CORTEX WINTERANUS. 19 



order, a dark rusty parencliyme intervening between them. No such 

 feature is ever observable in either Canella or Cinnamodendron . 



Winter's Bark has a short, ahnost earthy fracture^ an intolerably 

 pungent burning taste, and an odour which can only be described as . 

 terebinthinoiis. When fresh its smell may be more agreeable. The 

 descriptions of Clusius, as alluded to above, are perfectly agreeing and 

 even his figures as nearly as might be expected. 



Microscopic Structure — In full-grown specimens the most strik- 

 ing fact is the predominance of sclerenchymatous cells. The tissue 

 moreover contains numerous large oil-ducts, chiefly in the inner portion 

 of the large medullary rays. A fibrous structure of the inner part of 

 the bark is observable only in the youngest specimens.^ Very small 

 starch granules are met with in the drug, yet less numerous than in 

 canella. The tissue of the former assumes a blackish blue colour on 

 addition of perchloride of iron. 



The wood oi Drirays consists of dotted prosenchyme, traversed by 

 medullary rays, the cells of which are punctuated and considerably 

 larger than in Coniferoe. 



Chemical Composition — No satisfactory chemical examination 

 has been made of true Winter's Bark. Its chief constituents, as already 

 pointed out, are tannic matters and essential oil, probably also a resin. 

 In a cold aqueous infusion, a considerable amount of mucilage is indi- 

 cated by neutral acetate of lead. On addition of potash it yields a 

 dark somewhat violet liquid. Canella alba is but little altered by the 

 same treatment. By reason of its astringency the bark is used in Chili 

 for tanning.^ 



Uses — Winter 



almost obsolete in Europe, It is much used in Brazil and other parts 

 of South America as a remedy in diarrhoea and gastric debility. 



Substitute— i^aZsc WinUv's Baric — We have shown that the bark 

 of Drimys or True Winters Bark has been confounded with the 

 pungent bark of Canella alba L,, and with an allied bark, also the pro- 

 duce of Jamaica. The latter is that of Cinnamodendron corticosmn 

 Miers,^ a tree growing in the higher mountain woods of St. Thomas-in- 

 the-Vale and St. John, but not observed in any other of the West 

 Indian islands than Jamaica. It was probably vaguely known to 

 Sloane when he described the " Wild Cinamon tree, commonly, hut 

 f'dsely^ called Cortex Winteranus," which, he says, has leaves resemb- 

 ng those of Lauro-cerasus ; though the tree he figures is certainly 

 Canella aZ6a.* Long' in 1774, speaks of Wild Cinamon, Canella alba, 

 ^^ Bastard Cortex Winteranus, saying that it is used by most apothe- 

 caries instead of the true Cortex Winteranus. 



It is probable that both writers really had in view Cinnamodendron, 

 tlie bark of which has been known and used as Winter's Bark, both in 

 England and on the continent from an early period up to the present 



../^^e structure ofWinter's Bark is beau- 24, Bot. Magaz,, Sept. 1874, vol. yxx. pi. 

 lituUy figured by Eichler, lor. cit, tab. 32. 6121, and Beutley and Trijuena' Mcdicival 

 rerez-Rosales, Essai sur h Chili, 1857. Plants, part 10. 



] 



113. 



^PhilTrans. xvii. for 1C93. 46o. 



^.'^'^^Is of Nat. Hist, May 1858 ; also ^ Hist. o/Zawa^Va. London, lii. (1774) 705 



Aliera Contributions to Botany, i. 121, pi. —also i. 495. 



