444 
Melia  Azedarach. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
t      Sept.,  1879. 
four  years.  The  green  fruit  is  very  astringent,  but  when  ripe  it  is  a 
fleshy-yellow  drupe,  of  a  sweet  taste,  rather  larger  than  a  cherry,  and 
containing  a  five  celled  bony  nut.  The  green  fruit  is  used  in  Texas 
for  making  blacking. 
The  ripe  berries  were  largely  used  in  Georgia  during  the  late  war  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  alcohol,  by  the  usual  process  of  fermentation 
and  distillation  ;  the  whisky  thus  obtained  was  preferred  by  many  to 
that  produced  from  corn  or  rye.  By  expressing  the  fleshy  part  of  the 
fruit,  like  the  olive,  a  fixed  oil  is  furnished  from  which  a  "  Poor  Man's 
Soap  "  is  made. 
Remarkable  qualities  are  said  to  reside  in  the  fruit,  such  as  will 
intoxicate  robbins,  which  are  particularly  fond  of,  and  feed  upon  them 
during  their  annual  migration  southward  ;  the  seeds  are  widely  dispersed 
by  these  birds,  and  hence  trees  are  found  in  secluded  places.  Instances 
are  known  of  the  fruit  being  destructive  to  hogs,  by  what  means  it  is 
not  yet  ascertained.  A  decoction  of  the  berries  sprinkled  on  plants 
prevents  the  depredations  of  the  grub-worm.  The  leaves  and  berries 
will  preserve  dried  fruit  from  insects,  and  when  packed  with  clothing 
will  prevent  the  attack  of  moths. 
The  dried  berries  in  whisky  have  been  employed  against  ascarides, 
tape-worm  and  verminous  maladies.  The  pulp  of  the  berries  stewed 
in  lard  has  been  used  with  success  as  an  ointment  in  scald  head.  The 
decoction  of  the  leaves  has  been  employed  in  hysteria,  and  is  astringent 
and  stomachic.  A  decoction  of  the  green  bark,  4  ounces  to  the  pint,  is 
administered  as  an  anthelmintic  in  doses  of  1  or  2  flouidounces,  followed 
by  a  cathartic.  When  prepared  in  March  or  April,  while  the  sap  is 
ascending,  unpleasant  effects  have  been  observed,  such  as  stupor,  dila- 
tion of  the  pupil,  etc.,  which  symptoms,  however,  pass  off  without 
perceptible  injury  to  the  system. 
For  the  following  experiments  the  bark  of  the  root  was  employed, 
and  as  the  liber  is  very  easily  separated,  and  this  portion  is  the  most 
effective  in  the  Nim  Bark  [Melia  Jzadirachta,  Lin.),  this  alone  was  used. 
The  liber  is  of  an  extremely  bitter  taste,  devoid  of  astringency,  and  its 
decoction  gave  no  evidence  of  tannin  ;  the  outer  portion,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  very  astringent,  and  its  decoction  gave  abundant  evidence  of 
tannin  by  gelatin  and  ferric  chloride.  I  may  also  mention  that  the 
inner  bark  is  the  portion  used  in  making  the  decoction  for  administer- 
ing. 
