J*£B. I, 1887.J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



S^i 



to inherent; differences in the wood or to more or 

 less exposure to light and air is not clear. It ap- 

 pears, however, from the Official Catalogue of British 

 Honduras that there are two varieties of the tree, of 

 which the broad-leaved one is considered the most 

 valuable, on account of the solidity of the timber 

 and of its yielding a larger <iuantity of the dye, whilst 

 the smaller-leaved tree is said to yield the better 

 ([uality. Specimens from Jamaica, British Honduras, 

 Dominica and Tobago are shown in the Exhibition. 

 The varieties recognized in the London market are, 

 I believe, the following, which are here placed ac- 

 cording to their relative values: — Oampeachy, Honduras, 

 St. Domingo and Jamaica. 



Galls and arecanuts were shown in variety in the 

 Indian Court. Of the former I may observe in pass- 

 ing, that the galls of the Tamarix articidata and of 

 Terminalia Ghehida appear likely to prove of con- 

 siderable value for tanning purposes, on account of 

 the richness in tannic acid and the pile cjlour of 

 their extract. Pomegranate bark was shown in the 

 Jamaica Court, of a quality much superior to that 

 ordinarily met with in commerce. 



Of demulcent medicinal drugs, linseed is the most 

 important, and was shown in great variety in the 

 Indian Court. It is worthy of note that the culti- 

 vation has commenced in Canada, and that samples 

 were exhibited in the Court of that colony. Hitherto 

 nearly the whole, if not all the linseed used for flax 

 growing has been derived from Russian-ports, the 

 product of a cold climate being apparently more 

 suitable for growing purposes. It may be hoped that 

 Canadian linseed, or that from the northern parts of 

 India, will in future years replace that of Russia for 

 this purpose. Indian linseed frequently contains 

 numerous seeds of eruciferous weeds, particulary of 

 species of L'rassica, which by reason of their con- 

 taining a sweet or non-drying oil render the linseed 

 oil obtained by pressure of a less drying character, 

 and therefore of less value commercially. The only 

 other otticial drug conveniently referable to this class, 

 worthy of notice, is buchu, concerning which it may 

 be observed that certain varieties of these leaves, 

 which are more highly esteemed to the Cape of 

 Good Hope than those official in the British Phar- 

 macopreia are frequently sent to this country to the 

 loss both of the shipper and of the consignee. Such 

 varieties are always rejected by English druggists. 



Of alternative drugs sarsaparilla was exhibited from 

 British Honduras and Jamaica. The latter, however, 

 was not the article known in commerce as Jamaica 

 sarsaparilla (which really comes from Panama,) but 

 resembled the Honduras sort in having a thick and 

 mealy bark, while it differed from it in the orange- 

 red colour of the bark. The Panama drug, which 

 fetches the highest price in the market, and is the 

 most esteemed, has a thin vvrinkled brownish bark. 



The sarsaparilla exhibited by the other West Indian 

 colonies was the root olBromelia Karatas, and would 

 not be recognized in this country as sarsaparilla. 



Several colonial remedies that have recently been 

 introduced iuto Europe and America were shown in 

 various Courts. The pretty scarlet and black seeds 

 of Ah-v.s precatorit'.s formed a conspicuous object in 

 several of the West Indian Courts and also in that 

 of British Guiaua. Alstonia constricta bark, Duhoisia 

 and Euphorbia pilvHfera were shown in the Queens- 

 land Court, Piscidia erythrina in the Jamaica, and 

 papa'ne in the Seychelles and Dominica exhibits. 



With respect to the non-ofiicial medicinal products 

 of the Exhibition it is possible to regard them from 

 two points of view: the one being that of Colonial 

 Governments, which are naturally anxious to obtain 

 indigenous substitutes of equal value for expensive 

 drugs imported from the mother country ; the other 

 is that of the pharmacists of Europe and America 

 who may be desirous of ascertaining if any of the 

 colonial drugs possess medicinal properties which 

 are worthy of careful investigation or are superior 

 in quality or value to others at present in use. The 

 latter point of view is the only one which falls 

 within my province to-night, the former may safely 

 be left to the medical profeseiou in tb? colonies. 



/ 



T he following list includes the colonial drugs 

 which were accompanied by statements indicating that 

 they possess medicinal properties worthy of closer 

 investigation both by the chemist and the medical 

 profession. 



