360       PREPARATIONS  FROM  CANNABIS  SATIVA  IN  INDIA. 
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would  be  impossible  to  distinguish  it  by  its  appearance  ;  but  it' 
is  so  readily  oxidizable,  that  the  contact  of  the  air  blackens  it  im- 
mediately. It  must  be  preserved  in  naphtha  and  in  tubes  deprived 
of  air.  Its  ductility  is  so  great,  that  I  was  able  to  draw  out  a 
small  fragment  weighing  5  milligrms.  into  a  wire  of  several  feet 
in  length.  It  melts  at  356°  F.,  and  is  the  lightest  of  all  known 
solid  or  liquid  bodies  ;  its  density  does  not  exceed  0-5936.  It 
burns  with  great  brilliancy  and  a  white  light  in  oxygen,  chlorine, 
and  vapors  of  bromine,  iodine  and  sulphur.  It  decomposes  cold 
water  immediately,  with  a  brisk  effervescence. 
I  also  send  a  specimen  of  strontium,  prepared  in  the  same  way 
by  Mr.  Mathiessen.  The  metal  is  in  the  form  of  a  brilliant  plate, 
of  a  bright  brassy-yellow  color.  On  touch-stone  it  leaves  a 
brilliant  line  of  a  golden-yellow  color,  which  however  almost  in- 
stantly becomes  of  a  copper-red,  in  consequence  of  superficial 
oxidation.  This  metal  decomposes  water  very  quickly,  even  in 
the  cold ;  it  burns  with  a  very  brilliant  white  light  in  oxygen, 
chlorine,  bromine,  iodine  and  sulphur.  Placed  in  a  volatile 
circuit  wTith  calcium  and  water,  it  proved  to  be  negative  with  re- 
gard to  the  latter  metal,  which  is  a  very  singular  fact.  Strontium 
is  a  very  ductile  metal ;  its  density  is  2-542,  whilst  that  of  calcium 
is  only  1-584  Ohem.  Gaz.,  May  15,  from  Comptes  Mendus, 
April  2,  1855. 
PREPARATIONS  FROM  CANNABIS  SATIVA  IN  INDIA. 
(Extract  of  a  Letter  from  C.  J.  Midler,  Esq.,  dated  Patna,  October  28,  1853, 
addressed  to  Dr.  Hooker.) 
In  India  two  varieties  of  intoxicating  drug,  prepared  from  the 
hemp-plant,  are  known  in  the  bazaars, —  one  called  Ganja,  the 
other  Bhang.  In  this  part  of  India  the  Granja  is  procured  from 
the  district  of  Rajshahye  (north  of  Calcutta)  ;  Bhang  comes 
chiefly  from  the  districts  of  Tirhoot,  Sarun,  and  Goruckpoor. 
In  external  appearance  they  differ  considerably.  Ganja  is  in 
the  form  of  stalks,  three  or  four  feet  long,  with  the  inflorescence 
attached,  the  whole  having  been  dried  and  pressed  flat ;  the  color 
a  dirty  brown,  odor  strongly  aromatic  and  heavy,  very  resinous 
to  the  touch.  This  variety  is  highly  intoxicating,  which  is  ac- 
counted for  by  the  abundance  of  resin  (the  churrus  of  Nepal  and 
