, R. discolor,
H. paucifolia and H. rigidifolia. It would be exceedingly
desirable to know the relative yield of these several trees, and
to obtain good specimens of them.

In Pernambuco and Ceara there is much good india-rubber
said to be the produce of Hancornia speciosa, the " Mangaba "
of the Brazilians. Eeliable specimens and information are
desired.

In British and French Guiana caoutchouc trees exist, good
specimens of which, with their several products, should be
collected.

MALAMBO BARK.

(Malambo-Rinde, von Croton Malambo.)

1859. THE origin of this aromatic bark, which has been a disputed

OrighTdeter- question ever since its introduction to Europe by Bonpland in

mined by Mr. the year 1814, has at length been satisfactorily determined by

Mr. H. Karsten, of Berlin. A residence of twelve years in the

northern countries of South America has enabled Mr. Karsten

to make many interesting and important observations on the

vegetation of that botanically rich region, the results of which

observations he is now communicating to the scientific world

in a magnificently illustrated work, under the title of Florae,

Columbia Terra rumque, adjacentium Specimina Selecta.1 From

1 Berlin, F. Dummler, folio.

MALAMBO BARK. 193

this work, in which the Malambo tree is beautifully figured, we 1859-
extract the following description and remarks : —

CROTON MALAMBO, Krst. EuphorUacece, II Br. Character
differentia Us.

Arbor foliis ovalibus, crenato-serratis, glabris basi hi- et in
crenaturis uni-glandulosis.

Character naturalis.

Arbor duodecim- vel quindecim-pedalis in littoribus austra- The Malambo
Hbus maris caribaei habitans, trunco recto quadripedali, cortice Tree'
suberoso flavescenti odore camphoreo-aromatico prsedito, tecto ;
cacumine ramoso ellipsoideo ; foliis alternis, glabris hircino odoris .
glandulis oleiferis, pellucido-punctatis bistipulatis, — stipulis mi-
nutis linearibus, acutissimis, caducis, — longe petiolatis, petiolis
1 — 2^- pollicaribus, lamina ovali basi rotundata excisa, subtus
utrinque glandulam minutam, patelliformem gerentibus, margine
crenato, in crenaturis glandulam illis similem fovente, 4 — 5
pollices longa 2 — 2J- pollices lata. — Inflorescentia terminalis
racemosa, monoica. Flores bractea minuta, caduca sustentati, Inflorescence,
fcminei inferiores 3 — 8, longe pedunculati, majores. Calyx cani-
panulatus, quinquepartitus persistens, lobis lanceolato-triangu-
laribus, margine pilosiusculis, aestivation e valvatis. Discus
glandulosus hypogynus quinquedentatus ; dentes (petala rudi-
mentaria) filiformes, longitudine calycis urceoli, apice pilosi,
subpenicillati, cum lobis calycinis alternantes. Ovarium pilis
stellatis caducis hirtum, triloculare, loculis uniovulatis ; styli
tres basi pilorum fasciculo penicillato tecti, bitidi, stigmatosi.
Flores mascnlini superiores plures, breviter pedicellati. Calyx
quinquefidus extus pilis stellatis hirtus, lobis triangularibus,
sestivatione valvatis. Petala quinque, lobis calycinis alterna,
lanceolata, longitudine calycis, hyalina, intus pilosa et maigine
fimbriata, evanescentia, sestivatione imbricata. Stamina 18 — 20
disco piloso, decem crenato inserta ; iilamenta libera, subulata,
glabra, per sestivationem erecta; antherae ovales birimosae basi
affixse. Pollen globosum granulosum. Ovarii rudimentum
nullum. Fructus sub-globosus 3//x — 4/r/ in diametro, stylorum Fruit,
residuis coronatus, laevis, glaber, capsularis, tricoccus, coccis mono-
spermis ; serninis (baud maturi) testa flavescens. Floret Majo.

The preceding species is distinguished from every other of
the genus Croton (as we find from Baillon's recent labours on
this family) by the 10-sided glandular ring of the male flower

o

194 MALAMBO BARK— FRANGIPANI.

1859. and the position of the stamens in the bud, which while in this
state are not incurved, as is usual in the genus, but stand per-
fectly erect. To found a generic division, however, upon these
characters appears unnecessary. To the sub-genus Eucroton
(Baillon, Etude generate des JEuphorbiace'es, 1858) C. Malambo is in
close proximity. From the very few species with glabrous leaves
with which C. Malambo may be compared, the latter is distin-
guished by its oval leaves from C. castaneifolium, L. (Sp. PL, ed. 1),
which has lanceolate leaves, and from C. ovalifolium, Willd. and
C. microphyllum, Lorn., by its being glabrous and not hairy.

Crot<m Croton Malamlo grows in the neighbourhood of the Caribbean

Malamlo. gea on fne nort;h C0ast of Venezuela and New Granada, in the
former of which countries it is known by the names of Torco or
Palo Mathias, and in the latter by that of Malamlo. In New
Granada especially, it is of very frequent occurrence in the
country lying between Eio Hacha and Carthagena, where some-
times in the low forests of the coast it prevails to a vast extent.
Its stem, which grows to a height of four feet, is covered with a
yellowish-white, rough, externally somewhat corky bark, which
possesses a very aromatic odour resembling that of Calamus
aromaticus. The leaves have, when bruised, a peculiar hircine
odour, which is not very agreeable. The bark is a remedy of
considerable reputation throughout all Columbia ; its aqueous
infusion is used inwardly in diarrhcea and as a vermifuge, while
the alcoholic tincture is employed externally in rheumatism.
Its application for these purposes is extolled by both the medical
profession and the public. It is said also to have proved useful
in the treatment of cholera.

[In the United States, it is said to be largely used for the
adulteration of ground spices ]

F11ANGIPANI.

(Notes and Queries, Dec. 24, 1859.)

1859. THIS is the name of a composition sold as a perfume, and

Ori "rTof the wn*ca °^ ^ate' through the enterprise of its vendors, has been

word. much pressed on the attention of the public through the adver-

FRANGIPANI. 195

tising columns of our newspapers and periodicals. The origin 1859.
of the term seems worthy of a note; especially as many, I
doubt not, have like myself supposed it to be without more
signification than the names of other perfumers' nostrums : as,
for instance, Guards' Bouquet, Jockey Club, and the like.

Frangipani is the name of a very ancient and illustrious The Frangi-
family of Rome, one member of which, Mutio Frangipani, Panlfamiiy-
served in France in the Papal army during the reign of Charles
IX. The grandson of this nobleman was the Marquis Frangipani,
Marechal des Arme'es of Louis XIII. ; and he it was who
invented a method of perfuming gloves, which, when so perfumed,
bore the name of " Frangipani gloves."1 Manage, in his Origini
della Lingua Italiana, published at Geneva in 1685, thus notices
the Marquis and his invention : —

"Da uno di que' Signori Frangipani, (1'abbiam veduto qui
in Parigi) furono chiamati certi guanti porfumati, Guanti di
Frangipani."

From the following passage in Le Laboureur's Memoir es de
Castelnau,2 it appears that the brother of the Marquis Frangipani
had a share in the invention : —

" Ce dernier Marquis Frangipani, et son frere mort auparavant
luy, inventerent 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 The Perfume.
Marquis so much reputation, I have not been able to discover.
Menage, who, it will be observed, was a contemporary, and had
met the Marquis in Paris, alludes merely to perfumed gloves,
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

1 Vide Bayle, Dictionnaire Historique et critique; Moreri, Grand Dic-
tionnaire, ed. 1740, tome iv. p. 183.
8 Ed. Bruxelles, 1731, tome ii. p. 651.

0 2

196

FRANGIPANI.

1859.

Perfumed
Gloves.

compositions, as pommade, essence, and powder, distinguished by
the name of Frangipani or Frangipane, were sold by perfumers
down to the early part of the present century, when they
gradually fell into disuse. During the last few years, however,
the name has again found its way into the list of perfumes,
and Frangipani is now more sold than it probably ever was
before. The formula for the various compounds, as " Pommade
a la Frangipane," "Esprit de Frangipane," &c., are so utterly
discrepant, and have such slender pretensions to represent tlie
original, that it is needless to quote them, and I shall only refer
the reader who wishes for them to the works named below.1

The subject of perfumed gloves, which, I may remark, have
long since disappeared from use, introduces us to some curious
particulars regarding the trades of glover and perfumer. Savary,
in his Dictionnaire universel de Commerce (Geneve et Paris,
1750), tells us that the glovers of Paris constitute a considerable
community, having statutes and laws dating back so far as 1190.
These statutes, after receiving various confirmations from the
kings of France, were renewed, confirmed, and added to by
The Glovers Louis XIV. under Letters Patent in March, 1656. The glovers
are therein styled " Marchands Maitres Gantiers-Parfumeurs."
In their capacity of glovers they had the right of making and
selling gloves and mittens of all sorts of materials, as well as
the skins used in making gloves; while as perfumers they
enjoyed the privilege of perfuming gloves and of selling all
manner of perfumes. Perfumed skins were imported from
Spain and Italy, and were used for making gloves, purses,
pouches, &c. ; they were very expensive and " fort a la mode,"
hut their powerful odour led to their disuse. With regard to
gloves, Savary remarks : —

. "II s'en tiroit autrefois quautite de parfumes d'Espagne et de
Borne; mais leur forte odeur de muse, d'ambre et de civette,
qu'on ne pouvoit soutenir sans incommodite, a fait que la mode
et 1'usage s'en sont presque perdus : les plus estimes de ces
Gans etoient les Gans de Franchipane et ceux de Neroli."2

1 Celnart, Nouveau Manuel complet du Parfumeur, Paris, 1854, 1 81110.;
Piesse, Art of Perfumery, London, 1856, 8vo.

2 Tom. i;. p. 619.

FRANGIPANI. 197

Many receipts are extant for the perfuming of gloves, and
though some of them are curious, they are too lengthy for me
to quote more than the titles. Here, in the Secreti de la Signora
Isabella Cortese, ne qucdi si contengono Cose Miner ali, Medici-
nali} Arteficiose cd Alchimiche, e molte de VArte Profumatoria,
appartenenti a oyni gran Signora (Venet., 1574, 12mo), we
find directions for " Concia di guanti perfettissima, con nmsco
ed ambracan," and again "Concia di guanti senza musco perfetta."
I have also before me, from an old French work published at The Secrets of
Lyons in 1657,1 the precise directions for " Civette tres-exquise AIexis-
pour parfumer gands et en oindre les mains." In these com-
positions musk, ambergris, 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-
pared with grease, as I think we may gather from the following
lines of Cerisantes : — 2

" Amice, nil me sicut ante& juvat
Pulvere vel Cyprio
Comam nitentem pectere ;

Vel quas Britannus texuit subt-i liter
Mille modis varias
Jactare ventis tsenias ;

Vel quam perunxit Frangipanes ipsemet '
Pelie, manum gracilem
Coram puellis promere."

The word Franchipanne, or Frangipane, is applied in French
cookery to a sort of pastry composed of almonds, cream, and
sugar. In the West Indies it is used to designate the fruits of
Plumiera alba, L., and P. rubra, L, because, according to Me*rat
and De Lens,3 " on retrouve dans ces fruits murs le gout de nos
franchipanes." If these fruits are eatable, it is remarkable that
neither Sloane nor Lunan mentions the fact. Frangipanicr is
however, the French name of the Plumiera.

1 Les Secrets du Seigneur Alexis Piemontois.

2 They form part of an ode addressed " Ad Vincentem Victurum," which
may be found at the end of the Latin letters of Balzac (Balzacii Carminum
Lihri t'rcs : ejusdem Epistolw Selectee, ed. JE>f*. Menagio, Paris, 1650, 4to).

3 Diet, de la Matiere Medicale, tome v. 405.

198 TWO VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS PROM TRAVANCORE.

ON TWO TUBERIFORM VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS
FROM TRAVANCORE.

EXAMINATION BY THE REV. M. J. BERKELEY, M.A.
(Head before the Linnean Society, March 3, 1860.)

i860. IN the spring of the year 1858 a notice was read of some

remarkable vegetable productions from China.1 Two similar
organisms have ]ately been transmitted by Dr. E. J. Waring, of
Trevandrum, Travancore, to Mr. Hanbury, who has kindly
intrusted them to me for examination. Prepared sections
accompanied the 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 LLjmjQQJLQfjrTi-C&rJ
PuUu-manga. Puttu-manga, a name which I understand may be translated
White-ant Mango or White-ant Fruit, occurs in Travancore.
The following 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
walls ; and on digging to the 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
down 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
Puttu-manga, and stating that they were found, though but rarely,
under the foundations of old buildings, and that they were formed
or produced by the white ants. They likewise stated that they
were highly valued for medicinal purposes. The cavities above
alluded to are doubtless the chambers or galleries formed by the
white ants."

1 Jowrn. of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society ,VQ\. iii. (1859) Botany,
r. 102.

TWO VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS FROM TRAVANCORE. 199

They look at first sight extremely like some neat variety of iseo.
Xylaria polymorpha, with a slender stem and pointed barren Description of
apex. There are, however, no perithecia beneatli the jet-black the first
cuticle ; and the structure is not delicately filamentous, as in
Xylaria. On the contrary, the mass consists of very irregular,
swollen, and sometimes constricted, more or less . anastomosing,
and more or less densely compacted threads. Towards the margin
the substance is firm, but looser towards the centre, so that the
individual threads easily separate. The structure in some
respects resembles that of Pachyma ; but there is no indication
of the threads having undergone any chemical change. I should
say that it is certainly not the root of any Phrenogam, but of a
fungous character, though it does not exactly agree in structure
with anything that I know. Notwithstanding some little resem-
blance, it cannot, I think, be associated with Pachyma Cocos ;
and therefore, if it be desirable to give so very doubtful a pro-
duction a name, it may be called Sclerotium stipitatum,, Berk. & Sclerotium
Curr. It is distinguishable at once by the stem and the shining stiPUat"'"-
black continuous cuticle. The total absence of veins and diffe-
rent texture forbid its junction with Mylitta.

The second production, also sent by Dr. Waring to Mr. Han- Second
bury from Travancore, is known by the name of Carom-
pallagum, which may be rendered Black Pallagum, Pallagum
signifying a medicinal substance. It is dug from the chalk-beds
in the mountains which separate Travancore fromTinrievelly. The
hill people, who bring it occasionally into Trevandrum for sale,
state that it is the root of a small plant with a red flower. 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 Pachyma,
it may be a peculiar state of the root of some Phsenogam. Its
structure is in fact very like that of Mylitta australis ; and
though there is a slight difference in the outer coat, it is probably
the same thing with the Mylitta of China, known under the
name of Luy-wan, and to which Horaninow has given the name
of Mylitta lapidescens (Cataloyus Medicamentorum Sinensium,
Petropoli, 1856, p. 34).

200

SCLEROTIUM STIPITATUM-PACHYMA COCOS.

iseo. The specimens, indeed, are not so much advanced as those of

the Luy-wan, so that the peculiar sacs are few and only partially
developed ; but there is no doubt that the structure of the two
is identical.

I860.

Sclerotium
utipitatum.

Fungoid
nature.

Peziza
tuberosa.

EEMAEKS ON SCLEROTIUM STIPITATUM, BERK. ET

CURR., PACHYMA COCOS, FRIES, AND SOME

SIMILAR PRODUCTIONS.

BY FREDERICK CURREY, M.A., AND DANIEL HANBURY.
(Read before the Linnean Society, May 3, 1860.)

WE have investigated with some attention the nature of the
body to which, in the preceding paper, Mr. Berkeley has given
the name of Sclerotium stipitatum, and have compared it with the
other tuberiform bodies described by him in a former paper
published in the 3rd volume of the Journal of this Society.
These other bodies a^Pachyma Cocos, Fries (the Pe-foo-ling of the
Chinese) : the substance called in China Choo-ling ; and Professor
Horaninow's Mylitta lapidescens. We have thought that a few
additional remarks, accompanied by figures of the specimens
and of their microscopic structure, may facilitate future inquiries,
which are much needed in order to arrive at a satisfactory con-
clusion as to the nature of these anomalous productions.

And first with regard to Sclerotium stipitatum. PL IX. Figs.
1, 2, and 3 represent the only three specimens which have
hitherto reached this country, nearly their natural size. We
are quite of Mr. Berkeley's opinion, that they are of a fungoid
nature, although it is impossible to speculate as to what the
perfect state may be. Several hard, shapeless, fungoid bodies,
the nature of which was long misunderstood, have been found
to produce, under favourable circumstances, perfect fungi of
well-known and very diverse genera. The tuber from which
Peziza tuberosa is ultimately produced was supposed by Hedwig
to be a dried anemone root ; and the true nature of the common
ergot of rye was quite unknown until Tulasne called attention
to the fact that it consists only of compact mycelium, which

SCLEROTIUM STIPITATUM— PACHYM A COCOS.

201

Sderotium
roseum.

Sderotium
stipitatum.

under particular treatment, may always be made to produce a iseo.
species of Cordyceps, — an observation which has since been veri-
fied by Mr. Berkeley and other mycologists. There is a black,
cylindrical, fungoid body found in the interior of the stems of
rushes, long known by the name of Sderotium roseum, which
has lately been founcf to give rise in the spring of the year to a
species of Peziza, a description of which will be found in the
1st volume of the Journal of this Society.1 This Sderotium has
also been treated successfully under cultivation : a specimen was
gathered last November and kept during the winter under the
requisite conditions of moisture ; and in the first week in April
the Peziza appeared, a few days only before its occurrence in its
native habitat. We think it not improbable that Sderotium
stipitatum 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 the
necessaiy experiments. 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
IX., Fig. 4, represents a thin section of the white inner substance
of the Sderotium, taken from near the circumference. The
threads are of very irregular shape, and hardly similar in any
two sections ; but their general nature may be seen from the
figure just referred to.

2. Pacliyma Cocos, Fries. The variety of names which this
remarkable substance has received renders a list of its synonyms
not undesirable; we therefore subjoin one which, with the need-
ful references, will, we believe, be found nearly, if not quite,
complete.

Padiyma Cocos, Fries, SijSt. Mycologicum, vol. ii. (1822), p. 242 Synonyms of
vol. iii. (1829) p. 223 ; Elenchus Fungorum, vol. ii. p. 39. Oken,
Lehrbuch d. Naturgeschichte, 2ter Theil, Botanik, 2te Abtheil.
Ite Halfte (1825), p. 93. Tulasne, Fungi hypogcei, p. 197.

P. solidum, Oken, Lehrluch d. N aturgeschiclite (1. c.), p. 93.

P. Pinetorum, Horaninow, in Tatarinov, Catl. Medicamcntorum
Sinensium (Petrop. 1856, 8vo), pp. 2-23.

1 " On a new Species of Peziza, being the full development of Sderotium
roseum, Kneiff." By F. Currey, Esq., F.L.S. (op. cit. vol. i. p. 147).

202 PACHYMA COCOS.

iseo. P. Conifemrum, Horaninow in litt.

Sclerotium Cocos, Schweinitz, Synopsis Fangorum Carolines
Superioris, in Act. Societatis Naturae Scrutatorum Lipsiensis,
torn. i. (1822) p. 56.

Lycoperdon cervinum, Walter, Flora Caroliniana (1788), p. 262.

L. solidum, Gronovius, Flora Virginica (1762), p. 176. Mac-
bride, Linn. Trans, vol. xii. (1818) p. 368.

Tubera Terrce- maxima, externe pidla et scabra, intus Candida,
Gronovius, Flora Virginica (1743) pars ii. p. 205.

Indian Bread or Tuckahoe, M. J. B. in Gardeners' Chronicle, 16
Dec. 1848.

P%-f8-lim, Cleyer, Specimen Medicines Sinicce (1682), Med.
Simp. ISTo. 189.

(Fuli-ling vel Foo-ling), Pun-tsaou-kang-rnuh, cap.
xxxvii. sect. 4 (cum icone).

Fine specimens of this production, received many years since
from Dr. Macbride of South Carolina, and described by him in
the 12th volume of the Linnean Transactions, under the name

Lycoperdon of Lycoperdon solidum, are to be seen in the Museum of the
Society ; and one of the most characteristic of these specimens
is represented in PL X. Fig. 5. PL X. Fig. 6 represents a longi-
tudinal section of a very similar specimen, and is interesting
as exhibiting very completely the manner in which the root has
been affected by the Pacliyma. Dr. Macbride states that the
Pachyma originates between the wood and bark of living roots,
that it gradually detaches the bark, while it spreads round the
wood and converts it into a substance similar to itself. The
present section, however, exhibits an intermediate condition ;
for, although the bark is detached and the Pachyma interpolated
between it and the wood, a great part of the wood itself is but

Description of little affected. The portion referred to by the letter a retains
te ' 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
with a lens, or even with the naked eye, may be seen to be
traversed by narrow longitudinal white streaks, which the micro-
scope shows to be very similar in composition to the part marked
b, next described. This part (b) to the naked eye looks like

Trans.Linn, Soc .Vol.XXlli Tab 10. E 97

188. Strand

Trarir,.LuiTi Soc.Yol XXLLL.Tab.9.P. 9

GxfxrA ffodsvns, Tsffi/f 133, Str;

PACHYMA COCOS. 203

wood of a very pale colour, but it presents a totally different iseo.
appearance under the microscope. It consists of what appears
to he a mass of mycelium, the threads of which have forced
their way through the substance of the wood in every direction,
separating the cells and converting them into irregularly-shaped
bodies of a highly refractive nature, having a good deal the ap-
pearance of starch-granules, but without any concentric mark-
ings, and exhibiting no reaction with iodine. A section of this
portion is shown in PL IX. Fig. 7. The remaining parts of the Plate IX.
specimen, marked c and d, and which constitute the main portion
of the Pachyma, bear a general resemblance, when seen under
the microscope, to the section shown in Fig. 7 ; but the compo-
nent bodies vary more in size and many of them attain larger
dimensions : the mycelium also is far less plentiful. 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 the Pachyma. We entertain no doubt
that the bodies shown in PL 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 Description of
examine the threads or mycelium separately from the substance
of the Pachyma, it may be done by selecting a specimen such as
that shown in PL X. Fig. 9, in which the substance is traversed
by cracks. It will then be seen that (at least in some specimens)
the opposite walls 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 threads entirely free from the
irregularly-shaped starchy-looking bodies forming the mass of
the Pachyma. These threads are similar to those in PL IX.
Fig. 7, and are, we suspect, of fungoid origin ; and although 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 tree>
we .think it highly probable that that altered state is the effect
of fungoid disease, and that all the threads above alluded to may
be the mycelium to which the disease is due. The section shown
in PI. X. Fig. 6 exhibits at one end, at the points e, a brown

204 PACHYMA COCOS— CHOO-LING.

i860. dusty mass, formed by the disintegration of the inner bark. The
greater part of the interior of this specimen is of a dirty brown
colour, produced by a copious admixture of the particles of the
bark with the substance of the Pachyma, which latter is not so
pure and white as is usually the case.

3. Choo-ling, Berkeley, Journal of Proceedings of Linn. Soc.
vol. iii. (1859), Botany, p. 102.
Synonyms of Chu-lim, Cleyer, Specimen Medicines Sinicce (1682), Med.

Choo-liny. Sim^ Na 2Q7j

Czzu-lin, Tatarinov, Gated. Medicamentorum Sinensum
(Petrop. 1856), p. 17.

^Kjfe ^1 (Choo-ling\ Pun-tsaou-kang-muh,cap.xxxvii. sect. -A

(cum icone).

(?) Hoelen, Kumph. Herb. Ami. xi. p. 123.

PI. IX. figs. 10-13 represent specimens of this production, as
to which we have little to add to Mr. Berkeley's account (ut
supra). No botanical name has yet been proposed for it, which,
in the uncertainty that exists respecting its origin and nature, is
Microscopic not to be regretted. Its microscopic structure is similar to that
0 of Pachyma Cocos ; but the threads by which its substance is
traversed are much more interwoven and more branched, being
in fact almost reticulate : they have not the appearance of being
the mycelium of any fungus. We observe the same irregularly
shaped bodies as in the Pachyma ; but their dimensions, as
remarked by Mr. Berkeley, are smaller : like the Pachyma, they
are not rendered blue by iodine. In one or two specimens we
have noticed an abundance of doubly pyramidal crystals, and
we have also observed that the substance of the interior is much
more tough and leathery than in Pachyma, which latter is in
fact easily pulverizable. The specimens of Clwo-ling vary
much in size as well as in form. The largest we have (and
which is drawn in PL IX. Fig. 10) weighs 481 grains, and the
smallest 15 grains ; the average of 46 specimens is 86 grains.
All exhibit a thin, black, more or less shrivelled cuticle, closely
investing the uniform, corky, cream -coloured substance of which
the mass of the tuber consists.

MYLITTA LAPIDESCENS. 205

4. Mylitta lapidesccns, Horaninow, in Tatar inov, Catal. Medi- i860.
cumentorum Sinensium (Petrop. 1856), p. 34 Synonyms ot

Lui uon, Cleyer, Specimen Medicines Sinicce (1682), Med. *$££&
Simp. No. 227.

A^ y^t (Luy-wan\ Pun-tsaou-kang-muh, cap. xxxvii. sect. 4
(cum icone).

<BvrRiLLjn"60<5iL Carom-pallagum.

The fourth tubeviform substance to which we have alluded is
that named by Horaninow Mylitta lapidescens. Specimens of
this production, both from India and China, are drawn in PI.
IX. Figs. 14-17. In a dry state they are extremely hard, so much
so 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 which they are dug. There can be no doubt,
however, of their vegetable nature, and but little, we think, as
to their affinity with the hypogaeous fungi. Although no trace Microscpic

structure .

of fruit is discernible, the inner substance is marked with veins,
and a microscopic section shows the division of the tissue into
areolce similar to that exhibited by the hypogseous 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 will 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 certainly of
woody 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 the smallest 5 grains, the average weight of 50 being 24'6
grains. The largest Indian specimen weighs 268 grains.

We are informed by Dr. Waring that the native Indian name,
Carom-pallagum, means literally Black pallagum, pallagum
signifying a medicinal substance. Our specimens are all grey or Colour, grey
brown rather than black ; but the wrinkles on the surface, which black.
are very minute, and which cannot be seen clearly without a
lens, are of a very dark colour. It is possible that the specimens

206 JAPANESE ISINGLASS SO-CALLED.

i860. when moist and fresh, may be of a darker colour than when
in the hard and dry condition in which they reach this country.
We think it hardly probable that the dry specimens in our
possession should be brought to fructify, although the instance
of ergot of rye producing fruit after having been baked in an
oven shows that fungi may undergo a good deal of hard treat-
ment without losing their vitality.

Mylitta We are experimenting with the Mylitta ; and if we succeed in
ns. caus^ng ft to produce fruit, we shall not fail to report the result.

EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

PLATES IX. & X.
Explanation Figs. 1, 2, 3. Specimens of Sclerotium stipitatum, Bk. and

of Plates.

Fig. 4. Thin section of the inner substance of Sclerotium
stipitatum, highly magnified.

Fig. 5. Specimen of Pachyma Cocos, Fr., in the Linnean
Society's herbarium.

Fig. 6. Longitudinal 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. Cocos in the
Linnean Society's herbarium, showing cracks in the substance,
the walls of which cracks are united by woolly fibres.

Figs. 10 and 13. Specimens of Choo-ling.

Figs. 14 and 17. Specimens of Mylitta lapidescens, Horan.

NOTE ON A MANUFACTUKED PRODUCT OF SEA-
WEED CALLED JAPANESE ISINGLASS.

(Sogenannte Japanische Hausenblase.)

*860. THE communication to the Acad^mie des Sciences of Paris
by M. Payen l of the results of his examination of a gelatinous

1 " Sur la G&ose et les Nids de Salangane," Comptes Rendus, 17 Oct. 1859.

JAPANESE ISINGLASS SO-CALLED.

207

Japanese
Isinglass
[so-called].

substance manufactured from sea-weed in China and Japan, i860.
induces me to offer a few additional remarks upon the same
subject, and also 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 Isinglass, there has
been lately imported into London from Japan, a quantity of
a substance having the form of compressed, irregularly four-
sided sticks, apparently composed of shrivelled, semi-transparent
yellowish-white membrane ; they are 11 inches long by from 1
to 14- inch broad, full of cavities, very light (each weighing
about three drachms), rather flexible but easily broken, and
devoid of taste and smell. Treated with cold water, a stick
increases greatly in volume, becoming a quadrangular spongy bar
with somewhat concave sides 1-J- inch wide. Though not
soluble in cold water to any important extent, the substance
dissolves for the most part when boiled for some time, and the
solution, even though dilute, gelatinizes upon cooling.

2. The second specimen, also from Japan (which I owe to the
kindness of the late John Eeeves, Esq.), resembles the preceding
in all its properties, but its form is very different, it being in
long, shrivelled strips about -J- of an inch in diameter. These
strips when immersed in water speedily increase in volume,
and are then seen to be irregularly rectangular. This substance
in colour is usually whiter than the preceding ; 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 properties render it highly efficient. That which is
perhaps 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. Payen Gelose, of which 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 and dissolves in warm water. This character
occasions a peculiarity in the taste of culinary jellies made of

208 JAPANESE ISINGLASS SO-CALLED.

i860. the new material, inasmuch as they do not dissolve in the mouth
as ordinary animal jelly. The jelly of gelose is but little prone
to undergo change — so little indeed that sometimes under the name

Seaweed Jelly, of sea-weed jelly, it is imported to this country from Singapore,
sweetened, flavoured and ready for use, and in this state it
may be kept for years without deterioration.

Chemical cha- Gelose differs from animal gelatine in not precipitating tannic
Tfelose.0 acid » fr°m starch jelly in not being rendered blue by iodine ;
from gum, by its insolubility in cold water and its great gela-
tinizing power. From the mucilage of Chondrus crispus, named
by Pereira carrageenin, it appears to differ chiefly in its power
of combining with a great amount of water to form a jelly,
which is not the case with carrageenin.

Botanical ori- Of the botanical origin of crude gelose, or Japanese isinglass,

gin of Gelose. an(j ^ m0(je of jts preparation in Japan and China we are not
yet well informed. M. Payen finds it may be extracted from
many species of sea-weed, but especially from Gelidium corncum,
Lamour., and Gracilaria lichenoides, Grev., the former of which
yielded in his experiments to the extent of 27 per cent. Geli-
dium corneum is certainly used by the Chinese, as I find by a
small collection of economic Chinese alyce sent to the Society of
Arts in 1857, the specimens in which Dr. Harvey of Dublin has
at my request been kind enough to examine and name. It
appears, however, that several other sea-weeds are likewise
employed by the Chinese, some of them on account of their
gelatinous qualities ; such are Laurencia papillosa, Grev., Lamin-
aria saccharina, Lamour., Porphyra vulgaris, Ag., and a species
of Gracilaria, apparently G. crassa, 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 as Agar-agar, is Eucheuma spinosa, Ag.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERTA MEDICA,

REVISED BY THE AUTHOR.

« K W A N O - 8 I ..

" KWANG— TU NG

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

To draw up a general description of Chinese Materia Medica iseo-eg.
is a task that, in the present state of our knowledge of the
natural history of China, it were almost vain to attempt.
Opportunities for scientific investigations in that vast country Sources 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 drugs. But although sources of information are
scanty, they are not entirely wanting; and I have, conse-
quently, been led to think that under the simple title of Notes,
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 kindness of friends in China.
That, therefore, which I propose to do in the following pages is
to give a short descriptive catalogue, firstly, of some of the
mineral substances employed in Chinese medicine, which I have
had the opportunity 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 imperfect-
ness of the information I have collected will, I trust, induce
further researches on the part of those who, being residents in
China, have opportunities which I cannot command, but with
whose labours I shall always be glad to co-operate.

p 2

212 NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

1860-62. Before commencing the task proposed, it is desirable briefly
to review some sources of information upon Chinese Materia
Medica, to which frequent reference will have to be made.

Of a considerable number of native works, the most important
and well-known is, undoubtedly, the great herbal entitled Pun-
The Chinese tsaou-kang-mtih,1 written by Le-she-chin, in the middle of the
Pim-tsaou- sixteenth century. It was commenced in the reign and by
kang-nmh. the command of the Emperor Kea-tsing, and completed by the
son of the author in the reign of Wan-leih, to whom it was
presented in the year 159G. For some centuries previous
to this period, works of the same character had appeared at
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 would
Descrition of refer the reader who is desirous of further information.2 Ac-
COI>ding to tfri8 author, the Pun-tsaou of Le-she-chin was written
with the design of obviating the difficulties and confusion
arising from a multitude of authorities, by supplying in one
work a compendium of all that was more valuable in its pre-
decessors. This design it probably fulfils, as it is held 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. 1657, no
attempt appears to have been made for the verification of old,
or the acquisition of new, information. The Pun-tsaou is
divided into 52 chapters, usually bound into about 40 thin octavo
volumes, the first three of which contain woodcuts of many of the
minerals, plants, and animals referred to in the text. These
woodcuts, four of which occur on a page, amount in number to
more than 1100; the name is placed above each,, and sometimes
a synonym at the side. No general translation of the Pun-tsaou
into any European language has been published, though small
portions of the work to illustrate particular subjects have fre-
quently been translated. These extracts show that among much

1 Like other Chinese names, it is written by Europeans in various
manners, as, Pen thsao bang mo, Pen tsao cang mow, &c.

2 Desertion de V Empire de la Chine, Paris, 1735, fol. tome iii., p. 441.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATEBIA MEDIUA. 213

that is interesting, there is a large admixture of the absurd and seo-62.
fabulous, so that it is questionable whether the labour of trans-
lating so voluminous a work in its integrity would be repaid by
the value of the information acquired. It is much to be desired,
however, that a list of the woodcuts should be drawn up and List of the
printed, together with the Latin names of such minerals, plants,
or animals as can be identified. Such a list would form a con-
venient key to the Pun-tsaou, and although but a compara-
tively small number of the names might at first be determined,
a basis wo aid be laid for future 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, which Professor Stanislas Julien of Paris has favoured me
by examining and correcting.1

With regard to European works touching upon Chinese Ma- Specimen
teria Medica, the first to be mentioned is one entitled Specimen
Medicince Sinicce, published in 4to, at Frankfort, in 1682. This
work, which was edited by Andrew Cleyer, a physician and
botanist in the service 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) is placed
on the title-page. The author or translator of most, if not of
all, of these works, was not Cleyer, but Michael Boym, a Polish
Jesuit missionary, who went to China and India in 1643. After
Boym's death in 1656, his MSS. were sent to Europe, where those
constituting the work in question were published in 1682.
Owing, however, to disagreements between the Dutch East India
Company and the Jesuit missionaries, the name of Boym was
suppressed, and the work appeared as edited by Dr. Cleyer, first
physician to the Company. The treatises comprised in the

1 I may also here acknowledge the information I have derived from Du
Halde (op. cit. iii., 437 — 9), as well as from Mr. S. Wells Williams, in the
comprehensive account of the Pun-tsaou given in his Middle Kingdom, vol. i.
chap. vi. I have also to thank my friends Messrs. Lockhart and W, G.
Stronach, who have kindly determined for me many points involving a
knowledge of the Chinese language.

SYNOPSIS OF THE CONTENTS OF THE CHINESE HERBAL
J$^ $Pf ^ PUN-TSAOU-KANG-MfTH.

Chap.
^Introductory Observations upon the practice of Medicine and Index of Receipts,

iH Lists of Medicines for the cure of all Diseases,

5.)

6. V Waters, Fires, and Earths.

7.)

8. MINERAL Metals

M Fig i io«

Gems

9 1. Stones

23— 43

10 11. Stones

44— 71

11 Saline Stones [as Common

Salt, Alum, Borax, Sulphur, &c.] 72- 87

JJ {VEGETABLE— 1st Division, HERBS

...§ 1. Hill Plants 88—154

14 .

... 2. Odoriferous Plants 155 207

15.)

... 3. Plants which grow in damp places 208 — 333

17

... 4. Poisonous Plants 334—378

18

... 5. Creeping and Climbing Plants 379 452

19

... 6. Aquatic Plants 453— 471

20 „

... 7. Rock Plants 472 490

18. Mosses and Lichens 491—502

'" \9. Miscellaneous Plants, and Plants

having names, but not yet used

oo o A r>- • • n

in Medicine. 503- 525

23

... 2. Millet, Maize, Ac 536-544

24
25

... 3. Leguminous Plants 545 — 552

... 4. Alimentary Preparations [of a ve-

getable nature, anil used in me-

dicine, as boiled rice, yeast, soy,

vinegar, wine, &c ]

°ft 3rrT Divi^JAn PITT TTJA T*V TTrrrr

pungent taste las garlic, mus-
tard, ginger, &c.] 553— 576

27

... 2. Soft and Smooth plants [potherbs,

as lettuce, chicory, mallow, &c.] 577 — 606

(3. Plants producing fruit upon the

ground [as the gourd tribe] 607— 615

28

4. Aquatic Vegetables [as edible sea-

weeds] 616- 620

5. Fimgi 621— 626

§ 1 Cultivated Fruits 627 635

30

... 2. Hill Fruits 636— 664

31

... 3. Foreign Fruits 665—684

32

... 4. Aromatic Fruits 685— 696

33

i 5. Fruits which grow on the ground,
...< and have no kernels [as melons] 697— 702

( 6. Aquatic Fruits 703- 707

35

... 2. Stately Trees 733—777

36

(4 Parasitic Plants 822—826

87

1 5. Flexible Plants and Trees [as osier,

•") bamboo, &c.J 827—829

I 6. Miscellaneous Trees.

38. On Garments and Domestic Utensils [appertaining to medicine.)

40

2

830— 850

phosis

860 — 874

4'>

4.

875 886

Dragons

887 — 893

43.

2nd Division, SCALY ANIMALS!^ i]

894 902

44

(3.

Fishes having scales

903— 932

"• \4.
3rd Division SHELLY ANIMALS § 1

Tortoises

933— 953

46

2

Mollusks

963 985

47

o,gg 1007

48

2

Birds livin^ upon open lands ....

1008 — 1026

49

13.

in woods

1027—1042

50.

\4.
— 5th Division, HAIRY ANIMALS... § 1.
( 2.

Mountain Birds
Domestic Quadrupeds
Wild Animals

1043—1052
1053—1064
1065 — 1094

51

J 3

Rodent Animals

1095 H04

1 4

Monkevs ..

,1105 1110

52. 6th Division, MAN (parts of the human body and human secretions and excretions

employed in medicine.)

* This series of numbers does not exist in the original. When added in MS. it affords a convenient
and ready means of reference to any particular figure.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 215

Specimen Medicince Sinicce relate chiefly to medical subjects, and 186O-62.
especially to the Chinese doctrine of the pulse. One section,
however, of 30 pages, attributed to Boym, is entitled Medicamenta Chinese Sec-
Simplicia quce a Chinensibus ad usum medicum adhibentur. It
is an unclassified catalogue of 289 drugs, giving of each the
Chinese name written after the Portuguese orthography, but
without the Chinese characters; to this succeeds a brief descrip-
tion, chiefly as regards medicinal properties, which 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 published at St. Petersburg in 1856, for a
copy of which I am indebted to the kindness of Professor
Horaninow. It is entitled Catalogus Medicamentorum Sinensium
quce Pekini comparanda et determinanda curavit Alexdnder Tar-
tarinov, Doctor Medicince, Medicus Missionis Rossicce Pekinensis
spatio annorum 1840 — 1850. (Petropoli, 1856, 8vo.) It is, as
its title implies, the catalogue of a collection of Chinese drugs
obtained in Pekin by Dr. Tatarinov, physician to the Eussian Tartarinov
mission in that capital, which drugs, as we learn from the preface,
were subsequently examined and for the most part determined by
Dr. Paul Horaninow, professor of 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. The Chinese characters for each name are given, and
their sound expressed both in Eussian and English writing-
characters. The 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.

Although these two are the only European works with which
I am acquainted that professedly treat of Chinese Materia
Medica, there are some other valuable sources of information,
which are too well known to require more than the briefest
notice ; such are the Flora Cochinchinensis of Loureiro, a work
in which the medicinal properties of many plants of Southern

216

NOTES ON CHINESE MATEBIA MEDICA.

186062.

Kiempfer's
Amcenitates.

Mineral
Drugs.

Sulphur.

China are , briefly noticed. The Amcenitates of the German
botanist Ksempfer, published in 1712, contains an important
section of 145 pages upon Japanese plants, for many of which
the Chinese 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 Schultes,1 in
which 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 Keferstein's Mineralogia Polyglotta (Halle
1849, 8vo, pp. 248) ; the Chinese words, however, are expressed
only in Eoman characters.

The mineral Materia Medica of the Chinese is such as one
may expect to find among a people having no scientific acquaint-
ance with chemistry. Numerous substances are employed which
are devoid of all active medicinal properties, while others of great
power are so administered that the dose must be extremely un-
certain. 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 headings of Calcareous, Mag-
nesian, Arsenical, &c., instead of attempting any more scientific
arrangement.

SULPHUR.

H? m JH Wei-lew-hwang ; Native Sulphur. — Ksempfer
states that it is found abundantly in Japan.

^jfc W Lew-hwang ; Sulphur. — Cleyer, Med. SimpL, No.
157; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 85. The specimen has been fused and
partially crystallized ; it has a greyish-yellow colour.

1 Journal Asiatiyue, Oct., Nov., 1852.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 217

SILICA. 1860-62.

0 'P 55 P&i-sltth-ying ; Massive Quartz. — Pun-tsaou, Silica.
Fig. 20.

ALKALINE SALTS.

Vft Seaou ; Nitrate of Potash. — The Chinese distinguish Alkaline Salts.
several varieties, as Pti-seaou, Wang-seaou, Ma-ya-seaou, &c.

JSSUt

1JR Ke&n ; Native Carbonate of Soda. — Dr. T. Martius has
described this substance, a quantity of which was imported
into Hamburg in 1845. It is said to be found on the Thibetan
frontiers of China.1

P&ng-ska ; Borax ; Biborate of Soda. — An excellent
sample of refined borax ; probably imported in a crude state into
China from Thibet, where, as is well known, it occurs in certain
lakes. Borax is extensively used in China by silversmiths and
coppersmiths.2

7C W W Yuen-ming-fun ; Sulphate of Soda. — It is in
crystals, and obtained in all the northern and central provinces
of China. M. Kehmann enumerates it in his catalogue of
Thibetan medicines.3

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 sodium 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
virtues, and pay for it at the extraordinary rate of 20 dollars
(£5) the ounce.

1 Pharm. Journ. and Trans., vol. vi., p. 182.

2 Dr. McCartee says that what is sold at Ningpo is exceedingly impure,

a better article is sold under the name f\ ^M yueh-shih — moonstone.

3 Bulletin de Pharm., t. iii., p. 392.

218 NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

1860-62. Naou-sha is stated by Keferstein to be a name for carbonate
of ammonia and sal-ammoniac, but I have received neither of
these substances from China.1

CALCAREOUS SUBSTANCES.

Calcareous ^ /fc *3f Han-shuy-shXh ; Calcareous Spar (Carbonate of
Substances. Lime) . Hdn xi^ ^ cieyer, Med. SimpL, No. 160.— It consists
of fragments of colourless crystals.

•^ ^ Kiuang-fun ; Levigated White 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.

$81 •? L ^B Chung-joo-sMh ; Carbonate of Lime in stalactitic
masses. — Pun-tsaou, Fig. 37. It is obtained from caves, The
Chinese name signifies Hanging- (like a bell) milk-stone.

V& 44* >tf Hwa-luy-sMJi ; a granular greenish- white Dolo-
mite (Carbonate of Lime and Magnesia).

Heuen-tsing-shlh ; Selenite (Sulphate of Lime).—
Pun-tsaou, Fig. 80. Small lenticular crystals (sometimes twin-
crystals), translucent, but having a dull exterior. They vaiy in
diameter from T4^ to ^ of an inch.

/D flf SMh-7caou ; Fibrous Gypsum (Sulphate of Lime). —
XI cao, Cleyer, Med SimpL, No. 166; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 27.

^ /5 ^ Tsze-shXh-ying ; Fluor Spar (Fluoride of Cal-
cium). — Pun-tsaou, Fig. 21. In fragments of irregular size, and
of a purple or greenish colour.

vJ9 45 ^5 Yang-khe-sMh ; Asbestous Tremolite ; Silicate
of Lime and Magnesia. Pun-tsaou, Fig. 44. — Irregular masses
of a pale greenish colour.

1 It is remarkable that in India Salammoniac is called Naushadar. See
Baden H. Powell's Handbook of the Economic Products of the Punjab,
p. 89.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 219

186062.

MAGNESIAN AND ALUMINOUS SUBSTANCES.

5 Yin-tsing-slilh ; Silvery-white Mica. — Pun-tsaou Magnesianand
Fig. 54. I have also received a transparent green mica under the
same name.

~Z- £5! ty Kin-tsing-shXh ; Brown Mica. — Pun-tsaou, Fig. 54.

ni HI/ Tsing-mung-sMk. — Pun-tsaou, Fig. 56.

-2- w ^ Kin-mung-sJiih ; Cim mdm xe, Cleyer, Med.
SimpL, No. 154.

^ ^ ^S Yin-mung-sMJh. — This substance, and the two pre-
ceding, are micaceous earths.

JJ[| TR ^5 Kwei-hw8-shih ; Steatite or Soapstone ; Silicate
of Magnesia. — Hwa-sMh, Pun-tsou, Fig. 31. A friable, greyish-
white variety : the so called Soapstone, from which the Chinese
often carve beautiful ornaments, is a silicate of alumina, known
to mineralogists as Agalmatolite.

7$L ^vy Hung-sha. — This substance is in the form of coarse
reddish-brown sand, which, when examined with a lens, is seen
to consist of transparent 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 Guibourt 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.

?Na[ fi-f 'M Fei-hw8-shih. — An argillaceous earth, of a pale
yellowish colour, soft to the touch, and formed into little, rect-
angular, oblong blocks.

^ 'PJ JJ0 Chlh-sMh-che. — An aluminous earth, of a pale
pinkish colour, or white, in soft, friable, irregular masses. It
has been examined by Mr. J. Morland, jun., whose analysis
shows its composition to be nearly that of Kaolin. The two
are as follows : —

220 NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

1860-62. Chlh-sWi-che Pare Kaolin

Magnlskiiand Silica 42'93 .... 46'5

Aluminous Alumina •. . . 36'53 .... 39'6

Substances.

Oxides of Iron and Manganese ) . ~~
(mostly Manganese) j

Magnesia and Lime '94 .... —

Water 1475 .... 13'9

100-0 100-0

The CJM-sMh-che contains also a trace of fluorine, which was
calculated with the oxides of iron and manganese.

S H; Pth~fan ; A\urn.—Pun-tsaou, Fig. 86.

ARSENICAL SUBSTANCES.

Arsenical Sub- fe /fa Sin-sh%h; Arsenious acid, also called PUi-sin and
2es' Hung-pe. — Of the specimens which I have received, some are
apparently a natural mineral, constituting a translucent, crystal-
line mass, varying in colour from pure white to a yellowish
brown or grey. Other specimens have the aspect of the ordi-
nary massive white arsenic of European commerce.

ijfc/A &£
Native Orpi- *>HE JH Tsze-lnvang ; Yellow Sulphuret of Arsenic ; Native

Orpiment; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 26. — It occurs in the province of
Yunnan ; probably also in Burmah, as it has been shipped in
considerable quantity from Moulmein. Ainslie states that it is
exported from China to India.1

Orpiment is resorted to by the Chinese in cases of ague, but
compounded in a manner so absurd as to render the dose
extremely uncertain or even a nonentity.
~hu* t-i *
*<J£ |qf Heung-hwang ; Native Ked Sulphuret of Arsenic ;

Realgar. Realgar : Hidm hodm, Cleyer, Med. $tmp., No. 176. — It is found
in the province of Yunnan,2 in the south of China, and has been
exported in small quantity to London from Canton. Kealgar is
also sometimes imported into England from Bombay.

1 Mat. Med. of Hindostan, p. 53.

2 Du Halde says that it is brought from the province of Chensi.—Descript.
de la Chine, t. i. p. 207.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

221

Realgar Medicine-Cup on Carved Wooden Stand.

#1 \^ Hung-sin ; Eed Sulphuret of Arsenic with Arseni-
ous Acid. — A native mineral, constituting a highly crystalline,
striated 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.
The dark parts are probably due to metallic arsenic.

COMPOUNDS OF ZINC, LEAD, AND COPPER.

Realgar

Medicine

Cups.

Small shallow cups, elegantly carved out of this mineral, and 1860-62
often highly polished, are used by the Chinese for administering
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 considerable beauty. A realgar medicine
cup brought to Paris by the Siamese ambassadors in 1684 was
examined chemically by Homberg.— Hist, de I'Acad. Roy. dcs
Sciences (de Paris) annee 1703, p. 51.

Foiv-kan-sMh, also called Loo-kan-shtih ; Zinc Zinc Bloom.
Bloom. Dana, Syst. of Mineralogy, ed. 4, vol. ii., p, 460. — An
opaque white mineral, easily broken and marking the fingers

222

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

186O-62. like chalk. It consists chiefly 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. Perrins, 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 '6 7. Mr. Perrins's analysis gave its composition as
follows : —

Perrins' s
analysis.

Oxide of Zinc .
Carbonic Acid .
Water ....
Carbonate of Lead

72-64

14-95

10-63

1-78

100-00

From these results, which closely approximate to those obtained
by Smithson from the analysis of a similar mineral from Bleiberg,
in Carinthia,1 the following formula may be deduced : — Zn 0,
C02+2(ZnO,HO), with an admixture of PbO,C02. Zinc
Zinc Bloom. Bloom, according to Dana, occurs with ores of zinc and lead at
Bleiberg and Eaibel in Carinthia, where it has probably resulted
from the decomposition of calamine.

The Chinese mineral is from the southern province of
Kwang-si. As found in the native drug-shops, it occurs chiefly
in pieces of from one-quarter to one inch in length. Larger
pieces which are perfectly white, are worth 400 cash the tael,
which equals about one shilling per ounce.

Litharge. ?E| [ifc ffj Melh-to-sang ; Litharge (Oxide of Lead). — Pun-

tsaou, Fig. 8 ; Cleyer, Med Simpl, No. 168.

Red Lead. -^ 7T Wei-tan / Red Oxide of Lead ; Red Lead.

%$* 7T Tung-tan ; a dull red powder, consisting chiefly of
Red Lead and Carbonate of Lime.

1 Chemical Analysis of some Calamines, by James Smithson, Esq., F.R.S.
— Nicholson's Journal, vol. vi. (1803), p. 74.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 223

W* Yuen-fun ; Carbonate of Lead ; White Lead.

186O-62.

Prepared at Canton and Soo-chow. A compound plaster, of Whl
which carbonate of lead and oil are the chief ingredients, is
used by the Chinese.

$|1] $!< Tung-luh ; Carbonate of Copper (artificial). — It Copper Carbo-
occurs in the form of small rectangular cakes of a pale, green
colour, opaque and friable.

FERRUGINOUS SUBSTANCES.

§8. ±t Yen-sting ; Magnetic Oxide of Iron. — A coarse, Iron Com-
black, sand-like powder, strongly attracted by the magnet.

HI $& -?J Lin-tsze-sMh ; Magnetic Iron Ore. Pun-tsaou,
Fig. 45.

P fffi 3?|ifJ Tsze-jen-tung ; Per-oxide of Iron in cubic masses
more or less broken. — It appears to have been obtained by
calcining iron pyrites. Pun-tsaou, Fig. 5.

T\I Iff,!* -?J Tae-choo-shth ; Ked Haematite; Per-oxide of
Iron. Pun-tsaou, Fig. 46. It has the form of botryoidal con-
cretions, with a scaly fracture, and ferruginous, metallic ap-
pearance.

Pil 201 ^5 Yu-leang-shXh ; Brown Clay Iron Ore. — Nodu-
lar concretions resembling the Lapis ^tites of old European
Pharmacy, a mineral which, to use the words of Geiger, " olim
dementer ad partum promovendum adhibebatur"

$& %t J&r Woo-ming-e ; Hydrous Peroxide of Iron in
rounded grains ; Limonite. — Purt-tsaou, Fig. 34. This substance
consists of rounded grains, varying in size between coarse sand
and mustard-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. They are not
attracted by the magnet. An analysis by my friend, Mr. J.
Morland, jun., shows them to have the following composition: —

224 NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

1860-62. Peroxide of Iron .... 6347

Sesquioxide of Manganese . 3 '55

Silica 15-55

Alumina ••"... . *. . 4*98
Do., with trace of Phosphates. 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
Szechuen and Kwangtung.

*b >& ^u Shay-lian-slilh ; Nodular Iron Pyrites, more
or less passed into the condition of per-oxide.

UB. ^ Tan-fan ; Green Sulphate of Iron ; Cleyer, Med.
Simpl, No. 164.

H& tfjj* Luh-fan; Green Sulphate of Iron. — Pun-tsaou,
Fig. 87. It is in the state of coarse powder. l

MERCURIAL COMPOUNDS.

7N Sc ShUy-yin ; Mercury. — Pun tsaou, Fig. 24.

$E ^f* $J Hung-shing-yti ; Nitric Oxide of Mercury;
Red Precipitate. — A heavy powder, of an orange-red colour,
leaving no appreciable residue upon being heated to redness.
It contains a little nitrate of mercury, but no arsenic.

?ji§ ^ King-fun ; Chloride of Mercury ; Calomel. — My
specimen of the substance called King-fun, consists of small,
brilliant, colourless, 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 Liine. The

i Dr. McCartee says that at Ningpo what is sold as L&h-fan " seems to
be Sulphate of Copper."— Letter to D. H., 5 Dec., 1867.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

225

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. The proportion in
which the two salts exists is not readily determined, as it is
impossible to obtain a uniform mixture for experiment with-
out powdering the entire specimen. From three experiments,
however, it appears that sulphate of lime constitutes at
least a fourth part of the specimen of Chinese calomel under
notice.1

King-fun is mentioned by Cleyer as E Jcim fueh, and sup-
posed by him to be a natural production, a suggestion quite
inadmissible as regards my specimen. Mr. Lockhart informs me
it is brought from the province of Gan-hwuy, but of the locality
where it is manufactured, and of the process, I am quite
ignorant. The Mongols are said to purchase sublimate of the
Russians : 2 — perhaps by this we may understand calomel 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
purulent discharge.

Choo-sha ; 7T ? y Tan-sha ; Cinnabar ; Red
Sulphuret of Mercury. — Pun-tsaou, Fig. 23 ; Cleyer, Med. SimpL,
No. 177. This mineral has been regarded by the Chinese as
the Philosophers Stone, and most extravagant ideas have been
entertained respecting it. The Rev. J. Edkins in a communica-
tion recently laid before the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic
Society 3 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

1 See F. Porter Smith on Chinese Chemical Manufactures in Ph. J.
June 22, 1872, p. 1031, who refers to Davis's Chinese, voL iii., for some
account of making calomel.

2 Bull, de Pharm., iii., p. 387.

3 Transactions of the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (Hong
Kong), Part 5, 1855, Art. iv.

I860 62,

Chinese
Calomel.

Cinnabar.

226 NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

iseo 62. ardently studied by the Chinese. It is moreover a matter of
Alchemy, history that intercourse between China and P ersia 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 in China, and that there was frequent intercourse by sea
between China and the Persian Gulf; that China had an
extensive alchemical literature 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.

Philosopher's With regard to the philosopher's stone, it is remarkable that
stone. whiie the alchemists of the West have spoken with doubt as to
what it was, with the Chinese its identity appears hardly to
have been questioned. That wonderful body which, when used as
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 writings of

Marco Polo, the Chinese alchemists, Cinnabar. Marco Polo notices this idea,
that sulphur and mercury are capable of prolonging life. Of
the Cingui (i.e. Chugi, the Jogis in India), he says : — " These
are longer lived than other people, for they live from 150 to 200
years .... for 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 fail,
those who live so long as I have told you, use this drink of
quicksilver and sulphur." — Quoted in the Art. " Marco Polo and
his Recent Editors," in Quarterly Review, July 1868.

Ko-hung, author of the Pau p'uh tsi p'ian, a work of the
fourth century of undoubted genuineness, enumerates various
mineral and vegetable productions possessing in different degrees

Elixir Vita, the properties of an Elixir Vitce. Of the first of them, Cinna-
bar, he writes in terms thus translated by Mr. Edkins : —

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 227

When vegetable matter is burnt, it is destroyed, but when 1 860-62.
the Tan-ska (cinnabar) is subjected to heat, it produces, cinnabar
mercury. After passing through other changes, it returns
to its original form. 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 conies out of cinnabar.
When told, they still refuse to believe it, saying that cinnabar is
red, and how can it produce a white substance ? They say also
that cinnabar is a stone, — that stones when heated turn to ashes,
and how then can anything 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 Monopoly in
crystalline fragments and very pure. According to Ksempfer,1 thet^eabar
both native and artificial cinnabar are exported from China 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 the buying and selling of cinnabar was
a monopoly of certain merchants, in virtue of letters patent
granted by the emperor.

^U $& Yin-choo; Vermilion ; Levigated Eed Sulphuret of Vermilion.

Mercury. — The process for preparing vermilion is described by
an old Chinese author to be as follows : — 1 Ib. of mercury and
2 Ibs. of sulphur are triturated together until they form a
blackish powder, which is put into a crucible, closely covered
with an iron lid and luted down. The heat of a wood fire is
then applied, the lid being kept cool by something wet. The
sublimation is thus effected, 1 Ib. of mercury usually producing
14 ozs. of cinnabar of the first quality, and 3J 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.

1 Hist, of Japan, Lond., 1727, Vol. i., p. 113.

Q 2

228

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

186062, Chinese vermilion is an article of regular importation into
London, where the finer qualities realize from 3s. 3d. to 3s. Qd.
per Ib.

Nitrate of W 7\ 3JZ Hwang-shing-yti ; Nitrate of Mercury with

'ury' some Peroxide. — A pale buff powder, wholly volatile.

FRUITS AND SEEDS.

Fruits and ^^ $$1 Hwa-tseaou ; Fruits of Zantlioocylum (Rutacece, tribe

Seeds. Zanthoxylece) ; Hoa-tsiao, Guibourt, Hist, des Drog., t. iij:, p. 514.

— Japanese Pepper, Stenhouse, Phil. Mag., 4th series, vol. vii.

(1854), p. 23 ; Pharm Journ, and Trans., vol. xvii., p. 19 ; Pun-

tsaou, fig. 685.

Hwa-tseaou is a name applied to the fruits of two species of
Zanihoxylum, namely, Z. piperitum, D.C., and Z. alatum, Roxb.1
The first is a native of Japan, in which country its fruits are
used as a condiment ; 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 Hwa-tseaou
of the Chinese shops.

Zanthoxylum alatum, first noticed by Capt. Hardwicke, in
1796,2 is a small tree occurring in various parts of Northern India,
as in Oude, Eohil^nnd, K \imaon, .Nepaul, Sikkim, Bhotan,
and Khasia, 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 type.

The fruits (Fig. 1), as found in the Chinese shops, consist of
the carpels usually dehiscing and empty, but sometimes inclos-
ing the round, black, shining seed. In perfect specimens we

1 I retain Roxburgh's name for this plant, because I am certain of its
identity. Steudel supersedes it by that of Z. acanthopodium, D.C.; but
this latter is not identical, at least according to M. Alphonse de Candolle,
who, at my request, has kindly compared it with specimens of Z. alatum,
Roxb., from China.

2 Asiatick Researches, vol. vi., p. 376.

Zanthoxylum
alatum.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDIC A.

find a slender pedicel supporting the carpels, which are nomin-
ally four in number, but of which at least one or two are mostly
abortive. The carpels are oval or nearly spherical, ^ths of an
inch in longest dimension; externally they are of a bright
reddish-brown, covered with prominent tubercles filled with
oleo-resin; internally they are furnished with a hard, 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 agreeable and highly aromatic odour —

229

iseo 62.

Fia. 1,

properties due to the oleo-resin contained in the outer part of
the carpel.

The fruits of Zanthoxylum alatum, Roxb.,1 have been sub- Analysis of
jected to chemical analysis by Dr. Stenhouse, who has obtained Dr.stenhouse
from them by distillation : —

1. An essential oil, to which the aromatic properties are
chiefly due. This oil, which when pure is called by Dr.
Stenhouse Xanthoxylene, is a hydrocarbon isomeric with oil of
turpentine. It is colourless, refracts light strongly, and has an
agreeable aromatic odour ; its composition is C10 H8.

2. Xantlioxylin, a stearopten found floating on the water, Xanthoxylin.
distilled from the seeds, and also separable from the crude
essential oil.

After repeated crystallizations from alcohol, xanthoxylin may
be obtained in a state of purity, and then presents the form of
large crystals of a fine silky lustre, insoluble in water, but
readily soluble in alcohol or ether. 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,

1 Erroneously supposed at the time to be those of Z. piperitum, D.C.

230 NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

1860-ea. namely 176° F., and its solidifying point 172'4° F. Its composi-
tion is C^ H6 04.

The fruits of Zantlwxylum alatum are used in China as well
Fagaraminor. as in India as a condiment. The Fagara or Fagara minor of
the old pharmacologists x is probably referable to this species.

S iji §? Pih-tseih-le ; Carpels of Tribulus terrestris, L.
(Zygophylleoe) ; Pe-ci%-li, Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 28 ; Pun-tsaout
Fig. 322. — These little spiny carpels have slightly astringent
properties. Loureiro states that they are beneficial in hcemor-
rhagia narium and in dysentery ; also as the basis of a gargle
in tenderness of the gums, and in ulcers and inflammation of
the mouth and throat.

The herb was formerly official in Europe, but is now obsolete.

EJ _BL Pa-tow ; Fruits of Croton Tiglium, Lam. (Eupliorbi-
acece) ; Pa-teu, Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 224.

The seeds, from their drastic purgative properties, are regarded
by the Chinese as extremely poisonous.

Strychnos § ^ |pt Leu-sung-favo ; Seeds of Strychnos Ignatia, Juss.

Ignatia. (Logawiaceoe) ; Saint Ignatius's Beans. — These well-known seeds
are imported from the Philippines, in the Bisayas provinces of
which islands the tree which affords them is stated by Blanco,
the author of the Flora de Filipinas, to be common. But
neither this botanist nor any other has been able, that I am
aware of, to procure complete specimens of the tree, so that it
is as yet undescribed.

^^ •tf45A| •--j

Muricia Co- ?N ^g ^ Muh-pe%-tsze, also called Fan-muh pe% ; Seeds of
chinchinensis. ^i^ricia Cochinchinensis, Lour. ( Curcurbitacece) ; Pun-tsaou,
Fig. 387 and 386 ; M8-pet-cu, No. 188, Cleyer.— Orbicular or
obscurely triangular compressed seeds (Fig. 2), tubercled at the
margin, and having a dark brown, fragile, rugose testa, fre-
quently marked with depressed reticulations ; in diameter they
vary from J to IJ-inch. The yellow cotyledons within are
extremely oily.

1 Vide Dale, Pharmacologies Suppl., Lond., 1705, p. 298 ; also Chabrseus,
Stirpium Sciagraphia, Genev., 1677, p. 26.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

231

According to Loureiro, the seeds and leaves of Muricia 1860-62.
Cochinchinensis are aperient, and useful in the treatment of Chinese Seeds,
tumours and malignant ulcers, and of obstructions of the liver
and spleen. The plant is a native of China and Cochin-China ;

FIG. 2.

it is not enumerated in the Flora of Hong Kong,1 and, I
believe, has not been obtained by any collector in recent times.
There is an indifferent specimen of Loureiro's in the British
Museum.

*/\. W ~j Keue-ming-tsze ; -^F-^/t *9i Tsaou-keu&-ming ;
seeds of Cassia Tora, L. (Leguminosce). — Tatarinov, Catal. Med. Cassia Tora.
Sinens, p. 5 ; Ainslie, Mat. 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.

Idlh; Seeds of Aleurites trilola, Forst. (Euphor-
Uacece) ; Juglans Camirium, Loureiro. — The kernel of the seed Juglans
yields abundance of oil. Camirium.

TH jj 4 Choo-skih-tsze ; the small seed-like nuts or
achenes of Brousonetia papyri/era, Vent. (Morece), Paper Mul- Brousonetia
berry Tree. papyrifera.

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 fruit is saccharine and edible ; what
virtues the seeds are supposed to possess I do not know. The

1 Bentham, Flora Hongkongensis, Lond., 1861, 8vo.

232

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

186062.

Chinese
Fruits.

Quisqualis
indica as an
anthelmintic.

inner bark of the tree is used in Japan for the manufacture of
paper, as is fully described by Keempfer.1

13J ^} "X* She-keun-tsze ; Fruit of Quisqualis indica (L.
Comlretacece) ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 385.

These fruits (Fig. 3) are about an
inch in length, oval or oblong, pointed
at either extremity, and sharply pen-
tagonal. The woody pericarp is thin,
fragile, and of a deep mahogany
colour and incloses an oily seed.
Loureiro states that the seeds used
daily are recommended as an anthel-
mintic and in the rachitis of children.2
Their anthelmintic properties, though
recorded by Rumphius and several subsequent writers besides
Loureiro, have not attracted much attention in Europe. 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.3 From these it appears
that the seeds are chiefly used against lumbrici, especially when
occurring in children. They are sometimes given almost ad
libitum, but generally the dose of four or five good seeds is
found to be sufficient.

Chebulic Mty j Ho-tsze 'rJ $/f 31? Ko-lih-le ; Fruits of Termin-

Myrobalans. -^ £^w^ Roxb. (Comtoetacece) ; Chebulic Myrobalans.

These fruits are well known in English commerce on account
of their astringent properties, which render them valuable in
various processes of dyeing. In medicine they have been
held in esteem for ages, not only on account of their astringency,
but also from their mildly purgative properties. Hill remarks
that when given in substance they do not exert their purgative
faculty at all, but are astringent only, whereas when admin-

1 History of Japan (Scheuchzer's translation), Lond., 1727, Appendix,
p. 22.

2 Flor. Cochinck., p. 337.

3 Indian Annals of Medical Science, No. 12 (I860).

Astringent
Purgative.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 233

istered in infusion or decoction they open the bowels in a very 1860-62.
gentle and easy manner.1 In China, Europeans, I am informed, Chinese
occasionally have recourse to myrobalans as an aperient — at Bruits.
the instance, I suppose, of native practitioners. The dose is
from 2 to 4 drachms in infusion.

SJ£ -*T j Tsang-urh-tsze ; Fruits of Xanthium strumarium,
L. (Composite) Bentham, Flor. Hongkong, p. 181 ; Pun-tsaou,
Fig. 252; Qam'lh ph, Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 114; Kaempf.
Amcen., p. 892.

Xanthium strumarium, an almost ubiquitous weed in tem-
perate and warm climates, is found both in China and Japan.
Its leaves, under the name of fferba Lappce minoris, were HerbaLappc?
formerly official in Europe, and were administered internally mmom-
in scrofula, herpes, &c., and externally as an application to
scrofulous tumours.2

4*6 >Sc "3P Shay-chwang-tsze ; Fruits of Cnidium Monnieri ;
Cusson (Umbelliferce). — XI chodm $u, Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 37 ;
Pun-tsaou, Fig. 157.

Minute ovoid umbelliferous fruits ; mericarps, with very
prominent equal ribs, one vitta between each ; commissure bi-
vittate.

Cnidium Monnieri- has been found by the Russian botanists Cnidium
in inundated spots on some of the islands of the Amoor, where, Mmnierl-
however, it does not appear to be a common plant. It also
occurs in the neighbourhood of Pekin.3

• i_— x - j.

TO Jf Fe-shXh ; Seeds of Torreya nucifera, S. et Z. (Tax-
inece } ; Taxus nucifera, L. ; Podocarpus nucifer, Loud. — Fey-tsy,
Tatarinov, Gatal. Med. Sin., p. 23; Fi vulgb Kaj'a, Ksempf.
Amcen, p. 814, Fig. p. 815 ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 672.

From 1 to 1J inch long, ovoid or oblong, cylindrical, pointed
at the upper extremity, less so at the lower. The testa is of a

1 History o/ the Mat. Med. Lond., 1751. 4to, p. 503. Myrobalans
were included in the Materia Medico, of the London Pharmacopeia down
to the year 1721.

2 Murray, App. Medicam., vol. i. (1793), p. 212 ; Geiger, Pharm. Universe
(1835), L, p. 128.

3 Maximowicz, Primitice Flora Amurensis (1859), pp. 126,472.

234 NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

i860 62. cinnamon-brown colour, woody and fragile, marked longitudinally
ChineseSeeds. with broad, shallow striae, 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 nucifcra are eaten like hazel nuts, and
although reputed somewhat laxative, are considered wholesome.
In Japan an oil is expressed from them, which is used for
culinary purposes.

a 13* />a -jk*

Tfc Pih-kwo ; ^U ^!r Yin-hting (Silver-almond); Seeds

Sdlisburia of Salisburia adiantifolia, Sin. (Taxinece). — Gingko liloba, L.;
adiantifolia. g^g]^ arl30r nilcifera f0ii0 adiantino, Ksempf. Amcen, p. 811 ;
Pun-tsaou, Fig. 658.

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 cotyledons, the whole enveloped in a delicate reddish-
brown membrane.

