June i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



973 



(perhaps from the weakeuing of disease) trees are unable 

 to carry their leaves to maturity, as should be the "case 

 with naturally healthy coffee. 



-1* — Civ/> i/itlliifed on the lOOacreswas 750 bushels of parch- 

 ment. Three-fourths of this was picked off the upper 45 

 acres, auil on two small faces bearing,' heavily was well 

 carried witliout manure, and the coffee is now looking 

 well. 



5. — Appearance of Wood mill reference to the Settincj of 

 Blossom. — The Committee made their final visit of inspection 

 to examine the result of blossoms on the 24th Instant, 

 and were of opinion that no difference could be traced 

 between the setting of the blossom on the Oalverton 100 

 acres and other coffee in the neighbourhood. They were 

 again impressed with the good appearance of the coffee 

 which did not look as if it had suffered from leaf-disease 

 through the discnntinuance of the treatment for now nearly 

 five months. 



6. — Apparent Results of the Experiments must still remain 

 very much a matter of opinion. It must be admitted that 

 the coft'ee treated has been unusually exempt from leaf- 

 disease for a period of a year and the comparison with other 

 coft'ee pruned at the same time would induce the belief 

 that the treatment has to some extent been efficacious. 

 On the other hand it is well known that the evaporizatiou 

 of carbolic gas, which Mr. Schrottky calls his permanent 

 system, has, wherever else attempted, been declared a 

 failure, nor is there anything in the history of the Claver- 

 ton experiments to lead to the conclusion that it has been 

 necessarily a success there. These is much better ground 

 for thinking that the dusting process, aided by favorable 

 weather, was at the time very effectual, and it is quite pos- 

 sible that the disease spores above the surface of the ground 

 were sufficiently de-stroyed to prevent it making bead again 

 for a considerable period. 



7. Practical Deductions from the Experiments. — The Com- 

 mittee are unanimously of opinion that carbolic acid, as 

 hitherto applied, cannot be regarded as supplying any pract- 

 cal cure for leaf-disease. The dusting process might at 

 times be applied with as successf id results as certainly seemed 

 to have attended its use on Claverton, but it would far 

 more often be accompanied with less favorable weather, in 

 which case an outlay of from KIO to R15 per acre might be 

 completely thrown away. The Committee are of opinion 

 that it would be far more economical to spend money on 

 pruning or manure than on any topical treatment that has 

 yet been suggested. 



Geo. Greiq, W. Tayi.oe, Giles- F. Walkek, F. G. A. 

 Lane, E. H. Skkine. 



KEMAKKS ON SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS OF 

 CEYLON. 



I5y AV, 0. Ond.vatje, F. L. S., Colonial Surgeon of Ceylon. 



It is well known that several Indian drugs have been in- 

 corporated into the British Pharmacop<-eia, which have 

 added to the number of remedial agents, thus conferring no 

 small ailvantage on the medical profession, and the publi- 

 cation of the Pharmacopceia of India has conferred an in- 

 calculable benefit on the medical practitioner in the East, 

 but still there are many medicinal plants of the colonies and 

 India which deserve a scientific examination. 



The public revenue of the colonies is applied to many 

 useful jiurposcs for promotiug_ the general welfare of tho 

 people. I believe that if a suni of money were voted an- 

 nually to be expended in carrying out chemical examination 

 of intligenous drugs and other proilucts by competent persons 

 in this country, all expenditm-e would be well repaid by the 

 advantages reaped in the saving of Government expenses for 

 medicines and in the demand created for native products. 



It is a matter of gi'eat importance to the millions in the 

 East, anil in fact to the whole community, that they be 

 enabled to a\ail themselves of eflSeient substitutes for many 

 official drugs which our colonies supply. 



I may here mention that the annual cost of drugs for 

 the u.se of the public service of Oeylon forms a considerable 

 item. The natives are now more largely availing themselves 

 of pjuropean medical practice, since the extension of Go- 

 vernment hospitals and dispensaries, and consequently an 

 increasing expenditiu-e under this head cannot be avoided 

 without iletriment to the best interests of the population. 



Theuecessityforadoptingsucha measure as I have suggest- 



ed will be apparent to those who have studied Indian drugs 

 The natives of the East have attributed imaginary pro- 

 perties to many plants and drugs, and much that is absurd 

 is mixed up with much that is valuable. 



