478 



ORIENTAL COMMERCE. 



[China. 



mon in flavour ; that which is small and broken, should be rejected. The 

 Malabar kind is thicker and darker coloured than the China kind, and is 

 more subject to foul packing ; therefore each bundle should be carefully 

 inspected, or you will have a good deal of dirt and rubbish in it. The 

 quantity of cassia allowed to a ton is 8 Cwt. 



Cassia Fistula is the fruit of a tree so named , {Amelias, Hind., 

 Suvernacfiy San.) that grows spontaneously in Egypt, and some parts of 

 the East Indies, and from thence has been introduced into America. It is 

 a long slender pod, of about an inch in diameter, and from one to two feet 

 in length ; externally it is of a dark brown colour, somewhat wrinkled, 

 with a large seam running the whole length upon one side, and another less 

 visible on the other. It is yellowish within, divided by woody partitions 

 into a number of little cells, containing hard, flattish, oval seeds, enclosed 

 in a soft black pulp ; this pulp has a sweetish taste, followed by more or 

 less of an ungrateful kind of acrimony. The oriental cassia has a more 

 agreeable sweetness, and less acrimony than the American, to which it is 

 preferred on that account. The eye may distinguish them from each other ; 

 the oriental pods being smoother and smaller, having a thinner rind, with a 

 pulp of a deeper shining black colour than the American. The oriental 

 cassia should be chosen in full and fresh pods, heavy, and not rattling when 

 shaken ; when broken, the pulp, which is the medicinal part, should be of a 

 shining black colour, sweet and agreeable, with little or no roughness ; and 

 this roughness is predominant when the fruit has been gathered unripe ; 

 neither should it be mouldy or dry, which is the case when it has been long 

 kept. 10 Cwt. of cassia fistula are allowed to a ton. 



Cassia Buds are said to be the berry of the cassia tree, and are brought 

 from China ; they bear some resemblance to a clove, but are smaller, and 

 when fresh, possess a tine rich cinnamon flavour. They are to be chosen 

 sound, fresh, and free from stalks and dirt ; they are occasionally packed 

 with cassia lignea, by which it is said the flavour of both is considerably 

 improved. The ton of cassia buds is 8 Cwt. 



Cassia Oil. — The best is manufactured in China, and the finer kind 

 differs but little in its properties from that of cinnamon, for which it is 

 generally substituted. There are few better modes of proving its goodness 

 than by taking the point of a pin, dipping it in the oil, and rubbing it on 

 the back of the hand ; if genuine, the smell continues a long time, and does 

 not readily fly off; but if after remaining some time, it partakes of any 

 other smell, it is adulterated. 



Cass um ana ii is a moderately large root of a plant growing in the East 

 Indies, which we usually meet with cut into irregular slices, of various 



