SMYRNA SCAMMONY. 



' NOTES UPON SOME SPECIMENS OF SCAMMONY. 



HAVING through the kindness of Sidney H. Maltass, Esq., of 

 Smyrna, received several specimens illustrating his interesting 

 paper on the production of Scammony, I believe that a short 

 account of them will not be unacceptable. 



Samples of I will premise it by stating that Mr. Maltass has resided at 



S from n M? y Smyrna for the last eighteen years, where, as a matter of 



Maltass. business he has had constant opportunity for becoming 



conversant with all that relates to the drug as met with at 



that place : indeed, as he informs me he has actually collected 



it with his own hands in order to become the more practi- 



cally acquainted with it. 



To Mr. Maltass I am indebted for specimens of the following, 

 viz. : 

 1. Pure Scammony in shells, collected near Symrna. 



riinjma Scammt>iiy in Shells. 



It is remarkably transparent even when viewed in the shell ; 

 its colour is a pale golden brown, scarcely as intense as that 

 of common glue, of which its general appearance is suggestive. 

 A white emulsion is produced on rubbing the surface with a 

 wetted finger. 



This scammony affords 91/1 per cent, of resin soluble in 

 ether. 1 



2. Pure Scammony from the neighbourhood of Smyrna : a por- 

 tion apparently of a cake about an inch in thickness ; colour 



1 In examining the solubility of scammony in ether, it is needful to dry 

 the scammony until it ceases to lose weight, a precaution which must of 

 course be observed in weighing the residue also. 



