47G LTLJACEJB. 



The Indian varieties of the drug are manufactured in Kattia- 

 war ( Jafarabad) and in Mysore^ and are consumed locally. It 

 is imi)ossible to form a correct estimate of the quantity pro- 

 duced, but we do not think it can be very great^ as the Arabian 

 aloes is the drug mot with in most parts of India. 



M 



URGINEA INDICA, Kmith. 



Tig.— .Wight Jc.,t 2063, Indian Squill (^^^i/.) • 



Hab.— India. The bulb. 



Vernacular — Kanda, Jaugli-piyaj {Jlind^ ^^^^ff-), Kol-kanda, 

 Kochinda {Mar.), Nari-vengayara [Tarn.), I^akka-vulli-gadda 

 (TeL), Kattulli (MaL), AdavwruUi ((7w.), Jangli-kunda 



I 



History, Uses, &C. — This plant is not mentioned in the 

 Nighantas, but the bulb is used in the preparation of Chandi- 

 bhasma or ** ashes of silver *' which is used medicinally by the 

 Hindus. Indian Mahometan writers consider the Indian squill 

 to be identical in medicinal j>roperties with the sqnill of Europe, 

 which was used by the Greeks, who prescribed it combined with 

 vinegar and honey much as we do at tho present time {Dhsc. 

 ii., 1 G2) ; they prescribe it in paralytic affections, also as an ex- 

 pectorant, digestive, diuretic^ and doobstruont in many diseases, 

 more especially in asthma, dropsy, rheumatism, calculous 

 affections, leprosy, and skin diseases ; it is also coiisidcred to be 

 emmenagogue. In the West Urgiiiea SciIIa has been used in 

 medicine from the time of Hippocrates ; in Egypt it was sacred 

 to the godTj^honaud atPelusium there was a temple dedicated 

 to it; it was thought to have the power of driving away evil 

 spirits, and to be symbolic of perpetual generation. The Arabs, 

 who followed the Greeks in their estimation of its medicinal 

 value, call it Basal-el-unsal ^'sea onion,'' or Basal-el-far *'rat's 

 onion,'' and the Persians, Piyaz-i-dashti'Vild onion/' European 

 physicians in India have expressed various opinions as to the 

 modicinal activity of Urrjinea indiea (confer. Phar. of ImUa, 

 p. 241), but there would appear to be no doubt that the voung 

 freshly-dritd bulbs are sufficiently actiAe, as^ they havJ beta 