Salisburia adiantifolia is commonly cultivated both in China
and Japan, where it attains a large size. The male plant was
introduced into Europe about a century and a half ago ;
the female much more recently. The tree is not uncommon
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. Schwarzenbach,1 who has extracted from it by means
of ether a peculiar crystallizable fatty acid, which has been named
Gingkoic acid. Gingko'ic acid, and which has the composition C48 H47 03 +HO.
Gingkoic acid forms tufts of acicular crystals, which have not
been obtained colourless, but are of a brownish yellow; it is
easily soluble in alcohol or ether, and exhibits in either case

1 Vierteljahresschrift fiir Praktische Pharmacie, Bd. vi., 424.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

235

a strong acid reaction. It fuses at 95° F., and congeals at 50°. 186O-62.
Heated with solution of potash, it formed a soap-like compound. Chinese
The other constituents of the pulp are pectin, gum, glucose, Fruits.
citric acid, and chlorophyll.1

~fc {fj: ~j Ta-hai-tsze ; Fruits of Erioglossum ? or Neplielium ?
(Sapindacece) ; Boa-tam-paijang, Guibourt, Hist, des Drogues,
tome iii., page 543 , Bungtalai (otherwise written Poung-ta-rai)
of the Siamese.2

This fruit is of some interest as having been introduced into
France about twenty years ago as a certain specific in diarrhoea
and dysentery. Its claims to this character, which were tested
in the Hopital 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 mucilaginous
beverage. But the drug had the merit of an unknown origin, a
barbarous name, and a very high price,3 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-paijang, for such is the name under which it was
introduced into Europe, though in Bangkok, whence I have
received specimens, it is better known as Bungtalai, is pro-
duced in Cambodia, from a tree which has not at present been
botanically determined. Sir Eobert H. Schomburgk, British
Consul at Bangkok, succeeded in obtaining fresh seeds which
germinated, but the young plants thus raised perished before
attaining maturity. The leaves which Sir Eobert sent me are
about 5 inches long, simple, entire, oblong or ovate, acuminate,
rounded or subcordate at the base, and perfectly glabrous on both

1 In the Annales de Chimie et de Physique for March, 1864, M. Be" champ
publishes a paper on the existence of several odoriferous and homologous
fatty acids in the fruit of Gingko biloba, L. He has found therein, formic,
acetic, propionic, butyric, valeric, caproic, and caprylic acids, butyric,
acetic and caproic predominating. Chem. News, May 7, 1864, p. 226.

2 Are they not the " LuJckrabow Seeds" of which 48 piculs are reported
as shipped from Bangkok (all to Hong Kong) in 1871 ? Commercial Reports
of H. M. Consul-General in Siam for 1871, p. 6. They are actually the
seeds of Scaphium scaphigerum, Wallich. See my note in Pharm. Journ.,
iv. (1863) p. 109.

3 In the wholesale price list of MM. Menier, druggists, of Paris (1854),
it is quoted at 200 francs per kilogramme, i.e. £3 13s. per Ib.

Boa-tam-
paijang vel
Bungtalai.

236

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

186062.

Chinese
Fruits.

Guibourt's
analysis of
Boa-tarn-
paijang.

sides. The fruits, as found in commerce (Fig. 4), are from £ to
1J inch long, ovoid, usually somewhat elongated at the lower
extremity, which terminates by a large oblique cicatrix. Exter-
nally they are of a dark brown, deeply wrinkled, though generally
less so at the superior extremity. The pericarp, which is from TV
to ^V of an incn m thickness, consists of a thin epidermis, beneath
which lies a dry, black resinous-looking pulp, surrounding a fragile
shell lined with a whitish membrane (the testa of the seed ?). The

central part of the fruit is
occupied by two cotyledons,
which in the'ir dried and
shrunken state are thin and
concave: the radicle is in-
ferior, very short and tur-
binate. When the fruit is
, macerated in water, its outer

FIG. 4. (The right hand figure represents a

fruit cut longitudinally.) shell or pericarp increases

enormously in volume, forming a large gelatinous mass.1

It is this mucilaginous property that confers a value on the
fruit in the eyes of the inhabitants of China and Siam, in both
which countries the jelly is sweetened and eaten as a delicacy.

Boa-tam-paijang has been analyzed by Professor Guibourt,
and found to consist of the following substances : —
In the pericarp.

Green oil 1'06

Bassorine 59*04

Brown astringent matter . . \ -J^Q

Mucilage j

Woody fibre and epidermis . . 3 -20

In the nucleus.

Fatty matter 2-98^1

Saline and bitter extract .... 0*21 {,

Starch i 31-91

64-90

Cellular tissue

3510

100-00

1 Sir R. H. Schomburgk has been told that where the trees grow by a
road-side, their fruits sometimes drop to the ground so abundantly, that if

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

237

tSL U Hwae-shXh ; Legumes of Sophora Japonica, L. (Legu-
minosce).

Sophora japonica is a tree of very common occurrence in
China and Japan, and not unfrequent in the gardens of Europe.
Its flowers, called Hwae-hwa, are largely used in China for
dyeing yellow, or rather for rendering blue cotton green,1 and
the legumes are said by Endlicher to have a similar application.2

These latter, in the dried state, are from 1 to 4 inches long
by T%- to T4^ of an inch wide, wrinkled, fleshy, semi-transparent,
more or less contracted between the seeds, which usually do
not number more than six in each legume.

Tsaou-ke8 ; Legumes of Gleditschia Sinensis,

Lam.
Med.

(Leguminosce), Mimosa fera, Lour. ; Tatarinov, Catal.
Sin., p. 57.

The 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
are said to be peculiarly efficacious in apoplexy, hemiplegia,
and paralysis.

•?fftr fr'^* nti

TftJ H /fe Poo-Jcwiik-che ; Legumes of Psoralea corylifolia,

L. (Leguminosce) ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 177.

These are flat, oval or reniform, black, one-seeded legumes,
which being very small and indehiscent may readily be mis-
taken for seeds ; they are about two lines long, and are
sometimes surrounded by the calyx, which is 5-lobed and
marked with prominent nerves and minute glands. The fruits
of this Psoralea 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.3

1860-62.

Sophora
japonica.

Chinese
Legumes.

Psoralea
corylifolia.

they become wetted with rain, such a mass of glutinous jelly is formed as to
render the passage of the road on foot or horseback a matter of difficulty.

1 Martius on Wai-fa, the flower-buds of Sophora Japonica, Pharm.
Journ., Aug., 1854, p. 64.

2 Enchiridion Botanicum, p. 677.

3 Ainslie, Mat. Indica., vol. ii., p. 141.

238 NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

iseoea. 9E ^ jgf Fe-tsami-tcno ; Dialium sp.? (Leguminosce).

These are smooth, black seeds (Fig. 5), f of an inch in
diameter, of a compressed spherical form, each furnished (when
perfect) with a large, rigid, persistent podosperm. 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, horny albumen.

Of the origin and application of this drug I have no infor-
mation.

${ ^»S -^p Che-Jceu-tsze ; Fruits of Hovenia dulcis, Thunb.
(Ehamne(K\ Sicku ; Ksempfer, Amoen. 808, 9 ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 684

The curiously- 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.

FIG. 5.— (The figure in the centre shows the transverse section of a seed slightly magnified. )

Hae-kin-sha ; Spores of a Fern (Filices) ; Pun-
tsaou, Fig. 325 ; Cleyer. Med. Simp. No. 173.

A light, mobile, rufous-brown powder, which, when thrown
into the air and ignited, burns like lycopodium, for which
substance it might be substituted.

Cttrusfiuea. ^ ^ Che-Jctih ; Dried Fruits of Citrus fusca, Lour. (Auran-
tiacece), Flor. Cochinch. ed. Willd. 571.

My specimen of this drug consists of the fruit cut into
halves and dried ; in this state it forms circular discs of from
one to two inches in diameter, nearly flat on the cut side, convex
on the exterior. The peel is firm and excessively thick, being
about half the diameter of the dried pulp : externally it is
rough and of a deep blackish-brown, internally of pale buff.
It is bitter and agreeably aromatic.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

239

W ^ Tsing-pe; Immature Fruits of Citrus - ? (Auran-
tiacece) ; Cin-pi, Tatarinov, Catal. Med. Sinens., p. 12.

In Tatarinov s Catalogue, these fruits are referred to Citrus
microcarpa, Bge., a plant which Professor Bunge describes as
"frutex in caldariis Pekinensibus frequens, fructu maturo mense
Januario et Februario onustus"* I do not know what further
range this plant may have, but 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 Citrus undefined.

The fruite called Tsing-pe are from f- to f of an inch
in diameter, and resemble the Baccce Aurantii of European
pharmacy, except that the latter have a somewhat less rough
exterior.

'^1 sL j£fl Ma-tow-ling ; Fruits of Aristolochia Kcempferi,
Willd., Sp. Plant. VI, pars i., p. 152 (Aristolochiece) ; Hoffmann
et Schultes, Journ. Asiatique, Oct., Nov., 1852, p, 275 ; Kcempf.
Icones, tab. 49 ; Pun-tsaou} Fig. 388.

Oval fruits 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. contorta, Bunge, an identification I have not been able to
confirm, though I have had the kind assistance of Professor

1 T. T. Cooper observed immense quantities of orange peel being dried at
Main-yang, a town about 50 miles west of Hankow. Travels of a Pioneer of
Commerce, 1871, p. 38.

2 Memoires presentes a I' Academic Imptriale des Sciences de St. Peters-
bourg, tome 2 (1835), p. 84.

Chinese
Fruits.

Loureiro states that Citrus fusca is widely diffused in Cochin 1860-62.
China, but less common in China. He adds that the entire
peel of the fruit is considered attenuant, deobstruent, and
mildly cathartic.

The zest of a thick-skinned orange or citron dried in very
thin slices, is found in the Chinese drug shops under the name

of

Tsing-pe.

240

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

1860 62. Bunge. A. contorta is found in the neighbourhood of Pekin,

ChinelTseeds and occurs als° ^ the Am00r Country.

% %& "? ^oo-sze-tsze ; Seeds of Cuscuta Europcea, L.
((7. major, Bauh.) (Conwlvulacece); Pun-tsaou, Fig. 379 ; 2% m fit,
Cleyer, Med. Simp. No. 9 ; Tu-sy-tsy, Tatarinov, CataL Med.
Sinens., p. 61.

Eoundish seeds of a light brown colour, about the size of
black mustard. The long filiform embryo, spirally rolled round
the fleshy albumen, which is characteristic of the genus Cuscuta,
may be readily seen if a seed be soaked in water and its testa
then removed.

Cuscuta. For the species of Cuscuta to which these seeds are referred,
I adopt the authority of MM. Hoffmann and Schultes j1 but
although (7. Europcea is found in Japan, 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 is
very likely they may pass under the same native name. I am
not aware what virtues are ascribed by the Chinese to this
drug. The entire plant (Herla Cuscutce majoris) was formerly
official in Europe as a purgative.

Nelumbium
Speciosum.

Water Lily.

*|f -J^* Lien-tsze ; Nuts of Neluiribium speciosum, Willd.
(Nelumbiacece) ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 703.

These nuts, which in shape and size resemble small acorns,
are produced by the well-known Nelumbrium or Egyptian
Bean, called in China Water Lily, a plant extensively 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 fOff to

Wry "/•£

Gaou-fun.

§|? Ling ; Fruits of Trapa bicornis, L. (Haloragece) ; Pun-
tsaou, Fig. 704

1 Journal Asiatique, Oct., Nov., 1852, p. 288.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

241

The plant is abundant on canals and shallow lakes, from the iseo-ea.
surface of which its singular fruits (Fig. 6) are collected in

Trapa
bicornis.

immense quantities, on account of their kernels, which, when
roasted, are edible.

ffg, -f* Che-tsze; l_Lj tjg, Shan-che ; Dried Fruits of two
or more species of Gardenia (Eubiacece) ; Che-tsze, Pun-tsaou,
Fig. 783; Czzi-tsy (Che-tsze), Fructus G-ardenice floridw, Tatarinov,
Cat. Med. Sinew., p. 17.

Under the above Chinese names (otherwise spelt Tchi-tse
and Chan-tchi) 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 1J
to 2 inches in length, crowned with the
remains of the calyx, which are pro-
longed down the sides of the fruit in
six prominent ribs. The pericarp is
fragile and horny, marked internally by
two narrow projecting receptacles. The
seeds are numerous and imbedded in a
dark orange pulp.

Dr. T. W. C. Martius has presented
me with specimens of this fruit under

the name of " Wongshy " ( Whang-che
it to Gardenia radicans, Thunb.

The smaller fruit (Fig. 8), called Shan-che, is from TJ to \ an
inch in length, of an ovoid form, smooth, six- ribbed, furnished

K

Gardenia.

FIG. T.

refers

Gardenia,

242

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

186062.

Gardenia
flwida.

Gardenia
radicans.

Gardenia
grandiflora.

FIG. 8.

on the inner surface of the pericarp with two narrow wing-like
receptacles opposite each other. The seeds are nidulant in an
orange pulp.

The precise species of Gardenia affording each of these fruits
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 :
1. Gardenia florida, L., a large, very
ramous shrub, native of Japan, China,
India, &c. Major Champion found it in
abundance in several localities in Hong
Kong.1 Mr. Fortune has informed me
that it is common in the hilly districts at some distance from
Shanghai, and that its fruit is collected for dyeing purposes,
but not produced so abundantly as that of G. radicans.

2. Gardenia radicans, Thunb., a much smaller plant than
G. florida, with a decumbent rooting stem. It is a native of
Japan, China, India, &c. Mr. Fortune has given me its Chinese
name as Whang-tsze, and stated that its fruit is commonly col-
lected in the north of China for its colouring properties.

3. Gardenia grandiflora, Lour., a native of Cochin-China.
Loureiro mentions that its fruits impart a beautiful colour to
silk, and that they are also used medicinally in decoction, in
fevers, and in a variety of other complaints.2

The fruits of these 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, among
whom, as the most recent, may be mentioned Mr. Lorenz Mayer,
of the laboratory of Professor Eochleder, of Prague. According
to the investigations of this gentleman,3 the splendid yellow
colour of the Gardenia is due to a body named crocine, which
appears to be identical with the polychroite of saffron. Crocine
is uncrystallizable ; when in powder it is of a bright red colour ;

1 Hooker's Journ. of Bot., vol. iv. (1852), p. 193.

2 Flor. Cochinch., p. 183.

3 On the Yellow Colouring Matter of the Fruit of Gardenia grandiflora,
by F. Rochleder. Chemical Gazette, Sept. 1, 1858, p. 331. Pharm. Journ.
and Trans., vol. xviii. (1859), p. 626.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 243

it dissolves readily in water or alcohol, its solution possessing 186O-62.
the colour ^of chromic acid. Salts of lead give orange-red pre-
cipitates with a solution of crocine ; if a concentrated aqueous Crocine and
solution be treated with sulphuric acid, the mixture assumes Crocetine-
an indigo-blue colour, which changes to violet. By the decom-
position of crocine, a body called crocetine is obtained. The
composition of crocine is, (2 C58 H42 030) -f- HO; that of
crocetine C42 H23 On.

Hi Kan-Ian ; Fruits of two or more species of Canarium
(JBurseracece) Pun-tsaou, Fig. 668; Chinese Olive. Chinese Olive.

Most persons who have lived in China are acquainted with a
small edible fruit, which from its oblong shape and being
generally sold preserved with salt, has acquired the name of
Chinese Olive. The stones of this fruit are also well known from
being frequently carved into beads and other ornaments. The
Chinese olive, I need hardly observe, has not the least affinity
with the true olive (Oka Europwa, L), but belongs to the natural
order Burseracece and genus Canarinm. The precise species,
for there are probably two or three, are not well made out.
Loureiro describes in his genus Pimela, now referred to Cana-
rium, two plants yielding edible fruits, namely, P. nigra
(Canarium Pimela, Konig and Sims, Annals of Botany, vol. i.,
1805, p. 361, tab. 7, Fig. 1) and P. alia (Canarium album,
Eaeuschel, Nomendator Botanicus, ed. 3, 1797, p. 287).1

Dried specimens of the fruits of these plants were presented
to me by the late Mr. Eeeves. That of Pimela nigra is an oval pimda nigra,
drupe \\ inch long, covered with a smooth black skin. The et P' alba"
pulp, which is rather firm, surrounds a large, obscurely triangular
pointed stone. The fruit of Pimela alba resembles that of
jP. nigra, except that it is of a pale brown and has its outer
skin much corrugated by drying.

Besides these, and probably distinct from them, there are,
according to my friend Mr. Lockhart, two other fruits used by
the Chinese and commonly sold at certain seasons, the one at

1 Information on this subject is given in a paper by Hance, on the so-
called Olives of Southern China, Pharm. Journ., Feb. 25, 1871, p. 684.

R 2

244 NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

iseo 62. Shanghai, the other at Foo-chow. As I have not seen either
of these fruits, 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 pressed and dried flowers and leaves
of the plants, in order that 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 grows spontaneously.

Ill 4S T*

Melia. ^^ Chuen-leen-tsze ; Fruits of Melia sp. (Meliacece) ;

Czuan-lan-tsy, Tatarinov, Catal. Med. Sinens., p. 15 ; Pun-tsaou,

Fig. 745.

*•»

FIG. 9. — Three seeds, natural size ; longitudinal section of a seed;
half-seed (testa removed) showing leafy cotyledon.

A fleshy, globular drupe about an inch in diameter, covered
with a shining, thin, horny, yellowish-brown skin, within which,
surrounded by dried pulpy matter, is a large stony endocarp
furrowed longitudinally and containing seven or eight cells
of which, however, not more than six are usually developed.
Loureiro gives Xun-litn (Chuen-leen) as the Chinese name of
Melia Azedarach, 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 vermifuge.

xC 19* ~j Ta-funcj-tsze ; Seeds of Chaulmoogra sp. (Pangiece) ;
Pun-tsaou, Fig. 773 ; Da-fyn-tsy, Tatarinov, Cat. Med. Sinens.,
p. 19.

These seeds (Fig. 9), which are imported into China from

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

245

Siam, are from fths to |tlis of an inch long, of an oblong or ovoid 1860-62.
shape, very irregular, owing to mutual pressure in the fruit of
which they formed a part. They consist 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, heart-shaped, leafy cotyledons.

The plant affording these seeds is not well ascertained. It is
doubtless a species of Chaulmoogm : probably, judging from the chaulmoogra,
resemblance of the seeds, nearly allied to the Indian C. odorata, reputed

* remedy for

Roxb. The seeds of the latter plant are larger, and have a leprosy.
thinner and smoother testa than is the case with those found
in the Chinese shops. Both seeds have a reputation as a remedy
in skin complaints, especially in that most frightful of eastern
diseases, leprosy. Dr. Hobson, late of the Canton Hospital,
whose experiments appear to have been made with the seeds
of the Indian Chaulmoogra, reports respecting them,1 that he
has found them to effect a cure in mild cases of leprosy, not of
long standing ; that the remedy (consisting of the powdered, oily
nucleus of the seed) was administered in one drachm doses
twice a day during a period of four mouths or more, and that
the expressed oil of the seeds was occasionally rubbed on the
affected surfaces. The first appearance of improvement observed
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.

i® TV*' Leen-keaou ; Fruits of ForsytJiia suspensa, Vahl.
(Oleacece) ; Siebold et Zuccarini, Flora Japonica, p. 10, t. 3.

As found in Chinese commerce, these are little boat-shaped,
brown capsules, \ to J of an inch long, with a thin longitudinal
partition. They constitute the valves of the fruit, which, in its
perfect state, is thus described by Endlicher : — " Capsula ovata,
compressiuscula, sublignosa, corticata, bilocularis, loculicido-

1 "On the Leprosy of the Chinese." Med. Times and Gazette, June 2,
I860, p. 558.

Forsyfhia,
suspensa.

246 NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

1860-62. bivalvis, valvis planiusculis, niedio septiferis. Semina in loculis
pauca, pendula, compressa; testa membranacea hinc in alam
angustam, inde in marginem angustissimam expansa. Embryo
in axi albuminis carnosi, parci rectus ; cotyledonibus foliaceis,
radical a brevi, cylindrica, supera.1
sterculia ^^ jjtt ^ Woo-tunff-tsze ; Seeds of Sterculia platanifolia,

Lin. fil. (Sterculiacoe)?

Spherical, about the size of peas, externally covered with a
shrivelled, shining, pale-brown skin.

Dapknidium. Ip ^g£ 3/R Pelh-ching-Jcea ; Berries of Daphnidium Cubcba,
Cubcba. ^- a^ j, (Laurinece) ; Laurus Cubeba, Lour.; Cdy Mang tang
(Cochinchinese).

The Chinese name Pcih-ching-kea, under which I have received
these berries, appears to be also applied to cubebs ; and in fact,
if one may judge from the wood- cut in the Pun-tsaou (Fig. 690),
it is to the latter drug that it properly belongs. Whether the
Chinese confound the two and use them indiscriminately, or
whether they consider one as a mere variety of the other, I am
unable to say. The friend who obtained one specimen in my
possession, presented it to me marked " Cubebs" and I believe he
is not the only person who has fallen into such an error. M.
Kondot, in his Commerce d' Exportation de la Chine (Paris, 1848),
enumerates cubebs as a production not only of Java, but of
China likewise ; he also mentions that the Chinese cubebs are
exported exclusively to India, whence we may conclude that
they are not suitable for European markets. Are not these
Chinese cubebs the drug under notice ?

The drug which I have received consists of small berries,
which, in size, form, and general appearance, much resemble
peppercorns or cubebs ; examined attentively, however, they are
seen to be one-seeded globular berries (Fig. 10) attached to
a pedicel sometimes half an inch long; at the base of each
berry traces of the perianth are visible. The pericarp is thin,
fleshy, and in the dried state, corrugated. The seed is globular,

1 Gen. Plant., p. 573.

a Well figured in Baillon's Hist, des Plantes, Malvacees, 1872, p. 60.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 247

FIG. 10. — Two berries, natural size ; berry magnified, and transverse
i ; cotyledon with radicle (magnified).

section of ditto ;

no specimen — in fact, it is apparently unknown to recent
botanists. Loureiro describes its fruit as " Bacca globosa, nigra,
pedunculata, minima : semine globoso." He adds that the
berries are strengthening, cephalic, stomachic, and carminative,
and that in decoction they are useful in vertigo, hysterical
affections, paralysis, melancholy, and impaired memory — pro-
perties which are possessed by the bark, though to a less degree.
The fresh fruits are used for the preserving of fish. The odour
of the berries is fragrant, their taste is aromatic and somewhat
pungent, and occasions a flow of saliva. They 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
inappropriately Piper caudatum.

with its cartilaginous, shining brown testa surrounded, longi-
tudinaily by a narrow ridge. The cotyledons are hemispherical,
thick, and oily ; the radicle superior.

In endeavouring to assign a botanical origin to this drug Botanical
I have been guided chiefly by two considerations : — 1, The 2)ap^fdiu
evident laurineous structure of the berries. 2, Their superficial Cubeba.
resemblance to cubebs. Turning to Loureiro's Flora Cochin-
chinensis, we find, under the name Laurus Cubeba, a tree described,
the fruit of which so remarkably coincides with the drug under
notice, that I cannot but conclude the two are identical. This
tree was transferred by Nees ab Esenbeck, in his Sy sterna
Laurinarum, to the genus Daphnidium, but he borrowed the
description of it from Loureiro, and had evidently examined

248

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

1860-62. Daphnidium Culeba is cultivated in Cochin-China, and
probably in Southern China also. Loureiro omits to give its
Chinese name.

Legumes of
Prosopis

Large round
China Carda-
mom.

x^ V3 Ya-tsaou ; Legumes of Prosopis ? (Leguminosce) ;
Ya Cab, Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 223.

These are the pods of some leguminous tree at present unde-
termined, but which, judging from analogy, is probably not far
distant from the genus Prosopis. They are from two to four
inches long, and from T3^ to T5F of an inch broad, more or less
sickle-shaped and compressed, their upper edge prolonged 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, when 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 meatuum. Tumores complanat." The drug is
said to be produced in the province of Szcehuen."

Jp[ 7§ Tsaou-Jcow ; Large Bound China Cardamom, Pharm.
Journ., xiv., 353, Fig. 1, 2.

Although this species of cardamom, as well as those that
follow, have already been described and figured in the Pharma-
ceutical Journal,1 it will probably add to the value of this paper
if I briefly recapitulate the characters by which they are distin-
guished, and the chief points of interest attaching to them.

The Large Round China Cardamom varies considerably in
size, my specimens being from IjV inch to iV of an inch in
length. The capsules are somewhat oval or globular, pointed at
either extremity, obscurely three-sided (except at the base, where
the triangular character is 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. The seeds are

1 " On some Rare Kinds of Cardamom." Pharm. Journ., xiv., 352 ; also,
Journ. de Pharmacie et de Chimie, Mai et Juin, 1855; Bonplandia, 1 Juni,1855.

NOTES OX CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 249

coherent into a three-lobed mass; they are generally light 186O-62.

greyish-brown, somewhat oblong and angular, with a deep

furrow on one side ; they have 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. — Cardamome ronde de la Small round
Chine.— Guibourt, Hist, des Drog., eU 4, tome ii. (1849), p. 215,
Fig. 113, 114 (excluding other synonyms) ; Pharm. Journ., xiv.,
354, Fig. 3.

A smaller fruit than the preceding, which it much resembles.
The following description of it is taken from M. Guibourt's
Histoire des Drogues : —

" Capsules pedicelled, 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 within. The seeds
form a globular coherent mass. They are rather large and few
in number, somewhat wedge-shaped, of an ashy-grey, a little
granular on the surface and 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
Round China Cardamom, the capsules 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
even are more globose, not triangular at the base, but flat, or
even depressed like an apple. Their colour, in all the specimens I
have seen, is a brownish-yellow. I cannot confirm M. Guibourt's
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 M. Guibourt to the Amomum
ylobositm of Loureiro.

250

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

186O-62.

Xauthioid
Cardamom.

_*-!-. -^t-

j|L K^ Tsaou-kwo ; Ovoid China Cardamom. Fruit of
Amomum medium, Loureiro, Flor. Cock., ed. Willd. (1793), p. 5
(Scitaminece) ; Cao-go, Tatarinov, Catal. Med. Sinens., p. 5 ;
Pharm, Journ. xiv., 419, Fig. 9.

The Ovoid China Cardamom is a product of Southern China,
and abundant in the drug shops of Singapore, as well as in those
of China. It is an oval or oblong, three-celled, three-valved and
obscurely three-sided fruit, of from 1 to 3f inch in length.
The pericarp is of a dusky greyish-brown, deeply striated longi-
tudinally, thick 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 angular, hard and striated, having a powerful and
peculiar aromatic smell and taste.

The 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 Flora Cochin-
chinensis.

Yp "P n-% Sha-jin-Jcti ; Capsules (deprived of seeds) of
Amomum xanthioides Wallich (Scitaminece) ; husks of the
Xanthioid Cardamom. Pharm. Journ., xiv., 418, Fig. 7.

These empty capsules are mostly attached to a common stalk,
which, when perfect, is about five inches long and beset with the
remains of sheathing bracts. The superior portion, which is
much stouter than the rest, bears the fruits closely crowded
together on short, bracted pedicels. Xo bunch in my possession
bears more than twelve fruits, but from the number of pedicels on
some specimens it would appear that the flowers at least are often
twice as numerous. The capsules having been deprived of seeds
are shrunken and compressed, but after soaking in boiling water
they acquire their proper volume, becoming nearly spherical and
about three-quarters of an inch in diameter. The pericarp
is covered with long, acute, recurved spines, which are longest
near the base.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 251

Amomum xanthioides is a native of Burmali, where it was iseo 62.
discovered by Wallich in 1827. It also occurs in the Laos Amomum
country and Cambodia, where its fruits are collected for use. Xanthioides.
The plant being but little known, it was with much pleasure that
I learned from Sir R H. Schomburgk, by a note under date
March 28, 1861, that he had just succeeded, after many
endeavours, in procuring living specimens, which he had in
cultivation at Bangkok, and from which he hoped to obtain
flowers and fruits. The seeds of A. xanthioides deprived of
their pericarp, are sometimes sold in the London market as
Malabar Cardamoms, 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.

VJp ^ v-y Yang-chun-slia ; Hairy China Cardamom. Pharm. Hairy China
Journ., xiv., 354, Fig. 4, 5.

A small scitamineous fruit supposed to be that of Loureiro's
Amomum villosum, a Cochinchinese plant, of which very little is
known. It is 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 superior extremity. The capsules are from six
to ten lines in length. In the dried state they are oval, occasionally
nearly spherical, more or less three-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 striae and covered with
asperities, which, after soaking in water, are seen to be short,
thick, fleshy, closely-crowded spines. It has, when bruised, an
aromatic and tar-like odour ; the seeds have a similar tar-like
odour and taste, not unmixed with the aromatic warmth of the
Malabar cardamom ; they are angular, and upon removal of the
pericarp, remain united in a three-lobed mass. The scape is
densely villous ; the 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 Pursat in Cambodia.1

1 Thorel, Notes Medicates du Voyage d? Exploration du Mekong d de
Cochinchinc, Paris, 1870, p. 30.

252 NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

186O-62. This cardamom is said to grow in the province of Kwang-
tung, and in the Yang-yun district of Southern China. It
appears to be frequently used in medicine by the Chinese, and is,
no doubt, a good representative of the Elettaria cardamom
official in Europe.

'*-** OCP •?.

Bitter-seeded infc ^ "T* Ylh-che-tsze ; Bitter-seeded Cardamom. Pharm.

Cardamom. Journ.} xiv., p. 418, Fig. 8; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 173.1

The capsules are mostly oval, some ovate-oblong, and a
few nearly spherical, pointed at the extremities, six to ten
lines long. The pericarp is of a deep dusky brown, coriaceous,
devoid of hairs, beset longitudinally with interrupted ridges
usually about eighteen 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, litter,
myrrh-like taste.

It is not known what plant produces this little fruit. The
MS. catalogue of the collection of Chinese drugs at the Eoyal
College of Physicians of London, mentions the province of
Kwang-tung as its place of growth, and it is also said to grow
in the island of Hainan.

© & -fir ~jr Kaou-leang-keang-tsze ; $1 _S ^g Hung-
tow-kow ; Fruits of Alpima Galanga, Willd. (Scitaminece) ; Ga-
Galnn Car- ^anga Cardamom, Pharm. Journ., xiv., Fig. 10, 11.
damom. Capsules about half an inch in length, of an oblong form,
somewhat constricted in the middle, or occasionally pear-shaped ;
some are obscurely three-sided. Each fruit is prominently
crowned with the remains of the calyx ; in a few, the lower ex-
tremity is still attached to a slender pedicel. Most of the cap-
sules are much shrivelled on the outside, apparently from having
been gathered while immature ; a few, however, retain a plump
and smooth appearance. 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

1 Eeceived from E. Swinhoe a specimen of this drug, which he says is
from Hainan, where the aborigines use it as tea. He adds that there is
" good reason " to believe it to be the fruit of the alpinia which affords the
Galangal Hoot or commerce, 15, vij., 70

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDIC A.

253

fruits thin and brittle, not splitting into valves ; in the shrivelled
fruits it appears stronger, 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 integu-
ment, each cell or lobe containing, 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 hilum 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 the 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.

Authentic specimens of the fruit of Alpinia Galanga grown
in the Calcutta Botanic Garden, and kindly placed at my
disposal by Dr. Thomson, are identical with the Chinese drug.

Jit ^K _££ 7i|f Tung-po-tow-kow ; Eound or Cluster Carda-
mom. Fruit of Amomum Cardamomum, L. (Scitaminece) ; also
called in Chinese Hang-kow, Seaou-kow, &c.

A well-known fruit, described in all the larger works on
Materia Medica, but which in recent times had become rare,
its place being supplied by the Malabar cardamom (Elettaria
Cardamomum, Maton), the seeds of which are very similar in
odour and taste. Since, however, the opening of Siam to
European commerce, round cardamoms have been frequently
imported into London from Bangkok.

Note about Tsing-mtih-heang. — From the Trade Report for
Ningpo for 1868 by Acting Commissioner Bowra, published in the
Reports on Trade at the Treaty Ports in China for 1868. Shanghai
Customs' Press, p. 51. Of the medicines exported from Mngpo

fully one-third is a root known locally as Pa-Mhl ( £f T|C ) or
to the annual value of about 79,853 taels. (= £ 26,617). It is

1 Hance, who has examined the living plant, makes of it a new species
which he calls Aristolochia recurvilabra. Vide Trimen's Journ. of £ot.
March, 1873, p. 72 ; Pharm. Journ., March 15, 1873, p. 725.

186062.

A Ipinia
Galanga.

254

NOTES ON CHINESE MATEUIA MEDICA.

1860-62. cultivated in the Shaoshing prefecture, and highly esteemed as
a remedy in rheumatism. It is worth $10 to $15 per picul,
and is mainly sent to H6-nan and Sz-chinan. It is not the put-
chuk of India, though said to he sometimes palmed off as such.
The plant, which resembles the English birth wort, is a common
garden creeper in Ningpo.

It is exported from Ningpo as Green putchuk.

Green Put
chuk.

ROOTS.

Chinese Roots. *^fj|? ;3L Yuh-kin. — Tubers of a species of Curcuma (Scita-
minece) ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 179 ; Tatarinov, Gated. Med. Sinens.,
p. 32 ; Yd-Jcin, Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 65.

Oblong or ovate tubers (Fig. 11) tapering at either end, from
| to l£ 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-transparent, horny, orange-yel-
low substance, easily separable into
two portions, an inner and an outer.
The tubers have an aromatic odour,
. and a slight taste resembling turmeric,
and contain an abundance of starch.
Many scitamineous plants produce
at the extremities of the roots spring-
ing from the rhizome, starchy tubers such as those above de-
scribed. Dr. Roxburgh calls them pendulous tubers, from their
descending into the ground beneath the rhizome.1 They are
usually less aromatic, and more amylaceous, than the rhizome :
from those of some species of Curcuma, the so-called East Indian
arrowroot is manufactured.

The plant producing Yuh-kin is undetermined ; it is a native
of the south of China, and is most probably a species of Curcuma.

Fio. 11.

See figures given by Rumphins, Ksempfer, Roscoe, and others.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 255

1860-62.

-jt Y] Yuh-chuh ; Ehizome of Bambusa Arundo, Nees
(Graminece) ; Ye cho, Arundo Bambos, Lour, (non Linn.)

This drug consists of a rhizome of a pale yellowish-brown
colour and somewhat translucent, in contorted pieces of some
inches in length, flattened or nearly cylindrical, ^ to T^- of an
inch in greatest diameter, marked with concentric rings at un-
equal distances, and dotted with the remains of radical fibres.
The pieces are moist, compressible and flexible, but break readily
with a short fracture. They have a sweetish, mucilaginous
taste, with but little odour. When macerated in water, they
regain their natural dimensions, becoming three times as thick
as in the dry state. The root and young shoots of this bamboo
are stated by Loureiro, in the medical language of the day, to
be resolvant and attenuant, to promote diaphoresis and diuresis,
and to purify the blood.

A!* 7N Tsang-shuh; Ehizome of Airactylodes sp. (Com- Tsang-shuh.
positce) ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 102.

Portions of a rhizome from J to f of an inch in diameter,
occurring in oblong, jointed, occasionally branching pieces, of
li to 3 inches in length. They are invested with a rough, brown
cuticle, and some pieces are beset with radical fibres. The cut
surface exhibits a spongy whitish substance, scattered through
which, cells filled with resinous-looking matter of a deep orange
colour may be seen with a lens.1 Tsang-shuh has a slightly
aromatic odour, though but little taste. It is enumerated among
the drugs of Kiang-nan and Hoo-kwang. According to MM.
Hoffmann and Schultes,2 three species of Atractylodes, namely,
A. lancea D.C., A. lyrata S. et Z., and A. ovata D.C., are
known by the Chinese name above given. Thunberg, who de-
scribes two of them under the genus Atractylis, does not allude
to their possessing medicinal properties.

j£. ^ Pleven-sting ; Hiuen sen, Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 44 ;
Pun-tsaou, Fig. 110 ; Siuan-szen, Tatarinov, Cat. Med. Sinens,
p. 48.

1 This resinous-looking matter is not removed by water, alcohol, or ether.
3 Journal Asiatique, Oct., Nov., 1852, p. 275.

256 NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

iseo 62. Fleshy roots of about four inches in length 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.

Corydalis j§E ifjft ^ Yen-lwo-stih ; Tubers of Corydalis ambigua,
Chamisso et Schlechtendal in Linncea, t. i. (1816), p. 558
(Fumarice) ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 133.

Little, hard, brown tubers, of somewhat flattened spherical
form, averaging half an inch in diameter. Externally, they are
covered with a thin wrinkled cuticle ; when broken, they exhibit
a bright yellow, semi-transparent, waxy appearance.

Corydalis ambigua Cham, et SchL, from which, according to
Messrs. Hoffmann and Schultes,1 this drug is derived, is a plant
of Siberia and Kamtschatka, throwing up its flowers upon the
melting of the snow in early spring ; it is also found in the
Amoor country. I am indebted to Dr. E. Eegel, 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.

^ il *T Mth-mun-tung ; Tubers of Ophiopogon Japoni-

Convallaria cusy Ker (Smilacece) ; Convallaria Japonica, L. ; Hondo, Ksempf.,

Japonic*. ^m«5tt., p. 823, with Fig. ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 268 ; Ml mden turn,

Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 14.

This drug consists of cylindri-
cal fleshy tubers, from 1 to 2
inches in length, and from £ to
J of an inch in diameter, taper-
ing at either extremity (Fig. 12).
They are of a pale yellowish
FlG 12 grey colour and translucent;

somewhat shrivelled through

drying, soft, flexible, yet easily broken. A central ligneous cord,
resembling a stiff thread, runs longitudinally through each.

1 Op. tit., p. 286.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 257

The tubers have a slightly saccharine and aromatic taste, with iseo-62.
a somewhat terebinthinous not unpleasant odour. Their aqueous
decoction is not rendered blue by iodine.

OpJiiopogon Japonicus, a low-perennial with a creeping rhi- Ophiopogon
zome, produces small tubers as expansions of the radical fibres : apW(
that they are really identical with the drug found in the Chinese
shops, 1 have been able to convince myself by actual comparison.
Kaempfer, who figures the plant well, states that a second species
called in Japanese Temondo, and common in the province of Temondo.
Satzuma, produces larger tubers, and is therefore preferred. Two
varieties of Ophiopogon Japonicus are described by Thunberg ; l
one of them may possibly be identical with Ksempfer's Temondo.
According to Loureiro, the tubers of his Commelina medica
(Aneilema, li. Br.) are called MWi-mun-tung.

The drug under notice is in frequent use among the Chinese,
the candied tubers being eaten as a medicine.

7C f I -* Te%n-mun-tung ; Tubers of Melanthium Cochin- MelantMum
chinense, Lour. ; Tian-myn-dun, Tatarinov, CataL Med. Sinens., J^^~
p. 56 ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 401.

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 appears to be
produced in the province of Chekiang. According to Loureiro,
the plant is frequent in dry hedges both in Cochin- China and
China.

TvC § Muh-heang ; Eoot of Aucklandia Costus, Falc. (Com- Auckland™,
positce), Linn. Trans., vol. xix., part i. (1842), p. 23 ; Aplotaxis
Lappa, Decaisne, in Jacquemont's Voyage dans I'lnde, tome iv.

1 Flora Japonica, p. 139.

S

258

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

1860-62

Putdiuk.

Chuen-woo.

Tsaou-woo

(1844), Botanique, p. 96, pi. 104 ; Mu-sian, Tatarinov, Cat. Med
Sinens., p. 40 ; M8-hiamt Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 18 ; Costus
R00t or Putchuk.

This root is collected in enormous quantities in the mountains
of Cashmere, 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. There is an excellent account of it, with a
figure, in Professor Guibourt's Hiztoirc des Drogues, tome iii. p. 25.

)\\ ^ Cliuen-woo ; Eoot of? Aconitum sp. (Ranunculacece).
Conical or top-shaped tuberous roots (Fig. 13),
about l£ inch in length, covered with a
blackish-brown cuticle ; internally they are
white and amylaceous. They taste slightly
bitter, and leave a persistent sensation of
numbness and tingling on the tongue witli
some acridity in the throat.

Ground to powder, and mixed with an equal
quantity of the root Tsaou-woo (next described)
and of the flowers Naou-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 produced.

fjjL ^ Tsaou-woo; Root of Aconitum Japonicum, Thunb. ;

Tatarinov, Catal Med. Sinens., p. 5. Blackish tuberous roots

analogous to the last, but smaller in size and less regular in form

(Fig. 14). They are from TfiF of an inch to upwards of one inch in

M ^£Q& length, and from T% to ^ of an inch

t&j/ fc&J in diameter ; oblong or ovoid, either

fip^jr 3^ tapering or rounded at their ex-

BP tremities, covered with a smooth or

fe^| *vr furrowed blackish cuticle; inter-

^&t vW na^7> t-ney are white and inodorous.

FJO 14 They are used with the preceding

FIG. 13.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

259

heang'

for producing insensibility to the pain of a surgical operation. 1860-62.

According to Dr. Christison,1 they are also the basis of an ex-

tract used to poison the arrows employed for killing game.2 Dr. C.,

who examined some of this extract, reported that it had evidently

been prepared with care and skill, and that a minute portion of

it, applied to the tongue or lips, occasioned 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. Hoffmann and Schultes,3 but it is highly
probable the Chinese name is ri'ot restricted to a single
species.4

P3 /^ 'tT Tsing-muh-Jieang ; Eoot of Aristolechia sp. ?
Tatarinov, Catal Med. Sinens., p. 12.

A grey, brittle root, of the thickness of a goose quill, whitish
and farinaceous internally. It has a slightly aromatic taste,
with but little smell : referred to an Aristolochia in Tatarinov's
Catalogue.

$tf nj" Che-moo ; Rhizome of Anemarrhena asphodeloides, Che-moo.
Bunge (Liliacecr) ; Tatarinov, Catal. Med. Sinens., p. 16 ; Pun-
tsaou, 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 yellowish hairs, which 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 is convex, and covered with thick radical fibres, or more
usually with their scars. The drug has but little taste and smell :

1 On a New Poison from the Interior of China, Edinb. Medical Journ.
April, 1859, p. 869.

2 T. T. Cooper mentions that the Lu-tsn tribes in South-western China
use arrows dipped with a poison of aconite. — Travels of a Pioneer of
Commerce, 1871, p. 310.

3 Journ. Asiatique, Oct., No?., 1852, p 271.

4 Maximowicz enumerates nine species of Aconitum as occurring in the
region of the Amoor, four in the neighbourhood of Pekin, and three in
Mongolia. — Primitice Florce Amurensis, St. Petersburg, 1859.

s 2

260

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

1860-62. it is brought from the province of Shansi. The plant is enu-
merated by Maximowicz in the Flora of Pekin.1

Chuen-keung.

Tany-kwei.

FIG. 13.

$s ^ Yu-shuh; Eootof aplantof thenat.ord. Umlelliferce(T)
Contorted 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 skin ;
internally they are of a pale rusty colour, moist and easily cut,
and have -an aromatic odour and sweetish aromatic taste.

Ill 2?

/N ^ Chuen-Jceung ; Czuan-siun, Ead. Levistici? Tatarinov,

Catal. Med. Sinens., p. 15.

Nodular masses consisting apparently of the roodstock of
some umbelliferous plant allied to Angelica. The specimens
are from 1J to 2J- 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-kwei
(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.

*o* l^t

m itffi Tany-kwei ; Eoot of Aralia edulis, S. et Z. ( Umbelliferce),
Flora Japonica, tab. 25 ; DoJm quatz, vulgo Dosjen, Kaempf.,
Amcen., p. 826 ; Pun-tsaou, fig. 155.

1 Primit. Flor. Amur ens., p. 478.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 261

This is a fleshy branching root, in size, shape, colour, and iseo-ea.
general appearance somewhat 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 brought from the
western provinces of China.

In Japan according to Von Siebold, Aralia edulis is universally Aralla edulis.
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.1

-A- il& Jin-sting ; Eoot of Panax Ginseng, C. A. Meyer
(Araliacece) fide Horaninow ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 90 ; Ginseng Eoot. Ginseng Root,

The most esteemed variety of this famous drug is that obtained
from Corea, but good qualities are produced also in Mongolia,
Mantchouria, and other mountainous parts of the Chinese
empire. The American ginseng imported into China is the root
of Panax quinqut folium, L. ; it is much less esteemed than the
native drug. Ginseng is regarded by the Chinese as the most
potent of restoratives, and the finer qualities realize extravagant
prices.2 Its medicinal value appears, however, to the European
practitioner entirely overrated, the root being simply mucila-
ginous, aromatic, and slightly bitter and saccharine.3

71 Jtt Shing-ma ; Rhizome of Thalictrum rubellum, S. et Shing-ma.
Z. (Eanunculacece); Szen-ma, Tatarinov, Cat. Med. Sinens., p. 53;
Pun-tsaou, Fig. 130 ; Sien mdo, Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 90.

It is said to be produced in the province of Shan-si.
-i-p >*. -*+•
^T A§ $$ Mow-tsze-koo. The pseudo-bulbs of an orchideous

1 2320 piculs imported annually into Ningpo, Bowra's Trade Report, 1869.

2 See the interesting account of a ginseng merchant contained in
Mr. Lockhart's Medical Missionary in China, ed. 2, p. 107. — Also consult
Notice sur le Ginseng par. S. Kaczynski in the Bull, de la Soc. Imp. des Nat.
de Moscou, 1865, No. 1. pp. 70—76, avec une planche. There is an abstract
in the Bull, de la Soc. Bot. de France, tome xiv. (1867) p. 56 (seems chiefly
micro-chemical).

3 American, Corean and Japan Ginseng, the quantity of each imported
into Foochow in 1864, 5, 6, 7 and 8. See Reports on Trade at the Treaty
ports of China for 1868, p. 63.

202 NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

1860-62. plant; they are more or less ovate, shrunken, translucent, and
horny ; they vary in length from J an inch to 1 J inch.

Kwang-koo. "*)t $$ Kwang-koo ; Small bulbs resembling those of a
tulip ; they are about -f$ of an 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.

Seaou-hwan- yj> J^g v^J( Seaou-Tiwau-chai ; Rhizome in size and form
resembling that of Triticum repens (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.

Sang-pwan- ^£ ^p Jf, Sang-pwan-hea ; Tubers (tuber buds) from the
leaves of (?) Pinellia tulerifera, Tenore (Aroidece)-, Arisccma
ternatum, Schott, Meletemata Botanica, 1832. i., p. 17 ; Pun-
tsaou, Fig. 357 ?

Under the name of Sang-pwan-hea, there occur in the Chinese
shops certain tubers (Fig. 16) having the aspect of little balls

bout half an inch in dia-
meter, flattened on one side,
and in colour of a dirty
white.1 More closely exa-
mined, we perceive 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 the highest
eminence on Aroidece, has obligingly examined these tubers,

1 Grows about Pekin. Hance, Linn. Journ., Bot. xiii. (1872), 88.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

263

and has suggested that they are produced by Pinellia tuberifera, iseo-ea.
Tenore, a plant of wide distribution in China, as well as in Japan.
The name Pwan-hea (sang signifies crude) appears to be applied
to several species of Arum.

f$ JH Nan-sing;1 Tuber of Arum pentapliyllum, L. Nan-sing.
(Aroidece) ; Tatar., Gated. Med. Sinens., p. 40 ; Cleyer, Med.
Simp., No. 88,

Sard, whitish tubers, ^ an inch to 1J inch across, of flat-
tened spherical form, having a depression, generally surrounded
with little pits, on the upper surface, marking the situation of the
bud. 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 quantity, it proves exceedingly
acrid. Both Cleyer and Loureiro2 enumerate many virtues ascribed
to this drug, but they are too indefinite to merit much attention.

This drug resembles the preceding (Sang-pivan-hea), but the
tubers of this attain much larger dimensions and are far less
regular in form and size.

• WOODS, BARKS, &C.

vu 'tT Chin-heang ; Wood of Aquilaria Agallocha, Koxb. Lign Aloes.
(Aquilarinece) ; Chin hiam, Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 208 ; Sinkoo,
Kaempfer, Amcenitates, p. 903; Agallochum, Calambac, Agila
Wood, Aloes Wood.

The history of this celebrated substance, which 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.3

It may in the first place be observed that this, the Biblical
aloes, has no relation with the extract now called by that name,

1 The plant to which Ksempfer (Amcen. p. 786) applies these characters is
the Arum triphyllum of Thunberg's Flora Japonica, p. 233.

2 Flora Cochinchinensis, ed. Willd., p. 652.

3 Guibourt, ,Hist. des Drog., ed. 4, tome Hi., p. 313 ; Roxburgh on the genus .
Aquilaria, Linn. Trans., vol. xxi., p. 199 ; Royle, Illustrations of the Bot.
of the Himalaya, vol. i., p. 171 ; Loureiro, Flora Cochinchinensis, ed.
Willd., p. 327 ; Kaeiupfer, Amcenitatcs, p. 903 ; Finlayson, Mission to <Siam
and Hue, pp. 94-258.

2(>4

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

186O-62. and that it does not possess even the most well-known character
Lign Aloes. °f that drug — intense bitterness. Aloes wood is the produce of
Aquilaria Agallocha, Eoxb., a tree of vast size, growing in the
mountainous parts of Coch in-China, the Laos country, and ad-
joining regions, and extending westward into Silhet and Assam.1
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 acquiring a greater specific gravity. It is these portions of
the wood that constitute the drug in question, which 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
Aggur. the aggur, as the valued wood is called. This is done by
chopping off the bark and into the wood, until they observe
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 carrying away only such
pieces as are rich in odoriferous resinous 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 remain 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 wood in which this
process has evidently been adopted. Aloes wood is sorted by
the collectors into various qualities, the finest of which, called
GhurTcee. Ghurkee, is worth in Silhet from 12s. to 16s. per pound.2 As
may readily be imagined, the drug occurs in pieces of extremely
irregular shape and size ; I have seen none exceeding a pound

1 Garroo or Eagle Wood collected in the interior of the island of Hainan
and bartered by the Aborigines, Trade Reports for 1867 (Appendix).

2 Aquilaria Agallocha and A. 'malaccensis, both occur in Sumatra and
also according to Teysmann in Banka. Miquel, Prod. Flora Sumatrance, 1 860.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 265

in weight, while some of excellent quality is met with as small 186O-62.

chips and splinters. The larger pieces have mostly been scooped Lign Aloes.

and trimmed with great care, so as to remove, as far as possible,

all the ]ess resinous portions. The wood is of a deep brown

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 Biblical

other perfumes, as in the Psalms1 and Proverbs2 with cassia or associations.

cinnamon, and myrrh, in the Canticles3 with spikenard, saffron,

calamus, cinnamon, frankincense, and myrrh, and again with

myrrh in the New Testament,4 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 essential
oil or oleo-resin, which is obtained, according to one account,
by distillation, according to another, by infusing fragments of
the wood in boiling water, and collecting the " uttur" (oil) that uuur.
rises to the surface. I have a sample of this uttur which has
been prepared, as I judge, by the former process.

Aloes wood has long had a place in the Materia Medica of
the Pharmacopoeias of Europe, but the finer qualities 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.

>T W Ya-heang ; Wood of (?) Aquilaria Chinensis, Ya-hcang.
Spreng. (Aguilarinece) ; a light, 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,5

1 Psalm xlv. 8. 3 Prov. chap. vii. 17.

3 Cant, chap. iv. 14. 4 John, chap. xix. 39.

5 English and Chinese Vocab., p. 103.

266 NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

i860 62. to Aquilaria Chinensis, Spreng. (Ophispermum Sinense, Lour.), but
with doubt, since the Chinese name given by Loureiro for that
tree is Pa mou yong.

How-ptih. fjL 'Fr How-ptih ; Eark of Magnolia hypoleuca, S. et Z. (Mag-
noliacece) ; Heti-pti, Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 200 ; Tatarinov,
Catal. Med. Sinens., p. 8 ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 735.

A rough, thick bark, which in my specimen has been tightly
rolled round several times, so as to form a cylinder 7 inches
long by 2£ in diameter. The bark has a bitterish, pungent, aro-
matic taste, and is prized by the Chinese qn account of its
reputed tonic and invigorating properties.

Hwang-pih. jPf TO Hwang-plli ; Bark of Pterocarpus flavus, Lour. (Le-
guminosce) ; Tatarinov, CataL Med. Sinens., p. 9.

Stated by Loureiro to be resolvent and vulnerary ; also to be
used as a yellow dye for silk.

Ft n i-Ti 1 1 •
Naou-yang- jyjjj ^ -fg Naou-yang-hiva ; Flowers of PJwdodendron ?

(Ericaceae) ; Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 186.

Used in 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 Hyoscyamus.

Shih-wei. ^ Jpf SMh-wei ; Fronds of Niphobolm Lingua, Spr., Acro-
sticlium Lingua, Thunb. Flor. Jap., tab. 33 (Filices) ; Pun-tsaou,
Fig. 474

Woo-pei-tsze. jJL /jg- -^ Woo-pei-tsze ; Galls of Ehus semi-ala/a, Murr.
(Anacardiacece) ; U poi $u, Cleyer, JIM. Simp., No. 225 ; Pun-
tsaou, Fig. 839.

These galls now constitute so regular an article of commerce
that it is not needful here to describe them. Some pharmacolo-
gists have asserted that Distylium racemosum, S. et Z., a large
tree of the nat. ord. Hamamelidew, growing in Japan, is the
plant upon which they are produced. That this is erroneous I have
satisfied myself, — 1. By an examination of herbarium specimens
of this plant, and of Ehus semi-alata, Murr. 2. By an examin-
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 MATERIA MEDICA. 267

flowers of Rhus, but never anything which I could trace to Dis- 1860-62.
tylium. 3. By the completely different form of the galls of the
Distylium, as figured by Siebold and Zuccarini in their Flora
Japonica^ 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.

*$[ ^3 -f* Mtih-sMh-tsze ; Galls of Quercus sp. (Amenta- M&h-shih-tsze.
cece) ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 756.

These do not differ from the galls of Quercus infectoria, Oliv.,
the common Aleppo galls of Europe, mentioned as an import
into China, in 1514, — see Barbosa, also Porter Smith.

5x •§* Fuh-ling ; Pachyma Cocos, Fries (Fungi) ; Lycoperdon
solidum, Gronovius; Pe ft lim, Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 189;
Tatarinov, Cat. Med. Sinen*., pp. 2-23 ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 822 ;
Indian Bread, or Tuckahoe.1

A very remarkable substance resembling large, ponderous,
rounded tubers, having a rough, blackish -brown, bark-like
exterior, and consisting internally of a compact mass of consider-
able hardness, varying in colour from cinnamon-brown to 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 the ground in localities where
firs no longer grow. They occur in South Carolina, in some of
the northern and western provinces of China, and in Japan.
Their true nature is sufficiently perplexing. The older writers,
as Martinius and Cleyer, considered them to be a sort of China

i Fuh-ling. — Consult a paper by Paravey Sur I'Origine du Succin, du
Fouling, et Truffes diverses . . . Bordeaux, Soc, Linn, actes xvii., (1851)
40-53.

P. Champion finds Pachyma Cocos to yield a substance which he has
named Pachymose ; it is insoluble in water, soluble in potash, and forms
insoluble compounds with salts of lead or lime. Treated with warm hydro-
chloric acid it reduces potassio tartrate of copper, and in presence of fuming
nitric acid it forms a very combustible compound, which detonates like gun-
cotton when struck. Its composition corresponds to the formula C10 H24 014.
Abstracted from Comp. Rend. Ixxv., 1526, in Journ. of Chem. Soc., March
1873, p. 283.

268

NOTES ON CHINESE MATEKIA MEDICA.

Pachyma
Cocoa.

1860-62. Root (Smilax\ a supposition which their outward appearance
certainly favours, but which is immediately negatived when we
find them to contain no trace of starch. Loureiro and End-
licher are content to describe them as tubers found upon the
roots of fir-trees. Other botanists have placed them among
Fungi; Gronovius and Walter in the genus Lycoperdon,
Schweinitz in Sclerotiumfiken, Horaninow, and Fries in Pachyma.1
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 Linnean Transactions.2 The opinion
there expressed is that these tuber-like bodies are an altered state
of the root of the tree, probably occasioned by the presence of
a fungus, the mycelium of which 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 are, 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 fungus
represented by this mycelium.

The American Fuh-ling has been examined chemically by
Professor Ellett, of South Carolina College, who has stated it to
consist entirely of pure pectine of Braconnot ;3 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 more so when boiled in water, the solu-
tion in each case yielding a flocculent precipitate with acetate
of lead. When boiled in a weak solution of carbonate of
soda, the substance dissolves rather more freely, and the
solution affords a scanty gelatinous precipitate (pectic acid?)

American
Ftih-ling.

1 Also Du Halde'a Descrip. de la Chine, 1735, iii., 522.

2 Vol. xxiii. p. 94, where the reader will find full references to the botanical
works here referred to, as well as fibres of Pachyma Cocos, Fries. See also
Berkeley On some Tuberiform Productions from China, Journ. of Proceed-
ings of Linn. Soc., vol. iii., Botany, p. 102, where there is a translation from
the Chinese regarding these substances.

3 Berkeley, I.e. p. 106.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 269

when treated with an acid, or (pectatv of lime f) with a solution iseo-62.
of lime.

In China the FUJi-ling is 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.

3$ii & CJioo-ling ; Berkeley, Journal of Proceedings of Lin- Choo-ling.
nean Society, vol. iii. 1859, Botany, p. 102 ; Currey and Han-
bury, Linn. Trans., vol. xxiii. p. 95, tab. 9, Figs. 10-13 ; Chu-Hm,
Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 207 ; Tatarinov, Cat. Med. Sinens., p. 17 ;
Pun-tsaou, Fig. 824. See Porter Smith's Contributions, p. 206,
line 3.

Tuberiform bodies of much smaller size, 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
the Fuh-ling ; but the threads by which their substance is tra-
versed are more interwoven and more branched, and have not
the appearance of being the mycelium of a fungus. The same
irregularly shaped bodies as seen in Fuh-ling, 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-ling" remarks
Mr. Berkeley, "it [the Choo-ling'] exhibits precisely the same
reaction. There is not the slightest trace of starch or cellulose,
and it is evident that the structure is not accordant with that of
any fungus or phaenogamous tuber."

The Choo-ling is 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.

fg ^L Luy-wan ; Mylitta lapidescens, Horaninow (Fungi) ; Luy-wan, vel
Tatarinov, Catal. Med. Sinens., p. 34; Currey and Hanbury, Linn.
Trans, vol. xxiii. p. 96, tab. 9, Fig. 14-17 ; Lui uon, Cleyer, Med.
Simp., No. 227 ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 825.

This substance occurs in the form of small rounded nodules,
varying in weight from five grains to nearly half-an ounce. Their

270

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

Mylitta
lajndescens.

186O-62. exterior surface is of a dark brownish-grey colour, and generally
finely corrugated : their inner substance has a granular appear-
ance, is of a pinkish-brown colour, and of almost stony hardness.
A microscopic section shows that the tissue is divided into
areolce 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.

Liquid Ben-
zoin.

Sung-hcang.

>JC >T Js* ^ Shuy-gan-seih-keang ; literally, Liquid Benzoin.

This drug is a dark-brown, semi-fluid resin, having an extremely
fragrant odour of storax. It is met with in small globular
wooden shells, apparently the pericarp of some fruit, about
If inch in diameter, closed with wax. Its origin is very ob-
scure. The Chinese assert that they import it from the Straits,
or, in other words, by way of the Indian Archipelago ; but I
have not been able to trace it either there or in Siam. It is
curious moreover, that this fragrant resin, even 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 Benzoin is very expensive, a single shell, holding
perhaps half an ounce, being worth four dollars, or 20s.

^ ^ Suny-heang ; Sumhiam, Cleyer, Med Simp., No. 190;
Tatarinov, Catal. Med. Sinens., p. 50. — A pale-yellow terebin-
thinous resin, 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 MATEKIA MEDICA. 271

Ping-peen; Camphor of Dryobalanops G amphora,

186O-62.

Colebr. (Dipterocarpece) ; Borneo or Baros Camphor. Dryobalanops

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 50s. per Ib. It is chiefly exported to
China, but a considerable quantity is consumed in the island for
the purpose of embalming the bodies of the petty chiefs, a
custom the expense of which often proves 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,
so that it sinks into water. Its composition is C20 H18 02, that
of laurel camphor being C20 H16 O2.

|§l E~J $jjk Chung-plh-lah ; Chinese Insect Wax ; Pun-tsaou, chinese insect
Fig. 837. Secreted by Coccus Pe-la, Westw.,1 upon the branches white Wax-
of Fraxinus chinensis, Roxb., which is cultivated 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.

^B ?& 93 SMh-keue-ming ; Shells of Haliotis funebris,
Reeve; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 969 ; Tatarinov, Cat. Med. Sinens., p. 54;
Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 172.

1 Mr. Westwood's description of this Coccus was published in the
Gardeners' Chronicle for 30th July, 1853. Part of the woodcut that accom-
panied it I have caused to be copied, and have added to it a figure of
tfraxinus chinensis, Roxb., 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. represents the winged male insect,
the body of which is of a dark chestnut colour ; the abdomen and elongated
anal point reddish- buff ; legs reddish, thighs brown, wings very slightly
stained with brownish-butt, and the two subcostal veins flesh-coloured.

B. Female insect, showing the mode in which the body envelopes a twig.

C. A very minute larva, half the size of a pin's head ; and D. one of the
young at a more advanced period of growth. See p. 272.

Fio. 17.— The Wax-tree (Fraxinus Chinensis, Roxb.) ; Wax-Insect (Coccus Pe-la, Westw.); and
branch incrusted with the wax.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 273

This shell is stated to occur on the coasts of Fuh-kien and iseo-62.
Kwantung. Messrs. Cuming and Lovell Eeeve, who have
examined it, concur in referring it to Haliotis funebris, a New
Holland species, figured by the latter gentleman in his beautiful
Conchologia Iconica, sect. Haliotis, pi. xii. 38.

•^pff JSL

Wl ft Lung-lcwtih ; literally, Dragon's Bones; Lftm cti, Lung-kw&h.
Cleyer, Med. Simp., No. 252 ; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 888.

This commodity is sold in the Chinese shops in irregular pieces
of a few ounces weight, curiously covered with paper and marked
with a stamp. Upon placing a thin slice of it under the micro-
scope its true nature is revealed, and it is proved to be fossil
ivory. Many imaginary virtues are attributed to it, as well as
to the following. y

j||f ^ Lung-che; literally, Dragon's Teeth. — These also Lung-che.
are fossil, and obtained, according to the Chinese, in the north-
western provinces of Shen-si and Shan-si. Mr. G. R. Waterhouse,
of the British Museum, 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
Rhinoceros tichorhinus, Cuv.; fragment of tooth of Mastodon; of
Eleplias, near E. insignis, F. et C.; many molars of Eqiius, teeth
of Hippotherium, comprising molars of both jaws, agreeing
perfectly with those of the Hippotherium of Germany and
France; an upper molar of a Hippotherium 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 stag ; molar tooth
of bear.1

;g g£pp Shto heae ; Fossil Crabs of the Post- Tertiary Period. SMh heae.
Pun-tsaou, Fig. 66.

A celebrated Chinese medicine mentioned by Kircher, Grosier,
Du Halde, Cleyer and others, and supposed to be an antidote to all
kinds of poison, as well as to possess innumerable other virtues.

1 Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, of Owens College, Manchester, has ascertained
that there are caves in Borneo which are extensively worked for teeth for the
Chinese market. (Note from H. Woodward, 9, viij., 1870.)

274

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA.

1860-62. The specimens which I have received, and which are said to
Fossil crabs. be obtained in the island of Hainan and on the opposite shores
of Kwang-si, belong. to a single species, MacropTithalmus Latreilliiy
Ed\v., (Gonoplax Latreillei, Desm.), with the exception of one
which is referable to a species of the genus Cancer not yet described.
Probably identical with M. Latreillii is the fossil M. Desmarestii,
described and figured by M. Lucas in the Annales de la Soctite'
Entom-ologique de France}- Nor is the animal found merely in
the fossil state, for, as pointed out to me by Mr. H. Woodward,
of the British Museum, who has examined the subject with
care, a recent species found in the Philippines, and named by
Mr. Adam White M. serratus,2 appears to possess no character
that can distinguish it from the fossil form.

My friend M. Rondot, of Paris, obtained from the Chinese
pharmaciens at Canton, in addition to specimens of the Macroph-
thalmus, a fine example of Portunus (Lupa) leucodon, Desm.,
recently shown by Dr. Alphonse Milne-Edwards3 to be identical
with the Scylla serrata of De Haan4 still found living in Japan,
the Philippines and at Port Natal. It is a much larger crab than
the others, 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.

-r_ -i II *

SMh-yen. sfl jfS Sh%h-yen ; Fossil Shells ; Tatarinov, Cat. Med. Sinens.,

p. 54.; Pun-tsaou, Fig. 65.

These fossils have been examined and described by Mr. Thomas
Davidson, to whose account and figures in the Proceedings of
the Geological Society (June 15, 1853), I refer the reader who
wishes for full details. The actual specimens are in the British
Museum. Mr. Davidson remarks that the specimens belong to
eight Devonian species, seven of which are common to several
European localities, among which may be mentioned Ferques

' * Vol. viii. Serie 1, 1839, p. 567, t. 20.

2 British Museum List of Crustacea, London, 1847, p. 37.

3 Annales dcs Sciences Naturelles, Zoolog., torn. xiv. (1861), pi. i. and ii
See another paper by Alph. Milne-Edwards in tome xviii. (1862) p. 31.

4 Fauna Japoniea, 1835.

NOTES ON CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 275

Nehou (France), Belgium and the Eifel, but they are not found 1860-62.
all existing together in any one of these localities. In external Fossil shells,
aspect the Chinese specimens most resemble those from Ferques,
where, however, two of them, Cyrtia Murchisoniana and Rhyn-
chonella Hariburii, have not yet been discovered. If to these
be added two described by M. de Koninck, the total number
of Chinese Devonian types at present known will amount to
ten species, viz. : — 3 Spirifer, 2 Rliynchonella, .1 Productus,
1 Crania, 1 Cornuliles, 1 Spirorbis, and 1 Aulopora.

These fossils are asserted to occur in the southern province of
Kwang-si, where coal is also met with.

Additional Note.

Insect- White-Wax.— T. T. Cooper,1 who passed through the Insect-WMte-
white-wax country of Szechuen in 1869, describes it as an ex- Wax<
tensive plain surrounded by low hills, lying between Ya-tzow-foo
and Kia-ting-foo, i.e., nearly south of Chen-tu-foo, the capital of the
province. The country was all under wax and rice cultivation, the
wax-trees being planted on the small embankments surrounding
paddy fields, which are at most but thirty yards square. The
trees have the aspect of stumps uniformly about eight feet in
height, and as thick as a man's thigh. The wax cultivation is
a source of great wealth, second only to silk.

The eggs of the insect are all imported from Yunnan, and arrive
in Szechuen in March. Towards the middle of March the trees
put forth leaves and shoots, on which the young insects attach
themselves ; by July all the branches are thickly crusted with
wax ; in the beginning 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.

1 Travels of a Pioneer of Commerce, 1871, pp; 428-430. — Also p. 323.

T 2

276 CHINESE SAL AMMONIAC.

1865.

NOTE ON CHINESE SAL AMMONIAC.

(Chinesischer Salmiak.)

AMONG a numerous collection of Chinese drags, a report upon
which I published in the Pharmaceutical Journal in the years
1860-61, and 62, was a substance called Naou-sha, which par-
ticularly excited my curiosity, on account of the enormous price
at which it is valued 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 first 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 ©f which has shown that though essentially chloride
of sodium, it contains traces of alkaline sulphuret, and that it
resembles an composition and general appearance one of the
forms of impure chloride of sodium found in the bazaars of
Indian Black India under the name of Black Salt.

Tatarinov, in his Catalogue of Chinese Medicines* represents
the name Naou-sha to be applied to sal ammoniac of volcanic
origin, and in Pekin. 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 very recently he
has handed me several specimens of it obtained in the Pekin
shops. The information Mr. L. elicited was not very copious, in

1 Catal Med. Sinensis, p. 41.

SAL AMMONIAC— ANACAHUITE WOOD. 277

fact all he could learn amounted to this — that Naou-sha is ises.
brought from certain volcanic springs in the province of Sze-
chuen, and in Thibet, and that the various kinds of it, differing
from one another chiefly in their degrees of purity, are distin-
guished by the names Naou-sha, Yen-naou, and SMh-naou.

The specimens received from Mr. Lockhart were of three Specimens
kinds, the purest of which consist of a compact, crystalline, Lockhart
colourless, saline mass, which analysis proved to be chloride of shown to be
ammonium. The second kind was also chloride of ammonium ammonium.
but of different appearance, having more of the aspect of a
natural production than the first. The third specimen was
likewise chloride of ammonium, but much contaminated with
earthy matter.

There can be no doubt, I think, that this Chinese sal am-
moniac is a volcanic product, such as is known to occur on
Etna, Vesuvius, and Hecla, 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 mind the fact
proved by Beckmann,1 that the sal ammoniac of the ancients
was common rock-salt, dug from pits near the temple of
Jupiter Ammon in Egypt, and that the name was subsequently
transferred to chloride of ammonium manufactured in that
country from the dung of camels.

NOTE ON ANACAHUITE WOOD, A EEPUTED EEMEDY
FOE CONSUMPTION.

DURING the past autumn, there have been several inquiries, i86i.
chiefly on the part of merchants connected with Germany, for a
new drug imported from Mexico under the name of Anacahuite Anacahuite
Wood. A single package of this drug was offered for sale in Woodm
September last by a London drug broker, and purchased for
shipment to the Continent. In Germany the demand has been
very considerable, and although 10,000 pounds of the wood

1 History of Inventions and Discoveries.

278 ANACAHUITE WOOD.

i86i. have been imported into Bremen and Hamburg, and sold at a
high rate, the requirements 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 properties which
it is asserted to possess, I will here give the translation of a
short paragraph extracted from a popular German journal into
the pages of the Archiv der Pharmacie for November last : —

German There grows at Tampico, in Mexico, a tree with the wood of
account. w}1ic]1) called Anacahuite, the Indians cure all chest complaints,
especially diseases of the lungs. The inhabitants of Tampico
have also used this remedy, and have succeeded in completely
curing consumption with it, even in the case of persons in
whose families the disease appeared to be hereditary. The
Prussian Consul at Tampico has for years past observed the
beneficial effects of this wood, and, as in all cases the patients
were cured by the use of it, he has been induced to communicate
the subject to the Prussian Government, and to send a con-
siderable quantity of the wood to Berlin, where experiments
are now being made in the hospitals to determine its medicinal
efficacy.

Anacahuite wood is administered in the simple form of
infusion, shavings of the wood, previously deprived of its bark,
being treated with boiling water, as in the preparation of tea.
This infusion is drunk in the morning fasting and again in the
evening at bedtime. In cases where the disease has already
made considerable progress, the infusion may be used as often as
the patient is inclined to drink. Highly seasoned food and
strong alcoholic beverages as well as coffee, must 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 the medicine for some time even after recovery.

