132

Materia Medica.

Part II.

Jicinarum of the Cape of Good Hope, the E. antiquorum whichgrows in Egypt, Arabia, and the East Indies, and which issaid to have furnished the Euphorbiuni of the ancients, andthe E. Canariensis. Mr Jackson, in his account of Morocco,has described it, but unfortunately not in the language ofscience Furbiune, he says, is the Arabic name of this gum,which is produced by a very curious succulent plant, growingon the Atlas mountains, and called by the Shellahs and ArabsDergmusc. From the main body of the plant, proceed seve-ral solid leafless branches, about three inches in circumferenceand one in diameter, from the top of which shoot out similarones, each bearing on its summit a vivid crimson flower ; thesebranches are scolloped, and have on their outer side smallknots, from which grow five extremely sharp-pointed thorns,ab< ut one-third of an inch in length. The stalk is at firstson and succulent, but becomes hard in a few years, when theplant assumes the above-mentioned form, and may then beconsidered as at its maturity. The inhabitants of the lowerregions of Atlas make incisions in the branches of the plantwith a knife, from which a corrosive lacteous juice Issues,which, after being heated by the sun, becomes a substance ofa whitish yellow colour, and in the month of September dropsoff, and forms the gum Euphorbium. The plants produceabundantly only once in four years ; but this fourth year's pro-duce is more than all Europe can consume; for, being a verypowerful cathartic, it is there little used. The people whocollect the gum are obliged to tie a cloth over their mouth andnostrils, to prevent the small dusty particles from annoyingthem, as they produce incessant sneering. The branches areused in the tanning of Morocco leather, and it is in great re-quest among the women as a depilatory.

The gum is brought to us immediately from Barbary, indrops of an irregular form ; some of which, on being broken,are found to contain little thorns, small twigs, flowers, andother vegetable matters; others are hollow, without any thingin their cavity ; the tears, in general, are of a pale yellowcolour externally, but somewhat white within : they breakeasily between the fingers. Braconnot has analysed euphor-bium. He got from 100 parts, 37 of resin, 19 of wax, 20.5ofmalate of lime, 2 of malate of potass, 13.5 of woody matter,5 of water, and there was 3 of loss. Euphorbium is extremelytroublesome to pulverize; the finer part of the powder, whichflies off, affecting the head in a violent manner. The acrimonyof this substance is so great, as to render it unfit for internalnse ; It burns with an agreeable smell and a bright flame.—"When applied to the tongue, it seems at first to have no taste,