Zingiber. Ginger. The rhizome, scraped and dried, of the Zingiber officinale (Amomum Zingiber), Ginger; Lin. Syst., Monandria monogynia; native of Hindostan, but is cultivated in the West Indies as well as in the East.

Description. The rhizome is generally about 3 or four inches in length, knotty, yellowish-white, but not chalky on the surface, with a short mealy fracture; hot taste, and agreeable aroma. Powder yellowish-white. In commerce there are two principal varieties, the white or Jamaica, and the black or East Indian; for the former the best pieces are selected, scraped, scalded, and dried by exposure to the sun; the black variety is dried without being first scraped, hence it is the larger of the two.

Prop. & Comp. Odour spicy and aromatic; taste warm and pungent. In addition to the ordinary constituents of roots, it contains a volatile oil and a resinous matter, upon which its pungency seems to depend. The sp. gr. of the oil is 0.893, and its composition may be represented by the formula (4 C20 H16, 5 HO). The quantity of starch contained in the root is considerable.

Off. Prep. Tinctura Zingiberis. Tincture of Ginger. (Bruised ginger, two ounces and a half; rectified spirit, one pint. Prepared by maceration and percolation.) [U. S. Two pints of tincture are procured by percolation with alcohol, from eight troy ounces of ginger in fine powder.]

Syrupus Zingiberis. Syrup of Ginger. Tincture of ginger, one fluid ounce; syrup, seven fluid ounces.

Therapeutics. Ginger is an aromatic stimulant and carminative. When taken internally it produces an agreeable feeling of warmth at the epigastrium, and appears to aid digestion by giving a healthy tone to the stomach; hence it is used in atonic forms of dyspepsia, especially if attended with much flatulence, and as an adjunct to various purgative medicines to correct their griping tendency. When chewed it acts as a sialagogue, and is sometimes used in relaxed states of the uvula and tonsils.

Dose. In powder, 10 gr. to 20 gr. and upwards; of tincture, 10 min. to 30 min. and upwards; of the syrup, 1/2 fl. drm. to 1 fl. drm.

Curcuma. Turmeric. Appendix B. The rhizome of Curcuma longa; Lin. Syst., Monandria monogynia; native of Ceylon.

Description. The best rhizomes are in small short pieces, yellow externally, deep orange within.

Prop. & Comp. Turmeric contains a peculiar colouring principle soluble in alcohol, and when dried, of bright yellow colour; by the action of alkalies this is turned to a deep brown.

Off. Prep. Turmeric Paper. (Unsized paper steeped in tincture of turmeric and dried by exposure to the air.)

Turmeric Tincture. (Turmeric, bruised, one ounce; proof spirit, six fluid ounces.)

Use. Turmeric acts as a stimulant, but is not used as a remedy; it is taken as a condiment in the form of curry powder, of which it is an ingredient. In the Appendix it is introduced for testing alkalies. When the yellow colouring matter of turmeric is brought in contact with alkaline solutions, it is changed to reddish brown.

Cardamomum. Cardamoms. The seed of Elettaria Cardamo-mum, the Malabar cardamom; Lin. Syst., Monandria monogy-nia; native of Malabar.

Description. The seeds are generally met with in their capsules; the capsules are oblong triangular, the angles being somewhat rounded off, wrinkled, and of a light yellow colour, divided into three- compartments, each of which contains numerous seeds of a dark colour, and triangular in shape, corrugated, reddish-brown, internally white. The seeds only ought to be used. Cardamoms are distinguished according to their lengths by the respective names of shorts, short-longs, and longs.

Prop. & Comp. The seeds have a fragrant odour, which depends on the presence of a volatile oil; the amount yielded being about 4.5 per cent. This is of an aromatic taste, and is said to have a sp. gr. of 0.945; the seeds contain in addition a fixed oil, together with colouring matter and salts, etc.

Off. Prep. Tinctura Cardamomi Composita. Compound Tincture of Cardamom. (Cardamoms, bruised, caraway, bruised, each a quarter of an ounce; raisins, freed from their seeds, two ounces; cinnamon bruised, half an ounce; cochineal in powder, sixty grains; proof spirit, twenty ounces. Prepared by maceration and percolation.)

[Cardamom, three hundred and sixty grains; caraway, one hundred and twenty grains; cinnamon, three hundred grains; cochineal, sixty grains; clarified honey, two troy ounces; diluted alcohol, a sufficient quantity. Two pints and six ounces of tincture are obtained by percolating the powders with the diluted alcohol; this is mixed with the clarified honey and filtered. U. S.]

[Tinctura Cardamomi. U. S. Two pints of tincture are procured from four troy ounces of cardamom, in fine powder, by percolation with diluted alcohol.]

Cardamom is also an ingredient of some other preparations, as Pulvis aromaticus. (See Cinnamon.)

Therapeutics. It is an agreeable aromatic stimulant stomachic, and carminative; used in the East as a condiment. Chiefly employed as an adjunct to purgative and other medicines, to correct any tendency to griping, also as a colouring matter.

Dose. Of the seeds, powdered, 5 gr. to 20 gr.; of the compound tincture, 1/2 fl. drm. to 2 fl. drm.