152 CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



of which he recommends the employment of an extract of 

 the fruit in diarrhoea and chronic dysenterv, and as a basis of 

 vaginal injections in gonorrhoea, have been lost sight of by 

 Chinese physicians. A sort of extract, or oil, is prepared 

 from this fruit b> crushing and pressing. In this way a dark, 

 resinous, thick juice is produced, which makes an excellent 

 varnish, used in varnishing paper umbrellas and fans. It is 

 cheaper than wood-oil. 



DIOSPYROS HIRSUTA.— ^ jp (Mao-shih). It is not 

 certain that this tree is found in China, but the probabilities 

 are in its favor. The wood, called Calamander Wood (probably 

 a corruption of Coramandel Wood), is met with, and is used as 

 a substitute for ebony. 



DIOSPYROS KAKL— |i5(Shih), |Jc ^ (Juan-tsao). The 

 fruit of this tree, which is common in China and Japan, is the 

 persim?}iofi^ a large, thin-skinned, juicy fruit, of an orange or 

 yellowish color, and having a sweet taste when fully ripe. 

 The taste of the unripe fruit is exceedingly astringent. Traces 

 of the eight-celled character of the fruit, which presents a 

 great variety of shapes, sizes, and tints, are sometimes met 

 with. The Chinese ripen the fruits artificially by inserting 

 one or more splints of bamboo into them by the side of the 

 stem, which hastens the process of softening. These, however, 

 lack the fine flavor of the naturally ripened fruit. The 

 persimmon appears in several forms in Chinese medicine. 

 There is an artificially ripened fruit, called '}^ \% (Hung-shih), 

 which is produced by placing the unripe fruit in a vessel con- 

 taining leaves and allowing a process of fermentation to go on 

 until the fruit is ripe. It is said to become as sweet as honey 

 under this process, and is used as an antifebrile, antivinous, 

 and demulcent remedy. Another form is called ^ \^ (Pai-shih) 

 and \^ ^ (Shih-shuang). This is prepared by taking off the 

 skin of the fruits, and then exposing them to the sunlight by 

 day and the dew by night until they are dry, when a whitish 

 powder will have gathered upon them. The persimmons dried 

 in this way are called \^ % (Shih-ping), 1157. The medicinal 

 properties of the persimmon are thought to be much enhanced 



