232 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XII. No. 293. 



pottery was found. This consisted of a number 

 of vases and iiattened dishes of quaint and 

 graceful shapes decorated with elaborate pat- 

 terns in red. These are admirably depicted in 

 the plates accompanying the memoir and indi- 

 cate a very degree of art in the part of their 

 designers. F. A. L. 



RECENT PBOGBESS IN THE EXAMINATION 

 OF FOODS AND DRUGS. 



NEW PLANTS AND DRUGS. 



Theodore Peckolt has been continuing his 

 work upon the medicinal and economical plants 

 of Brazil (see Berichte d. deutsch Pharm. Ges.). 

 Duyk likewise continues his communications 

 upon Mexican drugs {Bull. Soc. Pharm. Brux., 

 XLIII., and Bull. Comm., XXVIII.). In the 

 consideration of the useful plants of Mexico, J. 

 N. Rose (contribution, U. S. Nat. Herbarium, 

 V.,, No. IV) treats of the plants of Mexico 

 which are employed for making beverages, 

 seasoning, flavoring, soap, tanning, dyeing as 

 well as those of a strictly medicinal applica- 

 tion. J. S. Ward has described some new 

 West African plants in Pharm. Jour., 1900. 

 Several Indian plants have been examined by 

 S. Camphuijo (see Nederl. Tidjschr. v. Pharm., 

 1899). The arrow poisons of Wagogos are ob- 

 tained, according to Schellman, by boiling the 

 bark of two trees of the N. O. Euphorbiaceae. 

 Pilocarpus racemosus, of the French Antilles, is 

 given by Rocher as a new source of Jaborandi. 

 The leaves contain 0.6 per cent, of pilocarpine 

 and 0.4 per cent, of jaborine. David Hooper 

 has shown that the ancient eastern medicine, 

 Akahia, is an astringent extract of an acacia. 

 Schumann has added to our knowledge of the 

 kola exported between Senegal and Angola. 

 All kola seeds are wrapped with the leaves of 

 Cola cordifolia. The large seed (nguru) is ob- 

 tained from Cola vera; whereas the small seed 

 (kotofo) is the product of C. acuminata. The 

 natives of Bali also employ the seeds of C. lepi- 

 dota and C. anomala. According to the investi- 

 gations of Hendrickx and Coremans, the leaves 

 of Theohroma kalagua may be employed as sub- 

 stitutes for kola and cacao. 



H. Moeller does not consider that Rheum 

 Franzenhachii furnishes any of the commercial 

 rhubarb. Ergot from rice, cultivated by the 



Indians in Northern Wisconsin, has been ex- 

 amined by R. H. Denniston. Heckel and 

 SchlagdenhaufFen find quassin and saponin in 

 the seeds of Brucea Sumatrana (N. O. Simarub- 

 aceae). These seeds known as kosam seeds 

 are used in China and India for dysentery. 

 Bertrand and Physalix believe the activity to 

 be due to a glucoside which they call kosamin. 

 A new rubber plant of Lagos {Fantumnia elas- 

 tica) is described by Staff. F. africana (syn. 

 Kicksia africana) does not appear to yield any 

 rubber. 



Cathaedulis contains according to Schaer large 

 quantities of caoutchouc, an ethereal oil, alka- 

 loid and tannin. Large edible tubers, called 

 ' native yams ' are yielded by Parsonia paddi- 

 soni (N. O. Apocynaceae). Piralahy rubber 

 (Madagascar) is the product of Landolphia peri- 

 eri H. Jumell. Altamassano has extracted 

 from Coniza, one of the Mexican compositse, a 

 glucoside which he calls lennesine. Several 

 pecies of Polygala (P. violacea St. Hil. and P. 

 caroeasana H. B. K.), have been found by 

 Dethan in commercial ipecacuanha. Small ja- 

 borandi leaves have been utilized as an adult- 

 erant in coca. A new spurious senna has been 

 described by Greenish while Micko has discov- 

 ered another false cinnamon bark. This is 

 yielded by an unknown species of Cinnamo- 

 mum, but does not contain the aromatic cinna- 

 mon oil. 



PLANT CONSTITUENTS. 



The investigations of Hesse on the Solana- 

 ceous alkaloids show that the active principles 

 of Hyoscyamus are chiefly hyoscyamin with 

 some atropin and hyoscin ; while Belladonna 

 root contains an excess of atropine ; and Scopola 

 rhizome contains chiefly hyoscin with some 

 atrosin. The two last mentioned bases are 

 found in the scopolamin of commerce. 



Hesse finds as a result of an investigation 

 of the various commercial rhubarbs that the 

 Chinese rhubarb contains chrysophanic acid, 

 emodin, rhabarberon and rhein ; Austrian rhu- 

 barb {Rheum rhaponticum) and English rhubarb 

 {B. palmatum) contain chrysophanic acid and 

 rhapontin ; Rumex nepalensis and R. palustris 

 contain chrysophanic acid and nepodin ; Rumex 

 ohtuaifolia contains chrysophanic acid, nepodin 

 and lopodin. 



