April i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



743 



without the salt no metall will ring his shirle voyce. Salt 

 makcth men morrie, it whiteneth the flesh, and it giveth 

 beauty to all ruasoualile creatures, it entertayneth that love 

 and amitie which is between the male and female, through 

 the great vigor and stirring uppe which it provoketh in 

 the engendering members; it helpeth procreation, it 

 giveth uuto creatures theu- voyce, as also rmto metalles. 

 Aud it is salt tha^t makcth all seedes to flourish and growe, 

 and although the number o£ men is verie small, which 

 can give any true reason whie dungue should doe anie 

 good in arable groundes, hut are ledde thereto more by 

 eustome than anie philosophicall reason, nevertheless it is 

 appaurent that no dungue, which is layde upon barraine 

 groundes, could anie way enrich the same, if it were not 

 for the salt which the straw aud hay left behinde them 

 by their putrefaction." The inorganic constituents of plants 

 consist of silica, alumina, potash, soda, lime, magnesia, 

 phosphate of lime, common salt, sulphuric acid in the form 

 of sulphate of lime, and some other sulphates, &c. Many 

 of the inorganic substances vary according to the soil in 

 which the plants grow, but a certain number of them are 

 indispensable to their development. All substances in solu- 

 tions in a soil are absorbed by the roots of plants, exactly 

 as a sponge imbibes a liquid, and all that it contains, 

 without selection. But there are alkaline and earthy phos- 

 phates that form invariable constituents of all Icinds of 

 grasses, of beans, peas aud lentils. 



The inorganic substances are generally combinations of 

 two elementary bodies. They are wholly miueral; they 

 are the products of the chemical action of the metallic or 

 non-metallic elianenta of rocks. The existed before plants 

 or animals. When vegetable substances are burnt, there 

 remains behind a portion commonly called the a.sh, and 

 this constitutes the inorganic portion of plants. The pro- 

 portion of ash to the bulk of vegetable subst-ance is very 

 small, varying from 1 to 12 per cent. The smalluess of 

 these proportions has led some persons to the opinion that 

 the mineral or inorganic constituents of plants are raereJy 

 accidentally present, and are not necessary to their- existence. 

 This may be true as far as regards those matters which 

 are not always found in plants of the same kind; but 

 when they are invariably present the smallness of their 

 quantity does not indicate their inutility. The phosphate 

 of lime existing in the animal body does not amount to 

 the fifth part of its weight : yet no one doubts that this 

 salt is necessary for the formation of the bones. 



It has been generally supposed that these materials act 

 in the vegetable economy in the same manner as con- 

 diments or stimulants in the animal economy ; aud thus 

 they render the common food more nutritive. It seems, 

 however, a much more prohable idea that they are actually 

 a part of the true food of plants, and that they supply 

 that kind of matter to the vegetable fibre which is ana- 

 logous to the bony matter in animal structm'es. Thus 

 those plants which are most benefited by the application 

 of gypsum are those which always afford them upon aiia- 

 lysis. Clover and most of the artificial grasses contain them, 

 but they exist in very minute quantity only in barley, 

 wheat and turnips. A knowleoge of these inorganic constit- 

 uents, and of the nature and chemical composition of soils, 

 must necessarily regulate the practice of every branch of 

 agriculture. Attention must be paid to the kind and quality 

 of the crop, and the nature and chemical composition of 

 the soil in which it grows. Are any of the salts of iron 

 present? They may be decomposed by lime. Is there an 

 excess of silicious sand ? The system of improvement 

 must depend on the application of clay and calcareous 

 matter. Is there a defect of calcareous 7natter? The 

 remedy is obvious. Is an excess of vegetable matter indic- 

 ated ? It may be removed by liming, paring and bm'ning. 

 Is there a deficiency of vegetable matter ? It is to be 

 supplied by manure. — Leader. 



POISONING WITH SEEDS ("CRABS' EYES") OF THE 

 INDIAN LIQUORICE PLANT. 



