332 
The  Genus  Luffa. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1888. 
tact  with  the  oxygen  in  the  atmosphere,  decreasing  its  sohibility,  and 
increasing  its  specific  gravity;  also  raising  its  boiKng  point  through 
the  formation  of  a  non-volatile  and  insoluble  resinoid  produced  by 
oxidation. 
Third. — A  long  exposure  of  the  plants  to  atmospheric  action  prior 
to  distillation,  does  not  affect  the  crystallizing  tendency  of  the  essen- 
tial oil,  nor  other  of  its  physical  tests  except  those  noted,  so  far  as  in- 
vestigated. 
Fourth. — To  obtain  the  best  results,  both  as  to  the  quality  of  essen- 
tial oil  and  economy  of  transportation  and  distillation,  the  plants 
should  be  dried  as  thoroughly  as  possible  without  endangering  the 
loss  of  the  leaves  in  handling.  Distillation  should  then  take  place  as 
soon  as  convenient,  to  prevent  the  oxidation  of  the  oil  in  the  leaf  by 
atmospheric  action. 
Note. — Since  writing  the  above,  I  just  notice  a  paper  by  Mr. 
Joseph  Schrenk,  in  the  American  Druggist  for  June,  1888,  which  cor- 
roborates the  determination  given  in  the  above  paper.  Speaking  of 
the  crystals  in  the  leaves  of  plants  which  have  been  dried  for  fifty 
years,  he  says:  "It  is  remarkable  how  long  these  crystals  will  remain 
in  the  dried  leaves.  Fragments  from  an  herbarium  specimen  gathered 
in  Europe,  in  1827,  contain  them  in  as  perfect  a  condition  as  leaves  of 
plants  collected  quite  recently." 
THE  GENUS  LUFFA.  ^ 
By  John  M.  Maisch. 
During  the  last  six  or  eight  years  the  so-called  towel-gourd  has 
attracted  some  attention,  and  the  fibrous  tissue  of  the  fruit  is  now 
found  in  a  number  of  pharmacies,  where  it  is  sold  under  the  names  of 
vegetable  sponge,  luffa-sponge,  or  wash-rag.  The  plant  from  which 
this  article  is  derived  is  indigenous  to  Upper  Egypt  and  other  parts 
of  tropical  Eastern  Africa,  and  belongs  to  the  cucurbitaceous  genus 
Luffa  which  is  confined  to  the  tropics,  and  is  botanically  closely  related 
to  Momordica,  the  genus  yielding  the  well-known  balsam-apple  of 
our  gardens ;  but,  while  the  ripe  fruit  of  the  latter  is  dehiscent  in  an 
irregular  manner,  that  of  the  Luffa  separates  at  maturity  an  operculum 
^  Read  before  the  Pennsylvania  Pharmaceutical  Association,  at  Titiisville, 
June  13. 
