280 Mil. D. UANBUUY ON A SPKCIJCS OF IPOAKEA. 



of jalap, one of the most remarkable is a tubercule imported a few 

 years ago for the first time from Tampico, aud theuce called Tarn- 

 pico Jalap*. This drug has been extensively brought into the 

 market (that is to say, by hundreds of bales); and though it is less 

 rich in resin and less purgative than true jalap, yet, on account ot 

 its lower ])rice, it has found a ready sale, chiefly in continental 



trade. 



As the botanical origin of this so-called Tampico Jalap, and even 

 its place of growth, were completely unknown, I addressed a letter, 

 in November 1867, to my friend HugoEinck, Esq., Prussian Vice- 

 Consul at Cordova (Mexico), begguig that he would, if possible, 

 procure for me some information on the subject. Mr. Finck at 

 first expressed strong doubts as to Tamplco jalap being any thmg 

 else than the root of Batatas JaJapa, Chois., known in Mexico as 

 Purga macho. Upon inquiry, however, he ascertained that such 

 could not be the case, but that it is a production of the State of 

 Guanajuato, where it grows along the Sierra Gorda, iji the neigh- 

 bourhood of San Luis de la Paz. At this town and in the adjacent 

 villages, it is purchased of the Indians and carried by the muleteers 

 to Tainpico, where it is known as l^urga de Sierra Gorda. 



All attempts to procure specimens of the plant were for some 

 time fruitless, chiefly owing to the diflBculty of finding any one in 

 the district who could be induced to take the needful trouble. 

 The perseverance of Mr. I'inck and his friend Mr. E. Benecke, 

 Consul General for Prussia in the city of Mexico, overcame at 

 length this obstacle, but only to meet with others hardly less em- 

 barrassing. The first lot of specimens dispatched from Guanajuato 

 was stolen from the mail ; the second shared the same fate ; while 

 a thirdjwhich included live tubercules, was, by successive detentions 

 on the way, fully five months in reaching England. The box, 

 however, came to hand in June last ; and amid a mass of damp 

 earth and decaying matter, I had the satisfaction of discovering 

 one solitary tubercule exhibiting signs of vitality. This, placed in 

 a greenhouse and carefully nursed, soon began to grow with 

 rapidity, and, on removal to an open border, produced a tall and 

 vigorous plant, whicb towards September showed signs of flower- 

 ing. It was then taken up and replaced in the greenhouse, where 

 it blossomed freely in October last, but did not mature any seeds. 

 Accompanying the tubercules, but of course in a separate box, 



* I cannot, at least, trace this jalnp to have been ofiered in commerce as a ui- 

 stinct sort earlier than about five or six years ago. 