Anacahuife 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 character and anatomical structure,1 thinks that from the
organization of the bark and wood it is probably derived from

1 Bonplandia, 15th Oct., 1860, p. 302.

ANACAHUITE WOOD. 279

some papilionaceous tree, although there are only general ap- isei.
pearanoes that guide him to such an opinion. It is to be 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 submitted to some competent
botanical authority in Europe.1

Anacahuite wood, as I have seen it, consists of truncheons of Description of
about two feet long, varying from the thickness of a finger to An^^uite
that of a man's arm. 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. When one examines
a transverse section of a truncheon, one perceives the bark to
be of considerable thickness and to consist of two more or less
defined zones — the inner more compact. The wood is of a
pale brown, marked with concentric zones, which, however, are
too little distinguished from one another to be counted with any
certainty. The pith is frequently eccentric ; its transverse sec-
tion sometimes shows a stellate form.

Anacahuite wood is inodorous and insipid. A strong de- Decoction of
coction is transparent and of a sherry-brown colour ; it is wood,
blackened by a persalt of iron, but neither a solution of gelatine
nor of iodine affects it. The taste of the decoction is extremely
slight and unremarkable, so that one may reasonably be per-
mitted to doubt the extravagant, though, if true, very gratifying
assertions regarding the virtues of the drug. The experiments,
indeed, that have been instituted in the Great Hospital at

1 I have not been able to find any notice of Anacahuite wood in any
author treating on Mexican Materia Medica whose works I possess. Her-
nandez (Rerum Medicarum Novce Hispanice Thesaurus, Romse, 1651, p. 67)
mentions a tree called Morbi Gallici arbor, whose Mexican name, Nana-
huaquahuitl, is, perhaps, not an impossible version of our Anacahuite.
Heller (Reisen in Mexiko, Leipzig, 1853, Anhang. sect. 3) does not enumerate
Anacahuite among the useful plants of Mexico ; nor do I find it in the
catalogue of Mexican products (including a long list of woods) sent to the
Paris Exhibition of 1855 ; or in the papers of Schlechtendal on Mexican
wood contributed to the pages of the Botanische Zeitung.

280

1861.

1862.

Medical
Value.

Botanical
Source.

ANACAHUITE WOOD.

Berlin, have hitherto had, as I am informed by Dr. C. G.
Mitscherlich, no satisfactory results. The details of the cases
have not, however, yet been published. [N. Eepert. f. Pharm.,
x., 306.]

OKIGIN OF ANACAHUITE WOOD.

(Anacahuitholz, sein Ursprung). '

IT is now about two years since the name of this drug
appeared in the German pharmaceutical journals as a new
remedy for consumption. Shortly subsequent to this period
large quantities of Anacahuite 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
analysis1 was also 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 observed ; 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 remained, and that was : What plant is
it which yields this drug ? Upon this point until recently no in-
formation could be obtained. Dr. Otto Berg, of Berlin, Dr.
Berthold Seemann, of London, and myself,2 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 Boissieri, A. De C., is called by the

1 Buchner, Ueber das Anacahuite-Tiolz, in Neues Repertorium fur Phar-
macie, Bd. x. (1861) p. 97 ; also Miiller, in Vierteljahresschrift fur Prakt.
Pharm., Bd. x. p. 519.

9 Pharm. Journ., and Trans. 2nd Series, vol. ii. p. 407. vol. iii.
p. 164.

Cord/a Boissieri.— Flowering Branch and Fruit.

282 ANACAHUITE WOOD.

1862. Mexicans Nacahuita, a name sufficiently like Anacahuite to
justify a suspicion of identity. This suspicion has been changed
into certainty. In a recent number of Flora, occurs the follow-
ing interesting notice, which is republished in Bonplandia of 1st
November last.

Botanical In the summer of 1861, the Botanical Gardens of Gottingen
ongm. received from Mr. Gresser, the Hanoverian consul at Tarapico,
two stems of the Anacahuite-tree, which although in a very un-
promising condition upon arrival, yet by suitable treatment soon
threw out new shoots. They have now grown 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, and the fruit preserved in alcohol/which,
with the growing specimens, afforded data for determining the
plant to be the Cordia Boissieri of Alphonse De Candolle, de-
scribed in the 9th volume of the Prodromus, p. 478.

In the herbarium of Sir William J. Hooker, of Kew, there are
good specimens of Cordia Boissieri, from which, with the per-
mission of Sir William the woodcut on the preceding page has
been made.

Properties of Touching the properties of the natural order Cordiacece, to
Cordiaceae. ^^ (}oraia belongs, the remarks of Endlicher1 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 Egypt from a very remote period, were used by the
ancients in coughs and other disorders of the respiratory organs
on account of their soothing and laxative properties. In Europe
they are now very rarely employed. The West Indian Cordia
Sebestena, L., has similar virtues. Of some members of the order
the wood and leaves are resinous and aromatic. The brown wood,
elegantly veined with black, of Cordia Eumphii, Bl., has the
odour of musk. The bark of Cordia Myxa, L., is frequently used in
astringent gargles in India, and the root is reputed to be laxative.
1 Enchiridion, p. 319.

INTERNATIONAL EXH IBITION, 1862. 283

CHEMICAL AND PHAEMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS OF
THE PROPOSED INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION

OF 1862.

(From the Journal of the Society of Arts.)

SIR, — As the project for holding a great Industrial Exhibition isei.
in the year 1862 is likely to be carried into execution, it be- guagesti<ms.
comes all those who feel an interest in the movement to offer
what assistance they can towards its successful accomplishment.

From the pages of the Journal it appears that some of our
colonies have already taken up the matter, and have resolved to
contribute collections that shall fully represent their industrial
resources. The execution of this design would probably be
assisted, and the resulting collections enhanced in interest and
value, if suggestions derived from the Exhibitions of 1851 and
1855 were drawn up and communicated, through the Journal, to
committees abroad.

It is with this view that I take the liberty to offer some
remarks upon the pharmaceutical products, both raw and manu-
factured, which we hope will figure in the collections of 1862,
and upon their mode of exhibition and the information that
should accompany them. If those interested in other subjects
would, in like manner, draw up a few notes on points to which
it is desirable to direct attention, I cannot but think that useful
results would follow.

The remarks I have to offar will be best arranged under the
respective heads of Unmanufactured Drugs, Chemical and Phar-
maceutical Products, to which I will add a few observations on.
the Manner of Exhibition and Catalogues.

Unmanufactured Drugs. — Substances of this class are not Raw drugs,
very attractive objects to the general public, but they are often
extremely interesting and instructive to the man of science, as
well as to the manufacturer. In the London Exhibition of
1851 there was a considerable collection of such products, but a
far finer at Paris in 1855. Specimens of raw drugs sent from
foreign countries should be carefully packed, so that they may

2H4 INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1862.

1861. arrive in good condition ; the great enemy to be guarded against
Suggestions being humidity, which occasions specimens to become mouldy.
^ sent ^rom a^roa(^ 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, and 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 desirable to procure
such specimens as would illustrate the origin of such product,
and the method of obtaining it. Thus Balsam of Tolu, a pro-
duction of New 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 large 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 stoneware 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 remark-
able that the pharmaceutical raw products of some important
countries were entirely unrepresented ; and that while there
were admirable collections from French colonies, such as Pondi-
cherry and Bourbon, and from some of our own colonies, as
Jamaica and Demerara, almost nothing was contributed by
Brazil, our settlements in China, our possessions on the West
Coast of Africa, or the Island of Trinidad.

INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1862. 285

Chemical and Pharmaceutical Products. — This is a class of 1861.
articles the exhibition of which draws forth a far more competi- Ommonsense
tive spirit than the last ; and considering the progress that manu- recommended,
facturing chemistry has made during the last few years, and the
liberal character of our import duties, there cannot fail to be an
ample display of contributions, both British and foreign. The ex-
perience of former Exhibitions does not suggest many remarks re-
garding this class of substances. I may, however, mention that
enormous specimens of crystallized salts, such as the ferrocyanide
of potassium, sulphate of copper, &c., shown in Paris in 1855, are
less indicative of the goodness of the articles than of the
expense and trouble of conveying them from the manufactory to
the place of exhibition. Hydrochloric or sulphuric acids, in
glass jars containing gallons (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 admitted. Specimens again, which are exhibited chiefly for
their beauty of appearance, and which are evidence of no special
skill on the part of the manufacturer, should bring little credit
to the exhibitor. Of how much greater scientific value was the
series of Dr. Frankland's organic radicals in the Paris Exhibition,
than the heaps of brilliant, iridescent bismuth that so plentifully
decorated the cases of many of the French chemical manu-
facturers.

Manner of Exhibition. — Under this head I would say a few Containing
words regarding the bottles and other receptacles in which vessels-
specimens should be placed. In the Paris Exhibition there were
vessels of honour, and vessels of dishonour, — stone bottles,
utterly impervious to light, and vases so elaborately cut and
gilt that their contents were hardly more perceptible. Of course
such extremes should be 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 by those authorized

286 INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1862.

1861. to do so. Every specimen should be most clearly and legibly
Labefs. labelled ; but even in this we may have an excess. I have seen

a nice series of jars from one of our colonies, the contents of
which were almost completely hidden by the amplitude of the
paper labels pasted round the glass. Labels, indeed, should
give their information briefly, fuller details being reserved for
catalogues, of which I will now speak.

Importance of Catalogues. — These are very desirable for all considerable
catalogues. couections Of raw 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 British 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 hand, the products of Guatemala, New Granada, and
Paraguay (and to some extent those of Mexico) were greatly
diminished in interest from the impossibility of obtaining the
information which well drawn-up lists would easily have
afforded.

MINOR NOTES ON THE MATERIA MEDIOA OF
THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION.

(Arzneistoffe der Weltausstellung.')

1862. CONTRAYERVA ROOT. — It has long been known to pharmacolo-
gists that this drug, as found in the shops, is not derived from Dor-
stenia Contrajerva, Linn., but that it is usually the root of another
species, D. brasilicnsis, Lam. The Exhibition, however, contains
two specimens of contrayerva root which are ascribed and, I
have no doubt, correctly, to D. Contrajerva. One of them has
been forwarded by M. Belanger, of the Botanical Garden of St.
Pierre, Martinique, the other by Mr. Devenish, of Trinidad.
Dr. Criiger, the Colonial Botanist of Trinidad, states that the
drug is in great repute among the Spaniards of the island as an
alexiteric. Contrayerva root has become nearly obsolete in
European 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— MANNA. 287

and worm-eaten. Were it necessary to re-introduce it, supplies 1862.
could be obtained from Trinidad, in certain localities of which
island, I am informed by Dr. Criiger, D. Contrajerva is abundant.

PODS OF MYROSPERMUM. — The Trinidad collection of drugs
contains a good specimen of the entire legumes of Myrospermum
frutescens, Jacq., a tree known in the island by the name of
Guatamare. These legumes are a very popular stomachic and Guatamare
carminative, and are also used externally in the form of tincture, fromTrmldad-
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 then undis-
tinguishable from Balsam 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. frutescens, raised
from seeds sent by Dr. Criiger, may be seen in the Koyal Gardens
of Kew.

Pods of Myrospermum, having the posterior or winged portion
broken off, are also sent to the Exhibition from Venezuela. No
information accompanies them, except that they are called
Sereipa, and are from the province of Guayana. Careful Sereipa from
inspection shows that they are the produce of two species, the Venezuela,
smaller pods being apparently those of M. frutescens, Jacq., 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 (Frax-
inus Ornus, L.), it is peculiarly interesting to find among the
Materia Medica of the Exhibition at least four other kinds of
manna, namely the following: —

1. Manna of the Oak. — Mr. S. H. Maltass, of Smyrna, has
sent, together with various other interesting drugs, a saccharine
substance called Diarleldr Manna respecting which he has given Piarbekir
me the following information, upon the authority of a relative *-°* ^
who resided for two years in Diarbekir. The manna is found
upon the leaves of the dwarf oaks, from which it is collected by
the peasants, who use it instead of butter in cooking their food,

288 INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1862.

18612. and ascribe to it no purgative properties, at least while it is
fresh. The manna is deposited upon the trees much more
copiously after misty weather than at any other period. The

Oak Manna, sample of oak-manna in the Exhibition constitutes a moist but
solid mass of agglutinated tears, closely resembling some of the
common qualities of ash-manna. Its taste is simply saccharine,
and agreeable.

Australian 2. Eucalyptus Manna. — There are several specimens in the

^M^nn^*"1 Exhibition of this substance, which is found in the form of
small rounded opaque- white masses upon the leaves and younger
branches of Eucalyptus mminalis, La BiL 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
gradually solidifies. This Australian manna has not hitherto
been collected for medicinal purposes.
Lerp 3. Australian Insect-Manna called Lerp. — Having only

[Australian]. recently obtained a specimen of this substance, which to me was
previously unknown, I am unable to offer much information
respecting it. According to the Victorian Exhibition Report, pub-
lished at Melbourne this year, we find the leaves of Eucalyptus
dumosd, Cunn., called by the colonists Malle Scrub, become coated
at certain seasons of the year with an opaque white saccharine
substance in such profusion, that the shrubby vegetation has the
appearance of being iced. This substance, which among the
aborigines of the northern districts of the colony obtains the
name lerp, is the secretion of an insect of the Psylla family, and
consists (judging from the specimen in my possession) of a
series of depressed 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, which 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 habitat of an insect,

MANNA-CINCHONA—BALSAM OF COPAIBA.

289

BALSAM OF COPAIBA. — The specimen sent from Trinidad is
interesting as being entirely produced by one 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-TAIJANG. — In a recent number
of the Pharmaceutical Journal, l I described and figured under

1 July, 1861, p. 6.

Alliagi

Manna.

which when fully developed, escapes by boring a passage through isea.
the top of the cell to the outer air.

The Lerp Manna has an odour resembling manna of the ash, LerP
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 manna previously noticed, the Lerp manna
has not at present any useful application.

4. Alliagi Manna has been sent to the Exhibition from India.
It is a saccharine substance in small, loose, dry grains of a pale
brown colour, mixed with both leaves and pods of Al/iagi
(? Maurorum, Tourn.). It therefore differs in appearance from
the Syrian alhagi-manna, sent by Dr. Gaillardot, of Saida, to M.
Leon Soubeiran, which the latter describes as compressed into
loaves or cakes.

CINCHONA BARK. — Neither Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, nor New
Granada have contributed any series of the Cinchona barks
which are produced in their forests. There is, however, a fine
general collection exhibited by Messrs. Howard and Sons, of
London, and illustrated by drawings of the plant as well as by
healthy living specimens of Cinchona succirulra, Pav., C. micran-
tha, E. et P., C. Uritusinga, Pav., C. nitida, E. et P., and C. peru-
viana, Howard. Among the productions of the Dutch colonies
are specimens of genuine Calisaya bark grown in Java, also of
the bark of C. Pahudiana, Howard, a species of very little
medicinal value.

Cinchona
Bark.

Balsam of
Copaiba.

290 INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 18G2.

1862. the Chinese name Ta-hai-tsze, a drug which some years ago had
SecdTof an ephemeral reputation in Paris as a specific in diarrhoea and
Scaphium. dysentery. From its resemblance to the fruits of certain species
of Erioglossum and Nephelium, I conjectured it might belong to
one of those genera, or at least to the Order Sapindacece. In
May last, however, M. Decaisne requested me to examine
wli ether it was not rather the seed of Scaphium, a genus of
Sterculiacece in which the follicles inclosing the seeds are mono-
spermous, very large and leaf-like, and open long before the seed
attains maturity. The correctness of M. Decaisne's opinion was,
soon confirmed by specimens of Scaphium scaphiaerum, Wall,
contained in the herbarium of the Royal Gardens of Kew, and
in that of the Linnean Society, and no doubt remained that the
seed of that plant constitutes the drug called Ta-hai-tsze by the
Chinese, and Boa-tam-paijang and Bung-talai by the Siamese.
The French collection of products from Cochin-China includes a
specimen of it, which in the catalogue is referred doubtfully to
Sterculia (Scaphium) scaphigera; it is stated, though probably in
eiTor, to be used in dyeing. It is also sent to the Exhibition
from Siam.

Behen Root. RADIX BEHEN. — This drug, which held an important place in
the medical writings of the Arab school, and which thence
came to be introduced into most of the Pharmacopoeias of
Europe up to the commencement of the last century, was
recently the subject of an interesting communication to the
Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie * by Professor Guibourt, of
Paris. There 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 Centaurea Behen, L., a plant
of Persia and traditionally also of the Lebanon. Red Behen is
generally attributed to Statice Limonium, L., but the root of
this plant, whether produced in Europe or in Asia, is so very
different that I cannot suppose there is the least connection
between it and the drug in question.

1 Tome 31, p. 227.

AMOMUM FRUITS. 291

AMOMUM FRUITS. — The Exhibition contains the fruits of 1862
several species which are not without interest to the pharma- Amoma.
cologist. Thus we find fruits of Amomum Cardamomum, L., and
A. xanlhioides, Wall., sent from Siam and Cochin- China ; and
fruits of A. maximum, Eoxb., from India. From the French
settlements on the Gaboon Eiver, come specimens of the fruits
of Amomum citratum, 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. Danielli,
Hook, f., a very variable plant, common all along the coast
of Tropical Western Africa, is in one of the English collections,
where we also find fruits of A. latifolium, Afz., which are
striking from their large size. A. latifolium, a native of Sierra
Leone, was described by Afzelius in 1813 in his Remedia
Guineeiisia, published at Upsal, but it is a plant still almost un-
known to botanists. There are specimens of two other fruits of
Amomum from the Portuguese settlements on the west coast,
which probably belong to undescribed species. Fruits of
Amomum Mehgueta, Eosc., the seeds of which constitute the
Grains of Paradise of the shops, are sent from the West Indies,
where the plant, which has been introduced from Western Africa,
thrives as well as in its native jungles. Lastly, I may name as
the most interesting of all, Amomum Korarima, Pereira, the A.
fruits of which have for ages been known as the Greater Carda-
mom (Cardamomum majus), though the name is now misapplied
to Grains of Paradise. The true Cardamomum majus, which is
figured and described in several of the older works on Materia
Medica, is still an object of traffic in the East, and, strung upon
strings, may still be seen adorning the stalls in the drug bazaar
of Damascus. In Abyssinia it answers the purpose of a small
coin, and as such it figures in the collection exhibited by the
International 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 Amomum Korarima is
entirely unknown ; it is supposed to be a native of eastern

u 2

292 INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1862.

1862. Central Africa, whence its fruits are exported by way of Abyssinia
and Massowah.

ROOT OF STATICE LATIFOLIA, Sm. — Among the few drugs sent
from Russia to the Exhibition, are specimens of the thick woody
statice root of Statice latifolia, Sm. (St. coriaria, Pall.), which is remark-
latifoiia. akie for j£g compact substance and large size, so unlike what is
usual in other species of Statice ; this root I have recognized to be
identical with that imported some years ago into Marseilles, and
described by M. Guibourt in his Histoire des Drogues, tome 2,
p. 416. With respect to its 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 Lands of Russia, has
the best opportunity for being correctly informed upon the subject.
The " Statice coriaria of Pallas," says he, " grows wild in the whole
prairie country of Southern Russia, known under 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 thirty 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
with a pickaxe. The root penetrates the soil and subsoil in a
nearly perpendicular line ; the longest roots are discovered on
steep Sr'river-banks, which are underwashed 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 Statice, but as the supply is precarious and
the leather tanned with them brittle, no progress is made in
utilizing this tanning material, which in more skilful hands has
proved one of the best, as, for instance, in Spain." [N. Repert.
f. Pharm. xi. 445.]

BALSAM OF PEliU. 293

NOTE ON THE USE OF BALSAM OF PERU IN THE
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.

(Gebrauch des Perubalsams in der romischen Kirche.)

IN an interesting notice respecting the liquid commonly, isei.
though incorrectly, called Balsam of Peru, given some months
ago in the American Journal of Pharmacy, the writer, Dr.
Charles Dorat, pointed out that the balsam was at one time in Dr. C. Dorat.
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 there
still exists among the archives of Guatemala, copies of bulls 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 be interesting to ascertain with precision
the terms of these ancient documents, I asked my friend, Signor
Vincenzo Bangui rietti, Professor of Mineralogy at Rome, to make
application in the proper quarter, and to obtain for me, 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 Bull of Pius V.
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 of Peru
for Mecca Balsam, which latter, mixed with oil, constitutes the
ordinary Chrisma principale of the Roman Catholic Church. *

1 Vide Dr. Hook's Church Dictionary, Ed. 6, Loud., 1852, where Chrism
is thus defined : —

u Chrism — Oil consecrated in the Romish and Greek churches by the
bishop, and used in baptism, confirmation, orders, and extreme unction.
This chrism is consecrated with great ceremony upon Holy Thursday. There
are two sorts of it ; the one is a composition of oil and balsam, made use of
in baptism, confirmation, and orders ; the other is only plain oil consecrated
by the bishop, and used for catechumens and extreme unction. Chrism has
been discontinued in the Church of England since the Reformation."

Consult also Hoffmann, Lexicon Universale, Lugd. Bat., 1698 (in verbum).

294

BALSAM OF PERU.

1861.

Facultas.

Preamble.

FACULTAS EPISCOPIS INDIAKUM.

(In confectione Sacri Chrismatis certo liquore sen succo in locum

Balsami.)

PIUS PAPA QUINTUS, ad perpetuam rei memoriam.

Digna reddimur attentione solliciti ilia ad exauditionis gratiam
admittere vota, per quae in necessitatibus in sacramentorum
confectione occurrit, et consuli possit.

§. 1 Expositum siquidem Nobis nuper fuit, quod in partibus
Tndiarum ubi antistites commorantur, non invenitur nee inveniri
potest balsamus vel oleum ex balsamo ad conficiendum S. Chris-
ma necessarium ; reperitur autem quidam liquor, seu succus
mira odoris fragrantia, et ad lavanda vulnera ad modum condu-
cens, qui communiter habetur pro vero balsamo, praestat enim
efFectus quos balsamum ab Alexandria allatum praestitisse per-
hibetur.

§ 2. Quare iidem partium Indiarum prsesules Nobis humiliter
supplicari fecerunt, ut in praemissis de aliquo opportune remedio
providere de benignitate apostolica dignaremur.

§ 3. Nos igitur necessitatibus hujusmodi consulere volentes,
hujusmodi supplicationibus inclinati, tarn Archiepiscopis quam
Episcopis illarum partium, et pro tempore in ipsis partibus
commoraturis antistitibus, ut de cetero perpetuis futuris tempor-
ibus in confectione S. Chrismatis dicto liquore seu succo in
locum balsami, uti libere et licite possint, amplam licentiam et
facultateni, apostolica auctoritate tenore prsesentium concedimus,
et desuper indulgemus ac dicto Sancto Chrismati cum dicto
succo rite tamen confecto, tantam fidem adhibendam esse, ac si
in illo balsamus intervenisset.

§ 4. Non obstantibus praemissis quibusvis apostolicis ac in
Provincialibus et Sy nodal ibus Conciliis editis generalibus vel spe-
cialibus constitutionibus et ordinationibus caeterisque contrariis
quibuscumque.

Datum Komae apud S. Petrum sub annulo Piscatoris die 2.
Augusti 1571, Pontificatus nostri anno VI.

BALSAM OF PERU. 295

Translation.

1861.

A faculty granted to the Bishops of the Indies for the
preparation of the Holy Chrism with a certain liquor or juice in
the place of Balsam.

Pius V., Pope, for the perpetual commemoration of this matter.

We are rendered most anxious to admit to the favour of a
careful hearing these prayers, worthy of attention, by which a
case of necessity 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 balsam-tree or oil therefrom,
necessary for the preparation of the Holy Chrism ; but 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. Wherefore these same prelates of the parts of the Indies
have caused us to be humbly supplicated, that under these
premises we would, of our apostolic 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 aright with the said juice, as if balsam were
an ingredient in it.

4. Any previous constitutions or ordinances whatever, whether

296

1861.

MANUFACTURE OF BALSAM OF PERU.

apostolic, or given forth by provincial and synodal councils
whether special or general, to the contrary notwithstanding.

Given at Rome, at St. Peter's under the Fisherman's ring,
this 2nd day of August, 1571, in the 6th year of our Pontificate.1

ON THE MANUFACTURE OF BALSAM OF PERU.

(Gewinnung des Perubalsams.}

1863.

Pereira's

account

confirmed.

IT is now thirteen years since the late Dr. Pereira laid before
the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain some account of
the process by which the liquid known as Balsam of Peru is
prepared in the State of Salvador in Central America, and at
the same time described, so far as the imperfect materials at his
disposal would allow, the tree from which the balsam is obtained.
Subsequently to this, namely, in the year 1860, Dr. Charles
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 by
Dr. Pereira, which account was published in the Pharmaceutical
Journal.

The balsam-tree, which Pereira at first regarded as Myroxylon
pubescens, HBK, was afterwards called by him provisionally
(until materials for a complete botanical description should be
obtained) the Myrospermum of Sonsonate. Upon the death of
Pereira, the late Dr. Royle drew up in botanical terms a de-
scription of the tree, upon which he conferred the name of
Myrospermum Pereirce, which in 1857 was changed by Klotzsch
Myroxylon of Berlin to Myroxylon Pereirce, he maintaining the distinctness
of the two genera Myrospermum and Myroxylon.2

The 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

1 N. Repert.f. Pharm. x. 302.

2 Bonplandia, 15 Sept. 1857, p. 274.

Pcrcirce.

SPONTANEOUS EXUDATION. 297

interesting and important to deserve further attention. I am isea.
the more strongly of this opinion because I find that continental Uncertainties,
pharmacologists 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 Myroxylon as being probably employed
to yield it.

Dr. Dorat, with whom I have interchanged letters occa- Dr. C. Dorat.
sionally for some years, and from whom I recently requested
information upon certain points connected with the history of
Balsam of Peru, thus replies to the inquiries contained in my
last letter : —

As I presume that you are writing a description of the balsam-
tree, I send you by return steamer the required answers to your
questions, together with a specimen of the naturally-exuded
resin, and a few beetles which are invariably found under any
part of the decayed bark of the Myrosperwium.1 That no
possible mistake might exist on my part, I rode to Juisnagua,
it being still the collecting season, and took a sketch of the
process, which, writh a verbal description, will, I trust make all
clear to you.

Now to answer your questions : as to the natural or sponta- Natural exud-
neous exudation. In young trees, say, until the sixth or eighth ation.
year, I have never seen any. After that age a greenish resin is
frequently found during the summer 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, but as
it becomes hard it changes to green. It occurs in small
quantities and is difficult to get clean, as it is very sticky. It has
a slightly 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 of their many superstitions concerning
these trees. The 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 Collection,
last rains, the balsam-trees are beaten on four sides of their

1 Mr. Francis Walker, who has been good enough to examine this insect,
considers it identical with the Passalus interstitialis of Percheron.

298

MANUFACTURE OF BALSAM OF PERU.

1863. stems with the back of an axe, a hammer, or other blunt
r 1i~TT ne instrument until the bark is loosened, four intermediate strips

Collection ot ,.-,«, ii^iji ,•,•••,**

the Balsam, being left untouched that the tree may not be injured for the
next year. Five or six days after, men with resinous torches, or
bundles of lighted wood apply heat to the beaten bark, which
becomes charred. It is left eight days, during which 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 days, 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, which is of a light

Rope Bag used for pressing the Rags.

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 sinks 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 impure balsam set
aside. During this process the rags that appear to have been
cleared of balsam are taken out of the boiler at different 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 long, made of stout rope fixed together with

MANUFACTURE OF BALSAM OF PERU.

299

twine, open at the middle and looped at both ends to receive two 1863.

sticks. The rags 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 Manipulation.

tecomates, or gourds, of different sizes and sent to market — its

price at present is live reals per pound. If it is wished to purify

it, the boiler is left standing for several days, when the impurities

float to the surface and are skimmed off. A little water is also

left to float at the mouth of the tecomate when brought for sale.

Gourds, or Tecomates.— One covered with plantain leaves.

These tecomates are tied up in plantain leaves, with a stopper
of the same.

A very fine quality of balsam is collected from the broken pods
in the same manner as above.1 It requires more trouble and
care to collect, and there being no demand for it, it is scarcely
ever met with. I believe it is known as Balsamo bianco. From
the flowers there is distilled a most delicious and fragrant
aguardiente, far superior to any brandy.

A healthy tree will produce balsam well for about thirty
years, after which, if allowed to remain untouched for five or
six years, it will again produce. The collecting begins shortly
after the last rains, that is, some time in November, and is
supposed to be finished in May. During the rains none is

1 It is more probably made by simple expression, and not by boiling. —
D. H.

Bctlsamn
blaiico .

300 MANUFACTURE OF BALSAM OF PERU.

1863. collected. In the 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 enterprising Indians.

The beating and application of rags is only made during
four days of each week, that is four cosechas (harvests) per
month. Should the flow of resin decrease, fresh heating and
rags are applied, and after eight days the boiling is resumed,
and so on as long as the dry season permits. It was formerly
the practice to apply fire to cuts made in the bark and to allow
the exuding resin to burn for a short time : now after a good
beating the bark is only heated by torches or burning wood.

Ancient Tributary Balsam Jar.

I believe I mentioned to you that before the conquest and for
a short time after, balsam formed a part of the tribute paid to
the chiefs of Cuscatlan, the chief department of the State (now
S. Salvador), and was brought from the coast in earthenware
Tributary jars representing the pajuil or Mexican pheasant ( Craxglobicera).
Jars. '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-
fourth the original size. The pajuil feeds on the young nuts, and
is found in great numbers on these trees during the season.

The small pueblos scattered over the so-called Balsam Coast
are numerous. The principal ones are : —

BALSAM PRODUCTION.

301

1863.

JUISNAGUA, a moderate-sized pueblo, about six leagues from

Sonsonate, formerly rich in cacao but at present of small account. puel)log on

It is the first town where balsam is produced ; there are the Balsam

in the vicinity about 400 balsam-trees. coast.

TEPECOYO, OR COYO (Indian Mount of Wolves), on an elevated Tepecoyo or
ridge, the valleys on either side being well watered, is situated c°y°-
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 miners, the Indians rose against the owner and expelled
him, since which they will not allow any one even to visit it.
The produce of this pueblo in balsam is small, having been last
year only six arobas of twenty-five pounds.

TAMANIQUE, situated in a circular valley, surrounded by very Tamanique.
high and heavily-timbered mountains, among which are numerous
tigers, wild hogs, lions (puma), and four-fingered green monkeys.
Vanilla is plentiful, but not of the finest quality. There are at
present worked 1400 balsam-trees, producing about 160 arobas
yearly. In the vicinity are 1500 cacao-trees of fine quality,
producing seventy arobas of cacao-beans. The Indians are a
drunken and superstitious race.

CHILTIUAPAN, near the sea, on an elevated and extensive chiltiuapan.
jlateau, between two rivers, the Sonto and the Sonsapuapa,
running to the sea with fine fish, and numerous caymans. The
dense forest surrounding this pretty pueblo contains 2569 balsam-
trees, producing 450 arobas of balsam, value about $3500. The
lext article of value is cacao, of which there are 1700 trees,
value of produce this year $830. The Indians of this pueblo
are honest and very industrious, as besides the balsam and cacao
they have now coffee plantations, and grow much Indian corn.
The dress of the women consists only of a small petticoat,
crimson with a black stripe. They speak the Nahuat idiom.

TALNIQUE, at the foot of the Cerro del Tamagas, or Snake-hill, Talnique.
situated 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 this vicinity that the best
mom (fustic) is obtained, and also the finest grained rosewood
(Grenadilla). The streams, of which there are several, abound in
leeches, which are sold in Sonsonate at four reals each. The
[ndians being in constant communication with Sonsonate are a

302

MANUFACTURE OF BALSAM OF PERU.

1863. vicious and lazy race. As in most of these pueblos, the wild
animals commit great ravages among the cattle.

Jicalapa. JiCALAPA, situated on a small plain, about three leagues from
the beach, intersected by deep gulleys (barrancas), heavily
wooded, principally with large cedars. The Indians are an idle
race, and only cultivate about 1200 balsam-trees although many
more exist in the dense woods, which remain uncleared. The
heat is very great, and the climate most unhealthy. Maize is
mostly cultivated, and plantains are numerous. The animals are
tigers, pumas, warris, ant-eaters (two varieties), armadilloes and
large black monkeys which form a great portion of Indian
delicacies.

Teotepeque. TEOTEPEQUE, a small pueblo, situated on a beautiful eminence
sixteen leagues from Sonsonate and one league from the sea.
The climate is very hot, often 105° F. in the shade, but from
its elevation very healthy. The men wear a scanty breech cloth,
and the women only an apology for a petticoat. They are the most
debased of all the Indians of the coast, plant a little corn 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 mania. The hills also produce sarsaparilla, and several gums,
incense, &c.

Comasagua. CoMASAGUA. — This town, 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 coffee, 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, very 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 Cachal. There are about 1000 balsam trees under cultiva-
tion. Sugar, however, is the principal branch of industry, value
this year in panela or moist sugar $4000. The forests abound
in fine woods, mahogany, cedar, rosewood, fustic and laurel,

DR. C. DORAT'S SKETCHES. 303

copalchi and a few quina trees, with sarsaparilla. About the 1863.
year 1780, this town, then very large, was nearly destroyed by a
flood of liquid mud, that issued suddenly from a small hill
opposite; a great portion of the inhabitants fled to the upper
lands, and settled the present pueblo of Ateos, on the main road
to San Salvador. The whole of these lands are volcanic, and
form part of the volcanic group of Santa Ana and Izalco.

These are the principal towns trading in balsam ; there are,
however, many small villages and cliacras, or farms, having trees
and working them, with whose names I have not become
acquainted. The Indian name of the balsam is Hod ski-it, or Od
sheet ; in Spanish it is called Balsamo negro.

The drawings I inclose you are first, a sketch of the process
of extracting the balsam ; second, a Tecomate with its covering,
and the open bag used as a press ; thiid, sketch of a tribute jar
representing tine pajutf-.

In addition to the sketches here referred to, and which are
produced in the woodcuts of this paper, Dr. Dorat has favoured
me with specimens of the balsam-tree, Myroxylon Pereirce, Kl. ; Specimens of
and as I have also received it from three other independent t etfeg m
collectors, I do not feel the least hesitation in regarding it as the
source of the whole of the Balsam of Peru of commerce.
Dr. Dorat is himself of 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

le that so far as he knew, no other species of Myroxylon occurs

>n the balsam coast or in Guatemala.

Although there is some evidence to show that the balsamic
exudations of one or two other species of Myroxylon or Myro-
mm were formerly collected in other parts of tropical

Linerica and sent to Europe as Balsam of Peru, it is hardly importation

n that account the less certain that for nearly three centuries of the Balsam.

he 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
e interior. It appears, moreover, that the estimation in which

t was held by the Indians was soon shared by their invaders ;

304 MANUFACTURE OF BALSAM OF PERU.

1863. for in consequence of the representations of missionary ecclesi-
astics, Pope Pius 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 Eoraan Catholic
Church. A copy of this curious document is preserved among
the archives of Guatemala (of which state Salvador was formerly

Origin of the a part), as well as in the Vatican at Rome.1 As to the balsam

name. having acquired the name of Peru, a country so remote from its

place of production, the circumstance is intelligible when we

know that during the early period of the Spanish dominion, the

productions of Central America were shipped to Callao, the port

of Lima, the capital of Peru, and great emporium of its trade, and

thence transmitted to Spain. From this cause the drug acquired

the name of the country from which it was shipped to Europe,

Names of exactly in the same manner as Turkey gum arabic, Turkey

drugs derived ^y^}, £ast India rhubarb, Bombay senna, etc. have acquired

from place of J . .

shipment, 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 Martiniere's Dictionnaire Geographique
(Paris, 1768), where under the head Callao, the author enumer-
ating its imports, mentions as coming from Sonsonate, Eealejo
and Guatemala, the Balsam which bears the name of Peru, but
which, says he, comes in reality almost entirely from Guatemala.
He adds that there are two kinds of it, the white and the brown,
the latter being the more esteemed.2

Alcedo, author of a Geographical Dictionary published at
Madrid in 1786-9, writing of Sonsonate, observes that it includes

1 Vide also Pharm. Journ. and Trans, vol. ii. (1861) p. 446.

2 "... Dans la meme rue du cot£ du nord sont les magasins des mar-
chandises que les vaisseaux Espagnols apportent du Chili, du Perou et du
Mexique.

Du Chili viennent les cordages, les cuirs, les suifs . . .

Du Mexique, comme de Sonsonate, Realejo, Guatemala, de la bray et du
gaudron qui n'est bon que pour le bois, parce qu'il brule les cordages ; des
bois pour les teintures, du souffre et du baume qui porte le nom de Perou,
mais qui vient effective™ en t presque tout de Guatemala. II y en a de deux
sortes, de blanc et do brun ; ce dernier est plus estime, on le met dans des
cocos quand il a la consistance de la bray, mais communement il vient dans
des pots de terre en liqueur, alors il est sujet a etre falsifie, et ine!6 d'huile
pour en augmenter la quantite"." — DE LA MARTINIERE, Dictionnaire Geogrn-
phiqne (Paris, 1768, fol.), Tome 2, p. 48.

OLD METHOD OF PREPARATION. 305

in its jurisdiction the celebrated Balsam Coast, where is pro- isea.
duced the richest balsam, which in all parts is held in particular
estimation.1 He further mentions that the only commercial port
is Acajutla, four leagues from the capital, and that it is fre-
quented by vessels fiom New Spain, Terra Firma and Peru.

Juarros, in his History of Guatemala, describing the province
of S. Salvador, remarks that its natural productions are in general
similar to those of the other provinces on the southern coast, but
that the balsam -tree is found exclusively in that province, upon
what is called the Balsam Coast, which extends from the port of The Balsam
Acajutla to the Bay of Jiquilisco.2 Coast*

Baily, a recent author, whose work entitled Central America
appeared in 1850, remarks that the balsam was long erroneously
supposed to be a production of South America, for in the early
period of Spanish dominion it was usually shipped to Callao, in
Peru, whence it was sent to Europe, where it received the name
of Balsam of Peru, being deemed indigenous to that country.

The old method of preparing the balsam does not appear to Old methods
have been that resorted to at the present day, for Dr. Dorat has of tioT*™'
stated that the Spaniards were in the habit of obtaining it by
cutting down the trees and boiling the wood. — a wasteful and
destructive practice 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 boiling chips of the trunk and branches is, however, described
by most writers on Materia Medica. Monardes, whose account Monardes.
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 1*160. But I 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

1 " Comprehende en su jurisdiccion la celebrada Costa del Balsamo, de
donde se saca el mas rico que se conoce, y tiene particular estimacion en todas
partes." — Diccionario Geogrdfico-Historico de las Indias Occidentals 6
America, tomo iv. (1788) p. 577.

2 Having been unable to consult the original work, I have quoted Baily's
translation, London, 1823.

30G MANUFACTURE OF BALSAM OF PERU.

1863. collect floating on the surface, nearly the whole of the balsam
taken. Monardes says, however, that the balsam was thus
removed after the cooling of the water, an assertion which seems
improbable, since most of the balsam, if heavier than water,
sinks upon cooling.

How far the balsam obtained by boiling the wood agreed in
properties with that procured after charring the bark, as is done
at present, it is not easy to say. It was certainly a dark
fragrant liquid, which when as thick as pitch was sometimes
inclosed in little calabashes,1 such, I presume, as may still be
found in a few old collections of Materia Meclica. Some of
this which I have examined is a soft solid resin, sinking rapidly
in water, but rising to the surface when the water is made to
White balsam, boil. What the white balsam mentioned by De La Martiniere was
derived from, I know not : possibly it was the resin of liquidambar
which is still a product of the country, — possibly (though I do
not think it likely) the resin from the pods of the balsam-tree.

Another point of considerable interest brought to light by Dr.
Dorat's communication is that the resin (or more properly, as it
proves, gum-resin) naturally exuded from- the balsam-tree is en-
tirely devoid of balsamic odour and taste. As my friend Dr.
Professor Attfield has kindly undertaken a few experiments upon this
substance, I shall not here enter into farther particulars respect-
ing it, except to remark that its total dissimilarity from Balsam
of Tolu disproves the statement of those writers who have
maintained that that drug is the concrete balsam of the tiee
which yields Balsam of Peru.

ADDITIONAL NOTE ON THE MANUFACTUKE OF
BALSAM OF PEKU.

1864. In my paper on Balsam of Peru 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 Pereirce of
Klotzsch.

1 De la Mjutmicre, l.r.

CONFIRMATORY OPINIONS. 307

3. That it acquired the name of Balsam of Peru solely from 1864.
the circumstance of it being transported to Europe by way
of Peru.

Since communicating to the Society that paper, I have referred
to several of the early writers on Central America, in the hope
of finding further confirmation of the opinions above expressed.
In this I have not been wholly unsuccessful, as the following
brief extracts will show.

Father Joseph de Acosta in his Historia Natural y Moral de Father Joseph
las Indicts, published at Seville in 1590, says:— " . . . . That
which is more important, is, that for making the Chrism, which
is so necessary in the Holy Church and so greatly venerated,
the Apostolic See has declared that with this Indian balsam
Chrism is to be made in the Indies, and with it that of the
Sacrament of Confirmation, and those moreover used in other
ceremonies of the Church.

" Balsam is brought to Spain from New Spain ; and it is in
the provinces of Guatemala and Chiapas and others 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 Carthagena." l

Herrera, who wrote a history of the West Indies published at Herrera's
Madrid in 1601, states, in describing Guatemala, that « there are
found in this province many fountains and springs of hot water
having different properties, virtues and colours : there is fine
balsam in abundance, which the Spaniards knew without learn-
ing it from the Indians, notwithstanding what a certain author
has written. Moreover there is liquid ambar, copal and suchi-
copal and other kinds of gurns and juices, very perfect. . .
The harbour of Acaxutla near Trinity [Sonsonate] at 13 degrees

1 '•.... Lo que mas importa es, que para la substancia de hazer Chrisma,
que tan necessario es en la sancta Iglesia, y de tanta veneration, ha declarado
la Sede Apostolica, que con este Balsamo de Indias se haga Chrisma en
Indias, y con el se de el Sacramento de Confirmation, y los de mas, donde la
Iglesia lo lisa. Traese a Espaiia el Balsamo de la nueva Espaiia, y la provincia
de Guatimala, y de Chiapa, y otras por alii es donde mas abunda, aunque el
m;is preciado es, el que viene de la Isla.de Tolu, que es en Tierrnfirme no
de Cartngena." — lib. iv. c. 2S.

_._

ill

Hi

. 6CS3 C

if
d>;

11 I

£2 I

= •

i b

a- :
-:,— :=

mi

BALSAM COLLECTION AT JUISNAGUA.

of latitude, is the principal port of the province for going to 1864-.
New Spain and Peru." 1

The following passage from I)e Laet's Novus Orbis sen, De- De Laet's
scriptio Indice Occidentalis, a work held in deserved esteem, is of account-
peculiar interest as proving that the custom of charring the
trunks of the balsam-trees was pursued by the Indians in early
times, while the Spaniards had their own method of collecting
the balsam. It occurs in the chapter headed " San Salvador,
San Miguel, Chuluteca — specialis descriptio harum provinci-
arum et eorum quce halent peculiaria" and may be thus ren-
dered : —

" On the borders of the district of Guaymoco, grow many
trees which afford balsam : and the entire coast, which is called
Tonala, produces trees, the timber of which is exceedingly com-
pact and heavy, and of which in a certain temple there are
columns fifty feet in height. In the summer the natives collect
the juice of the balsam-tree, after' slightly burning the bark of
the stem ; but the Spaniards allow it to exude by itself : the
tree bears fruit like almonds, which contain a golden-coloured
juice."2

The opposite woodcut, taken from a coloured sketch made Dr. 0. Dorut's
upon the spot by Dr. Dorat, represents the collection of the
balsam at Juisnagua near Sonsonate.

1 " On trouve en ceste province plusieurs fontaines et sources d'eaux
chandes ayant diverses proprietes, vertus, et coulenrs : il y a du bausnie,
beau et beaucoup, que les Espagnols cognurent sans 1'apprendre des Indiens,
contre ce qu'eii auteur en escrit. Plus il y a de Pambre liquide, la gomme
anime, copal et suchicopal, et autres sortes des gommes et liqueurs tres-par-

faits Le havre Acaxutla, pres de la Trinite a 13 degres de

haulteur, est le principal port de la province, pour aller en Ncuf Espagne, et
en Peru." — Description des Indes Occidentales, traduit de I'Etpagnol, Amst.
1622, cap. xii. I have also consulted the Spanish edition published at
Madrid, 1601-15.

2 " In finibus Guaymoco pagi, plurimrc nascuntur ai bores, quse Balsamuni
edunt ; universaque ora. quam Tonalam vocunt, nntrit arbores adinodurn
firma atque ponderosa materie, e qua in quodam templo repcriuntur columnse
qiiinqiiaginta pedes altae. Indigense liquorem Balsaini colligunt restate
cortice trunci leviter adusto ; Hispani autem per se emanare sinunt : fert
arbor ilia fructus amygdalis similes, quibus inestsuccus aurei coloris." — Novus
Orbis sen Descriptio Indice Occidentalis, Libri xviii., auctore Joanne de Laet,
Lugd. Batav. 1633, lib. vii. c. 1 1.

310 WINTER'S-BARK.

ON CORTEX WINTERANUS1

1862. I HAVE read with much interest in the first number of this

volume of the Neues Repertorium, the communication of Dr.
Dr. llcnkel. Henkel on genuine Cortex Winteranus, and I beg leave herewith
to submit some remarks on the same subject, the rather, as I
perceive in that paper that the commercial 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 important difference exists
between the bark of the Drimys Winteri, and the bark commonly
used as Cortex Winteri in the market, finds complete confirma-
tion in my own experience.

Specimens of I have examined many fine stems of Drimys which were

Drimys. couecte(i by Captain King in 1832 in the Straits of Magellan,

and which are now in the collection of the British Museum, as'

well as samples of the same drug which were collected by M. de

Guillot, likewise in the Straits of Magellan.

Comparison of Moreover I had an opportunity of being able to compare the
specimens. \Vinter's-bafk of Chili, New Granada, Venezuela and Mexico —
and in addition, samples of bark from the cabinet of the lioyal
College of Physicians in London, and from the collection of Sir
Hans Sloane in the British Museum ; and in all cases have 1
with the naked eye (I was unable to examine 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 Magel-
lan is now used by us ; whilst no commercial relations exist
between these remote parts of the earth and Europe.

Drimys Winteri, Forst., is, however, widely distributed, for
according to J. D. Hooker (Flora Antartica, part ii., p. 229), on
whose opinion I lay great weight in questions of this nature,
the species known as Drimys cliilcnsis, D.C., Drimys granaten-
.s/.s, Linn., fil. and Drimys Mexicana, D.C. are only forms of one
and the same plant. We also know for certainty, that Wintcr's-

1 Translated from the original paper in the Neues Repertorium fur Ph&r-
macie, Bund xi., Heft 6, p. 241.

WINTER'S-BARK.

311

bark is not collected in the Straits of Magellan ; that the same
is collected, on the contrary, and moreover is in use, 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 I have more than once seen this
bark in London, where it is bought at a very low price under
the name of Pepper-bark, its origin being unknown.

With reference to the ordinary bark of commerce, I am of
opinion with Henkel, that this name is by no means properly
selected. On the contrary, I do not consider it the bark of any
Canella, much less still of Canella alba, Murr., which last also is
very sufficiently distinguished by the chemical behaviour of its
decoction (as Henkel himself points out).

The true source of this bark has puzzled all pharmacologists
who were convinced of its difference from Drimys ; and the un-
certainty was the greater as- the spot wrhere 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, re-
liable data were obtained which definitely settled these questions.
The Winter's-bark of commerce comes from Cinnamodendron
corticosum, Miers. (Annals and Magazine of Natural History,
May, 1858, Grisebach, Flora of the British West Indian Islands,
vol. i. p. 109), a tree growing in Jamaica, of the family Canel-
lacese. This tree, which attains a height of 40 to 50 feet, is
known on that island as Wild Cinnamon, a name which there is
also given to Canella alba, 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 purposa the Tincture
of Iodine, which, in the decoction of the Cinnamodendron bark,
gives a black, in the Drimys, on the other hand, a brown pre-
cipitate.

Dr. Henkel's third conclusion, that though perhaps Cortex
Canellce alboc may not be identical with the Cortex Winter-

1862.

Commercial

Doubts re-

origin.

• cosum.

312 ORDEAL BKAN OF CALABAR.

1862. amis of commerce, yet from its agreement in structure
the latter may still be a species of Canella, appears to give room
to a doubt whether generally Cortex Canellce albce may be legi-
timately attributed to Canella alba, Murr. This doubt I cannot
share with Henkel, for I have received specimens of barks of
Canella alba from the Bahamas and Jamaica, which show con-
vincingly that the common opinion maintained amongst phar-
macologists on this point is well founded.

NOTE ON THE OKDEAL BEAN OF CALABAR
(Physostigma Venenosum, Balf.)

1863. THE recent experiments of Drs. Argyll .Robertson, Eraser,
Stewart, Messrs. Bowman, Wells, and others on the Ordeal Bean
of Calabar,1 and the fact elicited by these experiments, that it
possesses the peculiar power of causing the sphincter pupilhe
and ciliary muscle to contract, render it probable that this re-
markable seed will find a useful application in ophthalmic
medicine ; and the present moment is therefore appropriate for
reviewing some of the facts hitherto ascertained respecting it.

The first important notice on the subject is contained in a
Dr. Christi- most interesting and valuable paper by Dr. Christison, read
son's re- before the Eoyal Society of Edinburgh, 5th February 1855. In
this paper the author, after alluding to various vegetable sub-
stances used by the -natives of tropical Western Africa in
ordeal by poison, describes as one of pre-eminent virulence, a
Esere. large leguminous seed called Estre used by the negroes of Old
Calabar in the Gulf of Guinea. This seed, which Dr. Christison
called the Ordeal Bean of Old Calabar, and the botanical origin
of which was at that time unknown, was the subject of some
remarkable toxicological experiments which amply proved it to
possess powers of no ordinary character. Dr. Christison also
made some experiments on the seed with the view of isolating
its active proximate principle, but was unsuccessful, partly owing,
it is probable, to the limited amount of material at his disposal.

i Edinburgh Medical Journ., March 1863 ; Medical Times and Gazette,
May 16, 186:3.

ORDEAL BEAN OF CALABAR. 313

<: All I can say," he observes, " is that the seed, like others of its isea.
natural order, contains much inert starch and legumin, and T3
per cent, of fixed oil, also probajbly inert ; that its active pro-
perties may be concentrated in an alcoholic extract, which
constitutes 2 '7 per cent, of the seed ; and that this extract does
not yield a vegetable alkaloid by the more simple of the ordinary
methods of analysis." l

Some of the Ordeal Beans in Dr. Chiistison's possession Germination
having been placed in earth, germinated in the Botanic Garden °f Or<ieal

JJC&11S.

of Edinburgh, and in the garden of Professor Syme, 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 Rev. W. C. Thomson, of Old
Calabar, a good botanical observer, was so fortunate as to obtain
after many trials complete and excellent specimens of the plant,
some of which, preserved in fluid, were communicated to Mr.
xindrew Murray and Professor Balfour. Their examination
devolved chiefly on the latter gentleman, who on the 16th
January, 1860, read before the Koyal Society of Edinburgh a
Description of the Plant which Produces the Ordeal Bean of Plant prod
Calabar which, illustrated by two plates, was subsequently pub- ing
lislied in the Society's Transactions?

The Ordeal Bean belongs to the natural order Leguminosce, the
sub-order Papilionacece and tribe Phaseolecc ; but subordinate to
this, its characters have been considered sufficiently peculiar to
warrant the formation of a special genus for its reception. This
has accordingly been done, the new genus receiving from Dr.
Balfour the name of Physostigma? and the one species which it

i • ,-( /> rencnosinii

contains that 01 venenosum.

1 Pharm. Journ., vol. xiv. (1855), p. 472.

2 Vol. xxii. p. 305.

3 From <pv<rdfiv to inflate, and or/y/^a. The genus is thus defined. —
Calyx campanulatus, apice quadrifidus, laciniis brevibus, lacinia suprema
bifida. Corolla crescentiformis, papilionacea ; vexillum recurvum, apice
bilobatum, basi angustatum, margine utroque auriculatum, membrana
inflexa auctum, medio longitudinaliter bicallosum ; alse obovato-oblongse,
liberae, supra carinam conniventes, versus basin appendiculata?. Discus
vaginifer. Ovarium stipitatum, 2-3-ovulatum. Stylus cum carina tortus,
infra stigma subtus barbatus ; stigma obtusum, cucullo cavo oblique tectum.
Legumen dehiscens, oligospermum, elliptico-oblongum, subcompressum, extus

314 ORDEAL BEAN OF CALABAR.

1863. The most remarkable character of the genus Physostigma is

Genus /%«»• that derived from the stigma, which possesses a singular, crescent-
tigma. shaped, hooded appendage. By this character, and the long
grooved hilum of the seed, it is separated from the nearly allied
genus Phaseolus ; and from Mucura, to which its seed bears
considerable resemblance, by the characters of its flowers and
pod ; from Canavalia, by its diadelphous stamens and other char-
acters ; and from Lciblcib, by its phaseoloid carina and pistil.

Physostigma venenosum, the Ordeal Bean, is a large climbing
perennial with a woody stem of two inches diameter and some-
times fifty feet in length, Its large leaves are pinnately
trifoliate, with ovate acuminate leaflets. Its papilionaceous
flowers are in pendulous racemes, the stalk or rachis of which is
Botanical covered with tuber-like knots ; each flower is about an inch in
characters. ]eng^ an(j Of a pale-pink or purplish colour, beautifully veined.
The legume when full-grown is about seven inches in length,
elliptico-oblong, with a short curved point stipitate, dehiscent
and containing two or three seeds. The seeds, which are oblong
or somewhat reniform, are from 1 to If inch in length by
about £ of an inch in breadth ; their convex edge marked by a
long sulcate hilum, extending as a deep furrow from ' one ex-
tremity of the seed to beyond the other. The exterior of the
eeed is somewhat rough with 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 Bean is difficult to obtain even near the localities
where it is produced. Dr. Christison states upon the authority
The Seeds of the Eev. H. M. Waddell, of Old Calabar, that " the plant is
everywhere destroyed by order of the 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; but Mr. Gustav Mann, Collector
to the Royal Gardens, Kew, to whom I wrote some time ago

rugosum, endocarpium intus tela laxa cellular! tectum, isthmis cellulosis inter
seraina. Semina strophiolata, hemisphserico-oblonga, hilo latesulcato senii-
cincta.

Herbse suffruticosrc volubiles in Africa occidental! tropica crescentes :
foliis pinnatim-trifoliolatis, stipellatis, floribns nodoso-racemosis, purpureis.

PHYSOSTIGMA VENENOSUM.

315

Alcoholic
extract.

requesting a supply of the beans, remarked in a letter under- date isea.
Xov. 24th, 1861, that he had been able to procure but few, " as
the people did not like to give them to Europeans." There is
no reason, however, to suppose that this" reluctance will continue
if a good money-value become attached to them.

The best form in which to employ the Ordeal Bean as a Mode of
medicine is a point of importance to the pharmacist, but, one EmPloyment-
upon which further experience is required. Dr. Christison found
that the active matter of the bean could be separated by alcohol,
and he obtained (as already stated) 2*7 per cent, of extract by
this menstruum. I found that upon reducing the bean to a coarse
powder and exhausting it with cold alcohol (sp. gr. -838), 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 percent. Whether
these extracts are alike in power is at present hardly proved,
but the result of a single experiment appears to show that the
second is as powerful as the first. The alcoholic extract rubbed
down with water, forms a turbid liquid which, however efficient, is
certainly not an elegant preparation, 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 extract dissolves freely, yielding a tolerably
clear solution ; and if this menstruum be unobjectionable as an
application to the eye, it will certainly prove convenient pharma-
ceutically, as it affords a solution not liable to change by keeping.

The residue of the bean, after the extract had been obtained
as above described, was dried ; and with the view of ascertaining
whether it still contained a poisonous principle, some of it, mixed
with bread and lard, was administered to a mouse and rat.
Neither animal would eat the mixture very 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 experiments show that the
bean had not been entirely deprived of its active properties.
[N. Repert.f. Pharm., xii., 289.]

Glycerine
solution.

31(5 CALABAR BEAN-OPHTHALMIC t'SK.

ON THE BEST METHODS OF APPLYING THE
CALABAR BEAN IN OPHTHALMIC MEDICINE.

(Caldbarbohne in dcr Angenheilkunde)

1863. I HAVE stated that certain difficulties occur in forming a p re-

Difficulties in paration of the Calabar Bean which can be conveniently applied
Ophthalmic to the eye Thege difficulties arise from t]ie fact that the

alcoholic extract, which contains the whole of the poisonous
principle of the bean,1 can only be imperfectly dissolved in
water, and that its alcoholic solution is inadmissible. There
is also another difficulty which occurs with all liquids that
are required to be dropped into the eye, and that is, that the
flow of tears which instantly follows such an application
gieatly reduces the amount placed in contact with the mem-
brane,— or at any rate renders it very uncertain.

These considerations have suggested other expedients for
applying the remedy, one of which is to use the extract by
itself; another is to employ it diffused through paper, after
the manner recommended by Mr. J. F. Streatfeild for the
Modes of application of atropine ; 2 and a third is to use a solution of
Application. |.£e extract in glyceiine. Each of these methods has certain
advantages. The extract, which is prepared by exhausting the
finely -powdered bean with alcohol (sp. gr. '838) and evaporating
the solution, is not a homogeneous body, but contains a small
amount of greenish fatty oil which separates as the solution is
concentrated. Its action upon the eye is rapid and powerful.
The best means of using it is to moisten a camel's-hair pencil
with water, and then with its tip to rub off a minute quantity
of extract and apply it to the palpebral 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

1 Since publishing my former paper I have ascertained that the finely
powdered bean deprived of everything that alcohol would remove is no
longer poisonous to rats.

2 Ophthalmic Hospital Heport, Jan. 1862, p. 310; also Pharm. Jour,/..
Jan. 1863, p. 329.

CALABAR BEAN— OPHTHALMIC USE. 317

the extract would probably be hardly advisable in any other 1863.
than professional hands. Atropine

The method of applying atropine to the eye, by soaking a dlscs>
piece of thin bibulous paper of definite size in a known quantity
of solution of atropine and then allowing it to dry, has been
recommended in this country by Mr. Streatfeild and in France
by Mr. Leperdriel.1 Such paper should be cut into small pieces
from 4 to | of an inch square, the proportion of atropine being
so regulated that a single square shall represent a drop of the
ordinary solution of two grains to the ounce. Paper prepared
on this principle with a solution of Calabar Bean answers Calabar Bean,
extremely well, and promises to afford the most definite method
of regulating the quantity of the remedy to be applied. The
following is the process which T have adopted. One ounce Troy
of the bean, reduced to fine powder, is to be thoroughly ex-
hausted by hot rectified spirit ('838) ; the solution so obtained
is to be filtered and evaporated until extract begins to deposit
on the bottom of the dish, which will occur when the solution
has been reduced to about ten fluid drachms. When cold this
solution is to be passed through a small filter, and is then ready
for the paper. This may be thin writing paper, the size con-
tained in which has been removed by boiling ;2 it should be
immersed in the solution four times, and be allowed to drain
and dry between each immersion. Of paper thus prepared, a
piece measuring Jth of an inch square placed within the lower
eyelid commences 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 Glycerine
in the proportion of 2^ grains of extract in 100 minims of
pure glycerine, has also been tried and found to answer well, the
glycerine in no way interfering with the action of the extract.

Further experiments may suggest still better preparations: for

1 Bulletin de la Society de Pharmacie de Eruxelles, Mars, p. 93.
- Mr. Streatfeild recommends green paper, as white paper when soaked
with tears is not always easily distinguished from the conjunctiva.

318 ZANTHOXYLUM ALATUM.

1863. some bints respecting those here mentioned, and for numerous
careful observations upon them, I have to thank Mr. Charles
John Workman of the Eoyal London Ophthalmic Hospital,
Moorfields, and Mr. Bader of Guy's Hospital. [^V. Repert. of
Pharm., xii. 435.]

MEMORANDUM ON A PRESUMED CASE OF PARTHEN-
OGENESIS IN ZANTHOXYLUM ALATUM, Eoxb.

(Read before the Linnean Society, Nov. 19, 1863.)

1863. IN January last Dr. Anderson, brought under the notice of

the Linnean Society a presumed case of parthenogenesis in a

Aberw. species- of Aberia, a shrub of which, in the Botanic Gardens of
Calcutta, bore a large crop of well-ripened fruits containing
fertile seeds, though only pistilliferous flowers could be detected
at the time of flowering.

A case of similar character has come under my own notice ;
Zanthoxylum an Indian species of Zanthoxylum, the Z. alatum of Roxburgh,

alatum. a dioecious plant, flowered in my father's garden at Clapham,
in the spring of 1862. As I had examined the flowers without
being able to detect stamens, and knew that no other plant of
the same genus grew near, I was not a little surprised to find
the ovaries swell and the berries attain their full development,
and still more so when, having carelessly placed three or four
seeds in a pot of earth, a seedling Zanthoxylum made its
appearance.

In the spring of this year the shrub, now removed from the
conservatory to the open border, again flowered, and though
subjected to a much more careful scrutiny than previously I
failed to discover upon it any other than pistilliferous flowers.
Still the ovaries became enlarged, and the shrub again bears
mature berries, some of which I now exhibit to the Society.

NOTE ON CASSIA MOSCHATA, IF., Rt K.,
1863. (Read before the Linnean Society, June 18, 1863.)

Genus Cassia. THE genus Cassia as constituted by Linnaeus furnishes

medicine, as is well known, two drugs of some importance,

CASSIA MOSCHATA.

319

1863.

Cassia
Fistula.

Cassia
brasiliana.

namely, Senna leaves and the pods called Cassia Fistula, in
connection with the second of which I beg leave to submit to
the Linnean Society the following observations.

Although the name Cassia Fistula, which is the common
commercial designation of the drug, is properly applied to
the ripe legumes of Cassia Fistula, L., only, it sometimes
designates those of C. brasiliana, Lam., and, as I shall presently
show, those also of a third species of Cassia. The legumes of
the first-named, .which, on account of the laxative saccharine
pulp contained between their transverse septa, find a place
in many of the pharmacopoeias of Europe, are familiar to most
botanists ; they are straight or slightly curved, cylindrical,
smooth, indehiscent woody legumes, 1^ to 2 feet long by f to
1 inch in diameter, and of a deep chocolate-colour. The legumes
of C. brasiliana, which are seen in commerce but rarely, differ
from those of C. Fistula in being compressed and thicker, and
in having two prominent ridges marking their ventral suture and
one similar ridge their dorsal; from each suture ramify pro-
minent nerves, giving a rough surface to the legume, whicli
is increased by a cracking and exfoliation of the epidermis.
The third form of the drug was distinguished several years ago Third spAies
by Professor Guibourt, of Paris, who described it under the no°fc^f b^
name of Petite Casse de I'AmJrique, observing that it differs Guibourt' and
from ordinary Cassia Fistula in being of smaller size, in con-
taining a pulp of pale colour, and austere, astringent, yet
saccharine taste, in the seeds being separated by thinner septa,
and in the extremities of the legumes being apiculate instead
of rounded. M. Guibourt regarded these pods as derived from
a variety of Cassia Fistula, L., or possibly from a different
species. My friend Mr. Morson 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. Guibourt's drug. In some of them, which he was kind
enough to give me, I could detect no differences which appeared
sufficient to distinguish them from the legumes gf Cassia Fistula,
L., to which plant I referred them, attributing their slight
variation to want of culture or a poor soil. A few months ago,

320

CASSIA MOSCHATA.

Botanical
characters.

1863. however, Mr. Sutton Hayes, of Panama (to whose kindness I
Mr.~Suttoii am indebted for many interesting communications), sent me
~Hay6/' d several Poc^s lnai'ked Canafistola de purgar, which I recognised
purgar. as the small variety of Cassia of Messrs. Guibourt and Morson.
In reply to my remark that they were derived from Cassia
Fistula, L , Mr. Hayes observed, " I think you are wrong as to
the tree which produces the pods I sent you being a form of
the true C. Fistula. I have often seen both trees ; and the
true C. Fistula is much less like the Canafistola de purgar than
many other species of Cassia. The flowers of C. Fistula, L., are
of light yellow and in very long racemes, and the leaflets are
different in shape and much larger. The flowers of the Cafia-
fistola de purgar are yellow, becoming brick-red with age ; the
racemes are much shorter than those of Cassia Fistula; and
^]ie ieaflets are altogether different, being much smaller and
quite like those of C. brasiliana ; in fact the Canafistola de
purgar is much nearer C. Irasiliana than it is to C. Fistula.
The wood of the tree is very dark-coloured, heavy, and compact,
and is considered one of the best on the Isthmus: it makes
excellent fuel. The tree is very common in open woods on
hills, and is perfectly indigenous ; whereas C. Fistula is to be
found only about towns and in old cleared places, as if intro-
duced. I have never seen C. Fistula in the virgin forests. C.
brasiliana is very common about Panama."

Upon examining Mr. Hayes's plant and comparing it with the
species of Cassia already described. I have found it to agree
Cassia mcs- with the Cassia moschata of Humboldt, Bonpland, and Kunth,
so far as the characters of that plant have been recorded ; and
M. Triana, who is now engaged on the Flora of New Granada,
and has compared Mr. Hayes's specimens with the type speci-
mens in Paris, has arrived at the same conclusion. As the
notices of this plant hitherto published are quoted entirely
from the Nova Genera ct Species, the authors of which have
not- seen the flowers, I have thought it desirable to draw up a
complete description, which I have now tFie honour of laying
before the Society.

chata.

CASSIA MOSCHATA. 321

CASSIA.— Sect. Fistula, DC. Subsect. Mracteatce. 1f£?'

C. moschata (H., B., K., Nova Genera et Species, vi. 338) ;
arborea ; foliolis multijugis, oblongis, apice rotundatis, utrinque
pubescentibus deinde supra glabrescentibus, antheris glabris,
leguminibus cylindricis.

DC. Prod. ii. 489 ; Vogel, Synopsis Generis Gassise, 1 1 ; Walp.
Kep. i. 812 ; Cathartocarpus moschatus, Don, Syst. of Gard. and
Bot. ii. 453.

Hob. Ad isthmum Panama, ubi ab incolis Canafistola de puryar Habitat,
vocatur (Sutton Hayes, No. 58) ; ad fluvium Magdaleua (Humloldt
et Bonpland, Triana) ; ad ripam fluminis Casiquiare paulo infra
ostium superius, arbor unicus ab Orinoco, ubi abuudare dicitur,
allatus (Spruce, No. 3300) ; ad paguin Villavicencio prope Bogota
(Triana, No. 4376).

Arbor 30-40-pedalis, ramulis novellis flavescgnti-pubescen- Arbor.
tibus. Folia alterna, abrupte pinnata, petiolo communi 4—10
poll, longo, pubescente, supra pubescentia ampliore flavescente.
Foliola 10— 18-juga, subopposita vel alterna, oblonga, inaequi-
latera, basi utrinque rotundata, apice obtusa, interdum mucronu-
lata, reticulato-venosa, 1^—2 poll, longa, 6—7 lineas lata, margine
integerrimo, pubescente, nervo medio subtus prominente, pubes-
cente, pagina foliolorum superiore nitida parce et breviter pilosa
vel glabrescente, inferiore fuscescenti-pilosa vel puberula.
Stipulce triangulares, caducse. Racemi laterales, 6— 10-pollicares,
simplices, graciles, puberuli. Flores flavi, mox rubescentes. Flores.
Pedicelli ad 5 lineas longi, gracillimi, minute pubescentes.
Calyx quinquesepalus, puberulus vel glabrescens, sepalis rotun-
datis, obtusis, concavis, reflexis. Petala quinque, concava, reticu-
lato-venosa, flava, glabra, subaequalia, semipollicaria ; superius
ovale, longe unguiculatum, altera suborbiculata, breviter ungui-
culata. Stamina decem, insequalia, glabra; quatuor inter se
sequalia, corolla parum breviora ; tria his triplo vel quadruple
longiora, curvata, basi geniculata; tria brevissima, quorum
lateralia incurva, medium filamento crasso, dilatato. Antherce
staminum quatuor breviorum ellipticae, bilobse, basi et apice
biporosse, dorso medium versus afnxae ; antherse staminum trium

Y

322

CASSIA MOSCHATA.

1863. longiorum late ellipticse, biriniosae, introrsum dehiscentes, basi
affixes ; antherse staminum trium brevissimorum birimosse,
tribus supradescriptis hand dissimiles sed valde rainores.
Ovarium longe stipitatum lineare, adscendens, falciforme, margine
superiore basin versus parce pilosum, aliter glabrura. Stigma
Legumen. oblique truncatum. Legumen cylindricum, rectum, 1— IJ-pedale,
lignosum, durum, Iseve, corticatum, breviter apiculatum vel
obtusum, septis transversis numerosis ut in Cassice Fistulce, L.
legumine (cui simillimum) instructum. Semina ovato-rotundata,
compressa, nitida, durissima, 3 lineas longa, coloris cinnamomei
in succo saccharine adstringente immersa.

Distinctive Cassia moschata, as remarked by the authors of the Nova
o5°f ®enera et Species, as well as by Mr. Sutton Hayes, is nearly allied

chata. to C. brosiliana, Lam.; but it is easily distinguished from that plant
by its comparatively glabrous yellow flowers 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 0. Fistula, L. ; so that their occasional appearance
in European commerce is not surprising. They differ from the
latter by 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
characters are of but little value botanically ; the leaves how-
ever of C. moschata, its shorter racemes, and nearly glabrous
ovary, amply suffice to distinguish it from (7. Fistula, L.
[Transact. Linn. Soc., xxiv. (1864), 161.]

