ToL /. 



MaRCH, 1876. 



JVo. 5. 



"Chia." — During the pastsuimuer my attention was called, whilst in Southern 

 California, to a mealy preparation in popular use aniono; the Indians, Mexicans 

 and prospectors. On inquiry I found it was called "67u«." Further examination 

 proved that it was furnished by the seeds of Salvia colvmbarim, Benth. The seeds 

 are collected, roasted, and "'round, in the native way, between two stones. This 

 puts it in the condition in wliich I first saw it. It is used as a food by mixing it 

 with water and enough sugar to suit the taste. It soon developes into a copious 

 mucilaginous mass, several times the original bulk. The taste is somewhat sug- 

 gestive of linseed meal. One soon acquires a fondness for it and eats it rather in 

 the waj' of a laxurj- than witli any reference to the fact that it is exceedingly 

 nutritious besides. It is in gi-eat demand among the knowing ones who have a 

 desert to cross, or who expect to encounter a scarcity of water, and what there is, 

 of bad quality. By preparing it so tliin that it can be used as a drink, it seems to 

 assuage thirst, to impi-ove the taste of the water and, in addition, to lessen the 

 quantity of water taken, which in hot countries is often so excessive as to pro- 

 duce serious illness. As a remedy it is invaluable from its demulcent properties, 

 in cases of gastro-intestinal disorders. It also liolds a place among domestic reme- 

 dies, for the same purpose that flaxseed occasionally does witli us, i. e., a grain of 

 the seed is placed in tlie eye (where it gives no pain) to form a mucilage by means 

 of which a foreign body may be removed from the organ. I liave found it of great 

 service as a poultice. As a matter of archreological interest it may be noted that 

 quantities of this seed were found 1)uri('d in graves several liundred years old. 

 This proves that the use of tlie seed reaches l)ack into the remote past. Indeed I 

 find several allusions to tlie name Chia in the second volume of Bancroft's great 

 work on the Native Bacca of tin' r<i<:ific States, pp. 232, 280, 347, 3G0. Chianpinoli 

 appears to have been made by tlie so-called Aztec races from corn whieli was roast- 

 ed and ground as the Ciiia was. From this, however, I conclude that the term 

 Chia was then a generic name applied to meal derived from several sources. At 

 present the name is almost restricted to the product of Salvia colwnbarice. Chia 

 was among the Nahua races of Ancient Mexico as regularly cultivated as corn, and 

 often used in connection with it. I wonld state that my attention was first called 

 to it by Mr. Kennedy, of Fort Tejon, California, a gentleman wliose long and varied 

 experience in that region makes liim good authority upon all its products. — Dr. 

 J. T. ROTHKOCK, Wilkesharre, Pa. 



The new Aphrodisiac, Anti-rheumatic, etc., over wiiich a few doctors are going 

 into ecstasy, and l)y which certain drug venders lu)pe to realize a small fortune, 

 turns out to be an old, well known i)lant. Of course, /'or bnsiiicss reatiuns, it is best 

 that the name and affinities of tlie lierb sliould remain as obscure as possible. How- 

 ever, it is none the less Bigaloria venela, Gray (Proc. Anier. Acad. Vol. VIII, p. 

 638). As older names we may quote also Baccharis veneta, H. B. K., Ajdopappus 

 (Aplodiscus) discoideus, DC. (Prodr. 5, p. SaO.). Whatever virtues it may have are 



All eommunications addressed to John M. Coulter, Hanover, bid. 

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