NOTES ON THE ECONOMIC APPLICATION OF BARKS. 435 



sensation, followed by vomiting if taken in large doses. In powder it 

 has the repute of acting as a stimulant. It is of a fibrous texture, with 

 a whitish shining exterior, and a cinnamon brown coloured fracture. 



Populous tremuloides, Michx. — A tree growing to 20 or 30 feet high, 

 common in the swamps of North America, where it is known as the 

 " American Aspen." The bark has tonic properties, and has been used 

 successfully, and esteemed as a febrifuge in the United States. It is of 

 a lightish brown colour, with silvery white patches. 



Achrm Sapota, L. — A tree sometimes growing 50 feet high, native 

 of the West Indies and the neighbouring Continent of South America. 

 The bark is said to be powerfully astringent, and to have been used 

 successfully in place of cinchona. 



Diospyros Melanoxylon, Roxb. — This is one of the trees supposed to 

 furnish the ebony wood of Commerce. It is a native of Ceylon, Coro- 

 mandel, and other parts of India, growing to a height of 20 or 30 feet. 

 The bark is a valuable astringent, and, mixed with pepper, is given in 

 dysentery, by the native Indian practitioners, who also reduce it to 

 powder and apply it for the cure of ulcers. The bark is of a spongy 

 nature, deeply furrowed, or cracked. In colour of a dull grey. 



Ulmus fuloa, Michx. — The slippery elm of North America is a com- 

 mon tree in the United States, growing to a height of 50 or 60 feet. 

 The inner bark is employed in medicine, and is considered an excellent 

 demulcent, the mucilage being highly nutritious ; an instance is told of 

 a soldier who supported life for ten days on this bark and sassafras. 

 The Indians also employ it as an article of food in times of great 

 scarcity. In North American practice, it has been recommended in 

 diarrhoea and dysentery, and also in cutaneous eruptions. It occurs in 

 long nearly flat pieces, of a fibrous nature, tawny externally, and some- 

 what reddish on the inner surface. 



Ulmus Campestris, L. — The common field elm, found in all parts of 

 England, but especially in the southern counties. The bark of this 

 tree is used as a medicinal agent by our own practitioners. Its pro- 

 perties appear to have been known to the ancients. Dioscorides and 

 Pliny both speak of the astringency of the elm. It contains a quantity 

 of mucilage, and is therefore slightly demulcent, but its effect upon the 

 system is that of a gentle astringent tonic. It is given in the form of a 

 decoction, and has been used in cutaneous diseases, and also as a substi- 

 tute for sarsaparilla. The inner bark is the part used. It occurs in Com- 

 merce in thin pieces, of a toughish texture, and a brownish yellow 

 colour, and is without smell, but has an astringent bitter taste. 



Ilex Aquifolium, L. — The Holly, a common bush oi tree of our own 

 country, but found also in many parts of Europe, Asia, and America. 

 The bark has been reported to possess emollient, expectorant, and 

 diuretic properties, and has been employed successfully in cases of 

 epidemic intermittent fevers, when cinchona has been of no avail. It 

 contains a large quantity oi viscid matter, and when mace-rated in water 