NOTE ON CASSIA MOSCHATA, Humb. B. K.
(Pharmaceutical.)

1864. AMONG the many botanical treasures with which the travels

of Humboldt and Bonpland enriched the herbaria of Europe, and
which were described in that noble work the Nova Genera et
Species Plantarum, is a species of Cassia discovered on the
shores of the Magdalena in New Granada. This plant was
placed by Kunth in that section of the genus of which Cassia

CASSIA MOSCHATA. 323

Fistula, L., is the type, and which is characterised by a long, 1864.
woody, indehiscent legume, divided into cells by transverse iniperfect
septa ; and, as the pulp (or more correctly juice} surrounding its specimens of
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 though the fruit was de-
scribed, it does not appear that specimens were sent to Europe,
The plant was therefore known only from the description in the
Nova Genera, and from specimens consisting of leaves only, one
of which is preserved in the museum of Paris. A description
of this Cassia was subsequently published in the Prodromus of
Decandolle, in the Synopsis Generis Cassice of Vogel, and in
Don's System of Gardening and Botany, but as none of these
authors appear to have had other material upon which to build
than the original notice of Humboldt, the plant remained very
imperfectly known.

It happened, however, that in the early part of the year 1862
the late Mr. Sutton Hayes forwarded to London from Panama,
pods of a species of Cassia known there as Canafistola de purgar, Canafistola de
having a strong resemblance to Cassia Fistula, but differing Pur9ar
chiefly in being of smaller size. In reply to my observation
that these pods were simply those of C. Fistula, L., apparently
somewhat dwarfed by want of culture or a poor soil, Mr. Hayes
offered the more accurate information already quoted on
page 320.

Mr. Hayes having with his remarks sent me some excellent
flowering specimens of this Canafistola de purgar, it became im-
mediately evident that the plant was wholly distinct from Cassia
Fistula, L. Further examination and a careful comparison with Comparison of
specimens, including the type specimens of C. moschata, H.B.K., 8Pecimens-
and some more recently brought from New Granada by my
friend M. Triana, proved, as conclusively as in such case was
possible, that Mr. Hayes's plant and Cassia moschata, H.B.K.
were identical. Being now in possession of complete speci-
mens, I presented a description of the plant to the Linnean
Society, which, with a figure, has been recently published.1
1 Linnean Transactions, vol. xxiv. p. 161, pi. 26.

Y 2

324 CASSIA MOSCHATA.

18&4. Cassia moschata, H.B.K. is allied to C. Fistula, L., and C. brasil*
iana, Lain. : from the first, it is distinguished by its multijugate
leaves and shorter racemes ; and from the second, by its much
smaller legume, which is devoid of prominent 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 inflated filament (all magnified).
Pharmaceu- But it is in its pharmaceutical aspects that I wish to draw the
tical details. a^ention of the Society to Cassia moschata. 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.1 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 afforded by
ordinary Cassia Fistula, the result showing the two to be exceed-
ingly similar. A description of this Cassia was also published
by Professor Guibourt, who expressed the opinion that it might
be derived from a species of Cassia distinct from C. Fistula, L.2
Much more recently, my friend Mr. Morson obtained a package
of a small variety of Cassia imported from New Qranada, which
I felt no hesitation in regarding as the Small American Cassia
(Petite Casse d'Ame'rique) of the French pharmaciens, and which
I now consider I am warranted in .referring to the Cassia mos-
chata of Humboldt and Bonpland. M. Triana, who is now en-
gaged in writing a flora of New Granada, informs me that the
legumes of Cassia moschata supply the place in that country of
Cassia Fistula, a fact which renders their occasional importation
into Europe not surprising. From Cassia Fistula, they may be

1 Journal de Chimie Medicate ii. (1826) 370.
3 Hist, des Drog. iii. 347.

Cassia Moschata, H.B.K.

326 GARCINIA AFFORDING GAMBOGE IN SIAM.

1864. distinguished by their smaller size (1 to 1£ feet long by 6 to 8
lines broad) ; their form, which is less regularly straight and
cylindrical and often attenuated at the apex ; and their pale,
austere-tasting pulp. This last character would render their sub-
stitution for ordinary Cassia undesirable. [N. Repert. f. Pharm.
xiii. 1.]

ON THE SPECIES OF GARCINIA WHICH AFFORDS
GAMBOGE IN SIAM.

(With Plate.)
(Read before the Linnean Society, April 7th, 1864.)

1864. MORE than two centuries and a half have elapsed since one of

the old Dutch voyagers, returning from an expedition to India,
brought to the notice of his learned countrymen a gum-like
substance of an orange colour, to which various important medi-
Introduction cinal properties were ascribed. This was the first introduction
into Europe. to Europe of gamboge, a production which, from that time to
the present, has been an article of import. But, like many
other substances having technical uses, 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 communication is to lay before the Linnean
Society some information lately gathered illustrating this latter
point.

The whole history of gamboge, including the various opinions
that have been entertained as to its source, and the facts that
have been made out during two centuries respecting it, having
been admirably told by the learned French pharmacologist, Pro-
Professor fessor Guibourt, and a resume of them having been given by Drs.
Guibourt. Planchon and Triana, in their recent Memoir e sur la Famille des
Guttiferes (p. 196), it would savour of plagiarism here to repeat
it. I shall therefore content myself with referring to these
writers, and simply state those points touching the origin of
this drug which it is desirable to bear in mind on the present
occasion.

Passing over the supposition of Clusius and Bontius, who

GARCINIA AFFORDING GAMBOGE IN SI AM. 327

imagined that from its acridity gamboge must be produced by

some eupborbiaceous plant, we find that Hermann announced, Botanical

in the year 1677,1 that the drug was derived from two trees of Ongm-

Ceylon, now ascertained to belong to the order Guttifercc, one

of which is known to modern botanists as the Garcinia Cam-

logia of Desrousseaux, the other being in all probability the G.

Morella of the same author. Starting from this point, it would

seem, remarks M. Guibourt, that each attempt to diffuse more

precise and correct information upon this subject has effected the

contrary result. I may therefore excuse myself from attempting

an explanation of the confusion and intricate synonymy in

which the writers of the Linnean period have involved the sub-

ject, and state at once that, although it has been well ascertained

that one species of Garcinia occurring in Ceylon 2 and others 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 thence to Singapore, and many

specimens of it, cultivated as objects of curiosity, have for some

years past been flourishing on the estate of Messrs. Jose D'Al-

meida and Sons, of that island. From some of these trees speci-

mens were obtained a few years ago, and transmitted to Pro-

fessor Christison, who published an account of them in the

Proceedings of the Eoyal Society of Edinburgh? Professor

Christison has stated that the tree is nearly allied to Garcinia

elliptica, Wallich, but that it differs from that species in having

the 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 the Koyal Botanical Garden of

Edinburgh there has been, until recently, a living specimen of

1 Rheede Hortus Malabaricus, pt. 1, p. 42. Hermann had resided in Ceylon.

2 " This [Garcinia Morella, Desrouss.] is the only species growing in
Ceylon from which gamboge is obtainable ; and, as the tree is not uncommon,
the pigment might be collected in considerable quantities." — THWAITES,
Enumeratio Plantarum Zeylanice, p. 49.

3 Vol. ii. (1851) p. 363 ; Pharm, Journ. and Trans., vol. x. p. 235.

328 GARCINIA AFFORDING GAMBOGE IN SIAM.

1864. the same tree ; but as it lias borne no flowers, it lias not been in
a condition to render much service in the determination of the
species.

Desirous of attempting to set at rest the question of the
origin of gamboge, or at least of obtaining further materials
upon which to work, I addressed myself some months ago to

Mes&rs. D'Al- Messrs. D' Almeida, of Singapore, who promptly and courteously
Singapore, 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 (but which might have
been increased to thousands had any pains been taken to do so),
are from 35 to 50 feet in height, the largest with a circumfer-
ence of about 3 feet ; and that they grow very luxuriantly,
without any attention, on the slope of a low hillock. Messrs.
D'Almeida further observe, " they are the real gamboge-tree ; "
and add that at various times they have caused gamboge to be
extracted from them.

The specimens received comprise numerous small leafy
branches bearing male flowers, several branches with fruits, and
a few with female flowers, the whole preserved in alcohol. Pro-
fessor Oliver has kindly assisted me in examining them, and in
comparing them with the 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.
Singapore The Singapore gamboge-tree appeared to us exceedingly nearly

Gamboge-tree. ^^ ^ ^ Qarcinia aiiptica of Wallich, of which we ex-
amined authentic specimens, and equally close to the Ceylon
species G. Morella, one of the two plants originally pointed out
by Hermann as the source of the drug, and the plant described
by Dr. Robert Graham in 1836 as Hebradendron cambogioides.1
From both these, however, it differs in having pedicellate instead
of sessile or nearly sessile male flowers — a differential specific
character, the value of which in such a genus was to us ques-

1 Companion to the Botanical Magazine, vol. ii, (1636) tab. 27.

GARCINIA AFFORDING GAMBOGE IN SIAM. 329

tionable. We therefore transmitted specimens of the Singapore 1864-.
tree to Mr. Thwaites in Ceylon, requesting to have his judg-
ment as to the probable correctness of referring them to G.
Morella^ Desrouss., a plant with which he was perfectly familiar.
Mr. Thwaites, whose opinion upon other grounds we regard as
deserving much consideration, replied that, although the Singa-
pore Garcinia looked a little different from the Ceylon G. Mo-
rella, there could be but little doubt that it was only a form or
local variety of that species. If the correctness of this view be
admitted, it will be convenient to designate the Singapore, or
rather Siam, gamboge-tree, GARCINIA MORELLA, Desrouss., var.

pedicellate, and to define it thus :— Moreila.

G. Morella, Desroussseaux, in Lamarck, Encyclop. Method.,
Botan. iii. 701, PL 405. Fig. 2 ; Thwaites, Enum. Plant., Zeylan.
i. 49.

G. elliptica, Wallich, Catal. No, 4869.

G. Gutta, Wight, Illustr. of Indian Botany, i. 126, Tab. 44
(exclus. synon. Linnsei.)

Hebradendron cambogioides, Graham, in Hooker's Companion
to Bot. Mag. ii. (1836) 193, tab. 27.

Var. j3. pedicellata ; floribus masculis pedicellatis (pedicelli ad
3 lin. longi).

The Garcinia elliptica of Wallich appears to Professor Oliver
and myself to offer no characters sufficient to distinguish it
specifically from G. Morella — 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 Garcinice induced
Dr. Graham to propose for certain species a new genus, upon
which he conferred the name of Hebradendron, which, though Hebradendron.
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 circumscissile anther
of Graham's Hebradendron : the result of this investigation
will be best conveyed in the words of a memorandum with

330 GARCINIA AFFORDING GAMBOGE IN SIAM.

1864. which Professor Oliver has favoured me, and which is as
follows : —

"The specimens of the gamboge Garcinia from Messrs.
D'Almeida have afforded me excellent material for the examina-
tion of the anthers of this species, which exhibit an unexpected
and curious structure, which structure, however, is no doubt
common to all the species of the section Hebradendron.
Structure of " Professor Graham, in his paper upon Hebradendron, in the
auther. Companion to the Botanical Magazine (ii. 193), quotes an ex-
tract from a letter which he had received from the late Robert
Brown, in which Mr. Brown pointed out to him ' that approaches
to this structure (referring to the eircumscissile anthers), and
which serve to explain its analogy with the ordinary structure
of the family, exist in Garcinia! Messrs. Planchon and Triana,
in their excellent memoir on Guttiferce, in the description of
their sixth section of Garcinia (§ Hebradendron) , refer thus to
the peculiar structure of the anthers : — ' anthene peltatae rima
circulari dehjscentes, ideoque quasi circumscissce.' Mr. Brown's
observation as to the existence of intermediate forms, connect-
ing the structure of the Hebradendron-anthei with that of other
Garcinice, is a true one ; but in the genus Garcinia there occur
two distinct forms or types of anther, and he does not indicate
of which form he regarded the ffebradendron-Q.uih.QT as a modi-
fication. In some Garcinice, as in G. paniculata, the anthers are
truly peltate, the comparatively slender apex of the filament
being attached near the middle of the back of the anther
(Fig. 1). In these species the anther-cells are right and left on
the upper surface, and the dehiscence is longitudinal, as usual.
In some other Garcinice the filament is continued directly into
the base of the anther, passing from the base to the apex, the
anther being technically adnate. A priori the explanation of
the Hebradendron-an.t'hQT would be simply this : — that the con-
nective of a peltate anther had become dilated transversely to
such a degree that the lines of dehiscence were marginal, and
the dehiscence ^^-circumscissile, as Messrs. Planchon and
Triana term it. I believe, however, that the anthers of the
gamboge Garcinia are not peltate, that they 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 polliniferous lobes wholly, or
almost wholly, obliterated, and the pollen, lodged in 'cells of
irregular form and number towards and around the apex of the

Trans -.linn. Soc : VoTDOV T^^ SO

Gar cinia Mor ella J) esrous s ;

GARCINIA AFFORDING GAMBOGE IN SIAM.

331

anther, is set free by a special transverse line of dehiscence
adapted to this peculiar condition. Evidence, in support of
the view that the anther of Gr. Morella is a modification of the
adnate rather than of the peltate form of anther, we find in
the circumstance that the pollen is contained in numerous
irregular pouches, the anther being, in fact, multilocular, as may

1864.

be well seen either in a young anther (Figs. 2 and 3) or in an
anther after dehiscence (Fig. 4). The circumscissile line of de-
hiscence, common to the numerous loculaments of the anther, is
continuous all round the discoid apex of the connective, and is
not interrupted at two points corresponding to the organic apex
and base respectively, as it is in anthers of the ordinary peltate
form."

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATE.

°

anther.

Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.

1. Branch bearing male flowers.

2. Male flower.

3. Male flower, calyx and corolla removed.

4. Stamen showing the circumscissile anther.

5. Female flower.

6. Female flower, calyx and corolla removed.

7. Pistil.

8. Longitudinal section of same.

9. Transverse section of ovary.

10. Branch bearing fruits.

11. Transverse section of fruit, four-celled.

12. Ditto, three-celled — one-seeded by abortion.

332 BOTANICAL ORIGIN OF GAMBOGE.

1864*

ON THE BOTANICAL ORIGIN OF GAMBOGE.
[Summary^

(Read before the Pharmaceutical Society, t)ec. 7, 1864.)
(Gfarcinia Morella. Stammpflanze des Gutti-Gummiharzes.)

THE botanical origin of gamboge has been long involved in
some obscurity ; for although the drug was evidently produced
by a plant of the genus Garcinia, it has not until recently
been possible, for want of good specimens, to determine the
species.

Exportation. Hermann, a Dutch naturalist 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 Morella,
the other as G. Cambogia ; and we have it on the authority of
Mr. Thwaites, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Pera-
denia, that the former is capable of affording a very good form
of the drug, but that such is not the case with the latter, It is,
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. Whether gamboge in Siam
was yielded by the same tree as that which affords it in Ceylon,
was a question which could only be settled by a careful examina-
tion of good botanical specimens.

Some years ago Dr. Christison, of Edinburgh, received from
Singapore specimens of a Garcinia cultivated there on the estate
of Messrs. D'Almeida and Sons, which Garcinia had been
brought from Siam as the true gamboge-tree. Dr. Christison,
whose account appeared in the Pharmaceutical Journal for
November, 1850, found this plant to be nearly allied to the
G. elliptica of Wallich, but to differ from that species in having
male flowers 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'Almeida 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- ise*.
mens I carefully examined comparing them with published de- Examination
scriptions and figures, as well as with specimens contained in the of sPecimuus-
herbaria of the British Museum, of the Eoyal Gardens of Kew,
and of the Linnean Society in which investigation I had the
valuable assistance of my friend Professor Oliver. The correctness
of Dr. Christison's observation respecting the pedicellate flowers
was immediately obvious, and it was also evident that the plant,
but for this character, bore a strong resemblance to Garcinia
elliptica ; we noticed further that it came equally near to the
G. Morella of Desrousseaux. Under these circumstances we
thought it desirable to obtain the opinion of Mr. Thwaites, who,
besides being 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 G. 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 extracted from them, but rather, it
would seem, as an object of curiosity than for the purposes of
commerce. (Transact Linnean Soc., xxiv, 487 ; N. Repert. /.
Pharm., xiv. 1.)

ON THE BOTANICAL ORIGIN OF SAVAN1LLA
EH AT A NY.

( Ursprung der Ratanhia von Savanilla.)

IT is a fact well known to druggists that the Ehatany root, 1865.
which formerly found its way into European commerce from
Peru, has to a great extent been superseded by another and very

334 SAVAXLLLA 1UIATAXY.

1865. excellent form of the drug exported from New Granada, and
commonly known in the market as Savanilla Rhatany. But
from what plant this latter drug is derived, or in what part of
the vast territory of New Granada it is produced, are points
upon which I believe that no definite information has yet been
published.

Having endeavoured during some years past to elucidate these
questions but without much success, I gladly took occasion of
Mr. Weir's the recent mission to New Granada of Mr. John Weir, collector
New Granada. to tne R°val Horticultural Society, to suggest that inquiries
should be made at Santa Marta regarding Savanilla Rhatany,
and that Mr. Weir should, if possible, visit the locality where
the root is collected. The Royal 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 Jiron, a small town
lying to the west of Pamplona and about midway between it
and the river Magdalena. To this place, Mr. Weir directed his
course, arriving there in the latter part of January 1864, when
he thus wrote : —

Mr. Weir's "Jan. 3lst. Inquiring to-day where the Rhatany plant was to
report. be found, Mr. L. informs me that in various places among the
naked hills and savannahs around, the plant grows in plenty,
but none nearer than a short day's journey from Bucaramanga.
He told me, also, that he used to export large quantities of the
drug, but that he had lost $2000 by the last lot he had sent
away, and had not sent any for the last twelve months. I saw,
however, a quantity of the root in another house, packed in
bags ready to be sent away.

" Feb. lot. Started this morning for the valley of Jiron. A
few leagues above the village of that name the Rhatany was said
to be common, much of the root being there dug for export.

The road lay up the bottom of the valley, following the course
of the stream the whole way. Two leagues above the village
the plant begins to be frequent, and a league further 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 iron crowbar, a little flat-

SAVAXILLA "RIIATANY. 335

tened at the lower end ; from the same cause the roots are gene- ises.
rally broken into small pieces in the process, it being rather
brittle when fresh. The general height of the plant is about
four feet, but in some places it seems to grow stronger than in
others, and I saw considerable patches of the shrub quite six
feet in height.

" I gathered many specimens of the plant in flower and fruit,
and also a small specimen of the root attached to the stem
and branches." 1

The specimens here alluded to, consist of the pressed and
dried plant bearing flowers and fruits, and stems with roots at-
tached, the last being in every respect identical with the
Savanilla Ehatany of commerce. A slight examination sufficed Examination
to prove the plant a species of Krameria, and the next point of °
interest was the determination of the species. Turning to the
newly published Prodromus Florce Novo-Oranatensis of MM.
Triana and Planchon, one finds three species of Krameria there
enumerated, namely, Kr. Ixina, L., Kr. grandiflora, St. Hil., and
Kr. spartioides, Kl., to the first of which Mr. Weir's plant proved
to be most nearly related. Unfortunately no specimen of Kr.
Ixina now exists in the herbarium of Linnaeus, but in that of
the British Museum there are two, representing that form of
the plant which has been figured by Hayne.2 From this type
the New Granada plant differs in having leaves which in the
young and vigorous shoots have a spathulate rather than lan-
ceolate outline, besides which they are somewhat more hirsute.
In flowering shoots of less luxuriant growth, these differences
are far less marked, and the plant in this state appears to
vary but little from the true Kr. Ixina. The flowers and
fruits do not present, so far as I have observed, any marked
differences.

Upon showing Mr. Weir's plant to my friend Dr. Triana, he at Dr. Triana's
once identified it as the Kr. Ixina of the Prodromus Florce Novo- identification-
Granatensis> distinguished in his MS. notes as var. /9. granatensis.
Considering the present state of our knowledge of the species

1 Proceedings of the Itoyal Horticultural Society, Nov. and Dec. 1864,
p. 181.

Arzney Gewachse, viii. 13.

336 SAVANILLA RHATANY.

1865. of Krameria., Dr. Triana's determination of this plant as a
variety of Kr. Ixina appears to rue highly judicious, and far
safer than the introduction of a new specific name which the
receipt of further specimens would probably show to be unten-
able. I therefore accept Krameria Ixina, L. var. 13. granatensis
of Triana as the plant, the dried roots of which constitute the
drug known as Savanilla Rhatany.

Krameria This form of Kr. Ixina has an extensive geographical range,
na> ' for besides occurring in the locality already mentioned, it exists
in Brazil, where it was collected in the island of Itamaraca
near Pernambuco 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 labelled " common on dry hills in the Sertao of the pro-
vince of Ceara." 1

ON PHARMACEUTICAL HERBARIA.

(Pka rm a ceutische Herbarien. )

isee. 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 requisition
in order to obtain such knowledge are in no small degree bene-
ficial ; while the agreeable reminiscences called forth by an
inspection of the plants gathered in years long passed are such
as may well 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 further information on the hitherto-described species of Krameria,
and the various kinds of Rhatany-root found in commerce, the reader may
consult a valuable paper by Professor Otto Berg, in the Botanische Zeitung
for October and November, 1856.

PHARMACEUTICAL HERBARIA.

337

a small collection of medicinal plants preserved in herbarium- 1866t

form, and to draw 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 continental apothecary

is that he shall provide and maintain in good order for the use

of his apprentices, an herbarium of medicinal plants. Let us

draw a lesson from this. In the British Pharmacopoeia 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" a ^ aadnv^_ge

subject so uninviting to most as Materia Medica. I would not, barium.

however, restrict my herbarium to the plants of the pharma-

copoeia. There is a considerable number that are used in rustic

medicine, some cf which were 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 Hellebore, Elecampane, Lettuce, Bay,

Common Mallow, Horehound, Pennyroyal, Wormwood, Buck-

bean, Tormentilla, and Coltsfoot. To this number may be added

with advantage certain plants which are interesting to the

pharmacist from their liability to be confounded with others that

are official, as Pyrethrum and Matricaria which may be mis-

taken for Chamomile, Fool's Parsley supposed sometimes to do

duty for Conium, Hawkbit and Ehamnus Frangula, which it is

said have been passed off for Dandelion and Buckthorn.

As to exotic medicinal plants, the difficulty of obtaining Exotic plants
specimens would, I must admit, be far greater, and the pharma-
ceutical herbarium must inevitably contain many blanks. Still
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 our se-
cretary 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

338

PHARMACEUTICAL HERBARIA.

1866.

Public
Herbaria.

Mounting
botanical
specimens.

Paper for
Mounting.

tropical plants as the Clove, Cinnamon, Allspice, Cassia Fistula,
Pareira Brava arid Quassia.

One of the more complete herbaria of the character I 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 feel or wish to feel interested in botany, to commence
themselves the formation of an herbarium of medicinal plants,
taking as a nucleus those commonest plants of our gardens, fields,
hedgerows and commons, the Cherry-Laurel, Lavender, Dan-
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 words may be said on
the best method 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-
sects. In the first place it should be a rule that no specimen
should be mounted unless previously brushed over with an
alcoholic solution of corrosive sublimate, a precaution 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
better ; 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 for the better secur-
ing of woody stems, roots, bulbs, and such like. The paper on
which specimens are mounted should be good and stout, and in
oblong pieces measuring about 17 inches by 10. The usual

CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS. 339

method of putting by mounted specimens is to place them loose isee.
in brown-paper covers, which are afterwards arranged one above The Pharm-
another in the pigeon-holes of a cabinet. For an herbarium . &cls.ts

D herbarium.

specially pharmaceutical, comprising as it necessarily would but
a limited number of specimens, a large book made so as to open
flat, would probably be even more convenient than the ordinary
loose sheets in covers. The specimens would be retained in
proper sequence, and be more compact and manageable than if
upon separate sheets. Some well-arranged volumes of this kind
would afford much of the benefit to be derived from engraved
figures ; in fact, in many cases the examination of an actual
specimen is far more impressive and informing than the inspec-
tion of a plate. The authors of the British Pharmacopoeia have
carefully mentioned in what works figures may be found of the
several plants enumerated in that volume. The number of
works thus 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 them, while to purchase the whole
series a sum would be required approaching £230.

I trust I have said sufficient to show that the formation of
herbaria of medicinal plants is a subject that merits some
attention at the hands of the Pharmaceutical Society.

EEMAEKS ON THE NECESSITY FOPt A FURTHER
CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS.

( Cultur qfficineller Pflanzen.)

ALL who are engaged in the buying or selling of drugs are 1867.
well aware of the remarkable fluctuations to which such com- Fluctuation of
modities are liable ; all know that a drug which at one time is Price-
scarce and high-priced may suddenly become so plentiful as
to be nearly unsaleable. This is especially the case with drugs
recently introduced and for reasons which it is not difficult to
explain. A drug, the production 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 drug bid fair to have

z 2

340 CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS.

1867. important uses, this high price leads to inquiry abroad and
usually to the shipment of large supplies, — often so much too
Fluctuation large as to involve the owners of the commodity in great loss,
of imported ^ reaction ensues, no one will import what has been unremune-
rative, and consequently after the lapse of time the drug grows
scarce, until the price mounts to a figure high enough to tempt
a fresh importation. The scarcity of old-established drugs is
dependent on a variety of circumstances, some of which are
curious from the remoteness of their effects. Thus the demand
for cotton consequent on the war in the United States, stimu-
lated the culture of that crop in Asia Minor ; and as the growing
and picking of cotton required many hands, the wages of the
peasantry so greatly advanced that it was less profitable than
usual to collect Scammony, 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 high price of
snake-root, senega and other drugs of the United States. The
increased value of jalap is probably due to the unsettled state
of Mexico.

Kino. East Indian kino of the best kind is a drug which during the

past few years has become exceedingly scarce, or I might say has
ceased to be imported. 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, which though
considered inferior in quality was freely sold and at a much
lower rate than the old drug. The price of Tellicherry kino
consequently fell enormously, and it would seem that the drug
has ceased to be brought into the market.

Ipecacuanha. Ipecacuanha again has doubled in value since 1850 owing
partly, it is said, to the extirpation of the plant from old
habitats and the consequent necessity of collecting it from new
and more distant localities, and partly to the circumstance that
the stock of the drug is in the hands of but few persons, who
are thus able to restrict the export and in consequence to raise
the price.

WASTEFUL MODE OF COLLECTION. 341

The rarity of a drug or its total disappearence is due in some 1867.
cases to an improvident and ruinous method of collection. improvident
Thus, a century ago there was still found in commerce Loxa collection,
bark that had been stripped from tree-trunks of no mean
dimensions, and some such bark which I have seen has a
thickness of a quarter of an inch and is rich in alkaloids. At
the present day, old trees yielding this species of bark are
unknown, all the Loxa bark of modern commerce being derived
from shrubs, which are stripped even to their smallest twigs.1
The same fate seems likely to fall (if it has not already done
so) on the red bark of Ecuador, the thick or tabla 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 Azuay in the Red bark.
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 this valuable species. The slopes of Chimborazo, which
the same traveller visited in the succeeding year, offered similar
evidence of an improvident and destructive method of bark-
collecting, the very roots of the trees having been in many
cases dug out and stripped of their bark. This valuable cinchona
is, however, now so well established in India (the number of
trees on the Neilgherry Hills alone amounting in May 1866
to 297,465,)2 that there is no danger of an utter failure of red
bark, at all events of such as may be obtained from young
wood.

The advanced price of scammony already mentioned, presents Causes of
an instance in which the supply of a drug is diminished by the scarclty-
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 drugs the demand for which
has been small and uncertain. Thus it has beerl more advan-

1 Cross, Report on Expedition to Procure Seeds of Cinchona condaminea in '
the Forests of Loxa, November 1861.

2 Parliamentary Return, ordered by the House of Commons to be printed
18th June 1866.

342

CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS.

Rhodium
wood.

1867. tageous to grow sugar, coffee, cotton and cacao than to collect
the forest-products which in earlier times formed articles of
trade. To this cause I think we must attribute the disap-
pearance from commerce of such drugs as South American
Elemi, Idquidambar Eesin, the fragrant Tacamahaca, Caranna,
Winter's Bark and Contrayerva Eoot, all of which were fur-
nished by the Spanish colonies a century ago.

Turning to the Old World, we may note the disappearance of
the sweet-scented Ehodium wood once found in our shops.
This substance is derived from two remarkable shrubby species
of Convolvulus occurring in the Canaries, in which islands,
however, as I have been informed by Dr. Bolle, who at my
request made special inquiries on the subject, no shrubs are
now to be found having woody stems thick enough to be worth
collecting. The oil of Ehodium sold in the shops is well known
to be an artificial compound.

Sagapenum. Sagapenum may also be mentioned as a drug that has almost

ceased to be imported ; and it is one of which we know neither

the botanical source nor exact place of production, a remark

that applies to another gum-resin of the same class, namely,

Opopanax. opopanax.

From considerations such as the foregoing, it becomes evident
that the supply of many drugs which are obtained without
culture is of necessity fluctuating and precarious and most
persons will be disposed to acquiesce in the remark of an
accomplished modern traveller and naturalist, that " whatever
vegetable substance is needful to man, he must ultimately
cultivate the plant producing it." This indeed is a truth exem-
plified in many ways. In the animal kingdom we find it
needful to cultivate, so to speak, both oysters and salmon, while
partridges, pheasants, grouse, hares and foxes all receive in our
island protection sufficient to save them from extermination.
In the vegetable kingdom, and in that branch of it with which
we have to do, there are several medicinal plants once easily
procured in a wild state which it has now become necessary to
cultivate. Henbane, belladonna, foxglove, hemlock, penny-
royal and valerian have all to be cultivated, in order that

Necessity for
cultivation.

ADVANTAGES OF CULTIVATION. 343

they may be obtained abundantly and regularly : and it seems 1867.
probable that even the common dandelion may soon be honoured
with the 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 Cinchona.
East Indies presents an instance, and a very remarkable one,
of the culture of an exotic plant hitherto only know in a wild
state. 1 do not intend here to survey the progress of cinchona
plantations. Their success, however, is so promising that it
should stimulate further enterprise of the same kind, and espe-
cially the introduction to India of ipecacuanha.

The ipecacuanha plant, CepJicelis Ipecacuanha, A. Eich., which Ipecacuanha
belongs to the same order as the cinchona, is a native of Brazil,
where it occurs in shady humid forests, lying between the 8th and
20th parallels of south latitude. The plant is also found in New
Granada, in which country, however, its root is not collected
to any large extent. The supply of the drug is therefore drawn
from Brazil, whence in 1862 it was exported to the value
of £11,225.

The consumption of ipecacuanha in India is large, as may be
judged from the fact that the Indian Government purchased
3,571 Ibs. of the drug in the year 1860, 4,011 Ibs. in 1859, 2,636
Ibs. in 1858 and 1,386 Ibs. 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 humble 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
cultivators in our own possessions, as well as those in the Dutch
East Indies and in Algeria.

One special advantage that accrues from the cultivation and
preparation of medicinal plants by civilized and intelligent
persons, 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.

1867. Tinnevelly senna, which is but a cultivated form of the senna
Tinnevelly produced on the shores of the Eed Sea, and known from its
senna. port of shipment to Europe as Bombay senna. How remark-
able the contrast between these two drugs ! "Would not similar
Columba advantages be derived from the cultivation in India of Columba
root? This drug 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
India.

Hemidesmus There are two other drugs which I have of ten thought it would
ChTretta1 ^e a(^vantageous to procure in a better condition than we now
usually find 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.

Jalap. Another 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 this drug I will not in this place say more.

Let me in conclusion commend attention to the words with
which I commenced this paper — the necessity for a further
cultivation of medicinal plants. [N. Eepert.f. Pharm. xvi., 365.]

ON THE CULTIVATION OF JALAP.

(Cultur der Jalapenwinde, Iponicea Purga.)

1867. THE considerations which render it expedient that the culti-

vation of jalap should be attempted in some other country than
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 1867.
commerce.

The cultivation of jalap to be successful must result in pro- Essential
ducing the drug identical in medicinal activity with that hither- re<luisltes-
to employed, of uniform good quality, of moderate price, and in
sufficient quantity to be noticeable in the market. Experience
alone 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 (Exogonium purga, Benth.)
naturally thrives ; and what the method actually pursued for
collecting and preparing the drug for the market. On these sub-
jects the most graphic information that I have met with, is con-
tained in a letter addressed by Dr. Schiede, a German traveller and Dr. Schiede.
botanist, to Dr. D. F. L. von Schlechtendal ; it bears date Mexico,
26th October, 1829, and was published in the periodical called
Linncea the following year. Of this letter, the following is a
translation : —

Before I leave Chiconquiaco1 I must communicate to you the
most interesting facts which I have observed on the occurrence
of Convolvulus Jalapa, as well as what I have learnt respecting
the collection of the root and its preparation for the market.
In my last collections from Jalapa, I sent you a large number of
flowering specimens, and added a short description of the plant,
so that this latter I may here omit.

The herbaceous plant whose tuberous root furnishes the
almost indispensable medicine called jalap, does not grow in the Jalap,
immediate vicinity of Jalapa, but several thousand feet higher
on the eastern slopes of the Mexican Andes, especially about
Chiconquiaco and the neighbouring 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. In 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 intervals, on the mountains as well as on

1 Chiconquiaco is a village situated on the mountain known as the Cofre
de Perote, and in the region called by the Mexicans Tierrafria. — D.H.

346 CULTIVATION OF JALAP.

1867. 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 and September. The root is dug up during the
whole year, but probably that is preferable which is collected
before the young shoots appear, — that is to say in March and
April. The tubers are sometimes elongated, sometimes round,
and always terminate in a rootlet, In the fresh state they are
whitish, almost inodorous and full of a viscid juice which has a
peculiar acrid taste. When collected, the large tubers are cut
Drying the through, but the smaller left entire. As drying them in the sun

tubers. would probably be impracticable, they are placed in a net and
then hung over the al most-con stantly burning hearth where by
degrees they dry, and by which process they almost always ac-
quire a smoky appearance and somewhat sooty smell. In about
ten to fourteen days the Purgob is dry, and is then taken by the
collectors who are mostly Indians, to Jalapa, where it is bought
up, and whence it is conveyed by way of Vera Cruz into the
markets of Europe.

The Indians of Chiconquiaco are commencing to cultivate
Garden culti- the jalap plant in their gardens. The future will show whether

vation of jt.s p0wers 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, which in the thick forests
is attended with difficulty. I do not abandon the hope that
Convolvulus Jalapa may some day be planted in oiir gardens on
a large scale ; is not the potato a native of a similar region ?
The plant 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 Madre.

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 I am also indebted for more than a hundred
living tubers of the jalap plant : —

" The tubers of jalap require a deep rich vegetable soil (dJbris
of the leaves of Finns, Quercus, Alnus, etc.), and as they grow
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 JALAP. 347

during the night. In the daytime from 60° to 75° Fahr. is their 1867.
almost daily warmth. Around Cordova the plant will not suc-
ceed, the climate being too warm. I would advise you to plant
some of the tubers out in the free air, treating them like dahlias,
that is, to take up the roots in October, and plant them again in
March or April. Although the plants may not flower or ripen
seeds, the tubers will grow in size, and what is more important,
will multiply underground ad infinitum. If jalap-roots so far
have failed in Europe, it is because they have been treated as
hothouse plants."

Having these data regarding the climate and soil which are Soil and
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 having a temperature rising in sum-
mer to about 75° F. and sinking in winter to the freezing point
is that which the plant naturally affects ; and this is confirmed
by the fact that the plant thrives perfectly well in the open air
during the summer months, in gardens in the south of England,
but that it will not endure unprotected the severe frosts of
winter. Whether the great altitude above the sea-level at which
it occurs in Mexico, is an indispensable 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 Suggestions
on the southern side of the Isle of Wight, it is probable the
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 Neilgherry Hills in the Madras Presidency offer perhaps the
greatest combination of advantages for attempting the culti-

348 CULTIVATION OF JALAP.

1867. vation of jalap. Not only is there a Government garden at
Ootacamund, 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
Advantages might be carried on. To these advantages must be added the
Ootawmund ^ac^ ^ia^ Ootacamund is the habitual residence of numerous in-
telligent Europeans, whose attention has been specially directed,
in connection with cinchona-culture, to those circumstances of
soil, climate, and planting, on which the successful 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 be wise to re-
strict experiments to one spot.

It must not, however, be supposed that no attempts to cultivate
jalap have hitherto been made, though it may be safely asserted
that none have resulted in obtaining for the market a better
Experiments supply of the drug. In Mexico, as Schiede relates, the Indians
iU JvatFonUlti" 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 Royal Horticultural Society and from Dr.
Balfour, of Edinburgh, to the Himalayas, where he hoped they
would soon be established.1 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 he
had no doubt the plant could be cultivated on the mountains of
Jamaica as an article of commerce.

The culture of Exogonium purga, Benth., is also being

1 Manual of Mat. Med. and Therap. ed. 1853, p. 553. In Birdwood's
Catalogue of the Economic Products of the Presidency of Bombay, Bombay,
1862, it is stated at p. 57, that Exogonium purga, Benth., is " cultivated on
account of Government at Hewra." I am, however, assured that there is
some error in this statement, and the plant does not now exist in the Hewra
garden.

lina: Soc . Journ: Bob. VolXL tab 2 .

^»omoea smiiilans . Ecunbwry .

TAMPICO JALAP. 349

attempted in the south of France by Professor Dr. J. E. 1867.
Planchon, of Montpellier, and by M. Gustave Thuret, 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.

There is one other point in connection with this subject upon
which we seem 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 mode
at present pursued will also deserve attention. It is probable that of
this object will be accomplished by slicing the tubers while
fresh, and drying them with the gentle heat of a stove. [N. Ee-
pert.f. Pharm. xvi. 421.]

ON A SPECIES OF IPOMCEA, AFFOKDING TAMPICO

JALAP.

(With Plate.)
(Read at the Linnean Society, December 16th, 1869.)

Two centuries and a half have elapsed since jalap, the 187O.
tubercule of a convolvulaceous plant of Mexico, was introduced
into the Materia Medica of Europe. The botanical origin of
the drug long remained unsettled, evidence of which exists in
the fact that two plants, neither of which yields jalap, have in
succession received, and still retain, the specific name Jalapa.
The veritable source of jalap, however, was brought to light
between the years 1827 and 1830, in which latter the plant was
described by Wenderoth as C(mvolwdus Purga. In 1833 it was
figured by Hayne under the name of Ipomcca Purga ; but in ipomosa
1839 it was transferred, on account of its tubular corolla and urga"

350

TAMPICO JALAP.

1870.

Tampico
Jalap.

Botanical
origin.

exsert stamens, to Choisy's genus Exogonium. As this genus
has been recently united to Ipomosa by Dr. Meisner, it appears
best to return to the name proposed by Hayne, and to call the
true jalap-plant Ipomcea purga.

The unsettled condition of Mexico, and the fluctuations of
commerce, have alternately depreciated or enhanced the value of
jalap, and have led to the occasional importation of other roots
possessing more or less of the characters of the true drug. Of
such kinds of jalap, one of the most remarkable is a tubercule
imported a few years ago for the first time from Tampico, and
thence called Tampico jalap.1 This drug has been extensively
brought into the 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 continental 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 my friend Hugo Finck, Esq.,
Prussian Vice-Consul at Cordova (Mexico), begging that he
would, if possible, procure for me some information on the
subject. Mr. Finck at first expressed strong doubts as to Tam-
pico jalap being anything else than the root of Batatas jalapa,
Chois., known in Mexico as Purga macho. Upon inquiry,
however, he ascertained that such could not be the case, but
that it is a production of the State of Guanajuato, where it
grows along the Sierra Gorda, in the neighbourhood of San Luis
de la Paz. At this town, and in the adjacent villages, it is pur-
chased of the Indians and carried by the muleteers to Tampico,
where it is known as Purga de Sierra Gorda.

All attempts to procure specimens of the plant were for some
time fruitless, chiefly owing to the difficulty of finding any one
in the district who could be induced to take the needful trouble.
The perseverance of Mr. Finck and his friend Mr. E. Benecke,
Consul- General for Prussia in the city of Mexico, overcame at
length this obstacle, but only to meet with others hardly less

1 I cannot, at least, trace this jalap to have been offered in commerce as a
distinct sort earlier than about five or six years ago.

IPOM(EA SIMULANS. 351

embarrassing. The first lot of specimens despatched from 187O.
Guanajuato was stolen from the mail ; the second shared the specimens
same fate: while a third, which included live tubercules, was, ,. fro.m ,

_ ' Guanajuato.

by successive detentions on the way, fully 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 the
satisfaction of discovering one solitary tubercule exhibiting signs
of vitality. This, placed in a greenhouse and carefully nursed,
soon began to grow with rapidity, and, on removal to an open
border, produced a tall and vigorous plant, which towards Successful
September showed signs of flowering. It was then taken up and raislpfan3tf *
replaced in the greenhouse, where it blossomed freely in October
last, but did not mature any seeds. Accompanying the tuber-
cules, but of course in a separate box, my correspondent sent
some pressed and dried specimens from Guanajuato, which
corresponded perfectly with the growing plant.

Having ascertained, from the study of these materials, that the Identification
plant belonged to the genus Ipomma, I endeavoured to identity c
it with some species described in the Prodromus of De Can-
dolle, or in the subsequently published Annales of Walpers,
but without success. Neither was 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 Mr. Finck. It bears a number which
is not mentioned in the enumeration, by Martens, of Galeotti's
Convolvulacece (contained in the Bulletin de I'Acaddmie Roy ale
de Bruxelles^ ; and I therefore 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
Ipom&.a simulans. The specific name is chosen in allusion to Diagnosis of
the remarkable similarity which the plant bears in foliage and
habit to the true jalap (Ipomcea purga, Hayne), not to mention
the resemblance of its tubercules. The funnel-shaped corolla
and pendent flower-buds of the Tampico jalap-plant are quite
1 Tome xii. pt. 2 (1845), p. 257.

352 IPOMCEA SIMULANS— CHLORAL.

1870. unlike the corresponding parts of /. purga, and furnish a ready
means of distinguishing the two species : —

Ipomcea simulans, sp. nov. Radice tuberosa, caule volubili
herbaceo glabro, foliis ovatis, acuminatis, cordatis v. sagittatis,
indivisis, pedunculis unifloris solitariis, sepalis parvis.
Habitat. Hob. in Andibus Mexicanis Sierra Gorda dictis, prov. Gua-
najuato (fide cl. Finck) ; in regione frigida ad ped. 8000 prope
Oaxaca (H. Galeotti, No. 1369 !).

Radix. Radix napiformis v. subglobosa v. elongata, carnosa, 2-3 poll,

longa, basi fi brill osa. Caules herbacei, graciles. Folia glaber-
rima, 2-4 pollicaria, 1-2 poll, lata, lobis baseos acutis v. rotun-
datis v. subtruncatis, petiolo tenui, lj-2J-pollicari. Pedunculi
axil! ares, petiolurn subasquantes, penduli, uniflori v. in planta
vegetiore novelli alabrastra duo ferentes, altero semper (ut
videtur) abortive. Pedicelli incrassati, basi bracteis 2 minutis.
Sepala ovata, obtusa, exteriora paullulum breviora. Corolla
infundibuliformis, 1^—2 poll, longa, glabra, rosea, pallide striata.
Stigma bilobum. Capsula calycern superans, conica, 2— locularis,
valvis 4 coriaceis. Semina glabia.

Description of the Plate. — Fig. 1, Calyx and pistil; 2, Ovary;
3, Mature capsule : all magnified.

NOTE ON CHLORAL.

(Chloral hydrat ah arzneimittefy

1869. AT the British Pharmaceutical Conference held at Exeter, the

President (Mr. Hanbury) drew 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 Dr. Oscar Liebreich.
Chloral in an anhydrous state is a heavy, volatile, colourless
liquid produced by the action of chlorine upon alcohol and
having the composition C2 C13 OH. 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 substance is ex-
tremely soluble in water, affording when pure a neutral solution
which is unacted on by nitrate of silver or by acids, but which
is immediately decomposed by a caustic alkali, chloroform being
set free. This property suggested to Liebreich the idea of em-
ploying it therapeutically. He conceived that if it were brought
into contact with the blood, chloroform would be evolved in a

CHLORAL— RARE ESSENTIAL OILS.

353

gradual manner, and anaesthesia, less transient than that obtained 1869.
by inhalation of chloroform, would be produced.

It was, in fact, found by experiment that hydrate of chloral Choral hy-
administered to rabbits produced profound sleep, and similar
results followed its administration to human beings. The first
case in which man was the subject was that of a lunatic, to
whom a dose 1*35 grammes of the hydrate was injected subcu-
taneously, the effect produced being a sleep of five hours' dura-
tion. An internal dose of 3*5 grammes given in a wineglassful
of water was followed by sleep which lasted for the rather
alarming period of sixteen hours. The ordinary dose recom-
mended by Dr. Liebreich, as an hypnotic, is 2*5 grammes, about
38 grains.

1869.

Rare Essential
Oils.

RARE ESSENTIAL OILS.

(Seltene dtherische Oele.)

AT the same conference Mr. Hanbury exhibited to the meeting
authentic specimens of the following, viz.

Essential Oil of Canella alba.

„ Clove Bark or Culitlawang.

„ Chian Turpentine.

„ the leaves of Pinus sylvestris.
„ „ „ Pumilio.

„ the cones of Abies pectinata.

„ Ptychotis Ajowan.

„ Origanum vulgare.

„ Mexican Lignaloe.

With regard to that obtained from the leaves of Pinus sylves-
tris, and sometimes called Fir-wood oil, he observed that, admin-
istered by inhalation, it has of late been recommended in certain
diseases of the throat and respiratory organs.

Dr. Morell Mackenzie, by whom in this country it has been
chiefly prescribed, has also employed the essential oil of the Oil of pinus
leaves and twigs of Pinus Pumilio, a pine which covers many

A A

354 RARE ESSENTIAL OILS.

1869. of the barren limestone slopes of the Southern Alps at an ele-
vation of 4000 to 7000 feet. This pine is closely related to the
common Scotch fir (Finns sylvestris), but has a curious decurn-
beut habit of growth, giving it 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 (Ulex Europcea). 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
Emulsion of Pinus sylvestris and of P. Pumilio have been prescribed in
- England in the form of emulsion made thus : —

B. Olei pini sylvestris Sijss
Magnesias carbonat. 3iss
Aquae destillatse ad giij

Misce. — One or two teaspoonfuls in a pint of warm water to
be inhaled (from an inhaler) for ten minutes twice a day.

Dr. Mackenzie has also prescribed the oils of Abies pectinate^
of cajeput, of hops, and of sandal wood. The specimen of oil
of Abies pectinata was distilled in the neighbourhood of Berne.
In odour it resembles the fine, 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
Strasburg turpentine.

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 as
a perfume.1

1 Some account of the wood from which it is obtained will be found in a
paper by Mr. Collins in the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, for April 1869,
p. 590.

MANNA.

355

HISTOEICAL NOTES ON MANNA.

(Zur Geschichte der Manna in Caldbrien und Sicilien.)

WHATEVER was the true nature of the substance provided for
the sustenance of the ancient Israelites, and termed by them
manna, that name has in subsequent ages been used to desig-
nate certain saccharine exudations produced in hot countries
upon the stems, branches or leaves of trees, shrubs, or herba-
ceous plants, belonging to various families. 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 small,
thorny, leguminous plant, known to botanists as Alliagi Mauro-
rum ; and in Kurdistan, an evergreen-oak affords an analogous
product. These substances have from a remote period been
employed as food or medicine, and they are still found, though
in small quantities in the bazaars of the East. The cedar of
Lebanon, the larch, a Cistus, and certain Australian species of
Eucalyptus likewise yield at certain seasons saccharine 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
different origin, being a product obtained in considerable 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 with my friend Dr.
Fliickiger, of Berne, he drew my attention to this curious fact, —
that in the early history of Sicily no mention is made of manna
as a production of the 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
sufficient 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, might enable him to impart some
hints for my guidance. But he has been good enough to render

A A 2

1869.

Ancient

manna.

Modern
manna.

Col. Ynle's
researches.

356

1869.

HISTORICAL NOTES ON MANNA.

Meteoric
manna.

Oriental
fancies.

me still greater service in furnishing extracts from several authors
whose works I might otherwise have overlooked.

With regard to manna which has fallen from the atmosphere, or
as it is termed meteoric manna, the grand example is that de-
scribed in the book of Exodus. Of this it may be safely affirmed
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 examples of meteoric manna which come
fairly within the 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 the sky, is very
ancient and still lingers in the East. In the case of the manna-
ash, it was disproved by the Franciscan monks Angelus, Palea
and Bartholomseus 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,
manna was produced as before.1 But this reasonable conclusion
was regarded as scarcely orthodox, and the learned Matthioli
was at much pains to supply an explanation more, as he thought,
in accordance with Scripture.

The special point, however, which I desire to discuss in this
paper relates to the period at which ash-manna began to be
collected. Manna is mentioned more or less particularly by
most of the Arabian physicians with whose works we are
acquainted, but the allusions are all to Oriental manna, and
not to that of Italy or Sicily. This is manifest from the
Ebn Beithar. writings of Ebn Beithar,2 one of the most eminent and learned
men of his time and a great traveller ; and who, being a native
of Malaga, 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 Beithar is moreover in

1 Geoffrey, Tractatus de Mat. Med. ii. 587. The whole disquisition of
this author, De Manna SoJutiva, is replete with information.
1 Ed. Sontheimer, 1840-42. i., 207., ii. 533.

HISTORICAL NOTES ON MANNA. 357

the habit of quoting extensively from other authors. He died 1869.
about A.D. 1248.

One fact may be held to prove that the Saracens were not
entirely ignorant of the production of manna in Sicily, and it
is this — there exists a mountain near Cefalu which is called by
the Arabic name Gibil-manna, literally Manna-mountain,1 Gibil-manna.
Other mountains in the island retain the Arabic name of gibil.
Whether the word manna was affixed subsequently to the
Saracenic occupation, or whether, as is more probable, the whole
name was bestowed by the Arab population in virtue of the
trees of the mountain yielding manna, is a point I am unable
to decide.2

In the thirteenth century, Sicily was under the dominion of
the Emperor Frederic II., a sovereign who appears to have been
very solicitous to develop its resources, as is proved by many
documents extant relative to the affairs of the island. Thus in
a letter dated A.D. 1239, he directs that certain Jews settled at
Palermo are to farm his date plantations at Favara, and to
cultivate them after their own manner. He also writes about
the cultivation of vineyards and the introduction of indigo and
henna, and of divers other plants of Barbary, not then known
to grow in Sicily. But so far as I can discover, there is no
allusion to manna.3

Pegolotti, an Italian who wrote a sort of mercantile hand- Pegolotti,
book circa A.D. 1340, has a chapter on Messina and Palermo, AlD' 134°*
but does not mention manna as a production of Sicily ; yet in
enumerating the articles sold by the pound at the former city,
he names manna apparently as a foreign production, since he
couples it with cloves, cubebs, rhubarb, mace and long pepper.

Further evidence of a negative sort is afforded by Giovanni
di Antonio da Uzzanno, who in his work called Libro di Gabelli,
written circa A.D. 1442, mentions the exports of Naples and of

1 Amico, Lexicon Topographicum Siculum, iii. (1760), 242.

8 Colonel Yule has remarked that Salmasius, in his JExercitationes Plini-
ance, alludes to StxeXiKov pawa as mentioned by the Medici reeentiores Greed,
but without specifying more particularly who they are.

8 Historia Diplomatica Frcderiti Secundi, par J. L. A. Huillard-Brehollea,
t. iv. 213 ; t. v. 571.

358

1869.

Saladinus,
1488.

G. G. Pon-
tano.

HISTORICAL NOTES ON MANNA.

Calabria as wine, oil, corn, cheese, salted meat, nuts, chestnuts,
soap, and oranges, but makes no reference to manna.1

The earliest actual mention of manna as "an Italian drug
that I have found, is in the Compendium Aromatariorum of
Saladinus, printed at Bologna in 1488. Saladinus was
physician to one of the Princes of Tarentum in Calabria;
neither the date of his birth nor that of his death is known,
but it would appear that he was living between A.D. 1442 and
1458 ; for he states that during his time the King of Arragon
punished his druggist at Naples by a fine of 9,000 ducats and
degradation from office, because the king's physicians having
prescribed white coral as an ingredient of a cordial electuary,
the druggist not possessing it, substituted red coral. This
incident affords a clue to the age of Saladinus, for it was
Alphonso V., King of Arragon who laid siege to Naples,
captured it in 1442, and died in 1458.

The work of Saladinus to which I have alluded is a sort of
handbook for the aromatarius or druggist, and is remarkable
for much practical good sense. Besides numerous formulae 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 for May there occurs the
following passage : —

"Collige etia in isto mese inana ta in oriete qm in Calabria
quia tune ros ille preciosius de celo cadit."

Contemporary with Saladinus lived Giovanni Gioviano
Poutano (A.D. 1426 — 1503), a celebrated historian, statesman,
philosopher and poet. Among his numerous writings is a work
entitled Liber Meteororum, in which there is a poem headed De
Pruind et Rore et Mannd; this effusion notices in very cir-
cumstantial terms the collection of manna by the peasants on

1 Pegolotti's work forms the third volume and Da Uzzano's the fourth, of
the book published anonymously by Gian Francesco Pagnini under the title
of Delia Decima e di varie altre Gravezze Imposte dal Commune di Firenze,
etc., Lisb. e Lucca, 1765-6, 4°, iii. 96 ; iv. 96-98. Some valuable inform-
ation on Pegolotti and his writings may be found in Colonel Yule's Cathay,
and tfie Way Thither, Lend. 1866. (Hakluyt Society) vol. ii. 279.

HISTORICAL NOTES ON MANNA. 359

the banks of the Crati in Calabria, describing the production 1869.
of the drug in language which may be rendered thus :—

... There in the middle of summer, under a burning sun,
while heat prevails and the cloven earth gapes, — when no
breeze is stirring, and the humid air is still, it (the manna)
gradually exudes and, condensed as a viscid fluid, runs into
drops and thickens on the thirsty leaves, — and further hardened
by successive suns, it acquires the appearance of wax and the
taste of honey. Such as the bees obtain by their instinctive
art and mutual aid, this nature produces for the medicinal use
of mankind.

I subjoin the passage in a foot-note.1

In the second half of the fifteenth century flourished EafTaele Raffaele Maf-
Maffei, called also Volaterranus, a voluminous writer, who among
other works has left one entitled Commentarii Urbani, in which
we find a sentence in the following words : —

" Manna nostra setate ccepit in Calabria provenire : licet
orientali inferior."

The signification of this I take to be, that manna first began
to be collected in Calabria, within the author's recollection, but
that it was not considered so good as the eastern manna.

It is to be observed that Saladinus, Pontano and Maffei all
speak of manna as a production of Calabria, and it is evident,

1 Quinetiam Calabris ill saltibus, ac per opacum
Labitur ingenti Crathis, qua ccerulus alveo,
Quaque etiam Syriis sylvae convailibus horrent
Felices sylvae, quaruin de fronde liquescunt
Divini roris latices, quos sedula passim
Turba legit, gratum auxilium languentibus segris.

Illic sestate in media, sub sole furenti
Duin regnat calor et terrse finduntur hiantes.
* * * * *

Cum nullse spirant aurce, et silet humidus aer

Contrahitur paulatim, et lento humore coactua

In guttas abit, et foliis sitlentibus hserens

Lentescit, rursumque diurno a sole recoctus

Induit et speciem cerse, mellisque saporem.

Quodque et apes prasstant arte, ingenitoque favore

Hoc medicos natura hominum producit in usis.

Pontani Opera, Venet. 1513, Lib. Meteor, p. 113.

s Volaterranus (Raph.) Comment. Urban., Paris, 1515, fol., lib. 38. f. 413.
I have not been able to consult an earlier edition of his works published, it is
aid, at Rome in 1506,

360 HISTORICAL NOTES ON MANNA.

1869. I think, that for a long time the drug was afforded by that region

and not by Sicily.

Ancient Brasavolus, of Ferrara, describing the drugs found in the shops
writers on the circa ^.D. 1537, mentions manna as a production of Calabria.1
Manna. Matthioli (1548) remarks that of manna he has only seen two
sorts — the Levantine and the Calabrian.2

Alberti, in his Descrittione di tutta Italia, published at Bologna
in 1550, mentions manna as found in Calabria.3

Garcia d'Orta (1563)4and Christopher Acosta (1 5 74)5 describe
different kinds of Oriental manna, contrasting them with that of
Calabria.

Still more significant is the fact that Fazelli, a well-known
writer on Sicily (1558), in a chapter on the productiveness of
the island boasts of its wine, oil, sugar, honey, fruits and saffron,
but says not one word of manna or the manna-ash.6

The manna collected in these early times was undoubtedly

Spontaneous that which the trees produced spontaneously, but it was

on> neither abundant nor cheap.7 That which exuded from the

leaves was esteemed the best, and was called manna difoglia, or

manna di fronda ; it is described as being in the form of solid,

translucent, white grains resembling little grains of mastich, and

having a sweet and agreeable taste. The second sort was that

which flowed spontaneously from the trunk and branches, and

was termed manna di corpo ; while the third or commonest

kind was that picked up from the ground.

Towards the middle of the sixteenth century, it was found
that a much more copious supply of manna could be obtained
New mode of by notching the bark of the tree, and this new method of pro-
curing the dmg began to be adopted s But tne innovation did

1 Examen omnium Siniplicium, Lugd. 1537, 8°, p. 335.
3 Comment, in Lib. i, Diosc. cap. 70.
3 P. 198.

* Colloquios dos Simples, etc., Goa, 1563, 4°, p. 132.

6 Tractado de las Drogas y Medicinas de las Indias Orientalis, Burgos,
1578, 8°, p. 399.

6 De Eebus Skulis, Dec. i. lib. i. ch. 4, De, Ubertate Sicilice.

7 Fiore da Cropani in his Calabria Illustrata, Napoli, 1691, says (p. 253)
that the manna di fronda has been sometimes sold even in Calabria at 50
scudi for 6 ounces.

8 In Bauhin's edition of the Commentaries of Matthioli, published at

HISTORICAL NOTES ON MANNA. 361

not pass unnoticed, for in the year 1562 Marino Spinelli, being iee&.
protomedico of the kingdom of Naples, set about inquiring as to
the article sold by the druggists as manna : and as he doubtless
found it no longer corresponded with that of former days, he
declared, in concert with other learned physicians, that it was
by no means good ; and further to enforce his opinion, he pro-
cured the issuing of a public edict, prohibiting the druggists
under a severe penalty from using any other manna than that of
the leaf. This law proved very injurious to the Calabrians ; it
was felt also to be both severe and unjust by many of the physi-
cians one of whom, Aunibal Briganti, took up the question in a Annibal
philosophical spirit, made many visits to the manna-districts, and
investigated the differences alleged to exist between one sort of
exudation and another. This 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 which, I am sorry to say, he has had very little credit ; for
not wholly trusting his own judgment on a subject so grave
and controversial, he sent his MS. from Chieti, where he lived,
to another learned man, Donatus Antonius ab Altomari of
Naples, who so entirely approved of it that he immediately pub-
lished the whole of it in his own name I1 Under the assumed Literary ap-
propriation,
authorship of Altomari we have then this essay as a quarto

pamphlet of forty-six pages, printed at Venice in 1562, and
entitled, De Mannce differentiis ac viribus deque eas diynoscendi
via ac ratione ; and as if to give the work greater weight, it is
in the form of an epistle- addressed to Hieronimus Albertinus,
Neapolitan prime minister of Philip II., a monarch whose
connection with the English crown and Spanish Armada has
caused his name to be well remembered in our annals.

The custom of promoting the exudation of manna by wounding

Basle in 1574, the practice of making incisions in the bark of the tree is dis-
tinctly alluded to as being followed in Apulia and Calabria "hdc cetate."

1 " Senza pure un minima segno di gratitudine." — The account of this
shameless piracy is related with much moderation by Briganti himself in his
Italian edition of Garcia D'Orta, published at Venice in 1582 (p. 50).

362 CALABRIAN MANNA.

1869. the stem and branches of the trees, must have occasioned a
Increased pro- great increase in the production of the drug, a proof of which
auction. We have in the statement of Fiore (1691) that the sole district
of Campana and Bocchiglioro affords annually 30,000 Ibs. with
great profit to the gatherers, and 1100 ducats of excise to the
government.1 Of the period when the traffic in manna com-
menced in Sicily I have no information. Paolo Boccone, of
Palermo, mentions in his Museo di Fisica e di Esperienzie, which
appeared in 1697, several localities in Italy whence manna is
obtained, adding that manna forzata (that from incisions being
thus called) is also produced in Sicily.2

Recapitula- In conclusion, let me recapitulate the points in the history of
manna upon which I have endeavoured to throw light : —

1. That the manna known in Europe in very early times was
probably all of Oriental origin.

2. That manna of the ash (Fraxinus 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 manna obtained was that which exuded spontaneously.

4. That although the existence in Sicily of a mountain called
by the Arabic name Gibil-manna would seem 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. [N. Eepert. f. Pharm. xix. 98.]

ON CALABBIAN MANNA.
(Calalrische Manna.)

(Read before a Meeting of the British Pharmaceutical Conference
at Brighton, August \tth, 1872.)

187«. MANNA, it is stated in the British Pharmacopoeia (1867), is
a concrete saccharine exudation from the stem of Fraxinus

1 Delia Calabria Illustrata, Nap. 1691—1743, fol. p. 253
1 Obs. xiv.— xv.

CALABRIAN MANNA. 363

vrnus, L., and F. rotundifolia, DC., which trees aie cultivated 1872.
for the purpose of yielding it chiefly in Calabria and Sicily.
Of the method of collecting manna in Sicily there are tolerably
exact accounts ;• and the manna plantations of that island have
also been fully described.1

Having never heard of manna plantations in Calabria, nor Inquiries
seen any modern account of manna-gathering in that region, I 01 >u J6C
wrote in 1868 to my friend Colonel Yule of Palermo to inquire
if he could furnish me with any particulars. Colonel Yule
being unable to answer my questions, communicated them to
Mr. Grant, British Consul at Brindisi, who in his turn sought
to obtain the desired information from some of the British Vice-
Consuls (Italians) in Calabria. But except the statement that
the site of its production was the province of Calabria Citra,
and especially the territory of Eossano on the shores of the
Gulf of Taranto, I was unable to gain any very precise know-
ledge on the subject.

Here I may remind you of an investigation into the history
of manna which I made in 1869,2 and that one conclusion to
which it led was this, — that manna was collected in Calabria
lor hundreds of years prior to its being a commercial product of
fticily, and that the earliest accounts of manna-gathering in the
latter only date from the second half of the seventeenth century.

It will be well now to consider some remarks that have been
made by travellers regarding manna as an object of industry in Evidence of
Calabria ; though they are only passing allusions, they suffice
to show that this drug was at least a well-recognised production
of the country in question.

Baron Biedesel, a German nobleman who made an interesting
journey through Sicily and Southern Italy about a century ago,
and whose travels have been published both in German and
English,3 travelled from Cotrone to Cariati, small towns on the

1 See in particular a paper by Dr. Cleghorn on the Botany and Agriculture
of Malta and Sicily — Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh,
vol. x. 1868-69.

2 Pharm. Journ., xi. (1870) 326.

3 Travels through Sicily and that part of Italy formerly called Magna
Grcecia. Translated from the German by J. R. Forster, F.R.S., London, 1773.

304 CALABRIAN MANNA.

i87a. eastern coast of Calabria. Of the latter he remarks that " it is

(krilui. a bishopric of Calabria round which they collect the best

manna and in the greatest quantity. The owners of the manna-
trees are obliged to sell their manna to the king for a fixed
price ; the better sort, or what is commonly called in cannole,
for 2 carlini [8d.], and the worse, or infrasca, for 8 grani [3±d]
the pound. These revenues are farmed for 32,000 ducats
[£5,533] per annum. The greatest quantity is collected about
Cariati and Strongoli."

About twenty miles west of Cariati is the small town of
Corigliano, where, says the Baron, they also collect " vast
quantities of manna"

Half a century after this traveller, an Englishman, the Hon.
Richard Keppel Craven, made a journey through Calabria,
visiting among other places Cariati, the vicinity of which was
at that period still famous for manna. The following is from
his published journal1 : — " The mountains near Cariati abound
with game, and the forests which richly clothe their summits
furnish quantities of that species of ash which produces the
manna, a considerable 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 corning from eye-witnesses, or at least from inquiries on the

Personal ob- spot. Let me now add a few observations of my own, the result

serrations. Of a short journey during the present year through a portion of

the province of Calabria Citra.

Florence. First, when at Florence I inquired for Calabrian manna,
addressing myself to the principal firm of wholesale druggists
in that city. The answer I got was that Calabrian manna was
an article they never purchased, but that if I wished to see the
drug it was possible, as it so happened that a small keg of it
had been sent to them for disposal. Of this offer I availed
myself: I found to my surprise that the drug was a soft viscid
mass containing small tears, mixed with fragments of leaves,
sticks, and dirt,— in fact, I regarded it of such very bad quality

1 Tour through the Southern Provinces of the Kingdom of Naples, London,

CALABRIAN MANNA.

365

that I declined a sample which was kindly offered me. I 1072.
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 Murray's Handbook for Southern Italy, Calabria
Citra is the " principal seat." I accordingly proceeded south-
ward.

Around Florence I may remark, and especially between that
city and Pisa, the manna ash (Fraxinus ornus, 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 of Taranto, when I observed
some very tall specimens in the strip of humid forest a little
south of Policoro.

Journeying onward I arrived at Rossano, a town in Calabria Rossano.
Citra, of about 10,000 inhabitants, situated three or four miles
from the sea. Here I learnt that the manna trees, which are
called Ornelli, grow on some of the adjacent mountains, — that Ornelli.
they are of large size, and are not 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 cannoli, and in some seasons none at all.

The collecting of manna about Rossano is at present, I was Collection in
assured, a very small and insignificant branch of industry. Few Calabna Cltra
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,

306

CALABRIAX MANNA.

i87a.

D< ~ ~~

Manna at
Corigliano.

Cosenza.

Messina.

Hoping for more information, and that I might at least obtain
better specimens, I went to Corigliano, a small town, the
mountains around which produce, according to Murray's Hand-
&^ „ ^Q finegt manna in Calabria," — a fact without doubt
perfectly true a century ago. Here I was 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
in stock no manna whatever; the fourth had some which
he had purchased in Naples) but the fifth (Signer Giuseppo
GuidiJ 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 collected. This
manna is a moist, 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 valley of the Crati, in
passing through which I observed a few trees of Ormis. 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
manna which he said had been got near Cotrone. I discovered
also in another pharmacie manna of two qualities, scelta, and
in pasta, both of which the pharmacien stated he had bought
of peasants who had collected it at Kossano. The collecting
of manna about Cosenza was quite ignored by most of the
persons whom I asked for information. Those who had any
aquaintance with the drug declared it was no longer an object
of industry in that part of Calabria, One pharmacien asserted
that the collection of manna had been prohibited for the last
six or seven years.

The course of my journey having led me to Messina, I had
the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Mr. Robert
Sanderson, a merchant of that city of long standing, whose
business in Italian produce includes the shipment of mann:i.
On asking this 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

CALABRIAN MANNA.

367

it at Cosenza, lie expressed much surprise, and declared it to be
unlike any Sicilian manna he had seen.

No specimen of Calabrian rnanua 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.1

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 that the collection of manna
in that part of Italy is on the verge of extinction.

I regret that when at Kossano I was unable to visit the woods
of Ornus, 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 might become well-acquainted with the tree, I afterwards
paid a visit to the manna plantations of Capaci near Palermo.
I also inspected the trees which are cultivated at the Institute
Agraria Castelnuovo near that city,2 and in the park of La
Favorita. But as the time of my visit (May 16-22) was not
that for collecting the drug, I have no details of particular
novelty to communicate.

Kespectirig the manna-ash itself, however, I wish to say a
few words. It has often been stated, as in the British Phar-
'macopoeia (for which in this case I presume the Prodromus of
De Candolle is the authority), that there are two species of
manna-ash, namely, Fraxinus ornus, L., and F. rotundifolia.
Many modern writers on pharmacology admit but a single
species, F. ornus, L., of which F. rotundifolia is stated to be
a cultivated 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.

1 They were contributed by Signer Giovanni Morrelli of Rogliano,
Calabria.

* A most interesting agricultural college founded by private munificence,
where twenty-two lads are studying scientific and practical husbandry under
the able directorship of Professor Inzengn.

1872.

Commercial
Calabrian
Manna ex-
tinct.

Manna plan-
tations near
Palermo.

Fraxinui
ornus and
F. rotundi-
folia, B.P.

368 CALABRIAN MANNA— SAFFRON.

1872. As to the tree which is cultivated in Sicily, and of which I
Ma~~tree have examined specimens from all parts of the island,1 it like-
cultivated in wjse presents great variations, but no special form that can be
singled out as deserving the name rotundifolia, or even that
can be recognised as par excellence a cultivated variety. It is
true that the tree in some manna plantations is occasionally
grafted, certain trees yielding a poor supply of saccharine matter
being thus replaced by others of a more productive nature. But
I observed no grafting at Capaci, where the trees are grown like
coppice oak in England, and where such a plan of treatment
would therefore be hardly worth the trouble.

(The paper was illustrated by several specimens of Calabrian
manna procured at Eossano, Corigliano and Cosenza, and by a
large suite of botanical specimens of Fraxinus ornus, L., and a
stem of the latter showing the incisons of manna.) [N. Eeperl.
f. Pharm. xxii. 81.]

THE ADULTERATION OF SAFEKOK2
(Hit Kreide erfalschter Safran.)

1872. SAFFRON is at the present time the subject of a serious adultera-
Adulteration. tion, ^° which I think it important to call attention, the more so as
I find that its nature and extent are not fully known even to
experienced druggists. Saffron adulterated in the manner I am
about to describe, is not for the most part, undistinguishable to
the eye from the drug in a state of purity, yet the means of
discriminating between the genuine and the fraudulent are of
the most simple character.