As an alterative SiegeslecMa orientalis is highly 

 recommended by Dr. Daruty, of Mauritius, in infan- 

 tile cachexia and as an application to gangrenous 

 wounds. The active principle, darutyne, was shown 

 in the Mauritius Court. The root of Arctopus echinaUs 

 has long been used at the Cape of Good Hope for 

 cutaneous eruptions; Rourea fuhjcns is used for 

 leprosy in the Straits Settlements,' and lukrubau seeds 

 at Hong Kong. For skin diseases, henna leaves are 

 employed in the Straits Settlements and henna seeds 

 in Gambia, and the bark of Acacia falcata in New 

 South Wales, and Jfelianthus major at the Cape. 

 For ringworm the yellow juice of Haronga mada- 

 gascariensts is employed in the Mauritius, and that 

 of Bocconia fndescens in Jamaica, and the sap of 

 Laplacea ITamatoxi/lon in St. Vincent ; also the leaves 

 of Cassia alata in India, and the seeds of J'atairea 

 guiunensis in British Guiana. 



For a,sthTa& Gijmphocarjnis fniticotiv.s 3.ndi Gleichema 

 dichotoma are used in the Mauritius, and Euphorbia 

 laaceidata in St. Vincent. Atherosperma moschatmn 

 is highly spoken of by Mr. Bosisto as giving relief 

 in asthma and bronchitis and Phytolacca striata is 

 used at the Cape for pulmonary diseases. 



As antiperiodics the bark of Michelta Champaccb 

 is used in Mauritius, Tlicvetia Neri i folia \nt\xG Straits 

 Settlements, and proteacin, prepared from a species 

 of LeiccadendroH, at the Cape, the latter drug being 

 recommended by Dr. J. H. Meiring Beck. As a tonic 

 ill flatulent indigestion boiari root seems to find 

 general acceptance in British Guiana. 



As anthelmintics, Quisqualis indica is used in 

 Mauritius, and Leucas linifoUa, in the Straits Settle- 

 ments. 



As resolvents, Coleus atrspurpureus and Plumhago 

 rosea are employed in the Straits Settlements. 



As nervine tonics, Eryngium fntidum is considered 

 useful in .Jamaica, and keng root in Gambia. 



Emmenagogue properties are attributed to Poinciana 

 pidcherrima in Mauritius. Cissus capensfs and Sanse- 

 viera thyrsifiora are stated in the Cape of Good 

 Hope Catalogue to give relief in hccmorrhoidal com- 

 plaints. 



Antiseptic properties appear to be present in 

 Ceyperus articulatus, used in Jamaica to stop vomit- 

 ing: in Lichtensteinia interrupta, Teucrium africanum 

 and Cluytia hirsitta, used at the Cape of Good Hope, 

 the two former being employed in splenic fever. The 

 following, from their poisonous properties, also seem 

 worthy of chemical investigation : aromata, coroo- 

 coroo and moraballi bark, divildora root, haiari 

 root {Lonchocarpus densijlorv.s) and the seeds of 

 CncoKcii cocciiiea, from British Guiana : tuba root 

 {Derris elliptica) from the Straits Settlements; Toxi- 

 cophlosa Phunbergii and Hycfnanche glohosa from 

 the Cape of Good Hope ; poison-wood from British 

 Honduras, and Elaodendron orientole from the 

 Mauritius. 



Jfedicinal Spices. 



The best exhibit of cinnamon was that of CeyloU, 

 the specimens from Jamaica, Barbadoes, Fiji and 

 Sierra Leone being all inferior in aroma as well ag 

 in appearance ; that from St. Lucia was by no means 

 deficient in aroma, but consisted of thick bark, and 

 would only be marketable for making the powdered 

 drug or for distillation of the essential oil. 



The cardamoms from Ceylon were the finest in the 

 E.^hibition, but official cardamoms were also shown 

 from Jamaica and Grenada, and round cardamoms 

 from the Straits Settlements. The seeds of the latter 

 are hardly distiuguishable by taste from the official 

 kind. The long grey cardamoms, known in commerce 

 as Ceylon cardamoms, were also shown. These are 

 said to be obtained always from wild plants by the 

 natives. The seeds possess less aroma than the 

 official kind and arc 9i a slightly different charactffr , 



