N. 0. ERICACE^. 731 



which means it is saponified and dissolved, methylic alcohol of great purity 

 being liberated. The solution of the oil is then docomposed by any mineral 

 acid, when beautiful crystals of salicylic acid are formed. These are gathered, 

 squeezed, and dried. They are then mixed with common quicklime or sand, 

 and distilled in an iron retort ; carbolic acid of great purity, and crystallizing 

 with the greatest readiness, passes into the receiver. This acid is equal 

 to the purest kind obtained from coal tar, and employed in medicine. It, of 

 course, possesses all the qualities which have rendered this substance almost 

 indispensable in modern medical and surgical practice. I had hoped, from 

 the inexhaustible abundance with which the plant grows on the Neilgherries, 

 that the carbolic acid from this source could be prepared at less cost than 

 that imported. I have not yet had an opportunity of working on a large 

 scale with an itinerant still, as would be necessary for its cheapest pro- 

 duction ; but from some calculations I have latelj made, I am led to think 

 it can scarcely be prepared for less than the price of that procured from 

 coal-tar. The purest kinds from the latter source cost four shillings a 

 pound ; I estimate the cost of that from this indigenous sorce at from Rs. 2-8 

 to Rs. 3-8 per pound in this country. The carbolic acid from the same source 

 has certain advantages over the coal-tar acid, consequent on its extreme 

 purity. It is less deliquescent, and cannot possibly be open to the suspicion 

 of contamination with certain other products of coal-tar which possess injuri- 

 ous qualities. 



" In conclusion I am led to the belief that it would not be advisable to 

 prepare carbolic acid from this singular source, when the comparative cost 

 shows that the gain must be very small or non-existent. But it appears to 

 me well worthy of record, that should circumstances render the supply 

 of the English product difficult or uncertain, as in the case of war, or the 

 English price increase, a practically inexhaustible source exists in this 

 country from which this indispensable substance, in its purest state, can be 

 obtained at a slight enhancement of the present price." (Confer. Pharm. 

 Journ., Oct 1871.) 



7.05. Pieris ovalifolia, D.Don, h.f.b.i.. hi. 460. 



Syn. : — Andromeda ovalifolia, Wall. 



Vern. : — Ayar (H.) ; Ayatta, eilan, ellal, arur, arwan (Pb.) ; 

 Anjir, angiar, jagguchal (Nepal) ; Piazay (Bhutia) ; Kangshior 

 (Lepcha). 



Habitat: — Temperate Himalaya, from Kashmir to Bhotan 

 and the Khasia Mountains. 



A deciduous tree. Bark thick, fibrous, peeling off in long 

 narrow stripes, deeply cleft, the clefts often extending spirally 

 round the stem. Wood light, reddish-brown, soft, even-grained, 

 but warps badly. Height 20-40ft. Leaves 3-7 by l-4in., ovate- 

 elliptic oblong, acute or acuminate, entire, rounded at the base, 



