18 
SMALL-LEAVED LIGNUM VITJ3. 
lighter, and contains very little resin. It is remarkably 
cross-grained, the strata of fibres running obliquely into 
one another, in the form of a letter X. It is usually sawed 
into pieces of 1 to 5 cwt. each, and seldom presents a 
diameter of more than 12 to 18 inches. 
The peculiar substance called Guaiacum, (now Guaia- 
cine), is procured from this tree. It is friable, semitrans- 
parent, light, of a brownish-green colour when exposed to 
to the air and light, and diffuses on burning a somewhat 
agreeable odour. It is slightly bitter, and produces in the 
mouth a sensation of smarting and heat. It dissolves 
entirely in alcohol, and partially in water. It either flows 
spontaneously and concretes in tears, or is obtained by in- 
cisions. The latter operation is performed in May. This 
substance is also obtained by sawing the wood into billets, 
and boring a hole longitudinally through them, so that 
when one end of the billet is laid on the fire, the gum flows 
readily from the other, and is collected in a calabash or 
gourd. It may also be obtained by boiling the chips or 
raspings in salt water, when the gum will separate from the 
wood and rise to the surface. Guaiacine differs from 
resins in the change of colour produced on it by air and 
light, and the action of the acids, in not forming tannin 
but oxalic acid when treated with nitric acid, and in the 
large proportion of charcoal it affords when burnt. 
Guaiacine is stimulant, diaphoretic, diuretic and purga- 
tive. The Spaniards first imported the wood from America 
into Europe in the year 1508. It had then a high reputa- 
tion as an antisyphilitic, and the names of Holy Wood and 
Wood of Life were given to it, and it was then in such 
esteem as to be sold at the rate of seven gold crowns a 
pound. It virtues, however, in the treatment of this dis- 
ease have been now wholly superseded by mercury. The 
decoction of the w r ood has been found useful in cutaneous 
diseases and scrofulous affections. The Guiac itself is an 
