130 
NAT. ORDER. EUPHORBIACE^. 
dangerous. Independently of this volatile principle, there are two 
others belonging to the order which require to be noticed. The first 
of these is Caoutchouc, the most innocuous of all substances, pro- 
duced by that most poisonous of all families, which may be almost 
said to have given a new arm to surgery, and which has become an 
indispensable necessary of life ; it exists in ArtocarpecE and else- 
where, but is chiefly the produce of species of EiLj^hoi'hiaccce. The 
other is the preparation called Turnsol, which, although chiefly 
obtained from Crozophora tinctoria, is to be procured equally abun- 
dantly from many other plants of the order. 
Acalyplia Capameni^ an Indian herb, has a root which, bruised in 
hot water, is cathartic ; a decoction of its leaves is also laxative. 
The nut of Aleurites ambinux is eatable and aphrodisiac, but rather 
indigestible. The nuts of another kind are eaten in Java and the 
Moluccas ; but they are intoxicating unless they are roasted. The 
Anda, of Brazil, is famous for the purgative qualities of its seeds, 
which are fully as powerful as those of the Pahna Ch'isti. The 
Brazilians make use of them in cases of indigestion, in liver com- 
plaints, the jaundice, and dropsy. The rind, roasted on the fire, 
passes as a certain remedy for diarrhoea brought on by a cold. 
According to Marcgraaf, the fresh rind steeped in water communi- 
cates to it a narcotic property which is sufficient to stupify fish. 
The seeds are either eaten raw, or are prepared as an electuary. 
They yield an oil, which is said, by M. Auguste St. Hilaire, to be 
drying and excellent for painting — in short, much better than nut 
oil. The bark of Briedelia spinosa, an Indian herb, is, according to 
Roxburgh, a powerful astringent. The leaves are greedily eaten by 
cattle, which, by their means, free themselves of intestinal worms. 
The leaves of common Box are sudorific and purgative. According 
to Hanway, camels eat them in Persia, but they die in consequence. 
The flowers of Caturus spicijiorus are spoken of as a specific in 
diarrhoea, either taken in decoction or in conserve. The succulent 
fruit of Cicca disticha and racemosa is sub-acid, cooling and whole- 
