ON THE CASSIA OF THE ANCIENTS. 
243 
nicum, Nees , C. Culilaban, and others which supply the Cassia hark of our shops in the 
present day. 
The Chinese Cassia or Bastard Cinnamon ( C . Cassia ,) is a native of the hottest parts of 
Asia, as Ceylon, China, Cochin China, Malabar, Sumatra, and the Eastern Islands ; it has 
also been introduced to the continent of India, the islands of the West Indies, Brazil, the 
Mauritius, and other parts of South America. 
In its native habitats it forms a spreading shrub or tree, forty or fifty feet high. Trunk 
erect, short. Timber white and somewhat porous. Bark smooth, ash-coloured. Branches 
diffuse, spreading, forming a fine head. Leaves shining, bright green on the upper 
surface, glaucous beneath, with white veins, wavy at the edges. Flowers in terminal and 
axillary panicles, inconspicuous, inodorous, or perhaps slightly fetid. Fruit the size of a 
small gooseberry, insipid, soft, of a dark blue, nut inclosed, the kernel of which germinates 
soon after if falls. The root of the tree is thick, and contains a considerable proportion of 
camphor, which, in case of its being wounded, exudes in abundance. 
The bark of several other plants is known by the name of Cassia ; amongst these may 
be mentioned the Culilawan ( C . Culilaban,) which possesses a fine flavour of cloves ; that 
of C. nitida, which can scarcely be distinguished from the true Cassia ; that of Santa Fe, 
which is the produce of Nectandra Cinnamomoides ; that called the Clove Cassia of Brazil, 
which is the bark of Dicyphellium caryophyllatum ; and the Cassia of the Isle of France, 
which is the bark of Oreodaphne cupularis. But the kind from which we derive our chief 
supplies is Cinnamomum Cassia. 
The Cassia of our shops is of three kinds, that from China, called Chinese Wild 
Cinnamon ; that from the islands bordering on China, and that from the Continent of 
India ; the bark bears a great resemblance to that of the true Cinnamon, but the taste is 
different, and the quills are usually in single rolls. The trees are stripped in the same 
manner as those of the Cinnamon, but the bark is of less value from its containing more 
mucilage, and less aroma. Cassia buds, as they are called, are not obtained from this tree, 
but are the hexangular fleshy receptacles of the seed of C. verum or true Cinnamon. An 
oil is also procured from both the leaves and roots, the first is called the “ Oil of Cloves,” 
and “Oil of Cassia,” &c., and the latter the “Oil of Camphor;” both are powerfully 
stimulant, and of great use in medicine. 
The inner bark is the Cassia of commerce. The barking commences in May, and ends 
in October ; branches of three years old are selected and topped off with a bill-hook or 
knife. To remove the bark, a longitudinal incision is made through it on both sides of the 
shoot, so that it can be gradually loosened, and taken off entire, forming hollow cylinders. 
The bark in this state is tied up in bundles, and allowed to remain for twenty-four hours, 
by which a fermentation is produced that facilitates the separation of the epidermis or 
outer bark, which, with the green pulpy matter under it, is carefully scraped off. The 
bark soon dies, contracts, and assumes the quill-like form, after which the small pieces are 
put within the larger. 
The trees that grow in the valleys in white sandy soil, are ready for barking when four 
or five years old, but those in deep rich soils and shady places require to be seven or eight 
years of age before they are fit for the purpose, and although the plants grow in such 
situations far more luxuriant, yet the bark of such trees is inferior, being thick, spongy, and 
possessing little of the fine aroma for which it is valued. When the trees become more 
than eighteen or twenty years of age, the bark is considered little worth. The soil in wdiich 
the best trees are formed, is composed of three-fourths of nearly pure sand, and in situa- 
tions where the temperature is high, regular, and replete with moisture. The best soils in 
Ceylon are brown sandy loams, composed chiefly of decayed gneiss or granite rocks, 
abounding in felspar. 
The plant is not difficult of cultivation, but the following particulars must be noticed : — 
If the plants are grown in pots, the best soil is an equal mixture of sandy loam and 
peat, and let the potting be repeated as often as requisite, so as never to allow of the roots 
becoming matted together ; if this should ever be the case, merely loosen them with the 
hand so as to assist them to start again in the new soil. 
