COMMERCIAL RELATIONS. 15 
‘dried over an open fire, as with salep, jalap, curcuma, and many 
Indian aconite tubers. This treatment manifests itself particu- 
larly by the starch assuming a pasty form. The leaves of tea 
and maté, which are exposed to a light roasting process, suffer 
still more significant chemical changes. 
Marshmallow root, rhubarb, calamus, ginger; and pepper 
(white) are pared, in order to give them a better appearance, 
which, however, in the three latter cases is partly effected at 
the expense of the volatile oil. As a judicious form of treat- 
ment, on the contrary, is to be designated the so-called sweat- 
ing process of the cacao; the slight fermentation which is 
thereby produced destroys a bitter principle. 
V. Commercial Relations.—A very limited number of the 
medicinal substances coming under consideration here claim a 
position in the world’s commerce, and play a conspicuous part 
therein. In this category, opiwm should be placed in the first 
line, although really only about that portion of it which does 
not find medicinal application, viz.: the East Indian. Of the 
same rank are the Cinchona barks. Pepper, tea, cacao, tobacco, 
sugar, and maté, regarded as luxuries, and counted among the 
most important products, are scarcely to be considered as drugs, 
which is more truly the case with ginger. Such drugs as are 
also technically employed, are usually of much greater import- 
ance in the latter respect. Catechu, colophonium, dammar, 
dye-woods (logwood, Brazil-wood, ete.), galls, gum arabic, gutta- 
percha, turpentine, ete., are employed, for example, in various 
industries in infinitely larger amounts than in pharmacy. Even 
for culinary purposes spices are much more largely employed 
than in pharmacy, notwithstanding the departure of modern 
taste from the former custom,to strongly season articles of food. 
The most valuable information in this department, viz., sta- 
tistical records, are especially to be found in the voluminous 
publications (Blue-books) of the English Government, and, 
recently also, to an increasing extent, in those of the United 
States. Furthermore, in the German “ Handels-Archiv,” 
and in official tables relating to the commerce of France and 
other countries. 
