AmiigustFi?™'}  Notes  on  Some  Saps  and  Secretions.  411 
Populus  balsamifera,  Linn. — The  leaf  buds  of  this  species,  and  of 
P.  nigra,  Lin.,  are  gathered  for  medicinal  purposes.  Their  resinous 
secretion  is  said  to  be  diuretic  and  antiscorbutic.  It  is  used  to  pre- 
vent rancidity  in  ointments,  but  paraffin  is  equally  effectual. 
Mimusops  globosa  Gaertner,  Chicle  gum,  exudes  from  this  and 
another  species  in  Mexico,  and  is  largely  collected,  being  used  in 
the  United  States  for  chewing.  The  exports  from  Mexico  in  1892 
were  to  the  value  of  over  $476,000. 
Prosopis  didcis,  H.  B. — Mezquite  is  used  in  the  preparation  of 
mucilage,  gum-drops,  jujube-paste,  etc.  The  gum,  which  exudes 
from  the  trunk  and  branches,  is  very  soluble  in  water,  and  forms, 
when  dissolved,  a  demulcent  of  a  sweet,  creamy  and  agreeable  taste, 
but  souring  more  readily,  and  probably  containing  a  larger  propor- 
tion of  tannic  and  gallic  acid  than  gum  arabic. 
There  are  vast  forests  of  the  mezquite  trees,  embracing  millions 
of  acres,  in  the  southwestern  part  of  Texas.  The  process  of  gath- 
ering the  gum  is  simple.  The  outside  bark  of  the  tree  is  scraped 
off,  and  the  gum  begins  to  exude  and  form  in  icicle-shaped  masses, 
and,  after  one  day's  exposure  in  the  autumn,  is  dry  and  hard  enough 
to  collect.  Its  color,  however,  unfits  it  for  pharmaceutical  pur- 
poses. 
Priinns  spinosa,  Lin. — The  acid,  astringent  juice  of  the  fruit  (the 
sloe),  inspissated  over  a  slow  fire,  has  been  used  in  France  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  catechu.  The  leaves  have  that  peculiar  flavor  which 
exists  in  Spircea  ulmaria,  the  American  Gaidtheria,  and  some  other 
plants,  which  resembles  the  more  delicate  perfume  of  green  tea,  and 
hence  they  were  said  to  be  used  as  adulterants  of  tea.  A  water  dis- 
tilled from  the  blossoms  is  used  as  a  medicinal  vehicle  in  some  parts 
of  the  continent. 
Pterocarpus  marsupium,  Roxb.  The  reddish  gum  resin  which 
exudes  from  the  bark  of  this  tree  forms  one  of  the  best  kinos  of 
commerce,  containing  about  75  per  cent,  of  tannic  acid,  and  has 
been  known  in  Europe  for  upwards  of  a  century.  It  is  the  dried 
sap  which  exudes  copiously,  on  the  stem  being  artificially  wounded. 
It  becomes  brittle  on  hardening,  and  is  very  astringent.  It  is 
exported  in  considerable  quantities  from  Malabar.  Another  kind 
of  kino  is  from  Butea  frondosa.  Nearly  all  the  Australian  Eucalypti 
exude  astringent  gum  resins  in  considerable  quantity,  resembling 
Kino  in  appearance  and  property.      Kino  is  commonly  used  in 
