VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 379 



but the former is the more cotniuou. The tricoccous, spiny 

 fruit contains the seeds, one in each cell. There is a species, 

 or variety, said to have smooth fruit, and to be non-poisonous. 

 An oil is extracted from the seeds of these and used in cooking. 

 Information is still lacking as to what this plant may be. The 

 castor oil seeds, 990, are oval, slightly curved or compressed, 

 grey, shining, and striped or mottled with blackish or reddish- 

 brown stripes or spots upon the outside. They vary from four 

 to five lines in length, are three lines in breadth, and are 

 marked with a ridge runnino- down the inner or under surface 

 from the larger end to the prominent liilum. On breaking the 

 hard and brittle seed-coat, the oily albumen is seen to be 

 covered with a delicate membrane. The mass of albumen and 

 cotyledons is easily crushed, yielding the acrid, purgative oil, 

 992, upon which their properties depend. The cruslied seeds are 

 used in Chinese medicine as an outward application in a large 

 number of diseases, combined with the oil of the seeds, or the 

 pulp is taken internally as a remedy, the effects of which must 

 be very similar to those of the pure oil. The pulp is rubbed 

 into the temples in headache, into the palms of the hands in 

 palsy, is introduced into the urethra in stricture, and is rubbed 

 into the soles of the feet of parturient women to hasten the 

 birth of the child or the expulsion of the placenta. It is 

 stufied into deaf ears, rubbed over the top of the head in 

 cases of prolapsus uteri, and is applied to burns and scalds. 

 The seeds are chewed in .scrofula, and the pulp is used in a 

 variety of skin affections, dog bite, and wherever a lubricant is 

 needed. Tlie leaves, 991, are applied in swellings as a discutient 

 remedy, and are given internally as a tussic and expectorant. 

 The oil is expressed by the Chinese, but was not especially 

 used in medicine apart from the pulp ; its special use being to 

 mix with vermillion for stamping ink. In a note appended 

 to the article on Ricinus, there is another plant spoken of, 

 called \%^M (Po-lo-ch'iung), the stalk or leaves of which 

 are said to resemble Pei-ma^ having a hollow stem that when 

 blown through will produce a sound. This, when broken, 

 exudes a yellow juice which is exceedingly poisonous. It 

 grows in mountain ravines and is probably a Rhus. It is con- 

 sidered to be an efficient counter-poison to virulent infections. 



