432 



The three plants raised from seed, sown in January last, are now 

 from 3-5 inches in height. A further consignment of seed was 

 received from America and distributed to various private gardens 

 in the West of Ireland and Scotland, but unfortunately nearly 

 the whole of this consignment of seed appears to have been 

 infertile. 



The plant can probably be propagated by means of cuttings. 



Plantations of R. Purshiana could apparently be treated as 

 coppice. One of the Kew trees, now 17 years old, whose bark 

 has been analysed, was sawn off at the ground level last spring 

 and hai sent up a crowd of shoots from the stump, some of which 

 grew 4 feet high daring the summer ; they are shown in the 

 inset to Plate 2. 



Rhai < cali/ornica is represented at Kew by three distinct 

 forms, viz. the type, var. tomentella with very tomentose young 

 wood and leaves, and var. olei folia with smaller leaves than either 

 of the preceding. They are all distinct-looking evergreen shrubs 

 and evidently quite hardy at Kew. They are of purely bushy 

 habit, being considerably more in width than they are in height, 

 and the largest is now about G feet high. R. cali/ornica, though 

 it yields the drug Cascara Sagrada and flourishes in Kew, does 



not appear to be so suitable a subject for cultivation in Great 



Britain. 



With 



evidence which 



has been given both from the clinical and cultural points of view 

 seems to indicate that the cultivation of this species is worthy of 



r»r\T"ICJ*I« [*}Y»0 f 1 Arv : m iv»/-v -M<-vs% n^«- ^4- ^-« n -~~ ^ 1*1 1 . ll .L 1 1_ ^ ,1 _ J £ ^v_ 



consideration 



the drug will not diminish. 



demand 



Explanation of Plates. 



Plate 1. A tree of Rhamnus Purshiana, DC. 17 years old, 

 grown from seed at Kew. From a photograph taken in summer 

 of a tree 21 feet in height. 



Plate 2. Fig. 1. The same tree in late autumn. 



Fig. 2. A vigorous growth of shoots, which have 



have sprung from the stool of the tree cut 

 down for analysis. The longest shoots are 

 4 feet in height. 



LV.-DIAGNOSES AFRICANAE : XXVI. 



981. Muraltia parvifolia, N. E. Brown [Polygalaceae] ; affinis 

 31. rtgtaae, E. Mey., ramis suberectis iunioribus angulatis et 

 flonbus majoribus facile distinguitur. 



Fruticulv parvus, mipacte ramosus, floribus exceptis omnino 

 glaber, subrigidus. Rami et ramuli suberecti, subconferti, pri- 

 mum consptcue angu lati, demum subteretes. Folia alterna, 



W^2LI!5^5 r? the ? arke L fc value o£ ° MCM » bark « ifc is reported in the Chemid 

 n 1 i» 9 Zt mT^ 1 * r,lh ' J 908 ' that flffc y ba * 9 of good, thin bark, imported 



tow « ■ m TnShS I- h ^ ° f m ** cwt - The P rice . however, has been as 

 low as . - and as high as 30/- per cwt, 



