Part II.
Materia Medka.
g#7
which it is chiefly valued, rarely comes to perfection. Thisfruit has the general qualities of the other sweet summerfruits, allaying heat, quenching thirst, and gently looseningthe belly. The rind is a strong astringent, striking a perma-nent blue with sulphate of iron, and as such is occasionallymade use of. It has been lately given by Dr Buchanan withsuccess in the East Indies for the cure of taenia I also madesome trials of it and of catechu in this country, on the sup-position that it was the astringent principle which acted chemi-cally on the gelatinous body of the worm, and the result waspromising-, but the introduction of the oil of turpentine pre-vented me from prosecuting the experiment. The flowers areof an elegant red colour, in appearance resembling a dried redrose. Their taste is bitterish and astringent. They arerecommended in diarrhoeas, dysenteries, and other cases whereastringent medicines are proper.
Loud.
17. Icosandria Pentagynia.
-Nat. ord.
Pyrus cydonia.WiUd. g. 992, sp,Pomacea. B
Off. —Quince seeds.Cyuonije semina. Land.
The quince is originally a native of Crete, but ripens itsfruit perfectly in England.
Quinces have a very austere acid taste: taken in small quan-tity they are supposed to restrain vomiting and alvine fluxes ;and more liberally, to loosen the belly. The seeds aboundwith a mucilaginous substance, of no particular taste, whichthey readily impart to watery liquors; an ounce will renderthree pints of water thick and ropy, like the white of an egg.fhey will not, however, supply the place of gum arabic, be-cause their mucilage spoils very quickly, and is precipitatedby acids.
Quassia.
Willd. g. 849. Decandria Monogynia. —Nat. ord. Gruinales,
Sp. 2. Quassia simaruba. Ed. Lond. Dub.Mountain or bitter damson.
Officinal —The bark and wood.
a) Cortex o,uassije simaiu;b;e. Ed.Simaroubte cortex. Lond. Dub.
b) Siwaroub.e lignum. Dub.
This tree grows in Guiana and in Jamaica. The sima-rouba of the shops is the bark of the root. It is brought to