NEW DRUGS. 103 



and is as follows : An Englishman who brought it here 

 obtained it from a settler, married to a half-caste Tongan, 

 who first prepared it for the use of her husband, and gave 

 to the drug the name of her native island. The material 

 as received here consisted for the most part of a mixture of 

 broken pieces apparently of a root and some pieces of bark. 

 From microscopical examination they appeared to belong to 

 some aroideous plant, which was confirmed at a later period 

 by the receipt of leaves, by which means the genus was 

 established as Rliaphidophora, probably R. vitiensis. Tonga 

 lias been proved very efficacious in neuralgia, and may be 

 included amongst the important medicines of the age. 



Rhamnus Piirshiana. Under the name of CASCARA 

 SAGRADA (lit. Sacred Bark), considerable attention has been 

 paid since 1883 to the bark of the above-named tree or 

 shrub, which belongs to the natural order Rhamnacese, and 

 is a native of the Pacific slopes of North America, in which 

 country it has become very generally used as a purgative. 

 Introduced into this country from the United States in 

 1879, it has also found considerable favour with us. 



Sarcoceplialus escidentus. A West African tree, 

 belonging to the natural order Rubiacese, the bark of 

 which, under the name of DOUNDAKE, has attracted much 

 attention since 1885, both on the Continent and in this 

 country, as a tonic and febrifuge, as well as for the golden- 

 yellow colour contained in the bark. The fruit is known as 

 the SIERRA LEONE PEACH. 



Simaba Cedron. The CEDRON, which is the name under 

 which this plant is commonly known, is a small tree, 12 to 

 15 feet high, with a trunk measuring about 6 inches 

 through. It belongs to the natural order Sirnarubese, and 

 is a native of New Granada, on the banks of the Magda- 

 lena. It bears an oval fruit, about the size of a swan's egg, 

 containing usually not more than one seed, about two 

 inches long and half an inch broad. The earliest notice of 



