As"ep°tUMP8Y3RM1    Medicinal  Plants  of  the  Rutacece.  403 
and  small  berries  of  a  gratefully  aromatic  taste,  somewhat  like  the 
skin  of  a  fresh  orange  ;  the  ripe  seeds  have  a  pungency  somewhat  like 
pepper,  and  the  inward  part  has  an  acid  bitter  taste.  The  name 
Rhetsa  is  said  to  signify  in  the  Telinga  language  a  committee,  and 
alludes  to  the  fact  that,  under  the  shade  of  this  tree,  the  hill  people 
assemble  to  deliver  discourses  and  to  consider  and  discuss  matters  of 
public  concern.  In  China  the  root  of  Z.  nitidwrn,  DC,  is  aromatic,  and 
is  used  as  a  sudorific,  emmenagogne  and  febrifuge  ;  the  leaves  also  are 
used  as  a  condiment  on  account  of  the  volatile  oil  they  contain.  The 
fruits  of  Z.  piperitum,  DC,  are  known  as  Japan  pepper;  they  are  of 
an  agreeable  aromatic  flavor.  In  the  West  Indies  the  barks  of  Z. 
ternata,  Desv.,  and  Clava-RercuUs,  L.,  are  regarded  as  antisyphilitic, 
and  the  bitter  astringent  leaves  are  used  as  a  vulnerary.  Z.  fraxi- 
neum,  Willd.,  is  known  in  America  as  the  prickly  ash  or  toothache 
bush,  from  its  reputation  as  a  masticatory  in  curing  toothache.  The 
bark  is  officinal  in  the  United  States,  and  as  seen  in  the  shops  is  in 
small  quills  varying  from  a  line  or  two  to  about  an  inch  in  diameter. 
It  is  of  a  darkish  grey  color  with  occasional  lighter  patches  and 
covered  with  fine  transverse  cracks,  and  in  the  younger  pieces  the 
prickles  are  sometimes  remaining.  It  is  light,  brittle,  and  has  at 
first  a  somewhat  sweetish  aromatic  taste,  which  changes  to  a  bitter 
acrid  flavor  ;  this  acridity  is  extracted  either  by  boiling  water  or 
alcohol.  The  bark  is  stimulating,  producing  a  sense  of  heat  in  the 
stomach.  It  is  also  said  to  be  a  "powerful  sudorific  and  diapho- 
retic, and  to  have  been  used  successfully  in  paralysis  of  the  muscles 
of  the  mouth."  In  chronic  rheumatism  it  is  very  highly  extolled, 
and  is  given  in  the  form  of  a  powder,  a  dose  being  from  ten  grains 
to  half  a  drachm  repeated  three  or  four  times  a  day.  A  fluid  extract 
has  likewise  been  prepared  and  administered  in  doses  of  from  fifteen 
to  forty-five  drops.  A  favorite  form  of  administration,  however,  is  a 
decoction  prepared  by  boiling  an  ounce  of  the  bark  in  three  pints  of 
water  until  it  is  reduced  to  a  quart,  a  pint  of  which  should  be  taken 
in  divided  doses  during  the  twenty-four  hours.  A  tincture  mad® 
from  the  berries  is  sometimes  employed  as  a  carminative  in  doses 
of  ten  to  thirty  drops,  which  can  be  increased  if  the  stimulating 
effects  are  desired. 
In  New  South  Wales,  Greijera  salieifolia,  Schott,  a  moaerate-sized. 
tree,  is  known  as  the  "  Balsam  Capivi  Tree,"  from  the  strong  flavor  of 
that  balsam  which  pervades  the  bark.    I  am  not  aware  whether  or 
