CUCURBITACEZL, 93 
out the bowels, and is often sufficient without further 
eecerment 3 in cases of this kind which arise from over eating. 
; Description. —A climbing plant with a smooth stem 
common in hedges. The leaves are palmately 5-lobed, more 
or less deeply divided, segments oblong, lanceolate acuminated, 
serrated ; petioles muricated, upper surface of the leaf thickly 
studded ‘with white, jointed, calcareous hairs, rising from a 
_ Calcareous areola; male and female flowers, in the same axils, 
the peduncles of the male flowers, which are numerous, remain- 
ing until the fruit ripens; flowers small, pale yellow; fruit 
round, smooth, marked with white vertical stripes, the size of 
a marble, red when ripe, with the exception of the stripes, 
which remain of a dead white. The whole plant is very bitter. 
_ Chemical composition.—An alcoholic extract of the plant 
was made with 84 per cent. alcohol, water added, and the 
turbid mixture agitated with light petroleam ether, which 
‘removed colouring matter and a small amount of fat. 
After separation of the petroleum ether the bright yellow 
queous solution was agitated with chloroform. The chloro- 
m extract was yellowish, non-crystalline and very bitter. 
ted with warm water the greater part dissolved, the 
f 
as produced; whereas in Watts’ Dictionary of Resecgene! 
dst Edition, sulphuric acid is stated to dissolve bryonin 
“forming a blue liquid which changes to green.”? Gmelin, 
owever, (Handbook of Chemistry) states that it is coloured 
brown by oil of vitriol. We have tested the action of con- 
trated sulphuric acid on a specimen of bryonin ob 
from Dr. Schuchardt, and find that no such eae 
described in Watts’ Petpet a bes 
rownish red, . age: 
