530 
EDINBURGH MEETING. 
No actual medicinal preparations are obtained from the Order of Birds, but the eggs 
of the common fowl, or rather the large quantity of albumen contained in them, often 
proves of great therapeutic value in arresting the action of some of the worst of the 
mineral poisons, more especially that most dangerous one, corrosive sublimate. 
We come lastly to the mammalia, which, as an Order, produces by far the greater 
number of pharmaceutical substances. The great cachalot whale, one of the largest of 
its tribe, yields us the spermaceti so much valued in ointments, and formerly as an in¬ 
ternal remedy ; indeed, in many parts of England, melted with sugar and butter, it is 
often employed as a domestic remedy for coughs. This substance is the stearine of the 
oil of this and some other whales, but it exists in this, and more especially in the oil 
obtained from its head, in the greatest abundance. 
This same whale appears to feed at times largely on cuttle-fish and their shells, or 
bones, as they are called, do not appear to be easy of digestion, for hard concretions are 
formed in the intestines of the animal, which, when voided, float upon the surface of 
the sea, and form great prizes to the seamen who are the lucky finders, for they consti¬ 
tute the valuable ambergris of commerce. The delicate odour of this substance appears 
to be nothing more than the musky odour of the cuttle-fishes’ ink, and the same may be 
perceived in the Chinese India-ink. A slight examination of this material will show the 
fragments of cuttle-fish bones, plentifully mixed through the mass, especially in the 
finer qualities of ambergris. 
The dugong ( Hcilicorus Indicus ) has lately been in request for its oil in the Austra¬ 
lian provinces, where it has been found a good substitute for that obtained from cod- 
liver, and some has been sent to this country for the same purposes. 
The terrestrial mammalia yield us musk, civet, castoreum, hyraceum, the bezoars, 
etc. 
The first of these is from the small deer-like animal Moschus moschiferus , and the his¬ 
tory of the substance itself would be very interesting if time would permit me to go 
fully into it. This, however, is impossible at this late hoar; I must, therefore, content 
myself with a mere mention of this and subsequent articles, hoping for future opportu¬ 
nities to go more fully into their properties, commerce, and the historical facts connected 
with them. The pods, as they are called, which I show you, are peculiar sacs, one of 
which is found in each male animal placed in juxtaposition with the prepuce. It has a 
small orifice, from which it can expel the secretion or musk at particular times, and, if 
collected after emission, it is called grain-musk, which is not so valuable as that con¬ 
tained in the pod or sac. 
The second substance, or civet, is from the civet-cats ( Viverra civetta and Viverra zi- 
bethd ), though not now used except in perfumery, the two kinds were formerly em¬ 
ployed as musk in medicine. They are yielded by two glands, placed as in the musk 
animal, near the genital organs, but not confined to the male, for they found in both 
sexes. 
Castoreum, from the beaver ( Castor fiber), consists of glands, situated near the genital 
apparatus, and long supposed, from their peculiar shape, to be the testes of the animal. 
Two varieties, American and the Siberian, are known in commerce, and their use, like 
that of musk and civet, was always believed to consist in their being powerful anti- 
spasmodics. 
Hyraceum ( Hyrax capcnsis) is a comparatively new substance, consisting, as you see, 
of an extract-like material, with a strong animal odour, slightly resembling castoreum. 
It is not clearly ascertained what special secretion it is, but it is now generally thought 
to be the inspissated urine of the animal. 
Bezoars, oriental, from the ibex ( Capra ibex). These curious rounded calculi have 
long ceased to have any value in European pharmacy, although Eastern nations attribute 
great virtues to them, and also to the occidental kind from the Peruvian goat, which 
are exported from South America to India and China for the use of the Oriental phar¬ 
maceutists. 
I have now taken a very hurried and superficial glance at the subject of animal sub¬ 
stances used in medicines, and I cannot but regret that, at the earnest request of your 
secretary, I was induced to touch so interesting a topic in such a limited time as I have 
had. It was to prevent a disappointment on this special occasion ; but had I known 
you would have had so able a paper to precede mine, I should have preferred to let you 
rest cpntent with that. 
