NAT. ORDER. GRUINALIS. 



183 



and supports a slender style, longer than the filaments, and termi- 

 nated by a tapering stigma ; the capsules are five, two-celled, and 

 contain globular seeds. It is a native of South America, particu- 

 larly of Surinam, and also of some of the West India Islands. 



The botanical character of this species of Quassia, w^as known 

 to the ancients long before that of the Simaruba ; but its medicinal 

 properties were never fully appreciated until the year 1756, when 

 a negro, by the name of Quassia (from whom it derived its name), 

 employed it with uncommon success, as a secret remedy in the 

 malignant endemic fevers, which prevailed to a considerable extent 

 at Surinam. In consequence of a valuable consideration, this secret 

 was disclosed to Daniel Rolander, a Swede, who introduced it into 

 general practice ; and numerous testimonies of its efficacy were 

 published by many respectable authors. 



Medical Properties and Uses. Various experiments with 

 Quassia have been made, with a view to ascertain its antiseptic 

 powers, from which it appears to have considerable influence in 

 retarding the tendency to putrefaction. It is purely tonic, invigo- 

 rating the digestive organs, with little excitement of the circulation, 

 or increase of animal heat, and possesses, in the highest degree, all 

 the properties of the simple bitters. It is particularly adapted to 

 dyspepsia from debility of stomach, and to that weakened state of 

 the digestive organs which sometimes succeeds acute disease. It 

 may also be given with advantage in the remission of certain fevers 

 in which tonics are required. 



It is most conveniently administered in decoctions, or extracts, 

 as the difficulty of reducing the wood into a powder renders it 

 objectionable. 