Let me remark at the outset that there is, in my opinion, no

method of testing saffron more effectual than that of scattering a

Warm water very small pinch on the surface of a glass of warm water. The

stigma of the saffron-crocus immediately expands, and exhibits

1 Many of them courteously presented to me by Professor Todaro of the
Botanical Garden, Palermo.

8 Since the following paper has been in type, I have received the American
Journal of Pharmacy for September, in which I find a note by Professor
Maisch calling attention to the adulteration which I have here described.—
D.H.

ADULTERATION OF SAFFRON.

369

a form so characteristic, that it cannot be confounded with the 187a-
florets of safflower, marigold or arnica, or with the stamens of
crocus itself.

It was in performing this simple operation that I detected that Carbonate of
some saffron which I had just purchased had been treated with
a heavy earthy powder, which speedily separated from the
lighter stigmata, and fell to the bottom of 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 the first instance been dried in warm air until it
ceased to lose weight. The results obtained in the examination
of eight samples are indicated in the following table : —

EXAMINATION OF SAFFRON.

Sample.

Description.

Percentage of Ash.

No. 1

Origin unknown .... pure

5-90

2

» >•

4-48

3

Valencia

4'41

4

5-20

5

Alicante .... adulterated

21-22

6

.... ,,

12-72

7

„ .... ,,

28-01

8

15-36

Sample No. 2, the quality remarkably fine. Sample No. 3, so-called Valencia,
pure, but not of finest quality. Sample No. 7, adulteration perceptible to the
eye, many of the stamens being crusted with an orange-coloured earthy
powder.

The method of testing a sample of saffron for earthy adultera-
tion which I recommend is this : — Place in a watch-glass a very
small quantity (say, 1 grain) of the saffron, and drop upon it 8
or 10 drops of water ; lightly touch the saffron 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 will be
immediately obtained ; if adulterated, a white powder will in-
stantly separate, causing the water to appear turbid ; and if a

B B

Testing

370 THE RADIX GALANG^E OF PHARMACY.

1872. drop of hydrochloric acid be now added, a brisk effervescence will
take place.

Saffron almost always contains a few of the pale yellow
stamens accidentally gathered ; but the pollen from them which
is detached when the drug is wetted, but which is minute in
quantity, is easily distinguished from carbonate of lime by not
dissolving when hydrochloric acid is added. Moreover, the form
of pollen-grains may be easily recognised under the microscope.
[N. Repert.f. Pharm. xix. 664.]

HISTORICAL NOTES ON THE RADIX GALANG^ OF
PHARMACY.

(Zur Geschichte der Cfalanga.)

(Read before the Linnean Society, January 19, 1871.)
1871. IN discovering and describing the plant which yields the

Radix galangce minoris 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 between 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
held a place in the pharmacopoeias of Europe, and enters into so
many ancient receipts, that I need hardly apologize for offering
to the Linnean Society a few notes on its pharmacological
history.

introduction Galangal was apparently unknown to the ancient Greeks and
Galangal. Romang . at }east 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 Ibn Khurdadbah, an Arab geographer who served under
the Khalif Mutammid, A.D. 869-885, has left some information
respecting China, after which he speaks of the country of Sila,

which exports musk, aloes (i.e. aloes- wood), camphor,

porcelain, satin, cinnamon (cassia), and galangal.1

1 " Le Livre des Routes et des Provinces, par Ibn Khordadbeh, tradnit et
annot6 par C. Barbier do Mcynard," Journ. Antique, s4r. vi. tome v. (1865),
p. 294.

GALANGAL

371

The celebrated geographer Edrisi, who wrote A.D. 1154, ob-
serves of Aden, that it is the port for Scinde, India, and China,
from which last country are brought musk, aloes-wood, pepper,
cardamoms, cinnamon, galangal, mace, myrobalans, camphor,
nutmegs, cloves and cubebs.1

The Arabian physicians from Rhazes and Alkindi, in the tenth
and eleventh centuries downwards, make frequent reference to
galangal as an ingredient of the complicated medicines then in use.

Among the later Greeks I cannot find any mention made of
this drug prior to Myrepsus, who probably resided as a physician
at the court of the Greek Emperors at Mcaea 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 Assises
de Jerusalem ; ou, Recueil des Ouvrages de Jurisprudence composes
pendant le xiiie Siecle dans les Royaumes de Jerusalem et de
Chypre? 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 great emporium of Mediter-
ranean trade, in which many Indian spices and drugs, including
galangal, are enumerated.

We find galangal also noticed, together with ginger and zedo-
ary, as productions of India imported into Palestine, by Jaques
de Vitii, Bishop of Aeon in the early part of the thirteenth
century ;3 and in the Romance of Godefroi de Bouillon, a poem
written in the twelfth century, it is named as one of the rarities
of the East, which the Crusaders were deluded into believing
would be found in plenty in the Holy Land. 4

Marco Polo, in his travels in Asia in the thirteenth century,
observed galangal to be produced in Southern China (Province
of Foochow ?), as well as in Java.5

1 Geographic d? Edrisi, traduit par A. Jaubert ; Paris, 1836-40, 4to,
toinei. p. 51. 2 Paris, 1841-43, fol. tome ii. chap. 142.

3 Vitriaco (Jac. de), Historia Orientalis et Occidentalis, 1597, 8vo,
p. 172.

4 Bibliotheque de VEcole des Charles, tome ii. 1840-41, p. 437.

6 Lc Livrede Marco polo (ed. Pauthier : Paris, 1866), pp. 522, 561.

B B 2

1871

Myrepsus

and
Actuarius.

Galangal men-
tioned in the
13th century.

Romance of
Godefroi de
Bouillon.

Marco Polo.

THE RADIX GALANG^ OF PHARMACY.

1871. About this period it was also known in Western Europe. St.

Hildeo-ard, Abbess of Bingen, who died in A.D. 1179, names it as

A 1 1( pi''Ji t , i * * i * i

References to galgan, and comments upon its medicinal virtues.1
Galangal. Qalangal is catalogued with other spices (as ginger, cinnamon,
cloves, and nutmegs) in the tariff of duties levied in the port of
Colibre (Collioure), in Roussillon, in A.D. 1252.2

A more interesting notice of the drug is contained in the
journal of expenses of John, King of France, from July 1st,
1359 to July 8th, 1360, during his residence in England, pre-
served in the Comptes de VArgenterie des Roisde France. Besides
purchases of sugar, mace, ginger, cloves, pepper, cardamoms,
calamus aromaticus, and many other drugs, we find three entries
for galangal, namely, for ^ Ib. 18d., for 2 Ib. 6s., and for 1 Ib. 22d.3
As the price of gold happens to be also mentioned in one part of
the account, it is easy to form an estimate of the relative value
of galangal. This shows the price of 3s. per pound to be equi-
valent to 10s. of our present money — not extravagant for a com-
modity transported from the remotest Asia to the centre of
England.
Professor Tho- In Professor J. E. Thorold Rogers's History of Agriculture

rold Rogers. an(^ pr{ces {n England, there are eleven entries indicating the
price of galangal in England between A.D. 1264 and 1376. The
highest was in 1307, when 2 Ib. of the spice purchased for the
Crown were paid for at the rate of 6s. Sd. The other entries in-
dicate the price as from Is. 6d. to 3s. per Ib.

In the fifteenth century galangal was evidently in common
use ; for Saladinus, physician to one of the Princes of Tarentum,
circa A.D. 1442 — 1458, reckons it among the things necessaria el

1 S. Hildega-dis Abbatissce Opera Omnia, accurante J. P. Migne ; Paris,
1855, p. 1134.

2 Capmany, Memorias Historicas sobre la Marina, Comercio y Artes de la
Ciudaade Barcelona, 1779, tomo ii. p. 20.

3 The original entries are as follows : —

" Lundy VI1C jour d'octobre. Jehan Kelleshulle, espicier & St. Boutoul,
pour espices prises de li pour le Roy .... Galingal, demie livre 18d
Jeudy XIIP jour de ftvrier .... Galingal, 2 livres, 6s. Samedy XXVII6
jour de juing .... Berthclemi Mine, espicier .... Galingal, une livre,
22^.

L. Douet D'Arcq, Comptes de V Argenterie des Rois de France an XIV*
tiecle. Paris, 1851, 8vo, pp. 218, 232, 265, 266.

GALANGAL.

373

Minor.

usitata which should be found in the shop of every aromatarius.1 is?i.
As might be expected, it is included in all the older pharmacopoeias
and antidotaria.

Garcia D'Orta, first physician to the Portuguese Viceroy of
India at Goa, and a resident in India for thirty years, is, I
think, the first writer to point out (1563) that there are two Two Hnda
sorts of galangal — the one, as he says, of smaller size and more of GalanSal-
potent virtues brought from China, the other a thicker and less
aromatic rhizome produced in Java.2

This distinction is perfectly correct. The greater galangal,
which is termed Radix galangce majoris, is yielded by Alpinia Major and
galanga, "VVilld. a plant of Java;3 the lesser, called Radix
galangce minoris, or simply Radix galangce, is derived, as we
now know, from the plant which Dr. Hance has described as
A. officinarum. It is the latter drug alone that is at present
found in European commerce.4

The name galangal, galanga, or garingal, Galgant in German,
is derived from the Arabic khalanjan ; whether the word may
be a corruption of the Chinese name liang-kiang, signifying
mild ginger, I must leave it to others to decide.

Let me say a few words regarding the uses of galangal. As
a medicine, the manifold virtues formerly ascribed to it must
be ignored ; the drug 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.5 The chief consumption, however, is

1 Compendium Aromatariorum ; Bonon. 1488, fol.

* Colloquios dos Simples e Drogas he cousas Medicinais da India; Goa,
1563, Colloquio 24.

8 Maranta galanga, Linn. Sp. PI. and Swartz, Obs. Bot.

4 Moodeen Sheriff, in his learned Supplement to the Pharmacopoeia of
India (Madras, 1869), states that in the bazaars of Hyderabad and in some
other parts of India the rhizome of A Ipinia calcarata, Rose., is sold as a sort of
galangal ; and that a species of Alpinia growing in gardens about Madras,
which, conceiving it to be new to science, he has described and named as A.
Khulinjan, has a rhizome much resembling the lesser galangal of China.

6 Three hundred bags, each 112lb., imported from Whampoa were offered
for sale by Messrs. Lewis and Peat, 27 Oct., 1870. The quantity was not
thought remarkable ; and I am assured that a single buyer will sometimes
purchase such a lot at one time for shipment to the continent.

Arabic
Name.

Uses.

374

THE RADIX GALANG.E OF PHARMACY.

1871. not in England, but in Russia.1 It is there used for a variety
Kastoika. °f 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 Pomet2 so long ago as
1694. As a popular medicine and spice, it is much sold in
Livonia, Esthonia, and in Central Eussia; and by the Tartars
it is taken with tea. It is also in requisition in Eussia 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 Bombay for the 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;3 and the statistics which I have examined
tend strongly to show that this is the fact.

The foregoing notes may be thus summarized : —

Historical 1. Galangal was noticed by the Arab geographer Ibn
Summary. Khurdadbali in the ninth century as a production of the region
which exports musk, camphor, and aloes-wood.

2. It is used by the Arabians and later Greek physicians, and
was known in Northern Europe in the twelfth century.

3. It was imported during the thirteenth century with other
Eastern spices by way of Aden, the Eed Sea, and Egypt, to
Akka, in Syria, whence it was carried 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

1 Professor Regel, of St. Petersburg, and A. v. Bunge, of Dorpat, and Mr.
Justus Eck, of London, have all obligingly supplied me with information as
to the use of galangal in Russia. My thanks are also due to my friend
Professor Fluckiger, who on this, as on other occasions, has kindly offered me
valuable suggestions.

2 Hiatoire, des Drogues, Paris, 1694, fol., part 1, p. 64.

* Commerce <P Exportation dt la Chine ; Paris, 1848, p. 98.

AFRICAN AMMONIACUM. 375

respectively from Alpinia galanga, Willd., and A. officinarum, 1371.
Hance.

5. Galangal is still used throughout Europe, but is consumed
most largely in Eussia. It is also used in India, and is shipped
to ports in the Persian Gulf and Eed Sea. [N. Eepert. /.
Pharm. xx. 586.]

AFRICAN AMMONIACUM.

(Africanisches Ammoniak-Gummiharz, von Ferula Tingitana, L.)

THE first writer to mention Ammoniacum is said to be 1873.
Dioscorides,1 who flourished in the first century, and who relates Dioscorides
that the drug is the juice of a species of Ferula growing about
Cyrene in Libya, and that it is produced near the temp]e of
Ammon. 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 *A/t/io?, sand, in allusion to the
parched and sandy desert where both were found, were open
questions in the time of Pliny. The story, however, of the
Libyan origin of ammoniacum remained current for centuries Origin of the
among writers on Materia Medica, and considering that the drug Name-
was not frequently brought from Alexandria, it had about it
nothing improbable.

Chardin, who passed many years in Persia (1666-1677), is Chardin.
probably one of the first to point out that ammoniacum is a
production of that country.2 He says that the Persians call the
plant Ouchag, and that it grows in abundance on the southern
confines of Parthia, — that is to say south of Ispahan, which is
exactly where it has been found by many travellers in modern
times.

Jackson, an English merchant who resided for sixteen years
in Morocco and wrote an instructive account of that country,8
described a sort of ammoniacum produced there by a giant fennel
called in Arabic Feshook. This plant, he says, grows on most Feshook.
of the plains of the interior, but especially about El Araiche

1 Lib. iii. c. 88.

9 Voyage du Chevalier Chardin en Perse, nouvelle Edition, par Langl&s,
Paris, iii. (1811) 298.

3 Account of the Empire of Morocco, Lond., 1809.

37G AFRICAN AMMONIACUM.

1873. and M'Sharrali Rurnmellah. The gum exudes from the stem in
consequence of the puncture of [a beetle, and falling to the
ground becomes contaminated with earth, for which reason it
does not suit the London market ; but it is used in all parts of
the country for cataplasms and fumigations.

Lindley, from the examination of specimens sent to England
from Tangier in 1839, determined the plant affording African
ammoniacum to be the Ferula tingitana of Linnaeus.1

Notwithstanding the statement of Jackson, that a kind of
ammoniacum is a production of Morocco, it was difficult to
believe that this Moroccan drug could be the Ammoniacum
which the ancients, and especially Dioscorides, described as
brought from Libya. Pereira 2 and Guibourt 8 having examined
specimens of the gum sent to Lindley from Tangier, concurred
in regarding it as a very different substance from Persian
ammoniacum. The latter writer even maintained that Dios-
corides had slipped into an error, and that his ammoniacum was
probably none other than that of our own times.

Doubts It was also pointed out that the word ammoniacum was some-

respecting times written armoniacum, which might well be a corruption of
armeniacum, and point to Armenia or some country beyond as
the source of the drug.

The works of a Persian writer4 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 drug, 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 were
offered for sale. I was unable to ascertain whence they had
been shipped, but the former lot (1857) I found had beeri
imported from Mogador.

1 Pereira, Elem. of Mat. Med. ii., part 2 (1853) 1715.

* Op. cit. 3 Hisi des Drogue8j iiit (1850) 226.

Abu Mansur Mowafik ben Ali, Liber Fundameniorum Pharmacologico,
eJ. Seligraann, 1833.

AFRICAN AMMONIAGUM. 377

The drug may be described as in large, compact, dark, heavy 1873.
masses, formed of agglutinated tears of a gum-resin of hard, Description

waxy consistence. The tears are opaque, white, and milk-like, of African

Ammoniacum.
or of a pale greenish yellow, or of a fawn 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 persistent taste.

Having recently had to investigate anew the history of
ammoniacum, I was led to look into the various memoiis on the
subject, and also to search for some information respecting the
Morocco drug described by Jackson. In the latter inquiry I was
fortunate enough to have the aid of Mr. Moryoseph, a drug Mr. Mory-
merchant of London having connections with Mogador, who not osel) '
only at once supplied me with a sample of the African drug
according exactly with that I had noticed in the brokers' 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 services of my friend Dr. Leared, who Dr. Leared's
during a short visit to Morocco in the past autumn ascertained a accoullt-
few interesting particulars, which are to this effect : —

The plant is called kelth, and 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 used
as incense. Its chief shipping-port is Mazagan; a little is sent
from Mogador, but none from other ports. The Greatham
Hall, the vessel in which Dr. Leared embarked, took on board
25 serons of the gum at Mazagan for Gibraltar, where they were
to be reshipped for Alexandria. The shippers call it Fasoy.

The facts I have narrated show that African ammoniacum is
still an object of commerce, and that it is consumed not only in
Morocco, but that it finds its way even to Egypt 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-

378

BOTANICAL ORIGIN AND COUNTRY OF MYRRH.

1873.

vcl suffimen.

ward of Egypt was included) 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-resin is used in fumigation ; it is worthy of
note that the ammoniacum spoken of by Celsus, Galen, Oribasius,
Alexander Trallianus, Paulus ^Egineta and Actuarius, that is to
say by the Greek and Roman physicians who lived between the
first and thirteenth centuries, is frequently described as lliymiama
or svffimen, i.e., an incense, or something used for fumigation.

1873.

Botanical
origin.

THE BOTANICAL ORIGIN AND COUNTRY OF
MYRRH.1

(Heimat und Abstammung der Myrrh.)

THE remarks relative to myrrh in the Admiralty Manual of
Scientific Inquiry, 1859 and 1871,2 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-
gations 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. Though the substance
itself has been known to mankind from the remotest period of
history, 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 drug is furnished by two or three distinct but allied
species.

j Reprinted from Ocean Highways, for April, 1873.
Vidt Pharm. Journ., i. (1863), 217 ; ii. (1871), 205.

BOTANICAL ORIGIN AND COUNTRY OF MYRRH.

379

account.

Let us now consider what lias been ascertained on the subject. 1873.
In 1820-26, the German traveller Ehrenberg visited the Ehrenberg's
countries bordering the Eed Sea, and among other places,
Ghizan (Jhizan or Jezan), a town or village lying on the
Arabian coast in latitude 16° 40' K, opposite to the group of
islands called the Farsan Archipelago, — that is to say, about
300 miles north of the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb. Here, and on
the neighbouring mountains of Djara
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 Acacia, Moringa, and
Euphorbia. From these myrrh-
trees, he states, he picked some
very fine myrrh. He also obtained
herbarium specimens, which the
botanist Nees von Esenbeck de-
scribed under the name of Balsamo-
dendron Myrrlia, — thus, as it would
seem, completely settling the ques-
tion.

A few years ago Ehrenberg's
herbarium was incorporated in the
Royal Herbarium of Berlin, and
these myrrh-tree specimens were
re-examined by Dr. Otto Berg, with
results which doubtless occasioned
him some surprise. He found, in
fact, that Ehrenberg's Arabian

myrrh-tree comprised two very distinct plants, namely, that
figured by Von Esenbeck, and another to which was attached
(correctly, let us hope) Ehrenberg's own tickets, stating that
from it he had got myrrh. Berg gave the new myrrh-tree
the name of B. Ehrenlergianum.

Whether myrrh is collected from both we do not know.
Ehrenberg himself does not assert that the natives about Ghizan

Dr. Berg's
account.

Balsamodendron myrrha (after N.
Esenbeck.)

380

BOTANICAL OIUGIN AND COUNTRY OF MYHRII.

1873. collected myrrh at all ; and the myrrh of commerce is certainly

not brought from that neighbourhood.

Vaughan'a Whence, then, is myrrh brought ? Vaughan, who was port-
Adun'myrrh. 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 this Arabian
myrrh, of which I have seen samples,
lias not (although pure and clean) exactly
the characters of true myrrh, and there
is good reason to believe it the produce
of another species than that affording the
latter. However this may be, the Aden
myrrh-tree is wholly unknown to botanists.
Vaughan further pointed out that myrrh,
which is more commonly known at Aden
by its Indian name of Hera-b6l than
by its Arabic designation of Mur, is
collected in great quantities by the Somali
tribes occupying the country between
Zeila and Cape Gardafui ; and that it is
also brought from Harar (otherwise called Hurrur 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 half-way house " for the produce of Efat, Gurague, and
the Galla countries. The drug arrives at the great fair of Ber-
• bera held in November, December, and January, and is brought
up by the Banians of India for shipment to Aden and Bombay.
Cmtteiiden. Cruttenden,who visited the Somali coast in 1843, and was after-
wards assistant political agent at Aden, says myrrh is brought
from the Wadi Nogal, a valley debouching into the Indian
Ocean, south of Cape Gardafui, in about latitude 8° N., and from
its bordering districts of Ogahden, Murreyhan, and Agaliora.
He says further that the mountains at the back of Bender Mir-
ayeh (a town about 20 miles south-west of Eas Filek, on the
Somali Coast) afford it, and that the drug is brought to Bender
Mirayeh for sale.1

1 Journal of Royal Geographical Society, xix. (184d), 5, C6.

B. Ehrenbergianum (after Berg).

BOTANICAL ORIGIN AND COUNTRY OF MYRRH.

381

Whether 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-b6l, and which is chiefly consumed in
India and China, is an open question.

Again, it has been stated on very good authority, that myrrh
is produced in the country lying between Tajura and Shoa. Sir
W. Cornwallis Harris, who was chief of a mission to the latter
country in 1841, found the myrrh-tree between Waramilli and
Naga Koomi, that is, about 200 miles from Tajura, 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.

1873.

Sir W. C.
Harris.

It will thus be seen that four districts are asserted to produce Four supposed
myrrh, namely — 1, the country about Ghizan, on the eastern sources-
shore of the Red Sea ;• 2, the southern Arabian coast eastward
of Aden ; 3, the Somali country south and west of Cape Garda-
fui ; and 4, the region lying between Tajura and Shoa, including
Harar to the south-east.

Furthermore, there are certainly three varieties of myrrh,
which may well be derived from as many distinct species of
myrrh-tree.

AVhat are required for the botanical elucidation of the origin

382 PAREIRA BRAVA.

1873. of myrrh are numerous, well-preserved, pressed and drietl
specimens of the tree, which ought to include, in addition to
foliage, the flowers and fruits ; specimens of the exudation of
the tree should also be collected, in order that competent
persons may pronounce whether it is true myrrh or not. Infor-
mation as to the collection of the drug in any one of the locali-
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 flowers
and small, oval, dry berries. [TV. Repert. f. Pharm. xxii. 624.]

ON PAREIRA BRAVA.

(Translated with Comments (with the Original Illustrations) in the
Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie, Octobre (1875), 282.)

1873. THE botanical origin of the various stems and roots known as

Pareira brava is extremely obscure. By most writers the drug-
is referred without question to Cissampelos Pareira, Linn., a
climbing plant of the order Menispennacew growing in the
tropical regions of both the Old and New World.

Some years ago the difficulty of purchasing Pareira Brava of
good quality in London induced me to seek a supply in the
West Indies. I accordingly procured on behalf of the firm of
which I was then a member, a quantity of the stems and roots
Cissampelos of Cissampelos Pareira, L., collected in Jamaica under the super-
Pareira. vision of Mr. N. Wilson, director of the Bath Botanical Garden
in that island. The first importation was accompanied by
herbarium specimens of the plant, the examination of which
removed all doubts as to its origin. I also obtained specimens
of stems of Cissampelos Pareira similarly authenticated, from
correspondents in Trinidad, Brazil and Ceylon.

From these materials it at once became evident that the long-
accepted statement that Pareira Brava is derived from Cissam-
pelos Pareira, Linn., was erroneous.1 In fact neither the stem nor

1 This fact was first pointed out in the Pharmacopoeia of India, 1868, p. 8,
note.

PAREIRA BRAVA. 383

the root of the plant at all resembles any of the forms of that 1873.
drug I had ever met with in commerce.

What then is true Pareira Brava ? — To answer this question
we must look back to the early history of the drug.

The merit of having first given some account of Pareira
Brava is usually conceded to the Dutch traveller Piso, who in piso» the
his work De Medicina Brasiliensi, published in 1648, described veller.
a plant called by the Portuguese Caapeba Cip6 de Cobras or
Herva de Nossa Senhora. Piso's figure is scarcely recognizable,
but his description of the fruit as resembling the catkins of hop
(semen magnum coloris rosacei, e capsulis lupulo similibus pro-
minens) applies well enough to a Cissampelos, and in fact G. gla-
berrima, St. Hil., is known under these Portuguese names in
Southern Brazil at the present time. My friend Mr. J. Correa
de Mello, of Campinas, Prov. S. Paulo, has been good enough to
send me a specimen of this 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-
marked as long ago as 1710 ; 1 and it is only since the drug has
been supposed to be derived from Cissampelos that authors have
identified it with Piso's Caapeba.

Pareira Brava was certainly first brought to Europe by the Introdxictiou
Portuguese. It first attracted general attention in 1688, when into Eur°Pe-
Michel Arnelot, Marquis de Gournay, a privy councillor of
Louis XIV., 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. EcuiHe*, the
successor of Amelot in the Lisbon embassy, also took home with
him to Paris some Pareira Brava; andin 1710 we find it claiming the
notice of the French Academy,2 who requested Etienne-Fran9ois
Geoffroy, Professor of Medicine and Pharmacy in the College of
France, to investigate its virtues. Jean- Claude- A drien Helve-
tius, a physician of great merit, who though a young man was
consulted by Louis XIV., in his last days, and was afterwards

1 Hist, de I'Acad, Royale des Sciences, annee 1710, 56.
3 Ibid.

384

PAREIRA BRAVA.

1873.

Sir Hans
Sloane.

Helvetius.

Petirer.

attached to the. court of Louis XV., tried the new drug still
earlier,1 aud gave strong testimony in its favour.

Both Geoffroy and Helvetius were correspondents of Sir Hans
Sloane, that diligent promoter of science, whose immense col-
lections gave origin to the British Museum, — and among the
Sloanian MSS. I have found a letter of Helvetius's 2 addressed
in 1715 to Monsieur Duyvenvoorde, ambassador from the States
General to George I., a portion of which I will here quote : —

" I am extreamly pleased sr that you have apply 'd yorself to
me for my advice about the use of the Pareira brava which has
been recomended to you, because I can give you a very good
account of it haveing been one of the first that introduced it in
France. I have made abundance of lucky experiments about it
which have made this medicine very well known to me, where-
fore I assure you, you can do nothing better than to make
tryall of it. . . The Pareira Brava is a root which comes to us
from Brazil by the way of Lisbon, but which the war has
rendred pretty scarce ; however it is to be found among the
good druggists and is sold [at] Paris for 40 livres the pound.
Tis called in Brazill the Universall Medicine, and made use of
there in all kinds of distempers. A Capuchin monk who came
from thence told me he could not give it a greater character
than by assuring me that in all their voyages they carried the
gospell in one pockett and the Pareira Brava in another. ..."

Helvetius recommended the finely-powdered root in five grain
doses, to be 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
kind, whose letters are also in the Sloanian collection, thus
wrote, December, llth, 1716, to Colonel Worsley, His Majesty's
envoy at Lisbon : —

"... I am glad to hear ye Brasil ffleet is safely arrived, wch
I hope has brought some materialls for my succeeding Collec-
taneas, and amongst them nothing can be more welcome than
specimens of yc leaves and fruit of ye Ipecacuanha, Pareira

1 Helvetins, Traitt des Maladies les plus Fre'qiwntes et des Remedes speci-
fiqw* pour les Guerir, Paris, 1703, 98.

8 Sloane MS., No. 3340, p. 291.— The letter has already been published in
Phil. Trans., No. 346, Nov. and Dec., 1715, p. 363.

PAREIRA BRAVA.

385

Brava, Balsam Capevce and ye true Brasile and Brasiletto woods,
all which will be very acceptable discoveries. . . . " T

The first author to give an account in print of Pareira Brava
seems to be Pomet, whose Histoire des Drogues was completed in
1692.2 He describes the drug as then recently seen in Paris,
and he figures the specimen given him by Tournefort.

Geoffroy, in his excellent Tractatus de Materia Medica? a
work he did not live to complete, calls the drug by its Brazilian
name of Butua, or Pareira Brava of the Portuguese, and de-
scribes 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 Thymeloea (Daphne gnidium,
L.), internally of a dull, yellowish hue, knit together, as it were,
with many woody 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 sweetness like
liquorice, as thick as the finger, or sometimes as a child's arm.
He adds that the Brazilians and Portuguese most highly extol
its virtues as a diuretic, lithoritriptic, vulnerary, stomachic,
cordial, and alexipharmic,4 and in fact, regard it as a complete
panacea.

The question now arises, Can the drug which was introduced
with so much of laudation be clearly identified ?

As already stated, Pomet has figured it, and his engraving
is excellent. But Sloane has left us better materials. In his

1873.

Fomet.

Geoffroy.

Question of
Identification.

1 Sloane MS., 3340, p. 306.

2 As proved by the letters of approbation which preceded it. But it was
not published until 1694.

3 Tom. ii. (1741) 21.

4 Hill judiciously remarks that this is going too far in its praise, and yet
omitting some of its real virtues. " It is certainly a diuretic," says he, " of
no inferior kind, and has done great service in nephritic cases ; and in pleuri-
sies and in quinsies has been attended with more success than almost any
medicine we know of singly. In suppressions of urine scarce anything is
more efficacious or more instantaneous in its effect, but it is folly to infer

from this that it will dissolve the stone In cases of ulceration of the

kidneys or bladder, when the urine is purulent and voided with great
difficulty, there is scarce anything equal to this root as a remedy." — Hist, of
Mat. Med. 1751, p. 600.

C C

386 I'AREIRA BKAVA.

1873. collection of Materia Medica, now in the British Museum, there
are many well-preserved specimens of the drug obtained from
different persons and at different periods, and all of one kind ;
and in his voluminous manuscript catalogues and his other
papers are entries throwing light on their origin.

The first notice I have found is a letter from Lisbon, dated
A.D. 1699. October 17th, 1699, addressed by Joseph Geston to John Ellis,1
in which the writer says : —

" By order of my brother, Wm< Geston, I send you here in-
closed six sticks of Pareira Bravo, or Farm Brava. The use of
it, I am informed, is in powder, one scruple, and to the strongest
patient one octave [drachm] in Rhenish wine. . . . Its vertues
are for the stone, gravell, obstruction of the urine, and for the
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 relates
were intended for him.

The entries in his manuscript catalogues, which are in his own
handwriting, are these : —

Sloane Maim- " 652. Pareira Brava. — From Brasile, pretended to be good

for the stone"

" 4039. Pareira Brava. — A root used in the stone."

" 6708. The Pareira Brava, of a brown colour, from Brazil,

said to be the best sort. — From Monsr> Geoffrey.

10471. Sevlh specimens of the Pareira Brava, from Lisbon,

accounted a great remedy in suppression of water and the

stone, — according to Monsr. Geoffrey, the Ambitua or Butua

of Zanoni. — From Dr. Fuller, Sevenoaks."

In 1866, I applied to my friend Theodor Peckolt, druggist, of
Rio 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 plants, the one marked
Butua or Pareira Brava legitima, and other Butinha or Pareira
Brava miuda (literally small Pareira Brava), together with a
large dried entire plant of the former. The herbarium specimens
of these plants presented no characters by which I could
1 Sloane MS., 4045, fol. 240.

CHONDODENDRON TOMENTOSUM.

387

Mello.

Mr. G. B.

Francis.

distinguish them as two species ; and Mr. Peckolt subsequently 1873.
informed me that their difference consists chiefly in habit, and Mr. Peckolt.
that the first or legitimate Pereira Brava is found in much drier
situations than the small sort or Pereira Brava miuda.

I have also received specimens from my friend Mr. J. Correa
de Mello of Campinas, marked Parreira Brava pequena (small
Pareira Brava) or Abuta pequena, and others labelled Leaves of
the pi ant producing Pareira Brava, all of which seem referable to
Mr. Peckolt's plant. Mr. Correa de Me*llo has likewise sent M. Correa de
rne the dried root, and I have also received the root as supplied
by a drug house of Rio de Janeiro.

Within the last few weeks two specimens of roots bearing
some leaves marked respectively Pareira Brava, large leaf, and
Pareira Brava, small leaf, have been presented to the Pharma-
ceutical Society as well as to myself by Mr. G. B. Francis of the
firm of Hearon, Squire, and Francis. Between these two sorts I
fail to recognize any difference.

The roots of Mr. Peckolt's Pareira Brava legitima, those sent
me by Mr. Correa de Mello, and those received from Mr. Francis,
completely agree with Sloane's specimens, as well as with
Pomet's figure.

As to the plant, I identify it with Chondodendron1 tomen-
tosum of Kuiz et Pavon, with an authentic specimen of which
in the herbarium of the British Museum I have compared it.
It is the Cocculus Chondodendron of De Candolle (Prod. i. 98),
and has been figured as Cocculus (?) platyphylla by Auguste de
St. Hilaire,2 and by Eichler,3 as Bolryopsis platyphylla, Miers.
It agrees well with the plate of Cissampelos Abutua in Vellozo's
Flora Fluminensis 4 with which Eichler doubtfully identifies it.

1 Mr. Miers (Contributions to Botany, iii. 307) contends for this name
being written Chondrodendron as more in accordance with its derivation from
Xovdpos. But I think it safer to retain the original spelling as accepted by
all botanists. 2 Plantes Usuelles des Brasiliens, pi. 42.

3 Martius Flor. Bras., fasc. 38, tab. 48, Eichler makes two species under
the name of Botryopsis, Miers eight, six of them being apparently forms of
Ch. tomentosum. Mr. Miers's species, as named by himself, can be seen in
the British Museum, and a type-specimen of the plant figured by Eichler in
the Kew Herbarium.

4 Tom. x., tab. 140. Mr. Miers regards this to represent his Abuta ma-
crophylla, a very different plant.

C C '2

Chondoden-
dron tomen-
tosum.

388 PAREIRA BRAVA.

1873. Chondodendron tomentosum has been found in various parts of

Brazil, where it is known as Butua and Abutua. Its raceme of
large oval berries, exactly like a bunch of grapes, is another

Bunch of Fruits of Chondodendron tumentusMn. R. ET P.1

evidence that it is the plant which the old Portuguese colonists
called Pareira Brava or Wild Vine.2 Neither the fruit nor the
foliage of Cissampelos Pareira have anything about them
suggestive of a grape vine.

1 From a specimen preserved in alcohol, sent to me by Mr. Peckolt.

2 In Portuguese the word is written Parreira, and signifies a vine that
grows against a wall or over an arbour. Pdrra is a vine-leaf.

CHONDODENDRON— CISSAMPELOS PAREIRA.

389

The root of Chondodendron cannot be confounded with the
stem, which is woody and fibrous and of a different structure.
Geoffrey's description of the former, which I have translated at
page 385 is correct so far as it goes. I may add that the numer-
ous specimens I have seen present -but little variation. All are
portions of a tortuous, 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 Mr. Peckolt's specimen the aerial stems are
fully preserved, as thick as the finger and many feet in length.
The root seems to be gorged with juices, 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 ordinary
Pareira Brava. In the root of Chondodendron there is a large
well-marked central column composed of wedges diverging
from a common axis,, around which are arranged a few concentric
rings intersected by wedge-shaped rays which are often irregu-
lar, scattered, and indistinct. The axis is not often eccentric.

In Cissampelos 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 difficult to obtain
the stem or root thicker than a goose quill.

The Pareira Brava of English commerce is
mostly of larger size than the root of Chondoden-
dron, and is a much more woody substance. Its S^S^oSf^SJ

. , , , . , . p . . . Pareira, L. From a

internal structure, which is familiar to most Jamaica specimen,
druggists, is very remarkable, consisting of a
series of layers which are often developed exclusively in one
direction. Nothing is known of the botanical origin of this
drug beyond the fact that the structure of the wood is that of
the order Menispermacece. -Of late years even this sort has

1873.

Description
of the root of
Chondoden-
dron.

Cissampelos
Pareirce.

Commercial
Pareira Brava

PAREIRA BRAYA. 391

become rare, and its place has been taken by a drag completely 1873.
devoid of medicinal power. This latter consists of cylindrical

Root (?) commonly known as Pareira Brava, and erroneously regarded as derived from Cissam-

pelos Pareira, L.

woody truncheons which have, an internal structure not very

392

PARE1RA BRAVA.

of Pareira
Brava.

1873. diverse from that represented, though generally less eccentric,
with always a distinct central pith. The wood is tasteless,
and often seems to have been injured hy damp. It should
he rigidly excluded from pharmaceutical use.

Various kinds Several other sorts of Pareira Brava are known — at least in
South America. One, of which there is a parcel now in the
London market, is remarkable for its large size, and for being
internally of a fine yellow. As it is also very bitter, it prob-
ably contains berberine.

Another sort is derived from Abuta rufescens, Aublet, a well-
marked plant growing in Guiana and North Brazil. Specimens
of a thick woody root, marked Abutua grande or Parreira Brava
grande, 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-radial
spaces being white, and rich in starch. It is apparently a well-
marked sort, and one I have not seen in commerce.1

In conclusion, I strongly advocate returning to the use of the
Choiidoden- roo t of Chondodendron, which is the drug on which the reputation
of Pareira Brava was originally founded.

In Brazil this root is regarded as the legitimate sort, and is
still held in the highest esteem.

Though it has not been clearly recognised by European writers,
it is not altogether unknown. Guibourt2 seems to have been
acquainted with it and even correctly surmised its botanical
origin. It is the root figured by Gobel and Kunze,3 and there
is an old specimen of it in the Pharmaceutical Society's Museum
marked Pareira Brava. I myself met with it in the market in
1862. Lastly, Dr. Squibb has pointed out4 that some small lots

1 When Aublet was in Guiana, 1762-64, the stems of Abuta rufescens
were shipped to France as Pareira Brava blanc. He says there is a variety
of the same with the woody parts reddish, which is known in Cayenne as
Pareira Brava rouge. He also describes and figures a plant he calls Abuta
amara or Pareira Brava jaune, which has the wood yellowish and very
bitter. This last is, I think, identical with the yellow wood of which, as I have
said, there is a quantity now on sale as " Pareira Brava" — See Hist, des
Plantes de la Guiane Francoise, [. (1775), 618-21, tab. 250-51.

2 Hist, des Drog., ed. 4, iii, (1850) 671.

3 Pharm. Waarerikunde, ii. (1830-34), tab. 13, fig. 1, b-c.

4 American Journal of Pharmacy, March 1, 1872, 107.

dron.

NGAI CAMPHOR. JJ93

of Pareira Brava imported into New York in 1871 consisted in 1873.
large part of a drug entirely different from any previously seen,
and that he at first supposed it an adulteration; but that
subsequent examination had shown him that the drug in
question agreed well with the older descriptions of Pareira Brava,
and especially with Pomet's figure, so that he was convinced
it was true Pareira Root. From Dr. Squibb's description I feel
sure that the drug before him was the same as that to which I
have called attention in the present paper.

There can be no doubt that it would become plentiful if the
demand should arise, and that it would advantageously replace
the worthless kind now found in the drug trade. [^V. Repert.
f. Pharm. xxiii. 273.]

ON A PECULIAE CAMPHOE FEOM CHINA.

(Neuer Campher aus China, von Blumea balsamifera,)
(BL grand-is, B.C.)

ALTHOUGH the Chinese make large use of ordinary camphor, is/4.
that is to say, of the camphor produced in Japan and Formosa
by Cinnamomum camphora, F. Nees et Eberm., it is well known
that they attach a much higher value to the camphor obtained
in Sumatra and Borneo from the stem of Dryobalanops aromatica,
Gartn.

But there is a third kind of 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,1 published in 1848,
after speaking of the camphor of China, and before describing
Malayan or Dryobalanops 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 Ngai, a variety of Artemisia. It occurs in
crystals, which are very pure, clear, brittle, with a shining
fracture ; it is much esteemed in China.

1 Etude Pratique du Commerce d' Exportation de la Chine, Paris, 1848,
34-38.

NGAI CAMPHOR.

1874-. Our author quotes the prices of these sorts of camphor for

the picul of 133J lb., thus :—

Formosa camphor 25 dollars.

Japan camphor 30 ,,

Ngai camphor ..." 250 „

Malay camphor, first quality .... 2000

„ ' „ second quality . . . 1000 „

Ngai Cam- Other references to Ngai camphor are very slight, and imply
that the writers had no practical acquaintance with the sub-
stance. 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 Manual of Scientific Inquiry (1871), by asking the
following question — " What is the camphor said to be obtained
from a species of Artemisia ( Wormwood) called Ngai ? " This
brought a reply from Mr. Frederic H. Ewer, of the Imperial
Maritime Customs, Canton, who kindly sent me specimens
of Ngai camphor, together with a small branch of the plant
from which it is made.

The specimens represent two forms of the camphor, the one
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 distinguishable
from that of ordinary camphor; but the odour of the other
is perceptibly contaminated with a smell like that of worm-
wood. Ngai camphor, like that of Dryobalanops, sinks into water.
The investigations of its other properties and its chemical
relations having been undertaken by my friend Professor Att field,
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

Blumeabai- a member of the same order. It proves to be Blumea balsam-
samiferap.C. ^^ j) Q ? a ta^ coarse-looking, herbaceous plant of Eastern Asia,
an abundant weed in Assam and Burmah, and common through-
out the Indian islands. It is well known to emit when bruised

NGAI CAMPHOR.

395

a strong odour of camphor, and in Burmah a crude camphor 1874.
is even extracted from it. Many years ago, a European named
O'Kiley purified some of this camphor, and attempted to bring
it into notice as an article of commerce. According to Mason,1
he made more than 100 Ihs. of it, which he sent to Calcutta,
where it was reported to be as good as ordinary camphor.

It is probable that the Blurrtea is not the sole source of Ngai
camphor ; for according to Mr. Ewer the character ~^£ (Ngai\
is applied to designate several plants, including both Labiatce
and Compositce. The camphor is used not only in medicine,
but also in the manufacture of the scented kinds of Chinese Scented Chi
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-chau and
other places. [N. Repert.f. Pharm. xxiii. 321.]

THE CHEMISTRY OF NGAI CAMPHOR was investigated at the
same time by Mr. Sydney Plowman.

On making an ultimate analysis of three camphors the
following results were obtained : —

i Cam-
phor.

Camphor

Laurel camphor

Experimental.

(C 78-2
A H

1

o

10-44
11-36

Theoretical.

78-94
10-52
10-54

100-00 100-00

Borneo Camphor

Experimental.

C 77-66
H 11-68
O 10-66

Theoretical.

77-92
11-69
10-39

Ngai camphor .

100-00 100-00

Experimental.

( C 77-56
^H 11-6
(O 10-84

100-00

1 Burmah, its People and Natural Productions, 2nd. ed., I860, 483.

396 CHONDODENDRON VEL CHOND.RODENDRON.

CHONDODENDRON OR CHONDEODENDRON.

1874. IN the Pharmaceutical Journal for Nov. 14, 1874, it is

remarked that the authors of the Pliarmacographia prefer to
write Chondodendron, and not as the derivation of the word
would seem to require, Chondvodendron. The proposal to insert
an r in the second syllable emanated from Mr. Miers, who, in
his Monograph of the Menispermacece, states that the word
was originally mis-spelt through an error in the press.
Spelling. As this name, which is that of the genus to which the Pareira
Brava plant has been shown to belong, may come into more
frequent 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 Florce Peruvians et
Chilensis Prodromus, sive novorum generum plantarum Peruvia-
narum et Chilensium descriptions et icones, published at Madrid
in 1794. Here we find it Chondodendron, with the derivation
explained thus — " a granorum copia quibus arloris truncus et
rami olsiti sunt" This is in allusion to the Greek word ^oVSpo?,
signifying a corn, grain, or any small roundish 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 SevSpov, a tree, the word
Chondwdendron would naturally result: but for some reason
— as I believe, for the sake of euphony — the authors of the
genus chose to drop the first r, and to write Chondodendron.
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 Prodromus, the authors published their
Systema Vegetdbilium Florce Peruvians et Chilensis, in which
they still retained Chondodendron ; in fact, the name has been
almost universally accepted.

Thus De Candolle in his Systema, published in 1818, as well
as in the first volume of his Prodromus, which appeared in 1824,

CINCHONA VEL CHINCHONA. 397

wrote Chondodendron ; and so the word is adopted by Poppig 1874-.
and Endlicher,1 Lindleyin his Vegetable Kingdom (1853), Eichler
in the Florce Brasiliensis of Martins, Bentham and Hooker2
(1862); and lastly by Baillon in his Histoire des Plantes3 (1871).
With the sanction of such an overwhelming amount of
authority, I am satisfied to accept the name without an attempt
at improvement. It has served for eighty years in botanical
literature, and may fairly claim admittance to that of pharmacy.

CINCHONA, OE CHINCHONA?

IN his recently published Memoir of the Lady Ana de Osorio, 1875.
Countess of Chinchon, Mr. Clements E. Markham has revived
the discussion of a question which, so far as preponderance of
practice can determine anything, might now be supposed to have
been satisfactorily settled. It is whether the orthography Introductory
" Chinchona " or " Cinchona " should obtain for this now famous D "g* J^e pjul
genus. Eeserving for a future opportunity a criticism of Mr.
Markham's book, we briefly indicate here his views upon this
subject.

There can be no doubt that Linnaeus, in naming the genus,
sought to connect it with the name of the lady who is reputed
to have first made the healing virtues of the bark known to
Europe. Whether he was well acquainted with the lady's name
is not so clear. Mr. Markham thinks he was not, but that he Mr. Mark-
received his knowledge of the Countess of Chinchon through a
French source, and was thus misled into calling the genus
Cinchona in the Genera Plantarum of 1742. He further thinks
that Linnaeus showed his uncertainty by the orthography
"Cinhona" which occurred in the edition of 1764, biit that he
died before the error was 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 Nova Genera ac Species Plantarum quas in Eegno Chilensi, Peruviano,
etc., legit .... Lipsiae, ii. 1838.

2 Genera Plantarum, i. 1862-68, index and p. 34.

3 Monographic, des Menispermactes et des Berberidacecs, 1871, p. 36.

398 CINCHONA VEL CHINCHONA.

1875. of commemorating the services of the Countess is defeated by
the mutilation of her name ; that in much of the most im-
portant literature of the subject the word is spelt " Chinchona,"
and lastly that "the correct spelling should be universally
adopted because it is right." He also quotes the following
botanical authorities, who have explored the native forests of
the genus, as spelling the word correctly: — Pavon, Ruiz, Tafalla.
Mutis, Zea, Caldas, Seemann, and Spruce. Finally, with a
chivalric admiration of the "illustrious and beautiful lady,
Ana de Osorio," which is manifest throughout the book, Mr.
Markham pleads that the correct spelling may be retained
as the only way by which the "memory of her who made
known to the world the inestimable value of quina bark " may
be preserved.

Counter opin- On the other hand, it has been contended that Linnaeus
purposely omitted the Ji for the sake of euphony, and that the
law of priority must obtain ; that botanical names are means,
not ends, and their use as means once established it is all but
impossible to alter them. Further that " Cinchona " has been
so universally adopted that great inconvenience and confusion
would result from any attempt to substitute " Chinchona "
for it.

Mr. Hanbury's Apropos to this discussion, Mr. Hanbury has taken the oppor-
tunity of investigating the introduction by Linnasus of the
genus Cinchona, and has pointed out that the mis-spelling of
the name of the' Countess occurs in several authors much
earlier than Linna3us. 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, Mutis, as well as Ruiz and Pavon, follow the
orthography of Linnseus. Mr. Hanbury's strictures are contained
in the Athenaeum of Jan. 30th, 1875, and are as follows :—

" In connection with Mr. Markham's proposal in his Memoir of
Lady Ana de Osorio, reviewed in the Athenceum of the 23rd of
January, that botanists should abandon Linna3us's word Cinchona
(Sinkona) in favour of Chinchona (Tshin-tshona), and, as I
presume, that doctors, pharmacists, and chemists should do the

CINCHONA VEL CH1NCHONA. 399

same, and that the reform should extend to the words Cinchonine 1875.
Ginchonidine, and Cinclionicine, as well as to any other deriva-
tions from the word Cinchona, in ay I be allowed a few remarks
on the origin of the Linnsean name, and on some of the argu-
ments used by Mr. Markham to support his case ?

" It may be at once conceded that ' Chinchona ' is a word which Point
better commemorates the Countess of Chinchon than does admitted.
' Cinchona/

" But let us trace the introduction of the genus Cinchona by
Linnaeus, and for this purpose let us have recourse to the actual
volumes which formed part of the library of the great botanist,
and which are, many of them, enriched with his MS. notes. They
are now in the possession of the Linnean Society of London.

" In an interleaved copy of the Systema Naturce, published in
1740, there occurs in the section Pentandria Monogynia a memo-
randum in Linnaeus' s hand, after the genus Genipa, — Quinquina
Cond. This is the first allusion to the tree discovered by La
Condamine, and on which Linnaeus founded the germs. Linnaeus.

" In 1742 appeared the second edition (aucta et emendata) of
the Genera Plantarum, and on one of the two pages of Addenda
(p. 527) is the following sentence : — ' In Pentandria monogynia
post Genipam, Num. 168-1021, Cinchona. Quinquina Condamin
Act. Gall. 1738.' In the Ordo Generum, the name is again
printed Cinchona, and so likewise in the index.

" In the fourth edition of the Systema Naturce, published at
Paris in 1744, we read at p. 30, — 'Cinchona, Quinquina, Cond.
Le Quinquina/ and the same spelling is adopted in the editions
of 1748 and 1756. Again in the fifth edition of the Genera
Plantarum, — ' ab auctore reformata et aucta,' which appeared at
Stockholm in 1754, the spelling of the controverted word is
again (p. 79) Cinchona, and so it is in the Species Plantarum,
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 solitary instance in the sixth
edition of his Genera, 1764, was a mere typographical error, and
not, as Mr. Markham seems to think, a proof that he desired to
spell the word correctly.

" ' It was still more unfortunate/ says Mr. Markham, that
Linnaeus died before the error was pointed out and corrected.
This was done by the Spanish botanists, Euiz and Pavon who,
landed in Peru in 1778, the very year of Linnseus's death. They
explored the forests of Huanuco and Loxa, discovered many new

40() CINCHONA VEL CIIINCHONA.

1875. species of Chinchonae, and are among the highest authorities on
the subject. They strongly advocated the correct spelling. . . .
The botanist Mutis, with his disciples Zea and Caldas, were
engaged in the study of the Chinchonae of New Granada, the
former residing in South America, chiefly at Bogota, from 1783,
until his death in 1808. They also spelt the word correctly.

" ' That Linnaeus could not have been ignorant of the correct
spelling at a much earlier date than that mentioned seems
probable from the following circumstance: — In 1758, J. Ch. P.
Petersen read at Upsala an academic dissertation, " De Cortice
Peruviano," Linnaeus presiding. In this production, which was
afterwards printed, the name of the Spanish Viceroy appears
(more than once) as " Comes del Chinchon," while the bark is
spoken of as " Chinchona," and never as Cinchona (" quamvis
nonnulli Chinchonam in scorbuto esse magni ponderis remedium
. . . .' p. 10.

Letters of " As to Mutis, Mr. Markham overlooks the fact that that

Mutis to botanist was residing at Bogota, not merely in 1783 but in 1763,

ms' under which latter date he wrote thence to Linnaeus ; and that

a correspondence was kept up between them for eighteen years.

Some of Mutis's letters are fortunately extant, and form part of

the Linnean collections at Burlington House. As they throw

some light on the subject, I have made from them a few

extracts. Translations of the letters may be found in Sir J.

E. Smith's Selections of the Correspondence of Linnaeus, London,

1821.

"24th Sept., 1764. — (Mutis to Linnaeus). ' Verum ne plane
ineptissimae hae literae tibi viderentur, inconem et flores quosdam.
Chinchonae adjungere duxi. An description! suae figuram ullam
addiderit Celeberrimus de la Condamine, vel an plantam siccam
examinasse tibi licuerit, necne, cum nullam notam in descriptione
Chinchouae editionis Holmiae 54 videam, non plane mihi constat.'
(The drawings and specimens here alluded to, still exist in the
Linnean herbarium.)

"3 Oct., 1767. — (The same to the same.) '. . . sane prater
ultimas lineas, in quibus nunciabatur, te Cinchonam accepisse ;
quasque in Civitate Bogotensi, antequain illinc longissimae
peregrination! paratus decederem, summa jucunditate legisse
contigit. . .'

"15 May, 1770. — In this letter the name of the plant occurs
four times, and is always written after the fashion of Linnaeus
with one h. Appended to the letter, Mutis sends a botanical
description of a plant which he calls Cinchona Gironensis.

" 6 June, 1773. — Mutis here acknowledges the receipt from

CINCHONA VEL CHINCHONA. 401

Linnaeus of certain works of the latter, and expresses his 1875.
pleasure at the honourable mention of himself by Linnaeus
under the head of Cinchona; and he also refers to a small
present which he transmits by Don Euiz-Pavon, who is going
to Upsala.

"8 Feb., 1777. — This letter contains notes on some plants
sent by Mutis to Linnseus, one of them being entered as
Cinchona Bogotensis.

"12 Sept., 1778. — A long letter of condolence from Mutis to
the younger Linnaeus. It contains the following passage : —
' Maxirne disto a solo natali Cinchonae officinalis a me detectse,
cujus viciniis crescit etiam Mutisia.'

"In none of these letters is there a hint of disapprobation
of the name Cinchona, which it will be noticed that Mutis
adopts, immediately he finds it used by Linnaeus.

" Mr. Markham asserts that the error was pointed out by Ruiz and
Euiz and Pavon. But surely he cannot be conversant with the
Quinologia of Euiz, published at Madrid in 1792, or with the
Suplemento, which appeared, under the joint authorship of
Euiz and Pavon, nine years later, in neither of which works is
the name of Linnaeus's genus written otherwise than Cinchona.
Mr. Markham must be also unaware that in the Flora Peruviana
et Ckilensis of Euiz and Pavon, the name in dispute is
uniformly 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 Nueua Quinologia,
a work written between 1821 and 1826, but which never saw
the light until 1862, when it was edited in an abridged form by
Mr. Howard.

" But the error in the name of the Spanish viceroy originated
long before the time of Linnaeus. Sebastiano Bado, the author adopted ante
of Anastasis Corticis Peru/owe (Genoa, 1663), and one of the lni
principal authorities for the early history of Peruvian bark,
writes 'Cinchon' for Chinchon. Morton, in his Pyretologia,
1692, mentions the Count's name in the same inaccurate
manner. So does La Condamine in 1738, and Geoffroy in 1741.
By some of these writers Linnseus was misled, and was after-
wards, perhaps, fortified in his error by the rules he had laid
down about the immutability of generic names.

" That one of these rules was supposed to apply to the case
in question, is evident from the remark of Euiz: — 'Linneo
parece que debio haber expresado el titulo de los Condes de
Chinchon en su genero, dandole el nombre de Chinchona y no
el de Cinchona, con el que tambien le nombro yo, atendiendo

D D

402 CINCHONA VEL CHINCHONA.

1875. al Canon 243, de su Filosoffa Botanica en que dice, Nomen
genericum digniim alio, licet aptiore, permutare non licet. u
" " Though the canons of Linnaeus may no longer command
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 (Introduction 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 sufficiently done so.' "

1 " It seems that Linnaeus 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 Philoso-
phia Botanica, which says, Nomen genericum, etc."

ADDRESSES

AND

MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS.

D D 2

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE.

CONSTITUTION.

Art. I. — This Association shall be called the British Pharma-
ceutical Conference, and its objects shall be the following : —

1. To hold an annual 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, arid, 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 union 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.

OPENING ADDKESS. NOKWICH, 1868.
(Eroffnungsrede der Pharm. Conference zu Norwich.)

GENTLEMEN, — In accordance with the arrangement made ises.
last year at Dundee, we have assembled to hold at Norwich,
as usual under the shadow of the British Association, the
Fifth Anniversary Meeting of the British Pharmaceutical
Conference.

Instituted at Newcastle-on-Tyne in the year 1863, and Newcastle-on-
commencing its labours on a humble and unpretending scale, Tyne-
our Society has year by year increased in numbers, while 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, as evidenced by its list of Conference-
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 efforts in promoting that
spirit of study and research which so highly contribute to
advance the dignity of the profession of pharmacy. The
meetings of the British Pharmaceutical Conference are not,
indeed, to be precisely measured by the importance of the
papers brought before them ; they have another object besides
the discussion of scientific subjects, namely, that of binding
together with a cord of union the pharmacists of this land,

406 BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH.

1868. of providing an opportunity for discussing in various parts of
the country subjects of common interest, and generally of pro-
moting by personal communication that good understanding
and mutual appreciation which so greatly contribute to render
our course in life happy, useful, and harmonious.

American The advantages of such associations have long been recognised
Association on ^e ^on^nen^ ^n Germany, France, acd Switzerland, we
find 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 more closely those
which prevail in our own country, there exists, as most of us
well know, a flourishing association for the promotion of science
in connection with pharmacy, as well as for the discussion of
subjects bearing on pharmacy as a trade. This is the American
Pharmaceutical 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 Atlantic when congregated in the University
Building, New York, on the 10th, llth, 12th, and 13th of
September, 1867. At the opening session, delegates appointed
by the Colleges of Pharmacy of Massachusetts, New York,
Philadelphia, 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 we find a
resolution passed to this effect — that " the Professors of the
College of Pharmacy, and of the medical colleges of this city,
also the medical profession in general, be invited to seats in the
present meeting." This has struck me as a particularly 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 welfare of all, and which claim
moreover the serious notice of those who are custodians of the
public health.

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH. 407

A list of new members is next given, and then follow reports isea.
of the Executive Committee, of the Committee on the Progress American
of Pharmacy, of that on the Drug Market, of those of Scientific Pharm.
Queries and on Internal Bevenue Law, concluding with a report
of the delegates to the International Pharmaceutical Congress,
held in Paris last August.

Various books and pamphlets were also laid before the
meeting, the first-mentioned being the proceedings of the
British Pharmaceutical Conference held at Nottingham. An
inaugural address from the President, Mr. 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 Scientific
Queries brought forward the various papers on scientific subjects
which 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 which 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 Podophyllum peltatum, proving that the rootlets afford
most resin.

This will suffice to show 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 knowledge made in our country since we
last met.

The detection and exact recognition of the vegetable alkaloids Detection of
is one of the most important and delicate operations that it can Alkaloids-
fall to the lot of the chemist to attempt, and any addition to

408 BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH.

1868. the tests already in use merits attention. Dr. Guy may, there-
fore, well deserve our thanks for the exactitude and unwearied
patience with which he has performed an immense number of

Sublimation of experiments on the sublimation of the alkaloids, a process first
Alkaloids. ^rought to the attention of the chemists in 1864, by Dr. Helwig,
of Mayence. Dr. Guy 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 afforded, 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 alkaloids
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 applied himself to devise a more
exact method, to the results of which, communicated in the
Pharmaceutical Journal of February last, I must refer you.

Another excellent observer, who has also studied this depart-
ment of chemistry, is Mr. H. J. Waddington, whose paper on

Micro-Sublim- micro-sublimation elicited, when read, some interesting remarks
atioD. from Dr QUVj Dr Attfield, and others. In common with Dr.
Guy, Mr. Waddington had experienced the 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

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH. 409

part of it is volatile without decomposition, while the other is
not. But no substance, as Mr. Waddington remarked, can
sublime and decompose at the same temperature ; partial sub-
limation and partial decomposition must be owing to a
mechanical defect in the arrangement for heating the substance.
That the subliming and decomposing points of many substances
approximate very closely is most probable, for when the heat
has been most carefully applied, it has often happened that
a sublimate has been contaminated with coloured matter which
could only have arisen from decomposition. Dr. Attfield 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 morphia 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 interesting subject, noticing only that
we have further to thank Mr. Waddington for remarks on Mr. Wadding-
the preparation of microscopic crystals, a communication of /on*
great interest to any one desirous of pursuing the subject,
the practical value of which has been' illustrated by our
colleagues Messrs. Stoddart, Deane and Brady.

The analysis of potable water, more especially with a view Water Analy.
to the determination of the organic matter it contains, continues sls-
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. Frankland's paper on water analysis,
in the Pharmaceutical Journal for February last 1868, gives
some idea of the elaborate pains required for arriving at satis-
factory results.

Let me here notice the extremely interesting account of a Attfield's
medicinal spring in Jamaica, given by our friend and colleague a^g^sju0ai a
Dr. Attfield. The water of this spring is remarkable, not only spring.
for the excessive amount of saline matter it contains, but like-
wise from this saline matter consisting exclusively of the chlorides
of calcium, sodium, and ammonium, the first-named being in the

410

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH.

lees proportion of 1,510 grains in the imperial gallon. Assuming
the flow of the spring to be as stated, about seventy gallons per
hour (certainly no vast quantity), the amount of chloride of
calcium outpoured in the course of twenty-four hours would be
equivalent to 363 pounds. No other example is known of
water so rich in this mineral constituent.

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 scrutinized and considered in
every possible way. This fine work, a quarto of 400 pages,
emanates from a Brazilian, a member by examination of the
Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, Senhor Antonio Alves
A. Alves Fer- Ferreira, of Kio 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 communicated by Dr.
John Harley in his Lectures on the action and uses of Conium,
Belladonna, and Hyoscyamus. Dr. Harley's experiments on
Coriium 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 thirty to forty grains to produce the least effect. The
only preparation which retains the active principle of the drug,
in sufficient quantity, is the preserved juice, given in the dose of
from two to eight drachms, is a safe and valuable medicine. As
Belladonna, to Belladonna, Dr. Harley considers that its medicinal powers are
wholly resident in atropine, a substance which I, as a druggist,
may remark is far more satisfactory to handle than a liquid like
conia, or a highly deliquescent solid such as hyoscyamine. Dr.

Dr. John
Harley.

Conium.

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH. 411

Haiiey finds that its activity is destroyed by fixed caustic ises.
alkalies — an observation previously made, as you will remember,
by Dr. Garrod, who also pointed out the impropriety of com-
bining hyoscyamus with a caustic alkaline solution, such as
Liquor potassce. The action of an alkali on atropine is not Henbane,
instantaneous, in fact the power 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 still
better to give them separately.

The analysis of jalap was the subject of a communication made jalap,
at our last meeting, and it is one which seems still deserving
attention. Messrs. T. and H. Smith assert that, in many trials,
they have never obtained of the resin more than 15 per cent.,
while our colleague Mr. Umney, has recently obtained 21 '5 per
cent, from the Vera Cruz drug. Dr. Squibb considers that
powdered jalap, which 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 yielded but 11 per cent., and a similar result was obtained
by my friend Mr. Broughton.

The transition from jalap to rhubarb is natural, at least in Rhubarb,
the popular mind; and I notice this latter drug in order to
remind you of the interesting account of the cultivation of
rhubarb in England, recently published by Mr. Usher in the
Journal of the Society of Arts. Although the directions of the
Pharmacopoeia preclude the employment in an English pharmacy
of any other rhubarb than that of China (and most of us are
practically unacquainted with any other), yet no such limitation
extends to other countries, and that British rhubarb is appreciated
somewhere is proved by the fact alleged by Mr. Usher, that the
demand is greater than the supply. The disappearance from
commerce of the old-fashioned Eussian rhubarb, a drug that
was of uniform excellence, has been followed by a remarkable
alteration in that shipped from China. For the last two or three
years this latter has been singularly bad in quality, whole chests

412

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH.

1868. affording only a few pounds of the drug in a sound condition.
As the price has also very much advanced, it is not surprising
that British rhubarb, which is at least well prepared and of
good appearance, should find numerous purchasers. The in-
creased facilities for traversing the interior provinces of China
may soon, I hope afford an opportunity of reaching some of the
districts in which rhubarb is produced, and of bringing thence
living plants of this most valuable drug.

Dr. Fliickiger, of Berne, one of the most careful and profound
pharmacologists living, and who I am happy to tell you is a
contributor of some papers to our Conference, has lately pointed

Kamala. Out that a second sort of Kamala, differing essentially from that
derived from Bottlera tinctoria, 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 almost entirely free from sand,
which has not been the case with most of that hitherto found in
the market. Yet freedom from earthy admixture is a condition
in which it is possible to obtain kamala, even as a commercial
article. Some quantity of it recently shipped from India was so
pure that it afforded upon incineration only T37 per cent of ash.

Cinchona. 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 was stimulated to take the matter actively in hand ;
and it is to the experiments, the failures, the errors of these first
Dutch cultivators that we are indebted for much of the success
already attained.

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH.

413

The chief plantations in British India are those on the ises.
Neilgherry Hills, near Madras, the most elevated mountain
range in India southward of the Himalaya. " The climates of
the Neilgherry Hills," observes Markham, "are the most
delightful in 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, 1866, the Cinchona
number of Cinchona plants in the Government plantations in Cultlvatlol)-
this locality was 1,233,645, of which nearly 300,000 belonged
to the species yielding red bark, 758,000 to that affording
pale or crown bark, and 37,000 to Cinchona calisaya. This, it
must be remembered, by no means indicated the full extent of
Cinchona culture on the Neilgherries, 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 Ibrmed 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," writes Mr. Thwaites, <f have been
distributed from the Hakgalla garden, and I have 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- Darjeeling.
stations for 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

414

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH.

Cinchona
Cu Itivatiou.

1868. a large proportion belong to the species which furnish what are
called crown bark and red bark.

But however rapid and vigorous the growth of the Cinchona
in India, the culture of the tree would avail but little, unless
the bark were as rich in alkaloids as that produced in South
America.

In fact, at the outset of the enterprise many persons capable
of judging had considerable misgivings as to the results. If
the young plants could be induced to grow, would it not be
needful to wait a generation, at least, before they would produce
bark that it would be worth while to remove ? Should we not
destroy the trees by the operation ? And if we, at last, got the
bark, might it not prove deficient in those constituents which
render that of South America so valuable ?

These surmises have happily not been verified ; in fact from
the numerous analyses of Mr. Howard, Dr. De Vry, and Mr.
Broughton, it is evident that the percentage of alkaloids in the
bark grown in India may exceed that obtainable from the same
sort of bark grown in its native country. Another point well
worthy of notice is that the proportion which one alkaloid bears
to another varies extraordinarily in the same species — sometimes
quinine predominating, sometimes the less valuable cinchonine
or cinchonidine. We are as yet, to a great extent, ignorant of the
causes of this variation ; but that they may be discovered and
controlled seems to be the conviction of those most competent
to form an opinion, for we find Mr. Howard speaks of a plant
being " encouraged " to produce quinine instead of cinchonidine.
Mossing. In fact, the process of coating the stems with moss after 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.

Cultivation of The success that has attended Cinchona culture naturally led

Ipecacuanha. ^ ^Q jj^jjy whether there are not other medicinal plants

that may be introduced into our Colonies with equal hope of

good results ? Though we can certainly point to none at all

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH. 415

comparable in importance to that which affords quinine, there ises.
yet are a few, the cultivation of which 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 ; but
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 until we get a supply of good seeds from Brazil,
I do not anticipate that it will be possible to make a fair trial of
propagating the ipecacuanha plant in India or elsewhere.

The experiments made in cultivating the jalap plant (Exo- Cultivation of
gonium purga, Benth.) are much more hopeful, and I have the a ap'
gratification of presenting to your 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.
Broughton were planted in January, 1867. These roots grew
with 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 half. This 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 facilitate this
operation, the tubers have been sliced. It compares, however,
favourably with that of Mexico, as regards percentage of resin,
and from a few trials made in India, we may judge that its
medicinal powers are fully maintained.

Let me now draw your attention to a fine specimen of calumba Calumba 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 through 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 botanical garden in that island. Eeinark
the brilliant yellow hue of the freshly-cut root.

416 BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, NORWICH.

1868. 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.

Delusive ac- 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 which arrive but slowly at
maturity; those which, like sarsaparilla, 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 important 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 entertain-
ing you with only a narration of the labours of others. 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 arrangements they have made
for our meeting, and for the kindliness and hospitality with
which we have been received.

OPENING ADDBESS, EXETER, 1869.
(Eroffnungsrede der Pharm. Conference zu JExeter.)

GENTLEMEN, — The custom which has hitherto prevailed at ises.
the annual meeting of the British Pharmaceutical Conference
imposes on the President 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 address. Properly to
perform this duty is to me 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 we met in an eastern capital : our sixth anniversary brings
us to the west of England, to find in the good city of Exeter a
welcome no less cordial and fraternal than we have experienced
on any previous occasion. Had the Pharmaceutical Conference
no other merits, we might say that at least it gave the oppor-
tunity of some agreeable relaxation, — 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 object for seeing, and of social and
friendly intercourse, to which often attach the most pleasant
recollections. But our Conference claims more than this ; and
the report of our meeting last year at Norwich would prove,
were it necessary, that the advancement of scientific pharmacy Advance of
is one of the very principal objects with which our association iiarmacy-
is concerned.

On that occasion, it will be remembered, a portion of two
sittings was occupied in a very animated discussion of the

E K

418

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETER.

1869.

The Phar-
macy Act.

Sale of poi
sons.

Pharmacy Act, then just passed, and in listening to an explana-
tion of the new law, ably given by two members of the Confer-
ence who were particularly conversant with its provisions. It
would be interesting to know what have been the experiences
of our members as to the working of the Act in the practical
carrying on of business. Has it proved a safeguard and benefit
to the public ? Have its provisions with regard to the sale of
poisons been easily complied with, or have jthey been found
irksome, or even impracticable ? To these questions, it is to be
expected, the answers will be very various, 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 difficulty in complying with
the requirements of the Pharmacy Act, and that its tendency
has been advantageous to public safety and convenience. On
the subject of registration and the other important provisions of
the Act, I will now say nothing ; but I must make a passing
allusion 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 Square 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 ordeals in the house of the Pharmaceutical Society
during the first six months of the present year.

