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knowledge of medicines could be guaranteed, should 

 be allowed to sell drugs. They were liable to be visited 

 at any time, without notice, by the Queen's Doctors 

 in order to ascertain whether they were adulterating 

 their drugs ; for sometimes the native medicine sellers 

 in the market had sold corrosive sublimate in place 

 of santonine ; and two or three deaths had resulted. 

 Generally such mistakes arose through the medicine 

 stall being left by its owner in the hands of an 

 ignorant little slave. There were no pharmacists in 

 the island who could be trusted, except a few medical 

 students who had been ten or fifteen years studying 

 under European Doctors. With regard to the hemos- 

 tatic remedy, or Curcas purgans, the juice of it was 

 used by the natives, but only externally. Then there 

 was another medicine which seemed likely to be 

 efficacious as an astringent ; this was the Fanala* loza. 

 Mr Holmes could speak from personal experience on 

 that point, for he had tasted it and found it powerfully 

 astringent. With regard to the fruit of Brehmia spinosa; 

 the natives were careful to spit out the seeds. 

 Perhaps these seeds would give them colicky* pains, 

 which would be a sufficient warning to them not to 

 take any more. The bitter pulp was very pleasant in 

 case of thirst, when good water could not be obtained. 

 He did not care to eat more than one head of the fruit 

 ^n the hour- The pulp tended to produce thirst if 

 eaten in too large a quantity. 



