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ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 
the stamens are covered with glandular tubercles. The root, 
which is perennial, is long, thick and branched. 
Habitat, — The White Dittany grows principally in the 
Southern provinces of France, Germany, and Italy. 
History. — The specific name of this plant is derived 
from the color of the root, which has a strong and goat- 
like smell; this, as well as its bitter and aromatic taste is lost by 
drying. The American Dittany, sometimes confounded with 
it, is the Cunila mariana. The Dittany of the ancients, 
was the Origanum dictamnus. The White Dittany is 
cultivated for the beauty of its flowers, which appear in June 
and July, and though rare in America, may be seen growing 
in some of our gardens. 
The whole plant is highly odoriferous, approaching some- 
what to that of citron, but less agreeable. Some of the earlier 
works speak of flashes of light darting from the flowers at 
night, a phenomenon discovered by the daughter of Linnaeus, 
which was attributed to phosphorescence, but this is satisfac- 
torily explained by the following statement of later author- 
ities. It is asserted that the emanation of volatile oil, which 
escapes from it in Southern countries, when in full bloom, and 
especially in hot summer evenings, when the vapor is more 
condensed, is sufficiently concentrated to be sometimes in- 
flamed by the approach of a lighted candle, so that for a mo- 
ment the plant is enveloped in a luminious circle or halo 
of fire. The effect, however, is not always general, as Mr. 
Biot, wishing to satisfy himself as to this fact, could only suc- 
ceed in igniting, successively, the oily sacs, which surround 
the superior parts of the plant, by direct contact of flame, 
from which sacs the odor is evolved. 
Properties and uses. — The bark of the root is the only part 
employed in Pharmacy. It is presented in pieces about an inch 
long, more or less thin, rolled up or flat, brittle, of a yellow- 
ish white color, possessing a feeble aroma and somewhat acrid 
bitter taste. If recently dried it powders with difficulty, be- 
coming pasty under the pestle. For this purpose it should 
be well dried, and powdered in a covered mortar, as the light 
