Part II.

Materia Medica.

15

described as producing our Officinal Barbadoes aloes bySloanc, in his history of Jamaica."

During the first four years that the Cape of Good Hope wasin possession of the British, more than 300,000 pounds, theproduce of that settlement, were imported into England ; andas this quantity was infinitely greater than could be requiredfor the purposes of medicine, it is not improbable, that, as MrBarrow states, its principal consumption #as by the Londonporter brewers.

Officinal —The gum-resin or extract, called SocotorineAloes.

Aloes spicatje extractum. Land.

Aloe socotorina ; gummi-resina. Dub.

Aloes socotorina j Aloes perfoliate gummi-resina. Far.b. Ed.

This article is brought, wrapt in skins, from the island ofSocotora in the Indian ocean. This sort is the purest of thethree in use; it is dark coloured, of a glossy clear surface,and in some degree pellucid; in mass, of a yellowish red co-lour, with a purple cast; fracture unequal; easily pulveriz-able ; when reduced to powder, of a bright golden colour.It is hard and friable in the winter, somewhat pliable in sum-mer, and growing soft between the fingers. Its taste is bitterand disagreeable, though accompanied with some aromaticflavour ; the smell is not very unpleasant, and somewhat re-sembles that of myrrh. It is said not to produce haemorrhoi-dal affections so readily as Barbadoes aloes.

It is prepared in July, by pulling off the leaves, from whichthe juice is expressed, and afterwards boiled and skimmed. Itis then preserved in skins, and dried in August in the sun.According to others, the leaves are cut off close to the stem,and hung up. The juice which drops from them without anyexpression, is afterwards dried in the sun.

Sp. 2. Aloe vulgaris. Lond.Sp. 5. Aloe sinuata ? Dub.Sp. 3. Aloe perfoliata. Ed.

Off. —The gum-resin or extract, called Hepatic Aloes,

Aloes vulgaris extractum. Lond.

Aloe hepatica ; gummi-resina. Dub.

Aloe hepatica ; Aloes perfoliate gummi-resina. Far. #,.Ed.

Hepatic aloes is of two kinds, one from the East Indies, theother from Barbadoes. The former has a light brown, or red-dish yellow colour; a clean fracture, and possessing nearly the