As'ept.T,  m4RM'}  Oils  of  Chinese  Pharmacy.  435 
•Chinese  pharmacists  decorate  their  shops  with  ginger-jars  and  small 
blue-ware  bottles.  An  oil  is  prepared  at  Canton  from  the  penny- 
royal plant.  Mint  is  largely  used  as  a  remedy  in  belly-ache,  but  the 
-dried  leaves  are  generally  used  as  an  infusion. 
Oil  of  Persimmons. — A  glutinous  oily  extract  is  prepared  from  the 
fruit  of  the  persimmon,  a  large,  soft,  orange-yellow  fruit,  very  sweet, 
and  often  somewhat  acrid.  The  fruit  chosen  for  making  this  oil  is 
that  of  the  Diospyros  Embryopteris  or  Embryopteris  glutinifera, 
which  grows  plentifully  in  Hupeh  province.  The  fruits  are  crushed 
to  obtain  the  dark,  resinous,  thick  juice,  which  makes  a  very  capital 
varnish  for  the  paper  kittysols,  or  umbrellas  of  China.  It  is  very 
cheap.  An  extract  might  be  prepared  from  the  fruit,  as  directed  in 
the  Indian  Pharmacopoeia,  where  it  is  prescribed  as  an  astringent. 
Oil  of  Poppy  Seeds. — The  opium  poppy  is  largely  grown  in  Sechuen, 
Yunnan  and  every  province  of  China.  It  was  introduced  from  Per- 
sia, a  great  source  of  drugs  sent  as  tribute  to  China.  Several  splendid 
varieties  of  the  flower  are  given  in  old  lists  of  plants.  Oil  is  obtained 
from  the  seeds,  but  I  have  never  inspected  a  sample. 
Oil  of  Ricinus  Communis. — The  castor  oil  plant  grows  to  the 
height  of  more  than  ten  feet,  and  forms  a  woody  stem  in  Hupeh,  but 
never  survives  the  winter  there.  There  is  a  red-stemmed  variety 
and  a  white-stemmed  plant,  both  of  which  are  used  to  make  the  oil, 
which  is  used  in  cooking,  and  is  sold  for  use  as  a  lubricant  on  board 
foreign  steamers.  It  is  used  medicinally,  but  not  very  frequently,  as 
it  does  not  purge  Chinamen  much,  if  at  all.  Croton  oil  is  used  by 
Chinese  physicians  in  apoplexy,  a  common  disease  in  China. 
Oil  of  Roses. — This  essential  oil  is  used  mainly  as  a  scent  for  hair 
oil,  so  plentifully  used  by  all  Chinese  women. 
Oil  of  Sandal  Wood. — The  Chinese  employ  this  thick,  yellow, 
fragrant  oil  to  daub  over  common  fans,  which  are  then  sold  as  gen- 
uine sandal-wood  fans. 
Oil  of  Sesamum. — The  black  and  white  sesamum  seeds  are  used  to 
make  an  agreeable  oil,  much  used  by  the  higher  classes  in  cooking, 
food  and  making  pastry.  It  is  credited  in  the  Chinese  Pharmacopoeia 
with  ecbolic,  emmenagogue,  and  anthelmintic  properties.  It  answers, 
all  the  properties  of  olive  oil  in  the  dispensary.  It  is  the  Til  or 
Jinjili  oil  of  India. 
