VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



237 



Tiing-cJiHng being white, and those of the AYt-c/ien greenish- 

 white. The fruits enter into commerce under the name oi -Ir 

 j^ ^ (Nii-clien-tzu), 913. The taste is bitter. "It is tonic 

 to the centers, brightens the eye, strengthens the ytn, quiets 

 the five viscera, nourishes the vital principle, makes vio^orous 

 the loins and navel, expels the hundred diseases, restores grey 

 hair, and if taken for a long time will increase the rotundity 

 and firmness of the flesh, giving sprightliness and youth to 

 the body." The leaves are prescribed in colds, congestions 

 swellings, dizziness, and headaches. It is probable that 

 other species of Ligiistrnm are known by the same Chinese 

 name. 



Insfxt Wax.— ^ ^ i| (Ch'ung-pai-la), 953. Li Shih- 

 chen says: "Previous to the Tang and Sung dynasties the 

 wax used for making candles and in medicine was all bees- 

 wax. From that period, however, the insect wax began to 

 be known, and it is now an article of daily use. It is found 

 in Szechuan, Hukuang, Yunnan, Fukien, Lingnan, Kiangsu, 

 Chekiang, and Shantung provinces. That from Yunnan, 

 Hengchou (Hunan), and Yungchang is the best. The wax 

 tree, in its branches and leaves, is classed with the ^ ^ 

 (Tung-ch'ing), in that during the four seasons its leaves do not 

 fall. In the fifth moon it bears white flowers in clusters and 

 chains of fruits, about the size of those of ^ ^ij (Wan-chino-^ 

 Vitex incisd). When fresh, these are green in color; when ripe 

 they are purple. Those of the Tting-ch^mg are red." It 

 seems that Ilex is here referred to. "The insect is about the 

 size of a louse, and after it has been propagated it remains 

 upon the green branches of the tree, eating its sap and giving 

 off from its body a secretion which adheres to the fresh stalks, 

 gradually becoming changed into a white cere which congeals 

 to form the wax, appearing like frost upon the branches. 

 After the period of great heat {^ ^, Ta-shu, about July 23) 

 it is scraped off, and is then called i^l ^ (La-cha). If it is 

 allowed to remain until the period of white dew (|^ p, Pai-lu, 

 about September 9), it adheres very firmly and is with difBculty 

 scraped off. The crude wax is melted and purified or steamed 

 in a retort, in order to get rid of the impurities, and is then 

 poured into moulds to cool. This forms the white wax of 



