1126

ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MKDICA.

chemical properties have been already described, see p; 1124).—H 1 *j 1 i c hployed for scenting only. In the shops various perfumes are sold, " ) gowe their odour to the attar. Thus oil for the hair, sold as huile anrouge a la rose, is merely olive oil coloured by alkanet (see p- 881)> jscented with the attar. Milk of roses also contains the attar. “ eVcompound scents owe a portion of their fragrance to this oil, as l aven \ jwater (see p. 826). The Edinburgh College has, very properlyconceive, introduced this oil into the pharmacopoeia; for, as scentsfrequently required to be communicated to medicines, I cannot con<-|why the most delicious perfume should be excluded from the M a ^Medica. It may be employed as an addition to unguents, spirit washes>

Tribe IV.— Pom ace je.

Cydo'nia vulga'ris, Persoon, L.— Common Quince .

P/rus Cydo'nia, Linn.

Sex. Syst. Icosandria, Pentagynia.

(Semina, D.)

History. —Hippocrates {Opera, 497, ed. Foes.) employed theapple (KvSitvta) as an astringent in diarrhoea. The Romans calmfruit malum cotoneum (Pliny , Hist. Nat. lib. xv. cap. 11, ed. Valp ). j ar .

Botany. Gen. Char. — Calyx five-cleft. Petals somewhat orbic ^Stamens erect. Styles five. Pome closed, five-celled ; cells many - *’ e ^$.cartilaginous. Seeds enveloped with mucilaginous pulp.—SmallLeaves undivided, quite entire, or serrate. Flowers large, solitary ° rsomewhat umbellate (D. C.) . j ovV cr

Sp. Char. — Leaves ovate, obtuse at the base, quite entire ; theirsurface, as well as the calyx, tomentose (D.C )—A small, much-bran

,-arv

ing

usually crooked tree. Petals pale rose-colour or white. Pome ' “'•q )U tin shape, yellow, covered with a thin cottony down, very austeKbhaving a peculiar fragrance.

ted-

ild-

Dccamlolle admits three varieties:—

o. Maliformis. Apple Quince. —Pome almost globose. Cultivated.j8 . Imitanica. Portugal Quince .—Leases broader. Pome larger. Culti val ^ ^y. Oblonga. Oblong or Pear Quince.—Leaves oval or oblong. Cultivated an ^ ^

Had. —South of Europe . Cultivated in gardens. Flowers inand June. g a t on

Description. —Quince seeds ( semina cydonice) are ovate-acute? q],eone side, convex on the other, and of a reddish-brownmost external coat {epidermis seminalis, BischofF) is compos eCl ^ et e-fine cells, in which is lodged a large quantity of mucilage. Whomfore, these seeds are thrown into water, the mucilage swells up? bot- ? er 'and ultimately bursts the tender cells (see Bischoff, Handb. A.min. tab. xlii. fig. 1859). in ade-

Composition. —No analysis of either fruit or seeds has beThe fleshy pulp of the fruit contains an astringent matter, m ^ Q j a 0sugar, pectine or vegetable jelly, a nitrogenous matter, probat) y /«roil, ivater, and vegetablefibre. The seeds contain colouring ma ^ (c ,-

nic acid, a large quantity of a peculiar gummy matter in aC iocoat, probably amygdalin (as Stockmann obtained hydrocy a