NEW DRUGS. 101 



order of the Government, except so many as are required to 

 supply seeds for use as an ordeal. They find their way, 

 however, to this country in small quantities from West 

 Africa. 



Picramnia antidesma. Under the name of CASCARA 

 AMARGA the bark of this Mexican tree, which belongs to 

 the natural order Simarubene, was first brought to notice in 

 America in 1885, and soon after reached this country. It 

 is said to be useful in syphilis, and as an external applica- 

 tion in the treatment of erysipelas. 



Pilocarpus pennatifolius. This is a shrub four or five 

 feet high, belonging to the order Rutaceae, native of Brazil, 

 and was first found in the southern provinces of Mato 

 Grosso and Sao Paulo, from whence it was introduced into 

 Europe in 1874, and is now found cultivated in the English 

 and Continental botanical gardens. Under the name of 

 JABORANDI a new drug was introduced to the notice of 

 British pharmacists in 1874. Jaborandi, however, appears 

 to be a comprehensive name in South America, and is 

 applied to a number of widely different plants. The deter- 

 mination, of the source of the ordinary Jaborandi of com- 

 merce was made by Professor Baillon in 1875, who, from 

 the material available, considered that to the plant men- 

 tioned at the head of this paragraph must be referred the bulk 

 of commercial Jaborandi, a quantity also being afforded by 

 P. Selloanus, Jaborandi has obtained a reputation as a 

 very energetic diaphoretic sialogogue. 



Piper methysticum. The roots of this plant, which 

 belongs to the natural order Piperacese, have been used 

 from an early period in the Society and South Sea Islands, 

 under the name of KAVA, in the preparation of a well- 

 known intoxicating beverage. In 1876 the plant began 

 to attract some attention as to its medicinal propertieSj 

 since which time many experiments have been made to de- 

 termine its physiological action. It has since been used in 



