ASArCETIDA— CAilPHOE. 



633 



AsATffiTiDA. — This drug of commerce is procured from the 

 milky juice of Ferula asafoetida, a plant recently described by Dr. 

 Falconer, under the name of Narthex asafoetida. It is I'ound in. 

 Persia, the mountains of Chorasan, the central table land of 

 Affghanistan, and some seeds of it, sent to this country by Dr. 

 Falconer, germinated in the Botanical Garden at Edinburgh, and 

 are now vigorous thriving plants of six years growth. Its leaves 

 have a resemblance to those of a paeony ; the fruit is distinguished 

 by divided and interrupted vittae, which form a net-work on the 

 surface. The perennial roots grow to a very large size, and are 

 seldom of any use until after four or five years' growth. The 

 asafcetida is procured by taking successive slices olf the top of 

 the root and collecting the milky juice, which is allowed to concrete 

 into masses of a fetid resinous gummy matter, with a sulpliur oil, 

 similar to that of garlic, which is probably its active ingredient. 



An inferior sort is obtained from F.persica, another species with 

 very much divided leaves, growing chiefly in the southern provinces 

 of Persia, It comes over usually in casks and cases. Tho 

 British consumption of the drug is about 10,000 lbs. a year. A 

 little is procin-ed from Scinde. In 1825 the quantity imported 

 was 106,770 lbs., in 1839 only 24 cwts. 



The wholesale price in the Liverpool market, in January 1853, 

 was £1 to 5t*3 10s. the cwt. 



Camphor. — The Camphor tree {CampTiora qfficinarum, Laurus 

 Camphor a) is a native of China, Japan, and Cochin China, of the 

 laurel tribe, with black and purple veins. Camphor is procured 

 from all parts of the tree, but it is obtained principally from the 

 wood by distillation, and subsequent sublimation. 



Many plants, such as the cinnamon tree, supply a kind of cam- 

 phor, but the common camphor of the shops is the produce 

 chiefly of C. officinarum. 



Two kinds of unrefined camphor are known in commerce. — 1. 

 The Dutch, which is brought from Batavia, and is said to be the 

 produce of Japan. This is imported in tubs covered by matting 

 and each surrounded by a second tub, secured on the outside by 

 hoops of twisted cane. Each tub contains about one cwt. Most 

 of this goes to the continent. 2. Ordinary crude camphor is im- 

 ported from Singapore and Bombay, in square chests lined with 

 lead-foil, and containing \\ to \\ cwts. It is chiefly produced in 

 the island of Formosa, and is brought by the Chin Chew junks in 

 very large quantities to Canton, whence foreign markets get 

 supplied. — ("Pereira's Materia Medica.") 



In the southern part of Japan the tree grows in such abundance 

 that, notwithstanding the great consumption of it in the country, 

 large quantities are exported. Koempfer says, that the Japanese 

 camphor is made by a simple decoction of the wood and roots, but 

 bears no proportion in value to that of Borneo. There is aloo an 

 imitation of camphor in Japan, but every body can distinguish it 

 from the genuine. 



