Am.  Jour.  Pharm.l 
Aug.,  1880.  J 
Chian  Turpentine, 
411 
precipitate  with  acetate  of  lead.  The  part  of  the  alcoholic  extract 
that  is  insoluble  in  water  is  easily  soluble  in  alkalies.  It  also  dissolves 
in  nitric  acid  at  a  moderate  heat,  whereby  oxidation  takes  place.  On 
addition  of  water  a  yellow,  brittle  mass  is  precipitated.'  The  Mexi- 
cans are  said  to  use  an  infusion  of  the  leaves  for  bathing. in  with  good 
effect  in  rheumatic  affections."    (Also  vol.  iii.  Wheeler's  Reports  ) 
P.  80 — Larrea  Mexicana,  Moric  [L. glutinosa^  Englemann),  Valley 
of  the  Gila,  Arizona. — This  shrub  is  especially  common  on  the  hills 
bordering  the  Gila,  also  on  the  sandy  wastes  adjacent  to  Tucson  and 
Camp  Lowell,  in  Arizona,  even  imparting  its  strong  odor  to  the  air," 
In  the  third  volume  of  these  reports  this  plant  is  also  called  stink- 
weed  and  etiontio. — Scientific  American^  April  10,  1880. 
CHIAN  TURPENTINE. 
By  William  Martindale. 
This  drug,  the  oleo-resin  from  Pistacia  terebinthus — ^^having  until 
lately  fallen  into  desuetude — since  the  appearance  in  the  "  Lancet  "  ^  of 
an  article  recommending  its  use  in  cancer  of  the  female  generative 
organs  has  been  much  in  request.  Owing  to  the  small  demand  for  it 
very  little  has  of  late  years  come  into  the  market,  and  it  has  been 
stated  that  much  of  what  has  been  supplied  to  the  trade  is  factitious. 
There  is  little  doubt,  with  the  demand  now  created,  plenty  of  the  gen- 
uine article  will  be  forthcoming  in  time. 
The  history  of  its  use  in  medicine  seems  to  be  lost  in  antiquity.  It 
was  always  more  prized  by  the  Greeks  than  the  pinaceous  oleo-resins. 
It  has  principally  been  obtained  from  the  Island  of  Scio  here,  as  well 
as  on  the  other  islands  of  the  Archipelago,  Cyprus,  Asia  Minor  and 
Syria,  the  tree  is  cultivated,  and  flourishes  to  the  greatest  perfection. 
It  attains  the  height  of  40  feet  or  more  in  favorable  localities,  but  in 
others  it  grows  as  a  stunted,  straggling  shrub,  and  is  found  as  far  east 
as  Afghanistan  and  west  as  the  Canary  Islands.  The  yield  of  the  oleo- 
resin  from  a  tree  4  or  5  feet  in  circumference  is  only  about  10  or  11 
ounces  yearly.  A  great  part  of  it  exudes  spontaneously,  but  more  of 
it  is  obtained  by  making  incisions  into  the  trunk  and  branches  in  the 
spring,  from  w^ich  the  turpentine  continues  to  flow  during  the  whole 
summer.    It  is  collected  in  the  morning,  after  the  coolness  of  the 
^"Lancet,"  vol.  i,  1880,  p.  477. 
