AmMa?ch.f89f.rm'}  Notes  on  Some  Saps  and  Secretions.  131 
D.  incanus,  Roxb.,  is  reported  to  furnish  the  largest  proportions 
of  the  best  sort.  The  following  is  Roxburgh's  account  of  the  man- 
ner of  obtaining  this  oil  from  D.  tnrbinatus,  Gaert. :  "  This  tree  is 
famous  over  all  the  eastern  parts  of  India  and  the  Malay  Islands,  on 
account  of  its  yielding  a  thin,  liquid  balsam,  commonly  called 
'wood  oil,'  which  is  much  used  in  painting  ships,  houses,  etc.  To 
procure  the  balsam,  a  large  notch  is  cut  into  the  trunk  of  the  tree, 
near  the  earth,  and,  say,  about  30  inches  from  the  ground,  where 
a  fire  is  kept  up,  until  the  wood  is  charred,  soon  after  which  the 
liquid  begins  to  ooze  out.  A  gutter  is  cut  in  the  wood  to  conduct 
the  liquid  into  a  vessel  placed  to  receive  it.  The  average  product 
of  the  best  trees  during  the  season  is  said  to  be  sometimes  40  gal- 
lons. It  is  found  necessary,  every  three  or  four  weeks,  to  cut  off  the 
old  chaned  surfaces,  and  burn  them  afresh;  in  large,  healthy  trees 
abounding  in  balsam,  they  even  cut  a  second  notch  in  some  other 
part  of  the  tree,  and  char  it  as  the  first.  These  operations  are  per- 
formed from  November  to  February.  Should  any  of  the  trees 
appear  sickly  the  following  season,  one  or  more  year's  respite  is 
given  them." 
This  oleo-resin  has  been  used  in  the  cure  of  leprosy.  Large  quan- 
tities are  exported  from  Burma  to  Europe,  as  it  has  become  an 
important  drug  in  trade.  From  the  port  of  Hankow,  in  China,  in 
1893,  403,200  cwt.  of  this  oil  was  exported. 
Dorema  ammoniacum,  Don. 
Diserneston  gummiferum,  Sp.  and  Jaub. 
Peucedanuvi  ammoniacum,  Nees. 
This  fetid  gum  resin,  having  properties  similar  to  asafcetida? 
comes  in  mass  and  in  tears  from  Persia. 
Lump  ammoniacum  resembles  galbanum,  while  that  in  tears  is 
somewhat  like  olibanum,  but  has  a  smooth  surface  outside,  and  an 
opaque  fractut  e.  It  is  used  in  medicine  as  an  antispasmodic,  stimulant 
and  expectorant,  in  chronic  catarrh,  bronchial  affections  and  asthma, 
and  also  for  some  plasters. 
The  imports  into  London  are  not  large,  and  average  about  100 
packages,  but  fluctuate;  in  1891,  only  46  packages  were  received, 
but  in  1892,  279  cases  of  1  y2  cwt.  each,  and  in  1893,  45  cases. 
It  is  called  "Uschekh  "  in  Persia;  in  that  country  it  is  much  used 
as  an  inward  medicament,  and  also  frequently  for  greasing  the  spin- 
ning wheels,  as  it  is  very  cheap. 
