

128 FERULA GALBANIFLUA 



that of a pea; the tears are of a light yellowish-brown, orange - 

 brown, or yellowish-green colour; more or less translucent, 

 usually rough on their surface, hard and brittle in cold weather, 

 but softening in summer, and by the heat of the hand becoming 

 ductile and sticky. The tears are frequently found in a more or 

 less agglutinated state. Galbanum in mass usually occurs in large, 

 hard, compact, irregularly- shaped masses, which are commonly of a 

 yellowish-brown or dark brownish-yellow colour, or occasionally 

 they have a greenish tint ; these masses are composed of more or 

 less agglutinated tears, and generally contain a variable proportion 

 of the fruits of the galbanum plant, with pieces of the root, stem, 

 and other impurities. Galbanum is separated from its impurities 

 by being melted and strained. In rare cases galbanum is found 

 in a soft, almost fluid state. This latter, which is sometimes 

 regarded as a distinct kind under the name of Persian Galbanum, 

 has a strong peculiar odour, which has been supposed to have 

 some resemblance to a mixture of garlic and savin ; and a dis- 

 agreeable, bitter, somewhat acrid and alliaceous taste. 



Galbanum contains about 60 per cent, of resin, 33 of gum or 

 mucilage, and 7 of volatile oil; it is therefore a gum-resin. The 

 resin has a soft consistence, and is soluble in ether or alkaline 

 liquids ; it yields by the action of heat and hydrochloric acid, 

 nearly 1 per cent, of the substance termed umbelliferone, which 

 may be separated from the acid solution by means of ether or 

 chloroform in which it is soluble; and by subsequent evapora- 

 tion of these solutions it can be obtained in colourless crystals of 

 an acicular form. Umbelliferone } as is noticed in treating of 

 assafcetida and ammoniacum, is also obtainable in small proportion 

 from these drugs. Umbelliferone is likewise soluble in water, 

 and the solution displays a blueish fluorescence, which is rendered 

 much more manifest by the addition of an alkali, but is destroyed 

 by an acid. That umbelliferone exists pre-formed in galbanum 

 is proved by the blue fluorescence being at once evident when a 

 drop of ammonia is added to water in which a piece of galbanum 

 has been immersed for a short time. Amongst other substances 

 also obtainable from galbanum resin, may be mentioned a thick 



