Part II.

Materia Medica.

219

The warmth and pungency of these spices are said to resideentirely in a resin; their aromatic odour in an essential oil.In medicine, they are sometimes employed as acrid stimu-lants ; but their chief use is in cookery, as condiments.

Pistacia.

Wittd. g. 1782, Dioecia Pentandria —Nat. ord. Amentacea.

Sp. 4. Pistacia terebinthus. Lond.

Off. —Chian turpentine.Terebinthina chia. Lond.

The shrub which yields this turpentine grows in India, thenorth of Africa, and south of Europe ; but the turpentine isprincipally collected in the islands of Chios and Cyprus, bywounding the tree. It does not differ from the other turpen-tines in any thing material except in its price.—See Pinus.

Sp. 6. Pistacea lentiscus. Ed. Lond.

Off—The resin.

Resina pistacijE lentisci. Ed.

Mastiche. Lond.

This species is a native of the same countries with the for-mer. The resin is obtained principally in the island of Chios,by making transverse incisions into the tree, and allowing thejuice to harden. It is brought to us in small, yellowish, semi-transparent, brittle grains; of a smooth and shining fracture,softening when chewed, fusible, burning with a pleasant smell,insoluble in water, and partially soluble in alcohol and fixedoils. Neumann found, that during digestion with alcohol, aportion separates, insoluble in alcohol, though in appearanceresinous, amounting to one-tenth of" the mastiche, and analo-gous to caoutchouc. La Grange and Vogel say it containsfree acetic acid.

Its flavour is communicated to water. It is therefore a re-sin, combined with a little essential oil. It is principally usedby the Turkish women as a masticatory, to preserve the teeth,and to give a pleasant smell to the breath.

Plumbum. Ed. Lond.Lead. i

The general properties of lead have been already enume-rated.

Lead is found,

1. Oxidized :

1. Lead ochre of different colours.

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