oa ey Pee et ae 
naw Z 
_ afford no information as to its properties. 
yellow colour were exhausted with boiling water, 
ANACARDIACEZ.. . 375 
affections, especially those of children, also in dyspeptic vomit- 
ing and diarrhcea ; they notice their use in fever and want of 
appetite, and say that they are a good external application in 
cases of psoriasis. LKuropean writers mention the drug, but 
Description and Microscopic structure.—The 
galls are generally single, but sometimes lobed, of a purse-like 
form, and vary much in size. The average may be, length 14 
= inch, breadth 1 inch, thickness } inch. The external surface is 
= of a pale greenish grey, and hasafimbriated appearance. Near 
the neck or attached end may be seen the midrib of the leaf 
_ Upon which the gall has been formed; it appears to be split in 
two; between the halves is a kind of mouth with smooth 
everted edges (the passage by which the aphides have escaped), 
On breaking open the gall, which is brittle and about 1-16th 
_ Of an inch in thickness, the irregular rugose inner surface is 
Seen ; it is of a reddish colour, and appears as if covered with 
particles of dust. This on microscopic examination proves to 
3 consist of the débris of the former inhabitants of the sac, viz., 
_ humerous egg shells beautifully white and transparent, broken 
portions of the insect, and a quantity of what appears to be 
excrementitious matter; sometimes the entire aphis may be 
seen. This insect as obtained from the dry gall is of an 
oblong form and brown colour, rather more than 1-16th of an 
inch in length, the whole body is covered with short bristles, four 
long ones being situated at the end of the abdomen; it has six 
legs, each armed with two claws; the abdomen is divided into 
eight segments ; the head is armed with a proboscis containing 
an awl-shaped instrument, and is provided with bristly feelers ; 
3 _the shell of the gall when fractured presents a shining appear- 
ance; a thin section shows it to consist of a cellular stroma, 
the greater number of the cells being entirely filled with a 
yellowish highly refractive substance. The taste is strongly 
_ astringent and slightly bitter. 
Chemical composition. —The finely powdered galls of a bright 
and the | 
