Am-Mayr;iP894arm-}         Notes  on  the  Genus  Myrica.  221 
and  contain  an  essential  oil.  The  entire  plant  is  used  and  also  the 
separated  bark  and  leaves.  To  it  is  ascribed  pectoral,  astringent 
and  aromatic  properties.  The  infusion  has  been  also  applied  exter- 
nally for  the  cure  of  itch,  and  given  internally  as  a  vermifuge.  The 
leaves  have  been  used  in  Sweden  as  a  substitute  for  hops  in  brew- 
ing.   The  entire  plant  is  useful  in  dyeing  and  tanning. 
The  Myrica  cerifera  L.  is  the  indigenous  species  that  has 
attracted  the  most  attention  in  the  United  States.  Its  common 
names  are  Wax  Myrtle,  Wax  Berry,  Candle  Berry  and  Bay  Berry. 
The  fruit  of  this  species  is  quite  persistent,  frequently  adhering  to  the 
twigs  for  several  years.  The  nuts  are  incrusted  with  a  wax-like  tallow, 
Myrica  tallow.  The  wax  was  utilized  by  the  pioneer  settlers,  and  we 
have  accounts  dating  back  to  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  of 
the  methods  generally  adopted  by  each  family  to  furnish  themselves 
with  a  supply  of  this  wax  for  lighting  purposes.  The  South  Amer- 
ican species,  M.  pubescens  W.  (M.  caracasana  H.B.K.),  contains 
similar  fruit  and  has  been  utilized  for  the  same  purpose.  According 
to  an  inaugural  dissertation  of  George  Schneider,  Erlangen,  1890, 
the  wax  of  Myrica  cerifera  is  more  closely  allied  to  the  fats  than  the 
waxes.  He  gives  as  its  composition,  palmitin  70  per  cent ,  myristin 
8  per  cent.,  and  iauric  acid  4.7  per  cent.,  mostly  free.  The  bark  of 
this  species  has  attracted  some  attention,  but  principally  among  the 
eclectics,  and  is  an  ingredient  in  the  so-called  "  Thompsonian  Com- 
position Powder."  To  the  bark  is  ascribed  stimulant,  astringent, 
antiscorbutic,  antispasmodic,  sialagogue  and  errhine  properties.  It 
has  been  extensively  used  in  domestic  practice  as  a  vegetable  astrin- 
gent in  diarrhoea,  and  as  early  as  1804  Dr.  Benjamin  Smith  Barton, 
then  professor  of  Materia  Medica  and  Botany  in  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  called  attention  to  it  "  as  a  powerful  astringent  used 
with  success  in  diarrhoea,"  and  states  "  the  decoction  has  also  been 
used  with  much  advantage  in  dropsical  affections  succeeding  inter- 
mittents  and  in  the  treatment  of  haemorrhage  from  the  uterus,  etc." 
The  decoction  has  also  been  used  as  a  gargle  in  inflammation  of  the 
throat  and  as  an  injection  in  leucorrhoea.  The  powdered  bark  has 
been  applied  externally  as  a  stimulant  to  indolent  ulcers.  In  large 
doses  it  is  stated  to  be  acrid,  drastic  and  emetic.  The  leaves  are 
also  stated  to  be  aromatic,  stimulant  and  astringent. 
The  most  common  species  in  this  locality  is  Myrica  asplenifolia 
(L)  Banks.    This  species,  the  Comptonia  asplenifolia  of  the  earlier 
