620 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XI. 



extractive Mlidarin, In doing so, he says, he is noting in conformity 

 with the system adopted by the Chemical Society of London, in th^ir 

 journal of spelling all alkaloids with the termination ine ; and all 

 qlucosides and amaroids (t.e. 7 Bitter Principles) with the termination 

 in, without the final e. Starting with this clear understanding in the 

 introductory and explanatory pages of his " Dictionary of the Active 

 Principles of Plants," Mr. Sohn refers to Mudarin in his work at page 

 24 (ed. 1894;, London) in the following terms -.^Mudarin is a bitter 

 principle, i.e., an amaroid. It is amorphous, yellow, soluble in alcohol 

 and cold waterj gelatinizing on warming. Insoluble in ether and 

 turpentine. Professer Dragendorff of Russia (University of Dorpat) 

 classes Mudarin among the bitter principles which have not as yet 

 been shown to be glucosicles, but which are sparingly soluble in ether ; 

 more freely in alcohol. (See Plant Analysis of Prof. Dragendorff^ 

 translated into English by H. G-. Greenish, f.c.s., pages 175-171, 1884). 

 Note also in connection with the remark which Prof. Dragendorff 

 makes with regard to the sparingly soluble nature of Mudarin in ether 

 as contrasted with Sohn's statement that Mudarin is insoluble in ether. 

 I am not a practical chemist of any pretensions whatsoever, I am there- 

 fore not in a position to state which of the two eminent writers is accurate 

 in his respective statement, I feel bound, however, to place before 

 my readers the two statements, for the guidance of such of the practical 

 chemists as are interested in the search of true chemical tests for 

 Mudarin. The subject of practical organic chemistry is altogether be- 

 yond the scope of this paper, or, for the matter of that, beyond the 

 scope of my present scientific studies. 



But to return to the description of the poisonous properties of 

 Qalotro-pis gigantea, still further, from well-known authorities, Norman 

 Chevers, — the pioneer of all writers on Indian Medical Jurisprudence, 

 must first be quoted here in support of the poisonous properties of Mudar. 

 At page 285 of his standard and unexcelled work on Medical Jurispru- 

 dence in India (Calcutta, 1870), Dr. Norman Chevers says thus : — 

 " In the Chapter on Infanticide in the last edition of this work, mention 

 was made of the practice of murdering new-born female infants by forc- 

 ing the milky juice of the Mudar down their throats." In the " Indian 

 Medical Gazette " of April and June, 1867, pp. 106 and 148, Mr. 

 McReddie, Medical Officer of Hurdui, again drew attention to this mode 



