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general medicine the following species are more or less useful: The English Holly 
(/lex aquifolium, Linn.), and the American co-species, /, ofaca, Ait., have been 
considered nearly equal to Peruvian Bark in intermittent fevers and jaundice. 
The Cassena of the American aborigines, /. Cassene, Linn., and 7. Dahoon, Walt., 
are emetic, and enter into the ceremonies of the natives as holy plants, which 
the males only were allowed to use as purifiers of the body. The Carthaginian 
Myginda Uragoga, Swartz., is said to be a most powerful diuretic. The juice and 
leaves of the Indian Monetia Barleroides, Linn., are considered by Hindoo doctors 
to be anti-catarrhal and anti-asthmatic; and the unripe fruit of the Brazilian Llex 
macoucoua, Linn., are so rich in tannin as to be used as a substitute for galls. 
History and Habitat.—The Black Alder is common in thickets at the margins 
of pools and marshy places, from western Florida northward ; during its flower- 
ing season, in April and May, it is hardly distinguishable, to those who are not 
well acquainted with it, from the surrounding bush; but when the autumnal frosts 
have deprived all vegetation of its leaves, then the fruiting plant stands out like a 
flaming spot in the dreary waste, striking, even to the most careless observer, in 
its beauty. 
This is another of the growing list of plants handed down to us by the 
aborigines, who used the bark both internally and externally as a tonic, astrin- 
gent, and antiseptic, and is probably as well known to domestic practice as any 
indigenous shrub. In intermittent fever it has often proved as generally appli- 
cable as Peruvian Bark, and in such low typhoid forms associated with diarrheea, 
and in later stages, where ulceration and hemorrhage are present, it is a very 
valuable agent. In general debilitated conditions of the system after long fevers, 
and where the body is depleted by exhausting discharges, it is also very useful, as 
well as in gangrenous affections and jaundice. Certain forms of chronic herpetic 
eruptions and ulcers are also benefited by its use as an external application. The 
berries are purgative and vermifuge, forming one of the pleasantest adjuvants in 
children’s remedies, for the expulsion of lumbrici. Shoepf first noted the plant as 
having the above field of utility, and also mentioned its usefulness in anasarca. 
The bark is officinal in the U.S. Ph.; in the Eclectic Dispensatory the prepa- 
ration recommended is Decoctum Prinos. 
PART USED AND PREPARATION.—The fresh bark and fruit, gathered 
‘before the first autumnal frost, are chopped and pounded to a pulp and weighed. 
Then two parts by weight of alcohol are taken, the pulp thoroughly mixed with 
one-sixth part of it, and the rest of the alcohol added. The whole is then poured 
into a well-stoppered bottle, and allowed to stand eight days in a dark, cool place, 
being shaken thoroughly twice each day. After decanting, straining, and filtering, 
the resulting tincture has a greenish-brown color by transmitted light; an herba- 
ceous odor; a bitter taste, and an acid reaction. 
| CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS.—Beside a bitter principle, the nature of which 
has not yet been determined, this species contains about 4.8 per cent. tannin; a 
