48 rs : MENISPERIA CEA. 
of the stomach, and the intestine ; ; after full doses the liver 
appeared to undergo granular fatty ‘degeneration. ‘A dose of — 
10 centigrams administered to fowls caused death, preceded 
by digestive disturbance and frequent evacuation. It is 
thought that if it were not that calumbin is present in Calumba — 
in only small amount (0°35 to 0°4 per cent.) if would prove 
' inconvenient constituent in the administration of the dru 
(Pharm. Journ., 1886.) Calumba appears to owe its tonic 
tion chiefly to berberine (sce Berberis); it also possesses t 
advantage of containing no tannin, and consequently does n 
form an inky mixture with salts of iron. It is used in atonic — 
dyspepsia and debility of the digestive organs, and appears 
--inerease the secretion of bile. Trousseau and Pidoux reco: 
mend it especially when there is subacute inflammation of t 
gastric mucous’ membranes, with a bitter taste in the mouth, 
heat and pain at the epigastrium, nausea, ‘slight fever 2 
perhaps diarrhoea. 
The powdered root has been used Zor dresing unhea 
Sores. 
fee cintion ses drug consists of siearly round or 0! 
transverse slices of the root, varying much in size ; these, whem 
~ freshly imported, are of a light, bright greenish yellow colour: 
and have their edges covered by a wrinkled, corky ieee 
the surface of the slice shows a central portion, often. mu 
socealig itn in a the Mg ota the yasoutar bundles standing out 
: portion from two tothree-eight 8 
Po WOE at: sails thick. “Calurgba i is light and breaks easily withasho 
starchy a the odour i is mossy, and the taste very bitter. 
“* 
Picaesosie structure, —Comnienting externally we find a 
range of tabular cells forming the suber; within this, a broken 
line of thick-walled yellow cells; and next a cellular paren 
chyme loaded with starch and Fallow colouring matter, making 
up the bulk of the bark, and intersected by radiating band: 
of liber tissue. The central portion of the root consists of ; 
poets edocs intersected by pee bands, met 
