438 



SPICES AND rEAUEAlS'T WOODS. 



It is an annual plant, largely cultivated in Spain, Malta, and 

 yarious parts of Germany, and also in the island of Scio, Egypt, 

 and parts of Asia, The imports are not large ; 192 cwts. paid 

 duty in 1833, and 315 cwts. in 1840c About 60 cwts. are annually 

 received at Hull from Germany. It is used to flavor liqueurs, 

 sweetmeats, and confectionery of various kinds. Oil of aniseed 

 is obtained by distillation from the fruit, and 1,544 lbs. were im- 

 ported in 1839. About two pounds of oil are obtained from one 

 hundred-weight of seed. 



Star ai^ise, Illicum anisafum, is a native of the countries ex- 

 tending from 23 1 deg. to 35 deg. of north latitude, or from 

 Cauton to Japan. The capsules constitute in India a rather im- 

 portant article of commerce, and are sold in all the bazaars. Large 

 quantities are also used in Europe in the preparation of liqueurs, 

 695 piculs of star aniseed were exported from Canton in 1850, 

 valued at 8,200 Spanish dollars. 81 piculs of oil of aniseed were 

 exported from Canton in 1848, and 105 piculs in 1850, valued at 

 11,900 dollars. 3,000 piculs of aniseed are exported annually 

 from Cambodia. 



PUTCHUK, OE COSTFS. 



The substance called costus was highly prized by the ancients, 

 and specimens may be met wiih at a few of the London drug- 

 houses. It has been sho^vn by Dr. Ealconer to be the produce of 

 a genus of the thistle tribe, to whicii he has given the name of 

 Aucklandia. The root of A. Costus is supposed to be the Costus 

 Arahicus, on the following grounds : — It corresponds with the 

 descriptions given by the ancient authors, and is used at the 

 present day for the same purposes in China, as costus was formerly 

 applied to by the Grreeks. The coincidence of the names — in 

 Cashmere the root is called koot, and the Arabic synonym is said 

 to be koost. It grows in immense abundance on the mountains 

 which surround Cashmere. It is a gregarious herb, about six or 

 seven feet high, with a perennial thick branched root, with an 

 annual round smooth stem, large leaves and dark purple flowers. 

 The roots are dug up in the months of September and October, 

 when the plant begins to be torpid ; they are chopped up into 

 pieces, from two to six inches long, and are exported without 

 further preparation. The quantity collected, according to Dr. 

 Falconer, is very large, amounting to about two million pounds 

 per annum. The cost of its collection and transport to a mercantile 

 depot in Cashmere, is about 2s. 4d. the cwt. The commodity is 

 laden on bullocks and exported to the Puujaub, whence the larger 

 portion goes down to Bombay, where it is shipped for the Bed Sea, 

 the Persian Gulf, and China ; a portion of it iinds its way across 

 the Sutlej and Jumna into Hindostan Proper, whence it is taken 

 to Calcutta, and bought up there with avidity under the name of 

 putchuk. The value is enhanced at Jugadree, on the Jumna, to 



