XAJNTHOXYLACEiE. 195 



tonics in the treatment of complaints in which such remedies are required. 

 Its use is therefore limited to cases of debility of the digestive organs, for 

 which it is well adapted, as it does not oppress the stomach. At the same 

 time it should be stated that Dr. Hancock speaks in the highest terms of its 

 efficacy in malignant fever, dysentery and dropsy, occurring in its native 

 country, considering it far superior to Cinchona. His success with it may have 

 arisen from the bark being more powerful in a fresh state, or from the form in 

 which he administered it ; this was in a fermented infusion given very freely. 



Several analyses have been made of this article, by which it is shown to 

 contain, in addition to the usual vegetable constituents, a volatile oil, which is 

 the odorous ingredient ; a peculiar bitter principle, Cusparin of Saladin : this 

 is neutral, crystallizable, soluble in alcohol, slightly so in water, and insoluble 

 in ether or the volatile oils ; two resins, one hard, brown and bitter, and the 

 other soft, greenish-yellow and balsamic. Angustura is given in powder, in 

 doses of from ten grains to half a drachm, or preferably in infusion or tincture. 



There are several other species of Galipea noticed by Aublet in his Plants 

 of Guyana, and Dr. Hancock states one of the species of Raputra, of the 

 same author, properly appertains to this genus. It is likely that the whole 

 of them possess analogous properties, as the order to which they belong is an 

 extremely natural one. 



Order 32.— XANTHOXYLACE^.— Lindley. 



Flowers regular, dioecious, or polygamous by abortion. Sepals 3 — 5, rarely 6 — 9, con- 

 nected at base. Petals as many as sepals, sometimes wanting ; aestivation twisted. Sta- 

 mens as many as, and sometimes twice as many as petals, distinct. Ovaries usually as 

 many as sepals, either distinct or united, ovules 2 — 4 in each carpel ; styles distinct or con- 

 nate when the ovaries are separate, and combined when these are united. Fruit baccate 

 or membranaceous, of 1 — 5 drupes or 2-valved capsules. Seeds solitary or in pairs, pendu- 

 lous, with oval, flat cotyledons, and the embryo within a fleshy albumen. 

 t 



This order, which will probably require revision, consists of trees and 

 shrubs, which are furnished with alternate or opposite, simple or pinnate, ex- 

 stipulate leaves, mostly marked with pellucid dots. They are generally aro- 

 matic and bitter ; and the properties of the several species are very similar, 

 being stimulant and tonic. 



Xanthoxylon. — Kunth. 



Dioecious. Sepals 3 — 9, small. Peltals sometimes wanting. Stamens as many as the 

 sepals. Ovaries 1 — 5 on a central disk, with two suspended ovules. Carpels 2-valved, 1 — 2- 

 seeded. 



This genus, whose name is variously spelt by botanists, Zanthoceylum, 

 Xanthoxylum, and Xanthoxylon, the latter of which is most correct, is com- 

 posed of trees and shrubs, which are usually prickly on the branches, petioles, 

 and midribs of the leaves. The species, with a few exceptions, are peculiar 

 to America, and principally to the tropical regions, two or three only being 

 natives of the United States. The species vary much in their reproductive 

 organs, and several genera and sub-genera have from time to time been 

 founded on these differences, but have not been generally adopted by bota- 

 nists. All the species have an aromatic and pungent bark, and might in all 

 probability be indifferently used in medicine ; only one, however, is recog- 

 nised as officinal in our national pharmacopoeia. 



X. fraxineum, Willdenow. — Prickly. Sepals 5 or more, petaloid. Petals none. Um- 

 bels lateral. Leaves pinnate ; leaflets ovate, oblong, nearly sessile. Carpels stipitate. 



