Aconite this name, has recently been imported from Japan, a root which possesses properties similar to, but stronger than, those of common aconite. It is believed to be the root of Aconitum Fischeri. Its active principle is allied to, but not identical with, that of European aconite. In appearance, it is less shrivelled, and rather shorter than the ordinary drug.
Ajowan, or True spicy fruits of the Carnet Ajotcan (Ammi copticum ; Ptychotis coptica ; Pt. Ajowan) are used to prepare a distilled water, reputed to be carminative, and a good vehicle for nauaeoua medicines ; their volatile oil may replace oil of thyme. The herb is an annual, cultivated largely in India, and in Persia and Egypt. The fruits resemble those of parsley in shape and weight; when rubbed, they exhale a strong odour of thyme ; their flavour is biting and aromatic. They are now largely imported into Europe, especially Leipzig, for the manufacture of thyme], for which purpose they are more remunerative than thyme. They are sometimes con founded with the seeds of Ammi majus and Sison Amomum, as well as those of Hyoscyanius aigec. The last-named, however, are kidney-shaped, and odourless.
Aloes (Fit., Alogs, Sue &Alas ; GER., Ala).—The inspissated bitter juice of several species of Ake forms a valuable purgative. The aloes plants, which must not be confounded with the Agaves— miscalled " aloes," nor with Lignum aloes—the resinous wood of Aquilaria Agallocha and some other trees, are indigenous to hot, arid districts iu S. and E. Africa, whence some species have been intro duced to N. Afrion, Spain, and the E. and W. Indies. Some are stemless, others a few feet high, while in Namaqua and Damara Land, Transkei, and N. Natal, they have been found 30-60 ft. high. The commercial varieties of the drug are as follows :—(1) Socotrine and Hepatic aloes,—yielded by Aloe Pcrryi, a native of Socotra, the southern shorea of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, and perhaps Zanzibar ; A. officinalis, A. rubescens, and A. Abyssinica are varieties, and probably contribute to the Red Sea produce. (2) Barbadoes and Curacoa,—derived from A. vulgaris, indigenous to ladle, and E. and N. Africa, now found also in S. Spain, Canary Islands, Sicily, Greece, and W. Indies. (3) Cape, —beat obtained from 'I. ferox, and hybrids between it and A. African, and A. spicata, also from A. perfoliata and A. linguceformis ; leaa powerful from A. African, A. plicatilis, A. arborescens,
A. Commelini, and A. purpuromens. (4) Natal,—from a gigantic species not yet identified. The varieties of the plant used, and the modifications of the plan of extracting the juice, cause the drug to vary considerably in opacity, fracture, texture, colour, and consistence. The peculiarity relied on by dealers to distinguish the drug is its odour, which accounts for Natal aloes being gene rally associated with the Cape drug, while Barbadoes and Curacoa varieties are never confounded.
Culture and Preparation.—In Barbadoes, the plants are grown 6 in. apart, in rows 1-4 ft. asunder, in well-manured ground ; they are weeded, but pulse or yams are raised between the rows. The plants should survive several years, though the leaves, 1-2 ft. long, are annually cut. This operation is performed in March to April, in the heat of the day. The leaves are excised close to the plant, and immediately placed, cut downwards, in a V-shaped• wooden vessel, 4 ft. long, 12-18 in. deep, sharply inclined, so that the escaping juice flows down its sides, and escapes into a receptacle at the lower end. Each trough, of which there are generally five, takes about hour to fill ; by the time the fifth is full, the cutters return to the first, and throw out the exhausted leaves, which are neither pressed, infused, nor boiled, and are valueless save as manure. When the juice has filled the receptacles, it is removed for evaporation ; this may be done at once, or postponed for weeks or months without injury to the juice. The usual apparatus is a copper vessel, having a large ladle at the bottom, which catches the sinking impurities, and is periodically emptied. A very superior quality is said to be produced by employing a vacuum pan. A little of a superlative kind is made by exposure in a shallow vessel to solar heat till dry ; hut the time and trouble render the method unprofitable. As soon as the workman judges the inspissation to have reached the proper point, the thickened juice is poured into gourds or boxes to harden. When gourds are used, a square hole is made to admit the drug, and is then nailed over with a piece of calico. The industry is confined to a few small cultivators, without knowledge or means to improve it. The preparation in Curacoa, Bonaire, and Amba (Dutch W. ladies) is practically the same.