ON  THE  CALIFORNIA  NUTMEG. 
247 
when  fresh  blood  ceases  to  flow.  After  standing  a  few  days,  a 
pellicle  forms  upon  the  surface  of  the  balsam,  which  should  be 
broken,  and  the  liquid  below  it  used.  It  does  not  deteriorate  by 
age,  if  tightly  stopped. — K  Y.  Journal  of  Medicine,  from 
X  Y.  Med.  Times. 
NOTICE  OF  THE  «  CALIFORNIA  NUTMEG." 
Br  Professor  J.  Torrf.y,  M.D. 
About  a  year  ago,  I  received  from  the  late  Mr.  Shelton,  who 
had  just  returned  from  San  Francisco,  a  specimen  of  what  was 
called  the  California  nutmeg.  I  immediately  considered  it  a 
species  of  Arnott's  genus  Torreya,  belonging  to  the  order  Tax- 
inese  of  the  great  natural  family  of  Coniferae.  It  had  been  dis- 
covered but  a  year  or  two  before  Mr.  Shelton  left  the  country,  and 
had  already  attracted  considerable  attention,  not  only  from  the 
beauty  of  the  tree,  but  from  the  singular  character  of  the  fruit  and 
kernel,  the  latter  strongly  resembling  the  common  nutmeg.  In- 
deed, it  has  been  frequently  stated  in  letters  from  California,  that 
the  nutmeg  is  a  native  of  that  country.  The  foliage  has  the  form 
and  deep  rich  green  of  the  Florida  species,  or  T.  taxifolia,  as  well 
as  of  the  yew  :  but  the  leaves  are  much  larger,  being  from  an  inch 
and  a  half  to  two  and  a  quarter  inches  long.  They  spread  out  on 
two  sides,  and  are  tipped  with  a  sharp,  rigid  point.  The  fruit,  as 
it  may  be  popularly  called,  is  about  the  size  and  form  of  a  green 
gage  plum,  and  in  the  dried  state  is  of  a  pale  olive  color,  but  this 
may  not  be  its  natural  tint.  The  outer  covering  is  a  thick,  fleshy, 
nearly  closed  urceole,  or  dish,  which  completely  invests  the  seed 
and  closely  adheres  to  it,  except  near  the  summit.  It  is  smooth 
and  even,  and  soft  to  the  touch.  The  seed  is  usually  oblong,  and 
greatly  resembles  a  large  pecane  nut,  but  frequently  is  more  ovate. 
The  shell  is  smooth,  thin,  and  fragile.  On  each  side,  near  the 
summit  and  just  below  the  non-adhering  portion  of  the  dish,  is  a 
perforation,  communicating  with  an  interior  canal,  similar  to  what 
I  described  in  T.  taxifolia,  and  the  use  of  which  is  still  unknown. 
The  kernel  is  conformed  to  the  shell,  and  has  the  external  and 
internal  appearance  of  the  nutmeg.  When  cut  transversely  the 
resemblance  is  perfect.    The  seed,  however,  is  wholly  destitute  of 
