276 



THE ALUMNI JOURNAL, 



cultivation. The crop matures in six 

 months from seed, and the average yield 

 is 50 bushels per acre, without irrigation, 

 and nearly 100 bushels with irrigation. 

 They being 19 to 22 rupees per 529 lbs. 

 of kernels, at the point of production. 



A history of the attempts to produce 

 Rhea fiber (Ramie or China- Grass. 

 — Bcehnieria nivea and B. tenacissima) 

 in India in competition with China, is 

 given. The various partial awards paid 

 by the government under its offer of 

 ;,^5ooo for a fibre-making machine meet- 

 ing certain requirements, and the subse- 

 quent withdrawal of the offer in the be- 

 lief that a successful result could not be 

 obtained, are reviewed. 



No. 17 (1894) gives the results of the 

 examination of 23 .samples of castor-oil, 

 out of 78 exhibited at the Imperial Insti- 

 tute. The oil irom the coast-grown seeds 

 is maintained in commerce as a distinct 

 article from that from inland-grown 

 seeds. 



The Palmyra Palm is identified as Bo- 

 rassus flabelliformis L. Its geographical 

 distribution and domestic uses are dis- 

 cussed. Like many other palms it is 

 very useful. Toddy is made from the 

 sap obtained by cutting off the young 

 flower-stalks. The soft, transparent, 

 jelly-like contents of the young seed are 

 eaten. The young seedlings are eaten 

 like asparagus. The leaves are used for 

 thatching and are almost the only fuel in 

 some sections. A valuable timber is ob- 

 tained from the trunks. The outer por- 

 tions are very hard, and are not attacked 

 by the white ants. The soft-heart being 

 dug out, excellent buckets are made 

 from the lower trunk sections. The leaf- 

 stalk yields a fibre valuable for ropes, 

 brushes and other purposes. 



The number on Indian Fungi deals 

 with the literature of certain ruinous 

 blights to which Indian crops are sub- 

 ject, and is based chiefly on the research- 



es of the well-known and energetic my- 

 cologist, the late Surgeon-Major A. 

 Barclay, M.B., F. L. S. 



The number devoted to Camphor-leaf 

 Oil is a reprint of the paper by Prof. 

 David Hooper in the Phari7iaceuiical 

 Journal and Transactions^ which has be- 

 come already well-known in pharmaceu- 

 tical circles. 



The plants treated in Ledger, No. 6 

 (1896), are valuable as fiber-yielders,and 

 the value of their respective fibers is dis- 

 cussed. 



The bark of the root of Polygomcm 

 cuspidatum was found to contain polygo- 

 ni?i, a glucoside yielding emodin, emodin 

 monornethyl ether and a wax identical 

 with that occuring in the root-bark of 

 Morinda umbellaota. 



The numbers referring to Al Dye, 

 Acacia catechu and the Collection, Cata- 

 loguing and Preservation of Specimens 

 are of so much interest and importance, 

 that they are deemed worthy of more ex- 

 tended reviews in future numbers of the 

 Alumni Journal. 



EUQENOL IN niCROSCOPY. 



Eugenol has recently been suggested 

 by Oppemann {^Apotheker Zeitung, 1896^ 

 5J.) as an excellent expedient tor increas- 

 ing the transparency of vegetable objects 

 for microscopical examination, especially 

 for powdered drugs. In place of water 

 or glycerin, eugenol is proposed for im- 

 bedding the vegetable sections or pow- 

 ders. It is said to impart superior trans- 

 parency to all vegetable tissues and cells. 

 It may also be used in cases where stain- 

 ing of the objects is required or preferable. 

 In the case of objects of much resistance 

 to penetrating fluids, this will readily be 

 overcome bv diluting the eugenol with 

 some ether before using. 



The specific gravity of pure eugenol is 

 1.072 at 15° C, its boiling point x 253° 

 to 254° C. (mercurial column entirely in 

 the vapor) and it gives a clear solution 

 with a 2 to I per cent, solution of potas- 

 sium hydrate. 



