132 ylnali/iis of Birdlime. 



under this general head in his Systane de Connolssancei 

 Chimiques, vol. vii. p. 30C. 



Birdlime, says this chemist, is procured from the fruit 

 of the misletoe and the tender bark of the holly, as well as 

 from many other trees, by maceration in water. Althougl* 

 no one has hitherto examined this substance with sufficient 

 accuracy, it presents m.any points of resemblance to gluti- 

 nous bodies. 



With the exception of what is i;aid in my Manual of a 

 Course of Chemistry, I know no work in which any light 

 is thrown upon the nature of this singular matter. 



M. Chaptal, in his Elements of Chemistry, speaks only 

 of its preparation : as the process •whicli is there detailed 

 differs in nothing from that which is found in the Materia 

 Medica of Geoffroy, and in the Dictionary of Valmont de 

 Bomare, I shall quote the article respecting the preparation 

 of this substance: — " The anticnts employed the berries of 

 the misletoe of the oak : they boiled the fruit in water, then 

 bruised them, and strained off the warm liquor, so as to se- 

 parate the seeds and skins. But we now prefer the bird- 

 lirtie procured from the bark of the holly : the inner bark, 

 which is the tenderest and greenest, is made choice of, and 

 allowed to putrefy under ground ; it is then beaten in mortars 

 to reduce it into a paste, which is washed and kneaded in 

 water. This substance was considered as resolvent and 

 emollient when applied externally." 



We know also that the misletoe of the oak forms an in- 

 gredient in many pharmaceutical preparations, such as the 

 universal water, the antispasmodic powder, and Guttet's 

 powder. 



The English, according to Geoffroy, prepate their birdlime 

 from the bark of the holly. They boil this bark, says he, 

 in water for seven or eight hours, until it has become tender. 

 It is then formed into balls, which are placed under ground, 

 in numerous layers, one above another, with pebbles inter- 

 posed; the water being previously all drained off: there 

 they are suffered to remain to ferment and putrefy for a fort- 

 night or three weeks, imtil they have "been convefted into 

 mucilage. They are next removed and pounded in a mortar 



till 



