Am.  Tour.  Pharra. 
Aug.,  1880. 
Indian  Drugs, 
421 
in  the  zedoary,  but  the  contents  are  of  a  dull  orange  color.  The  vas- 
cular system  consists  of  scalariform  and  spiral  vessels,  most  numerous 
at  the  junction  of  the  central  and  cortical  portions  of  the  rhizome. 
Commerce, — This  drug  is  said  to  reach  Bombay  from  Cawnpore. 
Value,  Rs.  4  to  5  per  maund  of  41  pounds. 
Alpinia  officinarum,  Hance,  Amomace^e.  The  rhi%o?ne.  Ver- 
nacular: Chota-kulijan,  Chote-panki-jar  (Hind.,  Beng., 
Bomb.);  Shitta-rattai  (Tam.). 
History^  Uses^  etc, — Although  this  drug  has  been  long  known  its 
botanical  source  was  only  discovered  in  1870,  when  a  description  of 
the  plant  was  communicated  to  the  Linnean  Society  of  London  by  Dr. 
H.  F.  Hance,  made  from  specimens  collected  by  M.  E.  C.  Taintor 
near  Hoihow  in  the  north  of  Hainan  (Confer.  "Journal  of  the  Lin. 
Soc.,'*  1873,  xiii,  p.  6).  Galangal  is  not  much  used  in  Hindu  medicine. 
In  Sanskrit  works  it  is  called  "  khulinjana,"  evidently  a  corruption  of 
the  Arabic  khulanjan.  Mahometan  writers  suggest  that  the  drug  may 
be  the  root  of  very  old  plants  of  Piper  Betle,^  but  they  are  evidently  in 
doubt  about  its  being  produced  by  that  plant  (Confer.  "  Makhzan,'* 
article  "Khulanjan").  Meer  Muhammad  Husain  describes  galangal  as 
Ionic,  stomachic,  carminative,  stimulant  and  aphrodisiac.  He  tells  us 
that  if  given  to  young  children  it  makes  them  talk  early,  and  that  a 
paste  of  the  powdered  drug  made  with  oil  or  water  will  remove  freckles. 
The  Persian  name  is  khusrod^ru.  Galangal  is  one  of  the  ingredients 
of  Warburg's  tincture.  It  is  not  used  in  English  medicine,  but  there 
is  a  considerable  demand  for  it  in  Russia.  Irvine  ("  Med.  Topog.  of 
Ajmeer,"  p.  171)  says  that  the  natives  add  kulijan  to  bazar  spirit  to 
make  it  more  intoxicating. 
Description. — The  dried  rhizomes  are  about  as  thick  as  the  little 
finger  or  often  less.  They  have  evidently  been  cut  into  short  lengths 
(2  to  3  inches)  while  fresh  ;  many  of  the  pieces  are  branched,  and  all 
are  marked  by  numerous  circular  ridges  of  a  light  color.  The  external 
surface  of  the  rhizome  is  of  a  deep  reddish-brown;  the  interior  pale 
red,  hard  and  tough  ;  the  odor  is  aromatic  and  the  taste  hot  and  spicy. 
Microscopic  Structure. — The  bulk  of  the  rhizome  consists  of  a  uni- 
form parenchyma  traversed  by  fibro-vascular  bundles.  Some  of  the 
parenchyme  cells  are  full  of  resin  and  essential  oil,  but  most  of  them 
contain  large  starch  grains  of  an  elongated  or  club-shaped  form. 
Chemical  Composition. — Galangal  contains  from  J  to  J  per  cent,  of  an 
essential  oil,  which  is  the  odorous  principle.     According  to  Vogl  its 
