ABSTRACTS AND GLEANINGS IN BOTANY, ETC. 607 
flavour of the root, and when substituted for the wine or tincture in our own 
prescribing, I have not observed any difference in activity. 
It is possible that the presence of the acid may be a drawback to the general 
employment of this syrup, although the majority of mixtures in which ipe¬ 
cacuanha is prescribed would not be injured by a little acetic ; the want of 
limpidity, as compared with wine or proof spirit, and consequent increased 
difiiculty in measuring small quantities, may be another; but it is a fair question 
whether these are not more than balanced by the possession of a preparatiou 
uniformly palatable, sightly, and efficient. 
ABSTEACTS AND GLEANINGS FEOM BEITISH AND FOEEIGN 
JOUENALS IN BOTANY, MATEEIA MEDICA, AND THEEA- 
PEUTICS. 
Assafoetida. 
BY DR. J. E. POLAK, 
Assafoetida called in Persian Anguzeh (of which our word asa may be an ab¬ 
breviation), and in Arabic Heltit el mumtin^ was in former times abundant oa 
the trachyte range lying between Ispahan and Mahiar. Thither the assafoe¬ 
tida collectors from Khorassan came every year in spring; they surrounded the 
plant with a bank of stones, cut off its stem, and then collected the gum-resin. 
But as they left no stems for producing seed, only some isolated plants are now 
to be found in this locality. The plant is however still plentiful between 
Abadeh and Murgab, where as well as in the southern province of Laar, assa¬ 
foetida is collected. About Abadeh in the spring the sheep feed on the leaves of 
the plants; and I was assured by credible witnesses that the milk and butter 
obtained from the animals thus pastured, is so foetid that none but the inhabi¬ 
tants can make use of them. I have also received from Herat through an 
English physician, several shoots which were quite covered with gummi-resinous 
tears. From the occurrence of the plant in the hot province of Laar and other 
regions it is evident that it is adapted to a warmer climate and a lower eleva¬ 
tion above the sea-level. 
The greatest quantity of assafoetida is exported to India, where it is em¬ 
ployed for culinary purposes. It forms a frequent ingredient of the sauces 
eaten with pillaiv. Its medicinal use in Persia is very extensive, especially 
against spasm ; there are persons who have so accustomed themselves to its use, 
that it has become to them as much a necessary of life as opium is to an opium- 
eater. In fact it exerts by long use a remarkable action in tranquillizing spas¬ 
modic pains, a property which deserves to be more regarded in Europe. 
The young shoots of the plant, after immersion in vinegar, are willingly eaten 
by the Turkomans. In many parts of the country I was informed that they 
fence round the fields with assafoetida plants, as a protection from the attacks 
of insects.— Persien ; das Land und seine JBewohner. Leipzig, 1865. Zweiter 
Theil, p. 282. 
Case of Poisoning from Privet Berries. 
The following interesting case, in which Privet Berries were assumed to be 
the indirect cause of death, has been communicated to the ‘ Medical Mirror ’ 
by Mr. James Cheese, M.R.C.S. Eng.:— 
On Sunday, the 24th of September last, C. C., a little, girl, aged two,years 
seven months, was brought to me owing to some anxiety felt by her parents 
because of the tardiness of her recovery from what was supposed to be a simple 
attack of bilious diarrhoea. The child had been ill fifteen days, during which 
