310 WINTER'S-BARK. 



ON CORTEX WINTERANUS1 



1862. I HAVE read with much interest in the first number of this 



volume of the Neues Repertorium, the communication of Dr. 

 Dr. llcnkel. Henkel on genuine Cortex Winteranus, and I beg leave herewith 

 to submit some remarks on the same subject, the rather, as I 

 perceive in that paper that the commercial article which is 

 used instead of this drug in the German market is identical 

 with what is found amongst our English druggists. 



The observation of Henkel that an important difference exists 

 between the bark of the Drimys Winteri, and the bark commonly 

 used as Cortex Winteri in the market, finds complete confirma- 

 tion in my own experience. 



Specimens of I have examined many fine stems of Drimys which were 



Drimys. co u ecte( i by Captain King in 1832 in the Straits of Magellan, 



and which are now in the collection of the British Museum, as' 



well as samples of the same drug which were collected by M. de 



Guillot, likewise in the Straits of Magellan. 



Comparison of Moreover I had an opportunity of being able to compare the 

 specimens. \Vinter's-bafk of Chili, New Granada, Venezuela and Mexico 

 and in addition, samples of bark from the cabinet of the lioyal 

 College of Physicians in London, and from the collection of Sir 

 Hans Sloane in the British Museum ; and in all cases have 1 

 with the naked eye (I was unable to examine them all micro- 

 scopically) found decided characters nearly corresponding with 

 those specified by Henkel. 



It is certain that no Winter's-bark from the Straits of Magel- 

 lan is now used by us ; whilst no commercial relations exist 

 between these remote parts of the earth and Europe. 



Drimys Winteri, Forst., is, however, widely distributed, for 

 according to J. D. Hooker (Flora Antartica, part ii., p. 229), on 

 whose opinion I lay great weight in questions of this nature, 

 the species known as Drimys cliilcnsis, D.C., Drimys granaten- 

 .s/.s, Linn., fil. and Drimys Mexicana, D.C. are only forms of one 

 and the same plant. We also know for certainty, that Wintcr's- 



1 Translated from the original paper in the Neues Repertorium fur Ph&r- 

 macie, Bund xi., Heft 6, p. 241. 



