224 CINNAMOMUM ZEYLANICUM 



the other, and the compound sticks thus produced are bound 

 together into bundles. These are usually left for about twenty- 

 four hours, when the two external layers of bark are carefully 

 removed by scraping; for which purpose each quill is placed on a 

 piece of wood of the required thickness. In a few hours the 

 smaller quills are introduced into the larger ones, and in this way 

 congeries of quills are formed, which generally measure about 

 40 inches in length. The bark is then kept one day in the 

 shade, after which it is placed on wicker trays and dried in the sun ; 

 and finally it is made up into bundles weighing on an average about 

 30 Ibs. each. Care is taken to fill up each pipe or congeries of 

 quills with the same kind of bark as that which is outside, and as 

 few joints are placed in each pipe as possible. The finest pipes 

 are usually well filled, as the preservation of the odour and 

 flavour is very much assisted by the exclusion of the air. 



General Characters of Cinnamon Bark. The bark of commerce, 

 that which is alone official in the British and Indian Pharma- 

 copoeias, is Ceylon cinnamon. In the United States Pharma- 

 copoeia both true Cinnamon bark and Cassia bark there mentioned 

 as obtained from Cinnamomum aromaticum, Nees, (see Cassia 

 Bark,) are .J official under the common name of cinnamon bark. 

 The official! cinnamon bark of the British Pharmacopoeia consists 

 essentially of the inner bark or liber, and presents the following 

 characters :i It is in closely rolled quills, each being about of an 

 inch in thickness and containing several smaller quills. The bark 

 is thin, brittle, splintery, moderately pliable, of a dull, light 

 yellowish-brown colour externally, and of a darker brown on its 

 inner surface. The outer surface presents at varying distances 

 little scars or holes indicating the points where the leaves have 

 been removed, and is also marked with faint, shining, wavy lines. 

 The odour is fragrant, and the taste warm, sweet, and aromatic. 

 These are the characters of the best Ceylon cinnamon; inferior 

 kinds are thicker, darker-brown, and have a pungent succeeded by 

 a bitter taste. The means of distinguishing cinnamon from cassia 

 bark, which is frequently substituted for it, are described under 

 Cassia bark. 



