Am.  .Tour.  Pharm.l 
April,  iS95.  J 
Australian  Sandarach. 
215 
With  these  introductory  remarks,  I  will  give  some  further  infor- 
mation in  regard  to  Sandarach  and  Australian  Sandarach,  based 
upon  a  paper  "On  Australian  and  Tasmanian  Sandarach,"  written 
by  me  and  published  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
Tasmania  in  1889.  I  do  hope  that  educated  men  who  may  read 
what  I  have  to  say,  and  whose  inclinations  or  duties  carry  them  into 
districts  where  the  native  Cypress  Pines  grow,  will  take  the  trouble 
to  encourage  settlers  and  others  to  collect  the  product  referred  to. 
Notes  on  Sandarach. — -The  Sandarach  or  gum  juniper  of  commerce 
is  the  product  of  a  Callitris  (quadrivalvis),  which  grows  in  North 
Africa.  The  following  summary  of  its  uses  is  taken  from  Morel 
(Pharm.  Joum.  [3]  viii,  1024):  "According  to  Gubler,  the  Arabs 
used  it  as  a  remedy  against  diarrhoea,  and  to  lull  pain  in  haemor- 
rhoids. The  Chinese  used  one  kind  (C.  sinensis)  as  a  stimulant  in 
the  treatment  of  ulcers  (as  promoting  the  growth  of  flesh),  as  a  de- 
odorizer, and  to  preserve  clothes  from  the  attacks  of  insects.  In 
Europe  it  is  used  very  little  in  medicine.  It  is  most  frequently 
employed  as  an  ingredient  in  varnish,  to  increase  its  hardness  and 
glossiness.  It  is  used  also  as  a  fumigant,  and  in  powder  ('  pounce  ') 
to  dust  over  paper  from  which  the  surface  has  been  scraped,  to 
prevent  the  ink  from  running.  It  rarely  enters  into  the  composition 
of  plasters." 
Ordinary  Sandarach  exudes  naturally,  but  the  practise  in  Northern 
Africa  is  to  stimulate  the  flow,  making  incisions  in  the  stem,  par- 
ticularly near  the  base,  and  this  hint  might  be  borne  in  mind  by 
our  people. 
When  our  Cypress  Pines  are  wounded,  the  resin  exudes  in  an 
almost  colorless,  transparent  condition.  It  has  obviously  high  re- 
fractive power,  and  is  much  like  ordinary  pine  resin  in  taste,  smell 
and  outward  appearance,  when  the  latter  is  freshly  exuding.  This 
transparent  appearance  is  preserved  for  a  considerable  time,  the 
resin  meantime  darkening  a  little  with  age.  Old  samples  possess  a 
mealy  appearance,  but  this  is  merely  superficial.  The  origin  of  this 
appearance  has  been  explained  as  follows  in  regard  to  Sandarach, 
and  doubtless  the  simple  explanation  holds  good  here  :  "  The  sur- 
face of  the  tears  appears  to  be  covered  more  or  less  with  powder, 
but  this  character  is  not  to  be  attributed,  as  alleged  by  Herlant 
[Etude  sur  les  produits  r'esineux  de  la  famille  des  coniferes,  p.  38),  to 
the  friction  of  the  fragments  one  against  another ;  but,  as  has  been 
