Aj'un°eT;i874RM  }  Ailanthus  Qlaiidulosa  in  Dysentery \  277 
the  evacuations  commences  on  the  first  day  and  is  complete  on  the 
second  ;  the  colic  ceases  a  little  later.  The  effect  of  the  drug  upon 
the  color  of  the  evacuations  is  variable.  Dr.  Robert  sums  up  by  ex- 
pressing his  opinion  that  the  administration  of  the  Ailanthus  glandu- 
losa,  as  witnessed  by  him  in  China  and  Japan,  gave  superior  results 
to  that  of  ipecacuanha,  astringents,  alone  or  combined  with  opiates, 
or  calomel.  The  remedy,  he  says,  is  only  known  to  a  portion  of  the 
Chinese  physicians,  a  circumstance  which  he  attributes  to  their  cus- 
tom of  preserving  the  secrets  of  their  practice. 
Dr.  Robert  states  that  the  root  of  the  Ailanthus  glandulosa  is  not 
usually  to  be  obtained  in  the  Chinese  pharmacies ;  but  that  in  the 
dialect  spoken  at  Shanghai  it  is  called  "  hiang  v  or  "  siang-tcham," 
and  in  the  mandarin  dialect  spoken  at  Pekin  and  Tiensin,  it  is  named 
"  tchau-tchoun,"  which  latter  agrees  with  the  name  attributed  to  it 
by  Dr.  F.  Porter  Smith  in  his  "  Contributions  to  the  Materia  Medica 
and  Natural  History  of  China  "  (p.  6).  The  latter  writer  points  out 
that  the  Pen  Tsau  includes  Ailanthus  fcetida  or  glandulosa  with 
Cedrela  odorata  and  other  trees  distinguished  by  their  odor,  under  the 
common  name  "  Chun-chu."  He  further  remarks  that  "this  species 
of  Ailanthus  grows  all  over  China,  and  is  met  with  on  the  walls  of 
Pekin.  The  leaves  are  used  to  feed  silkworms,  and  in  times  of  scarcity 
are  used  as  a  vegetable,  though  much  less  agreeable  than  the  young 
leaves  of  the  Cedrela.  They  are  said  to  be  slightly  deleterious,  and 
are  used  as  astringent,  anthelmintic,  and  deobstruent  remedies.  They 
are  given  in  diseases  of  the  lungs,  dysuria,  tabes  infantum,  menstrual 
disease,  spermatorrhoea,  and  fluxes  in  general ;  and  a  wash  is  made 
to  promote  the  growth  of  the  hair  and  to  wash  scabious  eruptions  and 
ulcers.  In  most  of  these  cases  the  bark  both  of  the  tree  and  the  root 
is  used,  having  precisely  the  same  properties.  The  bark  of  the  man- 
grove tree  is  sometimes  adulterated  with  this  inferior  substitute."  But 
he  does  not  mention  its  use  in  dysentery. 
In  the  non-officinal  portion  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India,  the 
Ailanthus  Malabarica,  D.  C,  a  large  tree  of  Ceylon,  Malabar,  and 
Concan,  is  mentioned  as  yielding  an  aromatic  gum  resinous  substance, 
known  by  the  Tamul  name  of  matti-pawl,  which  is  used  medicinally, 
especially  in  dysenteric  cases  and  as  incense.  Dr.  Gibson  regards  it 
as  a  good  stimulant  in  bronchitic  affections.  The  bark  is  rough  and 
very  thick,  with  a  pleasant  and  slightly  bitter  taste ;  it  is  studded 
with  bright  garnet-looking  grains,  apparently  of  a  resinous  nature, 
