N. 0. ERICACEAE. 
731 
which means it is saponified and dissolved, methyiic alcohol of great purify 
being liberated. The solution of (he oil is (hen decomposed by any mineral 
acid. When beautiful crystals of salicylic acid are formed. These are gathered, 
squeezed, and dried. They are then mixed with eomm< n quicklime or sand, 
and distilled in an iron retort ; carbolic, acid of great purity, and crystallizing 
with the greatest readiness, passes into the receiver. This acid is equal 
to the purest kind obtained from coal tar. and employed in medicine. It, of 
course, possesses all the qualities which have rendered this substance almost 
indispensable in modern medical and surgical piactice. 1 had hoped, from 
the inexhaustible abundance with which the plant grows on the Neilgberries, 
that the carbolic acid from this source could be prepared at less cost than 
that imported. I have not yet bad an opportunity of working cn a large 
scale with an itinerant still, as would be necessary for its cheapest pro- 
duction ; but from some calculations I have lately made, 1 am led to think 
it can scarcely be prepared for less than the price of that procured from 
coal-tar. The purest kinds from the latter source cost four shillings a 
pound; I estimate the cost of that from this indigenous sorce at from Rs. 2-8 
to R?. 8-8 per pound in this country. The carbolic acid from the same source 
has certain advantages over the coal-tar acid, consequent on its extreme 
purity. It is less deliquescent, and cannot possibly be open to the suspicion 
of contamination with certain other products of coal-tar which possess injuri- 
ous qualities. ' 
“ In conclusion I am led to the belief that it would not be advisable to 
prepare carbolic acid from this singular source, when the comparative cost 
shows that the gain must be very small or non-existent. But it appears to 
me well worthy of record, that should circumstances render the supply 
of the English product difficult or uncertain, as in the case of war, or the 
English price increase, a practically inexhaustible source exists in this 
country from which this indispensable substance, in its purest state, can be 
obtained at a slight enhancement of the present price.” (Confer. Pharm. 
Journ., Oct 1871.) 
705. Pieris ovalifolia, D.Don. h.f.b.i.. iii. 460. 
Syn. : — Andromeda ovalifolia, Wall. 
Vern. ; — Ay&r (H.) ; Ayatta, eilan, ellal, arur, arwan (Pb.) ; 
Anjir, angiar, jagguchal (Nepal) ; Piazay (Bhutia) ; Kangshior 
(Lepcha). 
Habitat: — Temperate Himalaya, from Kashmir to Bhotan 
and the Khasia Mountains. 
A deciduous tree. Bark thick, fibrous, peeling off in long 
narrow stripes, deeply cleft, the clefts often extending spirally 
round the stem. Wood light, reddish-brown, soft, even-grained, 
but warps badly. Height, 20-40ft. Leaves 3-7 by l-4in., ovate- 
elliptic oblong, acute or acuminate, entire, rounded at the base, 
