344 MEDICAL BOTANY. 



its weight in silver for all over this quantity. This, according to Father 

 Jartoux, insures the Emperor about 20,000 catties, at about a fourth of their 

 market price. 



Ginseng has a peculiar and rather pleasant smell, with a sweet, somewhat 

 aromatic and pungent taste. No analysis has been made of it ; but Rafi- 

 nesque states that it owes its properties to a peculiar substance, very similar 

 to camphor, which he calls Panacine. He says that this is white, pungent, 

 soluble in alcohol and water, and more fixed than camphor ; but this requires 

 confirmation. 



Medical Properties. — According to the Chinese authorities, this substance 

 nourishes and strengthens the body, stops vomiting, clears the judgment, re- 

 moves hypochondriasis and all other nervous affections, and in short, gives a 

 vigorous tone to the human frame, even in old age, and is an effectual re- 

 medy in all complaints. It is given by them in a variety of forms, and the 

 only ill result that it is capable of producing, is a tendency to haemorrhage, 

 where it is used in over-doses. It may be stated, that Father Jartoux and 

 other persons who have used the Chinese root, are of opinion that many of 

 the virtues attributed to it are real, and that it is a highly valuable remedy. 

 On the other hand, the trials made with it in this country and in Europe, 

 show that the American species is merely a gentle stimulant, with some anti- 

 spasmodic powers. No fair and extended trial of it, however, has been 

 made. As regards the Chinese kind, it is difficult to come to any just con- 

 clusion, for it can scarcely be possible that any article so long in use and so 

 highly prized, can be wholly worthless ; and yet there is much reason to be- 

 lieve that its beneficial effects are rather to be ascribed to fashion and the 

 effects of imagination, than to any intrinsic virtues in the root. 



The other species of Panax are P. ginseng, — this is said by Meyer to be 

 the true Ginseng of the Chinese, and to have a sharp, aromatic, peculiar 

 taste ; — P. fruticosum, and P. cochleatum, are fragrant aromatics, and are 

 employed in the Moluccas, according to Loureiro {Flor. Coch. Chin., ii. 656). 

 The fruit is diuretic, and displays some powers in dropsy, dysury, and bloody 

 urine. P. anisum has fragrant berries, having the odour of aniseed. 



Aralia. — Linn. 



Flowers mostly perfect. Limb of the calyx short, 5-toothed or entire. Petals 5, 

 spreading. Stamens 5, alternate with the petals, filaments short. Styles 5, at length di- 

 yaricate. Drupe baccate, 5-lobed, 5-celled. 



A small genus peculiar for the most part to North America and Eastern 

 Asia ; it is composed of shrubs and perennial herbs, mostly with compound 

 leaves, having their petiole sheathing at base, and the umbels of flowers often 

 panicled. Most, if not all of the species, are possessed of medicinal proper- 

 ties. Two are recognised in the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia. 



1. A. nudicaulis, Linn. — Nearly stemless, leaf mostly solitary, triquinate ; leaflets sessile, 

 smooth, oblong, oval, acute, serrate; scape shorter than the leaf, umbels 3, on long pedun- 

 cles ; not involucrate. 



Linn., Sp. PI. 393 ; Rafinesque, Med. Bot. i. 53 ; Torrey and Gray, Fl. 

 i. 646. 



Common Names. — Spikenard ; False sarsaparilla ; Wild liquorice, &c. 



