106 
ARNICA MONTANA. 
differs from them in being insoluble in alcohol. Boiled in water, it 
impregnates the liquor with its smell, but gives out little or nothing 
of its substance ; distilled with water, it yields a small proportion 
of a limpid essential oil, of a fragrant smell and a moderately pun- 
gent taste. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Mastic is regarded as a 
mild corroborant, astringent, and diuretic, and is said to possess 
(but in a milder degree,) the virtues of the turpentines ; hence it 
has been recommended in those diseases in which turpentine proves 
useful ; formerly it was much celebrated as a medicine in ulcerations 
of the uterus and lungs, in debility of the stomach, and in fluor 
a,lbus.* Chewing this drug has likewise been said to have been of 
use in pain of the teeth and gums. " It is employed to fill the 
cavities of carious teeth, for which purpose it is well adapted, from 
its property of softening in the mouth, and imparting little taste. "f 
It is a common practice with the Armenian women to chew this resin, 
not only to render their breath more agreeable, but to strengthen the 
gums and whiten the teeth : they also mix it with their fragrant 
waters, and burn it with their ordoriferous substances in the way of 
fumigation. ' 
Off. Mastic. 
ARNICA MONTANA. 
Mountain Arnica.\ 
Class Syngenesia.— Or<?er Polygamia Superflua. 
Nat. Ord. Composite Discoide^, Linn. CoRYMBiFERiE, Juss. 
Gen. Char. Receptacle naked. Seed-down simple. Calyx 
with equal leaflets. Corol of the ray have often five 
filaments without anthers. 
Spec. Char. Leaves ovate, pointed. Stem Leaves opposite 
in pairs. 
* The ancients used the wood and leares. — Ed. 
t Thomson's Dispensatory. 
t Fig. Our drawing represents a plant of the natural size, the lower portion of 
which with the root cut oflF. 
