Am.  Jour  Pharm.  ) 
Sept.  1, 1874.  $ 
Oils  of  Chinese  Pharmacy. 
431 
Catarrh,"  prepared  from  a  prescription  formerly  published  by  me 
("On  Winter  Cough,"  etc.,  2nd  edition,  p.  204),  and  always  kept 
ready-made  by  Bell,  Savory,  Squire,  Corbyn,  Hanbury,  and  other 
leading  chemists. 
I  may  add  that,  when  there  is  great  prostration,  and  a  tonic  is> 
required,  Tincture  of  Eucalyptus  Globulus  will  sometimes  answer 
better  than  quinia,  especially  if  there  is  much  feverishness. 
None  of  these  remedies  should  be  used  without  consulting  the 
doctor  in  attendance  on  the  case. 
THE  OILS  OF  CHINESE  PHARMACY  AND  COMMERCE. 
By  Dr.  F.  Porter  Smith, 
Honorary  Member  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Great  Britain. 
The  word  for  oil  in  Chinese  is  written  as  a  compound  of  the  char- 
acters for  liquidity  and  let.  Oil  thus  means  with  them  the  "  letting 
liquid,"  that  which  removes  the  hindrance  of  friction.  The  enormous 
demand  for  oil  as  an  article  of  daily  diet  to  counteract  the  binding 
qualities  of  rice  and  other  cereal  foods,  and  in  pastry-making,  and 
the  extensive  use  of  varnishes,  putties,  paints,  and  pigments  in  China, 
lead  to  the  manufacture  of  oil  from  all  sorts  of  sources.  Oil  is  ex- 
clusively used  for  lighting  purposes  in  all  stationary  situations.  It 
also  enters  into  the  composition  of  quack  and  orthodox  plasters,  a 
very  favorite  application  in  Chinese  medicine  and  surgery.  By  the 
use  of  night-soil,  on  an  extensive  scale,  in  the  form  of  irrigation,  the 
rapid  growth  of  enormous  breadths  of  Cruciferous  plants  (a  populous 
order  in  China)  enables  the  Chinese  to  obtain  large  quantities  of  oil 
from  this  source.  These  colza-oils  are  miscalled  olive-oil  in  some 
European  manuals  on  China.  The  olive-tree  is  not  known  in  China. 
Certain  extracts  are  sometimes  called  oils  in  Chinese  nomenclature. 
Soy  is  called  an  oil. 
Oil  of  Almonds  (Sweet). — A  bland  oil  is  said  by  Sir  J.  Davis  to  be 
obtained  from  the  (mixed?)  kernels  of  the  apricot  or  almond- trees  in 
North  China,  but  I  have  never  met  with  it. 
Oil  of  (Star)  Anise. — This  oil  is  said  by  Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams  to 
be  prepared  from  the  fruits  in  small  retorts,  a  hundred  weight  yielding 
about  seven  pounds  of  the  oil.  It  is  pale,  warm,  and  sweetish,  and 
becomes  solid  at  about  50°.    It  is  used  as  a  condiment  and  cordial  in 
