GENERAL REPORT. 45 



to be which improves in any way the whisky of the region. A less objec- 

 tionable use is made of it by using it as a stuffing in a leg of roast mutton, 

 the whole mass of which it permeates with its pleasant flavor. It is not 

 unlikely that ere long this plant will be made the basis of another quack 

 constitutional invigorator. There is probably no doubt of its being a good 

 carminative, and it may also prove to a certain extent tonic. 



Osha. — This root, so well known in and around Santa Fe - , is derived 

 from an unknown plant, probably a Peucedanum. Dr. Herman Haupt, jr., 

 has furnished a careful analysis of the root in the Am. Jour. Pharm. Aug. 

 1, 1873, p. 347, in which he concludes that his results indicate the presence 

 of "an acid not identical with angelic acid; it appears to be a new acid 

 hitherto unknown, and to deserve to be distinguished by the name of Oshaic 

 acid. From 1 00 grains of the air-dried root 8 grains of ashes were obtained, 

 containing iron, aluminum, sodium, and potassium." It is probably this 

 plant to which Dr. Loew alludes, under name of Angelica, in Vol. Ill, 

 Wheeler's Reports, p. 608. It is alleged to have tonic properties. Better 

 specimens are desirable, as it is altogether probable the plant is an old, 

 well-known species. It may have remedial powers that will stand 

 investigation. 



According to Messrs. Brewer and Watson, in Flora of California, the 

 roots of Carum Gairdneri and C. Kelloggii are a prominent article of food 

 among the California Indians, as are also the roots of most of the species of 

 Cymopterus and Peucedanum. 



Eupatoeium Beelandieei, DC. — A specimen of this was handed me at 

 the Chiricahua Agency in Southern Arizona, and the statement made that the 

 Apache Indians there were in the habit of using it as a substitute for tobacco. 

 At first I was disposed to accept the statement cum grano sails, but have 

 since discovered that other species are elsewhere used in a like manner. On 

 trial, I find the smoke devoid of any marked flavor, but rather acrid when 

 passed through the nostrils. It also appears to have some more marked prop- 

 erty in a very slight degree, as indicated by a gentle nervous tremor induced 

 in smoking. The dry leaves when rubbed in the hand emit faintly a rather 

 resinous odor. There is no doubt but that it would be quite as pleasant and 

 satisfactory as much of the drugged, cheap tobacco now on the market. 



