VEGETABLE KINGDOM. I 29 



and this is confirmed by Hanbury, wlio says that it is 

 indigenous to Siberia, Kamtchatka, and the Amur region. 

 The Corydalis goviana of India, and doubtless this species also, 

 contains, according to Sir W. B. O'Shaughnessy, the crysta- 

 line principle corydalia^ discovered in Corydalis hibei'osa by 

 Wackenroder. This active principle is suggested in the Phar- 

 macopoeia of India as an antiperiodic. Whether it has proven 

 of any value or not, or whether such use was only suggested 

 by the intense bitterness of this product, it has not been 

 possible to learn. To the drug itself, as appearing in China, 

 is ascribed tonic, diuretic, emmenagogue, deobstruaut, astrin- 

 gent, alterative, and sedative properties. It is much used in 

 prescriptions for post-partum difficulties, hematuria, and other 

 bloody fluxes. 



CORYDALIS INCISA.— ^ ^ (Tzu-chin\ ^. j^ (Ch<ih- 

 ch'in), ^ -^ (Shu-ch'in), ^ % (T'ai-ts'ai). This marsh plant 

 grows in Central China, where the shoots are used in the 

 spring as food, although they are considered to be slightly 

 deleterious. The flowers, dried and pulverized, are used in 

 prolapse of the rectum. 



CORYLUS.— ;ji (Chen). Two species abound in the 

 mountains of Northern China ; the Corylus heterophylla and the 

 Co7'ylus mandslmrica. The nuts of both are edible and are to 

 be found in the markets. The first named has a spreadmg 

 involucre, resulting in a flattened nut, while that of the latter 

 is contracted and prolonged beyond the apex of the nut, pro- 

 ducing a pointed shape. The hazel has been known from very 

 early time in China, and is mentioned in the classics. The 

 eating of the nuts is considered to be in every way beneficial, 

 benefitting the breath, relieving hunger, and giving strength 

 for locomotion. They are not prescribed for any particular 

 diseases, but are thought to improve the appetite and aid in 

 digestion. They appear in commerce as ;f^ -j^ (Chen-jen) and 

 ;ji ^ (Chen-tzu), 38. 



CRAT.^GUS.— If (Cha). This character serves as a 

 generic name for hawthorne^ which in China, as elsewhere, is 

 represented by several species. The [1] ;[| (Shan-cha) is 



