N. O. PEDALINE*. 
951 
into a short thick stalk, broadly ovoid, bluntly 4-angled 
with the spines from the angles, pericarp very tough, fibrous 
woody. 
Uses : — The fresh leaves and stems, briskly agitated in cold 
water, speedily convert it into a thick mucilage, nearly of the 
consistence of the white of a raw egg, inodorous and tasteless, 
An infusion, thus prepared, is a highly prized remedy amongst 
the people of Southern India, in gonorrhoea and dysuria. Facts 
communicated to the Editor, leave little doubt that in these 
cases it is a remedy of considerable value, and that as a diuretic 
its action is speedy and marked. Dr. Ives ( Voyage to India , 
p. 466) speaks very favourably of the virtues of this plant, 
under the name of Qhanli-gura or Gocrow ( Gokeroo , Hind.) ; and 
he adds to his own testimony that of Dr. Thomas, as to the 
power of the mucilage to cure gonorrhoea without the aid of any 
other medicine. Water thus rendered mucilaginous, soon 
returns to its original fluidity, and it therefore requires to be 
freshly prepared each time before its exhibition. Its virtues 
are well deserving of further investigation. To the fruits, demul- 
cent and diuretic properties are assigned, and they are exten- 
sively employed as such by the natives (Pb. Ind.). 
The fruits are possessed of antispasmodic and aphrodisiac 
properties. The decoction of the fruit is useful in irritation of 
the urinary organs The juice is a goofl gargle and the plant 
makes a good poultice (Dymock.) The . juice is used in aphthae 
as a local application (Dr. Emerson). Of late years it has been 
introduced into European medicine as a remedy for sperma- 
torrhoea, incontinence of urine, and impotence (Practitioner, 
XVII. 381). “ The juice of the fruit is an emmenagogue ; it is 
employed in puerperal diseases, and to promote the lochial 
discharge. Leaves are used as a curry in splenic enlargements. 
Decoction of the root is antibilious” (Dr. Thompson, in Watt’s 
Dictionary .) 
Chemical composition,— The fruits contain a greenish-coloured fat, a small 
quantity of resin, and an alkaloid in the alcoholic extract. The mucilage 
separated by water is precipitated by acetate of lead solution and alcohol, 
and in these respects resembles the mucilage of gum arabic. The ash of the 
airdried fruit amounts to 5'43 per cent. {Pharmacographia Indies, III. 3k). 
