610 VEGETABLE DRUGS 



agreeable odor, and a bland, chocolate-like taste. Keadily 

 soluble in ether or chloroform. 



Constituents, — 1, olein ; 2, stearin ; 3, laurin ; 4, arachin • 

 5, glycerides of formic, butyric, and acetic acids. 



Uses. — Cacao butter melts at the temperature of the 

 body, and is chiefly used as an excipient for suppositories 

 and electuaries. It also has a demulcent action and may be 

 employed on raw surfaces or in inflammation of the throat 

 and digestive tract 



GossYProM PuRiFiCATUM. Purified Cotton. (U. S. P.) 



Synonym. — Absorbent cotton, E.; bombyx, lana gossypii, 

 — coton, Fr.; baumwolle, G. 



The hairs of the seed of Gossypium herbaceum Linne, 

 and of other species of Gossypium (nat. ord. Malvaceae), 

 freed from adhering impurities and deprived of fatty 

 matter. 



Habitat. — Tropical Asia and Africa ; cultivated in sub- 

 tropical and tropical countries, mostly in the Southern 

 United States. 



Description. — White, soft, fine filaments, appearing under 

 the microscope as hollow, flattened and twisted bands, 

 spirally striate and slightly thickened at the edges ; inodor- 

 ous and tasteless ; insoluble in ordinary solvents, but 

 soluble in copper ammonium sulphate solution. 



Uses. — Absorbent cotton is used as a cheap, convenient 

 and cleanly substitute for ordinary sponges ; to make poult- 

 ices by soaking it in antiseptic solutions (as creolin 1-2 per 

 cent.) and placing it between layers of gauze ; and for surgi- 

 cal dressings. 



Oakum, consisting of the fibres of old rope, is often 

 employed as a cheap absorbent material, saturated with tar, 

 in packing horses feet. 



Tow, — the coarser unbleached fibres of flax ; and lint, — 

 the scrapings of soft, loosely woven linen, — are also utilized 

 as absorbent substances for surgical purposes. 



