VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 427 



medicine shops ; but is ranch adulterated, having the same 

 dark brown color as wood oil, but usually not so much of the 

 odor of the drug as it should have. Rose-maloes is apparently 

 substituted for it. This is the same drug as that described by 

 Hanbury under the name of ;JC ^ ,%> ^ (Shui-an-hsi-hsiang). 

 His sample was enclosed in "small globular, wooden shells, 

 apparently the pericarp of some fruit, about one and three- 

 fourths inches in diameter, closed with wax. The Chinese 

 assert that they import it by way of the Indian archipelago ; 

 but I have not been able to trace it either there or in Siam. 

 It is curious, moreover, that this fragrant resin, even to the 

 shell enclosing it, is extremely like that kind of balsam of 

 Peru, which was brought to Europe long ago in the capsules 

 of Lecythis and naturally supposed to be a product of South 

 America." The virtues of this product are extremely like 

 those of gum benzoin, but it is more highly valued as a 

 medicine because of its scarcity and high price. 



SYMPLOCOS PRUNIFOLIA.— ill ^ (Shan-fan). Other 

 names are :g: ^ (Ylin-hsiang) and ^ 1. ^ (Ch'i-li-hsiang). 

 This tree grows throughout the Yangtse valley to the height 

 of ten or fifteen feet, having leaves resembling those of the 

 Gardenia. These are used for dyeing purplish black and do 

 not need a mordant. This explains the Chinese name 

 '-'-mountain a htm.'''' It bears a very plentiful supply of 

 beautiful white flowers with yellow stamens and is very 

 fragrant. The seeds are as large as pepper corns, and when 

 ripe can be eaten. The leaves are also used in the preparation 

 of bean curd, and are used mixed with tea leaves to give the 

 latter a flavor. They are also eaten as a pot-herb. They 

 have a sweetish-sour taste, and are used in chronic dysentery, 

 to relieve thirst, and to kill fleas. For the latter purpose, 

 about thirty leaves are decocted with three slices of ginger 

 and the decoction used as a wash. 