While clinical observations in hospitals and medical col- 

 leges are of much importance to ascertain the therapeutic 

 action, chemical examination will perfect the knowledge 

 thus obtained, and will, with the aid of pharmacy, show 

 the best mode of preparation and administration, and no 

 institution can more efficiently carry out this work than the 

 Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. 



I will now proceed to make a few brief remarks on some 

 medicinal plants %vhich I brought with me from Oeylon. 



1. Kandia dumetorum, Lam. — The seeds of this tree are 

 used Ijy the natives of Ceylon and India as a reliable agent 

 in producing emesis. 



lam not aware that any chemical examination has been 

 made to detect the active princiiJe. 



It belongs to the same family (Oincho nace»j as Cephe 

 lis Ipecacuanha, and it would bo important to determin- 

 if it contains emetine, more particularly since an allied 

 species, li. uliyinosa is, according to Dr. Dymock, used in 

 India as a remedy for dy.sentery. This species is also in- 

 digenous in Ceylon. The bark of li. dumetorum also poss- 

 esses the same qualities. 



I have seen the powdered seeds used with as good effect 

 as ipecacuanha in doses of 5 to 10 grains. If analysis 

 should prove Eandia to possess the same active princii>le 

 as ipecacuanha, a great saving might be effected by its 

 suljstitution for the more expensive Brazilian drug. 



Some weeks ago I had the pleasure of presenting a small 

 quantity of the fruit to yoivr Museum. 



2. Sethia acuminata, Ai-n. — This is a remedy much used 

 by the Sinhalese as a vermifuge. The part used is the 

 leaves, the juice of the leaves being mixed with sugar and 

 castor oil, or with the powder of the leaves. The leaves 

 are easily powdered when dried. 



Professor Bentley notices its vermifuge properties in his 

 ' Manual of Botany.' 



Dr. Thwaites, in his ' Euumeratio Plantarum Zeylauiie,' 

 also refers to it. He says " the Sinhalese attach much 

 value to this plant as an anthelminthic for children, giving 

 the juice expressed from the fresh leaves." It is chiefly 

 used for expeUing round worm and possesses the advantage 

 of not having a disagreeable taste. The powder is used 

 in the dose of 10 to 15 grains. 



I presented a small quantity of tho leaves and a flower- 

 ing specimen of the plant to your Museum. 



3. Cosciniumfenestratum, Colebr. — Many years ago, while 

 using it as a tonic, I found by experiment that it possessed 

 antiseptic properties, to which I beg to invite your attention. 



I foima that pieces of beef immersed in an infusion of 

 the stem were preserved for several weeks. I am unable to give 

 more details, as my notes made in Ceylon are not at hand. 



I also used in Ceylon a weak infusion of the stem as a 

 lotion of foul ulcers with great success. 



I believe the plant has already been subjected to chemical 

 analysis in this country and contains the active principle 

 berberia. 



It has been used also as a yellow dye. As this root 

 has recently been imported in quantity into England it coidd 

 easily be obtained, and an examination of the cause of its 

 antiseptic properties seems desirable. 



4. Tatcria Indica, L. — Some of the bark of the tree I 

 have presented to your Museum. The natives used it daily 

 to arrest the alchoohc fermentation of the juice of the jaggery 

 palm, Can/Ota urens, which is a favourite beverage with the 

 natives. This property of preventing fermentation might, 

 I think, be turned to account in some of the great manu- 

 facturing industries, if not in medicine, and I trust the 

 bark may be thought deserving of chemical investigation 

 by some members of your Societj'. 



5. i'emecarpus Gardneri, Thw.— The black resin yielded by 

 this tree, although not possessing medicinal properties, may 

 be of some interest in the arts. 



I have presented to the Museum some of the resin. 



The resin is hard, breaks with a smooth fracture, burns 

 with a bright flame, is soluble in turpentine, and adheres 

 strongly to wood and metal. It is free from acridity. 



The formula for using the re.sin as a varnish is as foUows : 



To a .saturated solution of I'utcria Jndica resin in oi 

 of turpentine, add by degrees pieces of black resin, andl 



