""No^vT  mr  }  "  Corra^sa  Oompoundr  511 
The  mastic  that  exudes  spontaneously  is  divided  into  two  kinds, — 
the  kadisto,  which  averages  in  value  100  Turkish  piastres,  the  oke  of 
1200  grammes,  and  the  phliskari,  which  has  nearly  the  same  value. 
That  which  drops  from  the  incisions  and  is  picked  up  from  the  ground 
is  the  peetta,  worth  80  piastres  the  oke  ;  whilst  the  worst  quality, 
that  which  is  mixed  with  earth,  called  phluda,  is  only  worth  from  40 
to  60  piastres. 
The  annual  production  is  about  2,000,000  drachms,  and  is  at- 
tributed, by  the  natives  of  Chios,  to  the  intervention  of  Saint  Isidore, 
martyred  in  that  island  in  the  third  century  ;  the  drops  of  blood  of 
that  martyr  having  given  birth,  they  say,  to  the  mastic  tree. 
In  the  East  mastic  is  employed  to  strengthen  the  gums  and  to  per- 
fume the  breath.  It  is  at  present  little  used  in  medicine,  but  princi- 
pally in  the  arts,  in  the  preparation  of  varnish. 
A  turpentine  which  has  enjoyed  a  great  reputation  is  also  obtained 
at  Chios,  from  the  Pistacia  TerebintJms,  by  means  of  more  or  less 
deep  iDcisions  in  the  trunks  of  the  larger  trees. — Pharm.  Journ.  and 
Trans.,  Sept.  16,  1871,  from  Journ.  de  Pharm.  et  de  Chimie. 
''CORRASSA  COMPOUND." 
By  F.  M.  Goodman. 
I  noticed  in  a  previous  number  of  the  Pharmacist,  vol.  3,  p.  69,  a 
letter  from  a  correspondent  asking  information  upon  the  so-called 
"  Corrassa  Compound."  Since  then,  being  requested  to  prepare  some 
from  a  sample,  I  made  a  superficial  examination  of  the  substance. 
It  is  of  a  light  fawn  color,  resembling  Dover's  Powder,  thus  dis- 
pelling the  idea  of  its  containing  "  extracts."  An  examination 
through  a  small  microscope  revealed  three  powders,  of  different  colors 
and  different  degrees  of  division,  and  by  using  sieves  of  the  requisite 
fineness,  these  were  easily  separated. 
The  first,  passing  through  a  No.  90  sieve,  of  a  yellowish  color,  was 
unmistakably  powdered  gentian. 
The  second,  much  coarser,  separated  by  a  No.  60  sieve,  was  of  a 
white  color,  and  prov^ed  to  be  sugar. 
The  third,  which  remained  in  the  sieve,  was  a  little  cochineal — 
probably  added  to  color  the  mixture  when  taken  in  water. 
As  a  result  of  the  foregoing  examination,  the  following  approximate 
formula  is  given,  in  parts  : 
