CORNACEiE. 349 



powder, extremely bitter and deliquescent, when exposed to the air. {Phil. 

 Jour. Med. and Phys. Sci. xl.) Mr. Ellis states (/. c.) that Dr. S. Jackson, 

 lately of Northumberland, in this state, informed him that he had subjected 

 the bark to Henry's process for obtaining quinia from Cinchona, and that 

 without carrying the process so far as to obtain a crystalline salt, he used the 

 concentrated alcoholic solution with the most decisive results, and was satis- 

 fied that it contained a principle analogous to quinia. 



Medical Properties. — This bark is tonic, astringent, and somewhat stimu- 

 lant in its action, and from the testimony of numerous practitioners, who have 

 given it an extended trial, is the best native substitute for the Cinchona, and 

 in some cases has succeeded where this substance was found ineffectual in pre- 

 venting the return of paroxysmal fevers. But it would also appear that it is more 

 apt to disorder the stomach, especially when used in a recent state ; in some 

 cases, also, it has produced pain in the bowels, which, however, was readily 

 relieved by a few drops of laudanum. On the whole, it may be considered 

 as a useful tonic, and one that may be employed with advantage, where good 

 Peruvian bark or its preparations cannot be procured, or where they fail in 

 inducing the desired result. The dose in powder is from twenty to thirty 

 grains, to be repeated according to circumstances. It may also be given in 

 decoction, made with an ounce of the bark to the pint of water, of which the 

 dose is from an ounce to two ounces. 



The ripe berries, infused in brandy, are used in some parts of the country 

 as bitters ; and an infusion of the flowers forms a very good substitute for 

 chamomile tea. Dr. B. S. Barton (Collections, 12) says that a decoction of 

 the bark was found very useful in a malignant disorder of horses, called 

 " yellow water," &c. From the presence of gallic acid in it, a good writing 

 ink may be made from it. 



2. C. sericea, Linn. — Branches spreading, reddish ; branchlets, cymes, and petioles, 

 woolly. Leaves ovate or elliptical, acuminate, nearly glabrous above, pubescent beneath. 

 Cymes depressed, crowded. Calyx teeth lanceolate. Petals lanceolate-oblong, obtuse. 

 Drupes sub-globose, pale blue. 



Linn., Sp. PI. 663 ; Torrey and Gray, Fl. i. 651 ; Barton, Veg. Mat. 

 Med. i. 115; L'Heritier, Corn. No. vi. t. 2. 



Common Names. — Red Willow ; Rose Willow ; Swamp Dogwood, &c. 



Description. — A shrub from six to ten feet high, with a greenish or brownish-purple 

 bark, which is of a brighter colour on the younger shoots. The leaves are pale-green, 

 ovate, and acuminate, sometimes almost lanceolate, at others broadly ovate; at first some- 

 what lanuginous, but finally nearly glabrous, except the veins beneath ; pubescence soft, 

 whitish, or rust-coloured. Flowers in large terminal cymes, without an involucrum, of a 

 yellowish-white colour. Stigma thick and capitate. The berries are globular, of a beau- 

 tiful blue colour. 



This species, like the last, has a wide range in the United States, and is 

 found in wet thickets, and on the margins of water-courses. It flowers in 

 June and July, and ripens its fruit in September. The bark of the root, 

 which is to be preferred, much resembles that of the last species, and pos- 

 sesses the same properties, but is less bitter and more astringent, and is given 

 in the same doses. The young shoots are used to make coarse baskets; and 

 the bark of them formed a favourite admixture with tobacco for smoking by 

 the Indians, who also, according to Dr. B. S. Barton, extracted a scarlet dye 

 from that of the small roots. 



3. C. circinata, L'Heritier. — Branches greenish, spotted, verrucose. Leaves large, 

 broadly ovate, or roundish, abruptly acuminate, tomentose beneath. Cymes rather small, 

 depressed. Drupes ovoid-globose, light-blue. 



