662 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



(iuni catechu, a SUbsUfttt COflttiqihg tannic acid and 

 used in dyeing, which was at one time extensively used 

 as a remedy in colitis and dysentery, comes from the 

 Acacia catechu and ,-lcacia suinnis, both native to India. 

 We know that the \\ 'illnw i- bseful for its timber, 

 for basket-weaving, paper pulp, etc. The crack willow 

 (Salix frai/ilis), the white willow (Salix alta), the weep- 

 ing willow (Salix Babylonica) , and many other species, 

 are known. All are useful to produce medicinal char- 

 coal and all contained salicin, 

 a glucoside, and the forerunner 

 of salicylate of soda, salol. 

 aspirin, etc. almost specifics 

 for acute rheumatism and 

 grippe, and among the most 

 useful of modern therapeutic 

 inventions. Although salicylic 

 acid is made commercially from 

 carbolic acid and soda, and the 

 occurrence of salicin in the 

 willow is, therefore, of more 

 theoretical than practical in- 

 terest nowadays, there exists a 

 tree the oil from which contains 

 an almost chemically pure sali- 

 cylic compound, methyl sali- 

 cylate. This has practically 

 undeveloped possibilities as a 

 source of chemically pure sali- 

 cylic acid, when a product is 

 wanted superior to that made 

 synthetically. The bark of the 

 black birch, Betula lenta, yields 

 this oil in distillation. The 



birches grow extensively in Europe, Asia and America : 

 they have practical uses and may be cultivated in almost 

 any northern climate. The relative cheapness of the 

 synthetic acid has probably prevented the more extensive 

 use of birch and wintergreen oils as sources of the sali- 

 cylates. The old woodsman's medical lore, which came 

 to him from the savage, taught him to use these oils to 

 cure " rheumatics." Here again, as in the case of cin- 

 chona, of nux-vomica, of kola and of coca, the scientist 

 has buildcd his highway to medical knowledge on the 

 trail blazed by the savage. 



The citrus group, orange, lemon, etc., furnish us with 

 citric acid, useful as a solvent and as a flavoring agent, 

 while the almond furnishes a bland oil, and its cousin, 

 the wild cherry (Prunus serotina), has a waning popu- 

 larity as the base of a cough syrup. The antiquity of the 

 almond is shown by allusions to it in the Old Testament. 

 Aaron's rod was plucked from an almond tree. 



Another ancient sacred tree is the Sandalwood (San- 

 talum album). References are made in the Chaldean in- 

 scriptions to this tree, and it is used in the sacred rites 

 of the Buddhists. The oil has a limited use in medicine 

 in certain catarrhal inflammations, and is employed in 

 perfumery and sachets. It is found in India and the 

 Pacific islands. 



The Pomegranate is a rather small tree, but has many 

 claims to medical antiquity. The Punka granatum is 

 found in India, Afghanistan and the regions south of 

 tin- Caspian. It is mentioned in the Odyssey and in the 

 Old Testament. The bark is used as a remedy for tape- 

 worm and is very effectual. 



The Myroxylon pereira is a lofty leguminous tree, 

 growing in a limited area in San Salvador and Central 

 America, and cultivated in Ceylon. Balsam of Peru, a 





SIXTEENTH CENTURY USE OF GUAIAC 

 A print of the sixteenth century showing the pharmacy and medicinal uses of Lignum vita, or guaiac On the 

 right a man is chopping up the logs of wood, the woman is weighing out quantities of the drug, and a decoction is 

 being boiled in a kettle In the room to the left the physician is offering the beverage to the patient, who seems none 

 too well pleased with the prospective draught. 



viscid, aromatic balsam, used in surgical dressings and 

 in perfume, is obtained from this tree. From its cousin,, 

 the Myroxylon toluiferum, comes balsam of tolu, once, 

 used in cough syrups. Another balsam, storax, employed 

 as an insecticide, comes from an oriental tree, the Liquid- 

 ambar Orientalis, while the sweet gum of the United 

 States (Liquidambar styraciflua) , furnishes a resinous sap 

 employed medicinally for catarrhal troubles. 



A majestic tree that flourishes in the East Indies, the 

 Dryobalanops aromatica, is the source of borneol or 

 Borneo camphor. Japan, or ordinary camphor, is ob- 

 tained from the Cinnamomum camphora, a tree flourish- 

 ing in Japan, Central China and Formosa. The crude 

 camphor is obtained by distillation of chips of wood, and 

 is later refined by sublimation. 



Camphor is a well-known household remedy for ex- 

 ternal application. Internally it is of value in ordinary colds, 

 coryza, and as a diffusable heart and circulatory stimulant. 



Quassia, the bark of the Quassia amara, a South Amer- 

 ican shrub, named after its discoverer, the negro Quassin, 

 who used it in fevers, is now largely replaced by so-called 

 quassia wood, which is really the wood of the Picrcena 

 excclsa, or bitter ash, a tree found in Jamaica. It at- 

 tains a height of 50 feet. It has little value in fever, but 



