Dr. Hancock on Sarsaparilla. 63 



that the true kind was to be found on the banks either of the 

 Cassiquari or the Guiana, as they call the Rio Negro. I placed 

 the more reliance on this information, as these were Peones who 

 had been employed in digging tlie Sarsa, which, as they asserted, 

 was chiefly obtained on the elevated lands of t lie Rio Imiquen, 

 at Unturana, and Caraburu They acknowledged too, that, when 

 the right sort was not found in plenty, they sometimes dug one or 

 two others, which they esteemed to be nearly equal in quality. 

 The Sarsa of the Rio Negro, which comes by way of Angus- 

 tura, or of Para, is the best. Respecting this species, indeed, 



I can speak with confidence, having had very ample experience 

 of its medicinal properties, especially in Augustura, where I 

 lived nearly four years. It is the only remedy used for the cure 

 ef venereal affections, and many others falsely considered as such, 

 in the Oronoko; not to mention its great power in rheumatism 

 of long standing, and in a multiplicity of chronic complaints. 



The Sarsaparilla which is usually met with in the shops, how- 

 ever, is, for the most part, nearly inert, either from age, or being 

 procured from various non-medicinal species. It should be 

 taken from recent importations in the roll, and not that which 

 is kept slit up, in the shops, which is very often quite useless. 

 Good S arsa p a rilla luis a peculiar nauseous acrimony when chew- 

 ed ; and this is alnn»t the only criterion we have for judging of 

 its medicinal acti\ it v. 



It b quite amusing to observe tlw diverse opinions respecting 



the nature and properties of this medicinal root. In Mr. Rennie's 

 Supplement, paj i 884, it is stated, tli.it •■ genuine Sarsaparilla 



is COTered l>\ .1 brown <>r reddish hark, with a central woody 



portion, soft, white, and sometimes like starch. This part i^ nee* 

 the \ irtnes residing in the hitter principle of the bark ; and 



the more it inclines to a red colour, it is the richer ami more 



powerful. The graj and dirty brown sorts are net good. The 



me* from Jamaica and the Brasils, called Lisbon 



Sarsa, the worst from Honduras sad \ en Cm/.. (Pope.)" 



I I re, it would appear, that H iionrj tin- thin pellicle of bark) ■ 



••1 I |>i'l« •runs, \shnh it allowed to possess nnv useful pro- 



