OFFICINAL cumin.
1057
fes <ns Dlni011 ‘ ac ! galbanum, and bees’ wax, of each jss. Melt the gum-'' r axWgether, and strain them: melt also together the plaster andthe former to the latter mixture, and mix the whole tho-Y4 T E .—Litharge Plaster, lb.ij.; Galbanum, lb. ss.; Scrapings of| ,' w ax, Siv. Melt the galbanum, and add the litharge plaster and
Waste ^ 1C ' n me ^ them together with a medium heat, and strain, D .)—ThisI thei r r ’ s l )rea< l upon leather, is applied to indolent tumours, to promotethat f U PPuration, and to disperse them. Its operation appears to beM 0llar a rn 'ld stimulant. It is also applied to the chest in chronic pul-j W er ^ c °mplaints. In weakly, rickety children, with weakness of theI ex tremities, it is applied to the lumbar region.
Cu'minum Cy'minum , Linn. L. E.— The Officinal Cumin.
Sex. Syst. Pentandria, Digynia.
1 '* et >Ur°^ Y '—This plant is mentioned in both the Old and New Testa-% £ Sa iak xxviii. 27; Matthew xxiii. 23), and by Hippocrates {Opera,c ' e( l- Fees.), Dioscorides (lib. iii. cap. G8), and Pliny {Hist. Nat.jj • c ap. 47, ed. Valp.) The Greeks call it Kvjuvov ijfupov vel cuSiottucov.HD e Gen. Char. —Teeth of the calyx five, lanceolate, setaceous,
4r> jb al > Persistent. Petals oblong, emarginate, erect, spreading, withMth ^ lobe. Fruit contracted at the side. Mericarps [half fruits]the l ln Wess ridges; the primary ones five, filiform, minutely muricated,^at Cra ^ s terming a border; the secondary ones four, more promi-<W aculeate. Channels under the secondary ridges one-vittate.^t\\ J >fl0rus bipartite. Seed somewhat concave anteriorly, on the back')f ^ Herbs. Leaves many-cleft; lobes linear, setaceous. LeafletsWo. i lriv olucre two to four, simple or divided. Involucellum halved,0 tour-leaved, becoming reflexed. Flowers white or pink (D. C).to f, v ' e jJi ar. —Lobes of the leaves linear, setaceous, acute. Umbel three-'Weft Partial involucre equalling the pubescent fruit (D. C.)hlif 0 aunual. Stem slender, branched, about a foot high.
V -
option,—T he fruit, commonly termed cumin seeds {fructus seuYello^, Cum ^ n i), is larger than anise, and of a light-brown or grayish-c 4r^ Va c °t° Ur . It has some resemblance to, though it is larger than,;i 0 (l Each mericarp has five primary ridges, which are filiform,at e p r( ^ U W le( t with very fine prickles. The four secondary ridges0, l°i lr r . 1 ? ln ent ana prickly. Under each of these is one vitta. Thefruit is strong and aromatic. Both odour and taste arellll Port e ?' t analogous to, but less agreeable than, caraway. Cumin is53 cw fr°m Sicily and Malta . In 1839, duty (2s. per cwt.) was paid
oil iIp ° s iTioN.—The peculiar properties of cumin reside in a volatile
s Oicl|^ °f Cumin (Oleum Cumini) is pale-yellow and limpid. Its sp. gr. is 0 !)75.
froth; lsa g rec able; its taste very acrid. With fuming nitric acid it yields, under* C a dd. n ^’ a w hite resin. Chevallier found, in some very old oil of cumin, suc-
Leaves
hv S j
0 fOGicAL Effects.—C umin agrees with tlie other aromatic um-3 r