April 8,187L] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
807 
Digest in a close vessel, by means of a water bath, the 
tamarinds, figs and prunes in ten parts of water for 
three hours; separate the coarser portions with the 
hands, and press the pulpy mass by rubbing, first 
through a coarse sieve, and then through a very fine one. 
Mix the residue with four parts of water, and, having 
•digested the mixture for a short time, treat it as before, 
and add the product to the pulpy liquid first obtained, 
evaporate to a syrupy consistence over a water bath, add 
the sugar and continue the heat for twenty minutes, or 
until the sugar is dissolved ; then remove from the bath, 
add the fluid extracts of senna and ginger, and mix 
thoroughly.— The Chicago (U.S.J Pharmacist. 
SUMBULUS MOSCHATUS. 
Inspector Lungershausen, of Moscow, reports in No. 27 
of TVochenschr. f. Gdrtnerei unci Pjlanzenkunde, that the 
hitherto unknown plant yielding musk, or sumbul root, 
is now in bloom in the botanical gai'den at Moscow. 
When the Russians occupied Bucharia, the plant was 
discovered and several roots were sent to Moscow, of 
which but one arrived in good condition. This new 
umbelliferous plant it was hoped would produce fruit 
-and thus be propagated in Europe. The root has been 
used in Russia with considerable success in Asiatic 
cholera. 
Professor C. Koch regards the plant as a very interest¬ 
ing one, on account of the strong musk odour of its 
root, and because the musk deer lives in the same re¬ 
gions. The root has been known for about thirty-five 
years, without, however, sustaining the high reputation 
it has gained in Russia, so that it belongs already to the 
-obsolete remedies. It is now mainly employed in per¬ 
fumery in place of the high-priced musk. There may, 
possibly, be two musk roots, both indigenous to Central 
Asia, one being exported through Russia, the other from 
the East Indies. 
The musk root contains about 9 per cent, of a soft 
oleoresin, obtainable by ether, which in contact with 
water has the odour of musk. It contains a peculiar 
acid, sumbulic acid, which appears to differ from ange¬ 
lic acid and from umbelliferone. It has been long 
(known that the root belongs to an umbelliferous plant; 
flowers and fruits have sometimes been found with it. 
The latter differing from those of other Umbcllifcrcc , 
were made the type of a new genus, and the plant was 
named Sumbulus moschatus. — Hager’s Ph. Centralhalle, 
1870, Nos. 39, 367, 368. 
CHINESE PRODUCTS. 
In the Reports of her Majesty’s Consuls in China, for 
1869-1870, there are some interesting particulars re¬ 
specting the production of several substances which are 
of interest to the drug trade. 
Fiijst in interest among these stands opium. The in¬ 
creasing consumption of this ding is now largely met 
by native cultivation. The native opium is not in 
favour with those who have acquired a taste for the 
foreign drug; but it is thought that the adulteration 
practised in the preparation of the Indian opium for 
smoking, may tend eventually to make the cheap native 
article more popular. This adulteration is said to con¬ 
sist of the admixture of various kinds of vegetables, 
ground nuts, and sometimes even human hair. It is 
probable, however, that the Indian opium, from its 
superior qualities, will always hold its own at the point 
now reached as an article of luxury against the native 
grewn. There seems little doubt that the actual con¬ 
sumption of opium in China is increasing; the Consul at 
Iviu-kiang reports that “ the number of dens for the ac- 
.commodation of opium smokers has considerably in¬ 
creased within the past few yearswhile the Consul at 
Eoo-chow-foo reports that “ opium smoking is still the 
fashion of the elegant and wealthy classes of society in 
China, no matter in what rank; it is the pastime of the 
literary man and the mandarin, as well as of the mer¬ 
chant.” 
The following information concerning the cultivation 
of opium in the province of Sze-chuen, the result of per¬ 
sonal observation and inquiries made on the spot, is given 
in the report of the delegates of the Shanghae Chamber 
of Commerce on the trade of the Upper Yang-tze:— 
“Cultivation of opium is very profitable, and is, con¬ 
sequently, increasing everywhere. The climate of Sze- 
chuen is warm and the season early, so that at least two 
crops, and probably three, are taken off the ground, 
annually. Where the poppy is grown it is tho first crop 
ot the year, and only occupies the ground three months, 
competing with wheat or beans or some of the other 
cereal crops which come to maturity in the spring. Tho 
seed is sown in the first moon, say February. It is in 
flower during April, and the juice is nearly all gathered 
by about the middle of May, when the stalks are taken 
up for burning. Before this, the succeeding crop has 
generally been sown, if it is a dry crop, such as Indian 
corn, tobacco or corn, and the green leaves of the young- 
crop appear as soon as the dry stalks of the poppy are 
cleared away. Rice may also be seen growing on the 
field where the poppy has been, as the means of damming 
up and irrigating the arable patches on the hillsides on 
which the poppy grows are always at hand, and the time 
of sowing the rice was found to correspond exactly with 
the time when the opium fields had been cleared. Very 
little labour seems to be needed in the cultivation of the 
poppy, and the gathering of the juice may be the work 
of the children of the family. The incision in the pod is 
made in the morning, and in the evening the juice that 
has oozed out is scraped off into a cup, when it gradually 
becomes black, and a few days’ exposure to the sun 
renders it dry enough to be packed. The poppy seed is 
used for food.” 
For commercial purposes three kinds of opium are 
particularly worthy of notice, although as far as soil and 
climate are concerned there seems scarcely any limit to 
its cultivation. These are the growths of Szechucn 
(called Chuen-tu), Yunnan (called Nan-tu), and Kwei¬ 
chow (called (Kweichow-tu). 
The quality and strength of the Szechuen opium 
varies according to the district. Fungtoo opium is said 
to yield 75 per cent, of extract; Foo, 70 per cent; Kai, 
80 per cent., but these are vague native estimates. Tho 
opium ordinarily produced in Eastern Szechuen is from 
a large variety of poppy with white petals; but at 
Patung-hien it is obtained from a smaller kind with pink- 
tipped white petals, and is dearer than the other. Pink 
flowers are common amongst the white, and there are, 
doubtless, many slight differences in the quality of the 
drug which smokers recognize. 
Yunnan is said to produce more opium than Szechuen. 
This opium, called Nan-tu, yields 80 per cent, of extract, 
is of finer quality and possesses better medicinal qualities 
than the Szechuen, and is longer in consuming. It is 
imported in large quantities into Szechuen, where it is 
used by wealthy people. 
The Kweichow opium resembles the Szechuen. It 
was formerly largely imported in the latter province ; 
but since the cultivation of the opium has extended there, 
the demand has fallen off. 
Rhubarb is collected and sold in the Kwan-hien dis¬ 
trict. The price is about 40 taels per picul. (The tael 
is equal to about 6s.; the picul 133^ lb.) The finest 
quality is the produce of Szechuen. A distinction has 
usually been made between the Szechuen and the Shansi 
rhubarb, but it is doubtful whether it be a real one. The 
shipment to London during 1869 amounted to 1290 
piculs, against 1910 piculs of the previous year. 
Safflower, or Hung-hwa, is another valuable product 
of Szechuen. The best kind is called Kwa-tsze-hwa. 
The flowers are rolled together and cut in slices about a 
