122 CHINESE MATERIA MEDIC A. 



The Palmyra palm, Borassus flabelliformis^ is called the |'^ ^ 

 (Pei-shu), and it yields arrack and a kind of white sugar called 

 jaggery in India. The tree is said to grow in the southern 

 provinces. Dr. Waring speaks of a toddy poultice, made by 

 adding the freshly drawn juice of the cocoa or Palmyra palm 

 to rice flour till it has the consistence of a soft poultice, and 

 subjecting this to heat over a gentle fire until fermentation 

 commences. This poultice, applied after the manner of the old 

 fashioned yeast poultice to gangrenous sores, carbuncles, and 

 indolent ulcers, is said to be very useful. The fibers of the rind 

 of the cocoa-nut, and the brown cotton-like substance from 

 the outside of the base of the fronds of the Palmyra palm, may 

 be used to staunch wounds. 



COIX LACHRYMA. — ^ ^ t (I-i-jen), 547. Other 

 names, ^ ^ (Chieh-li), "g; ^ (Chi-shih), ^ % (Kan-mi), 

 H] TJt (Hui-hui-mi), and ^ 3^ ■^ (I-chu-tzu). This grami- 

 neous plant grows in marshes, as well as on the plains and 

 fields, to the height of several feet. It is said that the famous 

 general Ma Yuen (A.D. 49) introduced the plant into China 

 from Cochin China. It does not flourish so well here as it does 

 in the Philippines, where the Chinese settlers make a kind of 

 meal of the seeds, which is very nourishing for the sick. The 

 seeds are hard and beadlike, and are somewhat like pearl 

 barley, for which they are sometimes mistaken in the Customs 

 lists, and for which they make an excellent substitute. How- 

 ever, they are larger and coarser than pearl barley. The un- 

 huUed corns are often strung by children as beads, and priests 

 are sometimes seen using the largest ones in their rosaries. 

 The seeds are considered by the Chinese to be nutritious, 

 demulcent, cooling, pectoral, and anthelmintic. Given either 

 in the form of soup or congee, it is highly recommended by 

 native doctors. It is considered to be especially useful in 

 urinary affections, probably of the bladder. A wine is made 

 by fermenting the grain, and is given in rheumatism. The 

 root of the plant is said to be an excellent anthelmintic. The 

 leaves also, gathered in the summer month and made into a 

 decoction, are said to benefit the breath and blood. A new born 

 infant, washed in this decoction, will be preserved from disease. 



