494 
NATURE 
[April 20, 1871 

Tue second part of the fifth volume of the ‘‘ Proceedings of 
the Bristol Naturalists’ Society,” from May to December 1870, 
does not contain much original matter. The longest paper, by 
Messrs. Sorby and Butler, ‘‘On the Structure of Rubies, 
Sapphires, Diamonds, and other Minerals,” has already ap- 
peared in the ‘‘ Proceedings of the Royal Society.” The paper 
“On the Natural History of Filey and its Neighbourhood,” 
however excellent in itself, hardly appears to us in place among 
the proceedings of a local society on the other side of England. 
Mr. C. F. Ravis contributes a useful paper, ‘ On Denudation, 
especially as exhibited in the Valley of the Avon,” and there 
are some good local geological and entomological notes, The 
zoological and botanical sections present no report. 
CoLonEL Hale, R.E., of the Godavery Navigation Works, 
has found coal near Dumagudlom, in the Madras Presidency, 
130 miles from Kokonada. It is not so good as English coal for 
locomotive purposes, but is good enough for welding in the 
Government workshops. 
Mr. MALLET, of the Indian Geological Survey, has been 
examining Aden with a view to water supply. He considers 
there is no hope from Artesian wells, but recommends water to 
be brought from wells near Mahilla at the Sheikh Othman 
aqueduct. 
Tue culture of bamboo for paper making and other purposes 
is being promoted by the Government of Central India. The 
Indian Government is buying land in the hill district of the 
Neilgheries for a spice plantation, Col. Boddam has proposed 
the cultivation of the sunflower in Mysore. It is very successful 
in France. Government has sent out six more Scotch gardeners 
for experimental cotton growing. These men have answered 
very well. 
THE Broom (Sarothamnus scoparius) is extremely abundant 
in Madeira, but is supposed to have been originally introduced 
to the island. It is now sown extensively on the mountains for 
the purpose of being cut down for firing, or burnt on the spot 
every five to seven years to fertilise the ground. The twigs and 
more slender branches are also used commonly as withs for 
binding bundles of faggots, brushwood, fern, &c. ; and numbers 
of country people, especially young girls and children, residing 
within reach of Funchal, gain a livelihood by bringing daily into 
the town bundles of broom for use in heating ovens, &c. The 
fine and delicate basket-work peculiar to Madeira is manufac- 
tured from the slender peeled twigs of this plant. Mr. Lowe 
speaks of a variety wi'h pure white flowers which occurs on this 
island, 
THE Apocynacez are noted for their poisonous properties, and 
one of the most interesting plants of the order is Cerdera odollam. 
It is a tree about 2oft. high, growing about Malabar, and 
Travancore, and produces a drupe-like fruit as large as a fine 
mango. The inner shell of the fruit, after removing the green 
ind, is composed of a mass of reticulated woody fibres, and 
when dry is not much unlike a ball of coarse, dirty string, These 
fruits are said to be used by the natives in Travancore to poison 
dogs, for this purpose they are taken when green and covered 
with sugar or some sweet substance, by which the dogs are 
tempted to eatthem, The effect of the poison is to cause the 
teeth of the animals to become loose or to fall out before death 
ensues. 
A new kind of stuffing for mattresses appears to be coming 
in vogue, for we learn from the Yournal of Applied Chemistry, 
‘*that sponge, dipped in glycerine and well pressed, remains 
clastic, and can be used for mattresses, cushions, and general 
upholstery,” and we further learn that ‘‘sponge mattresses pre- 
pared in this way, are now finding great favour.” 
THE Pharmaceutical Fournal draws attention to an article 
which originally appeared in the American Fournal of Microscopy, 
on the value of the microscope to the pharmacist in the detec- 
tion of parasitic animalculz or fungi in drugs of vegetable origin. 
We all know that leaves, roots, and seeds deteriorate very much 
by being kept any length of time, therefore the remarks of the 
author are of the utmost importance to mankind generally. He 
says ‘‘that it is notorious that the most carefully prepared tinc- 
tures and extracts of certain drugs are sometimes devoid of 
medicinal power. It has been supposed that certain volatile 
constituents escape from the substances from which such tinctures 
are prepared, but of this we have no certain proof. Why is it 
that the leaves of belladonna may, in some instances, be kept for 
years, and at the end of that period be capable of yielding a 
reliable preparation, while other specimens, when kept only a few 
months, are worthless? It must be because of some destructive 
process going on in the substance, which cannot be discovered 
with the naked eye.” The hints which follow are even worth the 
attention of those upon whom we depend for our medicinal pre- 
parations. ‘‘ The pharmacist should first learn to recognise the 
natural healthy appearance, under the microscope, of all the 
vegetable substances he works upon ; then he should subject a 
specimen of every substance he prepares to a careful examination, 
and if he discovers the presence of vegetable or animal parasites, 
such substances should be rejected. The world is flooded with 
inert medicinal preparations. Doubtless many such preparations 
are made worthless by improper methods of manufacture ; but it 
is my opinion that in many instances their worthlessness is due 
to the fact that the substances used have been injured by certain 
agencies which could have been discovered by the intelligent use 
of the microscope.” 
THE ELwcalypti, or Gum-trees of Australia, are well-known for 
their hard wood as well as for the oils and gums yielded by many 
of them. Some of the species have been introduced and suc- — 
cessfully grown in different parts of Europe, and their products 
may become,‘ ere long, recognised articles of import. At the 
present time large quantities of sticks of a species of Zucalyptus 
are imported into England from Algeria, and are made into 
walking sticks. During the Great Exhibition in Paris in 1867, 
the leaves of Eucalyptus globulus were made into cigars, and re- 
commended as being very efficient in aiding digestion. We now 
learn from the Gardeners’ Chronicle that the leaves of a species 
of Lucalyptus have been recently used on the Continent in 
place of lint, the leaves being merely laid on the wounds. 
‘Their balsamic nature not only cures, but, after a few hours, 
all unpleasant odour ceases.” 
THE prickly poppy (Arvgemone mexicana), originally from the 
New World, has become naturalised throughout the tropics and 
sub-tropics of bcth hemispheres. In the West Indies, where it 
is very abundant, it is called Fico del inferno, the reason for this 
name being, according to Gerarde, ‘‘ because of his fruit, which 
doth much resemble a figge in shape and bignesse, but so full of 
sharpe and venemous prickles that whosoever had one of them in 
his throte doubtless it would send him packing either to heayen 
or to hell.” Barham, however, gives, as an explanation, a state- 
ment that the seeds, ‘‘being much stronger than opium,” are 
‘enough to send any that should take them wilfully to zero ;” 
but this is much exaggerated. In India it is now abundantly 
naturalised in the eastern part of the Punjab, and is spreading 
over fresh districts year by year. It is not altogether a useless 
addition to the Indian flora, as near Delhi an oil is extracted 
from the seeds which is used for burning, as well as in the treat- 
ment of chronic sores and eruptions, 
