63 
Albino Mertensia,— Several years ago I procured some pips of 
Mertensia Virginica and planted them out. This year a white one 
bloomed in the bed, and also several pfnk ones. The pink ones 
may have flowered before and escaped my notice, but the white 
could not have done so. Has it been blue until this year and sud- 
denly changed, or has it failed to flower for six or seven years ? 
E. S. Miller. 
Botanical Notes. 
Histological 
ing an important part of pharmaceutical education in this country, 
judging from an elaborate paper on lUicium Floridantim, published 
in the American Journal of Pharmacy for May. The paper is illus- 
trated with four plates, showing the minute structure of the fruit, 
seed, leaves, stem, bark and root of the plant. In the same journal 
a chemical investigation of the root of Coilmsoma Canadensis, by Mr. 
C. N.^ Lochman, is recorded. The author finds that the rhizome 
contains a resin soluble in ether and partly in alcohol, vegetable wax, 
tannm, mucilage and starchy while the leaves contain resin, tannin, 
wax and volatile oil. 
The Yaupon {Ilex Cassine^ L.). — As well known, the leaves of 
this plant v^ere formerly used by the Southern Indians in making a 
preparation called "black drink." A large quantity of the leaves 
was thrown into a great kettle of water suspended over a fire, and 
the Indians, sitting around, helped themselves to large draughts, 
which after a short time induced free and easy vomiting. This treat- 
ment was continued during two or three days, until it was considered 
that a sufficient cleansing had been effected. Some of these leaves 
have been submitted to a chemical examination by Dr. Venable, who 
reports {Joiirn. Amer, Chem. Soc, April, p. loo) that he obtained 
from them a small quantity of caffeine, equalling .27 per cent, of the 
weight of leaves used. It will be remembered that caeffeine has also 
been found in '* mate " {I/ex Paragnayensis), used in South America 
as a beverage. 
?/ Plants. — In a note communicated by Messrs. 
G. Bonnier and L. Mangin to the Paris Academy of Sciences {Comptes 
Rendus, c. 1303), these authors point out that hitherto the amount of 
*^^ygen given out by plants to the air has been supposed to represent 
the total result of the fixation of carbon. They show that this is not 
the case, but that at the same time that the carbon is assimilated by 
the chlorophyll, the protoplasm absorbs oxygen and emits carbonic 
^cid. An analysis of the gas emitted by a plant, therefore, only 
represents the difference between the amount of oxygen disengaged 
by assimilation of carbon and the amount absorbed by respiration, 
^^d on the other hand, between the carbonic acid decomposed by 
assimilation and the carbonic acid produced by respiration. Three 
methods are given for separating the result of the action of chloro- 
phyll from that of respiration. One is by calculating the difference 
between the whole amount of gas emitted and absorbed by plants 
exposed to light, and the volume which they emit by respiration 
