SCAMMONIUM. 441 



mass, it is of a chesnut -brown, but in small fragments it is seen to be 

 very pale yellowish-brown and transparent, with the freshly fractured 

 surface vitreous and shining. When powdered it is of a very light 

 buff. Rubbed with the moistened finger it forms a white emulsion. 

 Treated with ether it yields 88 to 90 per cent, of soluble matter, and a 

 nearly colourless residuum. This scammony, as well as the pure juice 

 in the shell, is very liable to become mouldy ; but besides this, it throws 

 out, if long kept, a white, mammillated, crj'stalline efflorescence, the 

 nature of which we have not been able to determine. But if scammony 

 is kept quite dry, neither mouldiness nor efflorescence makes its 

 appearance. 



The ordinary fine scammony of commerce, known as Virgin Scani- 

 7novy, is also in large flat pieces or irregular flattened lumps and frag- 

 ments, which in ma.ss have a dark-grey or blackish hue. Viewed in 

 thin fragments, it is seen to be translucent and of a yellowish-brown. 

 It is very easily broken, exhibits a shining fracture, gives an ashy grey 

 powder, and has a peculiar cheesy odour. Some of the pieces have a 

 porous, bubbly structure, indicative of fermentation ; the more solid 

 often show the efflorescence already mentioned. Scammony has not 

 much taste, but leaves an acrid sensation in the throat. 



Chemical Composition — Scammony owes its active properties as 

 a medicine to a resin shown (1860) by Spirgatis to be identical with 

 that found in the root of the Mexican IpoiiKEct orizabensis, known in 

 commerce as Male Jalap : this resin called Jalajnn will be described in 

 the next article. The other constituents of pure scammony are not well 

 known. One of them is the substance which, as already stated, makes 

 its appearance as small masses of cauliflower crystals on the surface of 

 pure scammony, when the latter is kept in air not perfectly dry. 



Whether the odour observable in commercial scammony is due to a 

 volatile fatty acid developed by fermentation, is a question still to be 

 investigated. 



Commerce — The export of scammony from Smyrna amounted in 

 1871 to 278 ca.ses, valued at £8320 ; in 1872 to 185 cases, value £6100. 

 According to a report of Consul Skene on the trade of Northern Syria,^ 

 737 cases of scammony were exported from the pro\dnce of Aleppo in 

 1872,^ — six-sevenths of the quantity being for England. In 1873 

 Aleppo exported by way of Alexandretta to England 46,500 kilo- 

 grammes of scammony root and 900 kilogrammes of the resin, the 

 latter being valued at 36,000 francs (£1444). 



An establishment at Brussa, founded by Delia Sudda, of Constanti- 

 nople, is stated to export since 1870 a very good scammony resin 

 extracted by alcohol.^ 



Uses — Employed as an active cathartic, often in combination with 

 colocjaith and calomel. 



Adulteration — Scammony is very often imported in an adulterated 

 state, but the adulteration is so clumsily effected, and is so easily dis- 

 coverable by simple tests, or even by ocular examination, that druggists 

 have but little excuse for accepting a bad article. 



We have already named the substances used in the sophistication of 



^ Presented to Parliament, July 1873. ' Dragendorflfs Jahresbericht, 1876. 158. 



