248 
Gleanings  in  3Iateria  Medica. 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
1      May,  1885. 
from  Mr.  Jamie  seems  to  confirm  Haiibiiry's  statement  that  this  liquid 
storax  is  not  obtained  from  the  rasamala  tree,  Liquidambar  Altin- 
giana,  De  CandoUe.  It  is  imported  from  Arabia  and  Persia,  and  is 
valued  at  §30  per  picul  (133 J  pounds).  It  is  used  for  scenting  clothes 
and  rampah-rampah  (spiceries),  and  for  rubbing  over  the  body,  also  for 
swollen  testicles.  It  is  mostly  sent  from  Bombay  to  Java.  The  black  and 
white  rasamalas  seem  to  be  identical,  the  latter  being  probably  colored 
for  the  market.— P/iar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  Dec.  20,  1884,  p.  482. 
Myroxylon  PereircE. — The  volatile  oil  distilled  from  the  fruit  is 
described  by  Mr.  E.  M.  Holmes  as  being  almost  colorless  and  of  a 
sweet  odor,  recalling  the  fragrance  of  a  field  of  beans  in  blossom.  It 
is  slightly  altered  by  exposure  to  air,  the  odor  approaching  that  of 
cedar  wood.  A  solution  of  tlie  oil  in  rectified  spirit  separates  a  white 
precipitate.  The  oil  seems  well  fitted  for  use  in  perfumery,  as  it  is  not 
exactly  like  any  known  perfume. — Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  Dec.  20, 
1884,'p.  483. 
Abrus  jvecatorius,  Lin. — The  structure  of  the  seeds  has  been  de- 
scribed by  W.  Tichomiroff  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Russian  Society 
of  Physicians  and  Naturalists  at  Odessa.  They  contain  oil  and 
granular  albuminoids,  but  neither  aleurone  nor  starch,  and  in  the 
parenchyma  sometimes  crystals  of  stearic  acid  or  hesperidin.  The 
testa  is  composed  of  four  layers,  viz.,  (1)  Rods,  colorless  in  the  red 
part,  but  purple-violet  in  the  black  spot ;  (2)  Palisade  cells,  branch- 
ing and  at  the  lower  end  folded  and  of  small  diameter  ;  (3)  Parenchyma, 
tangentially  elongated  ;  (4)  Albumen  the  cells  of  the  inner  layer  being 
flattened  radially  and  at  length  coalescing  into  a  homogeneous  pellicle 
which  cannot  l)e  decomposed  into  its  separate  cells  by  maceration  in 
chromic  acid,  and  which  swells  strongly  in  caustic  potash.  The 
liilum  has  two  layers  of  rods,  and  the  palisade  cells  are  replaced  by 
sclerenchyma.  By  chloride  of  iron  the  presence  of  tannin  can  be  re- 
cognized in  the  albuminous  layer  and  rods. — Pharm.  Jour,  and  Trans., 
September  6.  1884. 
Terminalia  Chebula,  Relzius. — The  dried  immature  fruits  furnish  the 
Turkish  drug kara  kalileh,"  the  black  myrobalans  of  old  writers.  They 
are  shriveled,  black,  hard,  ^  to  |  inch  long,  with  a  shining  fracture  and 
very  astringent  taste.  Mr.  Dickson  states  that  the  drug  is  a  mild  tonic 
laxative,  in  great  repute  among  the  Mecca  pilgrims,  probably  because  the 
hadjis  tell  them  that  the  Prophet  praised  its  virtues.  It  should  be  bro- 
ken up  into  a  coarse  powder  and  swallowed,  has  a  ligneous  bitterish  flavor, 