With regard 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.
Contrast this with the state of things in France, where so far
back as A.D. 1353, nearly five hundred years before, a law was
passed to regulate the profession of apothecary and herbalist
and to subject the shops of such persons to inspection. By this
law it was enacted, that they should not sell or deliver any
dangerous poisonous medicine or such as would occasion abor-
tion, whether simple or compound, to any person out of the
pale of the Christian faith, or to any person to have the same if

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETER. 419

they did not well know that he was a master, or learned person, 1869.
or expert in the science of medicine and well known, the which
they should judge in their conscience sufficient, 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, enactments-
but not impossible, if intended, as I think it was, to be enforced
against Jews who in the middle ages were distinguished by their
dress, and were, as is well known, the objects of every kind of
persecution and opprobrious distinction. The same law contains
other curious provisions, some of which descend to minute
particulars, as the following : —

" . ... 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, shall be labelled with the year and
month when confected, and that they shall sell the same at a
loyal, just and moderate price and with just regard to variation
in the currency and also that whenever re-
quired they shall weigh all their medicines and not deliver
them by guess."

In the previous reign, that of Philippe de Valois, an injunc- The apothe-
tion concerning the apothecaries of Paris was addressed by the canes of Pans>
king to the provost of the city, requiring that he should compel
the apothecaries to show their medicines to the Masters of the
Faculty of Medicine, that the latter might judge of their purity
and good condition.1

1 These laws are thus quoted in the Eecueil General des Anciennes Lois
Francises par Decrusy, Isambert et Jourdan, tome iv. pp. 679-681 and
p. 424.

" Ordonnance sur 1'exercise de la profession d'apothicaire et d'herbier, et
qui les soumet a la visite."— Paris, aout, 1353.

" Jehan, par la grace de Dieu, roy de France, sc,avoir faisons a tous presens
et avenir."

" . . . . et qu'il ne vendront, ne bailleront aucune medecine venimeuse
perilleuse, ou qui puissent faire abortix, simples ou compose'es a nulles gens,
qui soient hors de la foy chrestienne, ni a aucunes gens avoir se il ne con-
noissent bien, que il soit maistre ou sciencier, ou expert en la science de mede-
cine, et bien cognu, lequel il cuideront en leur conscience souffisant, que ce
soit par expres commandement de physicien. qui les cut envoye* querir, et se
comme dessus est dit

EE 2

420 BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETER.

1869. In connection with the Pharmacy Act, it is proper that I

should here inform you that the proposal made at our meeting
at Norwich last year for some public recognition of the eminent
services rendered to the cause of pharmaceutical 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 6th and 13th of October last, on
the latter of which occasions a committee was organized for
carrying it into effect. It is unnecessary that I should recount
to you the subsequent proceedings and numerous meetings of
this committee; suffice to say that a subscription was raised,
amounting to about £500, of which £200, invested in the form
Sandford Tes- of plate, was presented to Mr. Sandford on the 19th of May
timomal. jag^ Qn ^e evening Of which day a complimentary dinner was
given to him at the Freemasons' Tavern. The balance of the
subscription is to be expended on a portrait of Mr. Sandford, to
be placed on the walls of that institution for the welfare of
which he has laboured with so much devotion and, I think I
may add, with such eminent success.

Scientific The progress of scientific pharmacy, as evidenced by the

Pharmacy, various 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 present occasion. Yet it may be

" . . . et aussi que les medecines electuaires ou opiates, ou quelconques
medecines de longue conservation, faites et mises en pots, on autres vais-
seaux convenables par eux, ils xnettront sur le pot, Pan et le mois de la confec-
tion, et que il vendront a loial, jusle et modere pris, et loyal et juste regard
a la mutation de la monoie . . . . et aussi que il peseront toutes leurs
medecines, et ne les bailleront pas en tache, toutefois que requis en seront."

" Mandement portant que les remedes des apothicaires de Paris seront visile's
par les mddecins de la faculteV'

" Philippe par la grace de Dieu, roy de France : au prevost de Paris, ou
son lieutenant, salut."

" . . . . et que tu les contraignes a montrer ausdits maistres [de la faculte*
de medecine] les medecines laxatives, et les opiates, qui se gardent par long
temps, pour les voir, avant que elles soient confites, et sgavoir qu'elles soient
bonnes et fraiches et non corrompues et tresalle'es . . . "

" Donn6 a Paris, le 22 de Mai 1336."

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETER. 421

neither uninstructive nor uninteresting if I direct your attention 1869.
to a very few of the numerous valuable communications on
pharmaceutical subjects that have been brought forward during
the last twelve months, though as I have hinted, it is impossible
for me to offer any fair re'sume' of them in the few brief moments
at my disposal.

First let me 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 Quinology of
the East India Plantations, a copy of which is oji 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 with moss the stems from which the bark has been
removed, the mode in which the bark is renewed, and the chemi-
cal constitution of the wood and leaves of Cinchona. The so-
called mossing process, which simple as it is, seems likely to play
an important part in Cinchona-culture, consists in covering with
moss the portion of stem from which a strip of bark has been
carefully removed.1 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 which it
replaced ; and bark of the second renewal is richer than that
of the first, and of the third than that of the second. " Is this
state of things," says Mr. Howard, " to last and become per-
manent, so that by continually stripping the trees of portions
of their external covering it should become in the same propor-
tion more rich in the very product that we need ? This seems
very improbable, yet 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 removal of the bark from a stem is a destructive practice never
adopted in India.

422

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETER.

Cinchona sue-
cirubra.

Madder.

1869. the third time renewed is better fitted for the extraction of
quinine than normal bark, and yields the alkaloid in a state in
Broughton on which its purification is singularly easy.

Mr. Broughton, whose assiduity in this field of research con-
tinues unabated, made experiments on two trees of Cinchona
succirubra, 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, remained almost stationary,
the increase being in the shape of cinchonine and cinchonidine.
In bark renewed under moss, an improved proportion of quinine
is found.

The cultivators of madder are in the habit of covering up
with earth the lower portion of the stems of the plant, finding
by experience that deprivation of light tends to develop the
peculiar colouring matter for which the plant is valued. It has
been observed by Decaisne in examining microscopically the
roots and stems of madder, that the cellular 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 colouring matter
of the root in its place. It happens in this case, observes Mr.
Howard, that the green portions which when exposed to light,
absorb the carbonic acid of the air whilst disengaging oxygen,
absorb, on the contrary, when deprived 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 ?

In Mr. Broughton's Eeport to the Madras Government, the
following interesting fact is related: — among the Crown-bark
trees (Cinchona officinalis, 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 the bark of these two forms of Cinchona
(growing side by side and raised, as it would seem, from the same

Madras
report.

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETER. 423

lot of seeds) afforded this interesting result,1 — that that of the tree 1869.
with lanceolate leaves contained 8 per cent, or nearly 3J times
as much alkaloids as that of the neighbouring trees of ordinary
Cinchona officinalis, nine-tenths of these alkaloids being quinine,
while in the others less than half was quinine. No finer quality
of Cinchona bark for the quinine manufacturer has probably
ever been met with.

M. Lefort has rendered a good service by communicating to
the Society of Pharmacy of Paris, the result of a comparative
examination of the ipecacuanha of Brazil and of that imported Ipecacuanha.
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.
This 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 collection in New Granada. Yet the
drug of New Granada is not precisely similar to that of Brazil
nor is its botanical origin well established ; 2 and questions have
been raised as to whether it may be legitimately employed, some
authors supposing it to be weaker, others stronger than the

1 Mr. Broughton's analysis of these barks may be thus stated : —

Bark of tree with Bark of adjoining trees

lanceolate leaves. of Cinchona officinalis.

Quinine 7'15 2'OG

Cinchonine and Cinchonidine . 0'85 2*42

Total of alkaloids per cent. 8'00 4 '48

Sulphate of Quinine obtained crystallized 7'37 .... undetermined.

2 The true ipecacuanha-plant is not known to occur in New Granada ; for
although in the description of the plants collected by Humboldt and Bon-
pland, Cephaelis ipecacuanha is enumerated as from the mountains of San
Lucar in New Granada (Kunth, Synopsis Plantarum, iii. 35), the indication
must be regarded as doubtful. My friend M. Triana, himself an explorer of
the country, has at my request sought for the San Lucar Cephaelis in the
herbarium of Kunth in Paris, but found that it does not contain any authentic
specimen of that plant.

424 BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETER.

1869. indubitable ipecacuanha of Brazil. To determine the question
Ipecacuanha, of strength, M. Lefort has endeavoured to ascertain how the two
drugs compare in their richness in emetine. Pelletier and
Dumas having shown that emetine produces an almost insoluble
precipitate 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 1449 per mille of tannate of emetine and New Granada
ipecacuanha 13*4 per mille. The curious fact that a nitrate of
emetine is but very little soluble, though sulphate, hydrpchlorate,
phosphate and acetate are very 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
Brazil. A second paper by M. Lefort on the preparation,
properties and composition of emetine is well deserving the
attention of those desirous of studying this alkaloid.
Herb drying. The indigenous plants of which the herbaceous parts 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-room
to keep in order ; and the drying of herbs which he may have
to superintend, is generally performed on a very small scale, if
at all. Yet when henbane, belladonna, digitalis or conium are
required for making 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 wondered 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 drying stove?
Whether conium, the active principle of which is a volatile
liquid, loses none of its potency by a similar process ? The
same questions have occurred long ago to others, and the ex-
Expressed pressed juice of certain medicinal plants, preserved by the addi-
tion of alcohol was recommended nearly thirty years ago by
Mr. Edward Bentley and Mr. Squire.

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETER. 425

The British Pharmacopoeia has recognised the value of such 1869.
medicines, and has given formula? for the preserved juices of preserved
scoparium and of conium, both excellent preparations, the juices, B. P.
latter especially being superior to any tincture prepared from a
dry ingredient, whether leaf or fruit. 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, the dried medicinal plant differs from the fresh. The
late Dr. Schoonbroodt of Liege has done this, and has published
in the Journal de Mtdecine de Bruxelles l the result of his re-
searches on twenty-nine different plants, concluding his essay with
some general remarks, of which I may cite the following : —

That dried plants never completely represent the same plants Dried plants,
when fresh. Nevertheless it is possible for new and useful con-
stituents to be developed during the process of drying, 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 ; firstly, Alteration 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 platinum or
carbon, and perhaps partakes of some of the gas-condensing
power of those substances. The result of this action exhibits
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 exposure to the air, are very materially hastened.

1 Vol. 45 (1867) p. 162 etc. ; vol. 46, (1868) p. 62. A German translation
has appeared in the Vierteljahresschriftf. PraJct. Pharm. 1869, p. 73, and an
abstract by Mr. Maisch in the American Journ. of Pharm. and Pharm.
Journ. and Trans.

426 BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETER.

1869. There is found in fact, in dried valerian a comparatively large
amount of ready-formed valerianic acid, the presence of which
is evidenced by the strong smell of the drug, while the fresh
root is devoid of odour and contains no resin.

Fresh plants. The author further observes, that it is always advantageous
in 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. Alkaloids
are thereby obtained in a condition more favourable to crystalli-
zation ; the loss, often considerable, resulting 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
deterioration, it is desirable 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 Pharmaceutical Journal for last September contained a
Aconitine. 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 very 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 crystallized. 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 signifies 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

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETER. 427

of repute (and what I examined had been purchased long "before 1869.
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
hitherto obscure.

In the suggestive list of Subjects for Papers which our secre-
taries do not fail annually to bring before us, there has been for
years included a catalogue of vegetable alkaloids each of which
for one or several reasons, requires further investigation. One
of these, Buxine, is the subject of a very interesting memoir by Buxine.
our esteemed member Dr. Fliickiger, an abstract of which, 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 Olive oil.
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 southern Europe has led to the
importation of a variety of oils and oil-seeds which have pre-
sented strong temptations to tamper with the oil shipped as
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 that a prize of £600 is offered by the Chamber of
Commerce of the Department of the Alpes Maritimes for a
prompt and easy method, not involving a chemical process, of
recognizing the mixture of seed-oils with olive-oil.

Our indefatigable colleague Dr. Attfield has during the past
year communicated many practical and useful observations on
pharmaceutical subjects, one of which I will here briefly recall
to your memory.

PEECIPITATED SULPHUE. — Notwithstanding that attention has
been repeatedly called to the desirableness of supplying this
drug in a pure form, it appears that the calcareous Milk of
Sulphur, consisting of about 34 per cent, of sulphur with 66 per

428 BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE, EXETER.1

1869. cent, of sulphate of lime, is still very generally sold. In
MillToFsul- justification it is said that the public prefer the impure article as
phur. being whiter and more easily miscible with water, that it is the
true lac sulphuris of the Pharmacopoeia, sulphur prcecipitatum
being a distinct preparation ; l to which I may add another
consideration (too far fetched, let us hope, to be real), that the
first is but half the price of the second. It is hard 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 offensive 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 matters 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 as
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 indirectly, yield some result profitable to
pharmacy. Let us not therefore neglect our opportunities, but
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 which it is our province to cultivate.

1 It was true that the sulphur prcecipitat um of the Pharmacopoeia of 1746
was ordered to be made with sulphur, lime and sulphuric acid ; and the lac
sulphuris of that of 1721, with sulphur, lime or salt of tartar, and sulphuric
acid. But it is questionable if the chemists of that period were aware of the
essential difference of the products obtained, according to whether a lime or a
potash-salt were decomposed with sulphuric acid, for Pemberton in his Dis-
pensatory 1746 calls the preparations " similar," but says that the one " will
not look so white " as the other.

BOTANIZING ON THE COL DE LAUTARET. 429

PHYTOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
(Bead to the Phytological Chib, 14th April, 1858.)

MOST persons who have rambled among beautiful natural isss.
scenery are able to recall certain times of special enjoyment,
when a combination of agreeable circumstances has contributed
to produce an impression which increases rather than diminishes
in the lapse of time. To the botanist, days of this sort are
not unfrequent. Fine weather, agreeable companions, interesting
plants and picturesque scenery furnish him with sources of
gratification which are by no means transient.

What young botanist could forget gathering for the first time
Cypripedium calceolus or Orchis hircina? Who could not be
struck with the beauties of Pinguicula and the Sundews ?

Though I am sensible how 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 my own mind, and I will now read to you my

RECOLLECTIONS OF A DAY'S BOTANIZING ON THE COL DE LAUTARET.

On the road between the towns of Grenoble and Brianyon
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 village of Yillar d'Arene. It is a poor, bleak, desolate- Yillar
looking place, with but little traffic through it, and for several
months in the year buried in snow. It possesses, however, a
church, and what to the botanist is much more essential, a
humble village inn.

Here on the 26th June 1857, accompanied by my friend S ,

I had the satisfaction of experiencing the primitive hospitalities
of 'the landlady, Madame Clot.

Hose early the next 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 France. The weather was
magnificent, and so I may add was the scenery, especially after
one had proceeded some little distance from the village.

430 BOTANIZING ON THE COL DE LAUTARET.

lass. 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 Lau- treeless was beautifully verdant, was the Col de Lautaret, the

taret. grand botanical locality 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 Sisymbrium
Austriacum.

A little further on, growing in a lovely little hollow was a
perfect nest of treasures, — Anemone narcissiflora, A. alpina,
Trollius Europceus, CaltJia palustris, Narcissus poeticus and
Pcdicularis incarnata being among the more interesting, besides
which I must mention as conspicuous for its fine yellow flowers
and deep green leaves, Orobus luteus, 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 may say 1 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 leaving
Villar 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, which differs 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
Narcissus poeticus, Paradisia Liliastrum, Trollius Europceus,
Aspliodtlus allies.

A little further on, where the scanty soil barely conceals the
naked rock, occur Anthyllis vulneraria, Oxytropis montana, 0.
campestris, the beautiful yellow-flowered Gregoria mtaliana,
Astragalus aristatus, the fine Trifolium alpinum, with great
pink flowers so unlike any ordinary clover as at first sight to
lead one quite off the scent in conjecturing its name.

BOTANIZING ON THE COL DE LAUTABET. 431

In moister places appear Orchis globosa, 0. conopsea and isss.
0. nigra, the flowers of the last remarkable for their deep
red colour and vanilla-like odour, and still more so for the profusion of
singularity of their having the labellum uppermost, a character botanical

' rr > specimens.

which has caused them to be separated into a distinct genus
named Nigritella. Here also we find along with our familiar Geum
rivale, the much smaller though not less conspicuous 0. montanum
with golden yellow flowers, Asphodelus albus, Phyteuma orbiculare,
Ranunculus aconitifolius, R. aduncus, Gentiana lutea, Polygonum
viviparum, Ajuga pyramidalis, while among the herbage, and not
very easily distinguishable, is Botrychium Lunaria. •

In certain places a more peaty soil. prevails, and with it a
number of plants still different — foremost among them and not
soon to be forgotten, are the splendid blue gentians, G. verna
and G. acaulis abundantly enamelling the short turf. Primula
farinosa, Soldanella alpina, Androsace cornea, A. obtusifolia, Pin-
guicula alpina and Ranunculus pyrenmus and in places from
which the snow had but lately disappeared, a few plants of
Crocus vernus were still in flower.

Amid such a profusion of interesting plants, the difficulty is to
collect little enough, for botany boxes are by no means of unlimited
capacity; and the botanist under such trying circumstances
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
botany 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 during 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 afterwards 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 vernalis, most of them

432 BOTANIZING ON THE COL DE LAUTARET.

1858. rather too much advanced, attracted my attention — then Daphne
Mezereum still in flower, and D. striata^ a beautiful alpine species
with pink flowers altogether much resembling D. Cacorum — here
also was Rlwdodendron ferrugineum, displaying its fine crimson
flowers.

In a damper spot were the curious Androsacepubescens, forming
a sort of compact crust of green dotted with little pink stars,
Pyrctlirum alpinum, Arabis lellidifolia, and two or three other
crucifers, whose imperfect state prevented our determining.
Among some sloping loose rocks grew Empetrum nigrum,
and mixed with it that rare plant Lloydia serotina and the rare
Saxifraga liflora and S, retusa, and higher still on the ledges
of some precipitous rocks which prevented our further ascent
grew Primula latifolia, P. viscosa and Apidium conchitis. Here,
or in a similar locality, we also gathered Bellidiastrum Michelii,
a plant so like an overgrown daisy as to make one hesitate to
take it, but which the presence of pappus proves at once to be
no Bellis.

The Hospice Descending once more to the lower ground we gathered Gagea
Lautaret Liottardi and Gentiana punctata, 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 Brianson. The
Hospice of the Lautaret was founded by Humbert II., 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 fine : the Montagne d'Oursine
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 the
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 inhabit-
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 kitchen
on the other. In the latter, a massive stone apartment dimly
lighted by small windows sunk in its thick walls, we found

A CHEMIST'S HOLIDAY IN FRANCE. 433

the operations of the laundry busily going on, while over a fire less.
of cow-dung made upon the hearth, some potato cakes were
being fried. Nothing in the shape of food being under the
circumstances to be despised, we soon communicated our wants
and accepted what cheer the house could afford.

Quitting the Hospice we took a stroll in its immediate vicinity,
noticing among its out-buildings the rude sledges used in winter-
time, and also remarking the long poles on each side of the road,
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£on by a steep descent down Brian§on.
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.

Brianc,on is a fortress of the first class, commanding the
passage into Italy, whence 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 CHEMIST'S HOLIDAY. JOTTINGS IN FKANCE.

(Pharmaceutische Ferientage. Ausfiug nach der Daupkind.)

(Read at the Bath Meeting of the British Pharmaceutical
Conference, Sept. 1864.)

MANY of us when boys must have read with delight the 1864- .
charming little tale called Eyes and no Eyes? in which the
narration of a country 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 I 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
1 By Dr. Aikin and Mrs. Barbauld.

F F

434 A CHEMIST'S HOLIDAY IN FRANCE.

1864. the narrative of "JEyes;" and will 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.

Paris. Leaving London, in the latter part of July, in company with

a friend, I spent two days in Paris, visiting while there the
£cole de Pharmacie, which, I need hardly remind you, is an
establishment of ancient growth, and is much more extensive
than our own school in Bloomsbury Square. Besides museum,
and laboratories, it possesses a small botanical garden, which is
overlooked by the residence of the veteran pharmacologist,
Professor Guibourt, Lecturer on the Natural History of Drugs.
The professor's private collection is very extensive, and occupies
several small rooms in the upper part of- a house in an
adjoining street, where we had the pleasure of meeting him, as
well as Professor Planchon, of the School of Pharmacy at
Montpellier. I may remind you that Paris, Strasburg, and
Montpellier are the centres of French pharmaceutical education,
these three cities alone possessing Superior Schools of Pharmacy.

Jardin des We next visited the Jardin des Plantes, which is not distant
Plantes. from ^ie j;co]e je 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 a
wall a fine pistachio-tree, with nuts of full size, produced, I was
informed, after artificial impregnation, the male tree growing at
some distance. Conducted by M. Naudin, we also examined
some of the rare Cucurbitacece, for which the garden is famous,
as well as a series of beds in which curious experiments on the
hybridization of plants were being carried on. A call at the
busy establishment of Dr. Mialhe, pharmacien to the Emperor,
and a brief visit to the large and bustling wholesale house of
M. Dorvault concluded all that could be called pharmaceutical
in my visit to Paris ; and I shall therefore pass at one jump to

Grande Char- the Grande Chartreuse, that famous monastery near Grenoble,
founded by St. Bruno in the eleventh century, and of which our
London Charterhouse was originally a branch. I need not here
tell of the magnificent alpine scenery amid which the monastery
is situated, nor of the austere habits of the monks, nor of the

A CHEMIST'S HOLIDAY IN FRANCE. 435

primitive style of bed and board with which visitors to the 1864.
establishment are entertained. But I wish to relate to you the
beneficial effect 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 1816, the Grande Chartreuse was
restored 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 Cordials and
elixir of wonderful virtue, both distilled from the aromatic plants Elixir-
growing on the alpine pastures. They invented also a tooth-
tincture, and a certain preparation of iron, known under the
name of Boule d'acier ; and these have become sources of
revenue almost equal in value to the houses and lands lost by
the Revolution. The liqueurs or cordials, in particular, are in
universal 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. Balm, wormwood, a small pink, and the buds of a
fir, are said to be ingredients, but there are probably several
others, — among which I could fancy, judging from the taste of
the yellow liqueur, there might be Astrantia and Meum, both
common plants in the meadows round the Chartreuse.

The subalpine woods of this part of Dauphiny produce the
spruce fir (Abies excelsa, D.C.), the source of genuine Burgundy Firs.
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 is also common : it yields, I may remind you, the
rare and fragrant Strasburg turpentine, once official amongst us,
under the name of Terebinthina argentoratensis. 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

436

A CHEMIST'S HOLIDAY IN FRANCE.

1864.

districts, and what is remarkable, the common mistletoe grows
upon it, in preference it would almost seem, to the apple-trees
which are sometimes in near proximity.

Colehicum. The common colchicum, I noticed in many places throwing
up its purple flowers among the green herbage of orchards and
meadows; and in a few alpine situations, I also gathered
Colchicum alpinum, D.C., a species with flower and corm of
much smaller size.

Actcea spicata, L., a rare plant in England, is found in the
mountain woods near Bourg d'Oisans ; and its root, which I dug
up and dried, is so like that of the American Actcea racemosat L.,
that I do not think one could distinguish them.

Our English foxglove was nowhere seen in Dauphiny, but
the yellow Digitalis grandiflora, All., and the small white-
flowered I), lutca, L., were of frequent occurrence. Henbane, I
often noticed, especially near Brian9on, where it was very fine
by the roadside.

Lavender, the genuine plant of our English gardens, is very
abundant in some parts of the country, growing in profusion on
the rocky hillsides, but no use appears to be made of it. Many
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 still conspicuous in many an alpine pasture, as was also
the white hellebore (Veratrum album, L.), a plant affecting
similar situations. Arnica montana, L., was also nearly out of
flower, but it must be a splendid ornament of the mountain
meadows in the earlier summer. In many of these meadows, I
may mention that grass seems quite a subordinate constituent,
so thickly is the ground covered with other plants.

Proceeding to Brian9on, that little mountain city on the
confines of Italy, we were struck with the appearance of the
numerous small trees of the Brian9on plum (Prunus brigantiaca,
Vill.), the branches of which were often thickly clustered with
fruit, still far from ripe. The tree is indigenous to this part of
France and is not an object of cultivation. Its fruits, which are
hardly eatable, are gathered in the autumn for the sake of their

Labiates,

A CHEMIST'S HOLIDAY IN FRANCE.

437

Brian?on
manna.

kernels, which yield by expression a fatty oil, considered by the 1864
peasants a useful medicine both for man and beast. I bought
some of it, and found it to have an agreeable flavour and a
slight odour of bitter almonds ; further than that it was " trte-
lonne pour la colique" I could not gain any very definite idea as
to its virtues.

Briangon, however, has another pharmaceutical interest, in
the manna which old writers relate 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 them growing truly wild
on their own native mountains.

During a visit to Brian9on in June 1857, I made particular
examination of the larches on the neighbouring hills, and
obtained so little evidence of anything like saccharine exudation
that I was ready to conclude the formation of such a substance
must be of rare and exceptional occurrence. Subsequently to
this, however, M. Berthelot, of Paris, actually made a chemical
examination of Brian^on manna, and demonstrated it to contain
a peculiar variety of sugar, which he designated Melezitose, a Melezitose.
name derived from meUze, 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 two before we
reached Briangon, we had examined larches at La Grave a few
miles distant, but not a trace of saccharine exudation could we
discover. There was a little white aphis on the leaves of several
trees, just as one often sees upon the larch in England ; and
upon examining the insect carefully, one could perceive a minute
globule attached to one part of it. Was this the manna ? or had it
anything to do with it ? Here was a globule of something, 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 purposes, — fine clear drops of
genuine Venice turpentine ; and a botanist of Briangon assured
us a day or two after that this was the manna. As I could not,

438 A CHEMIST'S HOLIDAY IN FRANCE.

1864. however, believe that M. Berthelot had mistaken turpentine for
Manna in sugar, I commenced making further inquiry and fortunately

situ at applied to M. Turin, an intelligent pharmacien, who at once
Chanteraerle.

assured me that Briangon manna was no myth, but a saccharine

substance to be actually found on the foliage of the larch.
M. Turin stated that in the height of summer and in the early
part of the day, the larches in the forest (or at least some of
them — I did not understand the remark to apply to all) were
really whitened with the manna, as if there had been a sprinkling
of snow, — a thing, remarked the worthy pharmacien, that was
" vraiment belle a voir." M. Turin further added that the manna
had nothing in common with turpentine, or with the aphis
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 Chantemerle, near which there was a mountain
abounding in larches, and added that on some of them it was
possible we might still find the manna. Though we had engaged
to leave Briangon at an early hour, we determined first to make
the expedition suggested by M. Turin, and accordingly drove to
the village of Chantemerle, near which we found larches in
abundance, but manna was not equally obvious. A careful
search, however, of the foliage of the trees revealed here and
there a little tear of white sugary matter, encrusting 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 was useless to search for
the manna except in the cool of the morning, and that moreover
the season for finding it was almost over. He promised, however,
to speak to the shepherds on the mountain, and obtain through
them a little of the substance, if any could still be found. The
old man kept his 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 asked
me if I knew what he called Genipi; and on my professing
ignorance he ran home to get some. It turned out to be an

A CHEMIST'S HOLIDAY IN FRANCE.

439

Wild fruits

near
Brian?on.

Artemisia, which is collected on the mountains, and held in high 1864.
estimation as an aromatic bitter.

Another production of the same neighbourhood is a sort of
talc, once official under the name of Craie de Briangon, but now
chiefly used as " boot powder," and for taking out greasy stains.

Near Brian 9on, 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.
It is rather curious how many other of our fruits may also be
noticed in this part of France, either wild or semi-wild. The
vine, apple, pear, medlar, quince, raspberry, cherry, and two
species of currant are all to be seen in greater or less abundance.
The currants, however, are specifically distinct from our garden
Ribes. In the alpine meadows the chive (Allium scJuznoprasum, L.)
is very frequent, and in August its pink flowers are ornamental
among the green grass. In England it is only known as a potherb,
which is also the case with savory (Saturefa montana, L.), which
I found on the dry hills of the Yal 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 Grenoble, 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 water of which
is brought to the table d'hdte in decanters and drunk with wine
by those who require a mild chalybeate tonic.

These, gentlemen, a,re the pharmaceutical memoranda of my
pleasant ramble, which came to a conclusion soon after I left
Uriage. 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 BRITISH PHARMACOPOEIA.

MEMOKANDA ON SOME FORMULAE IN THE BRITISH
PHAKMACOPCEIA.

(Vorschriften der Brit. Pharm.)

1865. JN the formula for preparing Mistura Ferri composita, a few
small alterations suggested by experience appear worthy of
notice, and although attention has already been drawn to one
of them, the moment seems opportune for again referring to
the subject.

Myrrh in The tirst point I would notice is the Myrrh, which (as often
stated,) should not be in povider, as the long desiccation required
for reducing it to that state deprives it of much of its aroma.
A piece of fine lump myrrh answers better ; there is, moreover,
an advantage by allowing the myrrh to soften by contact with
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 mixture is required to be sent out.
As no chemist would probably prepare for stock less than a pint
of it, I would adapt the formula to that quantity. According
to the British Pharmacopoeia, each fluid ounce of the emulsion
requires 3J grains of sulphate of iron : it would be rather more
convenient to reduce this proportion to 3J grains to the ounce,
the mixture of the London Pharmacopoeia being 2J grains.
With these changes, the following would be the formula for

Mistura Ferri MISTURA FERUI COMPOSITA.

composita.

1)L Ferri sulphat. grs. 70.
Potass, carb. grs. 60.
Myrrhse,

Sacch. aa drms. 2J.
Sp. myrist. fl. drms. 2J-.
Aq. rosse, q.s

Triturate the myrrh and carbonate of potash with the sugar and
sufficient rose-water to form a thin paste. Set this aside for
twelve hours ; then continue the trituration, gradually adding
rose-water and the spirit of nutmeg, so as to form 20 fluid ounces

THE BRITISH PHARMACOPOEIA. 441

of a uniform emulsion, which preserve. When required for use, ises.
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 Mucilago tragacanthce. This preparation is rarely Mucilago
wanted, and never, I believe, kept ready prepared. It is, more- Tragacanthse.
over, much too thick, and twenty-four hours is a longer time
than can generally be allowed for its preparation. If a mucilage
containing tragacanth only is required, which in the presence
of so convenient preparation as the compound powder is very
questionable, the following formula will be found to afford a
good result.

MUCILAGO TKAGACANT1LE.

R Gum. tragacanth. pulv. grs. 60.
Aq. dest. fluid ounces 10.

To the water contained in a pint bottle add the tragacanth,
agitate briskly for a few minutes and again at intervals until
the gum be perfectly diffused, which will occur in about five
or six hours.

SOME REMAKES ON THE NOMENCLATURE OF THE
PHARMACOPOEIA.

" Pharmacorum nomina, ssepius licet absurda, sanete servavi, utpote
complurium seculorum auctoritate, ratione legibusque exempta." — Linnaeus.

SOME months ago, there was presented to the Pharmaceutical ises.
Society by Professor Redwood, a very interesting paper "On the pr^ife^or
Construction of a Pharmacopoeia," 1 one of the objects of which Redwood,
was to invite suggestions for improvements in a proposed new
edition of that work. As almost every pharmacist must have
made in the course of his experience some useful observations
respecting one at least of the 600 drugs and preparations which
the pharmacopoeia specifies, it is to be hoped that Professor
Redwood's invitations may receive many replies. For one, I beg
permission to offer a few remarks on the nomenclature of

1 Pharm. Journ. and Trans. May, 1865.

442 THE NOMENCLATURE OF A PHARMACOPOEIA.

1865. some of the drugs derived from the vegetable kingdom. It

Nomenclature mav seem a rather trivial subject upon which to descant, yet it

of vegetable commonly happens that upon the publication of a pharmacopoeia

the first strictures that appear have reference to changes in

nomenclature, which seem the inevitable concomitants of each

new edition. Nor is this unreasonable, for the name of a drug

is often known and used when nothing else is known about it,

arid the convenience and suitableness of a name are points upon

which all feel able to give an opinion.

Professor Redwood has touched on this subject in the following
judicious remarks : — " It appears to me desirable, as far as
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. The most important objects to be attained
are, that the names shall be familiar, concise, and explicit, easily
pronounced and used both in English and Latin, consistent one
with another, and not inconsistent in their signification with
those used for other purposes. Names already in use, if they
fulfil these conditions, are preferable to new names."

Names in ac- It happens unfortunately that many names which are both
^am^iar ari(* concise, are not accordant with modern knowledge,
and hence has arisen the feeling that alteration is necessary. The
teacher who imparts botanical knowledge shudders to hear squill
spoken of as a "Radix scillae," or caraways as "Semina carui," when
he is using his utmost endeavours to explain that bulbs are not
roots, and that the so-called seeds 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 Materia
Medica. The more exact definitions, however, having already
existed many years in the Pharmacopoeia, it would, in most cases,
be a retrograde movement to discard them in favour of the older
and more popular designations. Let us then accept the bulbs of
squill, the corms of colchicum and the fruits of uinbellifers
as a token that pharmacists do not ignore botany.

In manv cases> however, the designation of the special part of
the plant which is to be used is neither customary nor necessary,

THE NOMENCLATURE OF A PHARMACOPOEIA.

443

Edinburgh.
Pharmaco-
poeia, 1817.

while in others it is necessary, in order to avoid confusion, or to
comply with pharmaceutical usage. In the London Pharma-
coposia of 1836 brevity was carried to its utmost limit, the old
pharmaceutical names employed in previous editions being often
so shorn as to render them neither elegant nor explicit. Thus,
cajeput oil was termed simply Cajuputi; gum arabic, Acacia;
poppy heads, Papaver ; pomegranate peel, Granatum ; — while
Quercus, which the dictionary tells us signifies an oak, was held
to mean oak bark.

In amusing contrast with this excessive condensation, are the
terms employed in 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 Mclaleucce Leucadendri Oleum volatile ; oil of
cloves under that of Eugenice Caryophyllatce, Oleum volatile;
mace is called Myristicce Moschatce Involucrum nuclei, and
cascarilla, Crotonis Eleutherice Cortex.

In the British Pharmacopoeia, extremes such as these have to Nomencla-
a large extent been avoided ; but it is still obvious that some tureferred Pr6
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 terms such as benzoin, assafcetida,
or cubebs are in themselves perfectly explicit. But it would be
preferable to say Belladonce folia, instead of simply Belladona,
especially as we have also Belladonce radix. Arnicas radix is
more definite than simply Arnica; filix mas than filix ;
Quercus cortex than Quercus ; Cassicv pulpa, than Cassia ;
Acacim gummi than Acacia; Colocynthydis pulpa, than
ColocyntJiis, &c. Some of the names are also open to exception
in other ways : — why should Ipecacuan be substituted for the
more euphonious Ipecacuanha, 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 Guaiacum to Guaiac? the old term Matico might
also be restored, for it forms as good a Latin noun as Bucco, and

444 NOTES ON PRESCRIBING.

lees. is in accordance with its derivation,1 which the feminine "Natica*
is riot. But in making these criticisms it must be admitted that
in the large majority of cases the names employed in the British
Pharmacopeia have been well selected, and are as free from
objection on the score of ambiguity or inconsistency as any
names can be.

In the selection of names to be used, as well as in the intro-
duction of new formulae, or the omission of old, it appears to
me that more regard should be had to existing custom and
practice. Thus names that are familiar and in constant use
should not be hastily changed; medicines that aie hitherto
unknown should not make their first appearance in a pharma-
copoeia; and old medicines which are in daily employment
should not be suddenly discarded, or have their composition
materially altered.2

NOTES ON PEESCRIBING.

(Receptirkunst.}

1867. ALTHOUGH more than fifty years have elapsed since the
The Pharma- ^earne(i Dr. Paris placed before the medical profession his observa-
cologiaof 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-
tion.

Yet every year adds to our experience : not only are new drugs
introduced, but new combinations and new forms of administra-
tion are also adopted ; and the prescriptions of the present day
differ as much in character from those that found their way to

1 Matico is the diminutive of Mateo, the Spanish for Matthew, that
having been the name of the soldier to whom tradition ascribes the discovery
of the styptic property of the drug.

3 As illustrations of these latter propositions may be mentioned the
introduction of oil of elder flowers into the London Pharmacopoeia of
1836; the omission of compound extract of colocynth from that of 1851 ;
the alteration in the composition of the steel wine and ipecacuanha wine
in the pharmacopoeia of 1824 ; and the augmentation of strength in the
Liquor Ammonia acetatis of that of 1864.

NOTES ON PRESCRIBING. 445

the druggist's counter half 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, and is more capable than any
other person of judging of the merits of formulae under pharma-
ceutical and chemical aspects.

It has long appeared to me that some of these methods or Undesirable
modern phases of prescribing call for notice in the pages of the pre
Pharmaceutical Journal, and in the hope that the subject may be
further handled, I have thrown together the observations here
presented. Some of the formulae that I shall quote will afford
evidence that the precepts of the author of the Pharmacologia
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 unable to predict
whether certain given ingredients can be united into a compound
that shall be suitable for administration : — and if the pharmacist
whose time and skill are chiefly devoted to the mixing of drugs
is thus at fault, it is hardly surprising that the physician, whose
mind is mainly directed to other subjects, should sometimes pre-
scribe ingredients that it is impossible to combine, or that if com-
bined, cannot be taken, or are devoid of the required efficacy..

For convenience I shall place my remarks under different
heads, and shall notice firstly

UNCHEMICAL FORMULA.

As an example let us take the following : —

R Barii chloridi gr. iss
Ferri sulphatis gr. ij
Extracti gentian 83 q, s.
Tit fiat pilula.

446 NOTES ON PRESCRIBING.

1867. The writer of this formula was a frequent prescriber of

BariunTchlo- chloride of barium which he generally ordered in combination
ride rendered wjth sulphate of quinine or sulphate of iron, or with both,
thereby probably rendering the chloride inert. No reliance
could of course be placed on the uniform effects of baryta, pre-
scribed sometimes in a state of activity and sometimes in an inert
form.

As another example of this character, take the following pre-
scription which was brought to be dispensed a few weeks ago :

R Potassii iodidi 9i

Potassse bicarbonatis 3iss
Ferri et quinae citratis £iv
Tinct. valerians ammoniatse §j
Aquae ad §iv
Misce. Suinat cochleare medium ex aqua ter die.

Fault in In preparing this medicine, the iodide and bicarbonate were dis-
prescnbmg. so}vec[ jn a portion of the water, to which the 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 in-
stantly formed which in a few minutes collected into a coherent
mass, sufficiently hard and tough to be rolled into pills.

It may be observed that in compounds such as this, the quina
is not subject to the remarkable influence which citric 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 very often overlooked.

Unsuitable A third instance of extremely unsuitable combination occurs
combination. ^Q me^ W]1ici1 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 pills, and that in combination with valerianate of
zinc!

FORMULAE THAT GIVE HISE TO UNEXPECTED COMBINATIONS.—
A very interesting fact bearing on this point has been stated in

NOTES ON PRESCRIBING. 447

a recent number of tlie Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie.1 M. 1867.
Melsens has proved by experiment that pure potassium iodide Unexpected
may be administered to dogs in considerable doses without oc-
casioning any ill effects ; and that potassium chlorate in some-
what strong doses is also tolerated when administered continuously
for at least a month. Treated with potassium iodate, however,
dogs die rapidly. If potassium iodide and potassium chlorate in
equivalent proportions are given to dogs, such mixture speedily
proves fatal ; and yet, as is well known, these salts do not
under ordinary circumstances decompose one another. These ex-
periments have an important practical bearing on the art of pre-
scribing, showing that medicines, harmless when administered
separately, may become highly deleterious when given in com-
bination.

The following case of unexpected change in the composition Rochelle salt
of a medicine was of actual occurrence. A prescription was
written for a mixture of which 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
occasion, recourse was had to a bottle which 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 alarm of the patient who sus-
pected a serious error on the part of the druggist. The physician
was consulted, and finally an analytical chemist was requested
to examine and report on the medicine. This resulted in an ex-
planation : — the calcined magnesia, by prolonged contact with
the alkaline tartrates, had gradually abstracted their tartaric acid
leaving their alkalies in a free and caustic state.

The dispenser of prescriptions is sometimes puzzled to know Change of
what colour to make the medicinej the colour being dependent on colour*
the order in which the ingredients are mixed. For' instance, a
lotion was prescribed composed of calomel, lime water, and
chloride of zinc. If the calomel were decomposed first, the
lotion was Hack : if the chloride of zinc first, it was white.
1 November, 1866, page 338.

448 NOTES ON PRESCRIBING.

1867. Lotions in which both chloride and bichloride of mercury

Change of are 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.

R Potassae chloratis
Boracis aa 3ss
Hydrargyri bichloridi gr. iv
Glycerines 3ss
Aquae ad ^viij
Misce.

Ill-contrived Although hardly coming under this section, and rather
deserving to be ranged under the head of ill-contrived formulae,
may be instanced the following : —

R Unguenti hydrarg. nitratis jiij

cetacei §j

Liquoris potassae 3ij
Linimenti saponis ad gvi

Misce. Sit linimentum capiti omni nocte infricandum.
R Confectionis opii 3ij
Olei terebinthinse £iss
Sp. ammonias aromat. 3iij
— camphorse §iij
ilat linimentum.

R Potassii iodidi 3i
Morphias acetatis gr. x
Aceti colchici 3iv
Olei sulphurati §i
Miscer 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
i» the modem method of prescribing more fraught with incon-

NOTES ON PRESCRIBING. 449

venience to the pharmacist and risk to the patient, than that of 1867.
ordering medicines in an excessively concentrated form. The Concentrated
object for doing so is in most cases that the patient may obtain formulffi-
a large supply 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 for the pocket of his patient and wish to diminish
as much as possible the expenses attendant on sickness, is
doubtless commendable. But when this is done at the expense
of safety and of efficacy, it becomes an abuse which demands
rectification.

All druggists know that forty or fifty years ago, liquid
medicines for internal use were very commonly prescribed in
the form of draughts, or doses each contained in a single bottle ;
— that these have gradually been superseded by mixtures, 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 Drops,
number of doses. Most will admit that the dispensing of
medicines in the form of draughts except in rare cases, involves
more labour and expense than are necessary for any purposes
of accuracy or convenience. But in resorting to the compounds
which are now prescribed as drops, we are going to the other
extreme. It is a practice of recent introduction and finds no
place in the Pharmacologia of Dr. Paris, who does not give a
single specimen of such a maimer 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.

R Liquoris strychnise 3ij
Tinctune valerianae §iij
Spiritus chloroformi §j
- carnphorse 3iij
Magnesias sulphatis §j
Misturse camphorae ad gviij
Misce. Sumat cochleare unum magnum pro dosi.

G o

450 NOTES ON PRESCRIBING.

1867. This mixture is too alcoholic to retain in solution the sulphate

on^trated of magnesia, which, although first dissolved in the camphor
formula, julep, subsequently concretes into a crystalline mass.

R Liquoris Donovani 3viss
Potassae bicarbonatis 3v
Tincturse calumbse ad §iij

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
Sodae biboratis 3j
Sp. camphorae
- ammonias comp.
— setheris sulph. aa gss

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 which would be
entirely obviated had the mixture been ordered in a diluted
form.

R Hydrargyri bichloridi gr. vj
Liquoris arsenicalis 3ijss
Tinct. cardamomi comp. 3iij
Aquae §vj
Misce. Sumat cochleare umim minimum bis die.

R Quinae disulphatis 3ss
Acidi phosphorici diluti 3x
Liquoris arsenici chloridi gj
Tincturae ferri muriatis 3xj

NOTES ON PRESCRIBING. 451

Tincture aconiti 3iij 1867.

calumbae §iss Concentrated

Glycerinae ad gvj
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 aquae 3ij

R Strychniae gr. j

Acidi phosphorici diluti §j
Sumat TT\_ v ex aquae cyatho vinario ter die

R Strychniae gr. ij

Aquae destillatae 3v
Solve ope

Acidi hydrochloric! diluti TT^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 gss
Fiant guttae.

R Acidi arseniosi gr. ij
Syrupi zingiberis §ij
Fiat mistura.

In the five formulae above-quoted, the medicines are ordered Dangercm?
to be furnished to the patient in (as it seems to me) a form far oonccntration.
too concentrated. By the first of them a bottle containing

o G 2

452 NOTES ON PRESCRIBING.

1867. about 150 doses of the strongest tincture of aconite is supplied
Con~rated with directions that a dose is to be taken every three hours,
formulae. jn the second nearly a hundred doses of strychnine are ordered
to be placed at once in the hands of the patient. The third
prescribes five weeks' supply of strychnine in a ten-drachm
mixture, and is also deserving notice for the complicated direc-
tions to the patient for calculating his dose. The fourth is
objectionable from the fact that the ingredients are decomposed
for want of a suitable excipient, the resin of the bark being
precipitated on the bottom and sides of .the bottle, so that it is
impossible for the patient to obtain the intended dose. ISTo
such difficulty would arise if each ingredient were reasonably
diluted previous to mixing, and the dose apportioned accordingly.
The fifth formula is dangerous 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 dispensing pharmacist will readily
testify that prescriptions such as those here quoted are now-a-
days by no means unfrequent. That they are highly objection-
able all will allow, inasmuch as in many cases they do justice
neither to the patient, the physician, nor the pharmacist. Those
of the last category are reprehensible for the sake of the patient
Dangers of who is furnished with a large supply of potent, or it may be
1" even dangerous medicine, which is to be taken for a lengthened
period, almost according to his own pleasure and judgment ;
for the sake of the physician who by such prescriptions must
often deprive himself of the opportunity of watching the effect
of the remedies he orders; and, lastly, for the sake of the
pharmacist, on whom is thrown a heavy risk of error and
accident, counterbalanced by no proportionate increase of profit,
but actually accompanied by a much diminished scale of
remuneration.

THE PRICE OF MEDICINES. 453

1870.

THE PEICE OF MEDICINES.

(Chemist and Druggist's Almanac, 1870.)

To discuss the various considerations that control the money- Cost of Medi-
value of medicines, compounded according to prescription, is to
enter on a delicate question, respecting which it is difficult to
take an unbiased view. The compounder, it will be said, is
himself an interested party, wishing both to magnify the
responsibility and difficulties of his occupation, and to show
reason why he should claim a high rate of remuneration. Yet
when we are told that remedies prescribed by a physician may
now be prepared in a co-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
cost, or to consider the reasons, if any, that require for com- Trae Stand-
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, that 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 small intrinsic value, yet the duty of com-
pounding them should be intrusted to none but a well-informed
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 personal ; they are to be acquired only
by the expenditure of time and money; and, inasmuch as they
are valuable, so they should command adequate remuneration.

The small consumption of drugs is a circumstance enhancing Sma11 con-
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 large proportion is but in rare demand. A
stock which consists of a vast variety of small items, some

454 THE PRICE OF MEDICINES.

1870. liable to become deteriorated by keeping, requires constant care
to preserve in order and efficiency.

Another item of cost to be considered in relation to this
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 apartment fitted up as -a laboratory.
A Laboratory To insure the quality of preparations, and, in some instances,
necessary to to secure pecuniary advantage, a laboratory, though on ever so
'e cist™ " 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 which a formula may be found
in the British Pharmacopoeia ; however advantageous in theory
such a plan of procedure, virtually it is neither practicable nor
desirable. Many medicines can be better prepared in large
batches than in small; but there are others for which, it is
satisfactory to think, manufacture on a small scale offers no
disadvantage, so far as quality is concerned. The pharmacist
who can say, " These preparations were made in my own laboratory"
has stronger ground for claiming remunerative prices than he
who supplies his shop with ready-made articles from the nearest
wholesale druggist.

Remuneration In the remuneration of his employes, the pharmacist has to
to assistants, encounter higher rates of payment than those which prevail in
other businesses ; nor is this surprising, when we reflect on the
importance of the service of a well-trained, intelligent assistant.
In fact, the growing desire for improved acquirements is 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 wholly depends on the
value of the ingredients; in fact, there are certain cases in
which the sum demanded by the compounder can only be
regarded as a professional fee. Take, for instance, a bottle of
atropine drops for application to the eye. What is easier than
to dissolve a twentieth of a grain of atropine in an ounce of
water, and how small the cost; yet what medicine is it more
important to prepare with accuracy and intelligence ? And who
would grudge the modest remuneration asked for in return ?

THE PRICE OF MEDICINES.

455

Inconsistent
prices.

The rate of
prices.

The inconsistency of druggists' prices has often been matter
of complaint; but with the system of appraising medicines
which prevails in this country, it is an evil not easily cured.
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. Aloes.
— Colchici, aa. gr. iv.
Opii Pulv. gr. j.
M. Fiant pilulae iv., quarum sumat unam hora somni, p. r. n.

I need hardly say that the price that would be charged in
most shops for these four pills would be quite unremunerative :
and yet the majority of pharmacists would feel themselves
precluded by custom from asking the sum (still very small) which
might fairly be expected for four doses of a powerful medicine.

A preparation again, made according to the following formula,
would in many houses be supplied at a price which would
scarcely cover the inevitable risk of accident which attends the
dispensing of dangerous poisons : —

R Atropise Sulphat, gr. j.
£p. ^Eth. Mtr., 3iss.
Aq. Dest., 3viss.
M. fiant guttae. Signa — Three drops three times a day.

As medicines are composed of ingredients 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
should be discrepant relations between cost and price ; and the
experience of the pharmacist will only be that of every trader,
that some transactions are more profitable than others.

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

THE PRICE OF MEDICINES.

1S7O. at present more than ever weighty. Though a dealer in drugs,
his position is no longer that of a mere tradesman; onerous
duties are imposed, and ample qualifications are exacted. Under
these circumstances, it would be unfair to curtail the moderate
remuneration he claims ; nor do I believe any such abatement
is demanded by either the medical profession or the public.

LETTEE TO T. N. R MOKSON, ESQ.
(Late President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Or eat Britain.)

4tk April, 1860.

i«60 THE improvement of the Library of the Pharmaceutical

Society is an object in which all our London members should
feel so much interest that I am sure you will allow me to make
some remarks respecting a class of works in which the collection
appears to be still very 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 Libraries 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 possess 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
literature 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.

(List Follows).'

JACOB BELL 457

SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF JACOB BELL.

(Late President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.)

IN the history of Pharmacy in Great Britain the name of 1859.
Jacob Bell will always occupy a conspicuous and honourable
position. With the earliest efforts to found a Pharmaceutical
Society in this country, and their ultimate success, with the
difficulties that the new Society encountered by the defection of
many of its early supporters, with the dangers that arose from
internal dissensions and from legislative interference, his name
will always be intimately associated.

The removal by death of one to whom more than to any
other the pharmacists of this country stand indebted, and by
whom in a pre-eminent degree the progress of Pharmacy in
Great Britain has been advanced, is an epoch in the history
of the Pharmaceutical Society; and 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 the eldest surviving son of John Bell, and
was born in Oxford Street, in the parish of St. James's, West-
minster, on the 5th March, 1810.

The elder Mr. Bell, who was a man of the utmost integrity John Bell,
and benevolence, was a member of the Society of Friends, and
most conscientiously desirous of bringing up his children in
conformity with the views held by that section of the Christian
Church. In the year 1798 he commenced business in Oxford
Street, and by his diligent application and unswerving upright-
ness laid the foundation of the important pharmaceutical
establishment with which his name is still associated. After
his death, which took place in the year 1849, a short but

458 .JACOB BELL.

1859. most instructive sketch of his early career, from the pen
of his son, appeared in the pages of the Pharmaceutical
Journal.1

When between twelve and thirteen years of age, Jacob Bell
was sent to the school of his uncle, Mr. Frederick Smith, at
Darlington, where 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 which he
there received, aided by his own diligent application, he soon
made rapid progress.

Most boys have a horror of themes, but this was not his case;
in fact, composition, whether in prose or verse, was his forte, even
School-days. jn school-days. Among several early literary productions still
preserved is an essay on War, which was written for and gained
a prize. This essay, which was composed at the age of sixteen,
and extends over 140 pages, is far beyond the average of school-
boy productions, and it is remarkable that the views which the
young author upholds in it condemnatory of war, were
strongly retained by him through life. An essay on Slavery,
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, undertaken in
conjunction with his schoolfellow, Lawson Ford, was a MS.
periodical, under the whimsical but characteristic title of Bell-
ford [Bell-Ford] Gazette. It was devoted to school news
and chit-chat, and was carried on with much humour for
some months.

Business life. Upon leaving school, Jacob Bell was apprenticed to his
father's firm, and came to reside at the house of business in
Oxford Street. Here his position was like that of the other
apprentices and assistants, and he had 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 was not idle in the matter of self-improvement. At the
lectures on Chemistry at the Koyal Institution, and on the
1 Vol. viii., p. 589.

JACOB BELL. 459

practice of physic at King's College, he proved himself a
diligent student. At a later period he worked at practical
chemistry in the house of business in Oxford Street, converting
his bedroom into a laboratory, and fitting it with a furnace and
other apparatus.

About this time he also amused himself in leisure hours
by the study of comparative anatomy, and especially by the
preparation of skeletons of animals, in which, being a nice
manipulator, he was very successful. These specimens were
mostly prepared on his father's premises at "Wandsworth, where
bitter denunciations sometimes arose when the odious effluvium
of some dead monkey, rat, or porcupine, undergoing its term of
maceration, penetrated unbidden the quarters of the family.

But his predilection for animals extended to the living also, Amusements.
and the Zoological Society was therefore 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 town,
he could indulge in the pleasures of riding without interfering
with business. At one time hunting was a favourite pastime,
but the urgent entreaties of his father, who highly disapproved
of such an amusement, induced him to relinquish it. The
gaieties of London life had, however, strong attractions, and, as
with everything else that he undertook, he entered into them
with great spirit.

At school, drawing had been a favourite pursuit, and in order Drawing.
to continue it when settled in London, Mr. Bell used to attend
the morning class at Sass's drawing school, and he also received
lessons in oil-painting from his friend, Mr. H. P. Briggs, E.A.
His taste in this direction was natural ; and had he been able to
pursue painting as a profession, success would in all probability
have attended his efforts. As it was, he saw he could 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

4tfO JACOB BELL.

1859. at Oxford Street, contains illustrations that would do credit to
Punch. In fact, his keen sense of the ridiculous was innate,
and, coupled with an originality of expression, it characterized
what he wrote from childhood upwards,

But although drawing was no longer pursued by Mr. Bell as
a study, his associations with art were not discarded. Though
he could not aspire to be an artist, he looked with admiration
upon those whom he felt were more favoured than himself.
With such tastes he naturally soon formed the nucleus of a
collection, which in after years, when in the possession of more

Collection of ample means, he enriched by the acquisition of some of the
Paintings. finest productions of the modern school. Of the celebrated
works in his collection we may enumerate 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 Rosa Bonheur ; the
Derby Day, by Frith; James IT. receiving the News of the
Landing of the Prince of Orange, by Ward ; and some delight-
ful cattle pieces, by 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 national
collection. The value of the legacy has been stated, we believe
with correctness, at from £18,000 to £20,000.

Art copyright. But it would be wrong to suppose that it was only as a
liberal 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
view, he perceived the full value of the privilege ; and, by the
advice and assistance which he gave, he enabled artists to claim
advantages which they had previously but very partially appre-
ciated.

In the year 184°' Mr< Bel1 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. Bell was taken ill, and the
travellers had to change their respective positions of patient and

JACOB BELrL. 461

nurse. The malady was a severe attack of quinsy, producing 1859.
symptoms very similar to those from which he suffered many
years afterwards, when labouring under an affection of the
larynx,1 and it proved so serious that he and Landseer were
detained in Geneva six weeks. Under the care of Dr. Coindet,
Mr. Bell's health was so far restored, that he was able with his
companion to cross the Jura in the snows of December, and,
reaching Paris, to witness the solemnities that celebrated 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 four months.

On the 15th February, 1841, a public meeting was held in Mr. Hawes's
London in order to organize an opposition to a bill introduced
into Parliament by Mr. Hawes, for the purpose of Amending the
Laws relating to the Medical Profession in Great Britain awd
Ireland, inasmuch as the bill in question contained clauses
vitally affecting the interests of chemists and druggists. At
this meeting a committee was appointed, of which Mr. Bell was
a member, and the opposition was carried on so vigorously that

1 In a most amusing account which Mr. Bell has left of this journey, he has
described in his own peculiar facetious way the sufferings he experienced
during this attack ; and they accord so precisely with those which occurred
in his last illness, that we have obtained permisson to quote the passage.

(Enter the servant to lay the cloth for dinner.)

B. " What an unfortunate victim I am ! I am doomed to endure Ben-
jamin's appetite arid San cho Panza's mortification ! "
L. " What do you mean by Benjamin's appetite '?"

B, " We are told that when Joseph in Egypt fed his eleven brethren with
bread and milk, Benjamin's mess was five times as large as any of the others,
and as we are not informed that he left any of it, we may conclude that his
appetite was in the same ratio. Those who have seen Leslie's little picture of
Sancho Panza at the conclusion of his untasted repast, can imagine what he
felt by the expression of his countenance. 1 can imagine it by feeling the
same torture myself, and a few inflammatory twitches into the bargain."
L. " Here comes the soup ! Try and swallow a little bread sopped in it."

B. " I'll make the attempt. Every mouthful of soup is like a

dagger ; a little runs heavily down, and the rest becomes glutinous, and stops
the passage until I spit it out. I can take no more ; though I would gladly
devour those cutlets, the fowl, and crusty bread in proportion. In fact, I am
inclined to be angry with the gar$on when he takes away the bread which I
have not dared to attack ; as an old sportsmen would fain keep his guns,
whips, and dogs in his sight, although his sinews have become stiff and power-
less, and his activity has fled for ever."

4(32 JACOB BELL.

1859. the proposed measure was abandoned. It became evident, how-
ever, to many of those who took part in these proceedings, that
the esprit de corps which had been raised in the hour of danger
might be taken advantage of for the formation of a permanent
society, and that such a society might interpose a most effectual
safeguard for the protection of the interests of the trade, as well
as for gradually raising it to the status which it occupied in
other countries.

Foundation of The result was that at another public meeting held on the
cheuticiirso-~ 15th APril> the formation of the Pharmaceutical Society of
ciety. Great Britain was decided upon.

Although this step may be said to have laid the foundation of
the society, yet, as is well known to all those who have had
experience in such matters, a vast amount of hard work had to
be accomplished before the society could be reduced to anything
like working order. Rules had to be framed, officers appointed,
and even the members, most of them but slightly known to
each other, or perhaps almost antagonistic, had to be coaxed into
cordial co-operation.

Here the tact and energy of Jacob Bell, who had throughout
been warmly interested in the proceedings, became of signal
service. In order to keep alive and extend the interest which
had been excited, and to promote friendly intercourse among the
members of the trade, and those who were disposed to favour
the formation of a Pharmaceutical Society, several evening
meetings of a social, rather than formal character, were held by
invitation at his house in Oxford Street. On these 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 sentiments on various subjects
of interest to the pharmaceutical body. To convey to those,
who from distance or other causes were unable to attend these
meetings, some information of what was taking place, and also
to afford a general answer to the numerous inquiries daily
Jacob Bell's received, Mr. Bell published a pamphlet entitled Observations
imp et. addr€sseci to the Chemists and Druggists of Great Britain on the
Pharmaceutical Society, which was largely circulated.

JACOB BELL.

463

Pharmaceuti-
cal Society.

Visits the
Provinces.

These zealous efforts were attended with success, and the new 1359.
society increased rapidly both in numbers and importance. It Rise~oTthe
is, however, unnecessary to trace the whole history of the
Pharmaceutical Society in order to show how large an amount
of its prosperity is due to the labours of Mr. Bell. Let us
recollect that he was a member of the council from the com-
mencement 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 the 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 Pharmaceutical Society was also an object of
much solicitude with Mr. Bell ; and many a rapid journey did
he take when 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, will long be remembered.

Many little examples of his disinterestedness, which was Liberality,
often exhibited in an eccentric way, might be mentioned. One,
very characteristic of himself occurred in reference to the copy
of Nees von Esenbeck's Plantce Medicinales, which is in the
library of the Pharmaceutical Society. The fly-leaf of this
valuable work has in it the following memorandum, in Mr. Bell's
hand.: —

"A member of the council having 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 member above mentioned did, taking the book
and waiting the final decision of the committee.

" When 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."

Another instance in point was the case of his subscription to
the Pharmaceutical Society, which he was in the habit of giving

4G4 JACOB BELL.

1859. annually, having objected to compound for it. A few weeks
PharmTjour- before his death, however, he sent and paid his life subscription-
naL One of the most useful agents in promoting the advancement

of pharmacy in this country, has been the Pharmaceutical
Journal The first number appeared in July, 1841, and, with
the five succeeding numbers, was intended by Mr. Bell as an
experiment, to test the necessity for such a journal. At the
termination of this period "the influx of scientific papers," to
quote his 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
dimensions of each number within the prescribed limits. The
advantage resulting from a periodical interchange of ideas
among the members of the society, became so obvious, that all
doubt as to the practicability of maintaining a journal of pharmacy
was at an end. The Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions
was, therefore, continued with regularity, remaining under the
superintendence of Mr. Bell until the completion of the
eighteenth and last volume. The disinterestedness with which
he pursued this labour for eighteen years is very remarkable.
From the low price at which the journal was supplied to the
society it was never, notwithstanding its large circulation, a
source of income ; on the contrary, until the last three years,
when through advertisements and increased sale it about paid
its expenses, the deficit which he had to make up varied from
£30 to £60 per annum.

Editorial Life. For the office of editor his literary tastes, general acquaintance
with science, and ever-ready pen, proved important qualifications.
Nor should we omit to add the happy wit and conciliatory tone
that pervaded his editorial articles. As editor, Mr. Bell con-
stantly contributed the leading articles, which appeared, as is
customary, without their author's name. Many papers, how-
ever, upon purely practical subjects, were furnished by his pen,
and bore his name; and his last communication, which was not
published until after his death, was a paper on Concentrated
Infusions and Decoctions.

Previous to the existence of the Pharmaceutical Journal we

JACOB BELL.

465

find him an occasional contributor to the Lancet. A letter,
signed Pertinax, published in that journal llth Feb., 1837,
containing some capital practical criticisms on the capricious
changes of nomenclature introduced into the Pharmacopoeia of
1836, was from the pen of Jacob Bell. A second letter, on The
New London Pharmacopoeia unsuitable for its proper purposes,
appeared in the same journal Aug. 17, 1839.

These professional labours were not unappreciated by the
pharmacists of other countries, and Mr. Bell was an honorary
member of various foreign scientific societies, of which we may
enumerate the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, the Societe de
Pharmacie de Bruxelles, the Societe de Pharmacie d'Anvers, the
Socie'te' d'Emulation et de Prevoyance des Pharmaciens de TEst,
le Cercle Me'dico-Chimique et Pharrnaceutique de Liege, the
Medico-Physical Society of Erlangen, and the Sociedade Pharma-
ceutica of Lisbon ; he was also a Fellow of the Chemical,
Linnean, and Zoological Societies of London, and of the Society
of Arts.

The incorporation of the Pharmaceutical Society by Royal
Charter, which took place in the 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 influence in restricting the practice
of pharmacy to persons duly qualified. 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, 1 845, we find Mr. Bell thus defining the leading
objects of such a measure : —

1859.

Honours.

Pharmacy
Act.

" 1. The registration of all persons carrying on business as
chemists and druggists.

" 2. The introduction of a regular 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 the proceedings of
ignorant persons assuming the title and office of pharmaceutical
chemists.

II H

JACOB BELL.

1359. " 5. The separation of the trade in medicines from the practice
Attempt to °^ Pnvsic and surgery, as far as this is practicable.

gama " 6. The recognition of the Pharmaceutical Society as the

Government governing body in our department, represented by a council
annually elected from among the members at large; having
power to superintend the education, examination, and registra-
tion, and to make such regulations as may be requisite from time
to time respecting other matters relating to pharmacy, in which
the interests of our body and the welfare of the public are con-
cerned." l

During the year 1846 the subject of pharmaceutical legisla-
tion was much discussed, and numerous petitions to Parliament
in favour of some measure to promote education among the dis-
pensers of medicine were presented. In July of the following
year it became evident 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 be realized.

Obstacles to A deputation of the society to the Secretary of State in the
ceuticaU,egis- f°H°wmg November again urged the subject upon the Govern-
lation. ment, which, although admitting its importance as a branch of
medical reform, declined to take it up as a separate question.

Obstacles continued to impede the progress of pharmaceutical
legislation. Mr. Warburton, who had undertaken to bring for-
ward the subject in the House of Commons, 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 members of the legislature.

The accomplishment of this object had long occupied the
attention of Mr. Bell, and as a solution of the difficulty, he at
length resolved to offer himself as a candidate for a seat in
Parliament, and so acquire as a right the opportunity of advocat-

1 Pharmaceutical Journal, vol. v. p. 245.

JACOB BELL. 467

ing in the House of Commons the subject he had so much at is 59.
heart. But he had as yet never been much interested in politics,
and, strange as it may appear, he was so little versed in political
affairs, 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 offering himself as a Liberal candidate for that borough.

But the " free and independent electors " of St. Albans were St. Albans.
by no means disposed to accept the first candidate that offered,
and thus forego so interesting an occasion as a contested election.
A rival candidate in the Conservative interest was therefore
brought forward ; and although upon the election that took
place on the 24th December, 1850, Mr. Bell was returned by a
considerable majority, the unscrupulousness of the means em-
ployed by his agents upon that occasion was such that a petition
was presented which led to the ultimate disfranchisement of the
borough. These proceedings were ever after a source of regret
to Mr. Bell, and were the occasion at the time of many un-
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 he showed a laxity in
placing himself so fully as he did in the hands of his parlia-
mentary agent, we cannot deny. But we are convinced that his
doing so was a consequence of his ignorance of electioneering
practices, and that had he been any other than a novice at
political 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 Mr. 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 Regulate the Qualifications of Pharmaceutical Chemists, and
for other purposes in connection with the Practice of Pharmacy.
This was granted ; the Pharmacy Bill was introduced and read a
first time. But the able and zealous advocacy of Mr. Bell was
not sufficient to convince the House of Commons of the necessity

H H 2

468

JACOB BELL.

1859. of the measure, and although the bill was read a second time
this was done only upon condition that it should not be pressed
forward during the then present session.

Political life. Nothing daunted with his want of success, Mr. Bell, early in
the session of 1852, again moved for permission to bring in a
Bill to Regulate the Qualifications of Pharmaceutical Chemists.
Although opposed by the late Mr. Hume, permission was ob-
tained, and the Pharmacy Bill of the former session, in a some-
what altered form, was read for a first time. Upon the occasion
of the second reading, which took place 17th 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 which it had been framed, and at the same time refuted the
erroneous impression that the measure in view was designed to
create a trade monopoly. In conclusion, he moved for a Select
Committee to which the bill might be referred. To this pro-
position the House acceded not unwillingly. It was a favour-
able opportunity for delaying a measure that was regarded with
some suspicion; it afforded the means of acquiring additional
information ; and last, but not least, it gave opportunity for the
introduction of innumerable alterations, technically, though often
The Select incorrectly, called amendments. The Select Committee held
several sittings, and received evidence from physicians, surgeons,
general practitioners, and pharmacists, the result of which
showed that pharmacy in Great Britain was in a state contrast-
ing very unfavourably with that in which it was existing in
other European countries. But though all seemed to point to
the necessity of some legislative interference, the contrary view
was taken, and the bill, instead of being rendered more effective,
was deprived, to a great extent, of those provisions which were
calculated to render it a practical and important measure.

Mr. Bell was deeply disappointed. The bill was no longer
that which he had introduced, but it was all that the Government
would assent to ; and the question was between it as " amended"
by the Committee, and — none. The former alternative was
preferable. The bill fell far short of what it was hoped might
be obtained, but it was a legislative measure in the right direc-

JACOB BELL. 469

tion, and perhaps a prelude to one that promised greater 1859.
efficiency.

Such were the arguments that Mr. Bell used at the eleventh
annual meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society. The members
present concurred with them, and it was the unanimous opinion
that every exertion should be used to pass the bill. The result
is well known: the Act for Regulating the Qualifications of The Pharmacy
Pharmaceutical Chemists passed both Houses of Parliament, Act'1852ie 3°'
and finally received the royal assent, 30th June, 1852.

Upon the dissolution of Parliament, and the General Election
in the summer of 1852, Mr. Bell offered himself for the re-
presentation of Great Mario w, but was not successful. In
1854, upon the death of Lord Dudley Stuart, he contested the
borough of Marylebone with Viscount Ebrington, but also with-
out success ; although upon this 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 same borough, and with every prospect of being returned
without opposition, his health was such that he was compelled
reluctantly to decline the honour.

But though a Parliamentary career did not open to Mr. Bell, Failing
his interest in public matters allowed him to lead no useless or health.
idle life. With the exception of a short visit to Paris in the
year 1855, and the tour of a few weeks on the Continent in
1856, he scarcely ever left London for more than two or three
days at once. To this unceasing occupation, and utter forget-
fulness of his own bodily powers, must be attributed the long and
gradual decline in his health, which was unhappily terminated
by death in June last. The commencement of the malady which
proved so serious, may be traced back as far as the year 1854,
when having to address several public meetings on the occasion
of the Marylebone election, he contracted an ulceration of the
larynx, from which he never thoroughly 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

470

JACOB BELL.

1859. Hastings. His complaint, however, had too strong a hold ; not
tertocer- only were the old symptoms unimproved, but debility and
tions. 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 vigilance ;
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 1st
of June he again presided, but it was 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,
remained 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
Death. expired. His remains were interred in the cemetery of Tunbridge
Wells, in a spot which he himself selected, adjoining the grave
of the late Dr. Golding Bird.

Character. OD 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

Energy was natural to him, and whatever he undertook, even 1859.

from childhood, he pursued with spirit. Another feature of his

character, though but little known, was exhibited in his numerous

acts of private benevolence, and few who have experienced his Private l>e-

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, can testify

to the uncommon disinterestedness that marked his conduct

upon all occasions, and which was remarkably exhibited in the

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- Personal loss
tional powers, his taste for literature and science, and extensive °
patronage of art, had gained for him friends from all 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 he 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 Pharmaceutical 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.
Thanks to the uoremitting 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 importance of its objects are such as insure for it
the position of a necessary institution of the country.

472 PROFESSOR GUIBOURT.

THE LATE PROFESSOR GUIBOURT.

