286 CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



the absorption of nicotine by the lungs to a minimum. But 

 since foreigners have become so largely identified with the 

 tobacco trade, the use of cigars, and especially of cigarettes, 

 has not only largely driven out the former and less deleterious 

 methods of consumption, but has also vastly increased the per 

 capita amount of tobacco consumed. The modern Chinese 

 student, clerk, or coolie is seldom seen without a *' coffin 

 nail" between his lips, almost uniformly inhaling the smoke 

 and blowing it out through his nostrils. If this manner of 

 consumption goes on at its present increasing rate, the Chinese 

 people will soon demonstrate to the world whether or not 

 nicotine has any specially deleterious effects on the race. This 

 will be especially true in this case, since the women use cigar- 

 ettes almost as freely as the men, and youths and even small 

 children of both sexes are frequent consumers. 



NITRARIA SCHOBERL— Under the title ;|;^ i^ (Kou- 

 chi), Li Shih-chen describes a globular, red, edible berry, 

 which he says grows in Kansu. It is certainly not Lycium^ as 

 this is not edible. It seems to correspond to a plant described 

 l^y Przewalski, the Nitraria schroberi of the order of Zygophyl- 

 lese, the berries of which form an important article of diet to 

 the Mongols and Tangus of Gobi, Ordos, and Tsaidam. The 

 name of the plant in Mongolian is khai-myk. It is a crooked 

 shrub, having dense foliage and small thick leaves. It blooms 

 profusely in May, the flowers being small and white. These 

 are followed by the fruit, which consists of small, dark-red 

 berries, ripening in August and remaining on the tree until 

 late in the autumn. The people collect these berries on the 

 twigs when fully ripe and put them away for winter use. 

 They are soaked and boiled in water to soften them, and eaten 

 together with barley meal. The water in which the berries 

 have been boiled is also used as a drink. Bears, wolves, foxes, 

 and birds also feed on the berries. Their medicinal properties, 

 if any, can scarcely be the same as those of Lycium. 



NOTHOSMYRNIUM JAPONICUM.— ^ % (Kao-pen), 

 589. Henry says that in Hupeh the drug is derived from 

 J^igustiaun sinense. The root is said to resemble that of 



