GALL^ HALEPENSES. 595 



(1873) depends upon the amount of permanganate of potassium decom- 

 posable by the extract of a given weight of oak bark. Neubauer found 

 m the bark of young stems, as grown for tanning purposes, from 7 to 

 10 per cent, of querci-tannic acid, soluble in cold water. 



Braconnot (1849) extracted from the seeds of the oaks under notice 



C) 



Q 



be 



atcr yields 



1878) that it agrees with the formula C^H"(0H)5 + 4 OIP, and is 

 closely allied to kinic acid, C^^H^OHj^COOH (see page 3G3). ^ 



gives off water at 100", melts at 225" C, and again losing w .^ 



a crystallised anhydride. In the oak bark extremely small quantities 

 of querite appear also to be present, as pointed out by Joljanson. 



A colourless, crystallizable, bitter substance, soluble in water, but 

 not in absolute alcohol or ether, was extracted from oak bark in 1843 

 by Gerber, and named Qitercin. It requires further examination; 

 Eckert (1864) could not detect its existence in young oak bark. 



Uses — Occasionally employed as an astringent, chiefly for external 



application. 



QALL.JE HALEPENSES. 



Galloi Turcica}; 



^urcicw; Galls, Nutgalh, Oak Galls, Aleppo or Turkey Galls; 

 Noix de Oalle, Galle d'Alep; G. Levantische odcr Aleppiscke 



n ^y^^ /^ .-77-* /^_7 



Galldpfel 



Botanical Ovigin—Qiiercus lusitanica Webb, var. tnfectortu (Q. 

 infectoria OK v.)/ a shrub or rarely a tree, found in Greece, Asia Minor, 

 Cyprus and Syria. It is probable that other varieties of this oak, as 

 well as allied species, contribute to furnish the Aleppo galls of commerce. 

 ^ History--Oak galls are named by Theophrastus, and were weU 

 known to other ancient writers. Alexander Trallianus prescribed them 



as a remedy in diarrhcBa." ^ , , , .r , 



The earliest accurate descriptions and figures of the oak and the 



insect producing the palls are due to Olivier.' Phny mentions tne 

 '^y^^^^„^r^. . /.,*,,,*= , , a .-1.1, ir,f.iai'An of palls may be 



interestin 



^"wiesung lact that paper saturatea wim au mx^c.^^ =* , , ^ ' „„ 

 used as a test for discovering sulphate of iron, when ad^ed as an 

 adulteration to the more costly verdigris: this, according ^^^^V''] 

 the earliest instance of the scientific application of a cjemica li eac lo^ 

 For tanning and dyeing, galls have been used from the eajli^^ f^"^^;. 

 during the'middle agerh'owever they were not precisely -" ^^^^j^^^ 

 great importance, being then, no doubt, for a large part replaced uy 

 sumach. , . ._„ ^xT^^i^r-r. 



een Western 



sumach. 



^ Nutgalls have long been an object of commerce between 



Asia and China. Barbosa in his Descnptwn of the ^^f/2%^ Levant 



in 1514 calls them Magican,' and says they are brought fiom tne J.eva 





: SS "& ^he " Hakluyt Society. 



^ Puschmann'a edition, quoted in the Lon.l. 186J5- 1»1- ^^.jj ^^^^j j^ 



Appendix, i. 237. .. ,/ ^f^MjuArMiya^^^ 



,'^oya<;e dana r Empire Othoman, ii. the Tamil, ielUo", ^ i 



(1801), pi. 14^15 languages. 



* Lib. 34. c. 26. 



