130 NAT. ORDER. EUPHORBIACEiG. 



dangerous. Independently of this volatile principle, there are two 

 others belonging to the order which require to be noticed. The first 

 of these is Caoutchouc, the most innocuous of all substances, pro- 

 duced by that most poisonous of all families, which may be almost 

 said to have given a new arm to surgery, and which has become an 

 indispensable necessary of life ; it exists in Artocai-pcce and else- 

 where, but is chiefly the produce of species oi Eaphorbiacece. The 

 other is the preparation called Turnsol, which, although chiefly 

 obtained from Crozophora tinctoria, is to be procured equally abun- 

 dantly from many other plants of the order. 



Aadijplia Ctipamcni, an Indian herb, has a root which, bruised in 

 hot water, is cathartic ; a decoction of its leaves is also laxative. 

 The nut of Aleurites amhinux is eatable and aphrodisiac, but rather 

 indiijestible. The nuts of another kind are eaten in Java and the 

 Moluccas ; but they are intoxicating unless they are roasted. The 

 Aiida, of Brazil, is famous for the purgative qualities of ils seeds, 

 which are fully as powerful as those of the Palina Christi. The 

 Brazilians make use of them in cases of indigestion, in liver com- 

 plaints, the jaundice, and dropsy. The rind, roasted on the fire, 

 passes as a certain remedy for diarrhoea brought on by a cold. 

 According to Marcgraaf, the fresh rind steeped in water communi- 

 cates to it a narcotic property which is sufiicient to stupify fish. 

 The seeds are either eaten raw, or are prepared as an electuary. 

 They yield an oil, which is said, by M. Auguste St. Hilaire, to be 

 drying and excellent for painting — in short, much better than nut 

 oil. The bark of Bricddla splnosa, an Indian herb, is, according to 

 Roxburgh, a powerful astringent. The leaves are greedily eaten by 

 caltle, which, by their means, free themselves of intestinal worms. 

 The leaves of common JBox are sudorific and purgative. According 

 to Hanway, camels eat them in Persia, but they die in consequence. 

 The flowers of Cuturus spiciJJorits are spoken of as a specific in 

 diarrluca, either taken in decoction or in conserve. The succulent 

 fruit of Cicca disticha and raccmosa is sub-acid, cooling and whole- 



