8 



I EUPHORBI \> - 



in the countries where the) grow, m und iu the Euphoi 



root "i Stillingia bj \\ atica i- 



maladii same reputation attaches t" i uen 



Jatropha officii I i Pihu in Brazil. I 



in\ olu nnabina, 



and diuretic quahtii 



the Hindoo doctors, among those medicines which i\u \ >■• 

 altering and correcting the habit in i . and in ■ 



attended witli anomalous symptoms. The Mercurialis or Dog Met 

 another active genus. M. annua has :i nauseous taste and is slightly , : M. 



perennis is much more active, sometimes producing violent vomiting, burn- 



ing heat in the head, convulsions, and death ; M, tomentosa, :i Mediten lirub, 



is used in hydrophobia ; it is vulgarly believed to this da,) diat if women eal :li< 

 individuals oi this plant, which is dioecious, they will conceive I . if the f ( 



girls; when boiled with other vegetables it acts as a mild purga •■ Euglic 



must niii I onfounded with these plants. Set Chenopods . Ompl tidru, 



a Guayana plant, lia> a »hit.- juice which turns black in drying, and is used in pL 

 ink. In Cicca disticha, an Indian bush, the root is violently purgative, a dei 

 the leaves diaphoretic. A decoction of Croton perdicij i Pe de P eani- 



phora, and Cocallera, in different provinces <>i Brazil, is much esti . med 

 syphilis, and as a useful diuretic. The root of another . called \'< 



Campo, C campestris, has a purgative root, also employed against similar disoi 

 It i~, howevi r, more common t" find balsamic juices iu die American Crotons, ai 

 which balsamifer i> employed in Martinique in die preparation of die liqueur • 

 Eau de Mantes ; frankincense is extracted from C. diurifer and adipatus on the I 

 of the Amazons ; C. humilis is used for it- aromatic qualities in medicating baths in die 

 West Indies ; at the Cape of Good Hope die fragrant C. gratissimus is used b\ die 

 Koras as a perfume; die balsam of C. origanifohus is mentioned among the sub- 

 stitutes for copaiva ; it- leaves and bark are considered diaphoretic and autispas 

 litialU , ('. niveUS i- a \ ulm ran . 



The st important, however, among die aromatic Spurgeworts are the plants that 



yield t iscarilla, a valuable bitter, tonic, aromatic, stimulant bark, imported from tli< - 

 W <-.t [ndies. This drug has been at one time referred t" C. Eleuteria, a lialiama 

 ahrub, at another to C. Cascarilla, a Jamaica bush, called, from its appearance, w 



Rosemary. Aeag 1 deal of controversy has been raised respecting this matter, it i- 



as well t" -tat>- that tli<- question is now set at rest in consequence of tli • Hon. •). i 

 I i .11.1 Judge in the Bahamas, having sent home specimens of die Cascarilla 



with the bark itself and the leaves adhering to it. It proves t" be this species, con- 

 cerning which Mr. Lees has favoured nit with the following note: "The plant is 

 scarcely known here bj the name ol Cascarilla, but is commonly railed - 

 Hark, and often Eleuthera Bark, because it is chiefly gathered on the islai 

 Eleuthera. It i- the only bark receiving the name of Cascarilla exported from the 

 Bahamas, where the tree grows in great abundance." It is, however, c rtaii 

 C. pseudo-China furnishes Cascarilla in Mexico, where it is called Quina blai 

 Copalche Hark ; and C. ni tens, cascarilloides, micans and sub 

 rior t.> the t'. Eleuteria it- 



The bark of the Asiatic Bridelias is astringent : bo is that of Stylodisc 



whose « 1 is of a red colour, as is the bark; the former is einplo 



and spars of small vessels in Java, h The common V- \ 



Bempervirens, lias a bark with qualities similar to th 



has been substituted; the leaves are bitter, and verj pur 



alleged that they have been used as a substitute for Hope 



some pan- of Persia where li"\ trees abound, camels cann 



it is found impracticable t<> prevent their browsing on tl 



The root and bark "i Codiseum variegatum are acrid, and ex 



in the mouth if chewed : but the leaves are sweet and cooling PI 



young shoots of Phyllanthus Niruri arc considered, in India, 



and healing ; the leaves are very bitter, and a a I stomachic 



ticularly P. urinaria, are powerful diuretics. Thebruis 

 tor inebriating fishes, The boiled leaves "t' Plukeni da ■ •• n 

 ct'lK-nt potherb, for wnich purpose the plant iscultivated in Ami 

 iiu'iii.an Indian herb,hasa root which, bruised in hot water, 

 its leaves is also reported to be laxatii 



a of a- a specific in diarrhoea, eidier taki n i 



Phe "il of the seeds is periiaps the most iniportai 

 Order. It i- often among the most valuable of kn. « 



