AM\p?ui,"m£RM  }  Cortex  Juglandis  Oinereee.  167 
and  cinnamic  acid  may  be  distilled  with  caustic  soda  solution,  when 
styron  (cinnamic  alcohol)  is  found  in  the  distillate,  while  the  residuary 
alkaline  liquid,  on  being  supersaturated  with  muriatic  acid,  yields  all 
the  cinnamic  acid. 
Treatment  of  either  of  the  two  balsams  with  hot  solution  of  sodium 
carbonate  removes  all  cinnamic  acid  ;  the  styracin  obtained  from  the 
residue  of  sweet  gum  by  petroleum  benzin  was  found  by  Mr.  Har- 
rison not  to  contain  any  free  cinnamic  acid,  and  the  styracin  pre- 
pared by  me  from  storax  in  1871  was  equally  pure. 
The  so-called  sweet  gum  is  used  medicinally  in  some  sections  of 
our  Southern  States,  as  it  seems,  principally  as  a  stimulating  expec- 
torant. Mr.  Oscar  L.  Smith,  in  a  letter  dated  Savannah,  Ga.,  Sept. 
30,  1873,  informed  me  that  it  is  popular  there  with  physicians,  who 
employ  it  in  the  form  of  syrup  or  tincture  ;  both  preparations  are 
made  by  the  formulas  of  the  U.  S.  P.  for  the  corresponding  prepara- 
tions of  tolu,  and  are  used  in  about  the  same  manner  as  the  latter. 
Near  Savannah  the  balsam  is  collected  by  negroes,  but  the  supply  is 
frequently  inadequate  for  the  demand. 
CORTEX  JUGLANDIS  CINE  RE  jE. 
By  Edward  Seymour  Dawson,  Jr.,  G.  P. 
Condensed  from  an  inaugural  essay. 
The  butternut  tree  is  found  throughout  the  New  England,  Middle 
and  Western  States,  and  Canada,  growing  in  rich  woods,  on  elevated 
river  banks,  and  on  cold  uneven  rocky  soils.  Early  in  the  spring,  im- 
mediately before  the  leaves  unfold,  a  saccharine  juice,  which  furnishes 
a  good  sugar,  is  obtained  by  tapping  the  tree.  The  wood  of  the  tree 
is  light,  of  a  reddish  hue,  not  apt  to  become  worm-eaten,  and  is  often 
used  in  paneling  and  ornamental  work.  The  fruit,  collected  previous 
to  its  ripening,  is  used  by  many  persons  in  the  form  of  a  pickle,  and 
in  Germany,  as  I  have  been  informed,  the  fruit  of  Juglans  regia  is 
macerated  in  liquor  with  spices,  and  thus  furnishes  a  sort  of  elixir 
which  is  used  as  a  tonic  in  dyspepsia.  The  bark  of  the  tree,  and 
husks  of  the  nuts,  furnish  a  dye  of  a  chocolate  color  for  woolen  goods. 
The  bark  and  leaves  of  the  tree  are,  practically,  the  only  medicinal 
portions,  but  the  former  only  is  recognized  by  the  U.  S.  Pharmaco- 
poeia, under  the  name  of  "  Juglans"  and  it  is  directed  that  the  inner 
bark  of  the  root  collected  in  May  or  June,  should  be  used,  but,  from 
my  observations,  bark  collected  in  July,  is  as  efficacious  as  that  col- 
