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Materia Medica.

Part II.

I

1

produced from tins tree, as many others furnish a red juiceconcreting into a similar resin. For example, the Dracaenadraco, Dalbergia monetaria, and especially the Calamus dra-co, which probably furnishes all that is brought from the EastIndies.

The best dragon's blood is not in cakes, but is brought insmall masses, of the size of a nutmeg, wrapt up in the driedleaves of some kind of reed, breaks smooth, free from anyvisible impurities, of a dark red colour, which changes, uponbeing powdered, into an elegant bright crimson. This drug,in substance, has no sensible smell or taste; when dissolved,it discovers some degree of warmth and pungency. It is fusi-ble and inflammable, and totally soluble in alcohol, tinging alarge quantity of the menstruum of a deep red colour. It islikewise soluble in expressed oils, and gives them a red hue,less beautiful than that communicated by Anchusa. It is notacted upon by water, but precipitated by it from its alcoholicsolution. I find that it is soluble in nitrous acid and alkalies,and that it neither precipitates gelatine, nor affects the colourof the salts of iron. It therefore appears to be a pure resin,without any astringency. I have been more particular inproving that this resin is not astringent, because Mr Proust'saccount of it has been generally adopted. But the substanceexamined by Mr Proust could not be the resin known in thiscountry by the name of Dragon's blood, as it was as solublein water as in alcohol. Dr Fothergill, who first describedkino, received it as the finest dragon's blood. Mr Proustmust have been misled by some similar misinformation, as thecharacters of his sang dracon correspond with those of kino.

Punica granatum. Ed. Lond. Dub.

Willd. g. 980, sp. 1. Icosandria Monogynia ___Nat. ord.

Pomacece.

Pomegranate tree.

Off".— Pomegranate bark. The double flowers, called Ba-laustine.

a) PuNICvE GRANATI FRUCTU8 CORTEX. Ed.

Gran ati cortex. Lond.

PuNICiE GRANATI PERICARPII CORTEX. Dltb.

b) Punica granati flos plenus, vulgo Balaustium. Ed.

FlORES GRANATI. Dlib.

The pomegranate is a low tree, or rather shrub, growingwild in Italy and other countries in the south of Europe. Itis sometimes met with in our gardens ; but the fruit, for