and at a distance from the habitations of men. 
both sexes, there are two little bags out the ofa 
containing a brownish oily matter, called castor, which : 
deposition of fat, interwoven with cellular membrane. This 
_ stance has a disagreeable narcotic smell, and a bitterish, acri ‘ 
‘seous taste. By drying it in the smoke of a chimney, it may be pre- _ 
_ Served seven or eight years. ‘The best castor is brought from Rus- 
sia, Prussia, and Poland ; that procured in Canada and New-Eng 
land, is of an inferior quality. ‘That whichis very old, quite bla 
repens nee irene taste is unfit for medicinal use. , 
'o preserve this m injury, it should be kept wrapt up 4 
marae ee: paper. demesne memneesaes vases « by alco - 
luted alcohol is the least nauseous. Castor is an excellent antispas- 
modic, and acts particularly on the uterine system. Itisgiven with — 
advantage in most spasmodic diseases, particularly in hysteria and =~ 
epilepsy. In powder, which is the most eligible form, it is exhi ? 
ed in doses of from ten to twenty grains, or from one to two drachms 
of the tincture. splay 
CuarcoaL or Woon. Carbo Ligni. 
Common charcoal of wood, or carbon, is a sort of artifi oal, 
consisting of half burnt wood. It is in the form of solid masses of a — 
black color, is brittle, and has neither smell nor taste. It consistsof 
63, 86 of carbon, and 36, 14 of oxygen. 5 ae 
Charcoal possesses a number of singular properties, which render — 
it of considerable importance in many respects. It is incapable of 
utrifying or rotting like wood ; and so remarkable is the durability 
of this substance, that it may be preserved to an indefinite length of 
‘time. Besides the great advantage which this article affords to the 
the artist and manufacturer, it has of late been employed with con- 
siderable success ;—first, in correcting the burnt or smoky taste in 
ardent spirits:—secondly, in depriving rancid oil of its disagreeable 
flavor :—and thirdly, in restoring putrid meat. For these useful pur- 
‘poses it should be previously reduced to powder, and that only usec 
which is fresh prepared, or has been kept in close vessels, that it shall 
have absorbed no fixed air from the common atmosphere. The taint- 
_ ed flavor of ardent spirits, may be entirely destroyed, by merely shak- 
ing it with, powdered charcoal. : 
Charcoal is of still greater utility for purifying water on shipboard. 