1867. The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain has lost one of
its more eminent members in the person of Nicolas Jean
Baptiste Gaston Guibourt, the venerable professor of the School
of Pharmacy of Paris, who died on the 22nd of August at the
advanced age of seventy-seven.
Life and Commencing his pharmaceutical studies at the age of fifteen,

occupations, ^j Guibourt was awarded five years later the first prizes (two
gold medals) for chemistry and pharmacy offered by the School of
Pharmacy, and about the same time was named 6Uve interne at
the Pharmacie Centrale des Hopitaux Civils, from which post he
was gradually advanced to those of Assistant Director and Ghef
des Magasins. After more than ten years' connection with the
administration of the civil hospitals of Paris, M. Guibourt was
received as pharmacien, and forthwith established himself in
business in the Rue Richelieu, then called the Rue Feydeau. In
1832 he was named Titular Professor of the Natural History of
Drugs of the School of Pharmacy of Paris, and in 1854 became
secretary to the same establishment, the onerous duties of which
post he performed with assiduity for more than twenty years.
Having abandoned the practice of pharmacy at the time he
accepted this office, M. Guibourt came to reside at the School of
Pharmacy, which continued to be his abode until last year, when
the infirmities of age induced him to retire.

La«t illness. M. Guibourt's last illness was rapid. On the evening of the
20th of August he was present at the sitting of the Pharma-
ceutical Congress, which he addressed in an animated manner,
and it was expected he would be able to take part in the
discussions of the larger international assembly that was
about to meet on the following day. But symptoms of indis-
position had set in which increased in intensity the following
day, proving fatal to the venerable patient, who expired on
the morning of the 22nd without pain and in full consciousness
to the last.

The death of M. Guibourt, as may be easily supposed, threw
the deepest gloom over the assembly of pharmacists then

PKOFESSOR GUIBOURT.

473

1867.

sitting in Paris, who to the number of 140 testified their respect

for his memory by accompanying his remains to the church in Work and

which the funeral service was performed. writings.

Professor Guibourt was named a Knight of the Legion of
Honour in 1846, and in 1863 was promoted to the grade of
Officer ; he was also a member of the Imperial Academy of
Medicine, and of many learned societies of the Continent.
But honourable as were these titles, still more so was the
reputation he derived from its numerous and valuable writings.
In 1820 he published in two octavo volumes his Histoire
Abregee des Drogues Simples, a work which passed through
three editions, re-appearing a fourth time in 1849-51 in an
enlarged form, under the altered title of Histoire Naturelle des
Drogues Simples. Professor Guibourt was also author of a
Pharmacopde Raisonne'e, the first edition of which was published
in 1828 in conjunction with the late M. Henry. Two subsequent
editions, dated respectively 1834 and 1841, were from the pen of
M. Guibourt alone. Nor was he less industrious as a contributor
to the periodical literature of pharmacy, for we find that between
1814 and 1867, there 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 1861, which was one of these
three, supplied no communication from M. Guibourt, his elaborate Estimation of
memoir on the estimation of morphia in opium, published in morphia in
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
much larger constitutent of that drug than had been commonly
stated or than is even at the present time admitted. Of twelve
specimens of commercial Anatolian opium analysed by M.
Guibourt, none afforded less than 9 '60 per cent, of morphia or
11*70 from the same opium when dried ; while the richest

opium.

474

1867.

Labours.

Longings
after leisure.

PROFESSOR GUIBOURT.

sample yielded 18 '24 per cent, from soft, or 21*46 from 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.1

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 terns de rien faire ; je rencontre &
chaque instant des sujets d'etude qui me'riteraient un long
ex amen ; j'y jette un regard curieux et je les abandonne faute
de pouvoir continuer. J'aspire au moment ou je pourrai
me libe*rer des occupations qui me sont imposees par 1'Ecole
de Pharmacie ; mais quand ce moment arrivera, me restera-t-il
assez d'activite* et d'aptitude pour me remettre aux eludes
commence'es ? "

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.

1 The new French Codex requires that soft Smyrna opium should contain
at least 10 per cent, of morphia.

LADY ANA DE OSOKIO. 475

Review of a Memoir of the Lady Ana de Osorio, Countess of
Chinchon and Vice-Queen of Peru (A.D. 1629-39), with a Plea
for the Coined Spelling of the Chinchona Genus. By Clements
R Markham, C.B. F.K.S.,

THE introduction into India, and the successful cultivation upon 1875.
a large scale in that country, of the most valuable medicinal "~rke
tree produced on the Continent of South America, is one of -Academy,"
those triumphs of enterprise of which the second half of the
present century may well feel proud. To place within reach of
millions 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 form one of the pleasantest episodes in the history of
British rule in India. Considerations such 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 from a literary
or scientific point of view, must be cordially welcome.

Of all those entitled to write on such a subject, no one has
a better claim to attention than Mr. Clements E. Markham, for
it is to his sound judgment and untiring energy for fifteen
years that the widespread and prosperous culture of the tree in
India is mainly due.

The personage on whose behalf Mr. Markham now takes the Dona Ana,
pen is a lady of the seventeenth century, Dona Ana, Countess
of Chinchon, a member of a noble Spanish family, tracing back
a princely lineage of well nigh a thousand years. Dona Ana
was the younger daughter of Pedro Alvarez Osorio, eighth
Marquis of Astorga, and was born at Astorga in 1599. In
1615 she became the wife of Don Luis 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 year she bestowed her hand on
Don Luis Geronimo Fernandez de Cabrera y Bobadilla, fourth

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.

The Counts of The Counts of Chinchon, who were descended from an

Chinchon. ancient 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
omnibus 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 Jaraina,
and is estimated to have a population of 6,000 souls. 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 return to the history of Lady Ana. In 1628, that is

Lady Ana. ^ gav^ seven vears 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 described by Mr. Markham in the following terms : —

" But the most notable historical event in this Viceroy's time
was the 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,1 who was then
Corregidor of I/oxa, 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

1 In Mr. Markharo's Travels in Peru and India (1862), p. 5, this person is
called Don Juan Lopez de Canizares.

LADY ANA DE OSORIO. 477

given to him by the Indians, as long ago as 1600 ; and in about 1875.
1636, an Indian of Malacotas revealed the secret virtues of the
quinquina bark to the Corregidor Canizares. In 1638, therefore,
he sent a parcel of it to the Vice-Queen, and the new remedy,
administered by her physician, Dr. Don Juan de Vega, effected
a rapid and complete cure."

The Countess with her husband returned to Spain in 1640 —
"bringing with her" (to quote Mr. Markham), "a supply of
that precious quina bark which had 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 Pulvis
certain that the powdered bark became known in Europe as Comltlssae-
Pulvis Comitissae (the Countess's powder) ; while the local
traditions of Chinchon and the adjacent town of Colmenar still
preserve, even to the present day, as Mr. Markham assures us,
the memory of the good deeds of the Countess in ministering
to the sufferers from tertian ague in the fruitful but unhealthy
vegas of the Tagus, Jarama, and Tajuna.

There can be no doubt that the cure of a dangerous fever in introduction
the person of a patient of such high distinction as the Vice- of the Kark-
Queen of Peru had the effect of drawing great attention to the
new remedy, and that the employment of the drug in Europe
dates from this event. But Mr. Markham might well have
added that the use of the bark was largely diffused by the
Jesuits, at the instigation in the first instance of the Countess
herself — such being the statement of La Condamine,1 who, after
describing the distribution of the medicine by the lady, adds,
" Quelques mois apres elle se dtlarrassa de ce soin, en remettant ce
giii lui en restoit aux RR. PP. Jdsuites, qui contimUrent a le
ddbiter gratis" Among the ecclesiastical patrons of the new
febrifuge, the most zealous was the Spanish Cardinal de 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

1 Mem. de F Academic Royale des Sciences pour V Annec 1738, p. 234.

478 MEDIAEVAL SPICES, GROCERIES AND WAX.

1875. devoted to the family history of the Count and Countess of
The Chin- Chinchon, and the fifth to a description of the town of Chinchon
chona genus. an(j jts surroundings, the author in the concluding section sets
forth his " Plea for the Correct Spelling of the Chinchona Genus."
"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 genus
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 effect. The
new spelling has, indeed, been adopted in the official documents
of the Indian Government, but it scarcely finds acceptance in
a single scientific work on botany or chemistry.

THE SPICES, GEOCEEIES, AND WAX OF A

MEDIEVAL HOUSEHOLD, A.D. 1303-10.
(Posthumous Paper from the Author's Manuscript read before the

Pharmaceutical Society, December 4th, 1875.)

A VOLUME1 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

1 By the late Ven. Archdeacon W. H. Hale, M.A., and the Rev. H. T.
Ellacombe, M.A., F.S.A. Printed for the Camden Society, 1874.

MEDIAEVAL SPICES, GROCERIES AND WAX. 479

Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's and from the Archives of the 1875.
city of Exeter. Medieval

The accounts mentioned are replete with interesting particulars records,
throwing light on the style of life of wealthy ecclesiastics at the
close of the thirteenth and commencement of the fourteenth
century ; and that relating to the Bishop of Exeter, includes some
curious information relative to the consumption of spices,groceries,
and wax in a mediaeval household. At the period in question, the
duty of executor under the will of a defunct person, comprised not
only a valuation of his property, but 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 Garde-
the account filed by his executors in 1310, specifies the items
contained in the G-arderoba or wardrobe 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 wardrobe, it may be 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 only apparel but
valuables of almost every kind. That of Eichard, the Bishop of
London, contained a considerable collection of books, while that of
Thomas, of Exeter, was filled by a profusion of spices and grocery.

[The following shows what was in the Garderoba, and how
much money the several articles fetched when sold : — ]

£ s d.

1 229 Ib. Cere , 7 13 3

423 Ib. „ liberatis ad expens. funera . . 14 6 5

58 Ib. „ operate 191

3 f Ib. „ liberatis ad expensas familie com-

morantis post obitum Domini .... 0110

2 Dj quarterns et 20 Ib. Ammigdalarum venditis . 4 17 6

3 74 Ib. Ris 0138

4 77 Ib. Sucare 3172

5 3J Ib. Zinsiberis electi 066

20 Ib. „ Columbe 132

29 Ib. „ communis 1 17 11

6 29 Ib. Canele 177

480

MEDIAEVAL SPICES, GROCERIES AND WAX.

1875.

7 2 Ib. Galonge ... -

8 21 J Ib. Nigri Piperis 1

9 17 Ib. Grani Paradisi . 1

10 38£lb. Croci . . . 5

11 6J Ib. Gariofoli 1

IJ Ib. Quibibus . 0

2f Ib. Macis

6 Ib. Feniculi |

6 Ib. Anisi J

15 Ib. Liquiricie 01

20 Ib. Cotun file 0 14

12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23

£ s.
0 10
3
16

9

2
8

0 16
0 2

4 Ib. Orpiment 0

d.
0
3
6
9
3
0
0

27 Ib. Cymini . 0

3 Ib. Pyon 0

ij gordes de Gyngebrad 1

iij pixidibus de Gengebrad et Pyonad ... 0
ij pixidibus consimilibus liberatis ad expensas

executorum 054

24 De j libra dimidia Nucis muscate vendita- . . 016

25 1 Ib. de Zedewand 0010

26 23 Ib. Lichinorum 040

27 De iiij Stateris venditis 054

28 314 Ib. Candelarum Parisie 1 12 8

29 j vase pro candelis Parisie facta cum appendiciis

vendito 008

30 De j statera de ferro vendita 019

Remarks on the foregoing Account.

Cere Wax. I. Cere [Cera], wax. The total quantity in store at the time
of the bishop's death was 714 Ibs., of which 423 Ibs. were con-
sumed at his funeral. At the obsequies of the Bishop of London,
in 1303, the expenditure of wax was no less than 1200 Ib. The
Cera operata, of which the account mentions 58 Ib., as well as 3}
Ibs. 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,1 who lived in the 13th century, alludes to
1 Wright, Volume of Vocabularies, 1857, 129.

MEDLEVAL SPICES, GROCERIES AND WAX.

481

something of the kind when, in speaking of the fraudulent doing 1873.
of the apothecaries, he says : — " Apotecarii, causa lucri, con-
cumulant confectiones et electuaria, radices cum erbis, zedoarium
cum zinzibero, piper cum cimino, gariofilos cum cinamomo,
anisum cum maratro, ceram cum cereis ecclesiasticis., zucuram
cum licuricia."

2. Ammigdalce (amygdalae). Almonds.

[Philippe le Bel, date Paris, 1st Feb., 1304, forbade the Almonds,
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, Almonds, animals' hides, and metals.

In the Liber Albus, probable date of list about A.D. 1266,
almonds are included as liable to Scavage.

Almonds might be substituted for Pignons (nuclei pinei), in
preparing the Pignolat.]

3. Ris, in mediaeval Latin, risi, rice.

4. Sucare, sugar. — This commodity at the period under notice
used to be imported by way of Italy, from Egypt, Cyprus, and
Sicily.

5. Zinsiber (zingiber vel zinziber), ginger, is mentioned in Ginger,
the account as of three kinds, namely, electum, commune, and
Columbe. The last, which seems to have been of the lowest
quality, derived its name Colombinum, from Kulam or Quilon,

a port in Travancore, whence it used to be shipped.

6. Canele. — By this term we must understand Cassia lark,
either of Malabar, or China, rather than cinnamon, which was
only beginning to be exported from Ceylon, and was probably
much more rare and costly.

7. Galonge, galangal. — The value received for 21b. of this spice Galangal.
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 Piper, black pepper.

9. Granum Paradisi, grain of paradise, often termed simply
grains. — The produce of Tropical Western Africa, whence it

I I

482 MEDLEVAL SPICES, GROCERIES AND WAX.

1873. 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. Crocus, saffron. — There is probably some over-statement
in the quantity, which is enormous. The value is represented as
equivalent to only 2s. Wd. a pound; while according to Pro-
fessor Thorold Eogers, the average price of saffron in England
from 1259 to 1350, was about Ss. 6d., and from 1351 to 1400,
145. 2d. per Ib.
11. Gariofoli (Caryophylli), cloves.

Cubebs. 12. Quibibus, 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,1 we find the following : —

Au tercez cours avient conyns en grave",
E viaunde de Cypre enfundre,
De maces, e quibibes, e clous de orre",
Vyn blanc e vermayl a graunt plente*.

13. Mads, mace.

14. Feniculum, fennel seeds.

15. Anisum, aniseed.

16. Liquiricia, liquorice, at only Id. per Ib. Can it have
been the extract, or was it only the dried root ?

17. Cotun file, cotton thread, imported from Italy, and used,
according to Professor Thorold Rogers, 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.

Orpimeut. 18. Orpiment, Auripigmentum, native yellow sulphide of
arsenic. — It was used as a pigment in the illumination of manu-
scripts.2 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 Ib. of Aurum pigmentum* In another list of

419.

1 Wright, Volume of Vocabularies, 1657, 174.

2 Theophilus, De Diversis Artibus, translated by Hendrie, Lond., 1847, 53,

PardessiiR, Diplomata, Charts Epittolce, &c., Lutet., Paris., ii.(1849), 309.

MEDIAEVAL SPICES, GROCERIES AND WAX.

483

Pliny's de-

commodities1 required for the same religious establishment at 1075.
a much later period (A.D. 1332 ?) the following pigments are
enumerated — Sulphus, Ib. 10, Auripigmentum, Ib. 3, Sanguis
Draconis, Ib. 3, Indium (indigo) Ib. 3.

Pliny describes the best quality as resembling in colour the
finest gold, dry, pure, splitting into thin layers, — a description
according exactly with a specimen in my possession.

19. Cyminum, cumin seed, much used in the middle ages as
a cheap and common spice.

20. Pyon, in Low Latin, pignolus, in French, pignon, the
kernels of the stone pine, Pinus pinea, L. In the Liber Albus
the same article under the name of pyoine, and in the Liber
Horn as pyoingne, appears as liable to the king's impost called
Scavage.

21. Gyngebrad, otherwise written Gingibretum or Zinzibratum,
signifies preserved or candied ginger, a favourite mediaeval
delicacy imported from India. The exact meaning of the term
gorde or gurda, applied to this article, is doubtful.2

22. Three boxes (pyxides) of the preserved ginger and,
" Pyonad ; " the latter is the French Pignolat, a confection of
fine kernels (see No. 20), with white of egg and sugar. Its
modern representative is the sweetmeat called nougat, still made
in the south of France, especially at the town of Montelimart.
Minute directions — " Pour faire le Pignolat " — are given by
Michel de Nostredame (or Nostradamus), the famous astrologer,
in his Excellent et Moult Utile Opuscule a touts necessaire, qui
desirent avoir Cognoissance de Plusieurs Exquises Receptes, Paris,

1556. An Ordonnance of Philippe-le-Bel, — " touchant les Epi- Ordonnance of
ceries et les Denrtes, qui se vendent au poids" issued in the year
1312, contains the following paragraph designed to protect the
purchaser of preserved ginger and pignolat : —

1 Polytique de VAtibb Irminon, ii. 336.

2 [Note on the Trade of Montpellier, from Depping (G.B.) Hist, de Com-
merce entre le Levant et V Europe, Paris, 1830, tome i., 304. " Encore line
note de la maison du roi d'Angleterre, Henri III., a Bordeaux, qui en 1232
commarida a Montpellier, non seulement vingt pieces d'etoffes de soie, et

Pyonad.

* e~

quatre de drap ecarlate, mais encore, trois gourdes de Gingembre confit." The
ipsissima verba are " tres curdas de "

de Londres, extraits par Br^quigny.

I I 2

484

MEDIEVAL SPICES, GROCERIES AND WAX.

Zedoary.

1875. Item. Que nuls ne vende, ne achate pour revendre, Gingem-

rdo^nce of brat ne Pignolat embouchie", et qu'il ne soit autel desous, comme
Philippe-le dessuS) et sans enchapleures [qui ne soint de m£me le cucre, et
la confiture sans yringes. Et que nul nele reface en maniere que
il melle viel avecques le nouvel, et que il ne le die a 1'acheteur.
Et que nuls ne face a confiture nulle converture de cucre, qu'elle
ne soit dautel dessous comme dessus. Et cil qui sera trouve
faisant centre ceste Ordonance perdra toute la confiture, et sera
en f amende. Et ladite confiture par le commandement de la
justice du lieu sera jugiee par le mestre du mestier du lieu, se
raestre y avait, et se mestre n'i avoit, par cette mesme justice, et
les dites gens et 1'execution sera fait sur ce comme fait le requerra
par ladicte Justice.]

23. Two boxes of the same, placed to the account of the
executors.

24. Nux muscata, nutmegs ; the quantity is half a pound.

25. Zedeviand, zedoary, the dried rhizome of one or more
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 article
of commerce. Thus Jacque de Vitri, who was bis-hop of Acre,
in Palestine early in the thirteenth century, names it as Zedoaria,
vulgo Citouart, and says that it is imported into the Holy Land
from India.

In the list of Droits de Eivage levied by the Podestat and
Council of Marseilles, A.D. 1228, occurs the following : — " Grand
cabas de Poivre, ou de Gingembre, ou de Citoual, ou de Laquc
ou d'autres marchandises de meme valeur que celles, la paie iv.
deniers j. obole." l A charter of Henry, King of Navarre, regu-
lating the rights of that sovereign in respect to the town of
Provins, A.D. 1273, contains the following regulation : —

" Item paiera de chascune charge de Greinue, de Cire, de Pivre,
de Bresil, de Gingembre, de Guenelle [canelle], de Citonal
[citoual], et de Ge"roffle II. s., et de chascune charge d'Alun,
d'Anis, d'Amendies, de Connin [comin], chascuns qui vendra," etc.

1 M<*ry et Guindon, Histoire des Actes dela Municipalite de Mar-
seille, 1841, i. 372 ; Bourquelot, Histoire de Provins, 1839-40, i. 425.

Droit de

MEDLEVAL SPICES, GROCERIES AND WAX.

485

There is a similar enactment in which " Cytoal" is mentioned, 1875.
in a tariff of the merchandise sold in Paris at the close of the
thirteenth century.1 In the list contained in the Liber Albus of
the city of London, before referred to, the spice in question
appears as Cetewale? under which name it is mentioned by the
poet Chaucer, and by many writers on drugs.

26. Lichini, wicks for candles or lamps.

28. Paris Candles. — Professor Thorold Kogers remarks that Paris caudles.
candles, called either White Candles or Candles of Paris, not
unfrequently mentioned in mediaeval domestic accounts, were
imported into England.3

29. Vas pro Candelis Parisice, with appendages, would appear
to be some special kind of candlestick used for a Paris candle.

27. "m/. Stateris, and No, 30 "j. Statera de Ferro." The
second of these entries seems to me to relate to steelyard.

1 Revue Archeologique, ix. (1852), 213.

3 [" There was ike wexing many a spice
As clowe, gilofre, and licorice,
Gingiber, and grein de Paris

Canell at cetewale of pris, Cetewal

And many a spice delitable
To eten whan men rise fro table."

CHAUCER, p. 224, col. 2.]

3 [The Chandeliers formed in Paris a separate guild from the Ciriers. The The Guild of
first made tallow candles, the second, only wax candles. In the Boke of the Chan-
Curtasye, date circa A.D. 1460, we read — deliers.

" In chambur no lyght ther shalle be brent

Bot of wax, therto yf ye take tent ;

In hall at soper schalle candels brenne

Of Parys, therin that alle men kenne."

From which it might be inferred that Paris candles were inferior to wax
candles. The following is quoted from the Wardrobe Accounts of Edward
IV., anno 1480, edited by Sir Harris Nicholas :— " William Whyte, tallough
chaundeller, for iij dosen and ix. Ib. of p'is candell' for to light when the
king's highness and goode grace on a nyght come unto his said grete ward-
robe, and at other divers tymes."

La Bible Guiot de Provins is a violent satire on the thirteenth century.
In it complaint is made of the excessive dearness of spices and electuaries.

" S'ils reviennent de Montpellier
Lor lectuaries sont moult chier ;
Lors dient ils, ce m'est avis
Quit's ont gigimbraiz et pliris,
Et diadragum et rosat

Et penidoin et violat."]
[Diadragant, penidium.]

APPENDIX.

I. CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF DANIEL HANBURY'S PAPERS.
II. KEVIEW OF PHARMACOGRAPIIIA, BY H. B. BRADY, F.E.S.

III. LETTER OF L. A. BUCHNER, Munich, Editor of the

Neues Repertorium fur Pharmacie.

IV. SELECTIONS FROM THE Nekrolog OF Professor FLUCKIGER ;

translated from the German by KATHARINE A. HANBURY.

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF DANIEL HANBUKY'S

PAPERS.

(Verzeichniss von Daniel ffanbury's Arbeiten.}

2
3
4

5
6

7

8

9

10

11
12

13
14

15
16

17

18
19

20

Turnsole, with Note to

Pereira on Dutch Cake

Litmus.
Resin of Norway Spruce

Fir (Abies excelsa).
Oil of Thyme [commonly

sold as Oil of Origanum.]
Calumba Wood (an article

imported as) supposed to

be the produce of a Meni-

spermum.

True Oil of Origanum ...
Insect White-wax of China
Wurrus, a dye produced

by Rottlera Tinctoria.
Use of Coffee-leaves in

Sumatra.
Scammony, Notes upon

some Specimens of.
Febrifuge, Properties of

the Olive (Olea Euro-

pcea, L.).

Storax Bark

Some Bare Kinds of Car-
damom.

Tragacanth (note on) ...
Wood-Oil, a Substitute for

Copaiba.

A Green Dye from China
Penghawar Djambi, a new

Styptic.
Notice of a Specimen of

Insect-wax from China.

Storax

Manufactures of Grasse

and Cannes.
Recollections of a Day's

Botanizing on the Col de

Lautaret.

Pharmaceutical Journal

Ibid., ix. (1850) 400.
Ibid., x. (1850) 6.
Ibid.., 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.

Ibid., xiv. (1854) 11.
Ibid., xiv. (1855) 352—416.

Ibid., xv. (1855) 20.
Ibid., xv. (1856) 321.

Ibid,., xvi. (1856) 213.
Ibid,, xvi. (1856) 278.

Journal of the Linnean Society.

Zoology, i. (1856) 103.
Pkann. Journ., xvi. (1857 ) 417—461 ,
Ibid-., xvii. (1857) 161.

Manuscript, April 14, 1858.

490

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST (Continued).

21 Rottlera Tinctoria, Roxb.,

and its Medicinal Pro-
perties.

22 A Drug called Royal Salep.

23 Two Insect-products from

Persia.

24 Insect-products from Per-

sia, Larinus maculatus,
and L. mellificus.

25 Otto of Rose

26 Jacob Bell. Biography.

27 Botanical and Pharmaco-

logical Inquiries and De-
siderata, Sir William J.
Hooker and Daniel Han-
bury.

28 Malambo Bark

29 Frangipani

30 Sclerotium stipitatum,

P achy ma Cocos, &c., in
common with F. Currey.

31 Note on a manufactured

product of Sea- weed called
Japanese Isinglass.

32 Chinese Materia Medica

33 Anacahuite Wood (note

on) a reputed Remedy for
Consumption.

34 Use of Balsam of Peru

(note on) in the Roman
Catholic Church.

35 Chemical and Pharma-

ceutical Products of the
proposed International
Exhibition of 18G2.

36 Chinese Materia Medica...

37 Cortex Winteranus

38 Minor Notes on theMateria

Medica of the Inter-
national Exhibition.

39 Anacahuite Wood, Origin

of.

40 Storax, Additional Obser-

vations on.

41 Ordeal Bean of Calabar

(note on) Physostigma
Venenosum. Balf.

42 The best Methods of apply- |

ing the Calabar Bean in |
Ophthalmic Medicine.

43 New Species of Ainomum

Oliver and Hanbury.

44 Zanthoxylumalatum,}HQ\\),

Pharmaceutical Journal xvii. (1858)
405.

Ibid.., xvii. (1858) 499.

Journal of the Linnean Society.

Zoology, Hi. (1859) 178.
Pharm. Journ. xviii. (1859) 402.

Ibid., xviii. (1859) 504.
Ibid., i. (1859) 153.
Ibid., i. (1859) 217.

Ibid., 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.

Ibid., ii. (1861) 446.

Ibid:, Vol. ii. (1861) 484. Journal
of Society of Arts, January 14,
1861.

Ibid., iii. (1861-1862) 6, 204, 260,

315, 420.

N. Repert.f. Pharm. xi. (1862) 241.
Pharm. Journ. iv. (1862) 107.

Ibid., iv. (1862) 271.
Ibid., iv. (1863) 436.
Ibid, iv. (1863)559.

Ibid., v. (1863) 25.

Journal of the Linnean Society, vii.

(1863) 109.
Ibid., vii. (1864) 171.

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST (Continued).

491

45

46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53

54

55
56
57

58
59
60

61

62

63
64
65
66

67
68

69

70

Manufacture of Balsam of
Peru with additional Note.

Cassia moschata, Humb. B
et. K.

NOTE ON Cassia moschata.

A Chemist's Holiday. Jot-
tings in France.
Botanical Origin of Gam-

on
of

the
the

Herbaria

Garcinia, species affording
Gamboge in Siam.

Botanical Origin of Sa van-
illa Rhatany.

Chinese Sal Ammoniac
(Note on).

Memoranda on some For-
mulas in the British
Pharmacopoeia.

Some Remarks
Nomenclature
Pharmacopoeia.

Pharmaceutical

Notes on Prescribing

Remarks on the Necessity
for a further Cultivation
of Medicinal Plants.

The Cultivation of Jalap

Burgundy Pitch ...

Professor Guibourt. Obit-
uary.

Opening Address.
Pharmaceutical
ence, Norwich.

Opening Address.
Pharmaceutical
ence, Exeter.

Note on Chloral

Rare Essential Oils

Historical Notes on Manna

The Price of Medicines

The Adulteration of Saf-
fron.

A species of Ipomcea
affording Tampico Jalap.
[Ipomcea simulansJ]

Inquiries relating to Phar-
macology and Economic
Botany. " Oliver and Han-
bury.

Historical Notes of the
Radix Galangas of Phar-
macy.

British
Confer-

British
Confer-

Phann. Journ. v. (1863-18G4) 241,

315
Ibid', v. (1864) 348.

Transactions of the Linnean Society,
xxiv. (1863) 161. Part II.
Pharm. Journ. vi. (1864) 245.

Ibid., vi. (1864) 349.

Transactions of the Linnean Society,
xxiv. (1864) 487. Part III.
Pharm. Journ. vi. (1865) 460.

Ibid., vi. (1865) 514.
Ibid., vii. (1865) 51.

Ibid., vii. (1865) 96.

Ibid., vii. (1866) 542.
Ibid-., viii. (1867) 551
Ibid., viii. (1867) 575.

Ibid., viii. (1867) 651.
Ib-id-., ix. (1867) 162.
Ibid., ix. (1867) 205.

Ibid., x. (1868) 132.

Ibid., xi. (1869) 110.

Ibid., xi. (1869) 198.
Ibid., xi. (1869) 209.
Ibid., xi. (1869) 326.
Chemist's and Druggist's Almanac.
(1870).
Pharm. Journ., i. (1870) 241.

Journal of the Linnean Society, xi.
(1870) 279.

Pharm. Journal ii. (1871) 204, 243.

Journal of the Linnean Society, xiii.
(1871) 20.
Pharm. Journ., ii, (1871) 248.

492

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST (Continued).

71 ! Amtnnum angustifolium,

Sonnerat.

72 TheMadagascar Cardamom

or Longouze.

73 Cal abri an Manna

74 African Ammoniacum ...

75 Botanical Origin and

Country of M> rrh

76 Pareira Brava

77 A Peculiar Camphor from

China. [Ngai Camphor]

78 Chondodendron or Chond-

rodendron.

79 Cinchona or CAinchona . . .

80 Review of Markham's

Memoir of the Countess
of Chinchon.

81 The Spices, Groceries and

Wax of a Mediaeval
Household, A.D. 1303-10
(Posthumous Paper).

82 The Pharmacographia ...

Journal of the Linnean Society, xiii.

(1872) 154.
Pharm. Journ. ii. (1872) 642.

Ibid., iii. (1872) 421.

Ibid., iii. (1873) 741.

Ibid., iii. (1873) 821.

Ocean Highways, April 1873.

Pharm. Journ., iv. (1873) 81, 102.

Ibid., iv. (1874) 709.

Ibid., v. (1874) 421.

Ibid., v. (1875) 646.
Athenceum, January 30, 1875.
Academy, April 3, 1875.

Pharm. Joum. vi. (1875) 443.

Fliickiger and Hanbury, October, 1874.

PHARMACOGR APHI A. 493

REVIEW OF FLUCKIGER AND H ANBURY'S
" PHARMACOGRAPHIA."

Pharmacographia : a History of the Principal Drugs of Vegetable Origin
met with in Great Britain and British India. By Friedrich A. Fliickiger,
Ph. D., Professor in the University of Strasburg ; and Daniel Hanbury,
F.K.S., Fellow of the Linnean and Chemical Societies of London. (Macmil-
lan and Co., 1874.)

BY H. B. BRADY, F.R.S.

THERE was a stir of anticipation and inquiry amongst pharma- 1874.
cologists when it first became known that Prof. Fliickiger and «yature,"
Mr. Hanbury were engaged upon a work of joint authorship. Nov. 19, 1874.
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, pharmacy, and toxicology, 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 Medica " has come to be looked upon with
suspicion by scientific men. Perhaps the origin of the short-
comings of the general run of such works may be traced to
the fact that they have often been written by practising physi-
cians who were lecturers in medical schools, and have been
designed primarily as handbooks for medical students. Nor
need it be a matter of wonder that, with no special facilities
for acquiring original information as to the history of drugs,
and with few opportunities for verifying the statements of
others, authors so situated were content to transcribe without

494 PIIAKMACOGRAPHIA.

1874. examination what had been already recorded as fact, and to
H B Brady, devote their better energies to the more purely medical relations
of the subject — the aspect of chief interest both to themselves
and those for whom they wrote.

The question has often been raised, and once at least on very
high authority, why the overcharged curriculum of medical
study should still be encumbered with Materia Medica ; why, in
view of the separation which is gradually taking place between
the practice of medicine and that of pharmacy and of the scientific
education now received by the pharmacist, such matters as the
physical characters, sources, and chemistry of drugs should not
be referred to those whom they primarily affect.

This, perhaps, is scarcely the place 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 has
just been 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 weak points, or even to exercise
the critical faculty where opinions 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 which are old assuming a new importance from their fresh
verification, the whole given with a condensation of style that
refuses page-room to a superfluous 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 extracts
from the preface. After defining the word pharmacographia 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 that
no one else has written down. It is in fact a record of personal

PH ARMACOGR APHIA. 495

researches on the principal drugs derived from the vegetable 1874.
kingdom, together with such results of an important character H. B. Brady.
as have been obtained by the numerous workers on Materia
Medica in Europe and America."

Eestricting the field of their inquiry by the exclusion of
pharmacy and therapeutics, " the authors have been enabled to
disciiss with fuller detail many points of interest which are
embraced in the special studies of the pharmacist."

" The drugs included in the work are chiefly those which are
commonly kept in store by pharmacists, or are known in the
drug and spice market of London. The work likewise contains
a comparatively small number which belong to the Pharmaco-
poeia 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 uniform 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 origin of the substance
is discussed, and the area of its growth or locality of its
production is stated."

" Under the head of history, the authors 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 in any previous work."

" In some instances the formation, secretion, or method 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."

The 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 substitutes which in the

496

PHARMACOGRAPHIA.

1874-. case of certain drugs are occasionally found in commerce,
H B~Brady. though scarcely to be regarded in the light of adulterants.

" The medicinal uses of each particular drug are only slightly
mentioned, it being felt that the science of therapeutics lies
within the province of the physician, and may be wisely
relinquished to his care."

The reader must not judge the preface by the disconnected
sentences which have been quoted to serve a particular purpose.
Only sufficient has been copied to explain briefly, and as far as
possible in the author's own terms, the general scheme of their
work.

The plan, as will be seen, is one of great comprehensiveness,
and the execution throughout is of characteristic thoroughness.
A single article taken at random from the book would be better
evidence than any criticism, of the exhaustive character of the
treatment; but unfortunately considerations of space preclude
anything more than a few general remarks suggested by a first
perusal.

The investigation of the botanical origin of drugs is one
which Mr. Hanbury has made his own, and few writers have
set at rest so many debated questions in this division of the
subject. Completeness and accuracy of the information now
collected is exactly what 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 substances. In some cases the correc-
tions necessary arise merely out of questions of priority in
botanical nomenclature, but in others the errors are founded on
the wrong identification of the plants. For instance, Jateorhiza
palmata, Miers, is the name accepted, for reasons given in the
text, for the plant yielding calumba root, rather than the alter-
native specific terms of the Pharmacopoeias. Oil of cajuput is
assigned to Melaleuca leucadendron; L., whilst in the British
Pharmacopoeia and the Paris Codex it is referred to M. minor,
D.C., and in that of the United States to M. cajuputi, Roxb.
Suinbul root, the botanical history of which in our Pharma-
copoeia is stated to be unknown, appears as the product of

PHARMACOGRAPHIA. 497

Euryangium Sumlid, Kauffman, a plant of the natural order 1874.
Umbelliferse. On the other hand, in speaking of the botanical H. B. Brady,
origin of myrrh, which the Pharmacopoeia, without show of doubt,
assigns to Balsamodendron myrrha, Ehrenb., it is stated that
" the botany of the myrrh trees is still 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
Chondodendron tomentosum, Ruiz et Pav., a fact determined by
Mr. Hanbury'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 official one ; for
instance, the wood of Quassia amara instead of that of Picrcena
excelsa, the occurrence of the root of Aristolochia reticulates in
place of A. serpentaria, or of the dried plant of Piper aduncum
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 remark. In course of time some of them may be
introduced at home, and in any case, with the amount of com-
munication which 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
unalloyed satisfaction is that which refers to " microscopical

K K

498 PHARMACOGRAPIIIA.

187*. 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 try to construct a
drawing of microscopic structure from a description, and then
compare it with the reality ; or, on the other hand, let him en-
deavour to identify one vegetable production 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 illustrations 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.
Fliickiger'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 Pharmacographia, a
work which, from the amount of 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 nc
grudging welcome, and will be recognised at once and without
misgiving as the standard of authority on the subjects of whicl
it treats.

MYRRH— PARE1RA BRAVA. 499

LETTEE EEOM THE EDITOE OF THE NEUES
REPERTORIUM FUR PHARMACIE.

" MUNICH, 3rd January, 1875.

"MY DEAR SIR,

"I desire now at the beginning of the new year, 1875-
not only to express to you my best wishes for your future well- L. A. Buchner.
being, but also to thank you most warmly for your last very
valuable literary present. Your Pharmacoyraphia, compiled
in union with Professor Eliickiger, which the latter had
the kindness to forward to me in your and his name, is an
excellent work, one only possible to be produced by the
association of two authorities in this branch, an English and
a German savant. I hope shortly to be able to notice this work
in my journal, in order to aid in spreading the knowledge of
the same in Germany ; in England and America it will, without
this, have a widespread circulation. All your later and very
interesting papers, which have been sent to me, 1 have trans-
lated with great pleasure into German, and have inserted them
in my new Repertorium for Pharmacy. Your communication
about the origin and native country of myrrh reminds me of
what my late colleague Dr. Eoth in the year 1844 communicated
on this subject from his own observations (Buchner's Repertorium,
second series, xxxv. 19). Eoth, who was for almost three years
member of an English expedition in Bombay, Calcutta and
especially in Abyssinia, found two kinds of myrrh trees on the
way by the sea-coast from the Gulf of Aden to the foot of the
Shoa Mountains, where by reason of the unbearable heat and
want of water few plants grow. On account of the fearful heat
in those low-lying districts they calL the neighbourhood
' Tehama ' which means hell. The ground is basaltic, mostly
bare. The myrrh-tree grows only as a shrub. The passing
camel-drivers generally injure it in this way. They tear out
the branches and stronger twigs at their axil, or bruise the bark,
by which means the sweetly-smelling Milk-sap flows out. On
their return journey the camel-drivers often find the myrrh
hardened into considerable lumps.

K K 2

500 MYRRH— PAREIRA BRAVA.

1875. To your learned paper on Pareira Brava I allow myself to

add the remark, that in the year 1864 Winckeler, in my New
Repertorium for Pharmacy, xiii. 49, 200, described a root, which
had appeared in Frankfort commerce, in which root he found
a considerable quantity of cissampolin or pelosin and also the
same alkaloid which is contained in the trunk of Pareira
Brava. By my inducement Dr. Eichler, then assistant with
Martius, now Professor of Botany at Kiel, histologically
examined this root, and he convinced himself that it has
exactly the same form as the Menispermaceae, that it is in
every respect extremely like the thinner pieces of the Eadix
Partirse Brava3 of trade, if not identical with it and in any case
is derived from one of the Cissampelos kind.

"Accept my best thanks and the assurance of my highest
esteem.

" Yours very obediently,

"L. A. BUCHNER."

(SDIritumjT

or

DANIEL HANBUEY,

BY

PKOFESSOK F. A. FLUCKIGEE,

OF STRASBURG.

fonslnteb from %

BY

KATHAEINE A. HANBUEY.

OBITUAKY NOTICE.

Allen.

(Fluckiger.)

IN the focus of the trade of the world, in the city of London, is 75.
is situated in Lombard-street a very peculiar pharmaceutical
business, of which the name, " Plough Court " points to times
when the plough still traced its furrows, where now roars the
mighty surge of the commerce of the globe.

Many associations are attached to Plough Court; for instance, Plough Court
as the eighteenth century drew to a close, an original man.
William Allen began to develop there his manifold, practical,
philanthropic and scientific activity. His work, accomplished
in conjunction with W. H. Pepys, on carbonic acid, mercury
and platinum, and his co-operation in Sir Humphrey Davy's
electrical researches have found a place in text-books.

In the outskirts of the giant city, from time immemorial, very
extensive spaces have been preserved in all the charm of
natural luxuriance. These " commons " surrounded by very
pleasant, simpler, or more pretentious country-houses, are indeed
common property not only to the inhabitants, but to all who here
seek recreation under shady elms, among unchecked brushwood,
or on green turf. Only the nearer or more distant scream of
the locomotive interrupts the contemplative scene ; railroads
themselves, or other regardless intruders, are restrained by the
power of the law from attacks on the common,

Clapham Common is one of these natural gardens in the
south-west of London, and Daniel Hanbury divided the larger
proportion of the days of his life between Plough Court and the
pretty country-house, with its view across the still life of
Clapham Common ; as also did his worthy father, Daniel Bell
Hanbury, who now survives his son, who was born on the llth
of September 1825.

Between the two poles of practical and scientific attention to
pharmacy, and happy in the enjoyment of the investigation of

Clapham
Common.

504

SCHOOL AND BUSINESS LIFE.

1875. nature, the outward and inner life of the deceased passed, and"

was completed in undisturbed harmony.

School life. He was placed, but only till his sixteenth year, in a private
school in the neighbourhood, at Croydon. The school was by no
means a distinguished one, but nevertheless the foundation was
laid by this means for a wider culture, to the further finishing
and deepening of which Mr. Hanbury set* himself with un-
flinching diligence. Large classical and historical acquirements
were combined with great skill in drawing in pencil and in
water-colours, which he afterwards practised from nature.

In 1841 he began to be actively engaged in practical pharmacy
at Plough Court ; the firm, Allen, Hanbury and Barry still bore
the name of William Allen (who died in 1843) besides that of
D. Bell Hanbury. Daniel Hanbury was distinguished by such
a strikingly developed genius for exactitude and order in their
widest sense, that it was not difficult for him to gain a taste for
practical pharmacy ; and his performances in the dispensary, as
also in the laboratory and in the mercantile department soon
found full acknowledgment.

He carried on his technical studies with the same conscien-
tious zeal (especially in a botanical direction) at the institution
which had been founded in Bloomsbury Square by the Pharma-
ceutical Society. Here he soon drew upon himself the attention
Friendship of Jonathan Pereira, the most thorough and learned pharmaco-
with Pereiia. logist of his time> who^ till hig death (january 20, 1853) had

the strongest affection for his pupil, and exerted an important
influence on his scientific course.

In 1850 Mr. Hanbury began the series of papers of which
from time to time more than sixty have appeared in the
Pharmaceutical Journal, some also in the publications of the
Linnean Society, and a few in the Athenwum and elsewhere.

If a hero of chivalry be described, it is said significantly,
" A man every inch of him." It is similarly appropriate to say
of our friend : " Truth, every inch of him." This characteristic,
which found expression in his whole being, confronts us with
great distinctness even in Daniel Hanbury's first work. In the
paper on the oil of Thymus vulgaris he already noted down

ORIGINAL RESEARCH.

505

original observations collected in 1849 during a journey to the 1375.
South of France, and turned them to account in correcting
errors which prevailed with regard to the oil in the London
market.

Frequently repeated excursions into the same districts brought French
Mr. Hanbury into connection with French fellow-students ; asso
for example with the celebrated pharmacologist Guibourt, to
whom Mr. Hanbury dedicated in 1867 a well-deserved tribute
of respect. But also in Provence, at Nimes, Montpellier, and
at Antibes, it was doubly easy to Mr. Hanbury, with his good
knowledge of the French language, to make friends with botan-
ists of merit, and also to see and to learn much, among workmen
and intelligent landed proprietors, which was of value for his
special purpose.

His love for truth led him of necessity to form numerous con-
nections in his researches. Tn countless instances second-hand
knowledge could not stand its ground before his critical acumen,
and had to give way before his own superior observations. Only
the most trustworthy reports, samples and specimens collected
with the greatest care by a skilful hand, satisfied him. The
best book-knowledge, offered for sale in the market did not
content him, but he referred back to the sources of information,
testing them minutely.

On such foundations were all the papers placed which from time Method of
to time came in finished language from Mr. Hanbury 's pen, and
these were never suggested by any other aim than the purest,
most unselfish love of investigation. They are the short and
compressed results, very deliberately matured, of labours often
demanding very much time. The comprehensive material for
the work was finally limited by Mr. Hanbury to the matter
which was indispensable for supporting his conclusions in the
eyes of the reader ; and therefore much unnecessary framework
was left out. Thus his intellectual efforts displayed those
excellent qualities which he had already developed in practical
matters.

The recognition for which he strove in no other way . than by
the performance of work, was not wanting, and in the same

50(> HONOUR AND SERVICE.

1875. degree his scientific connections were widened, and the resources

Abundant and at his disposal increased. These gradually extended (quite

varied help, independently of the already valuable business connections of

Plough Court) to all countries and many institutes, from which

gain to pharmacology was to be expected. Parcels were sent

and reports received, as from St, Petersburg, so from Campinas

in the province of San Paulo ; explanations poured in from

Pekin and New York, from the Amazon, the Eed Sea, Singapore

or Hindostan, and were examined, valued, and replied to.

Mr. Hanbury's reputation in his own country was attested by
the confidence vouchsafed to him by the Pharmaceutical Society
and the British Pharmaceutical Conference. In 1868-69 he
presided over the latter ; he was a member of the former and for
twelve years examiner.

F.L.S. Tn 1855 he was gratified by being elected a fellow of the

Y.iis. Linnean Society (to which he later acted as treasurer) ; by being
made a fellow of the Chemical Society in 1858, and by his
relations with the London Institution, and his subsequent
admission into the Eoyal Society in 1869 — a very rare
distinction in pharmaceutical circles.

In these great bodies he found abundant opportunity for
extending his knowledge both in special branches and generally.
Mr. Hanbury could also make useful to his objects, in the
most effectual manner the London Exhibition of 1862 and the
Paris one of 1867, as he was appointed adjudicator of prizes to
both.

Admiralty He performed service of a similar nature in 1859 and 1871 to
the Admiralty Manual of Scientific Inquiry when, on the
first occasion in conjunction with Sir William Hooker, on the
second with Mr. Oliver, Professor of Botany, he turned his well
arranged knowledge to account in pointing out gaps in scientific
knowledge, the filling up of which the Admiralty wished to
urge. In more than one case he was permitted to live to see the
answers and missives from distant lands, relative to these
subjects, and to take part also in working at the tasks he had set.
The Continent also paid its tribute of esteem to Mr. Hanbury ;
in Germany this was through the " Leopoldinisch-Carolinische

FRIENDS IN COUNCIL.

507

travellers.

Academie " and through the University of Munich, which latter 1875.
appointed Mr. Hanbury honorary M.D. at its Jubilee Festival,
Aug. 2, 1872. His modesty never allowed him to make use of
this title.

Owing to the direction which Mr. Hanbury's principal study Travel and
took, more and more, travelling seemed of necessity an especial
assistance, both the reading of books of travel and personal
intercourse with travellers. Among these, Eichard Spruce was
a great friend of the deceased ; this explorer of the Amazon and
Rio Negro, so highly accomplished both as a botanist and as a
linguist, was very much esteemed by Mr. Hanbury, and gave
him manifold assistance in his work.1 A whole circle of fellow-
countrymen and foreigners, who had lived in India or China,
gave Mr. Hanbury valuable aid in the working out of individual
questions, as, for example the gifted editor of Marco Polo,
Colonel Yule — Dr. Bidie, Dr. Brandis, Dr. Bretschneider, of
Pekin, Mr. Broughton, Dr. Cleghoni, Mr. MacTvor, the mission-
aries, Dr. Lockhart and Mr. Wylie ; Moordeen Sheriff, Dr. Waring
and many others. From men so well informed Mr. Hanbury
knew how to obtain for himself the most reliable information,
both in conversation and by correspondence.

He himself travelled in 1860 to Palestine and Smyrna with journey to
Dr. J. D. Hooker, Director of the Kew Gardens, his especial
friend. Gain to pharmacology from these parts appears here
and there in his writings.2

For some years before his death he loved, sometimes twice in the
year, to pass a few weeks at Mortola, near Mentone, on the estate
of a brother, and this generally advanced his scientific objects.

In May, 1872, he collected information on the spot, in
Tuscany, Calabria and Sicily, concerning orris, liquorice, manna, mvestlgatl(ms-
oil of bergamot, &c., in order to settle certain questions of which
the solution is now to be found in the Pharmacographia.
Other similar journeys were already planned, when he was
attacked by his mortal illness.

Mr. Hanbury became more and more absorbed in the study of

1 Comp. Pharmacographia, 642.

2 1'liarmacographia, 146, 153.

the Holy
Land.

Personal

508 L'LUSIUS, PEREIRA, GUIBOURT.

1873. the Materia Medica of the vegetable kingdom, and more and
~moU3more matter constantly poured in to him. Though so much
workers, intellect and labour (comparatively more in earlier times than
IVrpira) now) have been expended on this department, still the verdict
Ouibourt. jg Well_f0unded, that no inquirer has ever worked upon such a
comprehensive, certain foundation as Daniel Hanbury. None
was fitted for it in the same degree, by a course of self-denying
education, by inclination, and by favourable outward circum-
stances. Clusius might perhaps be compared to him, if it were
allowable to apply the same standard to performances in natural
science, separated by two centuries and a half. Pereira, the
master so highly esteemed by Hanbury himself, grasped, as a
physician, a much wider theme, whilst Hanbury, working partly
at the same subjects, though from a pharmaceutical point of
view, knew how to develop this one side more effectually and
with more penetration, adducing the most perfectly reliable
information. Guibourt, held by the French the first authority
of his time, with as undisputed right as Pereira on the other side
of the Channel, differs essentially from the two Englishmen.
He was a very acute observer, who had come, like Hanbury, out
of the school of a rich practical experience, and in addition was
expert in the office of instructor, like Pereira. But Pereira's and
Hanbury's circle of vision was by so much the more extensive
as English influence exceeds French in the world. Guibourt
possessed less the power of understanding foreign circumstances,
less of that wealth of geographical, historical, and linguistic
knowledge, and of mercantile skilfulness which were peculiar to
Hanbury, and enabled him in so many cases, overleaping normal
bounds, to look back to the most remote sources. This significant
peculiarity of the latter is reflected in his works ; many of these
offer results of enduring value, which will not easily fall into
oblivion through the ceaseless advance of the stream of progress.
To such belong his papers of 1852 upon frankincense,1 those
of 1854 on scammony,2 the beautiful work upon cardamoms,3
1855, — the last was a permanent pet subject, which Mr.

1 Epitome in Wigger's Yearly Report on Pharmacy. 1852, 82, also 1864,
104. t Ib. 1854, 31, and 187. 3 Ib. 1855, 11 to 14.

SCIENCE PAPERS. 509

Hanbury brought before the public even tbeu with the fullest 1875.
command of matter, but which he also always very gladly took
up again later as occasion o'ffered ; in the same way as he also
generally cultivated Zingiberaceae in his hot-house with quite a
special affection, examining them while getting together further
matter.

Air. Hanbury's paper on storax1 (1857) is a brilliant example Storax.
of his work. In this he treats the history of the balsam ex-
haustively, giving a clear statement of its confused traditions,
and also (for example) proving the inaccuracy of Landerer's
more recent statements on the same subject. Furthermore Mr.
Hanbury verified the preparation of the drug from the incon-
trovertible reports of eye-witnesses, and annexed a sketch of
Liquidambar Orientale, Mill, which tree yields the storax of
to-day. Mr. Hanbury supported his demonstrations on his
knowledge of the classical literature bearing upon the subject,
but the work shows also that he did not shun the labour of
making himself so far acquainted with the Turkish language as
was desirable for the end sought. Some knowledge which he
had also gained of Arabic was of use in working out the
Phttrm acographia.

Abilities such as these were soon again turned to account in otto of Rose.
the important research on otto of rose of 1859. Here also,
the point was to replace errors by indubitable certainty. Mr.
Hanbury showed how and where the otto of rose of modern
commerce is obtained, and discussed some of its physical
properties. A German observer, Dr. E. Baur, of Constantinople,
had the opportunity, in 1867, of seeing the manufacture of otto
of rose on the spot, and aided Mr. Hanbury's researches with-
out being aware of them. Mr. Hanbury, on the other hand,
gave Dr. Baur's work to his countrymen, in a translation, and
added some remarks thereto.

In 1860 and 1861 Mr. Hanbury was much occupied with the
Materia Medica of the Chinese, for which end he also made him-
self somewhat acquainted with their language. These studies
could only be undertaken by a pharmacist who was aided by

1 Ib. 1857, 11.

510

CHINESE NOTES— BALSAM OF PERU.

1875.

Chinese
Materia
Medica.

Cortex

extensive acquaintance with the literature of Eastern Asia
having reference to the subject, and with the Chinese flora.
Both are observable in a high degree in Mr. Hanbury's Chinese
Materia Medica, although the neatly-bound separate impression
which appeared in 1862 only contains 48 octavo pages.

Dr. Theodore Martins (died 15th September, 1863), the most
distinguished German student, at that time, in the same branch
of science, and a personal friend of the author's, gave a trans-
lation of the work, though without the illustrations of the
original (Contributions to Chinese Materia Medica, Speier, 1863).
Eegard should be had to these researches whenever there is a
question of Chinese Materia Medica.

The drug brought by Captain Winter from the Straits of
Winter-aims. Magellan> and described as " Winter's bark" by Clusius in 1605,
became confounded by degrees in a remarkable way with other
barks. On this subject again Mr. Hanbury threw light with a
sure hand, in 1862 in a paper1 which will remain historically
valuable even when Winter's bark has fallen still more into
oblivion than now.

Pereira occupied himself in 1850 in searching out the origin
of balsam of Peru ; it was reserved for Mr. Hanbury, who devoted
his attention to this interesting subject in 1863 and 1864, to
bring it to a conclusion, with the assistance of Dr. Dorat, a
resident on the Central American balsam coast itself. Mr.
Hanbury's papers on this subject, which have long since be-
come the common property of the literature of this department
of science, follow as working side-pieces to that upon storax.
As on the occasion of writing the latter, he acquired some
knowledge of the Turkish language, so, being occupied with the
literature concerning balsam of Peru, he felt the same obliga-
tion laid upon him with regard to the S.panish tongue. His
well furnished " study " contains in rank and file the Spanish
authors since the conquest of Peru, in whose works information
concerning the balsam and other drugs is to be found.

In 1864 the origin of gamboge was successfully established ;
in 1865 Savanilla rhatany was traced back to Krameria
1 Pharmacof/raphia, 17.

Balsam of
Peru.

TAMPICO JALAP-GALANGAL— PAREIRA BRAVA.

511

1875.

Manna.

Tampico
Jalap.

tomentosa, St. Hilaire (Kr. Ixina, var. ft. granatensis, Triana.
Kr. grandifolia, Berg.) The Historical Remarks on Manna,
written in 1865, may be held up as a pattern of compre-
hensive reading, appropriate treatment and lucid statement. They
were afterwards satisfactorily completed through their author's
ahove-mentioned journey to Calabria and Sicily.

In the following year Mr. Hanbury's long continued researches
on the subject of Tampico jalap were crowned with success.
He found that it is the root of an Ipomcea (in which his prac-
tised eye recognised a new species x) growing in the interior of
Mexico, in the Sierra Gorda, and at Oaxaca. Those who had
the opportunity of seeing in his garden this Ipomcea simulans,
HANBURY — besides the common jalap convolvulus, Ipomcea
purga — could not mistake the difference between the two
plants, in spite of their great similarity.

For a thousand years Galangal root has been known as a spice Galangal.
and medicine, but again Mr. Hanbury's researches were needed
to obtain, at last, certainty as to its origin, through the assist-
ance of Dr. H. Fletcher Hance, of Whampoa (the roadstead of
Canton).

This botanist had, at Mr. Hanbury's- instigation, in 1867,
caused search to be made for the plant yielding this rhizome, on
the Chinese island of Hainan, south-west of Canton, and soon
received it through an American, Mr. Taintor, a custom-house
officer in Chinese employ. Dr. Hance named it Alpinia
officinarum ; Mr. Hanbury adding to the description 2 remarks
evidencing his usual care, and which trace back the history of
the drug to the early middle ages.

Mr. Hanbury's researches concerning Pareira Brava,3 in 1873, PareiraBrava.
combined all the excellences of his diligence, and the result
will always form a remarkable contribution to the history of
Pharmacognosis, although that root, still valued in England, has
long been forgotten with us.

1 Yearly Report of Pharm. 1870, 81. Sketch of Ipomcea simulans in
Journ. of the Linn. Soc. JBol., xi. (1871), 272.

2 Yearly Hep. of Pharm, (1871), 33.

3 16. 1873, 125, with sketch.

;. i •_>

PIIARMACOG1UPH1A.

1875.

Cinchona

versus
CLiiichoiia.

Friendship

with
Fliukigtr.

Ctium cum
lubore.

The last paper l of the deceased might be termed polemical,
did it not, like everything which came from his pen, keep purely
to the point.

On the other hand, it is not like him that he should turn his
attention to Cinchona bark, a theme which Mr. Hanbury habitually
avoided. In this case also he only touched it superficially;
throwing his influence into the scale in favour of the woid
Cinchona, which Mr. Markham wished to see altered to Chin-
chona. But even in this apparently so very simple discussion
Mr. Hanbury, going back, as he was wont, to the sources of
knowledge, adduced new evidence in favour of the view he had
taken.

The researches on individual points, whose quality is made
apparent by the above remarks, were finally followed by a com-
prehensive volume in which Mr. Hanbury put his best work. His
above-mentioned views on frankincense had been the occasion
in 1864, of his acquaintance with Dr. Fliickiger, which ripened
into an intimate friendship after the first personal meeting in
1867. Being occupied henceforth conjointly with the same
questions, the thought of making complete and systematizing
results occurred to them. This project was comfirmed by the
reflection that the English language could offer no work
expressing the ideas of the two friends.

The task was begun, furthered in conversation and by letter, and
every effort made to clear up the questions of a scientific and
practical nature which arose in unanticipated abundance.

Mr. Hanbury left the business at Plough Court in 1870, and
then lived almost exclusively for this common object. The col-
lections and libraries of London, Kew and Paris, the warehouses of
the London docks, what the auctions of the drug brokers in the
city offered for inspection, all these were repeatedly consulted or
ransacked by the two friends together and compared by the aid
of their mutual experiences and impressions. Scarcely any expe-
dients were overlooked which could have been of much real use.
Mr. Hanbury well knew his way about in London, through expe-
rience gained long ago, and now he employed all his acuteness
1 Pharm. Journal, v. (1875, 13th. Feb.), 646.

SIR ROBERT TALBOR— LAST ILLNESS. 513

in getting together the most reliable information on every subject, 1875.
both from a practical and literary point of view, such indeed as
was only obtainable among the inexhaustible resources of the
metropolis of the world.

How far this often went, is shown in the case of Sir Eobert will of Sir
Talbor,1 whose will of 1681 had to be referred to (at the Will R'bertTalbor.
Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury at Doctors' Commons)
in order to become better acquainted with this singular man,
meritorious for having assisted in the introduction of Peruvian
bark, but concerning whom the otherwise superabundant
literature on Cinchona gives but scanty information.

Thus, in London and on the Continent, the authors searched
and laboured, and at last in 1874 the work was completed.

The Pharmacographia appeared in October : the testimony of
those competent to judge must decide whether the task was
rightly undertaken and satisfactorily performed.

Only five months later, Daniel Hanbury concluded for ever, MOTS
at Clapham Common, his unwearying labours. On the 6th of J'anua
March 1875, he was quite suddenly seized with an ominous
shivering; violent stomatitis jaundice, and typhoid fever followed.
His parents, brothers and sister tended the excellent son and
brother (he had renounced wedded happiness), but on the 18th
of March hope had already lessened and on the evening of the
24th the release came.

According to his wish he was interred quietly, in the burial-
ground of the " Friends," situated not far off, at Wandsworth.

Like his teacher, Jonathan Pereira, Daniel Hanbury was
called away in the midst of full activity, on the threshold of
his fiftieth year.

The attentive observer reads the inner nature of this man in
his works, in spite of their always purely objective character and
concise form. If in them "every inch is truth'1 as far as
it could be won by any endeavours, so Mr. Hanbury's whole
appearance bore the impress of the purest truthfulness.
Certainly no ignoble thought ever darkened his soul, and as his
writings grasped the kernel of the matter, so in life he showed

1 Pharmacographia, p. 307, Note 7.

L L

514 CHARACTER.

1875. himself simple, confiding, without one ingredient of unnecessary
and or faise display. Much of this may be attributed to his.

demeanour, education at home, and in business, where the severe principles
of the religious " Society of Friends " serve as the rule of
conduct. But certainly these expressed his nature through and
through, and satisfied him in the highest degree. Although
belonging all his life to that estimable body, Mr. Hanbury was
free from all ostentation in religious matters so that even
intimate friends were scarcely aware of the deep earnestness
of his convictions. All the charm of truth and purity dwelt in
his refined, engaging appearance. His exterior, including the
expressive firmness and neatness of his handwriting, corre-
sponded harmoniously with the nobility of the soul. He made
very high demands on himself in the fulfilment of his duty and
in his work, and in this respect he was not lenient towards others,
for in his judgment of their proper mode of conduct, he gave only
the testimony of truth. He must indeed have been conscious of
his own worth, and have seen how highly he was valued by
those of his fellow- students in the same branch of science
most competent to judge, but the satisfaction he experienced
from this was blended with the modest consciousness of having
served truth, to the best of his powers, for no selfish end.

All who had the good fortune of being acquainted with
Mr. Hanbury know that one of such an excellent disposition,
while he gladly and thankfully received in the province of
science, did not the less unselfishly impart, in few words, and in
the most magnanimous manner.
Extreme ^ follows as a natural consequence that engagements of this

punctuality. kjn(i were attended to by him with incomparable punctuality,
although the number of his correspondents was by no means
small, and the answers could not generally be written quite
simply, without expenditure of time and trouble. His thus
applying his superabundant matter explains his not having
left behind important collections except his library. This
contains the most valuable works that have ever appeared
on pharmacy (in its widest sense), for with his extensive
knowledge of languages Mr. Hanbury found comparatively few

FRENCH AND GERMAN SCIENCE. 515

limits in procuring the literature of all ages and countries, 1875.
appertaining to his department of science.

Mr. Hanbury's was a genuine English nature, but in attaining international
his ends he often learnt to enter into foreign ideas, and this was acquirements.
not difficult to him. He was certainly more at home among
persons of the nearest neighbouring nation, and in their elegant
language, than in German science. But he gladly penetrated
into German writings, not indeed with facility, but conquering,
sometimes amid gay irony, " the endless periods of German
profoundness." Carelessness in the orthography of proper
names and of geographical and botanical appellations was most
distasteful to him, and he acknowledged, commendingly, that
this was not a German national vice. For the good side of
German character he had an acute eye and just appreciation ;
his warm British patriotism, which he never renounced, did not
for one moment prevent him from being perfectly just to
German culture and to German scientific pharmacy.

So we on the Continent may justly mourn the much too early
loss of this excellent man, to whom a place of honour is due in
the history of our science.

F. A. FLUCKIGEK.

L L 2

INDEX.

A.

Ab Ad

ABBE GROSIER, 61 • Mazeas, 8,

130, 147.
Aberia, 318.
Abies excelsa, 7, 46, 48, 435 ;

pectinata, Ess. Oil, 353.
Abietis resina, 46, 47.
Abutamacrophylla,3S7; pequena,

387 ; rufescens, 392.
Abutua grande, 392.
Acacia Catechu, 177; Farnesiana,

151, 152; Verek, 186.
Academy, The, 12.
Acaxutla, 307.
Acid arsenious, 220.

Gingkoic, 234.
Aconite root, 187.
Aconitine, 426.

Aconitum, 258 ; Japonicum, 258.
Acosta, Christopher, 360 ; Father

Joseph de, 307.
Acrostichum Lingua, 266.
Actaea racemosa, 436 ; spicata,

436..

Actuarius, 371.
Admiralty Manual of Scientific

Inquiry, 17.
ADULTERATION OF SAFFRON,

368.
ADDRESSES & MISCELLANEOUS

PAPERS, 403 — 485.

Af

Al

AFRICAN AMMONIACUM, 375—
378.

Mammee, 184.

Turmeric, 184.
Agallochum, 263.
Agalmatolite, 219.
Agar-agar, 208.
Aggur, 264.
Agila Wood, 263.
Agnus Scythicus, 122, 123.
Ain el Houran, 29.
Ainslie, Dr. Whitelaw, 75.
Ajuga pyramidalis, 431.
Alberti, 360.

Albertinus Hieronimus, 361
Aleurites triloba, 231.
Alexandretta, 148.
Alexandria, 142.
Alexis, Secrets of, 197.
Alhagi Manna, 289 ; Maurorum,

355-

Aliboufiers (des), 129.

Alkaline Salts, 217.

Allemao, Dr. F. F., 24.

Allen, William, 4, 503.

Allium Schaenoprasum, 439.

Aloes wood, 59, 263.

Alpinia alba (Roscoe), 105, 106 ;
Allughas, 104 (Roscoe) ; cal-
carata, 373; Galanga (Willd.),
108, 252, 253, 373; Khulinjan,
373; officinarum, 10, 109,373.

518

INDEX.

Al An

Alum, 220.

Aluminous Substances, 219.
Amanus (Mount), 131.
Ambitua, 386.
Amboyna wood, 188.
Amelot, Michel, 383.
American Fun-ling, 268.
Ammon, Jupiter, 277.
AMMONIACUM AFRICAN, 375 —

378.

Amcenitates (Kaempfer), 216.
Amomum aculeatum. 100, 101.
ANGUSTIFOLIUM SONNERAT,
112 — 115.

Arundinaceum, no.

Cardamomum, L., 109, 253,
291.

Citratum, 112, 291.

Clusii, 113.

Danielli, 113, 115, 291.

Giganteum, no.

globosum, 95, 97, 249.

Korarima, 291.

latifolium, 291.

Limbatum, in.

Mannii, in.

maximum, 291.

medium, 105, 250.

Melegueta, 173, 291.

nemorosum, 112, 113.

New species of, 9.

Pilosum, in.

Sceptrum, in.

Subsericeum, in.

villosum, 98, 251.

Xanthioides, 100, 102, 178,

250, 251, 291.

Amygdaloid Storax, 132, 144.
ANACAHUITEWOOD, 277—282.

Botanical source, 280.

Decoction, 279.

Description of, 279.

German account, 278.

Medical value, 280.

ORIGIN OF, 280.
Anastasis Cort. Peruvise, 401.

An At

Anderson Dr. Thomas, 77 — 82.

Andropogon, 6.

Androsace carnea, 431 ; obtusi-
folia, 431 ; pubescens, 432.

Aneilema, 257.

Anemarrhena asphodeloides, 259.

Anemone alpina, 430 ; narcissi-
flora, 430; vernalis, 431.

Ange, Father, 158, 161, 162.

Anthyllis vulneraria, 430.

Anti-Lebanon, 30.

Antiphoniti, 148.

Apidium conchitis, 432.

Aplotaxis Lap pa, 257.

APPENDIX, 487.

Aquilaria Agallocha, 263, 264.
Chinensis, 265.
Malaccensis, 264.

Arabis bellidifolia, 432.

Aralia edulis, 260.

Areca catechu, 188.

Arisoema ternatum, 262.

ARISTOLOCHIACE/E, 57.

Aristolochia contorta, 239 ;
Kaempferi, 239 ; recurvilabra,

253-.

Armeniacum, 376.
Armoniacum, 376.
Arnica montana, 436.
Aromatarius (the druggist), 358.
Arsenic, Red Sulphuret, 220 ;

yellow sulphuret, 220.
Arsenical substances, 220.
Arsenious acid, 220.
Arum pentaphyllum, 263 ; tri-

phyllum, 263.
Arundo Bambos, 255.
Asbestous Tremolite, 218.
A.ia Minor, 28.
Asphodel is albus, 430.
Assafcetida, 176, 184; stony,

176.

Assises de Jerusalem, 371.
Astragalus aristatus, 430; gum-

mifer, 117.
Ateos, 303.

INDEX.

519

At Ba

Atractylodes, 255; lancea, 255;

lyrata, 255, ovata, 255.
Attfield, Professor, 394, 409.
Aucklandia Costus, 257.
Aulopora, 275.
Aurantii Baccse, 239.
Australian Manna, 288.
Auvergne, 25.
Avicenna, 162.

B.

BAALBEC, 30.

Baccse Aurantii, 239.

Bado Sebastiano, 401.

Badshah Saleb, 155, 176.

Bajorque, 179.

Balsam coast, 300, 305.

Balsam of Copaiba, Capivi (or

of Copaiva), 118, 180, 190,

289.
BALSAM OF PERU IN THE

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH,

293-
Balsam Peruvian, 9, 180.

BALSAM OF PERU MANUFAC-
TURE OF, 296 — 306.
as Chrism, 293.
collection, 297 — 299.
Dorat's, Dr. C, account,

297.

Natural exudation, 297.
origin of name, 304.
Pereira's account, 2.96.
BALSAM OF PERU, ADDITIONAL

NOTE, 306—309.
Balsam of St. Thomas, 185 ; of

Tolu, i ST.
Balsamo bianco, 299; negro,

181, 303.
Balsamodendron Ehrenbergia-

num, 379; Myrrha, 379.
Baltic Pitch, 47.
Bamboo, 189.
Bambusa Arundo, 255.

Ba Be

Banbury, 13.

Bangwel-getta, 59.

Bark Cinchona, 180, 191, 289;
Malambo, 180, 192 ; Peru-
vian, 1 80; Red, 341; Winter's,
310—312, 342

Barras, 50.

Bassora Gum, 117, 175.

Bastard Cardamoms, 102, 103,
178.

Batatas jalapa, 350.

Bean Egyptian, 240.

BEAN ORDEAL OF CALABAR, 312

—3*5-

Beaufort Buildings, 7.

Behen root, red, 290 ; white,

290.

Beke, Dr., 19.
BELL, JACOB BIOGRAPHY, 34,

457—471-
Amusements, 459.
Art copyright, 460.
Bell, John, 457.
Benevolence, 471.
Business life, 458.
Character, 470.
Continental tour, 460.
Death, 470.
Drawing, 459-
Editorial life, 464.
Failing health, 469.
Government Bill, 466.
Hawes's Bill, 461.
Honours, 465.

