ON  STORAX. 
249 
off.  The  solution  of  gold  is  now  placed  in  a  flat-bottomed  ves- 
sel and  heated,  and  a  strong  solution  of  oxalic  acid  added ;  in  a 
few  hours  the  whole  gold  is  deposited,  and  the  supernatant  liquid 
may  be  decanted  off,  taking  care  all  the  time  not  to  disturb  the  gold 
at  the  bottom,  and  the  vessel  is  then  several  times  filled  up  with 
boiling  water  and  decanted  until  the  last  washings  contain  no 
more  oxalic  acid. 
The  gold  is  now  carefully  slipped  on  to  a  piece  of  filtering- 
paper,  and  by  means  of  a  spatula  gently  pressed  into  the  form 
of  the  desired  cake,  but  somewhat  thicker  ;  it  is  then  removed  to 
a  porcelain  crucible,  and  heated  for  a  short  time  somewhat  below 
a  red  heat,  when  it  shrinks  in  dimensions,  becomes  coherent,  and 
is  similar  to  the  American  product  in  properties. 
As  the  American  gold  is  of  a  reddish  hue,  it  is  probably  pre- 
cipitated by  protosulphate  of  iron,  and  not  by  oxalic  acid. — Chemi- 
cal Gazette,  Feb.  1, 1857. 
ON  STORAX. 
By  Daniel  Hanbury. 
"  Verum  ad  accuratum  ac  diligentum  Materise  Medicae  tractationem  instituen- 
dam,  remedii  cuj  usque  historiam  et  virtutes  a  medicis  recensitas  exponere  non 
sufficit ;  sed  etiam  multa  insuper  consideranda  sunt  ac  perpendenda." — Geoffroy, 
Tract,  de.  Mat.  Med. 
Writers  on  Materia  Medica,  ancient  as  well  as  modern,  have 
generally  concurred  in  applying  the  name  Storax  or  Styrax  to  two 
distinct  substances  namely  Liquid  and  Solid  Storax.  I  might 
almost  say  to  two  groups  of  substances,  since  each  comprehends 
two  or  more  varieties.* 
The  plant  to  which  Storax,  at  least  the  solid  kind,  is  commonly 
referred,  is  Styrax  officinale  Linn.,  a  small  tree  of  the  Nat.  Ord. 
Styracece,  occurring  in  Provence,  Italy  and  the  Levant.  It  is 
this  tree,  to  which  all  authors  admit,  the  account  of  Storax  given 
*  A  conventional  distinction  of  confining  the  name  Storax  to  the  solid 
drug  and  Styrax  to  the  liquid,  is  adopted  by  some  modern  authors.  But 
as  such  a  use  of  terms  leads  to  some  inconsistency,  I  have  not  adopted  it, 
but  employ  the  word  Storax  as  the  English  equivalent  of  the  original  Greek 
word 
