BOTANICAL  AND  PHARMACOLOGICAL  INQUIRIES.  55 
Assafoetida,  from  its  containing  about  50  per  cent,  of  gypsum,  an  addition 
which,  in  the  case  of  so  cheap  a  drug,  it  is  difficult  to  understand. 
Assafoetida  is  produced  in  Persia,  and  reaches  Europe  by  way  of  Bom- 
bay. 
Sagapenum,  a  gum  resin  resembling  assafoetida,  but  not  acquiring  a 
pink  color  upon  exposure  to  the  air,  and  of  not  so  strong  an  alliaceous 
odor.  As  it  is  occasionally  shipped  from  Bombay,  it  is  presumed  that  it 
is  produced  in  Persia.  Though  it  has  been  used  in  medicine  for  ages,  its 
botanical  origin  is  not  ascertained  ;  from  analogy,  however,  we  may  infer 
that  it  is  the  produce  of  some  large  plant  of  the  nat.  order  Umbelliferce. 
Compared  with  assafoetida  and  galbanum,  sagapenum  is  a  rare  and  costly 
drug. 
Galbanum. — The  remarks  we  have  made  upon  sagapenum  apply  to  a 
great  extent  to  the  gum-resin  known  as  Galbanum.  Galbanum  is,  how- 
ever, a  far  more  abundant  substance  than  sagapenum.  It  occurs  in  trade 
in  two  varieties,  which  are  so  distinct  as  to  lead  to  the  inference  that  they 
are  yielded  by  distinct  plants. 
Galbanum  is  said  to  be  imported  into  Russia  in  large  quantities  by  way 
of  Astrachan,  but  that  which  reaches  England  comes  principally  from 
Bombay. 
Opopanax,  another  foetid  gum-resin,  the  produce,  according  to  most 
authorities,  of  Opopanax  Ohironium,  Koch,  a  large  umbelliferous  plant, 
native  of  the  south  of  Europe,  and  of  Asia  Minor.  There  is  no  modern 
account  of  the  collection  of  this  drug,  nor  is  its  place  of  production  ascer- 
tained. 
Rhubarb. — Determine  the  true  source  of  the  various  sorts  of  medicinal 
rhubarb  sold  at  Kiachta  to  the  Russians,  and  of  that  exported  from  Canton. 
Strange  to  say,  we  are  still  in  the  dark  respecting  the  origin  of  this  most 
valuable  drug !  In  this  and  all  such  cases  the  drug  should  be  procured  by 
one  who  is  an  eye-witness  to  it  being  gathered,  and  specimens  of  the  foliage, 
flowers,  and  fruit,  carefully  dried  for  the  herbarium  on  the  spot,  should 
accompany  it. 
INDIA,  SIAM,   INDIAN,  ARCHIPELAGO,   CHINA,  ETC. 
Catechu. — Observe  the  processes  by  which  the  various  kinds  of  Catechu 
Cutch,  Terra  Japom'ca,  and  Gambir  are  obtained  •  and  if  from  trees,  whether 
from  others  besides  Acacia  Catechu,  Areca  Catechu,  and  Uncaria  Gambir. 
We  wish  to  identify  the  trees  with  the  respective  extracts. 
Grass  Oils, — The  grasses  used  in  India  for  affording  the  fragrant  essen- 
tial oils,  known  as  Lemon-grass  Oil  or  Essence  of  Verbena,  Ginger-grass 
Oil,  Citronelle,  &c,  require  investigation.  What,  for  instance,  is  the 
source  of  the  essential  oil  imported  from  Ceylon  as  Oil  of  Lemon-grass  f  It 
is  considered  quite  distinct  from  Citronelle,  which  is  also  a  production  of 
the  island. 