Journal Pharmaceutical, 464.
Latest exertions, 470.
Liberality, 463.
Loss to Pharmacy, 471.
Member of Parliament, 467.
Obstacles to legislation, 466.
Paintings, collection of, 460.
Pamphlet (Pharmaceutical),

462,
Pharmaceutical Society,

foundation of, 462.
Pharm. Society, rise of, 463.

520

INDEX.

Be Bo

BELL, JACOB (continued),

Pharmacy Act, 465, 469.
Political life, 468.
Provinces visited, 463.
School days, 458.
Select committee, 468.
St. Albans, 467.
Student life, 458.

Belladonna, Harley's experi-
ments, 410.

Bellidiastrum Michellii, 432.

Ben tail's botanical paper, 182.

Bentley, Professor, 5.

Benzoin, 178, 186.

Berg, Dr., 48, 49.

Berkeley, Rev. M. J., 198.

Berthelot Marcellin, 162.

Berytus (river), 29.

Beyrut, 28.

Bible Guiot de Provins, 485.

Bigaradier, 151.

Birtles (printer), 7.

BissaBol, 175, 381.

Bitter Kola, 185 ; seeded Carda-,
mom, 105, 178, 252; wood,
185.

Black Cardamom, 103, 104;
Frankincense leaf, 144; oil,
142 • Pallagum, 199, 205 ; Salt,
276; Smoke (tobacco), 144;
Storax, 149.

Blumea balsamifera, 394.

Boa-tam-paijang, 235, 236, 289.

Board of Examiners, 13.

Boccone Paolo, 362.

Bojer, Hortus Mauritianus, 114

Boke of Curtasye, 485.

Borax, 217.

Borneo (Baros) Camphor, 271.
395-

Boswellia glabra, 174; thurifera,
174-

BOTANICAL ORIGIN OF GAM-
BOGE, 332, 333.

BOTANICAL ORIGIN OF SAVA-
NILLA RHATANY, 333— 336.

Bo Ca

BOTANICAL AND PHARMACO-
LOGICAL INQUIRIES AND
DESIDERATA, 173—183.

Botrychium Lunaria, 431.

Botryopsis platyphylla, 387.

fiovxovpt, 136, 142.

Boulier, M., 162.

Boym, Michael, 213, 215.

BRADY (H.B.) REVIEW OF
PHARMACOGRAPHIA, 493-

Brasavolus (of Ferrara), 360.

Brauerpech, 51..

Brayera anthelmintica, 186.

Brian^on, 433.

Brigand Annibal, 361.

British Pharmaceutical Confer-
ence, 23 ; 404.

Brodie's White Wax of China,
analysis of, 69.

Brousonelia papyrifera, 231.

Buchanan, Dr. F., 74.

Buchner, L. A., 6, 19; (Letter
from), 499.

Buchur, 139.

Buchuri-jag, 136.

Buena (genus), 191.

Bukhur yaghy, 142.

Bulbs (Salep), 156.

Bull of Pope Pius V. 294, 295,
304.

Bunder Mattee, 174.

Bungtalai, 235, 290.

BURGUNDY PITCH, 46—53 ;
artificial, 48, 52 ; characters of,
53 ; conclusions, 53.

BURSERACEXE, 243.

Button, Bishop of Exeter, 479.

Butua, 385.

Buxine, 427.

C.

CAAPEBA Cipo de Cobras, 383.
Caffeine, 87.
Caifa, 32.

INDEX.

521

Cais Can

Caissar Gum Tragacanth, 116.
Caissar vel Kaisarieh, 175.
CALABAR BEAN IN OPHTHALMIC
MEDICINE, 316— -318.

difficulties in practice, 3 1 6

glycerine solution, 317.

mode of application, 316.

paper discs, 317.

spirituous solution, 317.

Streatfeild's plan, 317.
CALABAR ORDEAL BEAN, 312 —

3*5-

Calabria Citra, 363.
CALABRIAN MANNA, 1 1, 362 —

368.
Calambac or Calumback, 59,

263.

Calami (definition), 132.
Calamites (derivation), 132.
Calamus aromaticus, 194.
Calcareous Spar, 218; substances,

218.

Calcium fluoride, 218.
Calomel, 224, 225.
Calotropis procera, 162.
Caltha palustris, 430
Calumba root, 186.
CALUMBAWOOD, 57— 60.
transverse section, 57.
CAMELLIE/E, 87.
gam'lh 511, 233.
Campbell, Lieut. Robert, 137,

141.
Camphor (Blumea Grandis, 187;

Baros, 271; Borneo, 271, 395;

Dryobalanops, 271; (Formosa),

189; Laurel, 395; Ngai, 189;

oil, 119.

CAMPHOR NGAI, 393—395-
Canafistola de purgar, 320, 321,

323-
Canararium, 179; album, 243;

Pimela, 243.
Canavalia, 314.
Canella alba, 311, 312; Ess.

Oil, 353-

Can Cas

Canelo, 311.
Canna speciosa, 1 84.
Cannabis Sativa, 187.
CANNES, 25, 150, 154.
Cannoli, 365.
Cao-go, 250.
Cab Learn Kiam, 108.
Caoutchouc, 186, 188, 192.
Capaci (manna plantations), 367.
Capili-podi, 75.
Caponisi (village), 139.
Carrageenin, 208.
Caraman Gum, 175.
Caranna, 342.
Carbonate of Copper, 223 ; Lead,

223 ; Lime, 218.
CARDAMOM, SOME RARE KINDS

OF, 93—109-
Bastard, 178.
Bitter-seeded, 178.
Hairy China, 178.
Korarima, 174, 185.
Large round China, 95, 178.
Ovoid China, 178.
Small China round, 96, 97.
Wild, 178.

Cardamoma, Chinensia muricata,

97; Chinensia oviformia, 105;

nigra, 104; noir de Gaertner,

103, 104.

Cardamome ovoide de la Chine,

105 ; poilu de la Chine, 97.
Cardamome rond de la Chine,
96 ; a semences ameres,
104.

Cardamoms, 6, 9, 178, 190.
Cariati, 364.
Carinthia, 222.
Carmel Mount, 32.
Carom-pallagum, 199, 205.
Carter, Dr., 143.
Casius (Mount), 131.
Cassia Bark, 178, 189; Buds,
178, 189.

C. brasiliana, 319, 320.
Fistula, 319, 320.

522

INDEX.

Ca Ch

CASSIA MOSCHATA, 17, 318 —

3*6-

Tora, 231.

Cascarilla, 191.
Cassie, 151, 152.
Castilloa elastica, 192.
Catechu, 177, 186.
Catha edulis, 185.
Cathartocarpus moschatus, 321.
Cay Mang tang, 246.
Cazals M. (of Ayde), 92.
Cedars the, 29, 30.
Centaurea Behen, 290.
Cephaelis Ipecacuanha, 343; (San

Lucar), 423.
Cerisantes, 197.
Certosa Monastery, 33.
Cetewale, Citoual, or Cytoal, 485.
Chambeiron, M., 128.
Chandeliers, Guild of, 485.
Chan-tchi, 241.
Chantemerle, 438.
Chardin, 375.

Chartreuse de Montrieux, 129.
Chaulmoogra, 244 ; odorata, 245.
Chehulic Myrobalans, 232.
C. hezoukek, 161.
Che-keu-tsze, 238.
Che-kuh, 238.
CHEMIST'S HOLIDAY IN FRANCE,

433—439-
Che-moo, 259.
Che-tsze, 241.

Chian Turpentine, Ess. Oil, 353.
Chiconquiaco, 345.
Chih-shih-che, 219, 220.
Child's (S.) patent candles, 71.
Chiltiuapan, 301.
China root, 189.
Chinchon, Countess of, 12, 35.

397-

Chinchon, Counts of, 476.
Chin hiam, 263.
Chinese Herbal, Synopsis of,

214.
Chinese Insect White wax, 271.

Ch Ci

CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA, 7,
209—275.

Chinese Oil of Peppermint, 189;
Olive, 243; SAL AMMONIAC,
276, 277 ; Water Lily, 240.

Chin-heang, 263.

Chios, 28.

Chiretta, 344.

Chiriqui Lagoon, 179.

CHLORAL HYDRATE, 23, 352,

353;

Chloride of Mercury, 224.

CHONDODENDRON VEL CHON-

DRODENDRON, 396.
Chondodendron tomentosum, u,

387, 388, 390.
Chondrodendron, u.
Chondrus crispus, 208.
Choc-ling, 200, 204, 269.
Choo-sha, 225.
Choo-shih-tsze, 231.
Choui-kin, 68.
Choui-toug-tsing (water winter

green), 68.
Chrism, 9, 293.
Chrisma principale, 293.
CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF

PAPERS, 489 — 492.
Chrysolite, 93.
Chrysophyllum, 188.
Chu-lim, 204, 269.
Chuen-keung, 260.
Chuen-leen tsze, 244.
Chuen-woo, 258.
Chung-joo-shih, 218.
Chung-pih-la (insect white-wax),

60, 6 1, 271.
Cibotium (genus), i?i ; Assami-

cum, 1 2i, 122; Barometz, 121

— 123; Chamissoi, 121; Cum-

ingii, 121, 122; glaucescens,

i2i, 122; glaucum, 121, 122;

glaucophyllum, 122 ; Schiedei,

121 ; Menziesii, 121.
Cilician (Storax), 130.
Cirn mum x£, 219.

INDEX.

523

Ci Co

Cinchona, 343 ; Bark, 180, 191,
289; cordifolia, 191; Giron-
ensis, 400; Micrantha, 289;
nitida, 289; officinalis, 422;
Pahudiana, 289; peruviana,
289 ; succirubra, 289, 422 ; Tu-
cujensis, 191 ; Uritusinga, 289.

CINCHONA OR CHINCHONA, 397

— 402.
Cinchonas false, 191.

Cinchona calisaya, 413.

Cingui vel Chugi, 226.

Cinnabar, 225; Monopoly, 227.

Cinnamodendron corticosum,

3ii-
Cinnamomum Camphora, 189,

.393-

Cinnamon Ecuador, 190.

Cin-pi, 239.

Circars the, 74.

Ciriers, Guild of, 485.

Cissampelos Abutua, 387 ; con-
volvulacea, 59 ; glaberrima,
383; Pereira, n, 383; root,

389-

C. (?) platyphylla, 387.
Citronelle, 177.
Citrus fusca, 238, 239 ; micro-

carpa, 239.

Cleyer, Dr. Andrew, 213.
Clove Bark, Ess. Oil, 353.
Club Phytological, 5, 429.
Cnidium Monnieri, 233.
Coboris vel Covoris, 135.
Cobros vel Cyprus, 135.
Cobross (island), 8, 133, 134.
Coca, 190.

Cocculus Chondodendron, 387.
Coccus ceriferus, 61.
Coccus Pe-la, 71, 271; Sinensis,

63, 71-

Cochlospermum Gossypium, 117.
Cocus-wood, 190.
COFFEE LEAVES IN SUMATRA,

84—87.
Cofre de Perote, 345.

Col Cor

COL DE LAUTARET, A DAY'S
BOTANIZING, 429 — 433-
Villar d5 Arene, 429.

Cola acuminata, 185 ; Nuts, 185.

Colchicum alpinum, 436.

Colin Maistte (Anthoine), 124.

Colombo root, 58, 59, 60, 344

Comasagua, 302.

COM BRET AC EXE, 232.

Comitissse pulvis, 477.

Commelina medica, 257.

Commentarii Urbani, 359.

Compendium Aromatoriorum,
358.

Conchologia Iconica, 273.

Conference, British Pharma-
ceutical, 23, 404.

Conium, Harley's experiments,
410.

Constantinople, 142.

Contrayerva Root, 286, 342.

Convallaria Japonica, 256

Convolvulus Jalapa, 345, 346 ;
Purga, 349.

Copaiba Balsam, 180, 190, 289.

Copaifera, 180; officinalis, 289.

Copal, 173, 179, 184, 190.

Copper, carbonate of, 223, com-
pounds, 221.

Coptis Teeta, 187.

Cordia Boissieri, 280; botanical
origin, 282.

Cordia Myxa, 282 ; Rumphii,
282 ; Sebestena, 282.

CORDIACECE, properties of, 282.

Cordyceps, 201.

Corfu, 27.

Corigliano, 364, 366.

Coromandel, plants of, 74.

Cortese, Signora, 197.

Cortex Thuris, 127, 144; Thy-
miamatis, 127, 141, 144, 145,
149.

CORTEX WINTERANUS, 310 —
312.

Corunga Munji Maram, 74.

524

INDEX.

Co Cu

Corydalis ambigua, 256.

Cos, 8, 9.

Cosenza, 366.

Costus Root, 258.

Cotrone, 366.

Cotter Mija, 133, 143-

Cow Tree, 192.

Coyacoy, 190.

Crabs, Fossil, 274.

Craie de BrianQon, 439.

Crania, 275.

Craven, Hon. R. Craven, 364.

Crax globicera, 300.

Crocetine, 243.

Crocine, 242, 243.

Crocus vernus, 431.

Croton castaneifolium, 194;
Malambo, 193 ; microphyllum,
194; Palo Mathias, 194;
ovalifolium, 194; Tiglium,
230 ; tinctorium, Linn., 43.

Crozophora tinctoria, End!., 43.

CUCURBITACE/E, 230.

Culitlawang, 178, 187; Ess. Oil,

353-
CULTIVATION OF JALAP, 344—

349, 4i5-

Essential requisites, 345.
Garden cultivation, 346.
Soil and climate, 347.
Suggestions, 347.
Tubers drying, 346.
CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL
PLANTS, 339—344; Collection,
improvident, 341.
Cultivation, necessity of, 342 ;
Fluctuation of Price, 339 ;
Imports, fluctuating, 340 ;
Scarcity, causes of, 341.
Cultivation of Cinchona, 412 ;

Ipecacuanha, 414.
CURCULIONID/E, 158, 159.
Currey, F., 17, 198, 200.
Cuscuta, chinensis, europsea, ma-
jor, 249.
Cutch, 177.

Cy Do

Cyripedium calceolus, 429.
Cyrtia Murchisoniana, 275.
Czzi-tsy, 241.
Czzu-lin, 204.
Czuan-lan-tsy, 244.
Czuan-siun, 260.

D.

DALE (1693), 137.

D'Almeida, Messrs. (Singapore),

327, 328.
Damascus, 30.
Daniell, Dr. W. F., 94.
Daphne Cacorum, 432 ; Gnidium,

385 ; Mezereum, 432 ; striata,

432..
Daphnidium Cubeba, 246, 247,

248.

De Laet, 309.
Delia Sudda, M., 168.
Delos (island), 27.
De Pruina, Rore et Manna, 358.
Descrittione di tutta Italia, 360.
Diachylum, 12.
Diacurcuma, 12.
Dialium, 238.
Diarbekir manna, 287.
Diarrhodon, 12.
Dicksonia glauca, 121, 122.
Digitalis grandiflora, 436 ; lutea,

436.
Dioscorides, 8, 129, 130, 147,

148, 375-

DIPTEROCARPE/E, Il8.
Dipterocarpus alatus, 119; an-

gustifolius, 119; costatus, 119;

incanus, 119; turbinatus, 118.
Distylium racemosum, 266.
Djebeleh (village of), 132.
Dodo cloth, 185.
Doku quatz, 260.
Dolomite, 218.
Donatus Antonius ab Altomari,

INDEX.

525

Do Em

Dorstenia contrajerva, 286 ; bra-

siliensis, 286.

Dorat, Dr. C., 9, 2*93, 297, 309.
Dosjen, 260.

Dragendorff, Professor, 39, 40.
Dragon's Blood, 185 ; Bones,

273; Teeth, 273.
Drimys Winteri, 310; Chilensis,

310; granatensis, 310; Mexi-

cana; 310.
Drugs named from place of

shipment, 304.
Druses, the, 32.
Dryobalanops aromatica, 393 ;

Camphora, 119, 271.
Du Halde, 212.
Duhamel, 129, 147.
Dutch Cake Litmus, 45.

E.

EASTERN names of Storax, 142.
Ebe'-gume'ji, 168.
Ebn Beithar, 356.
Echinops, 158, 160, 162.
E. persicus, 158, 163.
£cole de Pharmacie, 434.
Ecuador Cinnamon, 190.
Edkins, Rev. J., 125, 126, 225,

226.

Edrisi (A.D. 1154), 371.
Egyptian Bean, 240.
Einformige Chinensische Karda-

momen, 105.
Ekim fuen, 225.

Elaphrium elemiferum, 179, 190.
Elemi, 179, 190; Mexican, 190;

South American, 342.
Elephas insignis, 273.
ElettariaCardamomum, 253, 291.
Emetine estimation, 424.
Empetrum nigrum, 432.
Emulsion of Pinus sylvestris,

354-

En Ex

Enfleurage, 25, 153.
Erioglossum, 235, 290.
Ese're', 312.

Essence de Petit Grain, 151.
Essence of Verbena, 177.
Eucalyptus dumosa, 288 ; manna,

288 ; viminalis, 288.
Eucheuma spinosa, 208.
Eucroton, 194.
EUPHORBIACE/E, 193, 230.
Examiners, Board of, 13.
Exeter, 323.

EXETER, OPENING ADDRESS,
417—428.

Aconitine, 426.

Advance of Pharmacy, 417.

Broughton's experiments,
422.

Buxine, 427.

Emetine estimation, 424.

Guy, Dr., Experiments, 408.

Herb drying, 424.

Howard's, E. J. Quinology,
421.

Ipecacuanha, 423.

Jews, restrictions on, 419.

Madder cultivation, 422

Madras Report, 422.

Mata, 407.

Milk of Sulphur, 428.

Mossing, 421.

Olive oil, 427.

Pharmacy Act, 418.

Plants dried, 425 ; altera-
tion of, 425.

Plants fresh, 426.

Podophyllum peltatum, 407.

Poisons, sale of, 418.

in France, 419.

Preserved juices, 425.

Sandford Testimonial, 420.

Sulphur precipitated, 427.
Exogonium Purga, 345, 348,

415-. .

Exposition Universelle, 23.
Extracts, (perfumery), 154.

526

INDEX.

F.

Fa Fr

FAGARA MINOR, 230.
False Cinchonas, 191 ; Traga-

canth, 117, 175-
Fan-muh pec", 230.
Fasoy, 377.
FEBRIFUGE PROPERTIES OF

THE OLIVE, 91— 93-
Fei-kwo-shih, 219.
Ferrat, M., 92.
Ferruginous substances, 223.
Ferula Tingitana, 376.
Fe-shih, 233.
Fe-tsaou-tow, 238.
Feshook, 375.
Fey-tsy, 233.
Fi vulgb Kaja, 233.
Fichtenharz, 52.
Fichtenpech, 52.
Ficus elastica, 188; laccifera,

188.

Fiore da Cropani, 360.
Fir-wool oil, 353.
Flacourt, M., 114.
Flata limbata, 61,62 ; nigricornis,

61.
Fliickiger, Professor, 19, 38, 50,

355-

NEKROLOG, 501.
Fleurot M. Emile, 112, 114.
Flora Cochinchinensis, 105, 108,

215 ; de Filipinas, 230.
Florence, 33, 364.
Fluor Spar, 218.
Fluoride of Calcium, 218.
FORMUL/E IN BRIT. PHARM.

MEMORANDA ON 440.
Forsythia suspensa, 245.
Fortune, Mr. (Wax-plant.) 67, 72.
Fossil Crabs, 273 ; Shells, 274.
Fow-kan-shih, 221.
Francis, Mr. G. B., 387.
Frangipane, 196, 197.
FRANGIPANI, 194—197.
Frangipani (Family) 195; Gloves,

195, 196.

Fr Ga

Frankincense, 46.

Fraxinus chinensis, 271, 272 ;
Excelsior, 93 ; Ornus, 287, 362,
363, 365» 367 ; rotundifolia,

363, 367-

Frutex Tartareus, 123.
Fuh-ling vel Foo-ling, 202, 267,

268.

FULGORIDXE, 6l.
Fungi Mexican. 36.

G.

GAB ALA, 131.
Gabalite (Storax), 130.
yapaXtrris, 133.
Gagea Liottardi, 432.
Galanga Cardamom, 107, 252.
GALANG/E RADIX* 370 — 375;

minoris radix, 370.

Galangal, 370.

Arabic name, 373.

Early mention, 371, 372.

Historical Summary, 374.

Introduction of, 370.

Major and Minor, 373.

Root, 179.

Uses; 373.
Galangal Lesser, 10.
Galbanum, 177, 184.
Galgant, 373.
Galipot, 49.
Gallingall, 374.
Galonge, 481.
Gambir, 177.

Garderoba (Wardrobe), 479.
GAMBOGE, BOTANICAL ORIGIN

OF, 10, 17.
Gaou-fun, 240.

Garcia d'Orta (1563), 360, 373.
GARCINIA AFFORDING GAM

BOGE IN SIAM, 326—333.
Garcinia, 185; Cambogia, 327;
elliptica, 327—329, 332, 333 ;
Gutta, 329 ; Morella, 10,

INDEX.

527

Ga Gr

17, 327, 329. 332, 333;

culata, 330.
Gardafui cape, 174.
Gardenia florida, 242.

grandifolia, 242 ; radi-

cans, 241, 242.
Gardner, Dr. John, 84, 85.
Garingall, 373-
Garoo (Eagle Wood), 264.
Garrod, Dr., 411.
Gelbes Harz., 39 ; Pech, 49.
Gelidium corneum, 208.
Gelose, 207, 208.
Genipi, 438.
Gentiana acaulis, 431; lutea, 431;

punctata, 432 ; verna, 431.
Geranium, 151, 152.
Gereinigtes Fichtenharz, 51.
Geston, J. (A.D. 1699), 368.
Geum montanum, 431 ; rivale,

Ghurkee, 264.
Ghyunluk, 142.
Gibil-manna, 357, 362.
Ginger-grass oil, 177.
Gingibretum, 483 ; (or Gynge-

brad.)

Gingko bi'oba, 234.
Gingkoic Acid, 234.
Ginseng Root, 261.
Gleditschia Sinensis, 237.
Glovers of Paris, 196.
Gomez, W., 100.
Gomme pseudo-adragante, 1 1 7.
Gonoplax Latreillii, 274.
Gordon, Dr. C. A., 82.
Gracilaria crassa, 208 ; liche-

noides, 208.
Grains of Paradise, 94, 173,

184.

Granatensis Triana, 10. (var. /3.)
Grand Cardamome, 114.
Gallargues (Gard), 44.
Grande Chartreuse, 434 ; Boule

d'acier, 435 ; Elixir, 435.
Granum Paradisi, 481.

Gr Gy

Grass Oils, 177.

GRASSE, 25, 150—154.

Great Galangal, 108.

GREEN DYE FROM CHINA, 125 —

127.

Greenhill, Dr. 142.
Green Putchuk Pa-chih, 189,

254..

Gregoria vitaKana, 430.

Groszes rundes Chinesische Kar-

damom, 95.
Groves, Henry, 33.
Guarana, 87.
Guaranine, 87.
Guatamare, 287.
Guatemala, History of, 305.
GUIBOURT PROFESSOR, 18, 94.

Last illness, 472.

Morphia estimation, 473.

Occupations, 472.

Regrets for leisure, 474.

Writings, 473.
Guibourtia copallifera, 173.
Guidi, Sig. G., 366.
GUM,

Arabic, 186.

Assafcetida, 176, 184.

Bassora, 117, 175.

Benzoin, 178, 186.

Caissar, 116.

Caraman, 175.

Caramania, 116, 117.

Copal, 173.

Galbanum, 177, 184.

Hog, 175.

Kutera, 117, 175.

Moussul, 1 1 6.

Myrrh, 175, 185, 499.

Olibanum, 174, 185.

Opopanax, 177, 184.

Sagapenum, 176, 184.

Tragacanth, 116, 175, 184.

Yalavatz, 116.
Gurjun Balsam, 117.
Gutta Percha, 188.
Gypsum, Fibrous, 218.

528

INDEX.

H.

Ha He

HABEEB SOMAH, 28.
Hae-kin-sha, 238.
Haematite, red, 223.
Hairy China Cardamom, 97, 98,

99, 178, 251.

Haliotis funebris, 271, 273.
HALORAGE/E, 240.
HAMAMELIDE/E, 266.
HANBURY, D., gold medal, 39;

Katherine A., Translation of
Nekrolog, 501.

MEMOIR OF, 3—40-

Thomas, 95, 98.
Hance, Dr. H. F., 10, 19, 370.
Hancornia speciosa, 192.
Hang-kow, 109, 253.
Hanging milk-stone, 218.
Hankow, 13.
Han-shuy-shih, 218.
Hans Sloane, Sir, 310.
Han-xiu-xe, 218.
Harley, Dr. John, 410.
Hebradendron cambogioides,

328, 329 ; anther structure of,

330-

Heliotropion tricoccon, 45.
Hemidesmus root, 344.
Hemp, 187.
Henkel, Dr., 310, 311.
Hera-b61, 380.
Herb drying, 380.
Herba Lappae minoris, 233.
Herbal Chinese, Synopsis of,

214.
HERBARIA PHARMACEUTICAL,

336—339-

Herbarium, 16, 181 — 183.
Herbarium, East Indian, 100.
Herpes circinatus, 79.
Herrera, 307.

Herva de Nossa Senhora, 383.
Heii-po, 266.
Heuen-sang, 255.
Heuen-tsing-shih, 218.
Heung-hwang, 220.

He Hw

Hevea (Siphonia), 192; discolor,

192 ; lutea, 192 ; paucifolia,

192 ; rigidifolia, 192.
HISTORICAL NOTES ON MANNA,

355—362.
HISTORICAL NOTES ON RADIX

GALANG/E of Pharmacy, 370

—375-

Hieronimus Albertinus, 361.
Himalayan hemp, 187.
Hippotherium, 273.
Hiuen sen, 255.
Hium hoam, 220.
Hoa-tsiao, 228.
Hoelen, 204.

Hoffmann and Schultes, 216, 240.
Hog gum, 175.
Hooker, Dr., 19, 26, 94, 310.
Honigberger, 157, 162.
Hoo shi-it, 303.
Horaninow, Professor, 215.
Hortus, Mauritianus, 112;

(Bojer), 114.

Hospice, Col de Lautaret, 432.
Ho-tsze, 232.
Hovenia dulcis, 238.
Howard, J. E., 19 ; Quinology,

E. I, 421.
How-puh, 266.
Hugues, J. P., 44.
Huile blanche de Thym, 55 ;

rouge de Thym, 55.
Hung-pe, 220.
Hung-sha, 219.
Hung-shing-yo, 224.
Hung-sin, 221.
Hung-tow-kow, 107, 252.
Hunter, Robert, 103, 109.
Hutton, Capt., 62.
Hwa-luy shih, 218.
Hwa-shih, 219.
Hwa-tseaou, 228.
Hwae-kwa, 237.
Hwae-shih, 237.
Hwang-pih, 266.
Hwang-shing-yo, 228.

INDEX.

529

Hy IP

Hyoscyamus, Harley's experi-
ments, 410.

I.

IBN KHURDADBAH, 370.
Idris oil, 168 ; Yaghi, 167, 170.
Ignatia amara, 190.
Ilex Paraguariensis, 87.
ILICINEXE, 87.

Incense oil, 142; pascal, 150.
India, 26.

India-rubber, 186, 188, 192.
Indian bread, 202, 267 ; Pharma-
copoeia, 6.

INQUIRIES, PHARMACOLOGY AND
ECONOMIC BOTANY,i84 — 192,
Insect Manna, 288.
INSECT WHITE WAX OF CHINA,
60—71, 275.

Chemical properties, 69.

Maskelyne's experiments, 69.

M'Cartee, Dr. (insect- wax,
specimen), 71.

Medical use, 71.

Melting point, 69.

Trade use, 70.
Institution, London, 35.
Institute Agraria Castelnuovo,

367-
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION,

(1862).

Catalogues, 286.

Chemical and Pharma-
ceutical Products, 285.

Labels, 286.

Manner of Exhibition, 285.

Raw Drugs, 283.

Suggestions, 283.

MATERIA MEDICA OF, 286

— 292.

International Exhibitions, 23.
Inzenga, Professor, 367.
Ipecacuanha, 191, 340, 343, 414,

423-
IPOMOZA AFFORDING TAMPICO

JALAP, 349—352.

Ip Ji

Ipomoea purga, 10,349; simulans,
I0> 35 r> 352; Habitat, 352;
Radix, 352.

Irini spissamentum, 130.

Iron, green sulphate, 224; Hy-
drous peroxide, 223 ; Mag-
netic oxide of, 223; ore,
brown, 223 ; magnetic, 223 ;
peroxide of, 223 ; pyrites, 224.

Isatis tinctoria, 125.

Isbarta, 175.

Isgengak, 139, 142.

Ishpingo, 190.

Iskenderun, Gulf of, 132.

Isonandra, 188.

Italian Coast Guard, 37.

J-

JALAP, CULTIVATION OF 344~

349,. 4I5-
Analysis, 411.
Drying improved method,

349-

„ Experiments, 348.

„ Ootacamund, 348.
„ Tampico, 349.
Jalapa, 345.
Jamaica Sarsapanlla, 179.

Spring Analysis, 409.
Japan Bees-wax, 60.
JAPANESE ISINGLASS, 206— 208.
Japanese pepper, 228.
Japanische Hausenblase Soge-

nannte, 206.

Jardindes Plantes, 26, 434.
Jasminum grandiflorum, 151, 152;

officinale, 152.
Jateorhiza Columba, 186; Mier-

sii, 1 86.
Jayaque, 302.
Jeddah, 168, 169.
Jekel, M., 159.
Jerusalem, 31.
Jicalapa, 302.

M M

530

INDEX.

Ji Ki

Jin-sSng, 261.
Jiron (Pamplona), 334.
John, King of France, 372.
JOTTINGS IN FRANCE, 433-
Juglans Camirium, 231.
Juices, preserved, 410.
Juisnagua, 9, 301 ; collection of

Balsam of Peru, 309.
Julien, Professor Stanislas, 213.

K.

KJEMPFER (Amoenitates), 216.
Kamala (or Kdmald), 76, 77,

79, 186; analysis of, 79;

anthelmintic properties, 80 ;

chemistry of, 77 ; new sort,

412 ; tincture of 83; uses of,

79-

Kan Ian, 243.
Kangra-hemp, 187.
Kansuh, 13.
Kaolin, 219, 220.
Kaou-leang-keang-tsze, 107, 108,

252.

Kapila, 76.
Kapilapodi, 76.
Kara ghyunluk yaghy, 142 ; yap-

raghi, 144; yaprak, 144.
Kat, 185.
KtiTa/3aX<r»7<?, 132.
Katr may'a, 143.
Ke£n% 217.
Keferstein, 216.
Keith, 377.

Ker, Niven, Esq., 137.
Kesor, 76.
Kesora, 76.
KeuS-ming-tsze, 231.
Keuh-pih, 239.
Kin-mung-shih, 219.
Kin-tsing-shih, 219.
King-fun (Calomel), 224, 225.
King- Wood, 191.
Kino, 340.

Ki La

Kirrind (Persia), 151, 162.

Ko-lih-le, 232.

Kobp, 173.

Konig's-Salep, 155.

Korarima Cardamom, 174, 185.

Kotian, 188.

Kotschy, Dr., 148.

Kousso, 186.

Kpokpoka tree, 185.

Krameria grandiflora, 335 ; Ixina,

L. 10; Spartioides, 335; var.

$. granatensis, 335, 336.
Krinos, Professor, 146, 149.
Kutera, Gum, 117, 175.
Kwang-fun, 218.
Kwang-koo, 262,
Kwang-tung, 178.
Kwei kwo shih, 219.
Kyabocca wood, 188.

LA-CHUNG (wax seed), 60.
La-tcha (wax sediment), 60.
La-tsze (wax son), 60.
Lablab, 314.
Laboratory, Pharmaceutical, 5,

454-

Lac Sulphuris, 428.
Ladenbergia, 191.
Lagam oil, 119.

Ac'lKCHpOoV, 144.

Laminaria saccharina, 208.
Landerer, Dr., 8, 135.
Languas vulgare (Koenig), 107.
Lapis ^Elites, 223.
Larch Agaric, 184 ; Manna, 437.
Larger Galangal Root, 253.
Larinus maculatus, 158, 160,

161; mellificus, 161, 163;

Onopordinis, 160, 164.
Larix sibirica, 184.
Laurel Camphor, 395.
Laurencia papillosa, 208.
LAURINE/E, 178, 187.

INDEX.

531

La Li

Laurus Cubeba, 246, 247.

Le she- chin, 212.

Lead adulterant of Tragacanth,
117 ; carbonate of, 223 ; com-
pounds, 221 ; oxide of, 222 ;
red oxide of, 222.

Leared, Dr. Arthur, 80, 377.

Lebanon, 29, 30.

Lecythis, 270.

Leen-keaou, 245.

LEGUMINOS/E, 231.

Lemon-grass oil, 177.

Leprosy remedy for, 245.

Lerp Manna, 288, 289.

Leu- sung- kwo, 230.

Levistici Rad, 260.

Lew-kwang, 216.

Liang-kiang, 373.

Liber Meteororum, 358.

Library at Clapham, 36.

Libro di Gabelli, 357.

Liebreich, Dr. Oscar, 352.

Lien-tsze, 240

Lign aloes, 263 — 265.

Lignaloe, 180.

Lignum Nephriticum, 180, 190.

Ligustrum glabrum, 68.

Lime Carbonate of, 218; Sulphate
of, 218.

Limonite, 223.

Linder Baron, 50.

Ling, 240.

Linnaeus, canons of, 402.

Linnean Society, 16.

Lin-tsze-shih, 223.

Liquid Benzoin, 270 ; Storax,

145-
Liquidambar, 6; altingiana, 138,

143; imberbe, 139; orientale,
8, 10, 127, 138, 139, 140,
145; resin, 342; styraciflua,
127, 137.

Litharge, 222.

Litmus, 43, 46.

Litmus with Indigo, 45 ; without
Indigo, 45-

LI Ma

Lloydia serotina, 432.

Lockhart, Wm., 63, 105, 107,
125.

Loftus, W. K., 117, 159, 162.

LOGANIACE/E, 230.

Longouze, 112, 113.

Loo-kan-shih, 221.

Loureiro, 97, 98, 105, 108 ; Flora
Cochinchina, 215.

Lovengoopoo, 178.

Luban Mattee, 174.

Luh-chae, 125, 126" (Green-
shrub).

Luh-kaou (green-dye), 125, 127.

Luh-fan, 224

Lui uon, 205, 269.

Lukkrabow seeds, 235.

Lum-co, 273.

Lung^che, 273.

Lung-kwuh, 273.

Luti-am, 188.

Luy-wan, 199, 200, 205, 269.

Lycoperdon cervinum, 202.

„ solidum, 202, 267.

M.

MA-TOW-LING, 239.
Ma-ya-seaou, 217.
McCraith, Dr. James, 138, 141.
Mackenzie, Dr. Morel, 353, 354.
Mackinnon, Dr. C., 80, 81.
Macrophthalmus, Desmarestii,

274; Latreillii, 274; serratus,

274.
MADAGASCAR CARDAMOM OR

LONGOUZE, 113—115.
Madder cultivation, 422.
Maffei Raffaele, 359.
Magellan, Straits of, 310.
Magnesia, Silicate of, 219.
Magnetic iron ore, 223 ; Oxide

of Iron, 223.
Magnolia hypoleuca, 266.
Malabar Cardamoms, 251.
M M 2

532

INDEX.

Mai Ma

MALAMBO BARK, 180, 192, 194.
Malle Scrub, 288.
Maltass, S. H., 9, 25, 88, 90, 91,

137, 139, 141-
Mammee African, 184.
Mann, Gustav, no.
MANNA, 187, 287 : Alhagi, 289 ;
Ancient, manna, 355 ; Ancient
writers, on, 360 ; Australian
288 • (Brian£on), 437.
MANNA, CALABRIAN, II, 362;
Collection in Calabria Citra,
365 ; Commercial variety ex-
tinct, 367; in cannole, 364; di
corpo, 360 ; Cultivated in
Sicily, 368 ; Diarbekir, 287 ;
Eucalyptus, 288 ; di foglia,
360 ; in frasca, 364 ; di fronda,
360.

HISTORICAL NOTES ON, 355—
362 ; increased Production,
362 ; inquiries respecting, 363 ;
insect, 288; lerp, 288, 289;
meteoric, 356 ; mountain, 357 ;
notching, 360 ; of the oak,
287 ; oriental fancies, 356 ;
in pasta, 366 ; personal ob-
servations, 364; plantations
near Palermo, 367 ; scelta,
369; in situ, 438 ; spontaneous
exudation, 360; teeghul, 162;
traveller's evidence, 363.

Mangaba, 192.

MANUFACTURE OF BALSAM,
OF PERU,. Additional note,
306.

Manufactured product of Sea-
weed.

JAPANESE ISINGLASS, 206—
208.

MANUFACTURES OF GRASSE
AND CANNES, 150—154.

Maple, the, 147.

Maracaybo-wood, 191.

Marathus, 131.

Marble, white (levigated), 218.

Ma Mi

Marco Polo, 20, 36, 226, 371.
Marino Spinelli, 361.
Markham, Clements, R.,397, 475;

Countess of Chinchon, 35.
Marmorizza, 139, 142.
Martius, Dr. T. W. C., 7, 25.
Massaranduba, 192.
Massoy, 178, 187.
Mastodon, 273.
Materia Medica, Chinese, 7.

NOTES ON (CHINESE), 209—

275-.
Turkish, 6.

Matico, derivation of name, 444.

Matricaria, 337.

Matthioli (1548), 360.

Matthiolus, 162.

Maurelle (la), 43.

Mauro-capno, 144.

Mayer, Mr. Lorenz, 242.

Mediaeval Spices, 35, 478.

MEDICINAL PLANTS, CULTIVA-
TION OF, 339—344.

Medicine cups, 221.

Meih-to-sang, 222.

Melanthium Cochinchinense,257.

Melezitose, 437.

Melia, 244 ; Azedarach, 244.

Melissa (newspaper), 147.

Melliguetta Pepper, 94 ; Mello,
(De)J. Correa, 383, 387.

Me miien turn, 256.

MENISPERMACE/E, 57.

Menispermum fenestratum, 58,

59-

Mentone, 8.

Mercurial compounds, 224.
Mercury, 224 ; Nitrate, 228 ;

Nitric oxide of, 224; Red

Sulphuret, 225.
Messina, 366.
Mexican Elemi, 190 ; Fungi, 36 ;

Lignaloe Ess. Oil, 353.
Mica Brown, 219; Silvery -white,

219.
Middle Kingdom (the), 213.

INDEX.

533

Mi My

Mignonette, 151.
.vtih-mun-tung, 256, 257.
Miha vel Meha, 143.
Milk tree, 192 ; of Sulphur, 428.
Mimosa fera, 237.
Mineralogia Polyglotta, 216.
Mishmi Bitter, 187 ; Tita, 187.
Mistura Ferri composita, 440.
M6-hiam, 258.
M6-pee-cu, 230.
Mocharas, 188.
Molkenboer, Dr., 124.
Monardes, 305.
Mondo, 256.
Monte Genarro, 130.
Moonstone, 217.
Moordeen, Sheriff, 19, 373.
Moore Dr. William, 79.
Moresby and Carless, 134.
Morland, J. Junr., 219, 223.
Morrelli, Sig. G., 367.
Morson, T. N. R. (letter to),

456-

Mortola, 8, 37.
Moryoseph, Mr., 377.
Mossing (Cinchona), 414.
Moughla (town), 139.
Moulmein, 117, 119.
Moussul gum, 116
Mow-tsze-koo, 261.
Mu-sian. 258.

Mucilago Tragacanthae, 441.
Mucura, 314.
Muh-heang, 257.
Muh-pee tsze, 230.
Muh-shm-tsze, 267.
Miiller, J. G., 51.
Milliner, M. Theodor, 52.
Mur, 380.
Muricia Cochinchinensis, 230,

231.

Mustaiba-wood, 191.
Mutis, letters to Linnaeus, 400.
Mylitta australis, 199; lapides-

cens, 199, 200, 205, 269.
Myrepsus, 371.

My Ni

Myrobalans, Chebulic, 232.

Myrospermum Erythroxylum, 24;
frutescens, 287 ; Pereirae, 181,
296 ; pods, 287 ; of Son-
sonate, 296 ; toluifera, 24.

Myroxylon Pereirse, 296, 306 ;
pubescens, 2 96; Toluifera, 181.

Myrrh, 175 ; Berg's account, 379.
BOTANICAL ORIGIN AND
COUNTRY, 378— 382; Crutten-
den's account, 380 ; Ehren-
berg's account, 379; Harris
(Sir W. C.) 381; supposed
Sources, 381.

N.

NABLOUS, (Sychar), 31.
Nacahuita, 282.
Nan-sing, 263.
Nanahuaquahuitl, 279.
Naou-sha, 217, 218, 276.
Naou-yang-hwa, 258, 266.
Narcissus poeticus, 430.
Narkislik, 148.
Narthex Assafoetida, 176.
Nascaphthum, vel Narcaphthum,

127, 144, 145.
Nastoika, 374.
Natal Wax Insect, 72.
Naushadar, 218.
Nazareth, 31.

Nelumbium speciosum, 240.
Neophiti, 148.
Nephelium, 235, 290.
Neroli, 151.

JVeues Repert f. Pharm., 6, 499.
NEW SPECIES OF AMOMUM,

WEST AFRICA, no — 112.
Ngai Camphor, 189, 393— 395 ;

chemistry of, 395.
Nicaragua-wood, 191.
Nigritella, 43 1.
Niphobolus Lingua, 266.
Nitrate of Mercury, 228.

534

INDEX.

Ni No

Niu-tching (Rhus succedanea)

67.

NOMENCLATURE OF THE
PHARMACOPOEIA, 441 —
444.

Condensed titles, 443.
Expanded titles, 443.
Names, scientific, 442.
Redwood, Professor, 441.
Nomenclature preferable, 443.
Nong-tching-tsiouen-chou, 61 ;
(Chinese Treatise on Agri-
culture).
Norwich, 23.
NORWICH— OPENING ADDRESS,

405 — 416.

Acclimatisation, 416.
Alkaloids, detection of,

407.

Alkaloids sublimation, 408.
American Pharmaceutical

Association, 406.
Calumba root, 415.
Cinchona, cultivation, 412;

mossing, 414.
Crystals, microscopic, 409.
Drugs, therapeutic action,

410.
Garrod, Dr., experiments,

411.

Harley, Dr. John, 410.
Ipecacuanha, 414.
Jalap, 415.
Jalap analysis, 411.
Jamaica spring analysis,

409.

Juices, preserved, 410.
Kamala, 412.
Micro-sublimation, 408.
Newcastle-on-Tyne, 405.
Object of the Conference,

4°5-

Rhubarb, 411.
Water analysis, 409.
Water, Essay on, 410.
Norway Spruce Fir, 7.

No O6

NOTES ON PRESCRIBING, 444—

452-

Colour changes, 447, 448-

Decompositions, 447.

Ill-contrived formulae, 448.

Paris, Dr., 444.

Prescribing faults, 446.

Unchemical formulae, 445.

Undesirable prescribing, 445.
Nougat, 483.
Novus Orbis, 309.
Nueva Quinologia, 401.

O.

OAXACA, 179.

OBITUARY NOTICE (FLUCKIGER),
501.

Ochrocarpus africanus, 184.

OIL of Geranium (commercial),
169; of Geranium (true), 170 ;
of Ginger-Grass, 169, 177 ; of
Lemon-grass, 177 ; OF ORI-
GANUM (TRUE), 56 ; OF
THYME, 54; consumption of,

55-

Oil essent, Abies pectinata,
(cones), 353; Canella alba,
353 ; Chian Turpentine, 353 ;
Clove Bark, 353 ; Culitlawang,
353 ; Mexican Lignaloe, 353 ;
Origanum vulgare, 353 ; Pinus
sylvestris, 353 ; Ptychotis
Ajowan, 353 ; Pumilio, 353.

Okes, 142.

Olea Europcea, 91 ; Febrifuge
properties of, 91 ; Leaves, 91.

Oleum Origani, 54, 55.

Olibanum, 142, 174.

Olive, Chinese, 243 ; oil, 427.

Oliver, Professor, 9, 19, no.

Olivine, 93.

Onisci, 64.

O6 sheet, 303.

INDEX.

535

Op Ot

OPENING ADDRESS — EXETER,

417—428.
OPENING ADDRESS— NORWICH,

405 — 416.

Ophispermum Sinense, 266.
Ophiopogon Japonicus, 256,257.
Opopanax, 177, 184, 332; chir-

onium, 177.
Orchis conopsea, 431; globosa,

431 ; hircina, 429 ; nigra, 431.
ORDEAL BEAN OF CALABAR,

3I5—3I5-

APPLICATION IN OPHTHAL-
MIC MEDICINE, 316—318.
ORIGANUM, TRUE OIL OF, 56.
Authentic specimen, 56.
Distinctive characters, 56.
Specific gravity, 57 ; vul-

gare, Es.s. Oil, 353.
Ornelli, 365.
Ofobus luteus, 430.
Orontes, the, 148.
Orphanides, Professor, 129.
Orpiment, 220.

Orpiment, (Auripigmentum), 482.
Orris Root, 33.
OSORIO DE LADY ANA, 397,

475—478.

Bark, introduction of, 477.
Chinchon, Counts of, 476.
Chinchona genus, 478.
Osorio de (Lady Ana), Her
story, 476; Pulvis Comitissse,

477-

OTTO OF ROSE, n, 164—173.
Adulteration of 167.
Chemical characters, 170.
Collection of, 166.
Elaeoptene, 171.
Examination of Twelve

samples, 172.
Fusing point, 165, 172.
Imports, 167.
Production, 165.
Stearoptene, 171.
Test for (Turkish), 173.
Turkish, 166.

Ou Pa

Ouchag, 375.

Oudemans, Dr. 121.

Ovoid China Cardamom, 105,

178, 250.
Oxytropis campestris, 430 ; mon-

tana, 430.

P.

PA-CHIH, 253.
Pa-mou-yong, 266.
Pa-teii, 230.
Pa-tow, 230.
PACHYMA, 199.

Cocps, 199, 201, 203, 267.
Coniferarum, 202.
Pinetorum, 201.
solidum, 20 1.
Pachymose, 267.
Padang, 84.
Padday, R., (Singapore), 102,

109.

Pajuil, 300.
Pakoe Kidang, 120.
Pallagum, 199, 205.
Pallas, Dr. E., 92.
Panax Ginseng, 261.
Panax quinquefolium, 261.
Pangieae, 244.
Pang-sha, 217.
Paper Mulberry Tree, 231.
PAPERS, CHRONOLOGICAL LIST

OF, 489—492.
Papho, 148.
Para Rhatany, 191.
Paradisia Liliastrum, 430.
Paraguay tea, 87.
PAREIRA BRAVA, II, 191, 382—

393-

blanc, 392.
jaune, 392.
rouge, 392.
Butinha, 386.
introduction into Europe,

383.

536

INDEX.

Pa Pe

PAREIRA BRAVA (continued.)
legitima, 386.
miuda, 386.
pequena, 387.
Piso's account, 383.

Paris candles, 485.

Parlatore, Professor, 34.

Parra, 388.

Parthenogenesis (Z. alatum),
318.

Patent Coffee Leaves, 85 ; ad-
vantages, 85 ; culture, 86 ; in-
fusion, 87 ; native use, 86 ;
personal testimony, 85 ; price,
87 ; roasting, 86.

Pascal Incense, 150.

Passalus interstitialis, 297.

Pau p'uh tsi p'ian, 226.

Paullinia sorbilis, 87.

Paulus, ^Egineta, 144, i ;6.

Paxo (island), 27.

Pe-cie-li, 230.

Pe"-fb-lim, 202, 267.

Pe-foo-ling, 200.

Pe-la or Pela (white wax), 60.

Peckolt, Theodor, 386.

PECULIAR CAMPHOR FROM
CHINA, 393—395-

Pedicularis incarnata, 430.

Pegolotti, (A.D. 1340), 357.

Peih-ching-kea, 246.

Pelargonium Radula, 151, 170.

Pena and De Lobel, 44.

PENGHAWAR DJAMBI, 10, 120
—125.

Pentateuch Samaritan, 31.

Pepita de Catbalogan, 190.

Peroxide of Iron, 223.

Pereira, Jonathan, 17, 45, 59,94,

5<H-

Perrins, J. D. (analysis), 222.
Peruvian Balsam, 9, 180, 293,

306; Bark, 180.
Petite Casse, d'Ame'rique, 319,

324-
Pettiver, James, 8, 133, 143, 384.

Pe Pi

Peziza tuberosa, 200.
PHARMACOGRAPHIA, 5, 38> 39

499-

REVIEW OF, (H. B. BRADY)

493—498.
PHARMACOPOEIA, BRITISH, 44° ;

INDIAN, 6, 17, 38.
London, 465.
Neerlandica, 121.
Persica, 158, 161.
Universal, 14.
PHRAMACEUTICAL HERBARIA,

336—339'
Exotic plants, 337.
Formation of, 337.
Mounting specimens, 338.
Paper for mounting, 338.
Pharmacist's, 339.
Public, 338.
Phaseolus, 314.
Philosopher's stone, 225, 226.
Philosophia Botanica, 402.
Physostigma venenosum, 312—
315 ; alcoholic extract, 315 ;
Genus, 314; glycerine solu-
tion, 315; poisonous effects,
315; seeds, 314.
Phyteuma orbiculare, 431.
PHYTOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 429.

club, 5.

Picea excelsa, 49.
Pih-fan, 220.
Pih-kwo, 234.
Pih-la (white wax), Co.
Pih-sin, 220.
Pih-tseih-le, 230.
Pignolat vel Pyonad, 483.
Pimela alba, 243 ; nigra, 243.
Pinellia tuberifera, 262.
Ping-peen, 271.

Pinguicula, 429 ; alpina, 431.
Pinus abies, L., 48; excelsa,
Lam., 48 ; maritima, 49, 50 ;
Pinaster, 49 ; Pumilio, 353 ;
ess. oil, 353; sylvestris, 51,
353 ; ess. oil., 353-

INDEX.

53?

Pi Pr

Piper caudatum, 247.

PIPERACE/E, 57-

Pisidian (Storax), 130.

Piso (Dutch traveller), 383.

Pix abietina, 46 ; Burgundica,

48 ; citrina, 49 ; flava, 49.
Plants dried, 425 ; alteration of,

425 ; fresh, 426.
Planchon, Dr., 19, 129.
Pliny, 131, 147.
Plossleafloribunda, 174.
Plumiera alba, 197; rubra, 197.
Po-seaou, 217.
Po-towkow, 109.
Podocarpus nucifer, 233.
Pods of Myrospermum, 287.
Poh-shih-ying, 217.
Poix blanche, 49 ; de Bourgogne,

49, So-

Polianthes tuberosa, 151.
Polygonum tinctorium, 125 ;

viviparum, 431.
Polypodium Barometz, 121.
Polyporus officinalis, 184.
Pomet (Histoire des Drogues),

385-

Pontano, G. G., 358.
Poo kwuh-che, 237.
POPE PIUS V, BULL OF, 294,

295* 304-

Porphyra vulgaris, 208.
Portunus (Lupa) leucodon, 274.
Potash, Nitrate of, 217.
Poung-ta-rai, 235.
Powell, Baden H., 218.
PRESCRIBING, NOTES ON, 444~

452.
PRICEOF MEDICINES, 453—455-

Cooperative prices, 453.

Fair charges, 455.

Inconsistent prices, 454.

Laboratory expenses, 454.

Salaries, 454.

True standard, 453.
Primula farinosa, 431 ; latifolia,
432; viscosa, 432.

Pr Ra

Productus, 275.

Prosopis g., 248.

Provence, 147.

Prunus Brigantiaca, 436.

^evSopoff-xpXifia vov, 1 49.

Psoralea corylifolia, 237.

Pterocarpus flavus, 266.

Ptychotis Ajowan, ess. oil, 353.

Pulvis Comitissae, 477.

Pun-tsaou-kang-muh, 64, 66, 104;
(Chinese Herbal), 212; Synop-
sis of, 2 14 (vide passim).

Punnag, 76.

Punnaga, 76.

Purga macho, 350 ; de Sierra
Gorda, 350.

Putchuk, 258.

Puttu-manga, 198; White-ant
Mango, 198; Fruit, 198.

Pyon vel pyoine, 483.

Pyrethrum, 7 ; alpinum, 432.

Pyretologia, (Morton), 401.

Q.

QUA-LEU, IO7, 178.

Quartz, 217.

Quassia Africana, 185 ; Amara,

185.

Quercus infectoria, 267.
Quibibus (Cubebs), 482.
Quince, the, 148.
Quinologia (Ruiz), 401.
Quinology, E. J. Howard, 421.
Quinquina rose d'Ocana, 191.
Quisqualis indica, 232.

R.

RADIX BEHEN, 290; GALANG/E,
10, 109 ; minoris, 370 ; gram-
inis, 262; Levistici, 260.

Rajah-canes, 188.

Ranunculus aconitifolius, 431;
aduncus, 431; pyrenaeus, 431.

-

538

INDEX.

Ra

Ro

RARE ESSENTIAL OILS, 353» 354-
KINDS OF CARDAMOM (SOME),

93-

Rasamala, 138, 143.
Realgar, 220.
Red Bark, 341 ; haematite, 223 ;

lead, 222; precipitate, 224;

storax, 144.

Redhouse, J. W., 142, 167.
Regel, Dr. E., 256.
Riedesel Baron, 363.
Remedia Guineensia, 291.
Reseda odorata, 151.
Resin Liquidambar, 342.

OF NORWAY SPRUCE FIR, 46

-48.
Resina alba, 48 ; citrina, 49 ;

flava, 49 ; praeparata, 46.
Resine purifiee, 51.
Retzius Observationes Botanicae,

107.

Rhamnus Frangula, 337.
Rhatany Para, 191 ; root, 179.
Rhinosceros tichorhinus, 273.
Rhodes, 8, 9, 28.
Rhodium wood, 342 ; oil, 342.
Rhododendron ferrugineum, 432.
Rhubarb, 13, 177, 189, 411.
Rhus semi-alata, 266.
Rhynchonella, Hanburii, 275.
Ro9a-malha, 143.
Rocca Giovane, 130.
Rogers, Professor Thorold, 372.
Roh-Harz, 51.

Romance of Godefroi de Bouil-
lon, 371.
Rondot, M., 246.
Root Aconite, 187.

Calumba, 186, 344; Con-

trayerva, 286 ; Galangal, 179 ;

Hemidesmus, 344; Rhatany,
179.

Rosa Mallas, 133.
Rose Malloes, 143, 144.
Rosenol, 164.
Rose water, 151, 166.

Ro Sa

Rose- wood, 191.
Roshe vtl Rose oil, 169, 170
Rosia oil, 169.

Rossana (Calabria Citra), 365.
Rottler, Rev. Dr., 75.
ROTTLERA TINCTORIA, (ROXB.,)

6, 75-83.
Rottlerine, 77, 78.
Round or Cluster Cardamom,

109, 253.

Roxburgh, Dr., 74, 115, 118.
ROYAL SALEP, 155— 157> I76
RUBIACEXE, 87.

OF,

SACCAR EL ASCHAR, 162.
Sacrifice, Place of, 32.
SAFFRON, ADULTERATION
368.

Alicante, 369.

Carbonate of Lime, an ad-
ulterant, 369.

Earthy adulteration, 369.

Examination of, 369.

Microscopical Examination,

Saffron (mediaeval use), 482.

Test for, 368.

Valencia, 369.
Sagapenum, 176, 184, 342.
St. Hildegard, 372.
St. Ignatius's Beans, 190, 230.
Saladinus, 358, 372.
Salai zWSaleh, 174.
SAL AMMONIAC, CHINESE, 2l8,

276.

Salep, 176, 184. 187.
Salisburia adiantifolia, 234.
Salmalia Malabarica, 188.
Saluste Guillaume, 123, 124.
Samaritan, Pentateuch, 31.
Sanderson, Mr. R., 366.
Sang-pwan hea, 262.
Sanhon, 99.

INDEX.

539

Sa Se

S. Polo, 130.
SAPINDACE/E, 87, 235.
Sarsaparilla, 179, 190.
Satin wood, 190.
Satureja montana, 439.
SAVANILLA RHATANY, BOTAN-
ICAL ORIGIN, 333— 336.
retusa, 432.
Rhatanhia, 10.
Saxifragra biflora, 432.
SCAMMONY, 25, 88 — 91, 341.
Angora, pure, 89.

„ adulterated, 90.
Black, pure, 89.
Characters of, 90.
Imitation, 90.
Opaque black, 90.
Resin of, pure, 90.
„ less pure, 90.

„ ^ Angora, 90.
Smyrna, in shells, 88.

pure, 88.

„ adulterated, 89.
Scaphium scaphigerum, 235, 290;

seeds, 289.

Scaramanga, D. P., 146.
Scented Chinese Inks, 395.
Schakar el ma-ascher, 162.
Schakar tigal, 158, 162.
Schiede, Dr., 345.
Schlechtendal, Dr., 345.
Schnell, Edward, 167.
Schomburgk, Sir R. H., 235.
Schwarze Kardamomen, 104.
Scitamineous fruits, 6.
Sclerotium, 268 ; Cocos, 202 ;

roseum, 201 ; Stipitatum, 17.
SCLEROTIUM STIPITATUM ET
PACHYMA COCOS, 199, 200 —

206.

Scylla serrata, 274.
Seaou, 217.
Seaou-kow, 109, 253.
Seaou-hwan-chai, 262.
Seaweed jelly, 208.
Secrets of Alexsis, 197.

Se So

Selenite, 218.

Senna leaves, 319; Tinnevelly,
343, 344; Sereipa, 287.

Sha-jin-ko, 102, 250.

Shan-che, 241.

Shanghai, 12.

Shao-shing prefecture, 254.

Shay-chwang-tsze, 233.

Shay-han-shih, 224.

She-keun-tsze, 232.

Shek roukeh, 162.

Shells, Fossil, 274.

Shih heae, 273.

Shih-kaou, 218.

Shih-leih, 231.

Shih-keue-ming, 271.

Shih-naou, 277.

Shm-wei, 266.

Shih-yen, 274.

Shing-ma, 261.

Shukure teeghal, 162.

Shuy-gan-seih-heang, 270.

Shuy-yin, 224.

Sicily; 25.

Sideroxylon, 188.

Sien mao, 261.

Sighala oil, 142.

Silica, 217.

Silicate of Magnesia, 219.

Silver Almond, 234.

Sin-shih, 220.

Sinan-szen, 255.

Sinkoo, 263.

Sintoc, 178, 187.

Sisymbrium Austriacum, 430.

Sloane, Sir Hans, 384; manu-
scripts, 386.

Small Tragacanth, 117.

Smilax, 179.

Smith, Mr. John, 10, 121.

Smyrna, 25, 28, 142.

So Xa mi, 98,

Soapstone, 219.

Soda Biborate, 217; Carbonate
of, 217 ; Sulphate of, 217.

Sodium, Chloride of, 217.

540

INDEX.

So Sp

Soldanella alpina, 431.
Sonnerat (Voyages), 1 1 2.
Sonsonate, 9.
Sophora Japonica, 237.
Sorindeia, 185.
Spagiria, 12.
SPECIES OF IPOMCEA AFFORDING

TAMPICO JALAP, 349 — 352.
Specimens-Guanajuato, 350.
Specimen Medicinae Sinicae, 213,

2I5-

SPICES, GROCERIES AND WAX
OFA MEDIAEVAL HOUSEHOLD,

478—485.
Ammigdalae (Almonds.),

481.

Anisum, 482.

Bible Guiot de Provins, 485.
Boke of Curtasye, 485.
Button Bishop, 479.
Canele (Cassia Bark), 481.
Cera operata, 480.
Cere (Wax), 480.
Chandeliers, Guild of, 485.
Ciriers, Guild of, 485.
Citoual, Cytoal or Cetewale,

485-
Cotun file (cotton thread),

482.

Crocus (Saffron), 482.
Cyminum, 483.
Droits de Rivage, 484.
Feniculum, 482.
Galonge (Galangal), 481.
Garderoba (or Wardrobe),

479-
Garderoba contents of, 479,

480.

Gariofili (Caraophylli), 482.
Garlande (de) John, 480.
Granum Paradisi, 481.
Gyngebrad (Gingibretum or

Zinzibratum), 483.
Lichini, 485.
Liquiricia, 482.
Macis (Mace), 482.

Sp St

SPICES, &c. (continued)

Nigrum Piper (Black

Pepper), 481.
Nougat, 483.
Nux muscata (Nutmegs),

484.
Orpiment (Auripigmentum),

482.

Paris Candles, 485.
Philippe-le-Bel, 484.
Pyon vel pyoine, 483.
Pyonad or Pignolat, 483.
Quibibus (Cubebs), 482".
Ris (Rice), 481.
Statera (de Ferro), 485.
Sucare (Sugar), 481.
Zedewand (Zedoary), 484.
Zinsiber (Ginger), 481.
Spirifer, 275.
Spirorbis, 275.
Spoon er, R., 169.
Sprengel, Curt, 130.
Spruce Fir, 49.
Star Anise, 189.
Statice coriaria, 292 ; latifolia,

292 ; Limonium, 290.
Steatite, 219.
Sterculia platanifolia, 246; sca-

phigera, 290.
Stillingia sebifera (Tallow Tree),

64.

Stocks Dr. J. E., 155.
Stony Assafcetida, 176.
STORAX, 6, 8, 129—145, 175,
184.

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS
ON, 145—150.
STORAX BARK, 127, 128, 141,

144.
(TTOVpdfCl,, 149.

Strasburg Turpentine, 354.
Strychnos Ignatia, 230.

"

29, 144.
Srvpaj; vypa, 142.
Styrax Benzoin. 149, 186; cala-
mita, 127, 132, 149 ; en Jarmes,

INDEX.

541

St Ta

130, officinale, 8, 127, 129,

i32> r45— 15°» J75-
Styrax rubra, 127 ; tree, 128.
STYRACEAE, 129.
Styrakia, 136.

Suffimen vel Thymiama, 378.
Sugar of nests, 162.
Suh-sha-meih, 98.
Sulphur, 216; precipitated, 427.
Sum-hiam, 270.
Sumatran, an old, 84.

COFFEE LEAVES, 84.
Sumbul, 176.
Sung-heang, 270.
Symi (island), 149.
Syra, 27, 135, 142.
Syringa vulgaris, 93.
Swine Indian, habits of, 83,
Sze-tchuen (province), 67.
Szen-ma, 261.

T.

TABAN vel Tuban, 188.
Tacamahaca, 342.
Tae-choo-shih, 223.
Ta-fung-tsze, 244.
Ta-hai-tsze, 235, 290.
Taj ura, 381.
Talnique, 301.
Tamanique, 301.
TAM PICO JALAP, IO, 349.

Botanical origin, 350.

Diagnosis, 351.

Identification, 351.

Specimens from Guanajuato,

35°-

Successful raising, 351.
Tan-fan, 224.
Tang-kwei, 260.
Tanghin of Madagascar, 186.
Tanghinia venenifera, 186.
Tan-sha, 225, 227.
Tanyin, 188.
Taranto, Gulf of, 365.

Ta Ts

Tatarinov, Dr., 215.
Tavoy (Gulf of Martaban), 100.
TAXINE/E, 233.
Taxus nucifera, 233.
Tcha-la (appliquer cire), 68.
Tchi-tse, 241.
Tecomates, 299.
Teen mun-tung, 257.
Temondo, 257.
Tepecoyo vel Coyo, 301.
Terebinthina Argentoratensis,

435;

Termmalia Chebula, 232.

Terra Japonica, 177.

Teotepeque, 302.

Thalictrum rubellum, 261.

Theine, 87.

Qvpiapa, 144.

Thuret, M. Gustave, 349.

Thus, Judaeorum, 127, 144;
common, 46.

Thymiama z/<?/ suffimen, 378.

Thymus vulgaris, 54, 56.

Tian-myn-dun, 257.

Tierra fria, 345.

Tinctura Kamalae, 83.

Tinnevelly Senna, 343, 344.

Tolu Balsam, 181.

Too-sze-tsze, 240.

Torreya nucifera, 233, 234.

Tournesol, 5 ; drapeaux, 43 ; en
pains, 43.

TRAGACANTH AND ITS AD-
ULTERATIONS, 116, 117;
Gum, 175, 184.

Trapa bicornis 240, 241.

Travancore, Vegetable Produc-
tions from, 198.

TREHALA, 158, 159, 160, 163.

Trdhalose, 163.

Tribulus terrestris. 230.

Tributary Balsam Jar, 300.

Trifolium alpinum, 430.

Triticurn repens, 262.

Trollius Europaeus, 430.

Tsang-shuh, 255.

542

INDEX.

Ts Ul

Tsang-urh-tsze, 233.
Tsaou-keS, 237.
Tsaou-keuS-ming, 231.
Tsaou-kow, 95, 178, 248.
Tsaou-kwo, 104, 178, 250.
Tsaou-woo, 258.
Tsing-muh-heang, 253, 259.
Tsing-mung-shih, 219.
Tsing-pe, 239.
Tsoh-kow-pang, 126.
Tsze-hwang, 220.
Tsze-jen-tung, 223.
Tsze-shih-ying, 218.
Tu su 911, 240.
Tu-sy-tsy, 240.
Tubera Terrae (max), 202.
Tuberose, 151.
Tuckahoe, 202, 267.
Tulipa Oculus-solis, 157.
Tunga, 76.
Tung-luh, 223.
Tung-po-tow-kow, 253.
Tung- tan, 222.
Tung-tsing (Ligustrum lucidum),

67, 68.
Turkish Essence of Geranium,

1 68 ; Materia Medica, 6.
Turmeric, African, 184.
TURNSOLE, 5, 43—46.

Manufacture, 44.

Price Current (Jan Dekker),
46.

Rags, 43.

Uses, 44.
TWO INSECT PRODUCTS FROM

PERSIA, 159 — 164.
TWO TUBERIFORM VEGETABLE
PRODUCTIONS FROM TRAVAN-
CORE, 198 — 200.

u.

UGIATO putih, 188.

Ule-ule, 192.

Ulex Europaea, 354.

Un We

Uncaria Gambir, 177.
Universal Pharmacopoeia, 14.
Urceola elastica, 188.
Ure, Dr., 44.

Uriage, natural springs, 439.
USE OF BALSAM OF PERU, 293.
Uttur, 265.
(da) Uzzano (Giovanni), 357.

V.

VAN BEMMELEN, Dr. J. M., 124.

Vasantagandha. 76.

Vaughan's account of Myrrh,

380.

Vauqueline, 92, 93.
Vegetable Lamb, 121, 123.
Venivel-getta, 59.
Veratrum album, 436.
Verbena, Essence of, 177.
Vermiform Storax, 131.
Vermilion, 227, 228.
Volaterranus, 359.
Voyage to Holy Land, 27.

W.

WAI-FA, 237.

Wallich, Plantae Burmanicae, 100.

Wang-seaou, 217.

Ward, N. M., 84.

Waring, Dr. E. J., 232.

Waras (saffron), 76.

Wasser, Harz, 51.

Water, Essay on, 410.

Wax tree and insect, 65.

Wei-chau (ink factories), 395.

Wei-lew-kwang, 216.

Wei-tan, 222.

Weichstachelige Kardamomem,

97-
Weir, John (mission to Ne\v

Granada), 334.
Weisses Harz, 49 ; Pech, 49.

INDEX.

543

We Ya

Weni-waela-gseta, 59.
West African Amoma, 1 1 o.
Westwood, J. O., 6 1, 63, 72.
Whang-che, 241.
Whang-tsze, 242.
White Balsam, 306; Lac, 61 ;

Lead, 223 ; Marble (levigated),

218; Pitch, 49; Resin, 49;
Wild Cardamom, 178.
Williams, S. Wells, 213.
Willughbeia edulis, 188.
Wilson, Professor H. H., 76.
WINTER'S BARK, 310 — 312, 342.
Wongshy, 241.
Woo-ming-e, 223.
Woo-pei-tsze, 266.
Woo-tung-tsze, 246.
Wood, Amboyna, 188.

„ King, 191.

„ Kyabocca, 188.

„ Maracaybo, 191.

„ Mustaiba, 191.

„ Satin, 190.
WOOD OIL, 117 — 120; strange

property of, 119.
WURRUS, DYE FROM ROTTLERA

TINCTORIA, 73.

Ya Zy

Ya-tsaou, 248.
Yagh (i.e. oil), 141.
Yalavatz, 175.

Yalavatz, Gum Tragacanth, 116.
Yang-chun-sha, 97, 178, 251.
Yang-khe-shih, 218.
Ye-cho, 255.
Yellow Resin, 49.
Yen-hoo sun, 256.
Yen-naou, 277.
Yen- sang, 223.
Yerba de Mate, 87.
Yih-che-tsze, 104, 178, 252.
Yin-choo, 227.
Yin-hang, 234.
Yin-mung-shih, 219.
Yin-tsing-shih, 219.
Y6-kin, 254.
Yu-leang-shih, 223.
Yu shuh, 260.
Yuen-shin, 217.
Yuen-fun, 223.
Yuen-ming-fun, 217.
Yuh-chuh, 255.
Yuh-kin, 254.

Yule, Col., 20, 36, 355, 363.
Yuruks, 141.

X.

XANTHIOID CARDAMOM,

250.

Xanthium strumanum, 233
Xanthochymus, 185.
Xanthoxylene, 229.
Xanthoxylin, 229.
Xecao, 218.
Xe choam 911, 233.
Xun-lidn, 244.
Xylaria polymorpha, 199.

100,

Y.

YA Cab, 248.
Ya-heang, 265.

ZANTHOXYLUM acanthopodium,
228; alatum, 228, 229, 230;
piperitum, 228.

ZANTHOXYLUM ALATUM 318.

Zedewand (Zedoary), 484.

Zinc Bloom, 221, 222.

Zinc compounds, 221.

ZINGIBERACE/E, 9> 93-

Zingiber nigrum, 104.

Zinzibratum, 483.

Zuccarum alhusar, 162.

Zvyi'a, 146, 147-

ZYGOPHYLLE>E, 230.

LONDON :
R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS,

BREAD STREET HILL,
QUEEN VICTORIA STREET.

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