Who would suspect the beautiful little red seeds, each 

 with a jet black spot on it, of "the Indian liquorice" o£ 

 being a deadly |)oison ? Yet so it is : — 



The Professor of Clieniislry in the Calcutta Medical Col- 

 lege, Mr. 0. J. H. Warden, has reprinted from the Tiidiun 

 Medical GazetU .some very interesting notes on the Jlnus 

 rrecatoriui familiarly known as the Indian liquorice plant. 



and in Bengalee as Koonch or Goontch. The seeds are em- 

 ployed in India for various purjioses. The red ones, there are 

 three varieties, are employed by goldsmiths and' native 

 druggists on account of their uniform weights. For medical 

 purposes says Mr. O. J. H. Warden, the seeds are used as 

 an externalapplication in ophthalmia ; and he quotes Itheede 

 to the effect that, mixed with the roots and cocoanut milk, 

 they are employed in the treatment of hemorrhoids. In 

 the Hindu system of Materia Medica, ruttee seeds are 

 classed among the seven minor poisons, which are — opium, 

 seeds of Abrus precatorius, dhatura, roots of Gloriosa superba, 

 roots of Nerium odorum, juice of Oalotropis gigantea, and 

 Euphorbia neriifolia. 



According to the Pharmaceutical Journal* an infusion 

 of the seeds has long been used in the interior of Brazil 

 as a popular remedy in the treatment of ophthalmic dis- 

 orders. In some exjieriments by Dr. de Wecker (Comptus 

 Reudus, xcv, 2dd) he ascertained that a weak cold infusion 

 of the powdered seeds applied as a lotion, rapidly produced 

 a purulent ophthalmia, of intensity corresponding to the 

 number of applications. The factitious ophthalmia thus 

 produced disappeared in the course of the ten days or a 

 fortnight without any therapeutic intervention or danger 

 to the cornea; and Dr. de Wecker is of opinion that this 

 property, possessed by the seeds, of provoking a very intense 

 ophthalmia of short duration could be utilzed in ocular 

 therapeutics in the treatment of granulations, conjunctival 

 diphtheria, &o. 



Druiy states that the seeds are innocuous if swallowed 

 whole but dangerous in a powdered state ; but he remarks, 

 regarding the latter point, that there must bo some mis- 

 take, as they form an article of food ui Egypt, though con- 

 sidered hard and indigestible. Dr. Center, Chemical 

 Exammer, Punjab, in his Annual Report for 1873, mentions 

 that he administered the powdered seeds to dogs, in doses 

 varying from one quarter to one ounce, the result being 

 only "mild vomiting." Dr. M. Thomson,tChemicalExaminer, 

 N.-W. P., also records evidence of a similar character. 

 "The Gunchi seed, even when finely gi-ound, does not seem 

 to be a poison when given by the month. I have repeatedly 

 given it to dogs in as large doses as two or three drachms, 

 but with no ill effect." My experiments, made on cats, 

 also indicate the inert nature of the seeds when introduced 

 into the stomach. 



Though the pulverized seeds are harmless when eaten, 

 they produce rapiiUy fatal effects — even in small quantity 

 —when introduced into the cellular tissue. 



Dr. Center of Lahore was the first, I believe, to draw 

 attention to the fact that rati seeds were used for poisoning 

 cattle. ,And for this purpose they are pounded, moistened 

 with a liquid and shaped into needles, — "suis"— and when 

 dry, forced beneath the skin of cattle. The Chmnui- or 

 skinner caste, appear to be the only ckss who adopt this 

 mode of poisoning; aud their object is to obtain the skins. 

 The practice of " sui" poisoning his apparently spread from 

 the Punjab into Bengal; the Chemical E.\amiuer to the 

 Government of Bengal, in his Annual Report in 1S75, re- 

 marks that that was the first year in which " spikes " or " suis" 

 had been received in Calcutta for examination. Within the 

 last six years, cases have frequently occurred in Bengal 

 in which "sui" poisoning has been suspected; and in .'several 

 instances "suis" have been forwarded to the Chemical 

 Examiner for examination. It is probable, however, that 

 the number of reported cases does not represent the actual 

 extent of this system of cattle poisoning, because unless 

 suspicion be aroused, and the skin of the animal very care- 

 fully inspected, the mmute puncture caused by the spike 

 is likely to escape detection. 



The preparation of "suis" is an operation which apparently 

 requires some little skill; and the following particulars are 

 from an article in the Poiice Ga-eltc for Decembei-, iSSO, 

 coninmnicated, 1 believe, by an officer in the Police Depart- 

 ment, who obtained his mformation from a chiimni- prisoner 

 in the Patna Jail, who prepared "spikes" before him, with 

 one of which a bullock was stabbed in the back of the 

 neck, death en.suing on the second day. The shell of each 

 seed is carefully broken and removed, and the seeds softened 

 by soaking in water, and pounded on a stone in order to 

 form a paste. The lump of paste is then rolled with the 



» Journal Pharm. See, No. 636, page 1S4. 



t Report of Chemical Examuier, N.-W. P., 1874. 



