54 
PRODUCTION  OF  OPIUM  IN  FRANCE. 
practise  their  pupils  some  hours  for  a  few  days  in  incising  the 
capsules  and  collecting  the  juice.  This  time,  otherwise  lost  by 
so  many,  would  thus  be  utilized,  and  rewarded  with  immediate 
profit.  As  soon  as  the  incision  is  made,  the  juice  flows  out  and 
may  be  collected.  In  twenty-four  hours  it  is  dry  ;  two  grammes 
alone  are  worth  fifteen  centimes.  A  skilful  laborer  would  col- 
lect from  50  to  100  grammes  per  day.  The  stock  of  tools  re- 
quired for  the  extraction  is  of  the  simplest  kind  :  a  knife,  worth 
60  centimes,  and  one  or  two  plates,  would  be  all  that  was  neces- 
sary. 
The  operation  is  most  easy  ;  it  requires  no  dexterity ;  and 
it  may  be  trusted,  says  MM.  Benard  and  Collas,  to  the  most 
inexperienced  hands." — Lond.  Pharm.  Journ.  Oct,  1860. 
ON  PENGHAWAR  DJAMBI. 
By  Dr.  Vinke. 
After  reporting  fourteen  cases  in  which  the  heoiorrhage  from 
serious  wounds  or  bleeding  ulcers  was  promptly  and  permanently 
arrested  by  the  application  of  penghawar,  the  author  communi- 
cates the  experiments  made  by  him  with  a  view  to  ascertain  the 
modus  operandi  of  this  remedy.  The  treatise  contains  the  fol- 
lowing^ information  :- — 
1.  On  the  phytogra/phy  of  'penghawar  {^palece  cihotii). — The 
specimen  examined  by  the  author  had  been  to  the  greater  part 
separated  from  the  stipes  of  the  fern,  and  consists  of  delicate 
filaments,  half  an  inch  to  two  inches  long,  which  are  very  soft, 
flexible,  and  so  light  that  they  keep  themselves  floating  in  the 
air  for  a  long  time.  The  shortest  ones  are  thicker,  dark  grey  or 
blackish,  and  are  present  in  penghawar,  but  in  small  quantity. 
The  longer  filaments  are  silky,  shining,  tortuous,  very  delicate 
and  of  golden,  light-brown  color.  It  weighs  so  little  that  six 
grains  constitute  a  considerable  mass — sufiicient  to  arrest  bleed- 
ing from  an  artery  one  line  in  diameter.  It  swims  on  water, 
but  falls  to  the  bottom  of  the  vessel  after  about  half  a  minute, 
as  it  absorbs  water ;  it  gives  an  empyruematic  odor  on  being 
heated,  burns  faintly  on  being  brought  in  contact  with  the  flame 
of  a  candle^  and  detonates  under  complete  combustion,  difi*using 
an  odor  like  agaric.    On  microscopic  examination,  the  author 
