OF MADRAS.
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selecting the tap-root according to my own experience. When fresh,
it is tuberous and cuts easily; grey, reddish-brown or brown exter-
nally, and. white internally; taste mucilaginous; smell none. When
dry, the root is much shrivelled, shrunken and wrinkled longitudinally;
the epidermis is reddish-brown, brown or slightly ash-colored, and
generally loose and peels off easíly; beneath the epidermis the root is
reddish brown, but white or pale-white internally; odorless and taste-
less. The dry root is not easily powdered, but the dry slices of the
fresh root are reduced to a fine powder without difficulty.
There is no drug in India which enjoys a greater reputation as an
aphrodisiac and tonic in native medical works than the tap-root of the
young plant of B. malabaricum. There is no doubt that it is one of
the useful drugs in this country, but the exaggeration of its good
effects in some of the above works is so great that it is quite ridiculous
and not worth mentioning here. I have recently given a trial to this
drug in my practice, and found it to be a good demulcent tonic and
slightly aphrodisiac, but nothing beyond it. I may also state that
even the good influence, which it does exert occasionally on the genital
organs, is neither certain nor uniform. The great practical objection
to the use of the Sémal-músli is that it is neither sold in the bazaar,
nor procurable always in any garden or field. Besides, there is no
medical property in it, which, according to my own experience, is not
possessed with in equal degree, if not more, by the dry young fruits and
bark of B. malabaricum. In fact, the Maráti-moggu is not only the
cheapest and most abundant, but also the best and most useful of all
the parts of the above plant which are used as medicines. The young
fruits seem to possess some soothing or special action on the mucous
membrane of the genito-urinary tract, and have therefore proved them-
selves more useful than Parcira Brava in some of the diseases in which
the latter is indicated..
The bark, root-bark and roots of B. malabaricum contain a resinous
substance, but the bark of the stem is much superior in this respect,
and therefore preferable for the preparation of extract and decoction,
The bark of the stem or trunk varies much in appearance accord-
ing to the age and size of the plant from which it is taken. That
from the trunk of a well grown up tree after it begins to blossom is
externally brown, rough, scaly and often covered with some short and
blunt prickles; and internally reddish-brown. It is quite odorless
and possesses no particular taste. The root bark is covered with a thin
and ash-colored epidermis, and is deep or reddish-grey internally. It
is also devoid of taste and smell.
The extract of B. malabaricum prepared in the manner described
under the head of " Preparations," is dark in color and slightly saltish
in taste, and odorless. The resemblance it bears to Mócharas is so
great that if it is made to dry in any of the forms of the latter, it will
certainly pass for it; but it does not keep dry permanently unless
preserved in a stoppered bottle. It gets soft and moist as often as it is
dried either by exposure to the sun or on the sand or water-bath. Its
deliquescence and saline taste depend. upon the large quantity of salt it,
contains.
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