VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 395 



and corrective, and is used in hiccough, vomiting, and choleraic 

 difficulties. It is mixed with mucilage and applied to acne 

 ot the face and to aching parts. The sandal-wood tree grows 

 under the protection of the British government in Mysore, aud 

 in some cases is allowed to attain to the height of twenty-five 

 feet. The trees are usually cut down when twenty years old, 

 and the wood is chopped into billets for sale. The roots and 

 heart-wood yield a fine, yellow, clear oil, which is imported 

 into China, 1249, and is much valued for its fragrance. Other 

 woods used in the carving of fans and like articles are given a 

 coating of this oil to make them appear to be genuine sandal- 

 wood. This oil is mentioned in the Appendix to the Pentsao 

 as a carminative remedy ; but modern Chinese doctors have 

 learned to use it in gonorrhoea also. 



SAPINDUS MUKOROSSL— |ffl^ % ^ (Wu-huan-tzu), 

 ;fC ,f, ^ (Alu-huan-tzu), 865. Other names are j\^ Jjj •? (Fei- 

 chu'tzu), i[(i ^ ^ (Yu-chu-tzu), ^^ it ^ (P'u-ti-tzu), and ^ 

 ^ ^ (Kuei-chien-ch*ou). The first two refer to the oily 

 nature of the seeds and their pearl-shape, while the third 

 means dod/ii seeds, and is used by the Buddhists, and the fourth 

 is used by the Taoists and refers to the benign influence of the 

 seeds in exorcising demons. The tree is a large one, bearing 

 seeds resembling those of Mclia azedarach, which are some- 

 times used for making rosaries. Notwithstanding their 

 acridity, they are roasted and eaten by the Chinese. Tiie dark 

 kernels were formerly made into a tincture, which was used as 

 a corrective and eliminant remedy. The globular fruit outside 

 the seed is used in medicine under the name of TJC ,^, (^ (Mu- 

 huan-jou), 863. It is considered to be slightly poisonous, and 

 is cleansing to the skin, removing tan and freckles. The 

 cotyledons of the seeds are recommended for bad breath and 

 gum boils. The root, 864, is also used, probably in the same 

 way as the fruit and seeds. 



SAPONARIA VACCARIA.— i T* ^ fr (Wang-pu-liu- 

 hsing), 1440. Other names are %^\ ^ 1^ (Chin-kung-hua) and 

 ^ ^ ^ ^ (Chin-chan-yin-t'ai). The plant i:^ irequciitly 

 met with in the fields, and grows from one to two feet high. 



