TLORA OF THE ISTIDIUS OF PANAilA. 219 
uniting Smilax officimlu with S. „^rc,cca and S. me<3ka ; but pham^acologists, unless BuppUed with the 
stron<.est proofs, will probably be disinclined to adopt the views I have advanced. They regard the different 
commercial sorts as essentially distinct from each other, and lay great stress upon certain characters, which, 
however striking to a superficial observer, are of little or no importance, botanically speaking. For in- 
stance, the so-caflcd Lisbon or Brazilian Sarsaparilla,-that which comes to us in rolls about three feet long 
-is chiefly distinguished by having fewer rootlets, or beards, than that termed " Jamaica Sarsap.anlk; and 
as the beards contain a great amount of mealy matter, it is on that account of less value in the market. 
But if the roots of the Lisbon Sarsaparffla are examined, it is plainly seen that the rootlets have been 
removed by some rough mechanical process, and that all the places where the rootlets have been are clearly 
discernible proving that the roots when gathered had as much beard as the sort usually received as Jamaica 
SarsaparillL, and making it probable that if the merchant buymg up this Zarza in various parts of Brazil, 
were to inform the collectors that by preserving the beard they would not only. save themselves much 
unnecessary- trouble, but increase the weight and the commercial value of the roots they dig up, wc should 
soon get all our " Jamaica" Sarsaparilla from Brazil, and in a few years have difficulty m obtaining even a 
specimen of what is now termed " Lisbon Sarsaparilla." 
But the chief distinction which pharmacologists make between the Various commercial sorts of Sarsa- 
narilla is that of "mealy" and "non-mealy." Mealy Csarsaparilte farbosic son amylaceie ) are called 
those sorts in which there is, just below the outer cortical layer, a mealy coat, of greater or -s thickneBs ; 
and non-mealy ('sarsaparilla. non-farinoste sen non-amylaceio'), those which are either wlioUj des itute of 
any meal, or have a very thin mealy coat. This distinction, it must be confessed, is not one which would 
or could be admitted by a logical thinker ; but the very fact that it is adopted by a great body of phariua- 
■ colo^sts is sufficient to invite criticism. It might be advanced, as an A priori argument, that roots, or rlii- 
mfs or any other organs of two individual plants, though they may be mealy in the one and non-mealy 
nr; other' need ^.lefore not necessarily belong to two disthict species. The --y°"-fj^- 
tchatka is not different in species from the mealy one of Germany ; again. Fens j.a^u.a of England 
fough its caudex is destitute of starch, is specifically identical with FUrisesculenta of ^ew Zealand the 
caudcx of which is charged with starchy matter to such a degree that it aifords a nutriment t th- tnes 
om t country. But I wifl dispense with that argument, and merely confine myself to stating, that the p e- 
s2ce or Tsence of meal in SarsapariUas depends, it would seem, upon age, and the locaU y in which th^ 
rZ are coUected -that the formation of starch is probably entirely regulated by physical circumstances. 
^:;::;:^g;bnn.eofJan.caSar^a^,m^ 
tz::^-^:^^—^^:^ — — xz to^ 
those specimens are generally as mealy as any hat »-,,'^7":7?*J,*;XVi»'-> H. B. et K. 
destitute of starch, but they are, without doubt, bota-aUy id nt a with J . ^ .#^^^ ^^^_ 
I am aware that the form of the cells of the 7^1--'^'^''*^"' J^^jt^jl^l between the Sarsa- 
racters have been considered ^^/^^^°;trim™^^^^^^^^ ^^ -"'^^ - *'^- 
parillas of Central America and those of South America. «u ^^^^^^^ ^ _ 
Linction will best be seen by a perusal of t^e foUowii^ " t ^^-^^^^^^^ ^P P^^ ^^^^ ^_^^_ 
""WTien 
rilla are four 
starcli 
, \ . \t it 4-- . 9f Paul's Churclivard, Loudon, under the name of " red Pa- 
