243 



" From what I have seen I am perfectly persuaded that lime is an antidote 

 against the tutu poison ; also, that by the fourth day of the watery extract it 

 is almost inert. 



" In every case experimented upon the animal remained perfectly conscioiis, 

 indeed, the mode of attack and the appearance of the animal while in a 

 paroxysm, strongly resembles poisoning by strychnia. 



"G. H. AcHESON, F.F.P.a 



"Hokitika, April 5, 1870." 



TUTU AS A DYE-WOOD. 



Some woollen material, silk, and linen, were boiled for a short time (half 

 an hour to an hour), with some chips (the wood of the tree), afterwards 

 treated with a hot solution of copperas. The colours were pure, from a 

 neutral grey to a deep black, the dye varying in intensity according to the 

 number of times the material was ti-eated with the decoction of the wood. 

 The dye is superior to that of logwood, inasmuch that it is pure. "Woollen 

 materials take it readily and well, silk is not so readily affected, and linen 

 takes more time. The wood of the tree may be used as a substitute for log- 

 wood, and this property of the wood of the tree may be studied to advantage 

 and profit. 



[The resiilts given in the above paper being somewhat at variance with those 

 obtained by Mr. Skey (loo. cii.), they have been cai^efully re-examined in the 

 Laboratory, and Mr. Skey is of opinion that some of the reactions cited by 

 Mr. Hughes are not satisfactory, for the following reasons : — 



1st. That the oil under examination must have been saponified by the 

 processes employed. 



2nd, That the temperature used was such as must have produced many 

 side products by destructive distillation, and, among others, acetate of ammonia, 

 the presence of which would sufficiently account for the reactions Mr. Hughes 

 attributes to the presence of an alkaloid. 



3rd. That the action of lime, as an antidote, is not due to its decomposing 

 an alkaloid, but to its forming an insoluble soap with the poisonous oil ; and 

 Mr. Skey still adheres to his opinion, that dilute acids should be administered 

 in cases of poisoning by tutu. 



4th. That the dyeing properties of the juice of the tutu plant are due 

 solely to the abundance of tannin they contain, and are not analogous to the 

 special dye principle of logwood (hsematoxyline), for which reason he does 

 not think that it can be \ised for dyeing any shade to which tan bark is not 

 equally applicable. 



Mr. Skey's views are explained in a paper, which must be deferred for 

 future publication. — Ed.] 



