344

Materia Mewca, — Kino.

PART II.

The tops are also used : and as the virtues of the berries dependon the essential oil, which is found in the woody part also ofthe plant, they must be equally efficacious. They have beenrecommended in scorbutic and cutaneous affections; and Ro-sen stein asserts that a strong decoction of them soon clears thehands in scabies. The berries are sometimes given in sub-stance, triturated with sugar or some neutral salt; but the bestform is that of infusion, made with ^iij of the berries bruised,and Oj of boiling water. The dose of the first preparation isfrom 9j to 3ss; that of the infusion, a tea-cupful every threeor four hours.

Officinal preparations. Oleum Juniperi, L. E. D. Spiritus Juni-peri compositux, L. E. D.

KINO. Lond. Edin. Bub. Kino.

Syn. Gomme de Kino (F.), Kinoharz (G.), Chino (I.), Tumble hoan (Tam.).

Although the Edinburgh college has inserted kino as theinspissated juice of the Eucalyptus resinifera in the list of ma-teria medica of its pharmacopoeia, and the Dublin college hasconsidered it as the product of the Butea frondosa ,■ yet we be-lieve that the plant which yields the best kino is an Africantree; and from a specimen sent home by Mungo Park in hislast journey, which is in the possession of Sir Joseph Bankes, itis a Pterocarpus. It is nevertheless true that kino, such as wasbrought from Botany Bay about twenty years ago, is the pro-duction of the above species of Eucalyptus, the brown gum-tree of that country '; but it differs in several of its qualitiesfrom the kino described by Dr. Eothergill, who introduced thisremedy into practice. 2 We are informed none of it has beenbrought to this country since the above period. Another sortis said to come from Jamaica, and is stated by Dr. Duncanjunior, to be the extract of the Cocoloba uvifera, or sea-sidegrape'; while Mr. Murray says, " he has been informed thatit is the extract of the wood of the mahogany." 4 The Dublincollege indicated the Butea frondoaa on the authority of Dr.Roxburgh; but the red juice which this plant yields has been

1 This plant belongs to the first order of the twelfth class of the Linnean system.It is a lofty tree, exceeding an English oak in size ; and bearing yellowish flowersin umbellated clusters. The calyx is hemispherical, perfectly entire in the margin,and afterwards becomes the capsule; on its top just within the margin stands apointed calyptra, of the same colour as the calyx, and as long. This calyptra,which is the essential mark of the genus, is analogous to the corolla in other plants,but neither splits nor divides ; on removing it a great number of red stamens appear,standing in a conical mass, very resinous, aromatic, and bearing small red anthers.In the centre is a simple style terminated by a blunt stigma, and rising from a trans-versely cut trilocular germen. The quantity of juice obtained from incisions madeinto the wood of the trunk amounts sometimes to sixty gallons from one tree. SeeWhite's Voyage, 231.

2 Medical Observations and Inquiries by a Society of Physicians in London, i. 238.243.

3 Edinburgh New Dispensatory, 5th edit. 292.

4 System ofMat.Med. and Pharmacy, ii. 304,