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PRODUCTION  OF  SCAMMONY  NEAR  SMYRNA. 
it  as  a  purgative,  the  usual  dose  being  one  dram  in  a  glass  of 
warm  water.* 
The  scammony  brought  to  market  by  the  Greek  peasants  is  al- 
most the  only  pure  sort  that  can  be  obtained.  It  does  not  exceed 
300  okes  yearly,  or  about  seven  hundred  weight,  and  is  sold  at  a 
high  price  to  a  few  dealers  who  know  its  superiority. 
When  purchased  it  is  placed  in  a  room  having  the  windows  open 
to  allow  the  wind  to  blow  over  it,  care  being  taken  to  prevent  the 
rays  of  the  sun  from  striking  upon  it.  Here  it  is  spread  upon  sheep- 
skins, flattened  if  moist,  and  turned  occasionally  to  prevent  it  be- 
coming mouldy  underneath.  When  nearly  dry  it  is  broken  up  into 
irregular  pieces  and  allowed  to  remain  a  few  days  longer  until 
quite  dry  ;  it  is  then  shipped  in  small  cases  containing  about  thirty 
pounds  each. 
Pure  scammony  is  easily  recognized  when  dry  ;  it  is  light  in 
weight  and  breaks  easily  with  a  glossy  fracture.  If  no  water  have 
been  added  by  the  peasants,  the  color  of  the  fracture  is  reddish- 
black.  If  water  have  been  added,  or  the  scammony  have  been  col- 
lected in  shady  places,  the  fracture  is  black  and  very  glossy.f  If 
it  have  been  put  in  tins  or  skins,  the  fracture  is  black  and  not  so 
glossy.  And  if  the  dry  drops  or  kaimak  scraped  from  the  roots  be 
not  worked  up  with  the  yah*,  or  milk,  pieces  will  be  found  of  a  light 
red  color  resembling  rosin.  An  emulsion  is  immediately  produced 
by  application  of  the  tongue,  excepting  when  water  has  been  add- 
ed without  the  assistance  of  the  sun's  rays,  in  which  case  the 
emulsive  property  becomes  impaired. 
*  One  dram  of  scammony  will  doubtless  appear  a  large  dose,  but  it  is  never- 
theless a  fact  that  the  contents  of  a  shelly  the  average  of  which  is  a  dram,  is  the 
usual  quantity  given. 
One  of  the  Greek  peasants,  while  collecting  scammony  last  year  near 
Maori,  opposite  the  island  of  Rhodes,  had  an  application  made  him  by  a 
Turk,  for  a  dose  of  scammony.  He  gave  him  a  shell  full.  The  Turk,  think- 
ing that  if  the  contents  of  j)ne  shell  would  prove  salutary,  that  of  a  great 
number  would  be  productive  of  proportiouately  greater  good,  stole  three  or 
four  more  from  the  Greek,  took  the  whole  and  died  the  same  day  from  the 
effects. 
t  In  another  communication  the  author  remarks,  that  the  addition  of  water 
or  a  decoction  of  the  scammony-plant,  causes  a  change  in  the  color  of  the 
drug ;  when  dry,  it  becomes  of  a  glossy  black,  whereas,  in  the  natural  state, 
it  is  of  the  color  of  rosin  and  semi-transparent. — Ed.  Ph.  J. 
