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SELECTED ARTICLES. 
ART. XXXVI. -UPON CHERRY LAUREL WATER. 
By M. Faury. 
In one of the articles in his thesis, M. Mialhe correctly 
observes that the distilled water of cherry laurel constitutes a 
medicine extremely variable in its composition, and conse- 
quently is a bad medicine. He attributes this variation of 
constitution to several causes; the first arises, says he, from 
the circumstance that all operators do not obtain the same 
quantity of water at one distillation ; the second is attributed to 
the age and period of vegetation, and, doubtless, also to the 
temperature of the year; the third, and last, is, the greater or 
less age of the distilled water itself. In consequence of these 
judicious remarks, M. Mialhe, not being willing to deprive 
the Materia Medica of an efficient agent, proposes to substitute 
for the water of the cherry laurel, that of bitter almonds, as 
this can be procured at all times of the same strength. It 
appears to me that the causes which have induced M. Mialhe 
to reject the employment of cherry laurel water, are equally 
operative with respect to that from bitter almonds, and that 
this last is affected by others in addition; in fact, do not the 
pharmaciens, who think they should deviate from the propor- 
tions directed by the Codex in the preparation of cherry laurel 
water, pursue the same course as regards that of bitter almonds? 
Do not vegetation, temperature of the year, and, I will add, 
culture, manure, &c., modify the prussic flavour of bitter 
almonds ? Let us join to these, the numerous varieties that 
these fruits present, — going on to infinity, so that it is the 
most difficult thing to meet with bitter almonds possessing 
equal bitterness, almost permitting us to suppose that each 
tree furnishes a variety, and we will possess reasons sufficient 
to reject the substitution proposed by M. Mialhe. 
Now, since from what has been said, it is clear that the 
water of bitter almonds, on account of its variable strength, 
cannot supply the place of that from the cherry laurel in 
