COMMON ALLSPICE.

1095

Water *

a n< j»’ to repeated distillation).—No directions are given by the London by u Min Colleges for the preparation of oil of cloves, which is placed ■p Gln among the articles of the Materia Medica.w ° 6X ^ rac t the whole of the oil from cloves, they must be subjected toof | cohobations. On an average they yield from 17 to 22 percent,civile oil (including the heavy and light oils). The physical andi s lca -l properties of this oil have been already described (p. 1093). ItH ^thnes placed in the hollow of a carious tooth, to relieve tooth-(e .,, ’ Wt its more frequent medicinal use is as an addition to purgativesit colocynthidis, E.) to check nausea and griping. The dose of

c loves t0 S * X drops. Distillers and soap-makers extensively use oil of

T^CTunA Caiivophylij. (Cloves,*).; Rectified Spirit , Siv. Ma-tb e jf seven days, and then filter).—Though not contained in any ofn tish pharmacopoeias, this is a very useful and elegant preparation,le Ss aas a place in the French Codex . A solution of the oil in spirit isto f^S^eable, and becomes milky on the addition of water. Dose, i»lx.»ia c ) ' it may be usefully employed as an addition to purgative, sto-lc > and tonic mixtures.

Eugenia Pimenta, Decandolle, E.— The Common Allspice.

Myr'tus Pimen'ta, Linn . L. D.)

Sex. Syst. Icosandria, Monogynia.

(Baccae immature exsiccate, L.—Unripe berries, Fructus , D.)

*cq 1 STor Y.—I t is scarcely probable that the ancients should have beenfooted with allspice, which is a native of the West Indies , and there-Aiq C ° u i ( i not have been known to Europeans before the discovery ofPhpJ 1Ca - Yet Clusius {Exotic, lib. i. cap. 17) thought it was the garyo-hoft. of Pliny {Hist. Nat. lib. xii. cap. 15, ed. Valp.), an opinion,(SL ever > which, for the above-mentioned reason, can scarcely be correctj^e’sJa^ii.77).

„° r A\Y. Gen. Char. —Tube of the calyx roundish; limb divided,ar as <L„ -- j n (. Q f our segments. Petals as many as the lobes.

%t a Z as the ovary,

etls indefinite, free. Ovary tw r o- or three-celled; cells containing0q e ^ ° vu les. Berry nearly globose, crowned by the calyx ; when ripe,’ ra rely two-celled. Seeds one to two, somewhat rounded, large ;spuriously monocotyledonous; cotyledons very thick, combinedS Wb° ne mass ’ ra( Ticle scarcely distinct, very short (D. C.)— Trees or

£

i\y' Ehar. —Peduncles axillary and terminal, trichotomous-paniculate.cq) f e, ' s four-cleft, in the forks of the peduncle, nearly sessile, others pani-suj e ‘ Leaves oblong or oval, pellucid-dotted, somewhat opaque,Wei) Branches terete ; branchlets compressed; the younger ones, as7 > r as ^ le pedicels, pubescent (D. C.)

fo ot , Utl ^ about 30 feet high. Leaves about four inches long, on shortgre^^ks. Flowers numerous. Sepals roundish. Petals reflected,sse e j 'sh-white. Berry succulent, black or dark-purple when ripe; two-de n , Embryo roundish, with the cotyledons consolidated.—(Con-# d from Botan. Mag. t. 1236).

'West Indies. It is cultivated in Jamaica in regular walks

l>rie nto

walks).