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Show 368 NORSE CHESTNUT. that there was then but one tree knownat Vienna, whichbeing too young to bearfruit, nuts were obtained from Constantinople in 1588, after which this tree was very generally propagated. It was cultivated in England by Mr. John Tradescant in 1633, and is now very commonin this country. The wood is white, soft, soon decays, and is thereforeof little value. The fruit in appearance resembles that of the Spanish chestnut, and is eaten by sheep, goats, deer, exen, and horses. It contains muchfarinaceous matter, which by undergoing a proper process, so as to divest it of its bitterness and acrimony, probably might afford a kind of bread: starch has been madeof it, and found to be very goed : it appears also to possess a saponaceous quality, as it is used, particularly in France and Switzerland, for the purpose of cleaning woollens, and in washing andbleaching linens. MEDICAL VIRTUE. Its introduction into the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia was probably owing to its seed having been used and recommended as a sternutatory in some cases of ophthalmia and headach. With this view it was drawn upthe nostrils in the form of an infusion or decoction, or in the form of powder. The bark has been proposedas anindigenous substitute for the very expensive and often adulterated Peruvian bark. Many successful experiments of its effects, when given internally in intermittent and typhous fever, and also whenapplied externally in gangrene, sufficiently warrant future trials. Although che- MEZEREON. DAPHNE MEZEREUM. tical analysis is not yet sufliciently advanced to enable us to de- termine fromit the medical use of any substance, I may observe that the active constituent of this bark is tannin, whichis scarcely compatible with the presence of cinchonin, the predominant, and’ probably the active, constituent of Peruvian bark. In powder it may be giventotheextent of a scruple and half, or a drachm, for a dose. Class VIII. Octandria. Essent. Gen. Cuar. branches whichare neither very old nor very young, and to be exhibited undersimilar forms and doses, as directed with respect to the Cortex Peruvianus. It rarely disagrees with the stomach, but its astringent effects genagally require the occasional admi- nistration of a laxative. withering, including the sta- mina: Berry one-seeded. Spec, CHAR. Flowerssessile, cauline: Leaves lanceolate, deciduous. ES Buchholz prefers a solution of adrachm of the exe tract in an ounce of cinnamon water, of which sixty drops aré to be given every three hours. The bark intended for medicinal use is to be taken fromthose Order 1. Monogynia. Corolla four-cleft, DESCRIPTION. “ Tus shrub grows to the height of four orfive feet, and sends off several branches. The exterior bark is of a gray colour. The leaves are few, tender, lance-shaped, and appear at the termination of the branches after the flowers are expanded. The flowers are in thick clusters, each composed of a single petal, cut into four oval segments, of a bright red colour. Theypro- duce numerous red berries. containing one round seed. 2B |