MEDICO-BOTANICAL NOTICES. 
195 
It has also been experimented upon in France by M. Girau- 
dy, who was highly pleased with its powers in affections of 
the lungs and spasmodic nervous attacks, {Revue medicale 1. 
56.) Since the publication of his memoir, several accounts of 
its succesful employment have appeared in the French Jour- 
nals, showing that it ranks high as an antispasmodic. 
The leaves, as found, in commerce, are reddish, long, narrow, 
smooth, and have a smell resembling that of Vanilla. Their 
taste is bitter, somewhat analogous to that of the bitter almond. 
M. Driot has prepared a syrup and pastilles with this arti- 
cle; these have been useful in catarrh; they are made as fol- 
lows: one part of the leaves are to be infused in six parts of 
water and distilled, affording four parts of medicated water, 
in which eight parts of white sugar are to be dissolved. The 
pastilles are made by forming a paste with the medicated water 
and sugar and adding g- 1 ^ of the extract of the plant. 
Xanthoxylon. — Four species of this genus are found in the 
United States; X. fraxineun, X. clava Herculis, X. glan- 
dulosum and X. tricarpum, all of which appear to possess 
analogous medical qualities. They are shrubs often or twelve 
feet in height, with pinnate leaves and scattered prickles, 
Every portion of these shrubs is possessed of active qualities, 
apparently depending on the presence of a large quantity of 
volatile oil. The bark, however, is the only officinal portion, 
this was in general use among our Indian tribes in a variety 
of complaints, and has also been highly spoken of by many 
medical practitioners, especially in the West Indies where 
one or more of the species are also indigeneous. 
The bark is a powerful stimulant to the skin, or to mucous 
surfaces; when chewed it occasions a burning sensation follow- 
ed by a profuse salivation, and has hence proved useful in 
certain cases of toothache; this property, however, it enjoys 
with all other substances which act as irritants to the lining 
membrane of the mouth; this bark has also proved useful in 
some cases of paralysis of the tongue. In decoction we have 
some evidence in its favour in rheumatism, and in those cases 
