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THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [September 10, 1870, 
heads already mentioned, namely, energy of actual 
motion and of position. We have chosen the force 
of gravity, acting upon a stone shot up into the air, 
as our example; but there are other forces besides 
gravity. Thus, a watch newly wound up is in a 
■condition of visible advantage with respect to the 
force of the mainspring; and as it continues to go it 
gradually loses tliis energy of position, converting it 
into energy of motion. A cross-bow bent is likewise 
in a position of advantage with respect to the spring 
of the bow; and when its bolt is discharged, this 
energy of position is converted into that of motion. 
Thus again, a meteor, a railway train, a mountain 
torrent, the wind, all represent energy of actual visible 
motion; while a head of water may be classed along 
with a stone at the top of a house as representing 
energy of position. The list which represents visible 
energy of motion and of position might be extended 
indefinitely ; but we must remember that there are 
also invisible molecular motions, which do not the 
less exist because they are invisible. 
One of the best known of these molecular energies 
is radiant light and heat, —a species which can 
_ traverse space with the enormous velocity of 186,000 
miles a second. 
Although itself eminently silent and gentle in its 
action, it is, nevertheless, the parent of most of the 
work which is done in the world, as we shall pre¬ 
sently see when we proceed to another division of our 
subject. In the meantime we may state that radiant 
light and heat are supposed to consist of a certain 
undulatory motion traversing an ethereal medium 
which pervades all space. 
Now, when this radiant energy falls upon a sub¬ 
stance, part of it is absorbed, and in the process of 
absorption is converted into ordinary heat. The un¬ 
dulatory motion which had previously traversed the 
thin ether of space has now become linked with gross 
palpable matter, and manifests itself hi a motion 
which it produces hi the particles of this matter. The 
violence of this rotatory or vortex-like motion will 
thus form a measure of the heat which the matter 
contains. 
Another species of molecular energy consists of 
electricity in motion. When an electric current is 
moving along a wire, we have therein the progress of 
a power moving like light with enormous velocity, 
and, like light, silent in its operation. Silent, w r e 
say, if it meets with no resistance, but exceedingly 
formidable if it be opposed; for the awe-inspiring 
flash is not so much the electricity itself as the visible 
punishment which it has inflicted on the air for 
daring to impede its progress. Had there been a set 
of stout wires between the thunder-cloud and the 
earth, the fluid would have passed into the ground 
without disturbance. 
The molecular energies which we have now de¬ 
scribed may be imagined to represent motion of some 
sort not perceived by the outward eye, but present 
nevertheless to the eye of the understanding, they 
may, therefore, be compared to the energy of a body 
in visible motion, or actual energy as we have 
termed it. 
But we have also molecular energies which are 
more analogous to the energy of position of a stone 
at the top of a cliff. 
For instance, tvo bodies near one another maybe 
endowed with a species of energy of position due to 
opposite electrical states, in which case they have a 
tendency to rush together, just as a stone at the top 
of a cliff has a tendency to rush to the earth. If the 
two bodies be allowed to rush together, this energy of 
position will be converted into that of visible motion, 
just as when the stone is allowed to drop from the 
cliff its energy of position is converted into that of 
visible motion. 
There is finally a species of molecular energy 
caused by chemical separation. When we cany a 
stone to the top of a cliff, we violently separate two 
bodies that attract one another, and these two bodies 
are the earth and the stone. In like manner when we 
decompose carbonic acid gas into its constituents, we 
violently separate two bodies that attract one an¬ 
other, and these are carbon and oxygen. When, 
therefore, we have obtained in a separate state two 
bodies, the atoms of which are prepared to rush 
together and combine with one another, we have at 
the same time obtained a land of energy of molecular 
position analogous on the small scale to the energy 
of a stone resting upon the top of a house or on the 
edge of a cliff on the large or cosmical scale. 
(.To he continued.) 
GINSENG. 
BY JOHN It. JACKSON. 
Amongst the most extraordinary medicinal plants 
which have from time to time been celebrated in different 
ages and countries, the Ginseng of the Chinese is one of 
the most curious. This drug is the dried root of Panax 
Schinseng Nees, a small plant, frequently with a creep¬ 
ing underground stem or rhizome. It is a native of 
China, and so highly is it esteemed that it forms a large 
article of internal commerce and realizes almost fabu¬ 
lous prices. As much as 300 taels of silver, which is 
equal to about £100 of our money, is about the average 
price of a single tael (640 grains) of the drug. Though 
it has been proved by our own chemists to possess no me¬ 
dicinal virtues, other than being mucilaginous, aromatic, 
slightly bitter and saccharine, it is nevertheless esteemed 
as a most invaluable root by the Chinese, who believe it 
produces the most extraordinary effects upon the human 
system, invigorating and restoring the fatigued and 
wearied body to a marvellous degree, and bringing back 
youth to the aged and strength to the weak. Be this as 
it may, it has held its position with the Chinese for a 
very long time, and still continues to be highly prized. 
In the year 1709 we read that a body of Tartars, num¬ 
bering some 10,000, were sent by the Emperor of China 
in quest of the root, with instructions to bring home as 
much as they could find, two pounds of the best of which 
was to be given by each man to the Emperor, and the 
remainder they were to sell for the same weight of fine 
silver. The Chinese name, Jinsang or Ginseng, implies 
“Wonder of the World,” and the generic name Panax 
is derived from the Greek panakes or panacea, a cure 
for all diseases. Both words, therefore, refer to its sup¬ 
posed extraordinary powers. The Ginseng plant grows 
in the mountainous parts of China, but the best quality, 
or that which is most esteemed by the Chinese, is ob¬ 
tained from the Corea ; Manchuria also produces a good 
variety. A species of Panax named quinquefolia , grow¬ 
ing in North America, has roots similar to those of the 
true Chinese Ginseng, with which plant indeed it is 
often confused. These roots are, however, on compari¬ 
son, more slender than those of P. Schinseng. The Ame¬ 
ricans at one time exported them to China in large quan¬ 
tities as a substitute for the Chinese drug. 
The Commissioner of Customs of Newchang has sent 
home some very interesting remarks on the trade and 
cultivation of Ginseng, which remarks will no doubt be 
worth giving in his own words ; he says :— 
“ It is difficult in discussing the trade of the chief port 
